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Home / Softball / Wayland’s Ritz reaches coaching milestone
Wayland’s Ritz reaches coaching milestone
Jason Wesseldyk
Softball isn’t literally part of Cheri Ritz’s DNA.
But it might as well be.
“Some of my earliest memories were at the softball fields in Moline watching my dad and uncle play,” Ritz said. “Softball has always been a big part of my life and I developed a passion for it at a young age.”
That passion continues to this day, with Ritz recently completing her 36th season as a high school coach. That includes 34 seasons as a varsity coach, with the vast majority of those coming at her alma mater Wayland Union High School.
During the 2019 campaign, Ritz reached yet another career milestone as she racked up the 900th victory of her career.
“It felt good,” Ritz said of the win, which came during the first game of a doubleheader against St. Joseph last month. “There’s really not that much difference between 899 wins and 900 wins, but round numbers are always nice.
“And even though I get credit for the wins, this is really an accomplishment that also belongs to all the players who have played for me and the coaches who have coached with me. I wouldn’t have had the success I have had if it wasn’t for them.”
During the course of winning those 900, Ritz has experienced numerous highs both from a team and an individual perspective.
From a team standpoint, Wayland has won two state championships with 25 conference championships and 23 district championships. Individually, Ritz was named National Federation Coach of the Year in 2015 to go with being named District Coach of the Year 17 times and Regional Coach of the Year eight times.
“All of those things are great,” Ritz said. “But it’s like I tell the parents at our awards banquet each year. My greatest victories are in the lives of their daughters, not in our record or the banners on the walls. I want to make a positive difference in the life of each of my players. That’s my biggest goal.”
That goal was born out of a desire to give back to the sport that has given so much to her.
“Softball has given me some of the best experiences of my life,” Ritz said. “I played at (Michigan State University) and got to travel all over, including to Belize. I’ve had the opportunity to coach in Hawaii twice. It’s been a great ride and I owe it to softball.”
“God has been good to me and softball has been good to me. I just want to pay that forward.”
Ritz is also the softball chairman for the National High School Coaches Association.
“That’s been another blessing,” Ritz said. “I get to meet with the eight finalists for National Coach of the Year and spending time with coaches like that is amazing.”
While reaching the 900-win milestone was fun for Ritz, the season as a whole wasn’t quite what fans have come to expect from Wayland. With a young squad that included as many as six freshmen in the starting lineup, the Wildcats finished at 16-19 and were runner-up in both the OK Gold Conference and at districts.
Wayland had won 14 straight league titles and 15 straight district crowns.
“This year was a different kind of challenge given our youth,” Ritz said. “But we didn’t lower our expectations because of that. We still expected a lot out of ourselves and we fell short of some of our goals. But I have no doubt this group will work hard and we’ll get back to where we want to be.”
Along the way, Ritz will continue to rack up more wins, with all-time leader Diane Laffey and her total of more than 1,200 wins as the ultimate goal.
“Diane is one of the coaches I really admire,” Ritz said. “She’s been coaching more than 50 years, so I figure I have a lot of time left. Getting to 1,000 wins would be cool and why not aim for Diane’s record.”
Cheri Ritz
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Jaguar XJ12 #7339202
You can see more picture of Jaguar XJ12 in our photo gallery. Click on the links below to view them. Also we have full gallery of Jaguar XJ12 on this page which you can see.
If you have your own good photos of Jaguar XJ12 and you want to become one of our authors, you can add them on our site
Nissan Juke 2011: a new compact crossover
Confirmed arrival of crossover Nissan Juke in the Canadian market Nissan Canada Inc. (NCI) today confirmed a new compact crossover SUV, the Juke will join a range of Nissan vehicles available in Canada in the fall of 2010. European version of this vehicle a extraordinary elegance will be unveiled to the media on February 10 and will make its first global public appearance at the Auto Show in
Renault-Nissan sign an international exclusivity of 15,000 vehicles contract with Danone
The Renault-Nissan Alliance will provide the food group Danone, with its headquarters in Paris, some 15,000 vehicles, under a contract of fleet renewal in exclusivity. As part of this agreement, which represents a first for the Alliance, the latter equip at least five years the fleet of Danone in 25 countries. Danone has chosen the Renault-Nissan Alliance because of its wide range of products,
F1 attracts 100,000 people in Russia
The first Formula 1 Grand Prix of Russia is planned to take place in the city of Sochi in 2014. But the Russian authorities did not wait for the event to measure the popularity of the pinnacle of motorsport discipline since last Sunday, Jenson Button (McLaren-Mercedes), Giancarlo Fisichella (Ferrari) and Karun Chandhok (Lotus-Renault) took part in a demonstration in the streets of Moscow. In fact
Minister Kent boasts new emission standards for cars
OTTAWA - On the eve of talks in Doha on Climate Change, which will be valid to Canadian policies renewed attention, Ottawa Tuesday unveiled new standards to reduce emissions of greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks. The federal Minister of the Environment Peter Kent, indicates that mimics americaines of emission standards for models to be constructed between 2017 and 2025. It the
Chevrolet Aveo and / or Spark: We'll have two
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Subaru Legacy and Outback PZEV, these unknown
Volkswagen Golf: 30 million copies later
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Team Trump Is Singing from Putin’s Songbook on DNC Hacks
By Rob Garver
Representatives of President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday adopted the same line as the Kremlin with regard to U.S. intelligence agencies’ claim that Russia interfered in the recent presidential election: The assessment of senior U.S. intelligence officials shouldn’t be believed unless they present direct evidence.
With U.S. intelligence agencies all in agreement that the Russian government sponsored the computer hacking of Democratic Party institutions and officials during the 2016 election as part of an effort to help Trump, the Kremlin has offered a blanket denial.
Related: Russia to Obama: Put Up or Shut Up About Hacking the Election
In a conversation with reporters on Friday, Dmitry Peskov, the chief spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, put it this way: “They should either stop talking about that or produce some proof at last. Otherwise, it all begins to look unseemly."
The Trump transition team apparently found that a pretty compelling argument because when they were dispatched to the Sunday talk shows over the weekend, they essentially sang the same tune.
“Where’s the evidence?” demanded Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s former campaign manager, in an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation. “Why, when CIA officials were invited to a House Intelligence briefing last week did they refuse to go? Instead, they’re talking to the media. That undermines our national security and our intelligence operations.”
Conway was referring to an agency-wide memo from Central Intelligence Agency Director John Brennan that was provided to The Washington Post on Friday. In it he wrote, “Earlier this week, I met separately with FBI [Director] James Comey and DNI Jim Clapper, and there is strong consensus among us on the scope, nature, and intent of Russian interference in our presidential election.”
Related: Trump’s Massive Global Business Footprint Can Subvert US National Security
In general, intelligence agencies of any stripe are reluctant to reveal the evidence they use to draw their conclusions. Their assessments don’t have to be tested in a court of law, so publicizing specific information they have obtained is generally seen as creating an unnecessary risk of revealing their sources and intelligence gathering methods.
President Obama on Friday said that he has demanded a comprehensive report from the Intelligence Community on the Russian hacking and promised that he would make as much information public as practicable.
But that hasn’t satisfied the Trump transition team, which is increasingly given to suggesting the reports of the Kremlin’s interference in the election are simply an effort to delegitimize the President-elect’s victory.
“If the CIA and if director Brennan and others at the top are serious about turning over evidence to we the American people then they should do that,” Conway said.
Related: Trump Train Headed for a Brick Wall in US-Russia Relations
Incoming White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, in an appearance on Fox News Sunday, took a similar tone.
“If there is this conclusive opinion among all of these intelligence agencies, then they should issue a report or they should stand in front of a camera and make the case," he said. “I think that these guys should be straight with the American people and come out and say it," said Priebus.
Priebus repeatedly insisted that the reports about Russian involvement were all coming from anonymous “third parties” and suggested that until Comey and Clapper themselves say so in public, nobody can be sure that they believe it.
Host Chris Wallace pointed out that the latest news came from the CIA director himself directly reporting his conversations with other senior intelligence officials.
Related: Why the Russia Hacking Scandal Could Cost Trump His Pick for Secretary of State
“Do you think he’s lying?” Wallace asked.
“I don’t think he is,” Priebus answered, in a tone that suggested he was still open to the possibility. “But it sure would be nice to hear from everybody.” He went on to say that the CIA director’s word alone was not enough to give him confidence that he was getting the true assessment of the intelligence community.
To be fair to Team Trump, the conclusions of the U.S. Intelligence Community have not always been correct. The conclusion that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, which led directly to the Iraq war, is the most obvious example. They have also not always been above politics -- the FBI’s COINTELPRO program in the 1960s and 70s was very active in disrupting domestic political movements.
For two of Trump’s most senior advisers to openly suggest that the Intelligence Community could be working to mislead the American people is pretty remarkable. But at this point, it is clear that Conway and Priebus are just representing the perspective of their boss. Trump himself has repeatedly said that he doesn’t believe the findings of the intelligence community and has said that he believes the findings are politically motivated.
Related: Putin Cranks Up Russia’s Cyber Defenses
But the increasingly open war between the intelligence community and the incoming president is, at the very least, completely unprecedented and, in the view of many, dangerous.
In an appearance on ABC’s This Week on Sunday, Rep. Adam Schiff, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said, “For the president-elect to continue to give the Russians deniability is deeply damaging to the country. He is doing damage to himself and to his ability to lead the country when he becomes president. We are going to have a national security crisis at some point. It may be very early in the administration or it may be later but it's going to come and he is going to need to rely on the intelligence community.”
Schiff went on to specify that he was referring to the likelihood that, in a crisis, Trump would find himself explaining what he viewed as a necessary response by informing the American people of the findings of the Intelligence Community. That will be hard to do, he said, if Trump continues to characterize its members as political hacks.
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Rob Garver
A longtime reporter on the intersection of the federal government and the private sector, Rob Garver served as a National Correspondent, based in Washington, D.C., for four years. He has written for ProPublica, The New York Times and other publications.
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Maj Gen Ishwar Hamal
Major General Ishwar Hamal, awc, ndu-ctf, psc, MPA, MSS, an alumnus of Nepali Military Academy, was commissioned in 1985 and joined Rajdal Battalion (Field Artillery). Before assuming the responsibility of the Commandant of Army Command and Staff College in January 2019, he was the General Officer Commanding of Mid-Eastern Division HQ.
During his illustrious career, he has completed various courses with distinction from home and abroad. His home courses include Infantry Young Officers' Course, Counter Insurgency and Jungle warfare Course, Company Commander and Staff Course, Para Jump Training, All Arms Field Engineering, Regimental Signal Officers Course, Junior Staff Course, Personal Management Training, Management and Leadership Training, Course on International Humanitarian Law and Disaster management Training.His overseas trainings are Artillery Young Officers' Course, Regimental Survey Course, Regimental Signal Officers' Course and Long Gunnery Staff Course in India; Dynamics of International Terrorism Course, Legal Aspect of Combating Terrorism Course, NESA Strategic Studies Executive Course and Peace and Stability Course in the USA.
Maj Gen Hamal is an eminent scholar. He is a distinguished graduate of Nepali Army Command and Staff College, Shivapuri, Command and General Staff College, Ft. Leavenworth, USA and US Army War College, Carlisle, USA. He holds Master's degrees in Public Administration from Tribhuvan University and Strategic Studies from US Army War College and counter terrorism fellowship from National Defense University, Washington D.C.
He has a vast experience of serving as a peacekeeper in various United Nations missions. He served as a member of United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in 1990 and 2000 and United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in former Yugoslavia in 1994. He has also served in United Nations Peacekeeping Force in United Nations Mission in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) in 2006-07 as a Military Observer.
In a distinguished service spanning over 34 years, he successfully completed wide-ranging appointments and assignments. He commanded Gorakh Box independent company (2000-01), Kali Jung Infantry Battalion (2003), Devi Dal Infantry Battalion (2005-06), No 1 Infantry Brigade (2015-16), and Mid-Eastern Div HQ. His important staff appointments include Military Assistant to Chief of Army Staff (2014-15), Military Secretary (2014), Director of Military Operations (2016-17), Chief of Staff of Far-Western Division HQ (2013). He also served as the Commandant of Birendra Peace Operation Training Centre (2011-13). His eminent service earned him prestigious accolades including SUKRITIMAYA RASTRADEEP, SUPRABAL JANASEWA SHREE, PRAKHYAT TRISHAKTI PATTA and PRABAL GORKHA DAKSHIN BAHU.
Maj Gen Hamal is an avid reader, keen sportsman, and a passionate traveller. He is happily married to Mrs Roshani Hamal.
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Gulf Research Program > Grants >
About the Gulf Research Program
Program Initiatives
Other Follow-Up
Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems Grants 1 - Request for Applications (CLOSED)
Key Dates and Information
Awards Available
Total funding available: $10 million
Award duration: Up to 24 months
February 27, 2018:
April 25, 2018, 5:00 pm ET: Applications due (CLOSED)
Award Selection and Notification
RFA Version
1.1 (Issued 02/27/18): Required attachments for the application form were updated to include “Current and Pending Support form”.
Topic: Studies and Observations to Inform the Loop Current Campaign
PDF Version (click to download/view all information about this funding opportunity as a PDF)
The Gulf Research Program seeks to support activities that will supply new observations, analyses, and modeling needed to advance our understanding of Loop Current dynamics for the purpose of improving predictive skills of the Loop Current and associated eddies, referred to as the Loop Current System (LCS). This solicitation is the first of several funding opportunities for a research campaign aimed at improving understanding and prediction skills of the LCS. Proposed observations, analyses, and modeling should specifically address recommendations for near-term activities identified in the consensus report , released in January 2018. These near-term activities can be started or accomplished without extensive planning and are meant to either jumpstart or inform the design of a long-term (10-yr), integrative program.
The LCS is the dominant physical process in Gulf of Mexico waters. Oceanographic parameters within the Gulf basin, from coastal ecosystems to the deep abyss, are affected by the position, and duration at a given position, of the Loop Current and associated eddies. Understanding the dynamics driving the LCS is a significant first step towards achieving a long-term outcome of improved understanding of the complexity of the Gulf of Mexico as a system, which is critical to the Gulf Research Program's vision.
The AffiliateMarketIngtools of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine produce expert consensus reports that identify research needs, opportunities, or challenges for advancing science and ensuring the application of science to address real-world problems. The AffiliateMarketIngtools' 2018 report identifies a suite of complementary observations, analyses, and modeling efforts intended to provide critical information about the LCS to help promote safer offshore operations, better understand the Gulf’s complex oceanographic systems, facilitate disaster response, help protect coastal communities, protect and manage ecological resources, and predict and forecast weather and climate impacts. Expected to take about 10-12 years and cost between $100 million and $125 million, the recommended campaign is intended to increase understanding of the dynamics of the LCS and thereby improve prediction skills of the Loop Current’s behavior.
The report provides 30 recommendations for elements of the research campaign that include both near-term and long-term (decadal length) activities. These activities are divided into observational components, technology enhancements, analyses and theory, and data assimilation and numerical modeling techniques needed to provide critical information about the LCS. The recommendations are intended to help guide future funding investments by the Gulf Research Program of the AffiliateMarketIngtools of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, as well as federal U.S. agencies, Mexican and Cuban oceanographic organizations, industry, research institutions, and other ocean science sponsors.
Applications Sought:
The report identified several specific observations and studies as foundational activities that should start in the near-term while the more comprehensive campaign is being organized. We seek applications for projects that directly respond to specific report recommendations categorized under the headings below. As indicated below, refer to specific recommendations in the report for additional details. If an applicant wishes to respond to more than one of the topic headings below, they must submit an application for each topic separately.
1. High Frequency (HF) Radar (with range capability of ~150-200km): Provide new, real-time data for model assimilation and validation, and to better understand the evolution of the LCS, by procuring, installing, and/or operating for 2 years (with an opportunity for extension of up to another 10 years):
At least three multi-static HF radar systems from fixed platforms in the northeastern most areas of oil and gas operations. (Refer to Recommendation 3)
At least three new HF radar systems covering the general Florida Straits outflow region. (Refer to Recommendation 10)
At least two HF radar systems in the inflow area, one looking north (from the Cozumel Island area) and at least one looking across the inflow from the upper Yucatan Peninsula. (Refer to Recommendation 11)
An applicant can respond to one or more of the above sub-bullets in a single application.
The GRP requires observational data be available widely and publicly; for this reason, we encourage the applicant to collaborate with the IOOS Regional Associations and the NOAA IOOS HF radar Data Assembly Center (DAC) in all installations and operations to ensure established procedure and protocols are followed for integrating quality data into the IOOS system.
2. Pressure and Current Meters: Procure field array of 20 to 25 deep sensors that measure bottom pressure and integrated currents from near bottom to the surface and deploy them in a coherent sub-array for process-understanding and/or feature-mapping in the deep eastern Gulf where the extended Loop Current can be found (generally, 25°-28° North Latitude, 85°-91° West Longitude) for 2 years (with an opportunity for extension of up to another 10 years). It is intended that this field array be extended (during future funding opportunities) with an additional 20 to 25 bottom mounted instruments to complete a laterally correlated ~60 km spacing in the LCS area (25°-28° North Latitude, 85°-91° West Longitude); proposed array designs should be compatible with this longer term recommendation for an expanded array. For this near term observation field program, applications should not include near real-time data retrieval; rather, a data retrieval plan should be proposed that will inform the Gulf Research Program about the value of such observation systems and inform the design of a more fully populated array of instruments for the main decade-long campaign. A separate near-term task (see Topic 6 below) is to examine data communications options that may make near real-time data capture for such instruments affordable. (Refer to Recommendation 6)
3. Mooring Arrays - Campeche Bank, Yucatan Channel, and Florida Straits: Three mooring arrays, currently operated by CICESE (Centro de Investigación Científica y de Educación Superior de Ensenada [Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education at Ensenada]), are located in critical areas for better understanding Loop Current dynamics; the arrays are located across the Campeche Bank, across the Yucatan Channel, and across the Florida Straits. The funding for these arrays expires in June of 2018. Three tasks are included as near-term recommendations in association with these existing mooring arrays:
Extend operations of the mooring arrays (including procurement of equipment, as needed) beyond June 2018 (for the next two years, with the opportunity for extension up to an additional 10 years) with appropriate data sharing from the moorings in both Mexico and Cuba.
Establish an agreement to gain access to the ocean dynamics data recovered from these moorings from the time period 2011-to-present.
As appropriate, analyze archived data to explore effects of bathymetry on LCS behavior, inflow analysis, and outflow analysis.
(Refer to Recommendations 8, 9, and 12)
Please note: An applicant can respond to part, one, or more of the above sub-bullets in a single application.
4. Pressure Point Mooring: Procure, deploy, and operate a single-point, real-time, ocean dynamics mooring that, minimally, measures temperature, salinity, and currents at discrete depths for 2 years (with opportunity for extension of up to another 10 years) at the shelf break region, just to the northwest of the Dry Tortugas to confirm times when the Loop Current is driving the West Florida Shelf circulation, a phenomenon hypothesized to also be controlling the Loop Current itself. (Refer to Recommendation 15)
5. Profilers: Procure and operate a new set of ocean dynamics-instrumented profilers (e.g., Argo operated in 0 m) in active areas of the LCS. This recommendation (Recommendation 4) was not designated as a “near-term priority” in the consensus report; however, it is included in this solicitation as a profiler fleet would provide immediate valuable input into the larger campaign development.
6. Communications Network: Determine the feasibility of a data communications network (e.g., acoustics or fiber optics) that might be adopted to gather and/or communicate data from bottom mounted instruments and provide near-real time data to the surface in an affordable manner. Consideration of docking solutions and/or deep acoustic data communication network nodes for interoperability with autonomous surface and/or underwater vehicles in the design is encouraged. (Refer to Recommendations 16, 17 and 19)
7. Data Compilation: Digitally compile, analyze, and make publicly accessible physical oceanographic data from Gulf of Mexico field studies from ~ 2002 to 2017 (refer to Recommendation 27). The objective of this activity is to produce a climatology-like data set to help prioritize the process studies necessary to improve understanding, simulation, and prediction of the LCS. Secondly, the database should inform criteria and constraints useful in design of future field observations and numerical modeling efforts.
Key oceanographic variables include temperature, salinity, conductivity, sea surface height, and current velocity at the ocean surface and throughout the full water-column. Instrument platforms include acoustic Doppler current profilers, single point current meters, ship and air deployed expendable sensors (e.g., expendable bathythermographs [XBT], CTD [conductivity, temperature, and depth], autonomous underwater vehicles, high-frequency radar, underwater buoyancy gliders, Lagrangian drifters, moored current meters, surface buoys, benthic platforms).
The database should conform to standard oceanographic archival practice for formatting and metadata using guidance from the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), NOAA IOOS-QARTOD, and other oceanographic data centers. Data sources include but are not limited to federal sources such as BOEM, BSEE, NOAA, as well as the offshore oil and gas industry, academic institutions, the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative, and other state, local, and federal agencies, and data available from neighboring Gulf nations.
8. Numerical modeling: Review leading federal and academic Gulf prediction systems to test their performance and sensitivity in resolving both surface and subsurface circulation. The analyses should provide valuable insights into physical processes and dynamics of the LCS. For this funding opportunity, the use of available simulations is encouraged to better inform the campaign’s final design of the operational forecast system. Recommendation 22 describes this model comparison activity more fully and presents three notional phases. The goal of this comparison is to determine which features in each model are giving the best results, especially in view of the availability of large sets of data during the immediate post-Deepwater Horizon period.
Application Guidelines:
Responsiveness to consensus report: Applications should directly respond to the recommendations from the report , which are referenced in the "Applications Sought" section above. It is expected that applicants will refer to the consensus recommendations and associated text and fulfill the minimum requirements described therein.
Compatibility: Proposed plans should be compatible with extension and expansion into the planned decadal campaign. This solicitation is in support of 2-year projects; however, many of the observational recommendations are intended to be sustained for an additional 10 years of operation. Observational applications will undergo a mid-term review (after 1 year of operations); successful review may result in an initial extension through a 5-year contract with possibility for a second 5-year extension.
Data management: Applications should include an extensive data management component that, at minimum, meets requirements of the Gulf Research Program's data management policy. In addition, applicants responding to observational components of this RFA should include a plan for releasing data to the public within 6 months of collection, which is an expedited time frame from standard Gulf Research Program data management requirements, or in real-time, as applicable.
Leveraging of Resources: Unlike most other Gulf Research Program grant opportunities, Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems Grants 1 permits leveraging private and public resources in the form of in-kind support. Though not mandatory, applicants are strongly encouraged to leverage available resources, such as talent, equipment*, ship time, computational resources, data management, and/or funding from public or private partners.
*The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has offered to provide in-kind support to Gulf Research Program grantees receiving awards under this opportunity in the form of access to and use of observational equipment that could assist in the activities described in this RFA. Use of the equipment is available at no cost; however, the grantee would be responsible for transportation costs from the BOEM warehouse to the project location and for returning the equipment to BOEM at the conclusion of the project. We encourage applicants to leverage this resource, as appropriate. A catalogue of available equipment can be found here.
Please note: While this particular funding opportunity along with subsequent opportunities related to the decadal campaign are mainly focused on understanding and predicting the LCS, they are also related to and addressing a larger ocean dynamics challenge. Projects funded through these competitions should provide opportunities for scientists studying other Gulf of Mexico oceanographic and resource processes to leverage Gulf Research Program investments, observation systems, and modeling efforts for some of these other broader purposes. Applicants may include collaborative leveraging as long as it does not detract from the main LCS understanding and prediction goals. Such collaborative intentions should be described in the application.
Award Information:
Estimated number of awards: To be determined. Resources made available under this funding opportunity will depend on the quality of applications received and the budgets proposed by successful applicants. The Gulf Research Program reserves the right to select for negotiation all, some, one, or none of the applications received in response to this solicitation.
Award notification: Fall – Winter 2018
The report Understanding and Predicting the Gulf of Mexico Loop Current: Gaps and Recommendations identified several specific observations and studies as activities that should start in the near-term while the more comprehensive campaign is being organized. We seek applications for projects that directly respond to specific report recommendations categorized under the headings below. As indicated below, refer to specific recommendations in the report for additional details. If an applicant wishes to respond to more than one topic, they must submit an application for each topic separately.
Project directors usually initiate applications that are officially submitted by their employing organizations (the applicant). When initiating an application, the project director typically is responsible for ensuring the application meets all the requirements outlined by the Gulf Research Program as well as any requirements set by the employing organizations.
The Gulf Research Program requires applicants to adhere to the following:
Proposed activities that are part of a broader, existing effort or “project” may be eligible if the proposal clearly demonstrates that the funding request is for activities that would not otherwise occur.
Follow-Up currently under consideration for funding from other sources are eligible. If an intent to award letter is issued, the applicant must certify, at that time, that the other funding sources were not obtained.
U.S. organizations (excluding federal agencies) that have a valid federal tax ID number are eligible to apply.
U.S. organizations may partner with international organizations; a U.S. organization must be the applicant, but applicants may include key personnel from, and subawards to, non-U.S. organizations. Please note that legal restrictions may prohibit transactions, including subawards, between U.S. entities and entities within certain foreign countries.
U.S. federal agencies are not eligible to receive GRP funding as applicants or subawardees, although they may be collaborators. Any proposed collaboration with a U.S. federal agency should not involve any transfer of GRP funding to the agency and must be in compliance with all applicable federal statutes and regulations and will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to determine if this requirement is met.
Unlike most other Gulf Research Program grant opportunities, Understanding Gulf Ocean Systems Grants 1 does not have a specified limit to the number of applications an individual may be named on as project director and/or key personnel.
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Copyright © 2019. AffiliateMarketIngtools of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Tag Archives: Women Against Rape
Report: Jail Rapists not Rape Victims, meeting in House of Commons
Posted on June 14, 2017 by BWRAP
Women and families affected by biased rape investigations were joined by supporters in the House of Commons on Tuesday 2nd December to discuss the campaign, led by Women Against Rape (WAR) andBlack Women’s Rape Action Project (BWRAP), against the prosecution and imprisonment of rape survivors.
Hosted by John McDonnell MP, the event – Jail Rapists not Rape Victims – focused on the perverse and harrowing injustices women who report sexual violence are subjected to by the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
An estimated 85,000 women are raped[1] in England and Wales each year; 90% of reported rape and domestic violence goes unprosecuted. Despite such an appalling record on achieving justice for victims, the legal system has managed to prosecute 109 women for false rape allegations in the past five years. The vast majority of these women are charged with ‘perverting the course of justice’, an offence that carries a maximum life sentence.
As immigration and detention practices grow increasingly severe, and shelters, legal aid, social housing, childcare and income support are restricted and shut down, women are left with few routes to escape sexual and domestic violence. To compound this with the threat of imprisonment and/or the removal of children if women are accused of lying or of being unable to protect their children, effectively leaves women trapped, and allows rapists and other abusers to continue with impunity.
BWRAP and WAR have been challenging this practice for the past seven years, and the evening threw light on the injustices they have uncovered through their campaign. They also mentioned women unable to be with us that evening due to incarceration or, as in the case of Eleanor de Freitas, suicide.
Attendees heard some of the survivors’ stories firsthand. Sandra Allen talked us through the ordeal her daughter, Layla Ibrahim, has faced since she was attacked in 2009. Layla served three years in prison after she reported having been violently attacked by two strangers while on her way home after a night out. Sandra traced how the police’s initial appearance of concern twisted into an investigation of Layla, rather than of her attackers: family members were contacted and told that the police suspected that Layla had inflicted her own injuries, suspects that fitted Layla’s description of the men were not pursued, forensic evidence that supported her story was lost or destroyed. Layla was pressured to drop the charges and told that if she did so she would ‘be dragged through the papers, but not through the courts’. She refused to “confess” to something she hadn’t done. After she served her sentence, one of her suspected attackers was found guilty of raping another woman using similar techniques he had used on Layla.
An appeal against Layla’s conviction is going to the Criminal Cases Review Commission this month. Sandra Allen called for the public to support her daughter’s application so the investigation into the original rape can be reopened and Layla’s name cleared.
Hamish McKenna, whose partner Rhiannon Brooker is serving a three and a half year sentence after reporting rape and domestic violence in a previous relationship, told a similar story. Rhiannon’s decision to speak out was met with persistent mistrust, perverse logic and threats from the police. Her family and friends were investigated; Hamish himself was threatened with being charged for perverting the course of justice should he give evidence in support of Rhiannon. The police even contacted social services in a bid to remove Rhiannon and Hamish’s child, who was still breastfeeding at the time – fortunately social workers saw what a loving family they are.
For Gail Sherwood, a mother of three, reporting her longtime stalker and rapist was met with laughter and suspicion. Gail was placed under surveillance, accused of planning elaborate false attacks on herself, and eventually sent to prison for two years. Whilst serving her sentence, her stalker continued to contact her in prison and since her release he has attacked her again.
We also heard from Verna Joseph, a St Lucian woman trafficked to the UK by a gang who had raped her and forced her to carry drugs into the UK. Despite an expert report submitted to the British court confirming that she had been raped and beaten by the gang and the St Lucia police telling the court that they could not protect her, Verna was sentenced to nine years in prison.
After serving five, she was released and claimed asylum, only to have her claim refused and be sent to Yarl’s Wood Detention Centre. There, on hunger strike protesting racist and sexist abuse from guards and terrible conditions, Verna battled with a series of appeals – she eventually won her release and asylum along with 22 other women from Yarl’s Wood.
Verna has since been raped again whilst staying at a women’s hostel. The man was arrested and put on trial. But during his trial, his only witness was permitted to sit in court while others gave evidence so she could tailor her evidence to discredit Verna’s story. The man was released, and Verna denied justice once again.
A further harrowing account was given by a young woman from Rotherham, who as a teenager had been taken into care and placed with her paedophile uncle. She had never spoken in public before and everyone was moved to tears.
Looking further afield, Professor Lisa Avalos compared how different countries deal with rape. She found that police disbelief, shaming and suspicion toward rape survivors is also common in other Western countries, but that the UK is exceptional in its draconian prosecution policy. She has ‘not found any country that pursues these cases against women rape complainants in the way the UK does. The UK has an unusual approach and I think that approach violates human rights’.
Nigel Richardson, Layla’s and Rhiannon’s solicitor, commented that he had not seen the police investigate any other crime with the dogged, vindictive enthusiasm with which they pursue suspected false rape allegations: digging into women’s pasts to pin stains on their character, threatening friends and family members and concocting elaborate stories in which women violently attacked themselves.
The speakers told us their stories with palpable courage, struggling through the pain of their memories and the indignities they had been forced to suffer to have their truths heard. We were reminded that these cases perpetuate trauma for victims of sexual violence, dragging their experiences long into the future as they suffer the injustices that accompany a criminal record and the pain of not being believed or achieving justice. Amongst speakers and the audience, who often gasped in shock and fury at the details of these women’s stories, there was an atmosphere of care, solidarity and a resolution to move forward. Our host, John McDonnell MP, pledged his ongoing support to the campaign.
The discussion unfolded a commitment to stop these practices, and to connect this struggle to others: one person reminded us of institutionalised abuse of disabled people that went unaddressed; another of police and politicians’ negligence and complicity in widespread child abuse in Rotherham and elsewhere; the galling hypocrisy of police that claim to have neglected rape investigations out of fear of being called racist when they continue to harass, criminalise and sometimes kill people of colour was highlighted; sex workers complained about police turning out en masse to dispossess them in Soho under the guise of tackling sex trafficking while refusing to investigate attacks against them.
As Verna Joseph concluded for us: ‘Everywhere our stories of survival are coming out. We won’t be silenced. We’ll keep on fighting and we will have justice in the end, all of us.’
Help us win justice for rape survivors. Support the campaign to clear Layla Ibrahim’s name.
[1] 2013 Rape Crisis – http://www.rapecrisis.org.uk/mythsampfacts2.php
Posted in import from old site, Story | Tagged Black Women's Rape Action Project, False allegations or miscarriages of justice?, Women Against Rape
Rape & Sexual Abuse in Yarl’s Wood Immigration Removal Centre
Our report chronicles a regime of predatory sexual abuse (including racist sexual abuse) since it opened and began accepting women and families in 2002. It brings together the many allegations that have been reported to us, with other reports that have appeared in the media. Many of the reports come from All African Women’s Group members some of whom have been centrally involved in protests including successive hunger strikes .
Posted in Asylum from Rape, Campaigns, Hunger Strikes, import from old site, In the Media, Page, Yarl's Wood Detention Centre | Tagged Black Women's Rape Action Project, detention, End the detention of rape survivors, Women Against Rape, Yarl's Wood
Jail Rapists NOT Rape Victims, 2 Dec 2014, House of Commons
Posted on December 14, 2014 by WomenAgainstRape
Women and families affected by biased rape investigations were joined by supporters in the House of Commons on Tuesday 2nd December to discuss the campaign, led by Women Against Rape (WAR) and Black Women’s Rape Action Project (BWRAP), against the prosecution and imprisonment of rape survivors.
Posted in False Allegations, import from old site | Tagged Black Women's Rape Action Project, Demanding Justice and protection from the Police and CPS, Layla Ibrahim; false allegations or miscarriages of justice; rhiannon, Women Against Rape
Child Rape in Rotherham: Questions rape survivors, parents and the general public want answers to
Posted on December 2, 2014 by WomenAgainstRape
Submitted to the Home Affairs Committee on 9 September. We have received no substantial reply so far.
The Report by Dr Alexis Jay issued in August 2014, raises more questions than it answers. Unless these questions are asked and answered now, this will amount to a further cover up.
The Report says that over 1,400 girls suffered multiple crimes including: rape, child abduction, threats with guns, being given Class A drugs and alcohol, witness intimidation such as serious injury to themselves and other members of their families. The Report says no councillors or police in the area can say they didn’t know what was going on, following explicit reports by Risky Business to council meetings in 2004 and 2005 naming 50 perpetrators, including names of taxi firms, individual taxi drivers, and takeaways, and addresses where rape took place, yet no concerted action followed for years. Some interviewees told the Report writer they suspected family or business connections with taxi firms, takeaways and hotels where the girls were raped (as Risky Business explicitly named in their reports to Council meetings in 2004 & 5), but police said there was no evidence of this.
Prostitution has been used as an excuse to “blame” these rape victims as involved in “prostitution”, “a lifestyle choice”, being “not blameless”, “undeserving”. Many of these girls were well under 14 when the attacks started, they were victims of the crimes of rape and of paying to have sex with a child. Race and ethnicity were used as an excuse to justify the lack of action against the perpetrators. This presumes that the Pakistani community would stand with rapists rather than victims, which is a blatant piece of racism on the part of the police, the council, the MPs and social services. The Asian community was outraged at the perpetrators and the police and politicians’ protection of the perpetrators. It also presumes that there were no Asian victims; Asian women’s organisations have reported that this is not the case.
The gang rape of children was not investigated and victims were dismissed and even criminalised. This amounts to aiding and abetting rape and all the other violent crimes exposed in this report, which are going on not only in S Yorkshire but all over the UK.
Questions rape survivors and the public want answers to. Given the circumstances described in this report and what has come out from previous reports, it beggars belief that there has been no examination of possible connections, financial or otherwise, between the perpetrators and the police, politicians and social workers who covered for them. Not only all the officers, starting at the top, but all the local councillors and MPs (former MP for the area Denis MacShane was later jailed for fiddling his expenses) and the Home Office must be questioned, and charges brought against those who shielded, enabled, encouraged, organised, profited from or got promoted as a result of this violence against children and their families.
Sex with a child under 13 is rape, there can be no defence of consent. Paying for sex with a child under 16 is illegal.
Why are officers who claimed 12-year-old girls were compliant and consenting to sex with adult men still in the police force? Do they not know what a crime is? Do they not know the difference between the rape of children and sex between consenting adults? Do they not know that sex with a child is rape, and paying children for sex is not prostitution or a lifestyle choice, but rape? Why is the public paying police as law enforcers when they don’t apply the law?
Police aided and abetted the widespread rape of children. This is a crime. Why have no officers been arrested and prosecuted for this? The Select Committee heard evidence in private from a Home Office researcher who feared for her life after two police officers visited her and threatened to pass her name to the groomers. Who were these officers and whose orders were they acting on?
What other illegality are they engaged in or protecting?
How was other reported rape, sexual assault, domestic violence and other child abuse dealt with while this was going on? How many rapes were no crimed? How many victims were pressurized into withdrawing or retracting their allegations? How many were even prosecuted for reporting rape on the pretext that they were lying?
What are the police doing instead of protecting the public from rape, child abuse and murder?
Victims were themselves charged and prosecuted. Loved ones who tried to protect them were dismissed and even arrested.
Who are the officers who arrested the girls and their loved ones instead of their perpetrators? Will they be arrested and prosecuted for perverting the course of justice?
Police provided no protection for the girls who came forward. Even worse they seem to have told the perpetrators about them.
Which police officers leaked to a perpetrator that one girl was about to make a statement about him having broken her brother’s legs? How else would he know that his victim was at that moment in the police station? This information enabled him to text her that he had abducted her 11 year old sister in order to intimidate her into not reporting. Why wasn’t he prosecuted for intimidating a witness – a serious crime?
Dr Jay’s report says police disbelieved the first report as exaggerated: Were police asked why they disbelieved it? Were they asked to look into it anyway? Did they say they disbelieved it in order to ignore it?
Why were police on the side of the criminals rather than their victims? Is it just prejudice against children, especially those in care? Or did they have something to gain?
What is the relationship between the officers and these criminals? What did the police have to gain by not arresting them? Were officers paid or afforded favours to keep quiet about this? A charity named one officer in written evidence to the Select Committee who was taking bribes from groomers in return for information. Is he being investigated? Are others? Were officers who allowed these rapes to continue promoted? How many?
What is the connection of the officers, both those in charge or those on the ground, with the perpetrators? Was money passing hands?
Some perpetrators were given cautions – meaning they admitted their crimes. Whose decision was it to give perpetrators a caution?
Why have they not been rearrested for subsequent crimes and given a more appropriate punishment? Are the police claiming they have not done anything criminal since they were cautioned?
Which of the so called ‘ring leaders’ have since been prosecuted and for what?
Are those not deemed to be ‘ring leaders’ allowed to carry on with impunity or will they be prosecuted as well?
Who allowed police and children’s services to dramatically reduce the number of girls being monitored, and why was nobody challenged about the tiny numbers of girls being identified as at risk of sexual exploitation?
Have the ‘senior investigating police’ been asked to justify their ‘adamant’ refusal to link the alleged ‘honour killing’ of Child S with what they considered ‘totally unrelated …. other local violence against girls’? Who were the men she was said to have had sex with? Were they connected to the grooming of her sister or any of the other girls?
Why didn’t Risky Business go public and alert the Home Office or a government body or go to the media to blow the racket open?
The presumption is that the Asian community would stand with rapists against their victims, which is a blatant piece of racism. Asian women’s organisations have said that Asian girls were also victims. How many? Did any come forward and were they treated any better than the white victims? Is this being investigated now?
The presumption that criminals who are Asian are immune is not credible. How many Asian men were stopped and searched, much of it illegally, over this period?
How much are senior officers determining the priorities for investigation of suspected crimes of their juniors and monitoring what was being done?
Were any police whistleblowers punished or sacked for objecting to this cover up of illegality?
Why didn’t the police know the difference between rape, which is a crime, and prostitution among consenting adults which is not? How widespread is this gross ignorance among police forces?
Crown Prosecution Service
The Report says that the employees of the CPS dealing with CSE before 2010 have now retired. Why should this prevent an investigation? Will they be arrested and questioned?
Why are prosecutors who protect criminals allowed to retire on a pension instead of a jail sentence? Will the connection between CPS and perpetrators, direct or indirect, be scrutinised now?
CPS closed many of the cases because ‘they used rape myths against the victims’. What is being done about this now? Will these cases be re-opened?
Why did it take nine months in one case (as the Report says) for the CPS to make a decision to take no further action against one of the perpetrators? Will this case be re-opened now?
Police and Crime Commissioner
He was aware of the scale of rape and other crime from at least 2005 as the Lead Member for Children and Young People (2005-2010).Why isn’t former South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner Shaun Wright being investigated for criminal activities?
Rotherham council – a racket/mafia?
The Report says no councillors or police in the area can say they didn’t know what was going on. Risky Business reported on suspected family or business connections between politicians and perpetrators.
The report refers to rumours that some councillors are related to some of the perpetrators. That is easy to establish. Which ones?
The media has highlighted that ex Deputy Leader Jahangir Akhtar’s cousin was named in Jay’s report as a ‘boyfriend’ of up to 18 underage abuse victims. His son Tanveer is a constable serving in South Yorkshire Police. Cllr Shankat Asli has a relative serving 22 years in prison for flooding the area with ecstasy.
Are there others? What is the connection between councillors and perpetrators? Was money passing hands?
Did the police investigate these allegations? Is this being investigated now?
Why were no minutes kept in 2005, when the present council leader [Roger Stone] chaired a group to ‘take forward’ the above issues raised by Risky Business? Is there no legal requirement to keep minutes of council meetings? Is he being investigated now?
Council Leader in 2006 Roger Stone told a Tory councillor not to publicly raise concerns raised by his constituents about child exploitation, and that they were being dealt with by police. He has now resigned.Will his pension be withdrawn? Will he be investigated?
How can care workers not intervene and stop this mass rape? Isn’t the public paying them to care? Why didn’t they blow the whistle, for example say publicly that the refusal of police to prosecute sexual abuse of girls in their care is making their job impossible?
Why are social workers now not demanding the prosecution of the rapists and the professionals who covered for them?
Some girls have complained that their babies have been taken into care.Why are social services punitively removing babies from young vulnerable women rather than offering them the support and resources they need to care for their children?
Why when the HO was informed did no one take any action?
Children’s Charities
There are many big children’s charities in England: ChildLine, Barnardos, Save the Children, Children’s Society, National Children’s Bureau, Children in Need –
Did they know? If not, why not? If yes, what did they do?If they didn’t do anything, why not?
Posted in Demanding Justice & Protection, import from old site | Tagged Demanding Justice and protection from the Police and CPS, Rotherham, Women Against Rape
Evidence to Rashida Manjoo, UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women From Women Against Rape
We believe the UK government is flouting its obligations under CEDAW, and future obligations under the Istanbul Convention in relation to Violence Against Women.
1. Refusal to prosecute rapists including violent partners
“In the 12 months to March 2013 there were about 10,000 recorded rapes of adults in England and Wales, and about 6,000 recorded rapes of children.
“Only 1,820 (18%) of those recorded rape allegations led to a ‘sanction detection’ in which an offender was charged or cautioned for the offence, and 1,423 (12%) of cases were ‘no crimed’1.”
It is disingenuous of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to claim a 60% conviction rate – they are only looking at the cases taken to court. The majority of cases are closed either by police or CPS without ever being taken to court, resulting in a 6.7% conviction rate of reported rapes. (If unreported rapes, the overwhelming majority, were taken into account, the conviction rate would be even lower.)
Recently, public shock at media headlines exposing serial rapists left unprosecuted for decades, have added to the pressure put by survivors and their organisations on the prosecuting authorities to change. They were found to have been dismissive and prejudiced, even threatening rape victims with prosecution to shut them up. Young girls in particular, raped by celebrities such as Jimmy Savile, or by groups of adult men, in many towns and cities, such as Oxford and Rochdale were treated appallingly by police, social services and the CPS. Care homes, churches and public schools have been exposed for harbouring sex offenders among their staff, who abused their position of authority, raping girls and boys for years with impunity. This has been acknowledged in the national media as the authorities’ “widespread complicity in sexual abuse2“.
What is being done to change this?
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has investigated London’s specialist Sapphire rape units nine times in seven years – that is 19 officers disciplined, three dismissed, one imprisoned for fraudulently closing rape cases and another under investigation.
Last February an IPCC report revealed the Southwark (London) police policy to press women to withdraw or retract rape allegations. This “local standard operating procedure”, authorised by senior officers, increased the number of incidents that were classified as “no crime” and therefore increased the sanction detection rates for the unit by 25%-30%3.
This was also policy in five other London boroughs4.
In November, the Public Administration Select Committee heard evidence from a police whistleblower PC James Patrick, who exposed widespread police pressure on women to retract. Like rapists, they targeted the most vulnerable victims.
The IPCC further revealed that two senior officers involved in the case of serial sex offender Kirk Reid5 (thought to have assaulted between 80 and 100 women) were promoted, rather than disciplined6 . In our own case, taken to the IPPC and then to court by a girl raped in Southwark when she was 15 years old, the police commander who had prioritised car crime over rape investigations was also promoted (more details below).
In 2009 and 2012 we met the heads of Sapphire. We demanded they stop promoting bad officers as this set the tone for rape investigations and discouraged those officers who wanted to do a good job. We also opposed their proposal to prosecute rapists for offences other than rape and sexual assault – a way of downgrading sexual violence while using the reports of distressed victims to gather intelligence on unrelated matters.
Since more than half the rapes reported in London are by partners or ex-partners, we highlighted the police separation of rape from domestic violence as a major obstacle to getting convictions. Different units deal with rape and domestic violence, so the full picture of the violence suffered by the majority of victims remains hidden – as a result cases are dropped and prosecutions fail.
Two women a week are killed by partners or ex-partners. Despite police refusal to act in at least 50 murders investigated by the IPCC over six years, only one police officer has lost his job for negligence.
The 6 month time limit for bringing charges of common assault is routinely used by police and CPS not to prosecute domestic violence attackers. This limit should be dropped, but also charges of aggravated assault or grievous bodily harm rather than just common assault should be used more often in domestic violence cases. That they are not reflects the sexism, laziness and incompetence of the authorities in gathering relevant evidence such as medical records and witness statements, and providing adequate protection to the victim. We are working with a local woman left disabled after years of domestic violence who is taking legal action on this very point. She speaks for thousands.
Like many in positions of power, the police seem to resent accountability. They have responded to the demands of survivors and campaigners like ourselves by improving their PR rather than their performance, and drawing in the voluntary sector. Most rape service organisations (statutory or voluntary) are now funded by the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice, or the police. Not surprisingly they have become less critical, repeating the police mantra that ‘things have improved’ even in the face of much evidence of a worsening situation. How can they be trusted to be independent when their funding is not?
Recent research by Professor Betsy Stanko, Head of the Strategy, Research and Analysis Unit, Strategy and Improvement Department, Directorate of Resources at the Metropolitan Police, documents that women are targeted for rape who are from vulnerable sectors of society, although there are sectors she has overlooked. Stanko acknowledges that girls under 16, women raped by partners, those with mental health problems and those who were drinking are among the most commonly raped and least likely to get justice. In our experience race, immigration status and nationality also make women targets for violence and are used by police and CPS to deny justice to the victims. Those of us who are women of colour and have been attacked have experienced:
• police going after our Black partner or brother, rather than the white man reported as violent, sometimes a racist neighbour;
• racist personal comments from the police such as ‘why don’t you do your hair nicer?’;
• questions about our immigration status; one woman was wrongly accused of having a false identity;
• police suspecting the rape victim is lying, involved in crime, or has some suspicious motive other than trying to bring her attacker to justice.
Ineffective CPS prosecutors and biased judges give the appearance that the defence has too many rights; but it is the prosecutors and the judges who need to protect witnesses from irrelevant and cruel questioning, which is standard practice in rape trials. For example, several women in our network raped in their teens were accused in court of making it up to seek attention because their father had recently passed away. Others who were victims of domestic violence had their reports of violence used against them in court because the police had not acted on them or because the unprotected victim had withdrawn for fear of repercussions. All this ought to have been stopped – it was aimed only at discrediting the victim implying she is unreliable or liable to make things up. But CPS and judges routinely allow irrelevant “evidence” to be brought up or pursued beyond any reasonable limit.
Police must stop promoting bad officers as this sets the tone for rape investigations and discourages those officers who want to do a good job. More robust punishment is needed against officers who don’t implement the law: they should be taken off rape investigations, sacked and/or prosecuted if they break the law. If they are not held to account, nothing will change.
End the Metropolitan Police strategy of prosecuting rapists for offences other than rape and sexual assault – a way of downgrading sexual violence while using the reports of distressed victims to gather intelligence on unrelated matters.
The police must end their separation of rape from domestic violence. Domestic rape and sexual assault should be investigated as one case and all charges brought to bear.
Prosecutors and judges must protect witnesses from irrelevant and cruel questioning by the defence. This is their job and responsibility; if they exercised it more often, defence lawyers would soon learn that new boundaries for cross examination have been set.
End the 6 month time limit for bringing charges of common assault in cases of domestic violence; it is routinely used not to prosecute violent partners and ex-partners, and it enables sexist or lazy police to drag their feet during investigations until it is too late to bring charges.
Apply charges of aggravated assault or grievous bodily harm more often in domestic violence incidents.
2. The law continues to allow irrelevant sexual history questioning
In 1997-99 we campaigned for a ban on victims being questioned on their sexual history with men other than the accused. How many people a woman may have had sex with or what kind of sex she had with them is not relevant to whether or not she consented to sex with the accused. The new law did not make a distinction between sex with the accused and sex with others. And it did not ban sexual history questions if the man ‘believed’ the woman consented. Given that this is the most common defence (except for the rare cases where the identity of the accused is in doubt), the protection afforded to victims is more apparent than real as judges continue to allow irrelevant and highly prejudicial questioning.
Recommendation: Don’t allow the defence to ask sexual history questions on the pretext that the man ‘believed’ the woman consented.
3. False allegations or miscarriages of justice?
Victims who retract allegations can face prosecution and the UK is particularly punitive compared to other countries. Layla Ibrahim and Gail Sherwood were both prosecuted in 2010 (as were at least 30 others). Both said they were pressed to retract under threat of prosecution. One did retract, the other refused. Both were imprisoned.
We have been campaigning for seven years against prosecution of women reporting rape or sexual assault. 27 organisations signed our 2011 letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions. He responded with guidance: the CPS should not routinely prosecute women with mental illness, girls under 18 or victims of domestic violence. But he refused to acknowledge that biased and negligent investigations are resulting in jail for rape victims rather than rapists.
• “Sarah” was jailed in 2010 after reporting her husband, despite the police and CPS knowing that he had raped her. She retracted her claim under pressure from him and his family – the authorities then prosecuted her for making a “false retraction”. After a public outcry her sentence was quashed but not her conviction – she, not her violent husband, has the criminal record. She has applied to the European Court of Human Rights to overturn her conviction.
• A teenager who came to WAR in 2012 faced prosecution because forensic tests did not corroborate her account. Her formal complaint resulted in reinvestigation by another force – new tests found semen where the first police team claimed there was none; charges against her were withdrawn, the rape prosecution was reinstated and the rapist was jailed for five years. Had she not come to us, she would have been prosecuted and even jailed.
• Another young woman we helped was put on trial in 2013 for a so-called false report of rape. The case was thrown out by the Crown Court Judge, who expressed outrage at the lack of evidence against her. She hadn’t even reported rape, only that she awoke in bed with a soldier in a hotel after she suspected she had been drugged to the point where she did not know what happened to her and whether she had been assaulted. The CPS took the case to Appeal, wasting hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money, where it was thrown out again.
This malicious prosecution directly contradicts a police advice leaflet for victims, which says: ‘You can’t remember what happened to you so how can you tell us? This situation does happen. If you or anyone you know are worried or anxious and you think something may have happened to you, you can go to any police station.’
WAR did collaborative research7 with Lisa Avalos, Law Professor at the University of Arkansas, comparing prosecutions of women for alleged lying in the US and UK. We documented three US cases where women were accused of lying about rape and prosecuted – their rapists were later identified and brought to justice, vindicating the women.
Prosecuting women for false allegations distorts the priorities of the police and CPS – they are constantly suspicious that a woman may be lying and therefore less likely to conduct a thorough investigation of the original rape complaint. Prof. Avalos has called for UK police to implement the IACP Guidelines for investigating rape.
Women who do not report attacks are increasingly telling us they worried about being disbelieved but also about being prosecuted instead of their attacker. So while police publicly claim they want victims to come forward, they discourage them from doing so and even punish those who do.
Stop prosecuting women accused of lying about rape.
Police to carry out a thorough investigation into every report of rape.
4. Women are unable to report domestic violence to police or doctors for fear of social services taking their children from them
Domestic violence is commonly used to take children away from their mothers, even if the violence is in the past and the violent partner is no longer a threat. The charity Family Rights Group (FRG), has said: “Our data tells us … that the state’s way of dealing with domestic violence is often to end up with a child being made subject to child protection plans.” The FRG report documents8 that domestic violence – not parental mental illness, drugs or alcohol – is now the main reason children are taken from their mothers.
Similarly the Association for Improvements in the Maternity Services (AIMS) said in 2013 evidence to NICE for draft guidance on Domestic Violence that “admissions of domestic violence, past and present, result in an automatic referral to social services . . .” In AIMS’ letter to the Dept of Health’s Sir Liam Donaldson in 2007, they said “Ironically, the basic, simple help or real support families would like, is unavailable because resources are lacking, and that is not the focus of social work activity . . . Women who are suffering domestic violence are continuing to conceal it . . . Since we have seen cases of babies removed from such women, even after they have left their violent partners and are coping well, we are not surprised.”
Many organisations agree that punitive social workers are preventing women from reporting DV to police or to doctors for fear of losing their children. Social workers don’t seem to care that to separate a child from her or his mother is violence against the child as well as the mother with lifelong consequences for the child. We call this forced separation of child from mother STATE CHILD ABUSE.
This sadistic punishing of victims for the violence they suffered puts both child and mother in danger. If mothers cannot report attacks for fear of losing their children, they will not be able to get out of the situation and the life-threatening torture will continue.
Stop using domestic violence as a reason to take children from their mothers.
Prioritise the rights of the child to stay with the mother or extended family and halt the rush to adoption by strangers.
Give mothers the help and support they need in order to keep their children, rather than take a punitive approach.
5. Legal Aid reform is preventing women holding the authorities to account
The cuts in legal aid remove access to legal representation for everyone with low or modest income. In response to the cuts and the introduction of competitive tendering the best law firms are closing.
For years the police had immunity from being sued [civil] for negligent investigations. However, under the Human Rights Act, rape victims are beginning to take the police and CPS to court for failure to protect them from rape, domestic violence, trafficking and domestic slavery. WAR supported several such cases which will be no longer possible due to legal aid cuts. For example, in 2013 in a landmark human rights case, the daughter of a Women Against Rape volunteer won compensation from the police, following seven years of campaigning, after Southwark Sapphire lost evidence of the rape. The rapist was acquitted; we later learned he had been accused of another rape. A damning IPCC report found that all Sapphire detectives had been transferred, to prioritise motor crime over rape. Four junior officers were disciplined. But the commander who set the policy refused to be interviewed by the IPCC and went on to the National Centre for Policing Excellence.
Similarly, two victims of serial rapist John Warboys have won the right to compensation under the Act for injury they suffered from the police refusal to investigate.
Victims of rape will now be denied legal aid to get a decision judicially reviewed if a prosecution is prematurely closed.
Victims of domestic violence who didn’t report to the violence to the police or their doctor, or stay in a refuge, or have a protective injunction will also be denied legal aid.
Recommendation: Stop cuts to Legal Aid and lower the savings limit so that more people can get it.
6. Welfare Reform – massive cuts are closing our escape routes out of violence
Women, and particularly mothers, depend on welfare benefits to escape from violence as they allow for basic survival and time for recovery – for the mother as well as the traumatised children who need their mother’s presence and reassurance. Government “welfare reform” has slashed benefits, trapping women and children with violent men, and impoverishing women and children who do escape.
• Mothers of children over age five, and single women, are allowed only a three-month respite from job seeking conditions, and are sanctioned with a cut in benefit if they miss appointments.
• Crisis Loans and the Social Fund have been abolished. Many women relied on such funds to set up a new home. Local councils refuse many applications for cash help as these are discretionary.
• Traumatised rape survivors and refugee women recovering from appalling injuries, are found “fit to work” by Atos, the company in charge of applying the work capability test on those who apply for sickness benefit.
• The Benefit Cap limits a family’s total benefits to £500 a week (including housing benefit and child benefit). Mothers and children are being left with nothing after rent is paid. Rents, especially in London, are extortionate even for social housing. As a result thousands of families have already been forced out of London, away from relatives and other protective networks.
A legal challenge was brought by a number of single mother families, two of them fleeing domestic violence. Their solicitor Rebekah Carrier described the Cap as “catastrophic, cruel and arbitrary” and WAR petitioned to end it. An Early Day Motion is circulating among Members of Parliament. The Children’s Society said that 2/3 of those who will be affected are children. Despite all this, the court ruled that the Benefit Cap was legal. The legal challenge is now being taken to the Supreme Court.
Families are being left with no money for food or heating (emergency payments from the local authority are discretionary and short-term) – this in itself is a justification for children to be taken into care. Many refuges and hostels are not exempt from the Cap, so will not accept women unable to pay their high rents.
Single women escaping domestic violence are also hit by the Benefit Cap, which is £350 for a single person. As a result, there is immense pressure to stay with or return to violent men despite the risk of being injured or even murdered.
Recommendation: End the benefit cap and other welfare reform as it harms victims of violence.
7. Criminalisation of sex workers and clients make women more vulnerable to violence
We strongly oppose the blurring of the distinction between consenting sex and rape. It allows for silencing and manipulation of so called victims by people in authority who have their own political agendas.
We oppose the characterisation of sex work as violence against women. It assumes that sex workers cannot tell the difference between rape and consenting sex, and that someone else is better qualified to say what ‘protection’ they need. Criminalisation flies in the face of the anti-rape movement fighting for every woman’s right to determine what she consents to.
In December, over 200 police officers in riot gear accompanied by the media raided sex workers’ flats in Soho, London. The police action has been criticised by sex workers and local people, including the parish priest as unfair, dangerous and unlawful. While the police originally claimed they were acting to protect vulnerable women from rape and trafficking (one of whom they forced into the street in just her underwear), they later admitted that they found no victims of rape or trafficking. Their justification then changed to clamping down on harbouring stolen goods.
Actor Rupert Everett described the raid and flat closures as a ‘land grab’ for a multi-million pound development to gentrify the area.
How can police so short of officers to thoroughly investigate the rapes, sexual assaults and domestic violence that are reported to them, afford to put huge resources into cracking down on sex between consenting adults? Why are they acting for property developers rather than rape victims?
Senior police officers have publicly stated that: “[police] operations to tackle the trade are ‘counterproductive’ and likely to put the lives of women at risk9.”
According to the English Collective of Prostitutes, which supported the women throughout the raids and legal actions, Soho is the safest place in London for sex workers, in part because the women have the support of the local community. Evidence shows it is 10 times safer to work in premises than on the street, especially when working with another woman present10.
Why are the police assuming these sex workers are trafficked? Anti-trafficking enforcement actions have been shown to be punitive to victims, leading to deportation back to their country of origin. They have acted as immigration controls dressed up as safety measures. If the authorities want to stop trafficking, as we do, they need to prosecute genuine traffickers, while safeguarding and supporting victims. The “no recourse to public funds” rule works against victims who need emergency accommodation and money to live on.
We defended a victim of rape in civil war in Uganda who was made to have sex with men by the woman who brought her to the UK, who kept the money they paid. Evidence provided by Freedom from Torture and ourselves about the impact of what this victim had endured in Uganda was used by the immigration authorities against her. UKBA claimed that she was traumatised by the violence in Uganda not by the violence in the UK. So although her account of trafficking was accepted, she was considered no longer a victim of it. As a result her case to remain in the UK was refused on those grounds and she is still fighting for asylum.
As a member of the Safety First Coalition, set up after the murders of five sex workers in Ipswich, we oppose the criminalisation of clients. By driving prostitution further underground it deters women from reporting rapists and other violent men. Sex workers say the police must go after the men they have reported, not those they have not.
We have met representatives of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective and they have shown us evidence that sex workers are safer since prostitution was decriminalised there. It is galling that the UK government had not been interested in such evidence, preferring to press ahead with criminalisation.
The decriminalisation of prostitution for safety’s sake.
An end to raids, arrests and prosecutions of sex workers which all push women into danger.
An end to the use of trafficking legislation to arrest and deport immigrant sex workers rather than protect genuine victims.
28 March 2014, Women Against Rape
Contact WAR at: Crossroads Women’s Centre, 25 Wolsey Mews, London NW5 2DX.
Tel 020 7482 2496 war@womenagainstrape.net www.womenagainstrape.net
This evidence was previously submitted to the Joint Select Human Rights Committee Inquiry into Violence Against Women and Girls (UK)
1. “Police ‘culture of disbelief’ over rape claims alarms official monitoring group”, Alan Travis, The Guardian, 31 January 2014.
2. The Guardian editorial, 14 February 2014.
3. See www.ipcc.gov.uk/news/ipcc-finds-failings-working-practices-southwark-sap…
4. “Police failed to investigate sex attacks across six London boroughs A man accused of rape was allowed to walk free and kill two children as a result of a policy to manipulate crime statistics.” Vikram Dodd, The Guardian, 26 February 2013. www.theguardian.com/uk/2013/feb/26/police-failed-investigate-sex-attacks
5. “Metropolitan police facing crisis after failures in Kirk Reid rape inquiry”, Sandra Laville, The Guardian, 27 March 2009. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2009/mar/27/metropolitan-police-rape-inquiry
6. Sex crime: Yard attacked over failures in serial offender probe, with officers later promoted to top jobs, Margaret Davis, The Independent, 26 February 2013. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/sex-crime-yard-attacked-over-…
7. “False Reports of Sexual Assault: Findings on Police Practices, Laws, and Advocacy Options”. See the research at http://womenagainstrape.net/sites/default/files/final_paper_for_war_9-23…
8. http://www.frg.org.uk/images/Policy_Papers/report-about-advice-service-2007-2013.pdf
9. Chris Armitt, national police lead on prostitution and Martin Hewitt, ACPO lead on sexual offences, quoted in “Mariana Popa was killed working as a prostitute. Are the police to blame?” The Guardian 19 January 2014.
10. Hilary Kinnel, Prostitutes’ Exposure to Rape, June 1993.
Posted in Demanding Justice & Protection, import from old site | Tagged Demanding Justice and protection from the Police and CPS, UN, Women Against Rape
Read more: key points from Dr Jay’s report
Posted on August 24, 2014 by WomenAgainstRape
A Summary of issues raised in the ‘Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham (1997 – 2013)’ by Dr Alexis Jay, issued in August 2014.
Download a pdf of the full Report here
Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Exploitation in Rotherham (1997 – 2013)
Good Press report in the Telegraph
This striking report is a breakthrough but leaves many questions unanswered. See WAR’s Questions to the Home Affairs Committee.
Refusal to Investigate and Prosecute
The Report says that over 1,400 girls suffered multiple crimes including: rape, child abduction, threats with guns, being given Class A drugs and alcohol, witness intimidation such as serious injury to themselves and other members of their families. This has been known by council social services and police since at least 2004, perhaps even since the late 1990s.
“At an operational level, the police gave no priority to CSE [child sexual exploitation], regarding many child victims with contempt and failing to act on their abuse as a crime.
“Further stark evidence came in 2002, 2003 and 2006 with three reports known to the police and the council, which could not have been clearer in their description of the situation in Rotherham. The first of these reports was effectively suppressed because some senior officers disbelieved the data it contained. This had led to suggestions of cover-up. The other two reports set out the links between child sexual exploitation and drugs, guns and criminality in the borough. These reports were ignored and no action was taken to deal with the issues that were identified in them.”
No councillors or police in the area can say they didn’t know what was going on, following explicit reports by Risky Business to council meetings in 2004 and 2005 naming 50 perpetrators, including names of taxi firms, individual taxi drivers, and takeaways, and addresses where rape took place, yet no concerted action followed for years. Some interviewees told the Report writer they suspected family or business connections with taxi firms, takeaways and hotels where the girls were raped, but police said there was no evidence of this.
The Director of Education 2001-2005 raised concerns with police three times, after the heads of three schools had told her of girls being picked up at the school gates by taxi drivers for abuse. “Police watched the schools in unmarked cars but the problem persisted.” “… she described how she was shown a map of the north of England overlaid with various crime networks including ‘Drugs’, ‘Guns’, and ‘Murder’. She was told that the Police were only interested in putting resources into catching ‘the ring leaders’ who perpetrated these crimes”. . . “if they were caught, her local problems would cease.” (pp 103-4)
The police and children’s services dramatically reduced the number of girls being monitored so that only tiny numbers of girls were identified as at risk of sexual exploitation. “The Police reason for removing several girls from monitoring was they were pregnant or had given birth. All looked after children were removed from the list.” Risky Business challenged this decision. (pp 104-5)
“…Between 2007-2013, the Police undertook a series of operations, jointly coordinated and designed to investigate cases of suspected child sexual exploitation, although only one resulted in prosecution and convictions … It ended in 2010 with 5 convictions.” (p 4)
“…Operation Chard in 2011 led to abduction notices and 11 arrests but no convictions.”
Child S, aged 17, was murdered – police dismissed it as an unconnected ‘honour killing’ by her boyfriend jealous of her having sex with other men. He was convicted. Her sister had been in care and was known to have been groomed.
The Report says that the employees of the CPS dealing with CSE before 2010 have now retired.
CPS closed many of the cases because ‘they used rape myths against the victims’.
It took nine months in one case for the CPS to make a decision to take no further action against one of the perpetrators.
Rotherham councillors
No minutes were kept in 2005, when Council Leader Roger Stone chaired a group to ‘take forward’ the above issues raised by Risky Business.
Council Leader in 2006 Roger Stone told a Tory councillor not to publicly raise concerns raised by his constituents about child exploitation, and that they were being dealt with by police.
PCC Shaun Wright was aware of the scale of rape and other crime from at least 2005 as the Lead Member for Children and Young People (2005-2010).
A question of priorities
A lot of the girls were in care; why is their safety considered worth less than others?
Prostitution has been used as an excuse to ‘blame’ these rape victims by claiming it was a ‘lifestyle choice’. But many of the girls were under aged 14 at the time, and were victims of rape or paying for sex with an underage girl. When they tried to get help from police, social workers or others in authority, they were not only denied help but criminalised, as were loved ones who tried to get the rapes to stop.
Race and ethnicity were used as an excuse to justify the lack of action against the perpetrators. The Report repeats claims that the authorities feared accusations of racism if they took action. This presumes that the Asian community would stand with rapists rather than victims, which is a blatant piece of racism by the police, the council, politicians and social services. The Asian community was outraged by the perpetrators and the way victims were treated.
Since the Report was published Asian women and girls have publicly stated that Asian girls were also being raped by adults.
What were the police doing instead of investigating and arresting child rapists? S Yorkshire is the same police force found to have been acting illegally at Orgreave during the miners’ strike (1984-5) and Hillsborough.
Posted in Demanding Justice & Protection | Tagged Demanding Justice and protection from the Police and CPS, police, Rotherham, Women Against Rape
Protest against rape and racism on the day of sentencing the Oxford rapists, Old Bailey, London, 26 June 2013
Posted in Demanding Justice & Protection, import from old site | Tagged Black Women's Rape Action Project, Demanding Justice and protection from the Police and CPS, Oxford; Rochdale; police; CPS; children; justice; racism, Women Against Rape
Why do the police deal with rape cases so badly? Lisa Longstaff in the Guardian
Their record in rape cases is abysmal – and they seem to resent accountability, preferring to improve PR rather than performance
Lisa Longstaff
theguardian.com, Monday 4 March 2013 09.00 GMT
Allegations of sexual violence and cover-up are threatening every institution. Can rape be dealt with when so many in authority are themselves guilty? Of course it can. But first the police, charged with enforcing the law, must change.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) has investigated London’s Sapphire rape units nine times in seven years – that’s 19 officers disciplined, three dismissed, one imprisoned for fraudulently closing rape cases and another under investigation.
The latest IPCC report reveals the Southwark police policy to press women to withdraw or retract rape allegations. “This local standard operating procedure, authorised by senior officers, increased the number of incidents that were classified as ‘no crime’ and therefore increased the sanction detection rates for the unit” (by 25%-30%).
This was also policy in five other London boroughs. Fiddling the figures is fraud, and enabling rapists to go free amounts to criminal conspiracy. How many of the victims denied protection were raped again or worse? We already know that one alleged attacker killed his children. Were other women raped by these men? Did any victims denied justice take their own lives?
Further, victims who retract allegations can face prosecution. Layla Ibrahim and Gail Sherwood were both prosecuted in 2010 (as were at least 30 others). Both said they were pressed to retract under threat of prosecution. One did, the other refused. Both were imprisoned.
We have been campaigning against the prosecution of women who report rape. In 2011, 27 organisations signed our letter to the director of public prosecutions. He responded with guidance: the CPS should not prosecute women with mental illness, girls under 18 or victims of domestic violence. But he refused to acknowledge that negligent and biased investigations can result in jail for rape victims rather than rapists.
We are working with three women facing criminal charges. Several others were prosecuted for harassment after their rapists made counter allegations and were believed. Sex workers who reported violence were also prosecuted.
Last year, in a landmark human rights case, the daughter of a Women Against Rape volunteer won compensation from the police, following seven years of campaigning, after Southwark Sapphire lost evidence of the rape. The rapist was acquitted; we later learned he had been accused of another rape. A damning IPCC report found that Sapphire detectives were told to prioritise motor crime over rape. Four junior officers were disciplined. But the commander who set the policy went on to the National Centre for Policing Excellence – setting standards.
The IPCC now reveals that two senior officers involved in the case of serial sex offender Kirk Reid (who is thought to have assaulted between 80 and 100 women) were promoted, rather than disciplined. One later retired on full pension.
In 2009 and 2012 we met the heads of Sapphire. We demanded they stop promoting bad officers, and opposed their proposal to prosecute rapists for offences other than rape. We later wrote to DCI Duthie: “…resources will be diverted into gathering ‘intelligence’ for less serious crimes, avoiding a thorough investigation of the sexual violence allegations … Is it to do with officers having their own agenda rather than paying attention to what the victim reports?” We warned that “police priorities would again be skewed, the myth that rape is difficult to prosecute reinforced, and thus that there is no point investing too much into investigating it”.
We pointed to the separation of rape from domestic violence as a major obstacle, since more than half the rapes reported in London are by partners or ex-partners. Different units deal with each crime, so the full picture is hidden – cases are dropped or prosecutions fail.
Why do the police deal with rape so badly? Some are rapists themselves – a 2012 IPCC report, produced with the co-operation of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), looked at 54 accusations of sexual assault against officers. Some are sexist – a 2005 Home Office study revealed that many officers believed women are liars. Some are lazy or incompetent. Those officers who are committed to doing their job and seeing victims get justice clearly have less influence over priorities.
Like many in positions of power, the police seem to resent accountability. They have responded to anti-rape campaigning by improving their PR rather than their performance, and befriending the voluntary sector.
The IPCC helps them. Created to police the police, it shamelessly endorses the police claim that the problem is “historic” rather than current. In December 2012 the IPCC invited Eaves, Rape Crisis, NIA Ending Violence, Victim Support and the Havens to meet. The IPCC says all agreed that Sapphire, though patchy, has improved; all that is needed, it seems, is for frontline police to be trained in “informed consent” and “cultural issues”. Each one of these organisations (statutory or voluntary) is funded by the Home Office, the Ministry of Justice or the police. Those of us who are independent of police and government were not invited.
If senior officers were prosecuted when they pervert the course of justice, sexual violence investigations would improve. So would the behaviour of men, beginning with those in authority.
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/mar/04/police-behaviour-sex-attacks-women-change
Posted in Demanding Justice & Protection, import from old site, Story | Tagged Demanding Justice and protection from the Police and CPS, police, Women Against Rape
Police pay compensation in precedent rape claim
Posted on January 14, 2013 by BWRAP
A landmark civil suit was settled on recently with the Metropolitan police paying £15,000 damages to a woman whose rape when she was 15 was badly mishandled by a police Sapphire Team in Southwark, London. With the scandals in the news of scores of girls raped over years in Rochdale, Rotherham and by Jimmy Savile (and possibly his associates), this case puts the spotlight on the flagship Sapphire Rape Units.
Their response so far is not encouraging. Every time they have been exposed mishandling rape investigations, they have claimed that the units had been restructured and cases like this could not happen again. But they continue to happen. When asked this morning on the Today programme why then the conviction rate for reported rape remained so low, Sapphire’s head DCI Mick Duthie said that 40% of women who report rape to the Met don’t want to prosecute. This is not our experience and is given the lie by the figures. All the women who come to us wanted justice and were prevented from getting it. The Met closes over half the reported rapes, and the CPS closes a further 40% of the rest – all decisions made against victims’ wishes.
This precedent claim is based on the Human Rights Act (Articles 3 and 8) and overturns decades of legal obstruction which has prevented victims of rape from suing the police for negligent investigations. The persistence of a mother campaigning with Women Against Rape and legally represented, has opened the way for other victims of crime to hold the police to account for ineffective investigations. On the basis of this claim and what was established here, others will now hopefully be encouraged to make their case.
Commenting on the settlement, the girl’s mother said:
“The police thought we were going to give up, and unless you fight all the way, they will intimidate you and smash you down with their enormous power and resources. But we were determined to win, for my daughter and all the other girls who have been denied justice. Why should victims who are let down have to go through this?”
“The settlement is not all we wanted, but we have won a lot along the way. We got four officers disciplined. We got a personal written apology from Keir Starmer, the Director of Public Prosecutions. We got some compensation. But the most senior officer DCI Chambers was never held accountable for his actions. The trial judge criticised the police investigation and referred to non investigated issues as a disgrace. After the complaint investigation, a High Court judge said, ‘…It is reasonable to suspect that had the matter been investigated properly and the corroborative evidence obtained, the result might well have been different.’ This case has shown that the problem is not merely the ‘canteen culture’ at the lowest ranks, but the de-prioritising of rape organised from the top.”
The rape of the 15-year-old by a 28-year-old man took place in 2005. Despite the police having the attacker’s address, his vehicle registration and mobile number, it took three months of pressure by the girl’s mother, and another girl reporting the same man for rape, before he was finally arrested.
But that was not the end of the carelessness Ms X and her daughter suffered. At trial in 2006 it became clear that: the police had not interviewed potential witnesses and had lost crucial phone evidence which would have undermined the Defendant’s account. Not surprisingly, the jury did not convict, leaving the victim and her family shattered.
The man walked free and the girl’s mother contacted WAR, and soon became part of a team campaigning for justice.
Arrangements were made to speak to the media and meet both the local MP and the Borough Commander. This sparked an internal investigation by the head of the Central Sapphire Team, which found that the rape investigation had been wanting, and listed the following “mistakes”:
• “A serious stranger rape attack allocated to a PC [not a detective] to investigate.
• Failure to identify the link between the crime scene and the suspect’s vehicle.
• Failure to visit the crime scene at the earliest opportunity.
• Failure to identify the suspect and arrest at the earliest opportunity.
• Failure to properly investigate the allegation thoroughly and expeditiously, with particular emphasis on the failure to obtain correct telephone records.
• Failure to properly and effectively supervise the investigation.”
This report was not disclosed to the victim and her family until 2012, after a lengthy legal battle. Not satisfied with an apology that did not even offer any explanations, a formal complaint was lodged to the IPCC. Under pressure from the victim, her mother, Women Against Rape, and the victim’s lawyer Debaleena Dasgupta, the IPCC issued an unusually thorough and damning report in 2009. It revealed that:
• The Southwark Sapphire Rape Unit was systematically starved of resources, while resources were diverted to motor crime and robbery. At some points, the Unit was functioning without any trained detectives.
• The Unit left hundreds of rapes and sexual assaults to untrained, unqualified officers. The main officer on this case was a PC who had just joined the unit from Safer Neighbourhoods work. The PC was expected to handle over 30 cases at one time, an overwhelming number, with little or no training or supervision, and no experience of detective work.
• Officers (in this case women) who tried to get rape taken seriously and asked for more resources were rebuffed and blocked at every turn by their (male) superiors.
• Just weeks before, two of the officers in this complaint had been the subject of a complaint on another rape case in which they evaded discipline.
The IPCC report makes clear that the most junior officer struggled under an impossible workload; and while four officers were disciplined, it blames the man in charge the then Deputy Borough Commander DCI Chambers, who set the priorities and starved the Unit of resources could not be disciplined. DCI Chambers was able to refuse to be interviewed, and instead prepared a 37-page statement denying responsibility, retire from the Metropolitan Police and swiftly move to another position – at the Centre for Policing Excellence!
The girl’s mother said, “The police have been vicious in fighting our civil claim, and they fought dirty. I had to listen to them in court and felt that they were insinuating that my daughter hadn’t been raped. And when that didn’t work, they tried to minimise how ill their actions had made her – largely because of the additional trauma of being refused justice after the rape and of our family having to fight over years to get the truth disclosed. My daughter’s life has been destroyed, my 30-year marriage has ended under the stress. These injustices affect whole families and communities, and no amount of money can compensate for our loss. Do the police care? Does the Home Office care?
“This has never been about money. We wanted a declaration that my daughter’s human rights had been breached, an admission which would help to other women and girls. We were ready to go all the way to court to get it, but we were forced to settle because of costs risks – we don’t have the huge resources the police have. Working with WAR I see similar cases coming through our door all the time, so they can’t tell me this is all in the past. Victims are dismissed and ignored, especially children and teenagers. Those officers who want to do their job and complain about lack of support within the force also face obstacles.
“This case proves that the police, even when they admit mistakes, will spend lots of public money to stop victims getting justice.”
As Lisa Longstaff of WAR points out, “They keep saying that everything has changed, but these cases – from Rochdale to Southwark, from Saville to Coleman-Farrow[1] – are a continual reminder of what the police policy on rape is in practice. For many, many women, children and families, it is not just that victims are disbelieved but, believed or not, that they face at best carelessness and at worst a complete refusal by police to properly investigate rape. . There is much PR about reporting but in reality children are treated as if they are supposed to be sexually available and keep their mouth shut.”
The claimant in the case said, “I think the police really believed me, but they really didn’t care.”
For interviews contact:
Women Against Rape at 020 7482 2496, or war@womenagainstrape.net
[1] Sapphire Detective Constable Ryan Coleman-Farrow was convicted of falsifying rape records and closing cases of at least 12 survivors of rape recently.
Posted in Demanding Justice & Protection, import from old site, In the Media | Tagged civil claim, Demanding Justice and protection from the Police and CPS, Human Rights Act, Independent Police Complaints Commission, justice, Women Against Rape
Statement from rural women in India on recent events in Delhi
Posted on January 1, 2013 by WomenAgainstRape
Please help BWRAP and WAR to circulate the statement and article below:
The mass protests taking place all over India, and the international support for them, show how determined women are to end rape, and how we face similar violence and similar sexism by the authorities, wherever we are. For years our Indian sisters in Chhattisgarh have been organizing against rape and murder in the family but also by landlords, police and the military. But Dalit and Tribal women’s struggles have not been given prominence and support by the media or by most middle and upper class women in India or in the UK.
In our experience of dealing with rape and domestic violence here in the UK, the police are also the main obstacle to rape survivors getting justice. Only 6.5% of rapes in the UK end in conviction. We see daily cases dropped, as police have not gathered the evidence properly or the Crown Prosecution Service has decided it is not good enough to take to court. This is especially true for children, women of colour, women with disabilities and working class women generally. That’s why abusers and rapists like Savile and those in Rochdale and North Wales children homes and elsewhere were allowed to go for so long without being prosecuted, despite having been reported to the police and social services a number of times – vulnerable women and girls were treated as ‘plebs’ who exist to be available to sexual predators. We are even having to campaign with rape survivors imprisoned for reporting rape. Many cases of police rape have also come to light in the UK. We know these are only the tip of the iceberg.
Below are statements from a sister organisation based in 400 villages in Mahasamund, Chhattisgarh state; and comments from Arundhati Roy focusing on rape committed by police, army and others in authority, against women who have least. That these rapes are not prosecuted gives all violent men the go ahead – they know the authorities are on the side of the rapist and women are undefended.
We who are demanding justice today in India are demanding justice for all beginning with grassroots women everywhere including in the UK.
Statement from Nawa Chhattisgarh Mahila Samiti (Chhattisgarh Women’s Organisation), Chhattisgarh State, India – 6 January 2013
We condemn the gang rape and murder of the young woman in Delhi, and we demand the rapists get life imprisonment so other rapists are afraid and do not rape. In Chhattisgarh, Dalit and Tribal women and girls are being raped like the young woman in Delhi. Sometimes the media covers it but many times they don’t.
High level people who rape women, girls and boys should also be punished as many times they are not. This is happening in many countries. Our law is made by the government and it should be used against the high level people including if they are in government.
For many years in India there has been a grassroots movement of Dalit and Tribal women against rape. Nawa Chhattisgarh Mahila Samiti (NCMS) is part of this movement and has been working against rape since 1987 — in our area, 3,000 Dalit and Tribal women in NCMS have been fighting it. Women and girls are raped by high caste men, landlords and policemen. We help Dalit and Tribal women report rape and demand the police take statements, gather evidence and bring a prosecution of the rapist. Sometimes in the village area, up to 500 women go together to protest against a rapist at his house and shout against rape. Then the women go to the police station and demand the police file a report and punish the rapist. Last year government soldiers were raping women in the Tribal area, Bastar (Chhattisgarh) and in Kashmir but were not punished. We have campaigned to get bicycles for Tribal girls to go to school as school is far from their homes and this has also helped them not get harassed on the way.
In 2003 a police constable raped a 5 year old girl in Raipur. NCMS supported the girl and her family and helped the family get compensation from the government for the hospital costs for the young girl who had been severely injured. The policeman was prosecuted and imprisoned. This is one case of many where we help women and girls get justice against rape.
Naya Zamaana Aayega! A New Age is Coming!
* NCMS is an anti-racist organisation of Adivasi (Tribal) and Dalit women campaigning against bonded labour; rape, low and unequal pay and other discrimination. It brings together people from these two communities who are divided by landowners and other employers, police and government. NCMS is part of the Global Women’s Strike network.
Police, army rampantly use rape as weapon: Arundhati Roy
Published: Monday, Dec 31, 2012, 11:58 IST
Place: London | Agency: DNA
Reacting to the terrible news of the 23-year-old girl succumbing to injuries sustained while fighting off her rapists in a moving bus in the capital, Arundhati Roy warns that it is a sign of forebodings for women of all classes. About the massive outpouring of protests across the country, Roy said, “While we are seeing some very unexceptional reaction to an event which is hardly exceptional, though it’s a terrible thing to call a tragic event ‘exceptional’.
“However, the real problem is why is this crime creating such a lot of outrage is because it plays into the idea of the criminal poor, like the vegetable vendor, gym instructor or bus driver actually assaulting a middle class girl. Whereas when rape is used as a means of domination by upper castes, the army or the police it is not even punished,” said the feted author.
When asked if there was any chance that these huge protests are going to ring in some genuine change, Roy said, “I think it will lead to some new laws perhaps, an increased surveillance, but all of that will protect middle class women. But in cases of the army and the police as perpetrators, we are not looking for laws. What do you do when the police themselves burn down villages, gang-rape women. I have personally listened to so many testimonies of women to whom this has been done.”
Pointing to the contrast between the actual truth about women across the country and the image of modern India being portrayed by Bollywood and the hi-tech India, the author agreed that there are quite many a world competing here. “Feudal India has a huge history and legacy of disrespect and violence against women. Any accounts of Partition or what is done to Dalit women contains that but now there is sort of psychosis,” she said. See the YouTube video
While stating that the army and the police routinely use rape as a weapon against people in places like Chhattisgarh, Kashmir and Manipur after gaining impunity behind laws like Armed Forces Special Powers Act, Roy said, “More dangerous is the widening gap between the rich and the poor. Earlier, at least the rich did what they with a fair amount of discretion, but now it’s all out there on television for conspicuous consumption and there is an anger and psychosis building up and women at the top, middle and the bottom are going to pay the price for it.”
Posted in Demanding Justice & Protection, import from old site | Tagged Black Women's Rape Action Project, Demanding Justice and protection from the Police and CPS, India, Women Against Rape
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007 One by One: ‘You Only Live Twice’
Posted by Bob Westal (01/04/2013 @ 3:25 pm)
Bullz-Eye is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first James Bond film with look back at every Bond movie, 007 One by One, along with a series of features about the Bond franchise, all laid out in our James Bond Fan Hub.
As the worldwide spy craze peaks, the James Bond series settles in for the long, tongue-in-cheek haul with this often maligned but very enjoyable entry, introducing the world to both ninjas and the original Dr. Evil. It also might have been the final appearance of Sean Connery as 007, except that it wasn’t.
A United States space capsule is hijacked, killing one astronaut. Naturally, the Americans assume the Soviets are at fault and world war seems a real possibility. There’s only one thing for the level-headed English to do: Stage James Bond’s death and send him on an undercover mission to Japan to expose SPECTRE head Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s plot to dominate the world by partially destroying it.
With enormous success comes enormous pressures and change was very definitely in the air as “You Only Live Twice” began production. Now one of the world’s most bankable stars after the mega-success of “Thunderball,” Sean Connery was contractually on board for only one more film and starting to be seriously fed up with all the 007 insanity.
Behind the camera, original Bond director Terrence Young had had his fill and “Goldfinger” helmer Guy Hamilton was unavailable. Editor and second unit director Peter Hunt, who had been instrumental in the series’ creative success, badly wanted to helm the project, but producers Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman apparently weren’t ready for a first timer for Bond #5. Therefore, a new recruit was sought out to join the small fraternity of James Bond directors.
An old hand at period pieces and war films, Lewis Gilbert was hot off an Oscar nomination for a classic-to-be about a compulsive womanizer who could give Bond a run for his money. “Alfie” starred Connery’s good friend, fellow movie spy, and now award-winning box office rival, Michael Caine.
Lewis Gilbert also brought along one of the very few directors of photography who could have reasonably stepped into the very big shoes of series regular Ted Moore. Freddie Young had won the first of his four Oscars a couple of years prior for David Lean’s visually stunning 1963 70mm masterpiece, “Lawrence of Arabia.” For the sake of keeping things consistent, all the other key collaborators, were back on board in their regular roles, i.e., composer John Barry, credit designer Maurice Binder, and production designer Ken Adam. For once, they’d all have a nice budget to play with, too.
The script, however, was an issue. The novel “You Only Live Twice,” was the last Bond book published in Ian Fleming’s lifetime and the story was problematic for more than one reason. For starters, it was actually the third and final installment in what literary Bond fans call “the Blofeld Trilogy.” EON’s original intent had been to film the books in their original order. That way Blofeld, who had been teased as a character starting in “Dr. No,” would get his long-delayed onscreen introduction in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and finally suffer James Bond’s revenge in the follow-up, “You Only Live Twice.” Unfortunately, logistics made the ski chalet setting of “Majesty” impractical for the summer release EON and United Artists had their hearts set on.
The other problem was that the plot of Ian Fleming’s novel, which involved Blofeld setting up a lavish sanitarium for wealthy suicides, just didn’t seem to be the stuff of a James Bond movie. It also ended with Bond fathering a child with Kissy Suzuki. Only a few elements from the book would remain in the finished movie, most notably the Japanese setting, love interest Kissy, and friendly spy boss Tiger Tanaka.
There was also a problem with finding a writer. Richard Maibum, who had worked on every Bond up to this point, was deemed unavailable. A rumored screenplay by renowned author Kingsley Amis had been reportedly dismissed. Another script was commissioned by writer Harold Jack Bloom, but little of his work would remain in the finished film.
The final choice of screenwriter turned out to be an interesting one. Decades after his death, Roald Dahl remains one of the world’s most popular children’s writers with such film-friendly classics as “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Fantastic Mr. Fox,” “The Witches,” “Matilda,” and “James and the Giant Peach” all too his credit. He might have seemed a far likelier choice for writing an adaptation of Ian Fleming’s children’s book, “Chitty Chitty Bang-Bang,” the gig that was apparently keeping Richard Maibum busy. Nevertheless, Dahl had written his share of adult thrillers and had actually performed wartime espionage and been friends with Fleming. Scads of 007-inspired spy spoofs were upping the humor ante and this would be a somewhat more tongue-in-cheek Bond. Dahl’s dark sense of humor would be a plus.
The main thrust of the film’s new plot was apparently invented by Cubby Broccoli, however. Upon seeing a dormant volcano while scouting locations, he came up with the idea of using it as a giant villain’s lair. With the U.S.-Soviet space race at full swing, the Russian-Chinese split a topical news item, and terrorism on the rise, the idea of SPECTRE hijacking spacecrafts in order to start a world war on behalf of Red Chinese clients seemed like a natural.
The Bond Girls (Rule of 3 + 1)
Once again, 007 does the espionage nasty with three beautiful women on his Japan adventure. Shockingly, however, the movie’s main love interest is not one of them.
Ling (Tsai Chow) — This lovely lady of Hong Kong engages in mildly racist pillow talk with Bond and then reveals herself to be an accomplice in the spy’s elaborately faked death. Though her part is small, actress Tsai Chow was already a recording artists and a major star of the London stage in “South Pacific” and “The World of Suzie Wong.” Her very long film career would include parts in “The Joy Luck Club,” “Memoirs of a Geisha,” and the 2006 Bond reboot, “Casino Royale.”
Helga Brandt (Karen Dor) — The latest Bond villainess with preying mantis-like tendencies, the dangerous Ms. Brandt is the secretary/in-house assassin of the wealthy SPECTRE operative, Mr. Osato. She has her way with Bond, then fails at killing him. It’s only natural that she winds up a victim of SPECTRE’s signature approach to personnel management, which in her case means being fed to the CEO’s pet piranhas. Actress Karen Dor has enjoyed a very long career in German films and television that continues to this day. She also appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s unsuccessful spy thriller, “Topaz,” and the modestly titled horror flick, “The Torture Chamber of Dr. Sadism.”
Posted in: Entertainment, Movies
Tags: 007, 007 50th anniversary, 007 drinks, 007 fan hub, 007 fans, 007 films, 007 gadgets, 007 guns, 007 movies, 007 One by One, 007 villains, Aki, Akiko Wakabayashi, beautiful Bond women, Bernard Lee, best Bond movie moments, Bond babes, Bond films, Bond gadgets, Bond girls, Bond movies, Bond one by one, Bond villains, Burt Kwouk, Charles Gray, classic Bond gadgets, Desmond Llewelyn, Dikko Henderson, Donald Pleasence, Dr. Evil, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Freddie Young, Hans, Helga Brandt, helicopter, iconic James Bond moments, James Bond, James Bond 007, James Bond 50th anniversary, James Bond actresses, James Bond babes, James Bond blog, James Bond craze, James Bond drinks, James Bond Fan Hub, James Bond fans, James Bond franchise, James Bond girls, James Bond guns, James Bond henchmen, James Bond movies, James Bond music, James Bond nemesis, James Bond villains, James Bond violence, John Barry, Karen Dor, Ken Adam, Kissy Suzuki, Lewis Gilbert, license to kill, Ling, Little Nellie, Lois Maxwell, M Bond, Maurice Binder, memorable Bond scenes, Michael Chow, Mie Hama, Moneypenny, Mr. Osato, Nancy Sinatra, Ninja cigarettes, Q Bond, Roald Dahl, Ronald Rich, Sean Connery, SPECTRE, SPECTRE #3, SPECTRE #4, supervillains, Teru Shimada, Tetsurō Tamba, Tiger Tanaka, Tsai Chow, villain's lair, Walther PPK, water-proof sarcophagus, You Only Live Twice
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Governor's Volunteer Service Award nominations due Feb. 15
Award recipients will be recognized during a special luncheon in Springfield
Send a link to a friend
[February 02, 2013] SPRINGFIELD -- The Serve Illinois Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service is accepting nominations for the fourth annual Governor's Volunteer Service Awards until Feb. 15. The awards recognize individual volunteers through a statewide award program to highlight the importance of volunteerism and community service in the state of Illinois.
Individual awards will be presented to one youth 18 years and under, one adult 19-54 years old, and one retiree or senior 55 years and older in each of the commission's five service regions across the state -- Northeast, Northwest, East Central, West Central and Southern. National Service Awards will be presented to one AmeriCorps and one Senior Corps member in each of the five regions. One award will be provided to a business in each of the five service regions. Within each category, applications will be given special priority based on these subject areas: economic opportunity, education, environmental conservation, disaster preparedness and response, health, and veterans affairs.
Visit www.serve.illinois.gov for the nomination forms and more information.
Nominations are due to Serve Illinois by Feb. 15. Award recipients will be selected and notified by March 30. The Serve Illinois Commission will host a luncheon to honor recipients on April 18 at the executive mansion in Springfield.
The Serve Illinois Commission is a 40-member bipartisan board appointed by the governor and administered by the Illinois Department of Human Services. Its mission is to improve Illinois communities by enhancing traditional volunteer activities and supporting national service programs, including the Illinois AmeriCorps program.
[Text from Illinois Department of Human Services file received from the Illinois Office of Communication and Information]
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Isaac Bashevis Singer
Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Polish-born Jewish writer in Yiddish, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.
The Polish form of his birth name was Icek Hersz Zynger. He used his mother’s first name in an initial literary pseudonym, Izaak Baszewis, which he later expanded.
21st November, 1902
"Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression."
― Isaac Bashevis Singer
Topic(s): Art
"I did not become a vegetarian for my health, I did it for the health of the chickens."
Topic(s): Environmental
"The very essence of literature is the war between emotion and intellect, between life and death. When literature becomes too intellectual – when it begins to ignore the passions, the emotions – it becomes sterile, silly, and actually without substance."
Topic(s): Death
"Life is God’s novel. Let him write it."
Topic(s): God
"Kindness, I’ve discovered, is everything in life."
Topic(s): Life
"Doubt is part of all religion. All the religious thinkers were doubters."
Topic(s): Religion
"I am thankful, of course, for the prize and thankful to God for each story, each idea, each word, each day."
Topic(s): Thankful
"A happy wife is a happy life." ― Gavin Rossdale
"Literature is a state of culture, poetry is a state of grace, before and after culture." ― Juan Ramon Jimenez
"I had only two offers of marriage in my life, and I refused both." ― Catherine Helen Spence
"Poetry has the virtue of being able to say twice as much as prose in half the time, and the drawback, if you do not give it your full attention, of seeming to say half as much in twice the time." ― Christopher Fry
"Do something you really like, and hopefully it pays the rent. As far as I’m concerned, that’s success." ― Tom Petty
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1933, Stunts
Max Baer, Primo Carnera and The Prizefighter and the Lady
October 5, 2015 Donovan Montierth Leave a comment
In the early days of film, fight scenes were “staged” but real. They didn’t learn to fake their punches for the camera until the early 30’s and even then used that type of filming trick sparingly. In this case, where real Boxers were used for the Prizefighter and the Lady, there was no doubt that these matches were going to be real but choreographed. The film climaxes with a heavily hyped fight between Max Baer and Primo Carnera. Primo was the real-life World Heavyweight Champion and Max (the star of the film) was in real-life, his main contender for the title. The shooting of this scene was a major event on the set. People came from far and wide to watch the thrilling fight being filmed. Former Heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey was an added treat playing the referee.
The fight scenes were so real, that Max knocked out 2 teeth during one of the “staged” fights in this film. Interestingly, Max Baer beat Primo Carnera in real-life the very next year for the World Heavyweight title, knocking him down a record 11 times in what was written about later as a major beating. Myrna Loy also admitted in an interview later that Max studied Primo’s boxing techniques intently during the film and claimed that he used this “scouting” knowledge to beat him for the title. It’s also interesting to note that Max did not wear a robe with his name on it for the real title fight, he wore the robe he used in this film with his character Steve Morgan’s name on the back. People said he did this to try and get in Primo’s head. The Prizefighter and the Lady was Max Baer’s first acting role and he’s fantastic. He goes on to act in over 20 more movies and TV shows over the years. The Prizefighter and the Lady was directed by W.S. Van Dyke for MGM.
Things to look up (go to IMDB ):
Max Baer
Primo Carnera
The Prizefighter and the Lady
W.S. Van Dyke
Glossary of stunt terms as defined by the book, “FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY” by John Kreng:
Exchange – A series of techniques thrown between combatants without an extended break or pause. A fight scene is usually made up of several exchanges between opponents.
Fight Scene – A fight scene is much like dialogue in the script—it needs to progress at a steady pace. Much like in real life, dialogue can get very tedious and cover the same issue over and over, not really leading anywhere specific. A fight can easily be the same way if you are not aware of the different types of repetition. Also, each successive fight in an action film should be more difficult and exciting than most of the ones that came before, otherwise the overall progression of the film’s intensity will likewise be flat and repetitive.
Check out our new Book, 100 Years of the Best Movie Stunts!
Jack DempseyMax BaerMyrna LoyPrimo CarneraW.S. Van Dyke
Previous PostThe Cast of IntoleranceNext PostStunt Men of Lawrence of Arabia
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Posted on May 12, 2009 June 28, 2015 by Roberta
The State(s) of Children’s Books
Edit: Click on the Wrapped in Foil Website – Reading through the States – for even more books by state. The state names in this post are now linked to a list of books for that state.
A few days ago, I saw a post in On Living By Learning entitled “So Many Places to See.” Sandra Foyt says she is planning to travel this summer and she adds, “I’d also like to add a bit of Storybook Travel by stopping at sites that are the setting for children’s books.”
This post inspired me to write down a list of books for children and young adults with strong settings in US, at least one for each of the 50 states. It took me longer than I expected, but it was fun. I think this list might be useful for reading groups who want to read their way through the states, as well as for writers who want to explore how others have handled the issue of setting. Of course, it would be terrific to have the opportunity to see all the places the authors wrote about as well.
Alabama Moon by Watt Key
About a boy named Moon who is raised in the forest by his dad. When the land is sold and his dad dies, Moon faces many challenges (including time in jail).
Williwaw! by Tom Bodett
This story is a family-friendly action adventure about a brother and sister living in rural Alaska who fry the family’s radio, their only means of communication.
Brighty: Of the Grand Canyon by Marguerite Henry and Wesley Dennis (Illustrator)
This book is a classic. It is the tale of actual incidents in the life of a burro that lives in the Grand Canyon.
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
This is a sad, complicated tale of a Jewish girl living in a small Arkansas town who meets an escaped German prisoner of war during WWII.
The California Library Association has two lists of books set in California available in .pdf format (fiction and nonfiction) at EUREKA! California in Children’s Literature
Orphan Runaways by Kristiana Gregory
Danny and Judd run away from an orphanage in 1879 California. They head for the mining town of Bodie, where they hope to find their uncle.
Colorado (Colorado Rockies)
Bearstone by Will Hobbs
Story of Cloyd, an American Indian boy who is sent to live with an old farmer in the Colorado Rockies when nothing else seems to work out.
Children’s and Young Adult Fiction Set in Connecticut
Down the Rabbit Hole (An Echo Falls Mystery) by Peter Abrahams
In this mystery for children, eight grader Ingrid Levin-Hill works to solve a murder case.
Red Knot: A Shorebird’s Incredible Journey by Nancy Carol Willis
Although the bird in this nonfiction book migrates long distances, one important stop on the way is Delaware Bay.
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
A boy discovers new friends and burrowing owls after moving to Coconut Grove, Florida. Hiaasen has written numerous quirky books for adults and this book is also filled with unusual characters.
Simon and the Game of Chance by Robert Burch
Robert Burch tells the story of the Bradley family that live in the small town of Redwood, which was gradually becoming a suburb of Atlanta.
Eyes of the Emperor by Graham Salisbury
This book is the account of a Japanese American who enlists in the US Army during World War II. (For older kids)
The Garden of Eden Motel by Morse Hamilton
Dal moves with his step-father to rural Eden, Idaho during the 1950’s.
A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories by Richard Peck
Joe and Mary Alice Dowdel go to visit their lively grandmother who lives in a sleepy Illinois town during the 1930’s.
The Beef Princess of Practical County by Michelle Houts
Squashed by Joan Bauer
This is a story about growing up while trying to grow a prize-winning pumpkin.
Grasslands by Debra Seely
A story that explores life in Kansas during the 1880’s.
Tarantula Shoes by Tom Birdseye
When he and his family move from Arizona to Kentucky, Ryan’s life changes in more ways than one.
My Louisiana Sky by Kimberly Willis Holt
In this book set in the 1950s in Saitter, Louisiana, twelve-year-old Tiger Ann Parker, the normal child of “slow parents” (their words), tells the story of the summer she learns to accept the challenges her parents present.
One Morning in Maine by Robert McCloskey
Sal, of Blueberries For Sal fame, is losing a tooth. Although for the younger set, worth a revisit.
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry and Wesley Dennis (Illustrator)
Okay, so it is off the coast of Maryland. The story of the wild ponies that live on Chincoteague Island.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Although Little Women is set in New England, the Alcott family home is in Concord, Massachusetts.
The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
Describes the life of an American Indian girl during a smallpox outbreak. Sad, but excellent.
Minn of the Mississippi by Holling Clancy Holling
Minn is a snapping turtle who begins a journey along the Mississippi river.
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor
Unlike many other Black families in Mississippi during the Great Depression, Cassie Logan’s family owns a farm. They struggle against racism in many forms.
Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School by Eleanora E. Tate
Twelve-year-old Margie’s father entertains her with stories about people and events in their small Missouri town’s past.
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Hattie Brooks leaves Iowa in 1918 and travels to a Montana homestead inherited from her uncle.
Worth by A. LaFaye
When Nate’s leg is crushed at his 19th-century Nebraska homestead, John Worth, a boy taken off the orphan train helps take up the slack.
Rhyolite: The True Story of a Ghost Town by Diane Siebert and David Frampton (Illustrator)
Lucy’s Summer by Donald Hall and Michael McCurdy (Illustrator)
Lucy is seven when she spends the summer at her family’s New Hampshire farm.
Everybody Moos At Cows by Lisa Funari-Willever, Elaine Poller (Illustrator), and Glenn Byrne (Illustrator)
The author says this tale was inspired by New Jersey, based on her experiences growing up there.
Georgia O’Keeffe (Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Artists) by Mike Venezia
The city:
The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden and Garth Williams (Illustrator)
In this classic, Chester Cricket comes to New York City’s Times Square by mistake.
Upstate:
A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly
A young adult novel that is about a girl torn between her family and her future, set in 1906 in the Adirondacks.
Surviving the Applewhites by Stephanie S. Tolan
Previously reviewed in this blog
Lentil by Robert McCloskey
For younger children (ages 4-8)
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse
Henry and Beezus (Henry Huggins) by Beverly Cleary
Many of Beverly Cleary books were set in Portland.
The Cubby Files; Tales of a Pennsylvania Black Bear Growing Up by John P. Irwin
Bet you didn’t know there were black bears in Pennsylvania.
Finding Providence: The Story of Roger Williams by Avi and James Watling (Illustrator)
The Girl Who Ate Chicken Feet by Sandy Richardson
This is a book that about ten-year-old Amy Claire who lives in Midville, South Carolina in 1960, to the backdrop of the civil rights movement.
Grasshopper Summer by Ann Turner and Erika Meltzer (Illustrator)
It’s actually set in the Dakota Territory after the civil war.
Tennessee/Appalachia
Daniel’s Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla and Joan Sandin (Illustrator)
Set in Tennessee during the pioneer days, this tale of a youngster who is bothered when other laugh at his woodcarving, is for ages 4-8.
The Underneath by Kathi Appelt and David Small (Illustrator) an Ala Notable Children’s Book
Magical tale about a mother cat that befriends an old hound dog.
The Great Brain by John D. Fitzgerald and Mercer Mayer (Illustrator)
Set in 1890’s Utah, this is one of those rare books that almost everyone enjoys.
The Night the Bells Rang by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock and Leslie W. Bowman (Illustrator)
This book is about a boy in rural Vermont coming to terms with the fact a boy who bullied him has been killed in WWI.
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson and Donna Diamond (Illustrator)
Jesse really wants to be the fastest fifth grader in his rural Virginia town, but Leslie the new girl beats him. What will he do?
Larry Gets Lost in Seattle by John Skewes and Robert Schwartz
Cute book that seems to appeal to a range of ages.
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and Barry Moser (Illustrator)
A classic tale of a boy and his dog, who he rescues from an abusive owner.
Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer
Hope moves from New York to a small town in Wisconsin, where she works in a restaurant and learns some lessons about life.
Shane by Jack Schaefer and Wendell Minor (Illustrator)
Although considered young adult, this classic western is showing up on a lot of middle grade reading lists.
That’s it. Hope you enjoy some of these books and find this list useful. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
CategoriesChildren's Books by State Setting Tagschidren's books by state setting, children's books by state, state books for kids
3 Replies to “The State(s) of Children’s Books”
Sandra Foyt says:
This is fabulous! I have a few suggestions from Colleen Dunn Bates & Susan Latempa’s Storybook Travels, but this adds many more. You might also like to see this Google Map of Children’s Historical Fiction US sites:
http://spedr.com/3ihzp
Thank you so much for providing this list! I am a children’s musician and have been putting together a new CD which takes children on a musical adventure across the country searching for children’s literature connections, cool places to visit and “weird” things. The CD will include a map with a book suggestion for every state, and your blog has been an invaluable resource and will be cited in my liner notes.
I can’t thank you enough!
Pingback: How To Plan A Read Across America Road Trip — The Journey Mom
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Name Change: It’s Now IFAS Communication Services
Mike Martin (352) 392-1971
Ashley Wood (352) 392-7228 ext. 293
GAINESVILLE—Mike Martin, University of Florida vice president for agriculture and natural resources, has announced a name change for the Educational Media and Services (EMS) unit in the UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Effectively immediately, EMS will be identified as IFAS Communication Services (ICS).
“The state and national visibility of UF/IFAS programs is more important than ever before,” Martin said. “The new name is a simpler, more concise way of identifying the many essential support services this unit provides to our statewide faculty and staff. We do not anticipate any change in the range of services provided by the unit.”
Ashley Wood, director of ICS, said the new name is more congruent with other communication units at the UF and was approved by the UF Communications Network, which includes all UF communication programs.
“As a part of the Florida FIRST (Focusing IFAS Resources on Solutions for Tomorrow) strategic planning effort, we are reviewing every aspect of our communication program to become more responsive to the needs of UF/IFAS faculty and staff across the state,” he said.
“We look forward to working more closely with faculty and staff who depend upon our services,” Wood said. “We will continue to provide high quality communication products and services, including news and photography, television/video production, distance education, graphic design, exhibits, for-sale publications, printing services and special projects.”
by BLOGS.IFAS
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The Mission of UF/IFAS is to develop knowledge in agricultural, human and natural resources and to make that knowledge accessible to sustain and enhance the quality of human life. While extending into every community of the state, UF/IFAS has developed an international reputation for its accomplishments in teaching, research, and extension.
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Pope was in conflict with conservative Catholics in his Archdiocese
What was Bergoglio's conflict with the Instituto El Verbo Encarnado? That group was born in San Rafael, Mendoza, founded by Father Carlos Miguel Buela, who had come from Buenos Aires. It's a terribly right-wing order that, however, has a lot of priestly vocations (Cathcon- everything is very right wing to the very progressive Catholic who wrote this) -- everywhere, the right-wingers usually have many, many vocations. But this group is so far right that it had confrontations with almost all of the Argentine bishops, to the point that the full Bishops Conference went to see John Paul II to ask him to act on this Institute. But an Argentine layman, the former ambassador to the Holy See during the Carlos Menem administration who had a lot of contacts in the Roman Curia, and the [Vatican] Secretary of State, Angelo Sodano, not only ignored the bishops' request, but in San Rafael a bishop was appointed who was a friend of the Instituto, priestly ordinations from this group were authorized in Buenos Aires, which were performed by Aguer, and José Luis Mollaghan, the only one who hadn't condemned the group, was named archbishop of Rosario. In the Bishops Conference, Bishop Estanislao Karlic and Bishop Guillermo Rodríguez Melgarejo, who was secretary of the Conference, had to resign. I don't think those of El Verbo Encarnado are celebrating Bergoglio's appointment.
Cathcon- if this is how the Pope dealt with a mainstream conservative group, one can guess what he thinks of traditional Catholics.
This is a video of their apostolate
The full article also touches the relationship with Archbishop Aguer, cited also today on CathCon. Monsignor Aguer is an exemplary bishop who never feels inhibited in criticising the secularising errors of the modern world.
Many videos here, unfortunately all, as far as I can see, in Spanish.
Of even more concern, is the Pope's attitude to power- full article here on the Pope of Surprises.
This has been noted about him. Bergoglio prefers for himself the simple title of “bishop of Rome,” and is silent about his power as head of the universal Church, in spite of the fact that this power has been confirmed very forcefully by Vatican Council II.
His autobiography states:
"When a pope or a teacher must say 'I am in charge here,' or 'I am the superior here,' it is because he has already lost authority and is seeking to attribute it to himself with words. Saying that one has the staff of command implies that one no longer has it. Having the staff of command does not mean giving orders and imposing, but serving.”
That is, it seems that Bergoglio does not want to proclaim but to exercise his supreme power as successor of Peter.
Cathcon- what he says is that he does not want to exercise it either. He has no hope of reforming the Curia on this basis.
In effect, in the discourses and homilies from the beginning of his pontificate, Bergoglio has so far avoided touching upon the questions that see the Church most set against worldly powers.
In the discourse to the diplomatic corps he remained silent about the threats to religious freedom, just as in his other statements he has avoided any reference to the critical areas of birth, death, the family.
But in his autobiographical interview, Bergoglio recalls that Benedict XVI also decided to remain silent on one occasion (Cathcon- just one occasion):
"When Benedict XVI went to Spain in 2006, everyone thought that he would criticize the government of Rodriguez Zapatero because of its divergences with the Catholic Church on various issues. Someone even asked him if he had addressed the issue of homosexual marriage with the Spanish authorities. But the pope said no, he had only spoken about positive things and the rest would come later. He wanted to suggest that first of all one must emphasize the positive things, those that unite us, and not the negative ones that serve only to divide. The priority must be given to the encounter among persons, to making the journey together. In this way, afterward it will be easier to tackle the differences."
Cathcon- a pastor leads, he does not encounter (whatever that may mean) the flock. He strangely was not conflict averse when taking on the Instituto El Verbo Encarnado.
The Pope is, in the words of the job title used since the reign of Pope St Gregory the Great
Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ, Successor of the Prince of the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church, Patriarch of the West (Cathcon- a title laid aside by Pope Benedict XVI- an action attracting critical comment from the Moscow Patriarchate, as this is a title they are entirely at ease with, unlike the claim to be Vicar of Christ). Primate of Italy, Servant of the Servants of God; Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Roman Province, Sovereign of the State of the Vatican City.
His calling is as prophet, priest and monarch.
From ChrisG Labels: Argentina, Instituto El Verbo Encarnado, Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis
Supertradmum said...
Does a New World Pope understand monarchy and hierarchy? Could there be a problem with the American, both North and South, experience which would cause a misunderstanding of the role of the Pope in the world?
The European popes had an understanding of hierarchy in their blood...
Woody said...
Supertradmum's point is well taken, as always, but I would also ask, is not the protection and employment of the legitimate powers and distinctions of a particular office a part of the duty of state of the person holding that office? And may it not also be a part of the exercise of the virtue of order to act according to the hierarchical status that one has been entrusted with? So, for example, parents do not go out dancing with the friends of their children, and employers do not bare their souls to their employees (or should not).
Pope was in conflict with conservative Catholics i...
Pope mistakes youthful Cardinal for a seminarian
Father Cantalamessa sets out modernising agenda fo...
Opposition from within Argentinian church hierarch...
CathCon in the international news
Episcopal successor of Pope accused of covering up...
Catholic-bashers have embellished the truth about ...
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Disney to Preview STAR WARS, CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR, and More at D23 2015
Disney has announced the full lineup for its main series of panels at the upcoming D23 Expo, and it’s a lot of what we expected—but that doesn’t make it any less exciting. The studio’s live-action presentation on Saturady, titled “Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at The Walt Disney Studios” will feature special guests and a first look at films like Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Jungle Book, Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, “and much, much more.”
And on the animation side, Friday’s Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios presentation, hosted by John Lasseter, will offer an in-depth look at Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory and Disney Animation’s Zootopia and Moana. This presentation will also play host to musical performances, appearances by the films’ stars, and “surprise announcements,” so look for Pixar to announce a couple of upcoming projects.
Take a closer look at the various panels below, via Disney. D23 Expo takes place August 14 – 16th in Anaheim, and you can be sure Collider will have extensive coverage from the event. For more information, visit D23Expo.com.
HALL D23 PRESENTATIONS:
Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios: The Upcoming Films, Hosted by John Lasseter
Friday, August 14, 3:00 pm – Hall D23
After meeting the Emotions inside the mind of an 11-year-old, taking a trip to San Fransokyo, where a boy genius and his robot save the world, and falling in love with a queen with icy powers who wants to “let it go,” come see where Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios plan to take you next. In what has become a D23 EXPO must-see, host John Lasseter, chief creative officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, presents this in-depth look at the animation studios’ slate. Filmmakers will unveil never-before-seen footage from Pixar’s upcoming The Good Dinosaur and Finding Dory and Disney Animation’s Zootopia and Moana. The event will include surprise announcements, musical performances, and appearances by the films’ star voice talent.
Worlds, Galaxies, and Universes: Live Action at The Walt Disney Studios
Saturday, August 15, 10:30 am – Hall D23
Disney, Marvel and Lucasfilm are home to some of the planet’s best storytellers, immersing audiences fully in the world of each film from beginning to end and beyond. In this exclusive Hall D23 presentation, join Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn for a tour of upcoming live-action projects from these legendary film studios. A bevy of special guests will be on hand to offer a look at an unparalleled slate that includes Alice Through the Looking Glass, The Jungle Book, Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, Star Wars: The Force Awakens—and much, much more.
Image via Lucasfilm
Frozen FANdemonium: A Musical Celebration!
Sunday, August 16, 3:00 pm – Hall D23
Join host Chris Montan, president, Walt Disney Music, and the Oscar®-winning songwriting team of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez as they take you on a once-in-a-lifetime musical journey through the world of Frozen. This one-day-only performance features your favorite friends from the Walt Disney Animation Studios film—including Anna and Elsa––with sing-along experiences and fascinating stories behind some of your favorite Frozen songs.
CALENDAR OF KEY EVENTS:
In Conversation with the Filmmakers and the Emotions Behind Inside Out
Friday, August 14, 11:30 am – Stage 28
Get the inside story on the making of Pixar’s latest summer release, Inside Out. Hear from Academy Award®-winning director Pete Docter (Up, Monsters, Inc.) and producer Jonas Rivera (Up) as they reminisce and share their personal stories of creating a world that everyone knows, but no one has ever seen.
Image via Disney
Welcome to Zootopia!
Saturday, August 15, 1:30 pm – Stage 28
Welcome to Zootopia, a magnificent mammal metropolis, and home to Walt Disney Animation Studios’ next feature, the comedy-adventure Zootopia. Join directors Byron Howard (Tangled, Bolt) and Rich Moore (Wreck-It Ralph), producer Clark Spencer (Wreck-It Ralph, Bolt), and artists from the incredible production team as they introduce rookie rabbit-officer Judy Hopps, con-artist fox Nick Wilde and a host of dynamic animal characters, sharing footage and behind-the-scenes stories with D23 EXPO-goers.
Pixar Secrets Revealed! Hear the Stories They Didn’t Want You to Know!
Ever wonder where your favorite Pixar stories began? Hear the stories you don’t know about the classic films that you love. Pixar senior development executive Mary Coleman hosts this experience, welcoming the storytellers behind some of Pixar’s most successful films, including Darla K. Anderson (A Bug’s Life,Monsters, Inc., Cars, Toy Story 3), Mark Andrews (The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Brave), Ronnie del Carmen (Up, Inside Out) and Dan Scanlon (Cars, Toy Story 3, Monsters University), as they talk about the twists and turns of crafting a narrative and share some of the crazy story ideas that didn’t make the final cut.
Toy Story: 20 Years Later, the Original Crew Looks Back
From flipbooks to feature films, animation has taken audiences to fantastical new worlds, far beyond the limits of any real-world setting. Pixar Animation Studios has been at the forefront of this evolution, blurring the line between art and technology and bringing beloved characters to life with heart and humor. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of 1995’s Toy Story, the first computer-animated feature film, join members of the original crew, including filmmakers John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, Galyn Susman, Ralph Eggleston, Sharon Calahan, Eben Ostby, Bob Pauley and Bill Reeves as they share their stories and the challenges they faced along the way.
Aladdin – The Making of a Classic
Join Walt Disney Animation Studios filmmakers, including legendary directors John Musker and Ron Clements, animators Eric Goldberg (Genie) and Mark Henn (Jasmine), as well as Jasmine herself, Linda Larkin, and the two actors who gave life to the character Aladdin: Scott Weinger and Brad Kane, as they unveil the stories behind one of the great Disney classics, Aladdin, a film that led to a “whole new world” for animation.
The Shorts of Walt Disney Animation Studios: from Paperman to Prep & Landing, Feast to Frozen Fever
Sunday, August 16, 11:30 am – Stage 28
When Walt Disney and his brother Roy founded the Disney Brothers Studio in 1923, their first medium for storytelling was the animated short. More than 90 years later, Walt Disney Animation Studios continues this tradition, making groundbreaking and award-winning shorts including Feast, Paperman and this year’s hit Frozen Fever. Join the filmmakers behind these shorts and so many others, including Get A Horse!, John Henry, Lorenzo and The Ballad of Nessie for a conversation about this truly animated art form.
The Tunes Behind the Toons: Screening/Q&A
Sunday, August 16, 6:00 pm, Stage 28
D23 EXPO invites you to a special screening and Q&A panel for The Tunes Behind the Toons, a short form documentary that celebrates the power of music in animation. From the silent film days when organists played live accompaniments, to the music within today’s animated features, this documentary traces the origins of cartoon music and its pioneers. Featuring interviews with Alan Menken, Randy Newman, Patrick Doyle, Mark Watters, Bruce Broughton, Richard Sherman and many others. Producer/director Dave Bossert will lead a star-studded Q&A following the presentation.
ON THE EXPO SHOW FLOOR:
The Walt Disney Studios – Show Floor Exhibition
Step into the worlds of The Walt Disney Studios in this wide-ranging showcase of exciting projects from Disney Live Action, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Disneynature, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm. Among the many highlights:
– For the first time at D23 EXPO, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios have created a joint experience no Disney fan should miss. With live demonstrations, presentations, and autograph signings with top filmmakers from each studio, plus free giveaways and interactive displays featuring the filmsInside Out, The Good Dinosaur, Zootopia, Finding Dory and Moana, this is a can’t-miss attraction for animation fans.
– Explore costumes, props and photo ops from the Studios’ live-action films, including Disney, Marvel and Lucasfilm.
Disney Movies Anywhere Tweet Suite
Take pics and share them in the Disney Movies Anywhere Tweet Suite. It’s also the perfect opportunity to learn more about Disney Movies Anywhere, Disney’s digital movie app that lets you watch your Disney, Pixar, Marvel, and Star Wars movie collection across your favorite devices, anywhere you go.
Say Aloha to John Lasseter’s Film-Themed Hawaiian Shirts
Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios John Lasseter takes Disney and Pixar animation to heart—literally. For nearly every film—fromFinding Nemo and Wreck-It Ralph to Frozen and Inside Out, Lasseter has commissioned an exclusive movie-themed Hawaiian shirt. And those who know the Oscar®-winning storyteller know that he loves his Hawaiian shirts—and dons one for almost every occasion. Animation fans will see their favorite film characters “materialize” before their eyes in this colorful collection, which will be exhibited on the show floor.
An Animator’s Gallery: Eric Goldberg
D23 hosts the first public exhibition anywhere of “An Animator’s Gallery: Eric Goldberg.” Celebrate Goldberg, whose artistry at Walt Disney Animation Studios began with his groundbreaking work on Genie in Aladdin, and continues to this day on projects such as the upcoming Moana and the 2014 Oscar®-nominated Mickey Mouse short Get A Horse! The exhibition features a collection of more than 100 of Goldberg’s caricatured creations of Disney characters, drawn in a style reminiscent of art seen on the famed walls of Sardi’s Restaurant and The Brown Derby. This incredible collection of art is from the newly released book An Animator’s Gallery: Eric Goldberg Draws the Disney Characters, and will be available for purchase in the Walt Disney Publishing pop-up shop on the EXPO show floor.
Frozen Album Signing
With the purchase of Frozen: The Songs or Frozen Picture Disc at the Disney Music Emporium, guests will be issued a wristband to secure a space for an album signing with Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez and Tom MacDougall (Co-Producer, Frozen Soundtrack) on Saturday, August 15 at 10:30 am.
Director Rob Letterman Talks Balancing Humor with Scares and More on the…
Minimalist MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE Posters Highlight the Series’ Big Moments
• Captain America: Civil War • D23 • D23 2015 • D23 Expo • Finding Dory • Moana • Star Wars: The Force Awakens • The Good Dinosaur • Zootopia
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Weekend Box Office: CINDERELLA Has Enchanted Debut; RUN ALL NIGHT Stumbles
by Nicole Pedersen March 15, 2015
As expected, Cinderella was the belle of the box office ball this weekend. Disney’s live-action take on the classic fairytale took in an estimated $70 million from 3,845 locations. That ranks as the fifth highest March opening of all time, behind The Hunger Games, Alice in Wonderland, Oz the Great and Powerful, and 300. Oz and Alice both hailed from Disney and created significant buzz on their debut weekends, in 2010 and 2013 respectively. Both films also happened to feature 3D effects – a box office price advantage that Cinderella lacked.
But as we told you yesterday, Cinderella had one major selling point that is less quantifiable than increased 3D ticket prices. Disney included the short film Frozen Fever before Cinderella screenings this weekend, which added significant star power to the film’s debut. Cate Blanchett may be a formidable actress, but she’s not exactly a draw for very young audiences. Elsa and Olaf, on the other hand? Because Frozen now stands as Disney’s biggest global hit of all time, it’s hard to imagine stronger ambassadors for Cinderella than the stars of that animated phenomenon.
Initial projections for Cinderella were in the $60 million range, which means that it’s current three-day estimate of $70 million represents another coup for Disney. Earlier this week the studio announced that Big Hero 6 now ranks as the highest-grossing animated title of 2014 and the studio’s third-highest global release of all time, with $620 million in worldwide earnings.
Though Cinderella did not reach the level of the Disney’s former March blockbusters Oz the Great and Powerful ($79.1 million) and Alice in Wonderland ($116.1 million), the fairytale did beat Maleficent’s domestic opening. Considering the latter wound up earning over $750 million worldwide last summer, that’s a strong sign in Cinderella’s favor. Of course, nearly 70% of Maleficent’s global total came from international theatres, where Angelina Jolie and 3D effects are still big box office draws. We’ll have to wait and see how well Cinderella plays on the overseas market. Star Lily James will be recognizable to fans of Downton Abbey, but she’s got nowhere near the global star power that Angelina commands.
While Lily James’ star seems to be on the rise, this weekend saw the luster of a much bigger name somewhat diminished. Liam Neeson, who has carved out an impressive niche for himself as a box office badass in the years since Taken hit theatres, suffered a disappointment with this weekend’s Run All Night debut. From 3,171 locations, the R-rated action-thriller earned an estimated $11.1 million. On this top-heavy frame, that was good enough for second place, but it wasn’t even close to the modest $15 million that was expected.
In terms of Neeson features, Run All Night opened lower than A Walk Among the Tombstones, which bottomed out with just $26.3 million in total domestic earnings last September. That was less than Neeson’s Non-Stop earned on its debut weekend alone in February 2014. Taken 3 proved a more successful launch for Neeson this January, but as the fourth action-thriller from the actor in just over a year, there’s apparently a bit of badass-burnout at play here.
Last weekend’s new titles both suffered in their sophomore frames. Last weekend’s top film, Chappie, was down an estimated 56% – just a bit steeper than the drop that Elysium took in its second frame in August 2013. Meanwhile, Vince Vaughn’s Unfinished Business dropped out of the top ten altogether. After ten days, the comedy has yet to break $10 million in North America.
The news was much better for the box office as a whole. Overall domestic earnings reached $132.5 million, or an increase of 16% over the same frame in 2014. Next weekend should deliver another winning frame thanks to Insurgent. The follow-up to last year’s YA hit Divergent hits theatres Friday and is expected to top its predecessor’s $54.6 million debut. Assuming Cinderella also holds well (and its reviews suggest that it will) the two films should be able to overcome the sea of middling box office performers that surround them. As usual, we’ll let you know what happens.
Title Weekend Total
1. Cinderella $70,053,000 $70
2. Run All Night $11,15,000 $11.1
3. Kingsman: The Secret Service $6,200,000 $107.3
4. Focus $5,805,000 $44
5. Chappie $5,800,000 $23.3
6. Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel $5,700,000 $18
7. The SpongeBob Movie $4,100,000 $154.7
8. McFarland, USA $3,692,000 $34.9
9. American Sniper $2,930,000 $341.5
10. The DUFF $2,900,000 $30.3
AVA’S POSSESSIONS Review | SXSW 2015
Jaume Collet-Serra Talks RUN ALL NIGHT, AKIRA, and More
• Big Hero 6 • Box Office • Cinderella • Frozen Fever • Liam Neeson • Lily James • Run All Night
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culture identity movies
All hail The Chief: A virtual roundtable on Wonder Woman’s Native American inclusion
By Monique on Thursday, August 31, 2017
Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman has been a revelation to many who love film. Not only did the film open up the box office to finally accepting a female superhero, but it also paved the way for one of DC’s longest-standing, but often misrepresented character, Apache Chief. In the film, the character is treated a lot more seriously and realistically, only going by “The Chief” to mere mortals, but is actually Napi, a Blackfoot demi-god hoping to protect his people and fight against evil.
The Chief got much of is backstory from actor Eugene Brave Rock, who integrated parts of his own background into the character to make an even richer experience for himself as an actor, for the film, and for the viewer, especially those who might not have ever seen a non-stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans. The role was even more special for Native American viewers, who rarely see themselves portrayed in full in the media.
I was able to catch up with three Wonder Woman fans who are also African-American and Native-American. From their points of view, the DCEU—and movies in general—can only get better with the inclusion of more Native American characters like the Chief.
Cherry Davis, pop culture and lifestyle blogger and Afterbuzz TV guest host, said she is 1/16 Blackfoot and that the Chief is a rare character in a landscape lacking in complex Native roles.
“…[It’s] likely the second time I’ve seen a Native/Indigenous character played by someone of that ethnic background. So big hurrah for that casting choice!” she said. “What stood out was that he didn’t speak in the ‘Entertainment Native Dialect’ and that he wasn’t subservient to the white characters.”
“He was definitely the icing on an already delicious cake of a film. As soon as he appeared on the screen, I all but screamed Super Friends Reunion!” said Dennis R. Upkins, speculative fiction author and activist as well as part Cherokee. “He definitely had a mystique about and while we know little about this mysterious character, he was established enough that he could take the lead in his own narrative in the DCEU.”
Cherese Capadona, who is part Mississippi Choctaw, said what struck her the most about the Chief was his unapologetic approach to talking about “the Native American relationship with White Americans after colonization.” She said the Chief’s statement that men like Steve Trevor killed his people “was accurate.”
“It didn’t say they couldn’t have a good working relationship or couldn’t be friends, but that’s never been addressed in any television show, anything I’ve ever remembered seeing growing up like The Lone Ranger, which has my least favorite representation of a Native American character ever.”
Photo credit: Warner Bros./DC
Due to her Blackfoot heritage, the Chief hits even closer to home for Davis, who also minored in Native American Studies.
“This is dear to me,” she said. “…[I] am always excited to see diverse characters [and] characterizations. I applaud Patty Jenkins for allowing Eugene Brave Rock to truly make the character his own, imbuing the Chief with a backstory nod to his people. Also, a huge nod to Eugene for taking this opportunity as a platform for Native American Blackfoot mythology. I’m hoping that people will be excited enough to read more and that DC Comics will have a ‘hmm’ moment. Expand on his mythology, cast him in some of the DC TV series to gather a fanbase and eventually comic book movie/series/cartoon around an entire mythology that people have little awareness of.”
She said seeing someone like the Chief on the big screen would be “incredible” to Native audience members who usually don’t see themselves represented. She said an audience member might feel “vindicated and excited to see not only someone who looks like them but is one of them and [is] a character treated with dignity in such a huge film.”
ALSO READ: Mo' Reviews: 'Roma' Is A Stunning Examination Of A Maid's Humanity (SLIGHT SPOILERS)
“I’m hoping that this will lead to seeing Chief in other films since as a demigod he’ll live for a long time,” she said.
“I can definitely speak for myself and say that…I felt relieved first of all that he wasn’t just coming in because his name was the Chief,” said Capadona. “You can almost imagine the eyerolling—what’s this character going to be like? But he isn’t what you would expect. Usually when there’s a character called the chief in a movie, there’s a stereotypical headdress, speaking broken English. There are just so many things that are stereotypical and none of that was there. Once I got over the relief portion, I was pretty happy.”
Capadona also hopes the Chief will make more people interested in learning more about the mythology of the nation’s first inhabitants.
“We spend so much time teaching kids Greek mythology and Roman mythology. Since we’ve come out with the Thor movies and The Avengers, there’s been an interest in Norse mythology. [There’s an interest in] Egyptian mythology. There’s never been characters from Native American mythology and every nation has their own creation stories and tales that follow in the realm of mythology,” she said. “I would hope that the chief being a demi-god would spark as much interest in those mythologies and kids don’t get exposed to any of things that are from this land, from this country. Whether you’re Native American or African American, we have our own stories [and] folklore. That was just really exciting for me.”
Upkins said he felt the inclusion of the Chief shows just how inclusive the movie-going experience can be.
“Being part Cherokee, I’m always excited to see this aspect of my culture reflected in the media, particularly in speculative fiction,” he said. “The film’s openness is a reflection of how inclusive Wonder Woman and for that matter the DCEU is. Diana herself is queer/bisexual protagonist which she all but states in the film when she references the fact that men are good for procreating but sexual gratification is best with other women. This is also the film that got to see queer black super heroines get some shine battling the German invaders. This inclusiveness has already paid off in dividends of $700 million worldwide.”
Brave Rock’s portrayal is one of a small number of Indigenous characters or characters played by Indigenous actors to take part in the DCEU. In Suicide Squad, Adam Beach, a member of the Saulteaux First Nations, portrays anti-hero Slipknot, and in Aquaman and Justice League, Jason Momoa, who is of Native Hawaiian, Irish, German, and Native American descent, is portraying Aquaman himself.
Upkins said that the inclusion of the Chief and the addition of Brave Rock’s characterizations “debunks all excuses” for other films when it comes to a lack of proper representation.
“It shows that you can have Native characters in supporting and leading roles and still have a successful film,” he said. “Any claims to the contrary are dead on arrival.”
“You don’t often see Native or people of color during that time period [of Wonder Woman] so it’s sad to say but it’s kind of groundbreaking which is positive but also sad that this type of portrayal is still rare in the 21st century,” he said.
ALSO READ: 22 Race-Related Films That Will Make You Laugh, Cry, and Think Differently
Davis also hopes the film will lead to more casting that accurately portrays the character’s background instead of erasing it.
“…[A]sk [actors] how they can bring their life experience into the role,” she said. “People not only want to see themselves reflected but people both other ethnic/religious background are receptive and interested in seeing new talented faces.”
“I would hope that it would open up another door to not necessarily cast …It’s frustrating, and I know that several people have said this, not just Native Americans…[people] are getting frustrated by roles that are created and they want that character to have a specific look, they have to be Caucasian, this, that or the other,” said Capadona. “The most recent example of someone who is breaking down those barriers is Ava DuVernay’s casting in A Wrinkle in Time. When I was growing up and I read that book, I thought in my mind—because that’s the way everyone portrayed the character to me—that Meg Wallace was a character that should have been white, and here in the film she’s going to be biracial. It’s wonderful the way she’s done that. She’s cast a rainbow of other characters.”
With it being 2017, said Capadona, proper representation and staying away from the “Noble Native” stereotype shouldn’t be an issue. But she hopes accuracy in representation comes “sooner rather than later.”
“I’m just hoping other people will take the hint and do what Patty has done and create more roles and more opportunities for the actors and actresses to enrich these stories they want to tell,” she said.
The roles Capadona, Davis, and Upkins want to see the most involve Native characters living outside of the stereotype.
“I want to see them in the same type of roles that white counterparts have, from playing a bad guy to a hero, to love interest to just being a nuanced human with flaws in all genres,” said Davis.
Upkins said he’d love to see “[q]ueer male leads in speculative fiction.” Capadona said she’d love to have Native characters in all walks of life.
“I would love to see, because I love science-fiction, maybe some science-fiction elements added to a Native American story. I’d love to see a Native American actor or actress play a scientist, somebody who’s beyond the geologist or archeologist—somebody that’s actually doing astrophysics and going into space. We’ve had Native American astronauts; it’d be wonderful to see those kind of characters,” she said. “It’d be wonderful to see a Native American love story on the screen or even interracial, but not something that’s this tragic thing where it’s “My father doesn’t approve of you, I’m going to shame my family because I’m marrying you.” Just something beyond those typical things. Something off the reservation—there are middle class Native Americans in this country. Everybody isn’t on the reservation and dealing with reservation politics and poverty. Something that’s uplifting and showing people as multifaceted.”
“We’re starting to see more facets of Native American culture and I think the role of the chief is starting to turn the gemstone to see those different facets, but we still have a lot of turning to do and I’m really hoping this is the start.”♦
Wonder Woman comes to DVD and Blu-ray Sept. 19.
Loved this article? Follow JUST ADD COLOR at @COLORwebmag and on Facebook!
DCEU Eugene Brave Rock movies Patty Jenkins The Chief Wonder Woman
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US Official Admits North Korean Missiles Aren’t Threat to America
Geopolitical moves are being made on the issue of North Korea. A day after South Korea’s new government offered to hold military talks with its neighbor to the North, the United States’ second-highest ranking military official admitted Tuesday that North Korean missiles lack the accuracy to effectively target U.S. cities.
Last week, South Korea’s defense ministry proposed that representatives from both the South and North Korean militaries meet at the border village of Panmunjom in North Korea for talks.
“We make the proposal for a meeting…aimed at stopping all hostile activities that escalate military tension along the land border,” South Korea’s defense ministry said in a statement.
The man in charge of North Korean affairs, unification minister Cho Myoung-gyon, said his country “would not seek collapse of the North or unification through absorbing the North” and suggested a positive response from Kim Jong-un’s government would represent a show of good faith.
“North Korea should respond to our sincere proposals if it really seeks peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Cho said, adding that if “North Korea chooses the right path, we would like to open the door for a brighter future for North Korea, together, by cooperating with the international community.”
The defense ministry’s overture falls in line with the approach advocated by new South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who supports diplomatic talks with the North led by South Korea.
Recently, ahead of the G20 summit in Germany, Moon stated that “the need for dialogue” with North Korea is “more pressing than ever before” because the situation had “reached the tipping point of the vicious cycle of military escalation.”
North Korea has yet to respond to the South’s proposal.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the primary driver of the “evil North Korea” narrative, United States appeared to go against the grain and actually downplayed the effectiveness of Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons program — or, at least, one senior official defense official did. From Reuters:
“North Korea does not have the ability to strike the United States with ‘any degree of accuracy’ and while its missiles have the range, they lack the necessary guidance capability, the vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Tuesday.”
Speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Paul Selva said North Korea’s July 4 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test showed that the country has no hope of hitting a U.S. target with any “reasonable confidence of success” and that recent talk about its ability to strike Alaska or the Pacific Northwest is overblown:
“What the experts tell me is that the North Koreans have yet to demonstrate the capacity to do the guidance and control that would be required.”
While the general’s admission isn’t on the same level as the actual act of diplomacy just demonstrated by South Korea, the fact that the U.S. military is walking back — even if only just a step or two — a narrative it fought so hard to establish is itself worthy of commentary.
So what gives? Why, in the last two days, have both the U.S. and ally South Korea suddenly taken a softer line — again, in their own ways — on the North Korea issue?
Are all parties concerned about to knock off the rhetoric and allow the Hermit Kingdom to continue to fire missiles into the sea?
Not likely. As with most other issues of geopolitical significance in that region of the world, these moves likely have far more to do with China.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet in Washington, D.C., for annual bilateral talks, this year dubbed the “U.S.-China Comprehensive Economic Dialogue.”
It will be the third meeting between the two men, after Xi’s visit to Mar-a-Lago three months ago and their discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Germany.
Recently, Trump reignited concern over a trade war between the U.S. and China when he said he was considering slapping import tariffs on steel. But these kinds of tactics are nothing new ahead of economic negotiations, as the Washington Post noted last Friday:
“In 1981, the Reagan administration convinced Japan to reduce the number of cars it was exporting to the United States in a bid to boost the U.S. auto sector. In 1984, the administration used the tactic again with the steel industry, as it told dozens of countries to either limit their steel shipments to the United States or lose access to the American market.”
In an article published Sunday titled “U.S.-China trade talks sputtering at 100-day deadline,” Reuters outlined how results from economic negotiations between the two countries have been less than encouraging since Trump and Xi first met at Mar-a-Lago.
The general consensus is that Donald Trump needs a major win with China to prove he’s sticking to the “America first” guns that got him into the White House.
Noting that “North Korea has cast a long shadow over the relationship” between Trump and Xi, Reuters points out that the Hermit Kingdom and its nuclear weapons program have been a hindrance to cooperation for the U.S. president:
“Trump has linked progress in trade to China’s ability to rein in North Korea, which counts on Beijing as its chief friend and ally.”
On Tuesday, the Associated Press also highlighted how Trump has used the issue of North Korea as a bargaining chip at the negotiating table with China:
“As a presidential candidate, Trump attacked China for refusing to pressure Pyongyang to back off from developing nuclear weapons. After the Mar-a-Lago summit, though, Trump praised Beijing for agreeing to help deal with North Korea. As a reward, he abandoned his vow to accuse China of manipulating its currency to benefit Chinese exporters.”
So it may be that this one-two punch from the United States and ally South Korea was a coordinated effort to ease tensions and create an atmosphere conducive to cooperation ahead of critical negotiations between the U.S. and China.
It may be that the Trump administration is signaling that it would be willing to back off on pressuring China to rein in Kim Jong-un if China is willing to make concessions on the economic front — and give Trump the win he needs.
‘We’ll settle Mars by 2117’: UAE enters race to put humans on Red Planet
‘US provoking war with Russia’
Nestle CEO Says He Would Profit More from CA’s Drought if He Could
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Noel Groome
Digital Humanities at Maynooth University
Reflections on creating a Digital Scholarly Edition
The process of creating a Digital Scholarly Edition with a team of my fellow MA students began in September of 2014. In preparation for the project ahead, a series of lectures and workshops were delivered by An Foras Feasa at Maynooth University, many of which are discussed in an earlier post to this blog. In January of 2015 the project began in earnest when the practical work began on the source material.
The diary which was to become the subject of this Digital Scholarly Edition is that of Albert Woodman. A Dubliner who had worked as a clerk in the General Post Office, Woodman joined the British Army as part of the Royal Engineers ‘L’ Signal Company and left for France in 1915. In 1917 Woodman married Nellie May Valentine Preston while back in Dublin on leave, and in the coming months (January – November 1918) Woodman wrote in two diaries detailing his time at war, his observations on the conflict surrounding him, and also his thoughts of home and in particular his new wife.
THE CONTENT FUNDAMENTALS
On initial inspection the diary is quite a simple entity, a traditional diary consisting primarily of text in the form of handwritten daily entries and some newspaper clippings and other imagery inserted by Woodman. The most fundamental aspects were text and images, however breaking the diary down revealed a significant amount of work would need to be carried out in order to make this a Digital Scholarly Edition. The text would need to be carefully transcribed, edited and proofed; the diary pages were to be digitally scanned at the imaging laboratory in An Foras Feasa and then carefully re-mastered, cropped and edited for digital presentation. Yet still this was just the tip of the iceberg. Simply to present the diary as a digitised transcription or high quality image would be to ignore the value which can be brought to the object by the many digital tools and methods available in creating a Digital Scholarly Edition; as such a series of more technical and contextual approaches and methods were added to the project.
One such aspect of which I played a part was in expanding the value of the text as presented in a digital scholarly edition. The text was to be complimented by adding information in the form of annotation to particular sets of non-standard or notable terms; while named entities such as personal names, places and organisations were also to be assigned this added value. As such the text would have to be carefully examined to identify the terms and named entities to be annotated. This work was also further extended by research for the annotation, stylistic conventions and decision making on the extent of annotation. Questions arose in regards to what should be annotated as well as how much information should be added so as to contextualise the information without distracting the reader from the meaning of the primary source, which were the entries as written by Albert Woodman.
This aspect alone was a significant task, yet there were several other elements that were identified and explored for possible inclusion as being able to expand the value of the diary as a digital edition. Supplementary articles were sourced and written by team members, audio and video interviews with experts in related fields were taken, digital mapping technologies were examined for possible inclusion and related literature such as instruction manuals on World War I Signaller instruction and methods were sourced and examined.
While these ‘added value’ approaches were significant and utilised many aspects of the teams skills in the humanities such as careful reading, textual analysis, editing, proofing, research, contextualisation and styling, the technical aspects of building and styling the digital product were equally substantial. The decisions on the technical writing and construction of the digital project are what the digital scholarly edition is built on, and these methods are what would enable the content and shape the format and presentation of the edition.
With this in mind further departments within the project were identified that would contain the nuts and bolts of the final digital product. Methods and styles of schema, encoding, wireframes and design layouts were integral to handling both the core information and any ‘added value’ content the project team hoped to include.
TEAMWORK & PLANNING
In reflecting upon my experience of the process in creating a digital scholarly edition, the above topics may be described as a summary of aspects which were noted and addressed in the overall construction of this digital scholarly edition.
Understanding of the Source
Fundamental Content
Added Value Content
Technical Construction
Yet in entering the final stages of this project it is the importance of proper functionality in a project team and clear planning that is perhaps an even more striking lesson of note taken from the process. To illustrate this I would recommend recent blog posts by two of my colleagues in this project regarding the importance of teamwork and project planning relating to this project of which I am very much in agreement.
The creation of a digital scholarly edition was a new venture for the members of this project team and it was one in which each team member stepped into unfamiliar academic disciplines, furthermore the unfamiliar nature of the project posed regular questions within the team as to method. Yet the early identification of core goals, the assignment of responsibility without segregation, good communication and clear planning provided a structure which allowed progress and decisions to be made with team consultation on a regular basis.
The process of creating this digital scholarly edition has provided a valuable insight not just into practical humanities-based techniques and digital methodologies, but the processes of a functional team project. In reflecting on this process the four summarised points (Understanding of the Source, Fundamental Content, Added Value Content, Technical Construction) are vital to first assessing the challenge ahead. Yet it is also imperative that good teamwork and project planning exist so as to properly drive forward a (projected) successful project.
Dabek Meredith. “Creating a Digital Scholarly Edition: Lessons from The Woodman Diary Project.” A Digital Education, 19 April 2015. Web. Accessed 20 April 2015.
Groome, Noel. “Primary Source Images & Editing: A Case for Caution!.” Noel Groome Blog, 12 December 2014. Web. Accessed 20 April 2015
McGarry, Shane. “Perils of Project Planning.” Getting Out of the Book and Into the Digital, 19 April 2015. Web. Accessed 20 April 2015.
By Noel Groome
AFF606A: Digital Scholarly Editing
Digital Humanities & Historic Estate Records: Project Update
In a previous post to this blog a practical work module forming part of this students MA in Digital Humanities was introduced which seeks to integrate Digital Humanities methods with Historic Estate Records. This module is now entering its final stages which aim to incorporate what has been researched in the way of digital tools and methodologies with the data held in the Historic Estate Records.
In the process of undertaking this research a range of digital tools and methods along with several challenges have been encountered while seeking a strategy for bringing together the digital and historical record elements. In this follow up post, some of the digital tools and methods will be discussed, along with the challenges encountered in seeking to integrate the digital and historical data relating to this project.
IDENTIFYING THE INTEGRATION
As the first post relating to this practical module discussed, one of the primary goals of the project was the integration of data from an identified collection of Historic Estate Records (The Borrowes Collection) into a geo-referenced digital environment. For the supervising institution, Maynooth University Library, a selection of 17th, 18th and 19th century leases that included some hand drawn maps were of particular interest. In these maps the potential for digitally geo-referencing landholdings within the Historic Estate was considered; and the goal of identifying the land areas in a modern digital map using information from the leases became a focal point for the project.
In order to proceed with developing a strategy for the geo-referencing of these records, three phases of research began. The first phase involved analysis of any existing digital projects which were similar to the project at hand by which potential approaches could be identified. The second phase involved researching the tools and methodologies for the process of geo-referencing historical maps, records or data in a digital environment. The third and final phase would involve closer examination of the historical records in order to identify, compile and organise the historical and geographical data which could be integrated within the digital project.
A RELATED PROJECT
The first phase began by looking at similar projects which had geo-referenced historical data. Perhaps the most significant of those analysed was the Landed Estates Database, a digital project hosted by the Moore Institute at NUI Galway. This project is perhaps the most comprehensive digital resource relating to information on Historic Estate Records in Ireland, although its scope is limited to Connacht and Munster. In regards to geo-referencing, the Landed Estates Database project has identified the buildings associated with these estates as its focus. As such the project has identified and geo-referenced these buildings using location markers in a Google Map window, and in some instances included recent images of the buildings. This project does not use geo-referencing to identify the extent of the estates landholdings, but identifies those buildings historically significant to the running of the estates. The project adds to the historical understanding of these buildings and the landed estate by linking their historical function with their current state by including the more recent pictures in which many are in full or partial ruin, or performing very different functions in modern Ireland.
The examination of projects such as the Landed Estates Database allowed an understanding of what could be achieved by identifying a focus and set of data for geo-referencing and presenting it in a digital environment.
DIGITAL TOOLS & METHODS
The next phase involved researching the tools and methods for digitally manipulating, integrating and presenting the maps and data of the Borrowes Collection in a digital environment. With this in mind research began to identify tools and methods which would fulfil three important requirements.
A method for aligning and overlaying a historical map with a modern digital mapping system.
A method by which data beyond the historical map could be integrated in the digital version.
A method by which further manipulation or customisation of the map could be implemented if deemed necessary for the final presentation of the digital resource.
To date several tools and methods have been identified which are capable of performing the above requirements, QGIS and MapWarper for integrating historical and digital mapping, GeoJSON for the integration of further data and Mapbox for further customisation of the digital map.
THE HISTORICAL DATA
The first two phases opened up the potential for what could be achieved by identifying a focus for the project and implementing a professional digital presentation of historical data using the appropriate tools and methods. The third and final phase involved the identification and compilation of data within the Borrowes Collection in order to facilitate this goal.
In the case of this project the nature of Historic Estate Records posed a significant challenge in that these materials can be very fragmented. The data and number of maps in the leases that allowed the landholdings to be adequately identified on a modern map has proved challenging. There is also the absence of an overall estate map or records such as rent books for the entire estate. As such this particular collection of records may not yield a sufficient data set to facilitate the complete geo-referencing of this particular landed estate; yet through this challenge the project has entailed a greater degree of research into further methods of understanding and identifying historical lease maps and land areas that a more complete collection of records would necessitate. This project has therefore made extensive use of digitally presented, historical mapping projects such as The Down Survey of Ireland and Griffiths Valuation in order to identify the lands referred to and illustrated in the records relating to this project.
As this Digital Humanities project enters its final stages it remains on course to integrate digital tools and methods with historical data in order to present a strategy for enhancing Historic Estate Records. An interesting note however is the value which existing Digital Humanities projects such the Landed Estates Database, The Down Survey of Ireland and Griffiths Valuation have served in facilitating the understanding of the analogue source material in research for this Digital Humanities project, perhaps a sign in itself to the value of Digital Humanities projects.
Groome, Noel. “Digital Humanities & Historic Estate Records.” Noel Groome Blog, 20 March 2015. Web. Accessed 09 April 2015
Prunty, Jacinta. Maps and map-making in local history (Dublin, 2004)
The Down Survey of Ireland. Web. Accessed 10 April 2015
Griffiths Valuation. Web. Accessed 10 April 2015
Landed Estates Database. Web. Accessed 09 April 2015
AFF611A: Practicum
Noel Groome: MA in Digital Humanities
A digital scholarly edition: Digital mapping
Digital Humanities & Historic Estate Records
Primary Source Images & Editing: A Case for Caution!
Quantitative History: An Annotated Bibliography
Letters Of 1916: The forgotten sources
Thoughts on the Digitisation of resources for Historians
AFF601: Theory and Practice
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kilburn brothers (photographer) (1)
kilburn brothers (publisher) (1)
purviance, w. t. (william t.) (publisher) (1)
kleckner, m. a. (photographer) (2)
purviance, w. t. (william t.) (photographer) (1)
lehigh river valley (pa.) (6)
deir el-bahri site (egypt) (3)
jim thorpe (pa.) (2)
palestrina (italy) (2)
praeneste (italy) (2)
inclined planes (12)
colonnades (4)
cultural facilities (3)
mortuary temples (3)
rock-cut architecture (3)
Subject: Inclined planes
Incline in sidewalk outside of the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company, Louisville, Kentucky, 1930.
Streets; Buildings; Sidewalks; Inclined planes; Stores & shops; Grocery stores; Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company
An incline in the sidewalk is located in front of an A & P store at 19th & Broadway in Louisville, Ky. The A & P store is on the right side of the image and the street is on the left side. The A & P store has several large windows that displays...
Great incline plane, Lehigh Valley, Penn.
Railroad tracks; Inclined planes; Railroads
Two pairs of very steep tracks with a structure at the top at the crest of the hill. At the base are a group of men, some standing and others sitting Title: 2459. Great Incline Plane, Lehigh Valley, Penn. Descriptive information on back of card:...
Mount Pisgah Plane looking down.
Person sitting on the end of a handcar at the top of a steep set of tracks. A man stands next to him on the ground. The tracks curve at the base of the hill. Title: Mount Pisgah Plane looking down. Text on left: American Views. Text on right: Mauch...
Mauch Chunk, Pa., U.S.A. showing first incline.
Group of men stand next to two sets of railroad tracks at the bottom of a steep hill. On the left, three men sit on a handcar. Title: 36 - Mauch Chunk, Pa., U.S.A. Showing first Incline. Text on left: Keystone View Company. Text on right:...
Mt. Pisgah Plane; 2322 feet long 864 feet high.
View from the bottom of a hill of a steep set of railroad tracks. Trees are on either side. Text on left: Scenery of the Leigh Valley R. R. Text on right: Scenery of the Lehigh Valley R. R. Descriptive information on back of card: Mauch Chunk &...
Mt Pisgah Incline Railway.
Train car on tracks at the bottom of a steep hill. One man stands at the end of the car, and three more people stand in front of it. Text on left: The Scenery of the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Text on right: Purviance, Philadelphia. Photographer and...
Mount Pisgah Plane; Lth. 2341 ft., Hth. 664 ft.
Railroad tracks; Inclined planes; Railroads; Men
Steep set of railroad tracks viewed from the bottom of the hill. Trees are on either side. At the base two men are on the left and another kneels on the right. Stacks of wood are on the right side. Title: No. 160 - Mount Pisgah Plane; Lth. 2341...
Mt. Pisgah Plane; length 2,341 ft.; 664 ft. high.
Steep set of railroad tracks viewed from the bottom of the hill. One person sits at the base on the right side. Trees are on either side of the tracks. Text on left: Photographed and Published by M.A. Kleckner, Mansion House, Mauch Chunk, Pa. Text...
Mt. Jefferson Plane, Switch-Back R.R.
Two sets of railroad tracks on a steep hill as viewed from the bottom. A handcar or other small car is on the right set of tracks. Title: 3 - Mt. Jefferson Plane, Switch-Back R. R. Text on left: Scenery of the Lehigh Valley R. R. Text on right:...
Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, [Egypt], bird's eye view.
Egyptian (ancient); New Kingdom (Egyptian); Eighteenth Dynasty
At the far left, ramp and base of the funerary temple of Mentuhotep III. Dynasty 11, c. 2009-1997 BCE.
Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, [Egypt], plan.
Sanctuary of Fortuna, Praeneste [Palestrina], Italy, aerial view.
Roman (ancient Italian style); Republican
Sanctuary of Fortuna, Praeneste [Palestrina], Italy, restored view.
Theater of Marcellus, Rome, Italy, reconstruction and cut-away.
Roman (ancient Italian style); Imperial (Roman); Early Imperial; Augustan
Dedicated in 13 or 11 BC. (p.186); "The structure was 150 metres (490 feet) in diameter, though its seating capacity was probably only 14,000." (p.186)
Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el-Bahri, Egypt, general view.
With the Middle Kingdom mortuary temple of Mentuhotep II at left; "If the most impressive monuments of the Old Kingdom are its pyramids, those of the New Kingdom are its grandiose temples, often built to honor pharaohs and queens, as well as gods....
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Home U of L Images Administrative Annex, from the period when it was known as the Service Building, after 1935.
Administrative Annex, from the period when it was known as the Service Building, after 1935.
Title Administrative Annex, from the period when it was known as the Service Building, after 1935.
Other Names Administration Annex.
Contributor Doyle and King (architect)
Description The Service Building, now known as the Administrative Annex. The entrance is clearly visible, as are the front windows and their awnings. Some of the second story windows appear to be open. The Administrative Annex was built as a WPA project during the Great Depression of the 1930s, as a service building. Location: Southwest corner of Belknap campus. Current uses: Women's Center; Commission on the Status of Women; Commission on Diversity and Racial Equality; External Affairs. Former names: Service Building; College of Urban and Public Affairs (CUPA); Institute for International Development (IID); Business Office Building. Former uses: Institute for International Development (closed October 1, 2007); Police Institute classes. Square footage: 6832.
Building Number 15
Subject Buildings
University of Louisville--Buildings
Date of Photo 19--
Building dates 1935 (constructed); 1938 (acquired); 1935? - 1938? (finished)
Source 8x10 inch black and white photograph from Buildings: Administrative Annex reference file, University of Louisville Archives and Records Center
Add tags for Administrative Annex, from the period when it was known as the Service Building, after 1935.
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President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence arrive for funeral of the Rev. Billy Graham in Charlotte
An usher reads a program ahead of a funeral service at the Billy Graham Library for the Rev. Billy Graham, who died last week at age 99, Friday, March 2, 2018, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
Family members look on as the hearse carrying the body of the Rev. Billy Graham returns to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 1, 2018. His funeral will be Friday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
First lady Melania Trump arrives to board Air Force One at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., Friday, March 2, 2018, to travel to Charlotte, N.C. to attend the funeral of Reverend Billy Graham. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Pallbearers carry the casket of the Rev. Billy Graham past family members as it returns to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 1, 2018. His funeral will be Friday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
Pallbearers carry the casket of Rev. Billy Graham past family members as it returns to the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, N.C., Thursday, March 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Va., Friday, March 2, 2018, to travel to Charlotte, N.C. to attend the funeral of Reverend Billy Graham. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence arrive for funeral of the Rev. Billy Graham in Charlotte.
A look at China's foreign policy challenges
China's simmering feud with South Korea over deployment of an American missile defense system is the latest in a string of foreign policy challenges piling up on President Xi Jinping's desk as he prepares to host next month's annual summit of G20 nations
Father of Orlando shooter sighted at Hillary Clinton event
Father of Orlando gay nightclub shooter spotted at Hillary Clinton campaign event in central Florida
UN bungles response to Africa's yellow fever outbreak
An AP investigation finds that 1 million doses of yellow fever vaccines vanished in Angola as the World Health Organization's response lagged for months
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MiRo is a fully programmable autonomous biomimetic robot for researchers, educators, developers and healthcare professionals. With six senses, eight degrees of freedom, an innovative brain-inspired operating system and a simulation software package, MiRo is a flexible platform suited for developing companion robots.
Emotionally engaging products
January 16, 2017 Consequential Robotics
30 years ago after the flotation of Habitat Terence Conran used some of his newly acquired resources to found the Design Museum, an institution that has tirelessly demonstrated how outstanding design can enhance the experience & quality of life [and a much more spiritually rewarding use of wealth than a super yacht]. Last November the New Design Museum opened its doors in the superbly refurbished Commonwealth Institute in Kensington repurposing the building to become a museum of the future rather than a vestige of the past.
This week sees the opening of an exhibition at the New Design Museum called the New Old [https://designmuseum.org/things-to-do/talks-and-events/pop-up-exhibitions/new-old] it demonstrates how designers are interpreting new ‘near horizon’ technologies to enhance the experience of later life and empower older people to look after themselves, some using autonomous systems and robotics. However there is not a single humanoid robot to be seen, this is for two key reasons:
The first being that although artificial intelligence may be able to beat a human being at board games like Chess and Go, no one has yet developed a functioning human shaped robot capable of autonomously making you a cup of tea in your kitchen, let alone the laboratory. We have had Teasmaids for years but these like dishwashers are inflexible and programmed for a single task. An autonomous robotic arm & hand suitable for domestic use have yet to be developed and this is not a trivial challenge; legs for instance use almost 30 times more energy than wheels, that’s why we don’t use them on cars. At present any attempt at developing humanoids using current technologies is doomed to disappoint.
The second reason is more emotional in that people just feel a bit creepy when confronted by humanoids, we call this ‘uncanny valley’ – people feel threatened by such things. However, we have developed a pet like device, ‘MiRo’, which looks like a cartoon hybrid of a puppy and a bunny, and people feel emotionally engaged, calling it cute and start asking when they can get one. On the face of it MiRo’s principal task, like a pet, is to help people feel happy and reduce loneliness, however, like Radio 4 or Amazon’s Alexa, MiRo can similarly inform. It can also monitor your wellness and remind one to take medicines and recognize people if you are suffering cognitive decline.
The objective is not to replace human on human care, but fill in the gaps when older people might be alone between visits, and give carers an insight into people’s routines too. With a rapidly ageing population and a fast changing society it is probably going to be difficult to find enough compassionate people to do these sensitive jobs.
In the future it will be the responsibility of designers, entrepreneurs and manufacturers to interpret emerging science, technology and engineering to transform it into emotionally engaging products such as the iPhone, which is celebrating its tenth birthday this month, that will enhance the user’s experience, consumer lifestyle and consequentially our social culture.
The First Robot That Thinks Like an Animal
November 29, 2016 Consequential Robotics
Consequential Robotics (CqR) is a new UK-based tech company that combines discerning design with state-of-the-art robotics and bio-inspired artificial intelligence. In the coming decade, robots will form more of a part of our everyday lives, sharing our living and public spaces, and interacting with us in more natural ways. They will play increasingly important roles as assistants and social companions.
Today CqR announce production of a limited number of MiRos, the world’s first commercial bioMimetic Robot —a flexible robot platform for researchers to develop companion robots of the future.
MiRo is a highly featured, low-cost fully programmable mobile developer platform, with a friendly animal-like appearance, six senses, a nodding and rotating head, moveable hearing-ears, large blinking seeing-eyes, and a responsive wagging tail.
MiRo is the first commercial robot to be controlled by hardware and software modelled on the biological brain. A unique brain-based biomimetic control system, 3B-CS, based on twenty years of research on animal brains and behaviour, which allows MiRo to behave in a life-like way—listening for sounds and looking for movement, then approaching and responding to physical and verbal interactions. MiRo’s tactile perception and mood regulation systems means he particularly appreciates a gentle stroke on his back or behind his ears which he responds to with various contented sounds and a wagging tail.
Development of MiRo’s brain-like control system is continuing at the University of Sheffield with support from the EU Horizon 2020 Human Brain Project. Here the goal is to synthesise a brain-inspired memory system for MiRo that will help him to understand and remember his physical and social world.
The creators of MiRo plan to work alongside the wider research community in robotics and artificial intelligence to create new functionality and provide MiRo with advanced sensory processing, planning, understanding of spoken commands and social intelligence. Developers can work to extend the 3B-CS architecture or they can program the robot with their own software, for instance using the popular Robot Operating System (ROS). Future applications go beyond companion robots and include robot-assisted therapy for young and old, robots for school and university education, and for greeting and entertaining visitors at public attractions such as museums.
Launching the robot, Consequential Robotics founder and lead designer Sebastian Conran said: “The goal of our company is to bring autonomous devices into people’s lives in way that will be emotionally engaging, friendly and useful. We know that having a pet can improve people’s well-being, and we believe that companion robots can also offer additional forms of support and companionship. We hope that MiRO can be the forebear of these robot companions of the future”. A limited number of MiRo platforms are available now to professional researchers.
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In the recent interview with President Putin, the Financial Times seems to have launched a discussion on liberalism only at its own peril. Inadvertently, a real problem was touched upon, whose pressing nature is no longer denied by anyone in the West. The newspaper had to admit it in its Editorial
What has happened to Western liberal idea?
The recent decision by the European Council to nominate Ursula von der Leyen of Germany for the post of European Commission Chairperson and Christine Lagarde of France for President of the European Central Bank has caused many eyebrows to raise. Nevertheless, since this “feminist” set of candidates
New "executive branch" of EU and Russia: EU hostile, but not united
Moscow was recently playing host to the 6th Forum of Young Diplomats, which was the most representative such gathering held so far, bringing together delegates from 14 countries. An International Affairs correspondent talked with Konstantin Kolpakov, the chairman of the Young Diplomats’ Council of
Konstantin Kolpakov: We put emphasis on informal contacts
On Sunday, July 7, the citizens of Montenegro had the opportunity to witness another incident, that is, the open provocation of radical Albanian elements in Montenegro. Traditionally, on the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, in Svac, near Ulcinj (a town on the southern coast of
Ethnic tensions in Montenegro
The Russian Foreign Ministry had been neither overoptimistic nor skeptical about the outcome of the G20 summit, preferring instead to take a realistic view of the high-profile event. The G20 format allows the participating nations to fine-tune their national interests, because non-participation in
G20 summit eased international tensions – Alexander Pankin
The major new report from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released in Korea on October 8 (2018), is nearly 800 pages long and includes more than 6,000 scientific references. However, it can be summarized in just few sentences with absolutely horrific
IPCC Report: Utilising ignorance as an excuse
According to a newly unclassified expert report [i] released in May by the Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA) program, funded by the US Defense Department, “Russia is beating the US in the race for global influence.” Even though the study does not reflect the official position of either the
US increasingly wary of Russia’s growing sway in the world
In 2007, the Polish authorities for the first time adopted a government program to promote cooperation with the Polish diaspora (Polonia) and Poles abroad. In 2002, they introduced May 2 as Day of Polonia and Poles Abroad. The strategic objectives of this program for 2015-2020 include support for
Polonia: Poland’s diaspora policy
The14th Chekhov International Theatre Festival, the largest theatre event of a kind in Russia, is in full swing. Better known to a broader audience in the country and beyond under the name of the Chekhovsky Festival, it has long become an integral part of the international cultural dialogue: every
East and West Merge at the 14th Chekhov International Theatre Festival
The spectacular first-ever solo show of Max Ernst's paintings in Russia opened in the Twelve-Column Hall of the New Hermitage and will be running throughout the summer granting visitors the opportunity to admire works of Ernst from his so called “first French period”. At the core of the exhibition
The State Hermitage hosts first-ever Max Ernst’s solo show in Russia
All Numbers of the Journal
Special Issues Of the Journal
Intelligent Reader's Choice
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KF Activities
KF Global Bridge I: Nowruz in Seoul Outdoor Performance and Street Festival 2019 Oceania Next Generation Policy Experts Forum "100 Years of Spring in Wuhan" KF Invitation Program for Distinguished Guests in Diplomacy, Security & Education Fields [Review] Korean Provisional Government was held in Shanghai KF Global Challengers Internship Letter
April 2019 EVENTS Worldwide Korea: Issues & Scenes
Lee Jong-heon, Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat: ‘We will expand trilateral cooperation to bring substantial benefits to three nations.’
KF Features
Meeting Korean Culture Abroad: When K-pop Dance Meets African Soul Shared Tastes: The Best Way to Start the Day [Infographic] Foreign Visitors to Korea
KFVN News
Meeting the World in Korea as seen from the preparation site
People > Lee Jong-heon, Secretary-General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat: ‘We will expand trilateral cooperation to bring substantial benefits to three nations.’
Korea has China on its left and Japan on its right: in Korea, these two countries are known as old neighbors. The trio have shared similar cultures over a long history, giving and taking influences, and have secured outstanding positions on the global scene, growing and developing through fierce competition. Now, as Korea, China, and Japan jointly face the new mission of prosperity and peace in Northeast Asia, the three countries need to go beyond the framework of old-fashioned bilateral relations for a greater vision of trilateral cooperation. The KF sat down with Lee Jong-heon, Secretary- General of the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) to hear more about his views on the further development of friendship and exchange among the three countries.
It is easy to guess the work of your organization from its name. Nevertheless, could you give us an introduction of the TCS and its activities?
The TCS is an international organization launched in 2011. It was conceived in a meeting of the leaders of Korea, China, and Japan in 1999 during the ASEAN+3 Summit, where the three governments signed and ratified agreements to the effect of founding the secretariat. Our vision is enabling the peoples of the three countries to enjoy peace and prosperity, and to that end we carry out projects through our four departments that respectively deal with political affairs, economic affairs, socio-cultural affairs, and management and coordination.
Our activities can be divided into three categories—carrying out projects that have been promoted by governments, rendering support for smooth trilateral consultations, and independently exploring and operating prospective projects. In addition, we seek ways of enhancing understanding about trilateral cooperation and working together with other international organizations and conduct research and build databases that will be helpful for cooperation among the three countries. At the moment, the TCS has three members. But we have to bear in mind that our scope can be expanded to include Russia, Mongolia, and North Korea.
Among the nations of the world, there is most likely no other trio that has as many exchanges as Korea, China, and Japan have with another. There certainly will be a variety of exchanges among the three countries in the coming days. In what particular field do you think cooperation should be expanded to bring the highest degree of mutual benefits to the three nations?
In the case of Korea, Japan, and China, confrontation and antagonism among the central governments tend to reduce or weaken exchanges between local administrations and private-level contacts: this tendency is not helpful for the development of the three countries. Even if there are political and diplomatic ups and downs, exchanges in certain fields should be unaffected and expanded in a way to bring substantial benefits to the peoples and contribute to the betterment of their quality of life. An example is exchange in the field of non-traditional security, where geographical proximity can make winners of all three countries. “Fields” include environmental protection, disaster management, health and sanitation, transnational crimes, and food security, such as agro-fisheries produce.
When the three nations successfully wrap-up ongoing negotiations about free trade agreements, cooperative ties will be upgraded, offering greater benefits to their peoples. Now, the world is moving from an era of globalization toward an era of “slowbalisation,” which requires strengthening and expanding regionalism involving neighboring countries and mutual cooperation among them. Korea, Japan, and China should also expand their future-oriented interactions.
Last year, your secretariat conducted a public opinion survey of the peoples of the three countries. The result showed that only 30–40 percent of the respondents felt a sense of trust and familiarity towards peoples of the other countries and vice versa. How would you interpret these results?
The survey was conducted on 1,000 people in each country. The rate of people feeling close to the other two countries was not so high, but we don’t have to take this figure too seriously. In the 1980s and 1990s, when trilateral relations were good, the rate topped 80–90 percent. In other words, the rate can go up or down according to the year the survey is conducted.
Instead of the rate, we have to pay more attention to the fact that the peoples of the three countries shared the need for cooperation. About 82 percent of respondents agreed on the need for tripartite cooperation, and 87 percent said that current levels of cooperation should be further developed and strengthened. We could confirm that the peoples of the three countries viewed the trilateral relations as a neutral and progressive value, and that is what counts as the most meaningful aspect of the survey.
To improve the three peoples’ perceptions of each other, what public diplomacy endeavor should be made, and in what ways? Could you explain the role of the secretariat in these efforts?
The three countries are geographically close, but they have different geopolitical characteristics, as one belongs to the continent, one is a peninsula, and one is an island nation. Naturally, their values and ways of thinking and understanding differ from one another. However, they share the common belief that each one can grow and develop only when all three cooperate. The peoples themselves should beware of taking antagonistic attitudes and fixed negative ideas of their neighbors and, in the event of disputes, need to view the issues from the perspectives of the others.
Last year, approximately 30 million foreigners visited Japan, including about 7.5 million visitors each from Korea and China. In other words, Korean and Chinese visitors made up half of the foreign visitors to Japan. We cannot say that more visits mean better understanding, but we can suggest that more visits narrow differences. The TCS organizes and sponsors the Trilateral Journalists’ Exchange Program and joint coverage to emphasize the importance of mass media in promoting mutual understanding and cooperation. We also support communication and contact between journalists through diverse channels.
In the meantime, we hold a wide variety of public diplomacy events with the hope of expanding ties in the field of culture and humanities. Most recently, we invited architects from each of the three countries to a forum, where they talked about the contemporary architecture of East Asia and the culture, technology, and philosophy embedded in it as well as design strategy. It was a significant occasion for comprehending the architectural evolution of the three countries on the basis of mutual influences and to seek directions for further development.
What kind of exchange can be conducted for the growing generations who will lead the three nations in the future? If the TCS, in this regard, has concrete programs which have been already carried out or are under preparation, please tell us about them.
We cannot deny or forget the unfortunate aspects of the shared history of the three countries. If we become obsessed with it, however, it will only be a hindrance to the development of trilateral relations. The future generations, including today’s youth, need to increase exchange and communication with the neighboring countries. We hosted the Trilateral Youth Summit, where 30 undergraduate and graduate students from the three countries discussed cooperation for shared development in Northeast Asia. We conducted the Young Ambassador Program to enhance the young peoples’ understanding of trilateral cooperation and operate exchange programs aimed at increasing understanding and strengthening friendship and sense of community. We have 17 groups involving 40 colleges and universities of the three countries and are building infrastructure for cooperation among college students through the Campus Asia program, which invigorates the system under which students may earn joint degrees or earn degrees by credit sharing.
Our projects are not targeted only at college students and young adults: we also provide opportunities for international exchange for elementary-aged children and junior high school students in provincial areas. We are considering diverse programs for children that can serve as the foundation on which future generations may grow up building friendships with children of neighboring countries without being prejudiced against them. One representative program is the Crested Ibis International Forum. The crested ibis was nearly extinct in Korea and Japan but has come back thanks to a donation from China, and the bird has also become a symbol of trilateral friendship and cooperation. In the spring of last year, the Crested Ibis International Forum was held in China, and elementary school students from Changnyeong-gun in Korea’s Gyeongsangnam-do Province attended the meeting to give a performance and watch the proceedings. It was truly rewarding to see children of the three countries get together and quickly become friends.
The TCS and the KF co-hosted the Trilateral Forum on Public Diplomacy last year. Could you brief our readers on the forum? Do you think a similar event can be held this year?
Last year was the first time that the TCS co-hosted the Trilateral Forum on Public Diplomacy, and it was a very successful and meaningful event. Under the theme “Trilateral Cooperation for Enhancing Friendship, Understanding, and Trust,” local government officials, journalists, scholars, and university students from China, Japan, and Korea talked about expanding exchange within Northeast Asia at various levels. Public diplomacy is usually recognized as a term referring to bilateral relations, and to my great satisfaction, the forum was instrumental in broadening the concept so that it can be applied to trilateral relations. If possible, we hope to be able to host these forums annually.
You are the fourth Secretary-General of the TCS and the second Korean to serve in that position. Do you have any tasks you wish to carry out during your term in office?
I don’t think I have any special agenda to carry out during my term. There is, however, a goal I have been pursuing and preparing for over five years from the time I was deputy Secretary-General: the systematization of trilateral cooperation beyond bilateral relations among Korea, China, and Japan. Bilateral relations are liable to the direct influence of governments and political situations. However, trilateral relations can accommodate for this weakness in a systematic manner. I have high hopes for establishing the concept of trilateral cooperation in a way that helps the peoples of the three countries understand and sympathize with it, and I will channel my efforts and energies into this mission.
Once these foundations are solidified, I wish to expand ties with the Korea-China-Japan Network of Trilateral Cooperation Think-Tanks and study such examples of regional organizations in other continents (e.g. Nordic Council, Visegrád Group) and increase contacts with them. I will spare no effort in supporting governmental agencies working for cooperation and assisting in activities of non-governmental organizations and private communities. When it comes to trilateral cooperation, the bottom-up style of exchange initiated by the peoples—the citizens and the public—is as crucial and significant as top-down exchange among national leaders. All TCS staff, including myself, will strive to attain these goals.
Lastly, do you have any words for KF Newsletter readers?
The KF is doing a wonderful job of properly and accurately promoting Korean culture to the outside world. Considering Korea-Japan-China relations and the regional context of Northeast Asia, there should be many projects through which the KF and the TCS can complement each other for a synergy effect. I also hope to see more exchange of all types between our organizations. I also hope KF Newsletter readers continue to follow the activities of the TCS with interest as we work for the progress of trilateral cooperation.
Interviewed by Kim Daniel
Interview Korea_Japan_China Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat
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LEDs Took Half a Billion Tons of Carbon Dioxide From the Sky in 2017, IHS Markit Says
http://www.chinaiol.com 2017/12/25 9:14:29 Source：www.businesswire.com
The use of LEDs to illuminate buildings and outdoor spaces reduced the total carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of lighting by an estimated 570 million tons in 2017. This reduction is roughly equivalent to shutting down 162 coal-fired power plants, according to IHS Markit . LED lighting uses an average of 40 percent less power than fluorescents, and 80 percent less than incandescents, to produce the same amount of light.
“The efficiency of LEDs is essentially what makes them environmentally friendly,” said Jamie Fox, principal analyst, lighting and LEDs group, IHS Markit. “Therefore, LED conversion is unlike other measures, which require people to reduce consumption or make lifestyle changes.”
LED component and lighting companies were responsible for reducing the global carbon (CO2e) footprint by an estimated 1.5 percent in 2017, and that number is likely to continue to grow as more LEDs are installed around the world.
LEDs have other positive environmental benefits, too. For example, LEDs have a longer life span than traditional bulbs and fewer are produced, so the emissions and pollution associated with the production, shipping, sale and disposal of the products is lowered. Secondly, unlike fluorescents, LEDs do not contain mercury. LEDs also decrease air pollution, since most electrical energy is still generated by burning fossil fuels. “While other activities affect climate change more than lighting does, it is still a very strong contribution from a single industry sector,” Fox said.
IHS Markit has tracked the market share for top LED component suppliers for many years. Based on an analysis of this data, Nichia can claim credit for having saved the most carbon overall -- accounting for 10 percent of all LED lighting reduction achieved in 2017, which translates into 57 million tons of CO2 -- about the same as 16 coal plants. Cree followed Nichia with 8 percent, while Lumileds, Seoul Semiconductor, MLS, Samsung and LG Innotek each have a share in the range of 4 percent to 7 percent.
Savings achieved by each company relate to the energy saved by the use of that company’s components while installed in lighting applications. It does not include a whole lifecycle analysis, which would likely lead to a small additional positive benefit, due to the longer life of LEDs.
“LED component companies and lighting companies have transformed their industry,” Fox said. “They are fighting climate change much more effectively than other industries, and they should be given credit for it. Unlike in other industry sectors, workers at LED companies can honestly say that by selling more of their products, they are helping to reduce global warming.”
IHS Markit figures are only based on the lighting market. They do not include energy saved by LEDs that replaced other technologies in other sectors, such as automotive and consumer technology.
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A screenwriter working on a script for a romantic movie is having a hard time because he is a little jaded when it comes to ...
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Dirty Grandpa
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Charlie Countryman
While traveling abroad, a guy falls for a Romanian beauty whose unreachable heart has its origins in her violent, charismatic ex.
Country: USA, Romania
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller, Comedy
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Ron gets married, Leslie goes to London to receive an award, Ben and Andy try to get a grant from a rich Englishman, and Tom ...
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Actor: Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Adam Scott, Rob Lowe, Jim O'Heir, Retta, Natalie Morales, Jama Williamson, Carlo Mendez, Jason Boegh, David Trice
Leslie becomes a political lightning rod when the penguin wedding she sets up at the Pawnee Zoo turns out to be for two male penguins.
Actor: Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Jim O'Heir, Retta, Mo Collins, Darlene Hunt, Tahmus Rounds, Blake Lee, Marlon John, Will Rodriguez
A new documentary following Leslie Knope, a mid-level bureaucrat in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana as she attempts to advance her career ...
Actor: Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Paul Schneider, Aziz Ansari, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Ian Roberts, Loudon Wainwright III, Jim O'Heir, Retta, Martin Chow, Bryce Hurless, Jon Daly, Lennon Wynn
The Pistol Shrimps
A group of actresses, musicians, writers, comedians, and moms who compete in the Los Angeles women's recreational basketball league.
Actor: Stephanie Allynne, Maria Blasucci, Matt Gourley, Molly Hawkey, Aubrey Plaza, Willy Roberts, Melissa Stetten, Jesse Thomas, Angela Trimbur
Ned Rifle
NED RIFLE is the third and final chapter of Hal Hartley's tragicomic epic begun with HENRY FOOL (1997, TIFF) and continued with FAY GRIM (2007). ...
Actor: Aubrey Plaza, Liam Aiken, Parker Posey, Robert John Burke, Martin Donovan, James Urbaniak, Bill Sage, Lloyd Kaufman, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Gia Crovatin, Karen Sillas, Jefferson Mays, John Ellison Conlee, Christina Rouner, Thomas Jay Ryan
The Driftless Area
Pierre Hunter (Anton Yelchin), a bartender with unyielding optimism, returns to his tiny hometown after his parents' death. When he falls for the enigmatic Stella ...
Country: USA, Canada
Genre: Drama, Crime
Actor: Anton Yelchin, Zooey Deschanel, John Hawkes, Alia Shawkat, Frank Langella, Ciarán Hinds, Aubrey Plaza, Benjamin Rogers, Primo Allon, Gary Hetherington, Lucia Frangione, Elika Portnoy, Amitai Marmorstein, Philip Granger, Duncan Ollerenshaw
Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever
Grumpy Cat is a lonely cat living in a mall pet shop. Because she never gets chosen by customers, she develops a sour outlook on ...
Genre: Adventure, Comedy
Actor: Grumpy Cat, Megan Charpentier, Daniel Roebuck, Russell Peters, David Lewis, Evan Todd, Isaac Haig, Shauna Johannesen, Casey Manderson, Tyler Johnston, Aubrey Plaza, Ryan Beil, Jean Hamilton, Dylan Poyser, Sidika Larbes
Legion Season 1
David Haller, is a troubled young man who may be more than human. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals ...
Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Actor: Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Katie Aselton, Jean Smart, Hamish Linklater, David Selby, David Ferry, Ellie Araiza, Matt Hamilton, Brad Mann, Quinton Boisclair
This comedy tells the story of two sisters, a lesbian and a sex-addict, who work as maids at a hotel in a city named Fresno. ...
Actor: Judy Greer, Natasha Lyonne, Malcolm Barrett, Jessica St. Clair, Edward Barbanell, Ron Livingston, Aubrey Plaza, John Roohinian, Kumail Nanjiani, Davenia McFadden, Jon Daly, Paul Bates, Molly Shannon, Barbara Drotow, Alan Mandell
The Little Hours
In the Middle Ages, a young servant fleeing from his master takes refuge at a convent full of emotionally unstable nuns. Introduced as a deaf ...
Actor: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, Aubrey Plaza, John C. Reilly, Molly Shannon, Fred Armisen, Jemima Kirke, Nick Offerman, Lauren Weedman, Paul Reiser, Adam Pally, Paul Weitz, Jon Gabrus, Rolando Abbarchi
Ingrid Thorburn is an unhinged social media stalker with a history of confusing "likes" for meaningful relationships. Taylor Sloane is an Instagram-famous "influencer" whose perfectly ...
Actor: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Wyatt Russell, Billy Magnussen, Pom Klementieff, Hannah Pearl Utt, Joseph Breen, Angelica Amor, Meredith Hagner, Charlie Wright, Dennis Atlas, Malika Williams, Luis Deveze, Jay Weingarten
legion season 2,legion season 2 2018,sunbathing,telepathy,buffet,voice over narration,butterfly
Actor: Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, Navid Negahban, Jemaine Clement, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Hamish Linklater, Jean Smart, Jenna Borrenpohl, Ashli Dowling, Jelly Howie, Caitlin Leahy, Brittney Parker Rose
An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn is a movie starring Aubrey Plaza, Jemaine Clement, and Emile Hirsch. Lulu Danger's unsatisfying marriage takes a turn for ...
Genre: Comedy, Crime
Actor: Aubrey Plaza, Jemaine Clement, Emile Hirsch, Craig Robinson
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USC Digital Folklore Archives / Posts Tagged ‘snowboarding’
No Friends on a Powder Day
Tags: proverb, skiing, snow, snowboarding
Residence: Lafayette, Pennyslvania
Performance Date: 3/24/16
Information on the Informant: Troy Dixon, the informant of this particular saying, is a 20 year old student who attends Lafayette college in Pennsylvania. He plays college football there and is a linebacker. Troy grew up in Santa Monica, California and attended high school in Los Angeles. Ever since he was born, Troy was an avid skier. He went up with his family to their house in Mammoth every week that was possible during the winter. Because he skied so often he became extremely skilled and became a member of the Mammoth mountain ski team. This only lasted for a few years, however, because it was such a large time commitment. However, Troy has remained an expert skier who frequently travels around California skiing the tallest and fastest mountain. This particular proverb was something he introduced to me numerous times since I met him in 2012 and something he frequently told me while we were on the mountain together.
Me: “What exactly is the proverb that you always say when you’re on the mountain and there is fresh snow?”
Informant: “The saying goes, ‘There are no such thing as friends on a powder day’.”
Me: “So what exactly does this saying mean?”
Informant: “Okay so what this means is that when there is new snow on the mountain, or ‘powder,’ as a lot of skiers and snowboarders call it, you have no friends, aka skiing the fresh snow takes priority over skiing or conversing with your friends. It pretty much means that nothing, especially not your friends, can distract you from being able to ski the amazing snow.”
Me: “Where was the first time you heard this saying?”
Informant:”My dad told me about it when I was 6 years old and when I went to the top of the mountain for the first time and skied in powder. My dad has skied for 30 years and is an expert skier so he learned it from some of his friends who he went to the mountain with over the years.”
Analysis: This saying is a traditional skiers proverb. It appears that it is one of those sayings that most people know but aren’t exactly sure of the direct origin. The informant, Troy, also stated that his father has skied all over the world and heard the saying before in other states besides California.
Collected by afinnega
Posted Tuesday, 3rd of May 2016 at 04:22:05 PM
Tags: American, drinking, drinking game, encouragement, folk speech, greek life, jumps, phrase, saying, send it, snowboarding, sorority, Sports, support
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
“Okay, so in the snowboarding world, when, um, you’re about to, like—‘cause I was a competitive snowboarder, you know, and so we would hit, like, really big jumps or something and then, or like if the pipe was like really big that day, um, so usually it’s used with jumps that are like over like 25 feet, so no like it doesn’t have to be big [laughs of disbelief from other people in room], but usually they’ll be like 90 feet when people use this saying and it’s not like, it’s like a, um, we would be like, ‘Oh, like fucking send it!’ That means like ‘huck yourself,’ like ‘do like what you got’ or yeah, like spin whatever, do flips and so it’s like just like ‘give it your all’ type of deal and so yeah we would just use ‘sending it.’ ‘Cause then it’s like ain’t nothing comin’ back, ‘cause you’re sending it and you’re giving it your all and you’re gonna kill it.”
The informant was a 21-year-old USC student who grew up in competitive snowboarding and has dabbled in CrossFit and other workout programs. She has been in a prominent sorority on campus since coming to USC and goes out every night of the weekend, as well as some nights of the week. I live with the informant and the interview took place in my room during one of the lengthy conversations we often have. The informant has been known to use aspects of her athletic and workout life in social interactions and “Send it!” is no different. She went on to tell me that “So now I’ve started to integrate that into the Greek life culture and so if someone’s in a drinking game I’m like, ‘Dude, fucking send this game!’ and they’re like, ‘I’m gonna send it.’ (Interviewer says: “It’s not coming back!”) And then they drink a lot. Yeah, it’s not coming back. So then they just like drink a lot.”
This piece of folk speech was interesting to me because of the meaning behind something like “Send it!” The other people in the room and I got hooked on the idea that you would say it because “it wasn’t coming back.” In addition to this being about “giving it your all,” it seems like it’s about taking opportunities when you have them. It would make sense, then, that the informant would translate this phrase into other areas of her life, like the Greek life culture. It is easier to do wild things at a party when you have someone telling you it is the moment to do them. It is also interesting that it is primarily a way of encouraging someone else to do something. While it could come across as pretty aggressive to the uninitiated, those inside of snowboarding culture would know that it is a way of supporting one another and pushing each other to get better and try new things.
Collected by Lisbeth Leftwich
Posted Thursday, 7th of May 2015 at 10:04:48 PM
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Footbag Reference: Footbag Overview
Footbag is a growing sport, originating in North America, though the sport is now played all over the world. Frequently referred to as "Hacky Sack®" (a product manufactured by Wham-O, Inc.), footbag has existed as a competitive sport in several forms since 1972. There are a substantial number of footbag tournaments and festivals each year.
Competitive footbag is governed by the International Footbag Committee (IFC), which publishes the official Rules of Footbag Sports.
The most popular competitive footbag sports are Footbag Net and Freestyle.
Footbag Net
Kenny Shults (left) goes up against Chris (Crass) Eddicott at the '96 U.S. Open Championships. Photo by Mike Grueter.
Footbag Net is a singles or doubles court game, like tennis or volleyball, where players use only their feet to kick the footbag over a five-foot-high net. The rules for doubles net are a lot like volleyball: players are allowed three kicks per side, and must alternate kicks. In singles, however, players are only allowed two kicks per side.
The footbag (which is usually a 32-panel vinyl and/or leather ball) may not contact a player's body except below the knee.
Footbag Net combines the court strategy of tennis with the set-and-spike strategy of volleyball. Players frequently spike the footbag over the net, using either the sole of the foot, a sweeping inside kick, or an outside push. Even more remarkable than the spikes are the "digs" players use to defend against the spikes. Players also block spikes in the air with amazing foot-to-foot battles over the net.
Ken Shults (left) prepares his famous reverse-sole against a waiting Alf Marcussen. Photo by John Caveney.
The playing court is 20' x 44', divided into 4 equal serving quadrants, similar to a badminton court. Serves are cross-court, similar to tennis. Scoring is similar to volleyball; you must be serving to score. Some competitions use a pool format, where the competitors are divided into pools of four or five teams. Each pool plays "round-robin", with the top two teams from each pool advancing to a single-elimination play-off. Games can be played to 11 or 15 points, where players must win by 2 points. Matches are usually best 2 out of 3. Most competitions use a double-elimination format, where players advance through the winner's or loser's bracket to quarter- and semi-finals before the final match.
Footbag Freestyle
Footbag Freestyle is the artistic form of the sport. It can be a flurry of difficult moves the eye can hardly follow, or it can be smooth and flowing, as if in slow motion. This variety makes freestyle competitions very difficult to judge. To simplify the task, competitors are judged along four dimensions: choreography, difficulty, variety, and execution.
Players choreograph routines to music, and are judged on how well their style of play matches their choice of music. They are also judged on their originality and creativity.
Each move or trick has a determinable difficulty rating. The average difficulty of each move and the total difficulty of all the moves in the routine are added to determine a player's difficulty rating. Difficulty is measured in "adds", which represent additional levels of difficulty beyond the basic moves. (A toe delay is one "add.")
For variety, players must perform moves that contain elements from five general categories: (1) leg dexterity (circling the bag with the foot), (2) delays (catching the footbag), (3) spins, fliers, and blind moves, (4) unusual surfaces (i.e., sole, shin, or head), and (5) cross-body moves (made by crossing the foot to the other side of the body).
Execution is judged by smoothness, confidence, and, most of all, the ability of the player to keep the footbag off the ground.
Retrieved from "http://footbag.org/reference/-?title=Footbag_Overview&oldid=1416"
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Board index ‹ Chronology & Catastrophism ‹ SIS Discussion Forum
The Pyramids and axis shifts
The Forum is provided for both SIS members and non-members to discuss topics relevant to the Society's work. It also provides the opportunity for non-members to ask questions about the Society’s work and/or published material.
All posts are moderated before inclusion. No attachments are permitted.
by barry » Wed 06 Jun 2012 3:20 pm
In his article in Review 2011, F Slade Barker points out that the Egyptian pyramids are aligned with the cardinal points. He argues that this must preclude any axis shifts of the Earth since those early times. Doesn’t this rule out any theories of later changes to the Earth’s position relative to the stars?
Joined: Tue 24 Apr 2012 5:06 pm
Re: The Pyramids and axis shifts
by Daphne » Mon 18 Jun 2012 2:27 pm
Doesn't Velikovsy argue that the Earth turned 180 degrees so that winter became summer and west became east? The pyramids would still be aligned with the cardinal points because they are square. (the moderator is going to have his work cut out moderating this chitchat!)
Joined: Tue 12 Jun 2012 8:17 am
by barry » Sun 24 Jun 2012 4:03 pm
Didn't Velikovsky argue for less complete movements of the earth? Didn't he suggest some locations had shifted in lattitude?
by Phillip » Fri 06 Jul 2012 11:01 am
The strongest evidence for an axial shift as far as the Holocene is concerned might be 3100BC and 6200BC (conventional dates before anyone chews my head off) which precede the Egyptian pyramids. This raises the question - where do you date the Exodus event if that involved axial shift?
by Phillip » Sat 27 Oct 2012 4:36 pm
Arab historian Al-Masudi in the 10th century said the pyramids were built 300 years prior to the flood - when stars wandered confusedly from their courses, and clashed together with tremendous noise ...' which, if the latter inferred a meteoric storm of unusual nature, a bombardment such as envisaged by Moe Mandelkehr in SIS articles, would date the pyramids around 2600BC = 300 years prior to 2300bc. This is not very distant from modern reckoning. Of course, if Al-Masudi was thinking in terms of a much more prominent kind of flooding event and then that might coincide with an axial change of some description - but when might this have happened?
by Laurence » Sat 27 Oct 2012 8:22 pm
In his book "Granting the Seasons" which discusses the changes to the Chinese astronomical system, Nathan Sivin explains that the Mongol emperor ordered a new survey of the cities of China because East was no longer East, West was no longer West...., and although he ordered new instruments to be made the need for the survey was so urgent they got the instruments made for the survey of 777 out of the museum. Clear evidence of an axial shift or crustal slip.
I read this on the same day I received the Rutgar's news flash showing the huge peak in Sulphate Aerosol in Ice cores in about 1280, an amazing co-incidence; and 777 was of course the peak date in Robert Newtons graph showing the rate of rotation of the earth.
by Trevor » Wed 31 Oct 2012 8:26 pm
It would seem that something very interesting happened in 777, but how can we assess this report in isolation? An axial shift or crustal slip would have affected not just the geography of China, but that of every other region of the world. Are there any similar reports of an urgent re-surveying programme taking place in the Byzantine empire or anywhere else? I'm not aware of any. Such an event, involving axial or crustal displacements, would also have destroyed all previous structural alignments, which brings us back to Barry's original point. Could the precise alignment of the sides of the Great Pyramid to north, south, east and west, as well as the rising of the summer-solstice sun over the Heel stone at Stonehenge (as seen from the centre of the site), and the illumination of the internal passage and chambers of Newgrange by the rising winter-solstice sun, etc., be due to nothing more than chance?
Joined: Tue 25 Sep 2012 9:02 am
by Phillip » Thu 15 Nov 2012 10:23 pm
I personally do not think there has been any axial shifts in the last couple of thousand years - at minimum. If Peter and Lawrence want to say there was axial shift and then the onus is on them to present the evidence. I can't see any.
by Laurence » Thu 13 Dec 2012 10:07 pm
Axis shifts and crustal slip are not identical. In a crustal slip the top layer of the earth moves relative to its core but the axis of rotation of the core need not change relative to the stars so in a crustal slip the Polar Star is unaltered but the latitude and longitude of towns change. If its big enough climate belts change. When in the early eighteenth century AD Dunthorpe pleaded with the Royal Society to send an expedition to measure the latitude and longitude of the ancient observatories they couldn't be bothered in contrast as the French Navy was concerned about reaching harbours safely at about the same time they sent a naval expedition round the Mediterranean to measure the latitude and longitude of all the harbours, which ,of course included the observatory sites at Alexandria, Antioch, Rhodes and Athens. Ptolemy gives the position of many places in his Geographica written about 140AD, they all differ from there current values and an optimisation study showed they corresponded to a change in the north pole on the crust of the earth of about 5 degrees (the result was published in an SIS article). At Cambridge Peter showed that maps of the early 16th Century AD show a offset equator. So Barry there is plenty of evidence for recent crustal slips. In an axial tilt the earth's core changes its axis of rotation and carries the crust with it. None of my evidence needs the axis of rotation of the core to have changed. But a general crustal shift would alter the orientation of the pyramids with or without an axial tilt.
by Trevor » Sun 16 Dec 2012 5:52 pm
The information presented by Laurence is very interesting, but does it provide any reason to suppose that one or more crustal slips have occurred during the past 2,000 years? Ancient reports giving indications of the latitude and longitude of particular cities would only be meaningful in terms of making comparisons with the situation today if the methodology applied could have given reliable results, and if the system of co-ordinates used was made clear. How much do we know about Ptolemy's system of co-ordinates, and his methodology? The accurate determination of longitude in particular posed problems until the late 18th century, since it requires a knowledge of the precise difference between local time and the corresponding time at a specified reference point. The greatest problem was faced by sailors, since they had no way of accurately determining longitude until the invention of Harrison's marine chronometer in 1773. Sending out surveyors to determine the accurate latitude and longitude of foreign ports earlier in the 18th century would have been pointless, because sailors would have had no way of making use of this information. Even in the early part of the 19th century, few ships were equipped with accurate marine chronometers. Furthermore, there was no international agreement about the reference line for longitude determinations until 1884.
The forces required for a crustal slip to occur are immense. Admiral Flavio Barbiero has argued that they could be supplied by an asteroid impact at an appropriate angle, but that remains controversial. What is certain is that a crustal slippage, particularly one changing the positions of the poles, would have had catastrophic consequences, because the Earth is not a perfect sphere. Therefore, if a crustal slippage involving relocation of the poles had occurred during the past 2,000 years, there should be widespread evidence of catastrophic events, as well as changes of orientation, at this time. Can such a time be identified?
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SkyscraperPage Forum (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/index.php)
- Southwest (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/forumdisplay.php?f=643)
- - ASU/UofA Downtown Phoenix construction thread (http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=132807)
HX_Guy Nov 25, 2006 8:46 AM
ASU/UofA Downtown Phoenix construction thread
I want to post this again since the other Phoenix thread got kicked to the Archive forum and it's very recent news...
Downtown dorm pact nearly set
Ginger D. Richardson
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 24, 2006 12:00 AM
After nearly six months of haggling and negotiating, Arizona State University appears to have worked out a deal to build a $100 million-plus student housing project in downtown Phoenix.
The complex would contain roughly 1,300 beds and be constructed in two phases between now and 2009. It would be 12 to 15 stories high and located on the northern end of the downtown campus, just north of Taylor Street between First and Second streets.
The property, which would support students at the university's newest campus, would be paid for entirely by a private developer. That company would, in turn, charge students rent.
"We are cautiously optimistic that we are going to get this in place," said Rich Stanley, senior vice president and university planner.
Permanent student housing is critical to the success of the new campus and will be sorely needed when the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism opens in downtown Phoenix in August 2008. The media-based college boasts an enrollment of nearly 1,800 students, many of whom are underclassmen likely to live in ASU-provided housing.
But the development is also considered key to helping Phoenix reach its overall revitalization goals. Not only would it function as students' primary home, the city believes it would encourage spinoff development in the form of restaurants, shops and other retail uses.
"More people living downtown will create the support for new businesses," Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said. "It's a cycle that will repeat and continue."
Specifics of the agreement with Alabama-based Capstone Management have not yet been made public, but the university plans to seek project approval from the Arizona Board of Regents at the end of this month. The Phoenix City Council is expected to vote on the deal in December or January.
Housing and groceries
Plans call for the housing complex to be built on a combination of city-owned and privately held land north of what once was the Ramada Inn Downtown.
The hotel is being used by the university as a temporary dorm and is known as Residential Commons.
The new housing building would have as many as 750 beds in its first phase, to be open by August 2008.
The university expects it to be used mostly by freshmen in its initial years. The second phase, which could open a year later, would bring an additional 550 beds to the downtown area and most likely would be used by sophomores and upper classmen, Stanley said.
The property would feature a quad-style setup, in which two to four students in adjoining rooms share a single bathroom. It would also have wireless Internet access, academic support programs, meeting and gathering spaces and on-site food service.
In addition, ASU is hoping to locate a grocery store, or perhaps a fast-food restaurant, on the ground floor.
"The students will tell you that they want a grocery store downtown, and that there isn't a place to get some food to take back to the room and eat," said Kevin Cook, vice provost and dean for student affairs. "That has been the Number 1 thing we hear about."
Right now, many students are walking to a Circle K several blocks away to stock up on basic supplies, Cook said.
Timothy Johns, a freshman nursing major who lived in Residential Commons on the downtown campus since August, has some other requests, too.
"I'd like to see it have a stove and a refrigerator. A little kitchen facility on the floor where you can do a bit of basic cooking," he said. "Also, private bathrooms. I think, nowadays, the students I talk to really enjoy having their own bathroom."
Developer to charge rents
Capstone Managementcould not be reached for comment this week.
But according to the company's Web site, the firm has an extensive history of managing student housing complexes at universities across the country, including the University of Maryland, University of Alabama and University of Missouri.
Stanley and other ASU officials say their agreement with Capstone would allow the company to function essentially as a landlord for an apartment complex.
The firm, as the dormitory's owner and manager, would set the rents and collect the money directly from students.
But the university is still working with the company to determine what those charges would be. Stanley said ASU wants the "opening rent to be reasonably in line with those in the rest of our system."
According to ASU's Web site, students living in on-campus housing in Tempe and Phoenix are paying $5,300 to $9,800 this academic year, depending on where they live and what meal plan they are on.
The plan to locate the property in downtown Phoenix has been somewhat controversial because the development is forcing the closing and relocation of a couple of longtime downtown businesses, including Mary Ann Avila's Downtown Laundry and Dry Cleaning store.
Avila, who has run her shop at the corner of First and Taylor streets for 11 years, received an eviction notice from her landlord last month.
But Tuesday, Phoenix Deputy City Manager David Cavazos said she would receive about $200,000 in relocation assistance.
The city will also work with her to find a new place for her business, Cavazos said.
This area is going to fill in quickly and nicely. Two massive parking lots and a block of mostly dirt lots gone. If Central Park East ever gets off the ground, directly north of Chase Tower, it would really finish things off nicely. C'mon hotel developers, that is a pretty prime spot for another hotel! :D
http://www.nitnelav.com/ASUDowntownNew.JPG
ASU housing downtown a step closer
After nearly six months of haggling and negotiating, Arizona State University appears to have worked out a deal to build a $100 million student housing project in downtown Phoenix.
That is welcome news for nearby residents already worried about the lack of affordable housing in downtown and whether students would pool their money to rent houses in nearby neighborhoods.
"Market rates have pushed the rates of moderate housing through the roof. There's a void there," said Steve Dreiseszun, nearby resident and president of the F.Q. Story Neighborhood Preservation Association.
"Consequently, affordable housing would be a need for students and faculty and middle-income individuals who want to live and work in the downtown area."
The student complex would contain roughly 1,300 beds and be built in two phases by 2009. It would be 12 to 15 stories high and on the northern end of the downtown campus, just north of Taylor Street between First and Second streets.
The property would be paid for entirely by a private developer. That company would, in turn, charge students rent.
Permanent student housing is critical to the success of the new campus and will be sorely needed when the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism opens downtown in August 2008. The college boasts an enrollment of nearly 1,800 students, many of whom are underclassmen likely to live in ASU-provided housing.
But the development also is considered key to helping Phoenix reach its overall revitalization goals. Not only would it function as students' home, city officials believe it would encourage other development, such as restaurants and shops.
"More people living downtown will create the support for new businesses," Mayor Phil Gordon said. "It's a cycle that will repeat and continue."
Specifics of the agreement with Alabama-based Capstone Management have not yet been made public, but the university plans to seek project approval from the Arizona Board of Regents on Friday.
sundevilgrad Nov 29, 2006 3:33 PM
Here's a link to the ASU DT student housing developer...
http://www.capstonecompanies.com/
HX_Guy Dec 6, 2006 4:33 AM
Regents OK dorm for ASU downtown
Ginger D. Richardson and Anne Ryman
Dec. 5, 2006 06:06 PM
The Arizona Board of Regents has approved an Arizona State University plan to build more than 700 new student-housing beds in downtown Phoenix by August 2008.
The $100 million-plus project will be located on the northern end of the downtown Phoenix campus, just north of Taylor Street, between First and Second Streets.
It will be entirely funded by a private developer, who will, in turn charge students rent.
ASU is under a very tight deadline to deliver the project, which is considered critical to the success of the new campus.
Last year, more than 1,300 students from the College of Public Programs, the College of Nursing, University College and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism lived in on-campus housing on the Tempe campus.
By fall 2008, all of those programs will have moved to downtown Phoenix, where ASU currently only has beds for 260 students.
"It's a very tight schedule, but it's not impossible," said Rich Stanley, ASU senior vice president and senior planner. "We think it's doable."
The university expects mostly freshman to use live there in the early years.
But the project, which is being built in phases, will eventually contain as many as 1,300 beds, and will likely be used by sophomores and juniors as well.
The university has said that it is working with the developer, Alabama-based Capstone Management, to ensure that students who live there will pay rent commensurate with their counterparts on the Tempe campus.
It is currently talking about rates set at a maximum of $695 per month, for a 10-month lease. Rates would be higher for students who want their own room.
The property will feature a quad-style setup, in which two to four students in adjoining rooms will share a single bathroom.
But that might be a tough sell for students already living on the downtown campus, because they are staying in what used to be the Ramada Inn Downtown, and have grown used to having their own bathroom.
"Our rooms are really huge, and I like the set-up," said freshman Jenna-Lynn Stewart, who also said the rooms' balconies overlooking the Ramada's pool were a major selling point.
ASU has not committed to putting a pool in its new residence hall, but says the permanent housing will feature such amenities as wireless Internet access, academic support programs, meeting and gathering spaces and on-site food service.
In addition, the university is hoping to locate a grocery store, or perhaps a fast-food restaurant on the ground floor.
The financing arrangement is a little unusual; typically universities issue bonds to pay for such projects. But the state's universities have caps on their bonding capacity, which means there are limits to how much they can build at one time and still maintain a favorable bond rating.
Regent Anne Mariucci said this deal puts the financial risk on the developer, and warned that the Regents have no intention of bailing them out financially if the project doesn't work.
"If it fails, Big Brother isn't going to step in and take that debt on," she said.
However, ASU has made some concessions to ensure that the project is financially stable when it first opens, said Rich Stanley, ASU senior vice president and university planner.
For example, ASU has agreed to directly lease up to 15 percent of the available rooms, should the building not be fully occupied in 2008. The university's commitment is less in subsequent years, and ends after four years. It does not exceed more than $1.15 million in any given year, Stanley said.
ASU President Michael Crow said the new housing is part of a $3.4 billion plan to build and refurbish facilities that will eventually serve up to 90,000 students on ASU's various campuses. Nearly $1 billion of that is slated for student housing, and outside partnerships will be key to getting the new buildings in place, Crow said.
In a previous article, they have mentioned it is planned to be a 12-15 story building. I'm kind of curious on the two phase part of it and how that will work out.
Students may study in Phoenix, but they're letting loose in Tempe
The concrete jungle isn't the party some expected
by Meghan Keck
published on Monday, October 30, 2006
Jaqui Schraeder came to ASU from Manhattan, the "city that never sleeps," so it's no surprise that the undeclared freshman is having a tough time adjusting to downtown Phoenix's bedtime - 2 p.m.
"Businesses are pretty much open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.," Schraeder said. "So when I get back from class, there's nothing to do."
Lack of late-night activity takes away from the college atmosphere in downtown Phoenix, driving many of the Residential Commons' 150 residents to Tempe.
Most students come to parties in Tempe on Friday and Saturday nights, said Schraeder, who applied to live on the Tempe campus as soon as a bed is available.
"We all try to find someone who has a car and go together," she said. "Otherwise, the shuttle back to Downtown stops at 10 p.m., so we have to find somewhere to spend the night."
Night activity downtown is limited to the Arizona Center, which has restaurants and a movie theater, said Jose Martinez, an accounting and finance junior.
Martinez said he moved downtown expecting a traditional college experience.
"You know the rumors you hear from friends - parties and having a good time at the dorm," he said.
But Martinez said he is disappointed.
"There is nothing to do but go to the same places or hang in someone's room and watch TV, and I get tired of going to the same place every weekend," he said.
Marketing freshman Neil Orvis said downtown's culture isn't something desired by most college students.
Living downtown because of limited Tempe residence-hall space, Orvis said ASU staff offers free concerts, museums and sporting events.
"But really, does a college student want to go to a concert or museum when they can spend it having more 'fun' on the Tempe campus?" he said. "I bet you nine out of 10 people living downtown would love to live on the Tempe campus. I'm missing out on college life."
Still, the lack of nightlife hasn't been all bad, Schraeder said.
"During the week we all hang around together, so it's a nice small community," she said. "Living in ResComm allows for closer connections much quicker than I think living on campus in Tempe would."
Schraeder credits her resident assistants with creating events to facilitate the close community, including the weekly Residential Commons political discussions she has attended.
Student activities have also included movie nights and an improvisation class, but many students weren't interested in them, said Siobhan McCurdy, a former Downtown campus RA.
"When some students' idea of fun is drinking ... it's no wonder that there wasn't always good turnout for activities that staff had planned," she said.
McCurdy said she is no longer an RA because she didn't enjoy the job but said that she has hope for Downtown student life.
"Even though Phoenix doesn't have a college atmosphere, we really do make ResComm feel college-like," she said.
It's really a shame that things are the way they are with nightlife downtown. It would be a disaster if the attendance rate at the downtown campus actually starts to decline due to students wanting a real college experience.
sundevilgrad Dec 6, 2006 3:33 PM
[QUOTE=HX_GuyIt's really a shame that things are the way they are with nightlife downtown. It would be a disaster if the attendance rate at the downtown campus actually starts to decline due to students wanting a real college experience.[/QUOTE]
Even if there was more nightlife downtown, i.e. clubs and bars, most of those students are too young to participate. Having gone to ASU, I can understand why these 18, 19 and 20 year olds would want to be in Tempe. It's a shame, but very understandable.
Upward Dec 6, 2006 7:15 PM
Originally Posted by HX_Guy
Students may study in Phoenix, but they're letting loose in TempeLack of late-night activity takes away from the college atmosphere in downtown Phoenix, driving many of the Residential Commons' 150 residents to Tempe.
Oh great.
College students + lack of nearby nightlife = drunk driving.
Going to UC Irvine must be almost as bad as ASU Downtown. The only places open really late within walking distance are fast food places, but at least there are some restaurants open to a normal hour (the 2 PM thing in Phoenix is only a slight exaggeration). Having to drive to places like Newport Beach for nightlife is a perennial problem. At least we can have parties in our apartments. I assume ASU Downtown is a dry campus, just like main?
loftlovr Dec 6, 2006 9:11 PM
Downtown ASU College Students #1 complaint: Nothing to do in Downtown Phx- Downtown campus is boring.
Matt Pool's Tavern: a start in the right direction. But City is resistant to a speedy approval/ throws up red tape?
How ridiculous!
What kind of asses are employed there?
JI5 Dec 7, 2006 8:54 AM
Originally Posted by Upward
The main campus isn't dry, nor is the downtown campus. As long as you are 21, it's allowed.
Originally Posted by JI5 (Post 2494557)
I think that's the main problem for students DT. They're freshman and sophmores (18-20 years old), so they can't get into Seamus', or Cooperstown, or Matt's.
HooverDam Dec 7, 2006 3:23 PM
Two things that downtown Phoenix needs that I think would appeal to college age kids who cant drink are: a bowling alley, and an art house movie theatre. Both Tempe and Scottsdale have art house theatres, and thats it for the valley. I went to college in St Louis, a much smaller city and there were 4.5 art houses there (one was a regular multiplex that showed indy films on one or two screens), so I think the valley could support another art house.
I don't know if either of those type of things would really appeal to college kids, I just graduated college myself, and I certainly like that stuff, but I was never part of the drinking/clubbin'/cool crowd, I don't know what those people like to do. My friends and I were usually happy w/ a big bag of Funyons, some Mountain Dew, and D&D.
I graduated from ASU in 2003 and my time there went like this:
1. Girls
2. Classes (I have a BS in Biochemistry, so I had to study)
3. Beer/Bars or Clubs
4. Football
5. Climbing/Backpacking
I am an ASU grad. In the on-campus housing, alcohol was NOT allowed: even for people over 21, even grad students. I never went to any kind of school-sponsored function that included alcohol. It was my understanding that the campus was dry. Of course, there's Mill Ave, but that's not campus.
At UCI, I'm allowed to have alcohol in my apartment, there's often wine served at our department colloquium, and there's a place on campus (run by campus dining) that serves beer.
JI5 Dec 9, 2006 7:54 PM
/\ And i'm an ASU senior, and I promise you it IS allowed. There are certain dorms that are dry, for people who want that. Others have no rules on the subject - including campus apartments. As for school functions not serving alcohol, its not PC. People would be up in arms if any tuition money was spent on alcohol.
Upward Dec 10, 2006 6:09 PM
Well, ok. Maybe things have changed since I moved off campus (I only lived there through Spring 2003). But when I was in the dorms, we were told the campus itself was dry, not just the dorms we were in. Maybe they lied to us.
And as for the question of did it actually affect anything: when I was under 21, it was easier to find pot than alcohol.
Jimks Dec 11, 2006 4:11 AM
Originally Posted by sundevilgrad (Post 2494777)
While downtown ASU is in the development stage, it would be a nice perk if the students could get discount tickets or even free tickets to events at us airways or chase field. Tickets to the Dodge or Orpheum theater would also be cool.
Another idea would be to have a few ASU basketball games at us airways.
HooverDam Dec 11, 2006 7:02 AM
Originally Posted by Jimks (Post 2501828)
I doubt ASU would want to do that. The only way is if it was an in season tournament, like what UA did this year.
HX_Guy Dec 17, 2006 5:57 PM
ASU students say downtown good for classes, but . . .[i]
Dec. 17, 2006 12:00 AM
Students attending Arizona State University's newest campus love their academic environment but say their college experience isn't quite what they hoped because downtown Phoenix does not yet have all the amenities they want and need.
There is no grocery store within walking distance, and dining options are limited. Downtown is a maze of construction, with no grassy areas or parks.
"Everything closes so early down here," said Kaylin Hasselquist, an 18-year-old freshman nursing major. "I mean nothing is open."
As the downtown Phoenix campus wraps up its first semester, university leaders are redoubling their efforts to keep students happy because student retention ultimately will be one of the lasting measures of the new university's success.
A lot is at stake.
Phoenix is hoping that the campus will be an anchor for its downtown revitalization efforts, providing spinoff development in the form of new businesses and jobs. And ASU is counting on the campus to help it expand its system- wide enrollment and meet the state's ever-increasing higher education needs, which are being fueled by population growth and larger numbers of high school graduates going on to college.
University officials, who say they believe the downtown campus' inaugural term has been an overall success, have said they would like to see 90 to 95 percent of those students taking classes in Phoenix return for the spring semester. Enrollment topped 6,000 students during the fall.
ASU will not know until January whether it has reached that goal, but administrators already are making minor adjustments based on the feedback they have received during student forums.
"It's pretty clear and pretty consistent," said Mernoy Harrison, vice president and provost for the downtown campus. "They love the academics, but the amenities are lacking."
Not a college town
In many ways, students' frustrations come as no surprise to university leaders.
ASU and the city built the college in an area not known for nightlife or for even being student-friendly. Most fast-food places close mid- afternoon, and the restaurants that are open in the evening hours tend to be sit-down establishments that don't appeal to the college crowd.
But the university had hoped to combat the challenging downtown environment with a variety of campus-organized activities and the creation of a temporary student union at the Arizona Center, downtown's only outdoor shopping mall.
Some of the efforts were successful. The university worked out a student membership arrangement with the Lincoln Family YMCA on First Avenue, which has proven to be wildly popular.
Students also went on campus-run outings to downtown sporting events. They listened to Illinois senator and potential 2008 presidential candidate Barack Obama speak at the Orpheum Theatre and took in Phoenix arts scene at the First Friday's art walk.
But the university was unable to open the student union as it had hoped, and many underclassmen said they passed a lot of post-dinner hours by simply hanging out in their dorm rooms.
The lack of entertainment appears to be a bigger problem for the underclassmen; those students who are over 21 say they've enjoyed attending class downtown.
"There's a lot of cool stuff within walking distance," 28-year-old Derrick Martinez said. "I think it would be cool to live downtown."
For the younger students, dining is also a challenge.
In Tempe, students can swipe their ASU-issued photo ID, or Sun Card, and pay for lunch or dinner through a meal plan at dozens of restaurants and coffeehouses on or off campus.
In downtown Phoenix, the choices are much more limited. Most students end up eating dinner at the cafeteria in the residence hall or at a cafe in the University Center, the campus' main academic building at Central Avenue and Taylor Street.
Many of downtown's fast-food restaurants close by 3 p.m.
Freshman nursing major Lucy Carfagno had the same dinner at the residence hall cafeteria every night: a chicken sandwich. She said the university needs to provide more dining choices.
Students also want a grocery store that they can walk to. Many say they have to stock up on supplies at a gas station/convenience store several blocks away.
What students do consistently rave about is their academic environment. They say they love the downtown campus' small class sizes, the personal attention they get from professors and staff, and the overall look and feel of the classrooms.
"The teachers have more time with us," said 18-year-old Denise Wilson, a freshman nursing major. "I go to mentoring, and they help you with your homework."
Long-term goal
ASU says it has told its students to be patient, that some of the amenities that they want, such as a grocery store, will be built as downtown Phoenix continues to grow and develop.
But that's unlikely to happen much before fall 2008.
That is when ASU moves the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication to downtown and plans to have a 700-bed student housing complex up and running.
Both will result in more students downtown, which could spur business and retail development.
"One of the objectives that has not been reached is having the presence of students and faculty on the streets and sidewalks," Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon said. "I am confident that will eventually happen."
Phoenix and ASU are still moving forward with plans to develop an outdoor civic space downtown and to remake Taylor Street, on the campus' north end, into a more pedestrian-friendly area.
Both initiatives would help beautify the downtown area, but they are also not expected to be in place before 2008.
"We're still in a building mode, and it's going to be a little disruptive for a while," ASU President Michael Crow said. "But eventually we're going to have a really great downtown neighborhood."
Short-term answer
For now, the university needs to continually find ways to "engage" students in the downtown community, said Kevin Cook, vice provost and dean for student affairs. During the fall semester, ASU pushed its "First 100 days" initiative, which included trips to downtown plays and Arizona Diamondbacks games.
University leaders will do something similar in the spring semester, Cook said. They also plan to open their temporary student union by March, which would give students a place to hang out.
In addition, ASU also is trying to find ways to make it easier for the underclassmen, particularly those without cars, to attend events on the Tempe campus.
The university runs a daily shuttle service between downtown Phoenix and Tempe, but students have complained that its hours need to be extended beyond 10 p.m., particularly on the weekends.
ASU is considering the idea.
"We've definitely heard about that," Harrison said of the shuttle service hours. "If it is something that students feel would help their experience, we'll look at it."
Grading the effort
So, how do ASU administrators rate their own performance so far? Reasonably well, as it turns out.
"Overall, I'd give us a B-minus," Cook said. "I think we've provided everything that a student needs to be successful, but all of the student support things aren't yet in place.
"It's not like there's nothing. There is something. We're working to make it better."
Students, however, have a slightly different take.
"I think I'd have to give them two grades," Carfagno said. "I'd give them a B-minus too, as far as the classes and the buildings and all that stuff goes.
"But if we're including the campus, I'd say maybe a C-minus. Actually, probably a D, now that I think about it."
Here is the link to the article which has some comments at the end, including one from a student it seems. I hope there aren't too many people who feel the same way he does...
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...grade1217.html
"I cannot stand the downtown campus. Everything mentioned in the article is on par with how many students feel. I have already taken 2 classes downtown and I despised every minute of it. Traffic is terrible, there is no where to eat, and the panhandling bums are everywhere. At least I am in grad school and I can go back home after class but I really feel sorry for the poor underclassmen that actually live down there. With all the extra $s ASU keeps getting from these tuition hikes its seems like they could provide a little more downtown to try and make the place more livable. Putting $s into downtown development would be a better use of those extra tuition $s instead of buying out Dirk Diggler's coaching contract, which they should not have needed to do if they hadnt screwed up and given him an extension in the first place. Way to go ASU!"
soleri Dec 17, 2006 6:52 PM
Originally Posted by HX_Guy (Post 2515732)
I guess COP and ASU didn't tell the students that they're the ones who are supposed to make downtown lively. We've tried everything to turn it around: sports, sports' bars, convention center/hotels, mixed-use projects (Arizona Center) - every lollapalooza project we could conjure. But we didn't put feet on the sidewalks because ultimately people want more than venues. They want a real city.
Pardon my arrogance, but here's Soleri's Rule #4: it's ALWAYS better to have existing urbanism than the new pretend kind. Nothing replaces old buildings, real-world uses, organic growth, and complex social ecologies.
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The Klezmatics at Cedar Cultural Center
I originally wrote this on my BlackBerry at and after the show, but for some reason never posted it. It may have something to do with how the it just dies at the end, but I’m tossing it up anyway.
The Cedar, another former movie theater that has found new life as a concert venue, is a neat little place. With a capacity of about 500, it now plays host to folk and minor rock acts, rather than the latest picture show.
It’s not big on amenities, preferring to bring in quality music and retain the history of the place. And it really works for them. Ic’ve seen such varied music as classical guitar (California Guitar Trio), Swedish rock (Hoven Droven), and even Klezmer music in the form of the Klezmatics.
In truth, The Klezmatics are more a fusion of traditional Klezmer music and more modern, rock sensibilities. Their newest album is all Woody Guthrie lyrics set to up-tempo Klezmer instrumentation.
I thought, at first, that thuds was obscure enough that it wouldn’t be that full. Not was I wrong. The Cedar was packed. Filled to capacity. Standing room only. I’m not sure if it was from the Guthrie fans or the local Jewish community. Either way it was a strong show of support for something other than what we’re force-fed on the radio.
The Klezmatics came out to strong applause and did a 60-minute first set with a good mix of rocked-up traditional influenced music and quite a few song from their most recent CD.
I’m not sure what else to say about the show… I can say, with confidence, that it was great and I enjoyed myself immensely; but somehow that doesn’t feel like it’s enough. Sadly, it will have to do this time.
File Under: Reviews, concert, Klezmatics, live, live_music, music, The_Cedar
Comments Off on The Klezmatics at Cedar Cultural Center
Erin McKeown at The Cedar Cultural Center
Junior Brown at First Avenue
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Rethinking Eating Disorders
February 27th, 2012 · No Comments
NEW ANNEX-BASED CENTRE TO USE INNOVATIVE TREATMENTS
By Alexa Huffman
Kyla Fox opened the centre in February-courtesy Kyla Fox.
Kyla Fox is bursting with excitement at the thought of opening her very own building for the treatment of eating disorders.
Fox knows first hand how hard getting healthy can be. She struggled with an eating disorder when she was younger. She feels there are gaps in the medical community and challenges including long wait lists and limited services
“I feel like I’ve had this building in my heart, mind and soul for a long time because it’s the idea of what I would have wanted for myself,” said Fox.
The Kyla Fox Therapy Centre (174 Bedford Rd.) will be an innovative new facility that treats eating disorders by using clinical therapy and a holistic approach that includes treatments such as acupuncture, massage, and yoga.
The spacious location on the third floor of an old house, opened on Feb. 6. It is 2,200 square feet and U-shaped. It is a bright open space with arched ceilings and skylights where people who are affected by eating disorders, either directly or indirectly, can go to utilize resources.
I feel like I’ve had this building in my heart, mind and soul for a long time because it’s the idea of what I would have wanted for myself—Kyla Fox, founder of The Kyla Fox Therapy Centre
The location is ideal because it is the centre of the city. Fox, also a family and couples therapist, says that having it located it in Toronto allows people to heal close to home.
“It really makes it easy for people to go to get everything in one place,” said Fox. “The hard part is struggling with the disorder. We don’t want to make getting help complicated.”
There are many different types of therapy available including private therapy for individuals, families, and couples. In addition, there are drop-in groups.
“They are through the days and evenings. The clients will get to choose which groups they want and they can plan out their weeks,” said office manager Jamie Johnson. “We trust the clients know their bodies and will help us to guide them.”
Group therapy sessions include a binge eating group, a teen group and even a group for kid’s aged 10-13, not found anywhere else except at SickKids.
“The symptoms of an eating disorder may be similar but everyone heals differently. There should be more options and we are offering them,” said Fox.
The centre also boasts a kitchen where holistic nutritionists can help clients during drop in meal times. Fox, who often eats meals with her patients, feels renewing the relationship with food is an important part of healing.
Yoga Studio in The Kyla Fox Therapy Centre
“We are helping them see how food is safe, wonderful thing,” said Fox.
Fox has hired other experts in the field including therapists like Margaret Powell, who has worked with Fox at Sheena’s Centre, another place in Toronto that focuses on eating disorders, and Joanna Anderson who has worked at SickKids.
There is also a volunteer program that is an opportunity for people who are recovered to be part of the centre.
“Each person working here has extensive experience with eating disorders,” said Fox. “It’s a community to come and be safe. There are amazing, strong women all around.”
The process to get in is simple. An appointment is made through either a phone call or an email. Then there is a consultation with a therapist and volunteers to see what type of therapy they need.
There will also be free information nights for anyone in the community dealing with eating disorders, like teachers. The centre does operate for profit, although for the month of February all the drop-in groups are free.
“The people who live with eating disorders and the families and loved ones who are affected, need more support and attention.” said Debbie Berlin-Romalis, one of the centre’s therapists.
The goal is to have busy place that people want to come back to. In the future, Fox would like to see intensive program and perhaps a residential location.
“I feel I was put on this planet to change the way we view eating disorders and how we heal them,” said Fox. “My vision doesn’t stop here.”
For more information on centre’s programs, visit kylafoxtherapy.com.
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I Want to Read! Share Tweet
Running to Glory
An Unlikely Team, a Challenging Season, and Chasing the American Dream
Buy 27.95
The runners from Eisenhower High School had every possible justification to fail. They were poor with little time to devote to their passion. They had problems at home and distractions that would test even Job. Yet they gave their quest for the Washington State cross country championship everything they had.
Running is a religion to millions of men and women who devoutly head out each day. They view any book that celebrates their passion as Holy Scripture—a must-read that can take them to The Promised Land. Salvation is at hand with Running to Glory--a celebration of grit, perseverance and ultimately the American Dream. It is the inspiring story of an Irish immigrant coach and a group of Hispanic boys and girls as they chase their hopes and a state championship.
Running to Glory, by veteran journalist Sam McManis, follows the cross country team from Eisenhower High in Yakima, Washington, through a tumultuous and challenging season with excitement, suspense and pathos. The Eisenhower runners are primarily Latino from economically challenged families, many of whom are migrant farm workers. They must compete with more affluent schools in the Seattle-Tacoma area, where parent involvement is strong and funds are readily available to augment performance. Their coach Phil English knows how his runners feel. He grew up poor in rural Ireland in the 1960s during The Troubles, emigrated to the U.S. for a college track scholarship, and over 37 years coaching in Yakima, has won 11 state titles and sent more than 100 kids to college with full or partial scholarships for their running.
How Eisenhower runners have accomplished such feats lies at the heart of the book’s compelling narrative. McManis follows the team from summer workouts in the blistering sun to the state championship meet in the bitter cold. Readers will learn how these young men and women either overcome their environment or succumb to it--on the course and in the classroom.
About McManis, Sam
Sam McManis has worked as a staff writer and columnist for California’s leading newspapers (the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee) for more than three decades. Until May, 2016, he was a lifestyle columnist and feature writer for the Sacramento Bee. His stories have been published in The New York Times and Wall StreetJournal. He has received numerous national journalism awards and has covered two Olympic Games, World Series, NBA Championship series and Super Bowls. In 2016, he received a “Best in the West” award for arts and entertainment writing and was named California’s “in-state” journalist of the year. He also teaches English and composition at Central Washington University. McManis has run 17 marathons -- including the prestigious Boston Marathon twice -- and also completed 7 ultramarathons and countless races of shorter distances. He knows running and, as a journalist with more than three decades of experience, he knows what makes a good story.
Coaching the Mental Game Dorfman, H.A.
Robin Emery Rice, Ed
Best Trail Runs San Francisco Chase, Adam
Four-Minute Mile Bannister, Roger
Best Trail Runs Seattle Chase, Adam
Best Trail Runs Portland, Oregon Chase, Adam
WHAT WE PUBLISH!
© 2015 Globe Pequot, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield. All rights reserved.
Distribution Clients & Services
Fall 2016 Catalog
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KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICE OF EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTIVES AMONG FEMALE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN ETHIOPIA: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS
Bilal Tessema Yimer
Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, College of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia 2
Berhanemeskel Weldegerima Atsbeha
Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, College of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia
Nurahmed Seid Getaw
Lecturer, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, School of Pharmacy, College of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND: Unwanted pregnancy followed by unsafe abortion is one of the major worldwide health problems, which has many negative consequences on the health and well-being of women. Emergency contraception is a type of modern contraception that is indicated after unprotected sexual intercourse when regular contraception is not in use. This study summarized the knowledge, attitude and practice of ECs among female university students in Ethiopia. METHODS: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies were conducted. Original studies were identified using databases of PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cinahl and Web of science. Heterogeneity across studies was checked using Cochrane Q test statistic and I2 test. The pooled prevalence of the knowledge, attitude and practice of ECs methods were computed using a random effect model. RESULTS: A total of 321 articles were retrieved through the initial search strategy, producing 15 observational studies from universities of Ethiopia for analysis. Based on the studies included in the meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence of level of knowledge, attitude and magnitude of utilization of ECs were 57.7% (95% CI: 49.8 to 65.3), 42.6% (95% CI: 41.4 to 43.8) and 9.2% 95% CI: 6.6 to 12.6), respectively. On the other hand, significant heterogeneity was observed between studies (Q = 664.9, p = 0.000, I2 = 97.9%). CONCLUSION: This meta-analysis revealed that the pooled prevalence of level of knowledge, attitude and the magnitude of utilization of ECs were relatively low among female university students in Ethiopia. Hence, behavioral change strategies should be considered by responsible bodies to improve knowledge and bring attitudinal change on use of emergency contraception. KEYWORDS: Emergency contraceptives, Knowledge, Attitude, Practice, Meta-analysis, Systematic review, Ethiopia. (Ethiopian Journal of Reproductive Health 2017;9:60-71)
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07/17 Links Pt2: The NGO Campaign to Destroy Israel; Hamas wins a seat on a UN committee
The NGO Campaign to Destroy Israel
When an NGO receives a sizeable portion of its budget from governments, it is no longer a non-governmental organization. And when such funding to NGOs is provided by allied states such as the U.S. or the UK, or international unions such as the EU, it constitutes disproportionate interference by external governments in the internal affairs of another democratic state.
"NGOs are meant to represent civil society, not the interests of foreign governments. Israeli NGOs that receive foreign government funding benefit from the misleading image of being 'non-governmental,' non-political, and based in 'civil society'" — NGO Monitor.
NGO Monitor research reveals that a number of funders made their grants conditional on the NGO obtaining a minimum number of negative "testimonies." It should be clear that a wide range of church organizations, human rights NGOs, and a number of European governments are engaged in an extremely one-sided enterprise to bring about the defamation and destruction of the Jewish state. All of these NGOs have much the same political agenda of defaming, pressuring and undermining Israel; and using human rights issues to promote a steadily negative view of the country, its government, its laws, and its defence forces.
Many never criticize the Palestinian Authority or Hamas, nor do they turn their attentions to the desperate state of human rights in states such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba, China, Russia and Lebanon, among others. NGOs are being well paid to urge total changes in the constitutions of other nations, and in the total abolition of another nation's right to exist at all. No other country in the world would stand for it; why should Israel?
Undercover Jew
Book Review: Catch The Jew!, by Tuvia Tenenbom
If you want to understand why there is no peace in the Holy Land despite the best efforts of the Obama administration and the billion-dollar European “peace and human rights” industry, you owe it to yourself to read Catch the Jew! by Tuvia Tenenbom. This myth-shattering book became an instant bestseller in Israel last year, yet, Germany aside, it has largely been ignored in American and European media outlets and by the reigning Middle East punditocracy. Ostensibly, Tenenbom’s book is disdained because the author lacks the academic or journalistic credentials to be taken seriously as a commentator on the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Though he speaks both Arabic and Hebrew, Tenenbom possesses no professional expertise on the modern Middle East, nor has he had any previous journalistic experience covering Israel and the Palestinian territories.
So much for academic and journalistic credentials, then. In this volume full of personal observations, revealing interviews, and Swiftian satire, Tenenbom offers deeper insights into the fundamental realities of the Middle East conflict and the pathologies of the Palestinian national movement than decades of reporting by media outlets such as the New York Times, The New Yorker, and Israel’s Haaretz. No fair-minded person can come away from this book without wondering why such citadels of contemporary liberal journalism have neglected to inform their readers of the scam being conducted in the region by self-styled human-rights activists and their taxpayer-funded European NGOs—not to mention that this massive international intervention actually makes it even more difficult to achieve a peaceful solution to the conflict.
Hamas is set to win a seat at the United Nations table
Is Hamas joining the United Nations? Well, not directly — at least not yet — but through the back door, unless the members of the Economic and Social Council wake up.
On Monday, the 54 member states in ECOSOC (including the United States, Germany and United Kingdom) are scheduled to take the vote on the application of Palestinian Return Centre for accreditation as a non-governmental organization in the UN system.
This campaign is led by Sudan — a notorious terror state led by Omar al-Bashir, who’s wanted for genocide. If the PRC application is granted, the group’s leaders would receive open access to UN facilities in New York, Geneva and elsewhere, as well as the right to participate in committee meetings (including at the Human Rights Council).
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has had a close affiliation with the PRC, which is based in London and active throughout Europe, for many years, including appearing as the keynote speaker at the organization’s annual conference in Milan in 2009. On June 1, after the PRC passed the preliminary vote in the NGO committee of ECOSOC, Haniyeh’s office warmly congratulated the PRC leadership.
Chattanooga gunman ‘spent time in Jordan and Yemen’
The young American Muslim man who shot dead four US Marines in Chattanooga on Thursday visited Jordan and Yemen last year, Army Radio reported Friday.
According to the report, Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez spent a month in Jordan in 2014, during which time he also visited Yemen. Abdulazeez was born in Kuwait, but was a naturalized American citizen who left for the United States with his parents in 1996.
The SITE Intelligence Group, an organization based in Maryland that monitors online activity by jihadi groups, said that Abdulazeez’s mother is Kuwaiti and his father Palestinian.
The 24-year-old opened fire at two US military centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee on Thursday, killing the four soldiers and wounding three other people in a rampage that officials said was being investigated as an act of “domestic terrorism.”
Two of the dead have been identified as Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, 40, and Skip Wells, who was in his early 20s. The other victims’ names were not immediately released.
Israeli Christian Group Publishes Anti-BDS Guide
The Christian Empowerment Council, an Israeli Christian group headed by Father Gabriel Naddaf, has released a new guide to help Christians better understand the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The 12-page guide titled “Test the Spirits: A Christian Guide to the Anti-Israel Boycott Movement” seeks to challenge Christian anti-Zionism “on an ideological level” following the “recent discussions concerning BDS in global churches,” including in the Mennonite and Episcopalian churches and the United Church of Christ.
The Christian Empowerment Council is focused on working to integrate Israel’s Christian community into the wider Israeli society and to support young Christians looking to serve in the Israel Defense Forces.
The guide tackles a wide array of questions, such as “How does a boycott of Israel impact the church?” and “Does the Bible encourage boycotting nations?” In answering the questions, the book draws from both the Hebrew and Christian scriptures.
British Gov’t Lifts Remaining Restrictions on Arms Sales to Israel
The British government lifted all remaining restrictions on arms sales to Israel after a year-long review of 12 weapons export licenses, the U.K.’s Independent reported on Thursday.
The lifting of restrictions was announced by the British Department of Business, which imposed the restrictions in response to the 50-day conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip last summer.
During the conflict, dubbed Operation Protective Edge, some British politicians had called on the country to suspend arms exports, citing fears that their use by the IDF might harm civilians in the Gaza Strip, and one minister even resigned in light of the government’s refusal to do so.
But while a ban was never imposed, the Department of Business had adopted some restrictions pending a review of the licenses to make sure these weapons were not going to harm civilians.
The exports in question were components for military radars and tanks, among other things, according to the Independent.
Family of Murdered Hiker Demands Death Penalty
The family of Danny Gonen, the Israeli hiker murdered by terrorists last month north of Jerusalem, have welcomed the arrest of his murderer and several accomplices, and called to apply the death penalty against the lead terrorist.
Gonen's cousin Rabbi Itzik Gonen, the rabbi of a pre-IDF academy in Lod, told Arutz Sheva on Friday that the fact that one the terrorists involved had previously been arrested for terrorism and released should send warning signs - the terrorist leader was revealed to be on the payroll of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
"How can it be that people who dealt in terror did not face a punishment strong enough to deter them," posed Rabbi Gonen. "It hurts the family that a person who was involved and active in terror was released and murdered Danny, it shows the weakness and powerlessness of the state of Israel against murderers."
As noted by the bereaved family member, one of those involved in the murder previously was among the 1,027 terrorists released in the 2011 Gilad Shalit deal.
The rabbi demanded that "justice must come to light. We are happy that they caught the lowly murderers and if need be we will stand against them and speak out (in court). The family reasons that any Jewish blood that is spilled must have a severe penalty, Jewish blood is not abandoned."
"A terrorist that intentionally murdered - the death penalty is the simple statement," he said.
Hamas: No talk of prisoners’ return until 54 men freed
Ismail Haniyeh, a former Palestinian prime minister, said Israel had re-arrested at least 54 of the more than 1,000 prisoners freed in exchange for soldier Gilad Shalit, who was captured in a cross-border raid by Gaza militants in 2006.
“We have told all the mediators who have mobilized to discuss a new exchange that there won’t be any negotiations before the release of all those Israel detained from among the Shalit deal group,” Haniyeh said in a speech marking the Eid al-Fitr holiday. “There will be no talks without their unconditional release.”
Haniyeh did not elaborate on what new exchange was being mooted.
He said Hamas would continue to fight for the release of Palestinian prisoners. “God willing, your freedom is near,” he stated.
Israel insists that all of those rearrested since the Shalit exchange were implicated in fresh security offences committed after their release.
Hamas has long acknowledged holding body parts of two Israeli soldiers killed during last summer’s conflict in Gaza, Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin.
MK Jelin invites UN commissioner to South to rectify her misconceptions
UN Independent Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict chairwoman Mary McGowan Davis responded positively to an invitation from Yesh Atid MK Haim Jelin to visit southern Israel and meet with its residents.
Jelin released the letter on Thursday, hours after terrorists shot a rocket from Gaza, saying that, “[it’s] a year after the Protective Edge war and our deterrence has expired. Hamas is committing war crimes, terrorist organizations are shooting at civilian towns and [the] IDF has to defend the state’s citizens.”
The Yesh Atid MK called on the government to make sure the army works at full force, while engaging in diplomacy and standing strong before the world to explain that Israel has the right to defend itself.
Last month, Jelin wrote to McGowan Davis following rocket fire from Gaza: “Last night, for the sixth time since the end of Operation Protective Edge, citizens of Israel, innocent men, women and children, experienced another night of sirens.... [Terrorists] were firing at innocent citizens who have done nothing to them.”
Jelin criticized McGowan Davis for not calling those who shoot rockets at Israel terrorist organizations in her report on the 2014 operation and the UN for not acting to support the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip.
Watch: Holy Site to Muslims? Arab Clown Desecrates Temple Mount
In a new shocking testimony to the Muslim desecration of the holiest site in Judaism, the Temple Mount, video has surfaced showing an Arab clown performing for Arab children at the holy site.
The video - posted to Facebook on Friday by nationalist activist Baruch Marzel - shows the clown performing by tying balloons into funny shapes, speaking in a funny high voice and generally entertaining, all while framed by the Dome of the Rock Mosque.
Masses of mulling Muslims can be seen passing by and watching the performance in the video, unperturbed by the very unsanctified behavior at the site Muslims claim is holy to them.
Regarding the sanctity of the Temple Mount for Muslims, Islam claims that the site is the third holiest in its view, and Muslims praying at the site face Mecca, turning their backs on the Dome of the Rock.
Khaled Abu Toameh: Scores of Hamas men arrested in Palestinian Authority crackdown
The Palestinian Authority is holding in its prisons more than 160 Hamas men who were detained in the West Bank in recent weeks, according to sources close to Hamas.
The sources said that, since July 2, PA security forces arrested 245 Hamas supporters as part of a massive crackdown on the Islamist movement, of which 160 remain in custody. About 80 of those arrested are university students, the sources added.
They said that 23 detainees have gone on a hunger strike to protest against their incarceration.
Human rights groups in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have condemned the arrests and demanded an investigation into charges that some of the detainees had been tortured.
A committee made up of representatives of the detainees’ families said in a statement on Thursday that some of their sons have had their arms broken during interrogation.
The committee said that other detainees lost consciousness as a result of torture and have been transferred to various hospitals in the West Bank.
The committee launched a campaign titled “We didn’t forget you!” to demand the release of all “political” detainees and prisoners from PA detention centers.
Israeli Ambassador: Aliyah 'The Answer to BDS, Anti-Semitism'
Israel Ambassador the UN Ron Prosor addressed over 200 people choosing to immigrate to Israel on Monday, as they embarked from John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport for the first Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN) charter flight for summer 2015. The charter flight will land in Israel's Ben-Gurion airport on Tuesday morning.
"You and I share a common mission," he began. "I and the team at the United Nations stand on the front lines every day, defending Israel from those who question Israel's right to exist."
"You are the answer - each and every one of you," he added, to applause. "You are the answer to the BDS, you are the answer to anti-Semitism, and you are the answer to all those who question the only state, the Jewish state, the nation-state of the Jewish people."
"When I return to the corridors of the United Nations, I always walk tall and proud, because I know who I represent and what I represent," he continued. "Seeing you here absolutely fills my heart and I want to thank you."
Holocaust Survivor Compares BDS Tactics to Nazi Propaganda
When Irving Roth walked out of the Auschwitz concentration camp in April 1945, having watched in horror as members of his family were marched into the gas chamber upon their arrival the previous year, he was thankful that he would live to see his sixteenth birthday.
For decades, Roth has shared his experiences for audiences of all ages and backgrounds so the world will never forget.
On Sunday morning his audience consisted of over 500 college students gathered in Washington, D.C. for the 10th annual Christians United For Israel (CUFI) Summit.
While the conference doesn’t officially begin until Monday morning, students from across the country arrived a day early for special programming geared toward combating anti-Semitism on college campuses.
After a morning religious service, Roth was introduced to the attendees by David Walker, National Campus Coordinator for CUFI. Walker, an African-American, referred to the 85-year old as his “Jewish grandfather.”
Anti-BDS Activists Starting to Line Up Victories on Behalf of Israel
The morality of BDS activities has often been questioned, and critics, such as Jewish human rights group the Anti-Defamation League, accuse it of outright anti-Semitism and trying to delegitimize Israel.
But now, opponents of BDS are fighting back.
Whether it is the recent wave of anti-BDS legislation in Europe and the United States, or the failure of particular BDS efforts and campaigns around the world, something is changing.
In May, Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed a bill (which passed unanimously) that requires state pension funds to divest from companies that support the BDS movement.
Similar bills have recently passed in the Indiana, Tennessee, and South Carolina state legislatures. In the state of New York, such a bill is currently in the works.
In June, President Obama signed Trade Promotion Authority legislation, which contained several anti-BDS provisions. (It should be noted, however, that Obama is contesting some of these).
Pro-Palestinian Group in South Africa Suspends Members for Visiting Israel
A pro-Palestinian student group in South Africa temporarily suspended some of its members who traveled to Israel with an 18-member delegation of young leaders, the organization said on Tuesday.
The South African Students Congress (SASCO) accused the members of participating in an “Israel propaganda trip,” and claimed the intention of the visit was to receive an “unbalanced perspective” on the Israeli-Arab conflict. They group expressed grave concern over attempts by the “Zionist lobby” to wage “a counter offensive to our ongoing solidarity campaigns with the oppressed people of Palestine.”
SASCO, which promotes the boycott of Israel, said the trip was an attempt to embarrass it through its members’ participation. They claimed the tour tainted the name of their organization and put it into “disrepute.” The visit to Israel was “crossing the picket line,” the group said.
“We wish to send a clear message to our members that as an internationalist organization, we will never accept that in our name our members contradict our standing positions,” a statement said. “The oppression of the people of Palestine by apartheid Israel is no different if not worse than our own oppression. It would be an indictment on our part if we do not take action.”
The delegation of student leaders traveled to Israel on July 4 and returned to South Africa on Saturday. The trip was organized by the South Africa Israel Forum.
Take a Page From Kentucky Fried Chicken and Bring Back Zionism
“Pro-Israel” is an interesting phrase, since, by definition, it means that some people are anti-Israel, which in the politically correct world is not kosher.
For example, BDS leadership publicly points out that it is anti-Zionist, but not anti-Israel, although they don’t state publicly that they are pro-Israel. Further, BDS’ written and stated goal of a one-state solution (yes, one-state solution) calls for Israel to be replaced by Palestine (which would have an Arab-Muslim majority, but I’ll save this point for another piece).
And now, even “pro-Israel” has lost its meaning as it’s been hijacked by Jewish groups (that seem Jewish in name only), who are anything but pro-Israel. J Street, for example (an organization that regularly partners with anti-Semitic, anti-Zionist, and pro-BDS speakers), uses the tagline: The Political Home for Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace Americans.
Obviously, if J Street is “pro-Israel,” then it’s definitely time to consider finding another term, so I went searching. Then, a few weeks ago, I noticed that the Colonel is returning to his roots. KFC is gone. Kentucky Fried Chicken is back. (I guess “fried” equals sales.) So I figured, if Kentucky Fried Chicken can take back its name, Zionism can do the same. Rebrand, relaunch, and rejoice!
They say that so many people today are trying to think outside the box that staying inside the box is now actually thinking outside the box. The same can be said for the word Zionism. Zionists have allowed anti-Zionists to write the narrative and transform Zionism’s meaning so many times that it’s time to finally embrace the original term … and just let the rest of the world holler in ignorance.
Quora: Why Yes I Can Express My Opinion
Sometimes I have time to fight the good fight for Israel on Quora and sometimes I don’t. And sometimes, well, I just make time. Especially when the question is asked in a thoughtful way as this one was:
Can you express your opinion about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict here?
I am Jewish and that, according to all three major world religions IS my nationality. The Quran and the bible both reference the Jews as the “Children of Israel.” See, for instance: Surat Al-‘Isra’ – The Noble Qur’an – القرآن الكريم
My opinion is that the term “Palestinian” is a propaganda term used to further a false narrative that the Arab refugees who flooded pre-State Israel, hoping to ride the coattails of Jewish prosperity, are actually the indigenous people of the territory. See: Israel is Engaged in a War of Words
It is sad when a people has no homeland, but this is not true in the case of the “Palestinians.” There are 22 Arab states and there is plenty of land in these states where these “refugees” might reside and call their homeland, were these states to open their hearts and borders to these people. Just as a single example of how these people are marginalized by their brethren, see:Palestinians in Syria
PreOccupied Territory: Israeli Startup Creates Popular BDS-Coordinating Apps (satire)
Arnie Lokayam, 30, founded ASS three years ago, and BDS activists immediately gravitated toward the groundbreaking software. “It was clear to our development team that there was a market niche waiting to be tapped,” he recalled in an interview. “By selling our product and follow-on support to BDS movement coordinators from here in Israel, we recouped the initial investment capital within six months of going to market.” Lokayam says he hired only local workers, conscious of the need to reduce carbon-emitting air travel. “We would have hired people from all over, and had them work remotely, but I’m a big believer in having my team all in one place.”
As a result, according to publicly released corporate data, ASS has contributed upwards of eighteen million shekels to the coffers of the State Treasury in employee and corporate income tax revenue, not including National Insurance payments that contribute directly to welfare payments for Israeli parents and low-income residents. Lokayam expressed confidence that his clients, who are invariably supporters of liberal, socialist-oriented causes, would be similarly gratified to know that their business is helping ASS make significant contributions to Israel’s welfare state.
“We’ve also been engaged in a good bit of corporate philanthropy,” added the father of three. “Our favorite charities are ones that help victims of Palestinian terrorism,” yet another way in which the company’s values dovetail with the BDS movement’s known concern for human rights.
The most recent version of the product, according to Lokayam, is called Divest Organizing Operations For Universal Sanctions (DOOFUS), a general-purpose BDS-coordinating tool that provides high-level data on all types of Israeli securities that are traded on exchanges elsewhere in the world. DOOFUS monitors the activity of these stock issues and advises the user on recommended times to make an offer for those stocks or bonds, to encourage holders of those investment to part with them, and demonstrate the undesirability of Israeli investments.
Malakhi Moshe Rosenfeld Is Latest Victim of Haaretz Translators
In three faulty translations this week, the Haaretz English edition misstated Palestinian and Israeli fatalities. In the first mistranslation, Haaretz's English edition inflated the number of Palestinian casualties. In today's two-part mistranslation, the second in one week, the English edition ignores two Israeli casualties (one killed, one severely wounded) in two separate terror attacks.
In English, the Slain Rosenfeld Is Just Wounded
Malakhi Moshe Rosenfeld was one of four Israelis wounded June 29 in a drive-by shooting attack near Shvut Rachel in the West Bank. As reported by Haaretz at the time, his wounds were fatal, and he died the very next day.
But an article today in Haaretz's English edition, both in print and online, refers to the June 29 drive-by shooting, but reports only to four wounded, ignoring the fact that Rosenfeld was killed ("Israeli soldier wounded in West Bank stabbing attack") (h/t Yenta Press)
Toronto Arab newspaper says US and "Zionist-Masonic" movement behind ISIS
The Toronto-based Arab newspaper Meshwar published an article (Issue 133, June 26, 2015, P.21) suggesting that the US and the “Zionist-Masonic movement” are the hidden forces behind the civil wars in Iraq, Syria and other Arab countries.
The author, Hisham al-Habishan, a Jordanian writer and political activist, contends that the goal behind this scheme is primarily to weaken the Arab region by tearing into pieces the existing countries in order to safeguard the security of the State of Israel. The article and the accompanied cartoon imply that the US and the “ Zionist-Masonic movement” are siding with ISIS and even supporting it.
Reactionary Radicals: Owen Jones and the Rainbow Qur’an
An example of the pitfalls into which this kind of thinking can lead the Left was recently provided by a fractious twitter exchange on the subject of gay rights and Islam involving Freedland’s Guardian colleague Owen Jones.
The US Supreme Court ruling legalising gay marriage had been handed down a few days earlier and the summer’s Pride festivities had just begun. Profile avatars superimposed with solidarity rainbows swept social media in celebration of both; a touching display of the breadth and depth of support the once-lonely campaign for marriage equality has come to enjoy.
A mischievous variation on this theme was an image of the Qur’an, tweeted by the ex-Muslim writer and activist Saif Rahman, which a twitter user calling himself ‘Colt’ then gave a speculative punt in the direction of Owen Jones:
Watch: Belgian Fans Heil Hitler, Israelis Censured
While the media has focused its attention on several radical fans of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team, who on Thursday threw smoke bombs onto the soccer pitch during a 5-1 loss to Sporting Charleroi in Belgium, not much has been made of the blatant Nazi salutes by Belgian fans which led to the angry outburst.
Beitar owner Eli Tabib announced he is cutting his ties with the team and selling it as a result of the incident, and is likewise cutting his ties with Israeli soccer altogether, after fans threw smoke bombs and also apparently hit the Charleroi goalkeeper with a thrown object that led him to fall down.
The incident likely will cause Beitar to be fined by the UEFA, and it led to Sports and Culture Minister Miri Regev (Likud) to promise to take action to curb fan violence at soccer games.
But apparently slipping under the radar is the blatant anti-Semitism directed against the Israeli fans by their Belgian counterparts, who were revealed in video footage to be shouting taunting chants accompanied by repeated Nazi salutes - conducted even by children and women.
Radio Caller Accuses Sen. Ben Cardin of Dual Loyalty Over Jewish Faith
A caller on a C-SPAN radio talk show accused U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, of dual loyalty to America and Israel given the senator’s Jewish faith.
“Mr. Cardin looks like a regular white guy, nice guy, whatever, but in actuality he’s a Jewish white guy,” a caller identified as “Eric from Georgia” said Wednesday during a segment about the Iran nuclear deal on the Washington Journal program. “If the public was informed of that by C-SPAN, I think they would take his comments differently.”
“Because this guy is Jewish, that means that he is concerned about Israel,” added the caller.
Cardin responded, “I’m normally pretty tolerant to people who ask questions, but I’m not to your assumption. I take great offense to that.”
“Our loyalty is to America. Our concerns are to America. Our religion is our personal business and should have nothing to do with an evaluation from anyone as to our objectivity on issues concerning America,” said Cardin, The Hill reported.
Jewish Group Tells Samsung Removal of ‘Nazi-Like’ Cartoons is Not Enough, Demands Explanation
Major Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) told South Korean conglomerate Samsung that the removal of antisemitic cartoons published on its website was insufficient, and demanded an explanation as to why the cartoons were posted in the first place.
The call came just days after the company issued a statement decrying antisemitism, in response to articles that appeared in local media outlets blaming “Jewish money” for opposition to a proposed merger between two subdivisions of the company.
“The blatant Jew hatred cartoons invoking genocidal stereotypes is outrageous and makes a mockery of earlier statement by Samsung,” said SWC Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper, in an email seen by The Algemeiner. “The belated removal of these Nazi-like caricatures is not enough. The Simon Wiesenthal Center does not consider this matter closed. At this point Samsung is not believable.”
“I represent a constituency of 400,000 member families who are demanding to know why your company facilitated such behavior,” Cooper said further.
The cartoons in question targeted Paul Singer, an American-Jewish billionaire hedge fund magnate who opposed the merger as being against the interests of shareholders, himself included. The caricatures, published by the official website of Samsung C&T itself, featured a character called “Vulture Man” intended to mock Singer. They depicted Vulture Man viciously exploiting children and poor people, the New York Observer reported, adding “Yes, there were hatchets and machine guns.”
Moscow’s Jewish museum chief shot in the neck
The director and founder of a Moscow Jewish museum was shot and seriously injured outside the institution by an unidentified assailant on Thursday.
Sergei Ustinov, a writer and businessman who is a prominent member of Moscow’s Jewish community and who also serves as vice president of the Russian Jewish Congress, was shot by a lone assailant who delivered a single projectile to Ustinov’s neck before fleeing the scene, the Moskovskij Komsomolets daily reported.
He is in critical but stable condition, according to the report. The weapon used was a sawed-off Osa pistol, which is typically used for firing blanks and flares, Komsomolets reported. Classified as a “non-lethal handgun,” it is not commonly used in assassinations.
Police said they were investigating several possible motives for the crime, including a business dispute and anti-Semitism.
In a statement, the Russian Jewish Congress wrote it was too early to draw any concrete conclusions about the motives behind the attack.
NYPD Discover Suspect Vehicle Possibly Linked to Brooklyn Paintball Attacks Against Jews
Police said they identified a SUV they believe is linked to a string of recent Staten Island paintball attacks, which are being investigating in connection to similar incidents against Jews in Brooklyn.
Authorities are looking for a dark-colored GMC terrain after five separate paintball shootings in Staten Island were reported to police since the beginning of July, the New York Post reported on Tuesday. The latest attacks took place over the weekend and were all orchestrated by assailants who drove off in a car.
One of the victims is Orthodox Jew Abrhaam Revivo, 67, whose right shoulder is still sore from the incident on Friday night.
“I hope they catch this guy,” said Revivo. “It’s very scary.”
Americans make aliyah, with lacrosse, IDF service and real estate dreams beckoning
Professional lacrosse player Chase Clark was told that there are three keys to survival in Israel — realize that everyone else thinks their time is more important than yours; avoid the crazy drivers while crossing the road; and enjoy yourself as much as possible.
Before this week, Clark had never been to the Jewish state. But on Monday, the Grand Junction, Colorado, resident moved there — with big plans to play for the country’s national indoor lacrosse team.
“I found out later in life that I wanted to find more of my religion,” said Clark, who has a blue-and-yellow Star of David tattoo on his calf. “Now I’m going to the holiest place in the world. How can you not be excited about that?”
Clark, 25, was one of 221 Jews who moved to Israel on Monday via the 53rd charter flight organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh, a nonprofit founded in 2002 to encourage and facilitate the aliyah process for Jews from North America and the United Kingdom. The organization is funded in part by the Israeli government, the Jewish Agency and private donations. (h/t J_April)
Report: Thousands of French Jews Expected to Make Aliyah to Israel This Summer
Almost half a year after the bloody terrorist attack at Paris’s Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket, and in the shadow of increasing antisemitism, thousands of French Jews are expected to immigrate to Israel this summer, Israel’s NRG reported on Sunday.
The last few years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of Jews immigrating to Israel from the country, and France now tops the list of countries from which Jews are arriving in Israel.
This summer alone, 3,000 Jews are expected to move to Israel, adding to the 3,124 French Jews who have already made aliyah since the start of 2015. In 2014, about 7,000 immigrants from France came to Israel. By comparison, just 1,064 French Jews relocated to Israel in 2013.
The influx of French Jewish immigrants follows a joint effort by the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption and the Jewish Agency for Israel to maintain a high level of immigration from the European country, and to increase immigration from around the world.
Free Wi-Fi on Buses in South Africa thanks to RADWIN’s Wireless Mobility Solution
Tel Aviv, Israel, June 30, 2015 - RADWIN, the global provider of sub-6 GHz broadband wireless solutions, today announced that the City of Tshwane in South Africa deployed RADWIN’s FiberinMotion® wireless mobility solution to provide free Wi-Fi onboard city buses - up to 100 Mbps throughput per bus. The FREE Wi-Fi ON BUSES initiative was launched in December 2014. Since then over 200,000 unique users have used free Wi-Fi onboard the city’s buses, with total data usage of 30 Terabytes. Project Isizwe, a non-profit organization which aims to bring the internet to people across South Africa, spearheaded the project.
In the first phase of deployment, RADWIN FiberinMotion base stations were deployed along the A Re Yeng line from Pretoria Central to Hatfield, and over 30 buses were fitted with FiberinMotion vehicular mobile units (VMUs).
Kgosientso Ramokgopa, City of Tshwane’s Mayor, commented on the Free Wi-Fi project: “Onboard the buses passengers have access to connectivity. Connectivity remains uninterrupted so you are able to do your assignments, email assignments and communicate with friends at no cost. So that is the true value.”
Alan Knott-Craig Jr., Founder & CEO of Project Isizwe: “In today’s connected world, access to the internet is essential and should be available to everyone - regardless of circumstances. With the FREE Wi-Fi ON BUSES initiative, Project Isizwe and RADWIN are helping bridge the digital divide by allowing passengers to access information, education and jobs online, on-the-go. We had the entire project up deployed in record time, thanks to the ease and simplicity of installation of FiberinMotion. In addition, the FiberinMotion Real Time Monitoring Tool enables gauging wireless network performance 24x7.”
LogDog raises $3.5m for ‘gate protection’ service
LogDog, an Israeli-developed app that catches hackers who try to log in to secure online accounts with stolen user names and passwords, announced Thursday that it had raised $3.5 million in a Series A financing round.
The money will go to enhancing its product, rolling out new services and hiring new workers, the company said.
Despite the many security technologies designed to protect users of cloud and Internet services, hackers still manage to steal user names and passwords – putting one in four web users at risk.
“Sooner or later, a user is going to slip, clicking on a link in a phishing email or engaging in some other activity, even unintentionally, that will allow a hacker access to their online accounts,” said LogDog co-founder Omri Toppol. “That’s why more than 25% of online accounts are compromised each year. Our solution catches hackers when they try to open an account, allowing users to know when they have been compromised and giving them an opportunity to do something about it.
Facebook-owned company to buy Israeli hand-tracking start-up
Virtual reality star Oculus on Thursday announced a deal to buy an Israel-based start-up specializing in technology that can track hand movements.
Oculus expects the purchase of Pebbles Interfaces to add momentum to its development of virtual reality (VR) technologies and boost its Rift VR head gear.
Pebbles has spent five years developing technology that uses optics, sensors, and software to detect and track hand movements, according to Oculus.
“At Pebbles Interfaces, we’ve been focused on pushing the limits of digital sensing technology to accelerate the future of human-computer interaction,” Pebbles chief technology officer Nadav Grossinger said in an Oculus blog post.
“Through micro-optics and computer vision, we hope to improve the information that can be extracted from optical sensors, which will help take virtual reality to the next level.”
Nonstop flights from Tel Aviv to Tokyo announced
Add Tokyo to the growing list of cities that are a nonstop flight away from Tel Aviv.
A new aviation deal between Israeli and Japanese airlines will offer customers up to 14 direct flights between the two countries each week.
Representatives from Israel’s airline El Al and Japan’s biggest airline, All Nippon, signed the deal at a recent meeting Tokyo.
Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz Wednesday confirmed the new aviation agreement, calling it “really good news.”
“This agreement is a direct continuation of my policy to open the skies,” Katz said, according to Ynet.
No date was given for the launch of the new route.
“I believe that adding destinations in Japan itself, as well as flights, will increase the number of tourists arriving in Israel in the near future. The agreement is also an important component in the government’s policy to strengthen Israel’s relations with Japan.”
07/15 Links Pt2: Phyllis Chesler: Are we really living in the 1930s?; Ilhan Omar Claims Palestinian Opposition to Israel Is “Non-Violent”; Labour antisemitism isn’t about the complaints process. It’s about ideology.
07/31 Links Pt2: The Ayatollah's Plan for Israel; ...
Obama evokes Jewish lobby/neocon canards to defend...
07/31 Links Pt1: Don’t let the dark side win; Alle...
No, Sussiya is not owned by Arabs
Amnesty ignores Amnesty's own research in anti-Isr...
Bad news and good news in Arabic media
07/30 Links Pt2: Congressional Testimony: Fighting...
Khamenei: The worst thing about World Wars was Isr...
Why Jonathan Pollard won't make it to Israel (Vic ...
07/30 Links Pt1: FM: Sunni Arab nations are our ‘a...
Debunking another NGO lie: "40% of Palestinian adu...
Gen, Dempsey refutes idea of "Iran deal or war" (v...
Now is the time to assassinate Nasrallah
07/29 Links Pt2: Corrosive Atmosphere on Campus Ha...
One more "martyr"
Riyadh Ballet Stymied By Burqa Requirement (PreOcc...
07/29 Links Pt1: Report: Child-Killer Kuntar 'Kill...
Nasrallah really hates the idea of Israel working ...
How Amnesty lies and twists the truth
Amnesty's new report takes soldiers' quotes out of...
Two Overnight Eldertoons
07/28 Links Pt2: Pollard will be freed Nov 20; La...
"The Nation" sportswriter blames Israel for US pol...
Palestinian Statehood: Aussie Labor’s Pains Dulled...
07/28 Links Pt1: Overwhelming Israeli Opposition S...
UN comes out against religious freedom
Mecca imam: Jews invented sexual harassment
ElderToons: Where human rights and Muslim sensitiv...
07/27 Links Pt2: ICC prosecutor won’t reopen floti...
US caved on requirements for Iranian possible mili...
Jim Crow for Jews and the Artificial Construction ...
07/27 Links Pt1: Sharansky: Jews stood up to the U...
Today's absurd Amnesty claim against Israel
The UN lies about international law. What a surpri...
Arabs fear UNRWA might actually help refugees beca...
Even dressing up is considered "resistance"
Fatah antisemitic cartoon, video of Jew hit in hea...
07/26 Links: Thomas Sowell: Is the Iran Deal the W...
The last Gaon was murdered by Muslims
07/24 Links Pt2: Glick: The irony of the expulsion...
Tisha B'Av and the threat of a new Holocaust
Iran claims it can use ballistic missiles under ag...
07/24 Links Pt1: Israel United Against Iran Deal, ...
Deputy Knesset speaker slams US over false Susiya ...
Saudi sheikh with millions of followers writes ant...
The myth of Susiya
Pete Hoekstra: "Very difficult to snap back sancti...
Former Islamic extremist Kasim Hafeez on the dange...
Iran to provide IAEA with soil samples from Parchi...
07/23 Links Pt2: J Street Fronts For Obama On The ...
Caroline Glick: "The American people have to show ...
A lie and a libel in the NYT
To hell with the international community (Vic Rose...
07/23 Links Pt1: Israeli Leftist Nukes Iran Deal; ...
Rep. Trent Franks: "The Iranians came to the table...
Frank Gaffney has three things to say about the Ir...
Iran-EU trade conference kicks off today in Vienna...
Colonel Richard Kemp: "Iran deal makes war more li...
Allen West: "We made an agreement with the #1 stat...
Alan Dershowitz: Iran deal is a Hobson's choice (E...
07/22 Links Pt2: 'Ancient Arab Susiya' - The Town ...
Israel-haters are fighting each other. Awww.
Why did Iran insist (and the US accede) to remove ...
Religion Ministry Sends Search Party To Help Evang...
07/22 Links Pt1: Glick: How and why to kill the de...
Fareed Zakaria's bizarre downplaying of Ayatollah ...
Here's an incident that Amnesty won't report in it...
Salafis in Gaza: "We hate Hamas so we'll shoot roc...
07/21 Links Pt2: PA education: A recipe for hate a...
Stop Iran rally, Times Square, Wednesday
“Who Will Safeguard the Homeland?” (Daphne Anson)
07/21 Links Pt1: Amb. Prosor: "When the villain is...
Over 2900 Palestinians killed in Syria. HEY - Jews...
Gaza power plant to shut down again, and Israel wi...
Amnesty outdoes Hamas in calling Gazans "civilians...
07/20 Links Pt2: Hamas-linked UK group celebrated ...
Alexander the Great mosaic found in ancient Galile...
"Gangs of Jewish settlers resumed storming Al Aqsa...
07/20 Links Pt1: UNSC approves Iran deal; Iran Dea...
Arab organization attempts to put hatred for Israe...
Amnesty International and Forensic Architecture Te...
Watch John Kerry deceive interviewer about Iran
The hypocrisy of the Left never fails to amaze me ...
Just a little Arab antisemitism
07/19 Links: Opening the ‘gates of evil’; What Par...
The 1980s, the American Left, and Rubik's Bomb (Mi...
Amnesty International: Garbage in, garbage out
IS attacks Hamas, Islamic Jihad in Gaza - so now t...
The funniest thing Ayatollah Khamenei said this we...
07/18 Links: Iran Deal: The Great Bamboozle Festiv...
07/17 Links Pt2: The NGO Campaign to Destroy Israe...
Israel haters try to co-opt promise to Children of...
One year ago: Muslims moving rockets into a mosque...
07/17 Links Pt1: The ICC declares war on Israel; G...
Congress is irrelevant - UNSC to vote to accept Ir...
Even more bias revealed in Amnesty's "Gaza Platfor...
Hamas isn't the only terror group that the PLO wan...
07/16 Links Pt2: ICC orders its prosecutor to reco...
Jordanian media upset at Ramadan series that doesn...
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By The Elm - Aug 29,2014@11:38 am
By Emily Harris
1. For most sane people, zombie attacks are reserved for horror movies and “The Walking Dead.” But that might not be the case in the Manitoba province of Canada. A camp has been designed for participants to learn basic survival skills and use of various weapons, including knives and pitchforks, to put up a fight against undead opponents. On the third and final day, participants put all of their new zombie-fighting knowledge to the test.
“Not that I’m scared some zombie is actually going to come kill me, but it’s still an adrenaline rush” said camper Jen Fehr. After all, it never hurts to be prepared. (CNN)
2. Some environmentalists have begun to second-guess the use of solar energy after unfortunate consequences in the Mojave Desert of California. Bugs are attracted to the light reflecting off of the panels toward a solar tower, leading the birds into what federal wildlife officials have termed, “a mega trap.” The birds often catch fire and end their journey with a crash and burn landing. The number of bird fatalities is still unknown, but it’s safe to say feathered friends should steer clear of the Mojave unless they want to end up fried. (NBC)
3. A number of attendees at the Denver County Fair in Colorado received an unwelcome surprise after trying some free samples. Chocolate bars being served at the fair’s “pot pavilion” were advertised as being free of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Not long after consuming the treat, at least two people were treated for an overdose, including one individual whose levels of THC were 20 times higher than the driving limit. Talk about getting chocolate wasted. The company in question, LivWell, said it had no knowledge of the drug’s presence in the products being served. (Huffington Post)
4. The 43rd president of the United States George W. Bush accepted the ALS ice bucket challenge last Wednesday…sort of. The former president said he was going to write a check, but the former first lady Laura Bush had other ideas. After his wife poured ice water over his head, Bush passed the challenge on to Bill Clinton.
He said, “Yesterday was Bill’s birthday, and my gift to Bill is a bucket of cold water.” (NBC)
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Clayt W. Hulin, PA-C MS
Founder / CEO Iberia Urgent Care / Provider
Mr. Hulin is a native of St. Martinville La. After a 10 year career in the Army Special Forces, Mr. Hulin turned his attention to the field of medicine. He received his PA training at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Tx. He was the distinguished honor graduate of his class, and was recognized for scoring the highest ever GPA in the program's history. He scored in the top 98th percentile on his national board exams. He later earned his Master's degree in Emergency Medicine from the University of Nebraska. After retiring from the military Mr. Hulin returned to his native south Louisiana, where he has worked as a health care provider in emergency medicine for the past 13 years. He has served as lead physician extender at Earl K. Long Medical Center, Summit Hospital, and Ochsner Medical Center, all in Baton Rouge. Mr. Hulin has also served patients locally in the emergency departments of Iberia Medical Center as well as Lafayette General Medical Center. In addition to his emergency room experience, he has also worked in the field of Occupational Medicine for many years, both in Baton Rouge, as well as the Acadiana region.
Suzette B. Hulin RN, BSN
Co-Owner / Clinical Coordinator
A native of St. Martinville, La, Suzette Hulin is a registered nurse with over 16 years of emergency room experience. She earned her nursing degree in Fayetteville, North Carolina and started her ER career there. Her career then took her to San Antonio, Tx, where she was an integral part of the trauma team at the University of Texas medical center's emergency department, a level ONE trauma center. In 2000, she returned home to Louisiana, where she has since served in various emergency departments from Baton Rouge to Lafayette. She has also served on numerous emergency department committees to develop policies and procedures at multiple medical centers and hospitals throughout Louisiana.
James Runnels, MD
Co-Owner / Medical Director / Provider
Dr. Runnels was originally trained and board certified in Internal Medicine in the early 90's, and practiced in both academics as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and in private practice at The Baton Rouge Clinic. He also practiced Emergency Medicine part time during those years, before moving to Emergency Medicine full time in 2001. He has served as the Medical Director of the Ocshner Medical Center - Baton Rouge Emergency Department, and works in various emergency departments from New Iberia to Baton Rouge. He has over 15 years of Emergency Medicine experience.
Frank Garber, NP-C
Medical Operations Officer / Provider
Mr. Garber was born in St Martinville, La. And grew up in Broussard, La. His undergraduate training consist of a B.S. in Zoology and a B.S.N from the former University of Southwestern Louisiana (now UL Lafayette). Graduate studies include a Master of Science, Family Nurse Practitioner from McNeese State University and Northern Kentucky University. Mr. Garber has worked in numerous Emergency Departments in South Louisiana. He has full confidence that can, and will, provide the highest level of care, and service, to the patients of Iberia Urgent Care. Frank enjoys caring for all ages of patients. He enjoys swimming, bicycling, and running, and participating in triathlons.
Lindsey D. Fontenot, BSN, RNBC
Director of Operations / Nurse
Mrs. Fontenot can truly say she has the greater Louisiana gulf region covered for experience. She is a native of DeRidder, LA, raised in Metairie, LA and has family ties in New Iberia, LA. She earned her Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree and was selected as an outstanding graduate from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. From there she spent 10+ years building the foundation of her career by serving Lake Charles, LA area working in Hospital Nurse Management. Her professional passion can be represented by the numerous accolades she has received and patient focused panels she has participated in. Her personal passion is centered around family time, Cajun dancing and helping others.
Team Member Portal
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Questions about your bill?
Please call 866-995-9863 or email Billing@HulinHealth.com
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2019 Hulin Health Powered by Ticket Mambo
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Posts Tagged ‘Snapper Creek Nursing Home’
Florida Man’s Death May Lead To Claim Against Fiduciary
MARCH 10, 1997 VOLUME 4, NUMBER 36
John Montañez and Ouida Ray apparently had a stormy relationship. They were married in Florida in 1955 and their daughter Prudence was born later that year. Montañez and Ray divorced in 1956. In 1960 they remarried, and a second daughter, Rhoda, was born the next year. By February, 1961, Montañez and Ray were separated, never to have any significant contact again.
Although Montañez and Ray never divorced, Ray married another man in 1971. That marriage also ended in divorce.
Montañez was in the merchant marine, and so had little contact with his wife or two daughters. In fact, though he spent the last year of his life in a nursing home in Florida, none of his family even knew he was in the same state, much less visited him. He died in May, 1994, from septicemia, pneumonia and deeply infected bedsores.
During the year he spent in the Snapper Creek Nursing Home, Montañez had a court-appointed guardian and conservator, a private fiduciary organization known as Comprehensive Personal Care Services, Inc. After his death, Comprehensive was appointed Personal Representative of his estate. Snapper Creek Nursing Home promptly filed a claim for $20,696.23 against the estate, seeking payment for the care provided in his last months of life. Most of that claim arose from the costs of treating Montañez’ advanced bedsores.
Comprehensive objected to Snapper Creek’s bill, but quickly negotiated a settlement under which the estate would pay $15,000 and neither party would pursue any other claims against the other. Meanwhile, an heir-locator service found Ouida Ray, Prudence and Rhoda, and they became involved in the negotiations.
While Ray and her daughter Rhoda agreed to the proposed settlement, Prudence was not. She pointed out that the settlement would preclude her from bringing any further action against either Snapper Creek or Comprehensive, even if she could show negligence in the care of Montañez or the supervision of his guardian and conservator. The Florida court overruled her objections, and approved the settlement. It also authorized payment of $43,750 in attorney’s fees to Comprehensive.
At the same time, Ray alleged that she was entitled to a share of the estate as Montañez’ surviving spouse. Over the objections of Prudence, the trial court awarded her the widow’s share of the estate.
On appeal, the Florida Court of Appeals reversed. Noting that Comprehensive was not even qualified to serve as Personal Representative under Florida law, the Court of Appeals also saw an inherent conflict of interest in the settlement. Noting that “the Decedent’s death from septicemia and grossly infected bedsores raises the possibility that viable negligence and malpractice actions may exist by the estate against both Comprehensive and Snapper Creek,” the Court voided the settlement and ordered the appointment of a new Personal Representative.
The appellate court also observed that the Personal Representative of an estate has a duty to heirs and creditors not to settle litigation to the disadvantage of the estate. More fundamentally, the Personal Representative in this case (as a potential defendant) had a conflict of interest which made it impossible to settle the litigation fairly. In addition to voiding the settlement, the Court reversed the award of attorney’s fees.
On the subject of Ray’s right to a widow’s share, the Court of Appeals found that her subsequent remarriage (and divorce) barred her from making any claim. The opinion noted that when she remarried in 1971, she claimed on her marriage application that she had divorced Montañez in 1965, and she could not now claim otherwise. Estate of Montañez, Fla. Ct. of Appeals, February 12, 1997.
Subjects: bedsores, Comprehensive Personal Care Services Inc., conservatorship, Estate of Montañez, guardianship, Personal Representative, pneumonia, private fiduciaries, septicemia, Snapper Creek Nursing Home
Comments Off on Florida Man’s Death May Lead To Claim Against Fiduciary
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In The Footsteps of Giants
Walking on the Edmund Pettis Bridge in Selma, AL 3-8-15
Speaking of hope, it has been an extraordinary week. We were just in Selma, Birmingham, Montgomery and the City of St. Jude. There were people from all over the world present for the 50th Anniversary and commemoration of the historic 1965 crossing of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, AL. On March 7th, 1965 a young (now Congressman) John Lewis led a march that was headed toward Montgomery in support of the Voting Rights Act. He was the first across the bridge, and was the first to be beaten and bludgeoned by the law enforcement officers waiting on the other side. It took three attempts for the determined masses to make it all the way to Montgomery, but on March 25th, the peaceful assembly, now more than 25,000 in number, finally arrived in the Alabama state capitol, and showed a nation what democracy looks like.
I grew up in the 70s and 80s. I saw footage of the Civil Rights movement in black and white reels and news clips. It seemed like ancient history to me. As did the first walk on the moon, for that matter. I grew up being told that the Civil Rights Movement was a thing of the past, and that the battle had been won, that equality had come to the land. It was a real shock when I began to realize growing up, that this was not true. I owe much of my awareness to one woman, Dorothy Paige Turner.
Dorothy was my kindergarten and 1st grade music teacher. She was and remains one of the most courageous women I have ever known. She taught all of us kids at Garrison Elementary School songs from the Civil Rights Movement. And we sang those songs like we believed. We sang those songs and drank in their lyrics of hope, freedom, fairness, justice, and transformation as if it were our birthright to do so. Dorothy took a diverse group of students and helped us see our similarities before anyone had taught us to see our differences. And I know she changed my life forever.
Later when I was a freshman in high school, Dorothy asked me to be in a new theater company she had founded called The Black Theater Ensemble. I was the only Caucasian member of the company. And that too was a gift. Dorothy continued where she had left off when I was a child and began again to teach my teenage self about the history of racism in this country, about the history of slavery, abolition, human rights, and the work of liberation and Civil Rights. She put me in some of the hardest situations I had ever been in, and stood by me all the way as she forged me into a more aware and awake person.
The thing is, Racism doesn’t end in the abstract. Racism doesn’t end as a result of intellectual constructs and mass rallies, public awareness campaigns, or the quoting of horrifying statistics. Racism ends because we get to know another person, and become friends with that person, we start to love that person and feel as if they are a part of our tribe, and then all-of-a-sudden the injustice we see hurting them, hurts us too! And we find we cannot stand idly by and watch our friends endure injustice and hatred.
Whether we are Black, White, Latino/Latina, Asian, Indigenous, Indian, Mixed Race/other, we are all franchised into some system of racism. And the system that we are handed, is not our fault. But what we do with it, that IS our responsibility. And what Dorothy Paige Turner did in my life was to work for transformation of that system, one child at a time, one song at a time, one heart at a time. Dorothy taught us to see the character of the person first and anything else second. And she invited me into a performing ensemble that forever changed my life.
This past week, Kim & Reggie Harris, Brother Sun (myself, Pat & Greg), and many others were part of a Unitarian Universalist contingent present to witness and be a part of the commemorative events in Alabama. Starting with a conference called Marching in The Arc of Justice and concluding with our time in Selma and Montgomery, we had the extraordinary privilege of hearing stories and sharing in song and fellowship with numerous veterans of the Civil Rights Movement.
But I might not have crossed the bridge in Selma this week if it weren’t for Dorothy’s work 35 or 40 years ago. I might never have been attracted to the music that now resides at the center of my life had it not been for the courage of a young black music teacher from Arkansas who came north and carried the hope and the love and the courage of the Civil Rights movement with her. So as I walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a bridge still (disturbingly) named after a Grand Dragon of the KKK, I carried Dorothy with me, and all of the members of the Black Theater Ensemble. I remembered playing a slave auctioneer and a slave master in those ensemble productions. I remembered crying after rehearsals at how unconscionable it was that these things actually happened. I remembered members of the ensemble surrounding me with love, assuring me that they understood I was only fulfilling a role I had been asked to play, for the sake of a piece of teaching-theater. And I recommitted myself on Sunday to doing what I can do in my life to challenge Racism in all of its forms.
The work of “the Civil Rights generation” must continue with us, and with our children and grandchildren. It was not a bloodless revolution, but the blood only ever seemed to flow in one direction. And as we now address the injustices of our contemporary society, I think we have a great deal to learn from our forbearers. “Black and white together” as the song says, along with Latino/Latina, Asian, Indigenous, Indian, Mixed Race and all other identities, we MUST overcome. We must overcome the callousness of a society that allows any of its children to be seen as disposable. We must overcome the indifference that allows people to see others as less than fully human. We must overcome the hatred that allows unarmed people of color to be shot and killed, with no punishments handed down to the perpetrators of those heinous acts.
We are all a part of a system that was handed to us, but that is not the measure of who we are. What we DO with that system is. And over the past week I saw tens of thousands of people committed to changing that system. It was one of the most hopeful things I have ever experienced in my life. Many of you saw coverage on the news, but I am here to tell you, whatever you saw could not capture the sheer awe inspired by seeing so many people show up and be counted among those who will work for positive change.
In addition to the AMAZING experience of crossing the bridge in Selma along with something like 70 thousand people, My wife Lynn and I had the unbelievable joy of spending nearly an hour and a half in private conversation with the wise and fiery Rev. Dr. C.T. Vivian, as we talked about the past, present, and future of civil rights globally. We spoke of Gandhi, Dr. King, James Lawson, and other agents of transformation, and Dr. Vivian shared with us in great detail about the day he was beaten and arrested. The day he told Sherriff Jim Clark, “Sherriff, you can turn your back on me, but you can’t turn your back on FREEDOM!”
We got to hear the wickedly intelligent Rev. William Barber preach in his charismatic and passionate style. And listen to the ideas of a young activist named Opal Tometi, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. The Rev. Mark Morrison Reed spoke eloquently and in concrete terms about how we can make positive change one loving relationship at a time. And the Reverends Hope & Janice Johnson, Gordon Gibson, and several others guided us through the week and were the creativity and passion behind an extraordinary gathering of activated UUs and allies from all over the US and Canada.
After several days of seminars and workshops, worship services and concerts in Birmingham where we sang with our dear friends Kim & Reggie Harris every day, we traveled to the historic City of St. Jude (Montgomery) where on March 24th, 1965 the marchers camped out the night before they headed to the capitol in support of the Voting Rights Act. And where a historic concert was held in support of the movement featuring: Harry Belafonte, Sammy Davis Jr., Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul, & Mary, Tony Bennett, Nina Simone, and others. We sang the hymns and songs of the movement there, and then traveled to Selma to march with thousands upon thousands.
I have listened to and conversed with Bernice Johnson Reagon (The Freedom Singers, Sweet Honey In The Rock) about the movement. I have heard Betty Mae Fikes, Jimmy Collier, and others sing those songs. I have been a student of the Civil Rights movement my whole life thanks to Dorothy Paige Turner. But to walk in the footsteps of giants and feel their beckon call, to hear the echoes Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s voice still reverberate in the streets of Selma and Montgomery, I was awe-struck. It was both joyful and solemn. It was a celebration of what has been accomplished as we in our seventh year as a nation with a president of mixed race ancestry. And it was a sobering acknowledgement that we have so far yet to go as another young, unarmed, black man was killed Saturday night in Madison, WI. And now two police officers have ben shot in Ferguson, MO. How do WE turn this around? How do we love our way through this?
Dr. King said, “The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.”
Opal Tometi said, “Justice is not an inevitability. We must work for it.”
Both statements are true.
So how do we make a difference? How do we work for change in a system that seems so far beyond our influence? How do we move through guilt, hopelessness, frustration, and into effectiveness? We cannot make progress on this or any other difficult issue by using anger as our fuel. We must LOVE. The Buddha, Jesus, Gandhi, King, and so many others have spoken this truth again and again. I would phrase it this way:
Anger may be the spark that lights the fire, but the fuel of change must be LOVE.
One relationship at a time, may we take risks, make mistakes, and fail forward. May we learn from yesterday and today, and apply that knowledge toward a better tomorrow. And may we learn better how to love one another, every day.
In Solidarity and Song,
True Companions (Save Sally!)
After Enlightenment, Laundry
The Two Monks
The Power of Listening
Dia De Los Muertos: Transition vs. Transformation
Marley, Emerson, & The Buddhist Monks
This land was made for you and me!
Solidarity Forever!
Old Town, Carnegie, & Gratitude On The Journey
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Drill Pipe
Drill Collars
HWDP
Line Pipe
Piling Pipe
Decom Capabilities
Flexible Risers and Flowlines
Decommissioning Case Studies
Surplus Pipe
John Lawrie Continues To Invest For The Future
Turnover at Scottish metal reprocessor, steel trading and environmental services company John Lawrie Group has broken through the £100million barrier for the second year in succession.
The firm has reported turnover of £107million for the year ended 31 December 2012 – a similar figure to that recorded in the previous year. Profit before tax came in at a healthy £3.4million for the year.
Group financial director, Charlie Parker, said: “Results in 2012 were very encouraging – we achieved our goal of maintaining the levels of activity after recording significant growth in previous years. The majority of our scrap metal continues to be exported to European steel mills and the ongoing economic uncertainty in some of these markets means that prices can still fluctuate quite a bit. At the same time we completed a number of important capital expenditure projects and made some new investments.”
In the United States, September 2012 saw the completion of new offices and adjoining 25-acre pipe storage and handling facility in Houston for the group’s US subsidiary, John Lawrie Inc. It supplies steel tubulars to oilfield and construction customers across north and south America. In Aberdeen, the NORM decontamination facility for NORM Solutions Ltd, a joint venture with Enviroco Ltd, was completed and became fully operational in the final quarter of 2012.
Mr Parker said: “Our core business of metal recycling, in Aberdeen, Montrose and Evanton, near Inverness, is benefitting from the major infrastructure investments that we have made in previous years. This allows us to provide our customers with an excellent support service for oil and gas decommissioning and other dismantling projects.”
Improvements were also made to the group’s Montrose pipe handling and storage facility. These changes will benefit John Lawrie Group’s UK steel tubular business, which is seeing increased demand from energy and construction sector customers.
Mr Parker added: “We will continue to develop our core businesses at home and abroad, but we will always look for new investment opportunities.”
Established in Aberdeen in the 1930’s as a scrap metal merchant, the John Lawrie Group now offers a diverse range of industrial services and has developed an enviable reputation for quality customer service. It is one of the country’s leading privately owned companies and employs a 90-strong workforce across operations in the UK, America and Europe.
More in this category: John Lawrie Group Tees Off Sponsorship Agreement with Paul Lawrie Foundation »
Thursday, 11 July 2019 John Lawrie Metals Managing Director Joins BMRA Board
Monday, 20 May 2019 Leading Aberdeen Firms Extend Transport Partnership
Thursday, 28 March 2019 New Forth and Tay Decommissioning Alliance Launched In Dundee
We are affiliated with a number of industry bodies
Get in touch to work with us or to make an enquiry
We are committed to health & safety and quality
© John Lawrie Group Ltd. 2019
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Making decisions about screening
Thinking about antenatal screening and what it is for
Special reasons for wanting antenatal screening
Reasons for not having some or all antenatal screening
Discussing antenatal screening choices with your partner
Attitudes to disability and termination
Information for making decisions about antenatal screening
Experiences of screening
Combined Screening for Down's syndrome & other chromosomal abnormalities: nuchal translucency scan & blood test (low risk results)
Combined screening for Down's syndrome & other chromosomal abnormalities: nuchal translucency scan & blood test (being told something may be wrong)
Early dating scans
Blood test screening in pregnancy
18-20 week antenatal scan (low risk results)
18-20 week antenatal scan (being told something may be wrong)
Understanding antenatal screening test results
Having further tests and getting results
Deciding whether to have further diagnostic tests
Having further antenatal tests and waiting for results
Getting diagnostic test results
Thoughts, discussions and info after diagnosis
Deciding to continue with the pregnancy
Making the decision to continue with the pregnancy
What the rest of pregnancy and birth was like
Feelings about antenatal screening looking back
Making the decision to end the pregnancy
The experience of ending a pregnancy
Feelings and reflections afterwards
Views on antenatal screening & feelings in later pregnancies
When screening does not detect a condition
Learning after birth that the baby has a condition
How it has affected parents' views about antenatal screening
Living with disabilities or a chronic condition
Living with a child with a long term condition
Previous Topic | Overview Special reasons for wanting antenatal screening | Next Topic
For the great majority of parents, antenatal screening (scans and blood tests) will provide reassurance that the chances of their baby having any problems are very low. Many people we talked to said they saw screening as a routine part of pregnancy care, and some said they did not think about it much beforehand. Some felt it was presented to them just as something everyone did, rather than something they had to make an active choice about. One woman explained she was happy with this approach because she trusted medical advice.
Around 700,000 women get pregnant in the UK every year. Over 95% of these pregnancies result in the birth of a healthy baby (UK National Screening Committee January 2016). However, in a few cases, there are problems affecting the baby's development. Fetal anomaly screening is a way of checking whether the unborn baby (fetus) could develop or has developed an abnormality or other condition during pregnancy. The screening tests offered in pregnancy are either ultrasound scans or blood tests or a combination of both.
She trusted her doctor's advice that she should have screening.
Children' 1 (age 17 months), Occupation' Housewife/student, Marital status' Single.
Okay, and did anybody ever say to you, 'You don't have to have any screening'? Did it feel like a choice to you that you were, you could choose to have screening or you could choose not to?
For the...
For any, I mean like all the blood tests and the scans and things?
No, no it wasn't a choice. It was, "You need to come back on such and such a day," and that was it really. And if I couldn't make it on that day, because I was too sick I'd phone and rearrange the appointment but it was never an option.
Are you happy with that looking back, or?
Yeah, yeah. Because the way I feel, it's like the doctors know more than me, so if I need to have this done then I need to have it done, sort of thing. It was just me overcoming my fear of needles and blood that was like the main problem for me.
Others felt maybe looking back more explanation and discussion would have helped, but many felt they had been given good information, and that there was a real choice to be made.
(See also 'Reasons for not having some or all screening' and 'Attitudes to disability and termination').
Most people were aware that screening was looking for conditions such as Down's syndrome or spina bifida, but many said they never really thought anything like that would happen to them, and were optimistic that screening would be reassuring. One woman in her first pregnancy felt screening at various points had also helped divide the pregnancy into reassuring stages.
She was optimistic that screening would be reassuring and give helpful information.
She felt screening helped provide stages for getting through pregnancy.
Children' 1 (age 17 months), Marital status' Married.
Had you got in your mind what you might do in response to various diagnoses or problems?
I think I was very much in a mindset - and it was conscious - of feeling, you know, the chances of anything being wrong to the extent where, you know, we may consider a termination were very, very slim in my own mind.
And I suppose that was possibly and not, you know, it's not particularly sound reasoning but just based on long sort of histories of very good health and low risk factors for, you know, on paper for, for everything, and neither of us ever having been ill really, in any meaningful way.
And I know that that sounds ridiculous, in the sense that people who do encounter problems often say, 'I can't believe it's happening to me'. I know that, at a rational level, but emotionally inside myself I just felt that the sort of chances were very low of any problems.
And so I wasn't avoiding the possibility, but I suppose I take the view on most things in life of, 'Let's not worry about things before they happen' really. A fairly optimistic outlook and positive thinking, and all that we could do at that point in time was decide what information we wanted, on which to make decisions.
Children' First pregnancy, Occupation' Mother - student, Father - student, Marital status' Married.
Well, I have found it, like I said very reassuring, and I think that if other women find it as reassuring as I do, then it's definitely worth doing.
For some reason I never really thought about not having the screening. I mean, I never thought about, I think because I was looking forward to having anyone pay attention to me, give me a little attention, I was really looking forward to things like the 12 week scan. And they became markers that I got to say, 'Oh, just 3 more weeks until...', you know as opposed to saying, 'Oh, just 33 more weeks until the baby comes out.' You get these shorter time frames, and so, as silly as it sounds, that's a lot about what screening did for me.
Some people had discussed in detail with their partners what they might do if the results came back suggesting they were at high-risk - for example whether they would consider further tests or a termination. Some people had gone part-way with this discussion and then decided that they could not take it further until they got their results.
One woman emphasised how important it was for people considering screening to be aware that one decision could lead to another. Even those who had explored in detail how they might react recognised that their views might change if they had actually had to face such a situation.
She described the screening process as a 'Pandora's box' where one decision leads to another.
Healthy baby born 2002, pregnant with second baby.
Yes, we'd had some discussion about it, and I think we were of the opinion that we'd have to take it very, very, very carefully, very cautiously.
But I think we both were agreed of why we were entering into this screening process, because I always think of it a bit like a, it's like a Pandora's Box, or a potential Pandora's Box, that if you start some screening, there's going to be an outcome of that screening, and then you have to make a choice.
And then you are led to another path, and then you have to make another choice, and so on and so on. And all the time the pregnancy is progressing, and the clock ticks, and the baby is growing and getting bigger.
So in my own mind, I was very much taking it one step at a time, and I think we were very, very much agreed with that - that there was really little point in thinking, 'Well, if this happens, this is what we're going to do. If this happens, that's what we're going to do.' But what we were agreed about was that we should assess what the risk factor for this pregnancy was so that we have a starting point. Because if you don't have any information to begin with, then you're none the wiser. And we wanted that information.
One woman felt she had been given very clear information about the difference between screening, which gives you risk information, and diagnostic tests which can give you more definite answers. She also raised the importance of being prepared for having a baby with particular needs, even if you would not consider ending the pregnancy.
She felt well advised by healthcare staff about the purpose and consequences of screening.
Children' One baby, 8 months, Occupation' Mother - lecturer, Father - lecturer, Marital status' Married.
You don't quite understand that when you go into screening that by the time you get all the results you are probably looking at week 20 or something, and that by that time a child is kicking around inside of you.
Did anybody talk to you about that or - ?
What we were impressed with, as soon as we saw the specialist that was the first thing she said. And we were really incredibly impressed with the way that she said, you know, 'The first thing that you have to think about is why are you doing this and what are the consequences of you doing it.
And in a sense if you don't want to terminate, there is an argument for you not doing this.' And also making it very clear that that's a very tough decision. So we were very impressed with that as a kind of approach. And it was done in a very sincere kind of, and compassionate way. But that was made very clear.
What do you think about that argument? Do you think that if you aren't clear that you'd go for a termination that you shouldn't have screening?
Well I think, I mean I think it's very difficult, because it then becomes an issue about why are you screening. And I guess there is an argument to say that you're screening because at least you then know, and then you can prepare, and you don't have the shock when the child is born. And I can see that as legitimate.
And there is also the problem that it's the case that if we take severe abnormality, you would say, 'Oh yes, well, that's a reason for termination', but what if it's only mild? And this is I guess saying that you're... one is a little bit na've when you go into it.
Or, in a sense, because screening isn't really about diagnosis, all it is, is screening and you in a sense then are dealing with risk factors, that you then have to make a decision about those. So you're always dealing with a kind of uncertainty.
Likewise even if you have an amniocentesis, it's not necessarily going to tell you the true picture. So I think, I don't know if it's a case of you definitely want to terminate, but you have to be prepared to make some very hard decisions, and it's not an easy process.
(See also 'Discussing screening choices with your partner' and 'Attitudes to disability and termination').
There were many comments about how scans have become an important part of pregnancy; the chance to see the baby and have a photograph to show friends and family is a major reason for people deciding to have scans. For men, scans can be especially emotional and happy experiences. It makes their partner's pregnancy and the prospect of parenthood seem more real to them.
She and her husband enjoyed the scan, and it made the pregnancy seem real, for him especially.
And I thought that this woman did just a wonderful job of explaining everything and taking her time, and showing us where the nose bone was and that, making us feel a part of it.
I mean, you're looking at something that's black, white and various shades of grey, and it's not the easiest thing to make out. And I'm not even sure that, you know, we were looking, I was probably looking at an eye when I was supposed to be looking at a nose, things like that.
But just the feeling that we weren't just happening to be there. You know, that we were actually, she made us feel like we were a part of it and that we had some sort of say, and that we had brains. I mean, it was nice to feel like you were a part of the process.
You both liked it?
We did. We both went.
Was it a good experience in other ways as well, I mean just seeing the baby, was that?
It was amazing. I think it was more incredible for my husband than it was for me. I mean, he almost cried. He wouldn't want me saying that! But I think for him it was the first time that the pregnancy really hit home. I mean, because he wasn't the one throwing up and doing things like that, he didn't really have this feeling that we were going to have a baby, and I think seeing that first scan was really an incredible moment for both of us, but especially for him.
Because at that point you're not showing and you don't look pregnant and you don't, I mean, and I don't think that men have the easiest time understanding the pregnancy part. I think they understand having children but I think the pregnancy part can be lost on a lot of men simply because they don't go through it. So that was really an amazing time to see the pictures and to get to take them home. We had them on our refrigerator and it was really nice.
For women too, scans make pregnancy seem more real, especially as they have not usually felt the baby move before they have their scans. A woman expecting twins after fertility treatment described her feelings on seeing the two babies at a 6-week scan and being reassured they were alive and doing well.
Seeing her IVF twins in an early scan was reassuring and amazing, and made pregnancy seem real.
Children' pregnant with twins, Occupation' Mother - lawyer, Father - Teacher, Marital status' Living with partner.
Well, at that stage we didn't know whether there were one or two babies - I mean, obviously that I was pregnant - and it was very nerve-racking, really, and there was both the radiographer and also the consultant who had, or the doctor who'd implanted the embryos was present.
And because I've never had a scan - well, I had had one scan before - but I didn't know what she was particularly looking for and they don't, they didn't explain what they were looking for, except of course that it would be, it would be something very tiny.
So it wasn't, I didn't know what, I didn't know, I was waiting for them to tell me and the way that it happened was that the radiographer said, 'Yes, there, I can see there's one sac and there's a...', I think they could see the fetal heart of one already, and she was concentrating on that one.
And then the doctor said to her, 'Um, yeah, and if you open your eyes you'll see the other one'. So he was kind of, I mean he was, he just said it in a sort of off-hand kind of way, but that was how we found out that there were twins. And then they showed you where the tiny things were and gave you photo, gave you a copy of the photograph from the scan.
And did it alter your feelings seeing that? Did it look like babies, could you...?
No, they don't, I mean they're absolutely, they're just shadows really, just two pockets, tiny pockets. But the amazing thing was that you could see the heart beat even at six weeks, so you could see this little flickering. And I think it does have the impact of, of making you very conscious of something that's quite difficult to sink in or to imagine it really is the case.
Because obviously there's no other physical symptoms, they're just present. And so I think it does begin a process of relating to yourself as a pregnant person much more sooner than would have happened if you don't have the scans. Because you don't, I mean, you may feel some symptoms, tiredness or beginning to feel unwell, but nothing as positive as actually seeing the tiny creatures and seeing their heartbeats. So yeah, I think it does have a sort of affect on your relat-, begins the bonding process probably.
Even though this has become a major reason for people to have scans, one woman explained how she knew this was not the main purpose and another encouraged people to think more carefully about why they are going.
She knew scans were not just for parents to see their baby, and felt doctors had a responsibility to explain the purpose.
She would encourage parents to think carefully why they are having screening and what they would do if an abnormality is found.
Children' First pregnancy, Occupation' Mother - research scientist (trained as doctor), Father - software engineer, Marital status' Married.
I think at the end it's just that, because if they don't explain you exactly what is it for, and the statistical analysis involved and the whole thing, then basically you just enjoy the picture in the screen, and you ask for your photographs, because of course you have to ask for the photo of your baby and send it to your family over there and, and that's about it.
That's what I did - and I don't have an excuse because I am supposed to know what is it all about. But yeah, once they told me it was fine, then I just enjoyed the whole happy experience. But that is not the point of the scan. That is not the point. The point of the scan is not to know the sex of your baby. That's not the point, so, but basically that's what people go for. You know, 'I want to know if it's a girl or boy and I want to have some nice pictures of it'.
But then, it is because people have not explained exactly what the whole purpose of the scan is, yeah? So, the users, the people who receive the test, they see it in that way, while the other side, the medical side, is using it for another purpose. But then there is a bit of a, a division there. And I think it should come from the medical side, because that's where the knowledge is, to explain to the other side the whole idea of this. Because it is not done to just make people enjoy a nice picture of your baby.
Children' Two (ages 2 and 1), Occupation' Mother - full-time mother, Father (age 37 at interview)- Pastor (former doctor), Marital status' Married.
I mean, firstly, I would say, 'Just realise it is an anomaly scan,' because I think you can still, even though people tell you, you can still go into it thinking, 'Oh, I'll get to see my little baby and have a picture of them.' And it could then come as a shock if somebody says, 'Oh well, actually, there's this and this that might be wrong.'
But more fundamentally, I would say, 'Have you thought of what, or who you're actually carrying?' It's hard, because I guess it comes down to what you believe, and if you believe that you're carrying an individual, and this is already a person with a life and a soul and - just think of, through the implications of what, what you're doing, because once you know there's an abnormality, are you prepared to terminate and just the consequences of that? And if you think, well, you wouldn't want to anyway, well, then, why have the scan?
So I guess I would encourage people to think through fundamentally what, you know, 'Who are you carrying, basically? Is this a person, or do you just think it's a, a bunch of cells or something?' And I would think the answer's 'a person'. This is already a little person, even if they haven't said hello to you yet, effectively.
So from my belief I'd encourage them to think that way, but you can only say so much. It's up to each one to make their own decisions. But to think it through, I think is the most important, because maybe you just do things.
It depends also on how you react to GPs, and some people can feel, 'Gosh, I don't know anything. I'd better do what everyone else does and what they say.' And just to say that, you know, 'You can stop and think it through.' I think I had it easier because with a husband with a medical background it wasn't hard to talk about - get more information and talk about the implications.
I imagine if somebody doesn't have immediate access to information like that, it might be easier just to say, 'Oh well, let's just do it,' because that's what most people do. But yeah, I'd encourage people to think about it and then make a decision.
Pregnancy can be an uncertain and anxious time for many women, and coping with fears is a normal part of pregnancy. Some people are able to deal with uncertainty by remaining optimistic that the chances of anything going wrong in their case are small. Others may imagine the worst.
A few people we talked to did go into screening feeling worried that something might be wrong with their baby. Sometimes this was because they or someone they knew had had previous experiences such as a miscarriage or having a baby with a particular condition, or because they had a family history of disabilities (See also 'Special reasons for wanting screening').
Having a friend who had recently had problems in pregnancy made her worried about screening.
Children' First pregnancy, Occupation' Mother - social researcher, Father - visual effects supervisor, Marital status' Living with partner.
Maybe it's just me but your instant feeling is that things might be wrong and so, and when you go to the doctors, our doctors were really good and they sort of said, "Well, pregnancy is a perfectly natural thing and with most people nothing happens out of the ordinary, and so we treat you as a person, and you don't have any contact with the doctor unless there are any problems."
So then you get moved into the midwifery service, which was a much nicer sort of touchy feely kind of service and with really nice people who listen to you and reassure you quite a lot, I'm sure that seems the main part of what they do.
So even though the doctor had given out what I thought were quite positive messages about the fact that pregnancy was perfectly natural and for most people was a healthy experience, I think you still do have in the back of your mind kind of concerns, and because I'd had a friend who'd had a very serious problem with her first baby very recently, I think I was much more anxious than I would have been normally and had seen the kind of initial joy turn to something much more serious. And so I think I was, I had that very fresh in my mind and so I almost didn't expect everything to be okay.
Blood screening tests are much less prominent in people's thinking about screening than scans, and awareness of what all the blood tests were for varied a lot (see 'Blood test screening').
Clearly people who have found out that there is something seriously wrong with their baby may have very different feelings about screening looking back, and when making choices next time they are pregnant. This is discussed in later sections. When they first go for screening, however, they describe very similar feelings of optimism and not expecting they would face bad news.
Deciding to have screening is a real choice, which may involve you in further decision-making.
She did not feel she had much choice about screening and would have liked more information and explanation.
Screening felt like something everybody did rather than a choice.
Children' 4 (ages 20, 19, 6 and 4), Occupation' Mother - Vicar, Father - househusband/computer consultant, Marital status' Married.
And what would you say to other women thinking about screening?
I think probably I'd talk about the fact that they do have a choice, that it's not just a package you have to go through. But that actually whatever you choose has implications. So that if you have some of the screening, then you're going to have, or you may have decisions to make as a result.
And if you don't have any of the screenings, you, you've got results that you're going to have to deal with. And it, it may all be fine, like it was for me, you know. You may end up with four healthy children and, and that's fantastic, but you may not.
And really I suppose to try and find out a lot - you know, if, if a situation does arise where decisions are needed, to find out all you can about it. But it's, I think probably I'd want to push that you can choose what you do, but that there are repercussions.
Children' First pregnancy, interviewed when 7 months pregnant, Occupation' Mother - nursery nurse, Father - telesales worker, Marital status' Single, partnered.
Would you go through it all again, all the screening?
Yeah, I would, I would.
Did it ever cross your mind not to have any of it?
No, I just, to be honest, I just followed what I was told to do, to be honest. I think if I was to go through it a second time maybe I'd say I'd have more of a choice and say, 'I don't want this' or 'I don't want that'. But because it's my first time and I don't really know what I was doing, I just went for everything that I was told I had to go for.
And that's how it feels like, that you're just basically, you were told?
And not much choice or decision?
Is that right, do you think? I mean, how should it be done? What would you say to health professionals, looking back over your experiences?
Because even though my friends had been through it and they can tell me what they had been through, everyone's different, so I would have liked maybe my doctor or my midwife to sit down and say, 'Well, you're pregnant, how do you feel about it?' and tell me what we're going to do in every stage, and explain every stage to me, so at least I know what I'm going through.
Most of the things, I've been learning through books or like, or asking my friends questions. But at the end of the day everything's different for everybody else. But I would have really liked someone to sit down and explain a lot of things to me.
That's why I'm glad in a sense that I've had my partner's mum, because then she can explain certain things that I was stuck with and she recommended certain things to do, for me to do as well. So I'm really glad that I had her but if, if I didn't then what do you do if you're by yourself and you haven't got nobody? You need someone like that to help you out, or just explain things.
But with the general screening, did you feel that you had already made a decision in principle that you wanted screening?
No, it felt like something that everybody did as part of the process and that - I don't think it ever felt like something that you might choose not to do. I don't think there have been many things actually that have felt like they were your choice.
Last updated July 2017.
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After previous caesarean
Recovery & complications after previous caesarean
About the interviews and the DiAMOND trial
Terms used in this website
Experiences of previous pregnancy & caesarean
Women's expectations for their previous births
Information needs/sources in previous pregnancies
Women's experiences of their previous caesarean
Bonding, feeding and support after previous caesarean
Women's feelings about their previous caesarean
Preparing for next birth after caesarean
Women's expectations for their next birth
Information needs & attitudes in next pregnancy
Views on information from health professionals
Views on information from other sources
Decisions about how to give birth after caesarean
Reasons for wanting a planned caesarean
Reasons for wanting vaginal birth after caesarean
Women's experiences of making the decision
Roles of health professionals in decision-making
Roles of partners & others in decision-making
Experience of next birth after caesarean
Women's experiences of their next caesarean
Women's experiences of vaginal birth after caesarean
Taking stock of birthing experiences
Comparing birth experiences and recovery
Women's views on choice about birth
Advice to other women facing decisions about birth
Messages to health professionals
Previous Topic | Women's experiences of their previous caesarean Bonding, feeding and support after previous caesarean | Next Topic
Even though caesarean is now considered to be a routine medical procedure, it remains a major operation. Women may take more time to recover than after a vaginal birth and there will be some pain and soreness as the wound heals. Of course, everyone's pain threshold is different and recovery varies from person to person. Several women we talked to felt they had recovered quite quickly and did not experience any problems with their scar healing. Still, many women mentioned the after-effects of having a caesarean and the length of recovery as important reasons why they might want to avoid caesarean birth in future pregnancies (see 'Reasons for wanting vaginal birth after caesarean').
Her family expected her to need extra support, but she felt so well that she went shopping the day after her caesarean and was told by her midwife to slow down.
She was surprised by the speed of her recovery and was astonished that she could have a shower the day after the operation.
Married civil servant with a twenty-two month old son. Husband is an engineer. Ethnic background: White British (English).
I had quite a good experience, although it' although it was an emergency Caesarean, I recovered very well, because I know when'When they decided we were going for emergency Caesarean, my husband had actually phoned his mother to say, 'Oh, [wife's] going in for Caesarean,' and she must have then phoned her other daughter who'd had a Caesarean before and said, 'Oh Mum, you're going to have to get down there, [husband's] not going to know what to do.' Because she' it took her quite a long time to recover, she couldn't get out of bed, but I was completely different, I was' I had the Caesarean on the Monday, and they advise you to sort of stay in bed really on the Monday, but on the Tuesday they like you to start walking about a little bit, and that was absolutely fine, fine for me, yeah.
In fact, I probably was on my feet probably a little too quickly, I was walking out to the shops and found' I was getting a bit tired and when the midwife came to see me she said, 'That's far too far for you to be walking,' because I hadn't actually been advised about' that was probably something about after a Caesarean, so I'm probably one of these people if I can manage it I'll go and do it, but probably wasn't aware that I probably shouldn't have been walking that far.
English teacher with one son aged two. Husband works as an aeronautical engineer. Ethnic background: White Anglo-Italian.
Well, it was even better, because as I said, I thought I'd have to like spend two or three days in bed, but I was up on my feet the next day.
And was that you initiated that getting up?
No, no, no, it was the people at [Hospital]. I remember my caesarean was at about five o'clock in the afternoon, and the next morning a really lovely lady came along and helped me to the shower, got me up and I was just flabbergasted and she was just, you know, 'Get in, get in the shower, on your feet, have a wash, you'll feel better', and I did.
And that's what you wanted?
Yeah, and I stayed' I was on my feet instantly. I didn't go back to bed.
Women are usually advised to get up and start moving around within six to twelve hours of the operation to aid circulation and help avoid the formation of blood clots in the legs. However, many women find moving around in the first few days quite painful and need plenty of pain relief. Even with pain relief, women may find that their movement is limited and they need the support of those around them.
Amongst the women we spoke to, experiences of recovery varied greatly. A couple of women felt well enough to get up and move about within a day of the operation and were surprised to feel much better than they had expected. Others had the opposite experience and were surprised at the amount of pain they experienced. Several women said they found it difficult to get in and out of bed and to lift their baby. A few commented that the information they had received from professionals before the operation had not prepared them for the length of recovery time. Experiences of support from hospital staff were mixed. A few women found it difficult to ask for help from busy staff. They felt relieved when they could return home. Several women had been advised not to drive for the first six weeks after the operation. For some, not being able to use a car made them feel even more dependent on others.
She was mistaken to expect a quick recovery. Not being able to drive and having no family nearby made things even harder. Played by an actor.
She felt very ill after the operation and took a good month to fully recover. She hadn't realised she would not be able to drive for 6 weeks and had to postpone her driving test.
Nurse with one daughter aged two. Husband is an engineer. Ethnic background: White Irish. Played by an actor.
Unfortunately because I'm a nurse I had this preconception that it was only a section so therefore it wasn't major surgery and I'd recover quickly, and I didn't' Because I overdid it probably, ran around too quickly'The first few weeks are just so restricted in comparison to other people that have given birth naturally. One of my friends had given birth naturally and she was running around, driving. Whereas for myself having no family around, I was very restricted not being able to' drive, and also not being able to walk places and get anywhere. And the difficulty of getting out of bed just to pick up my child was really horrible. Just everything was really, really hard after having a section' looking back.
Bar supervisor with one son aged twenty-two months. Lives with her partner.
I felt really weak, I felt ill actually, I got' and I felt really ill. I felt very dizzy and' get a bit worried about what's, what's wrong with you because you don't normally feel like that, it's something you don't experience, especially sort of after you've got a new baby you expect to feel like a bit more with it [laughs].
And how long were you like that?
I was like that for a long time, even when I came out of hospital. I came out of hospital on the' I had him on the Tuesday and I came out on the Friday and on the Friday night I didn't get discharged until about eight o'clock at night. And I got home and I felt really, really terrible. I felt' you get worried, like you're thinking 'oh my God, well, what's wrong with me?' But' no, it went on for quite a while. It went on' I didn't feel normal again for a good month, over a month.
And did that surprise you?
Yeah, because you expect to sort of bounce back quite quick, but you don't realise it is a major operation. I don't think, because it's so routine now, I think people get into the habit of thinking, 'Oh well, it's'' or, 'I'll go'' all these people having caesareans, they think 'oh, I'll, I'll have a caesarean', but it's not all that easy really.
Okay. And did you have any long-term worries about either you or the baby being affected?
Long-term? Not really, because my scar' I was lucky, I never had any problems with my, like the healing and that. I healed like brilliantly really.
And did you worry that you were unable to do as much as you'd like to have done?
Well, I was supposed to be drive' learning to drive and, because I, I was driving right up until I had my test in like a couple of months before he was due. And I failed, and I had it re-booked, and I had to cancel it because I had the section and you can't drive for six weeks. And obviously then, I had to have a couple more lessons before, so that took a lot longer than I would have liked. I think that's the main thing, you don't realise you can't drive, you can't do- the normal things, just like getting out of bed and things is a lot more difficult.
Several women had worried that they might not be able to breastfeed their baby after a caesarean. Women may struggle to lift the baby by themselves or to find a comfortable position during feeding due to pain from the scar. Some research also suggests that a caesarean can affect the milk coming in, though it is not clear why this might happen. Many women we talked to didn't experience any problems breastfeeding after caesarean. A couple of women who had planned on breastfeeding their babies felt too unwell to do so immediately after the operation. They were upset that being so poorly themselves meant they missed out on the close contact and bonding with their child immediately after the birth.
She needed antibiotics after developing an infection. The pain from her scar made it hard for her to breastfeed and she did not receive much support from hospital staff.
No details given.
Did you have any complications that you think were associated with having had a section?
Yeah, well, I had a, well my uterus didn't go back so quickly as it should have done and they discovered I had an infection, so I was on antibiotics for a week or so with that. And then, I just had a lot of pain afterwards, so' and I think it was just, it' that was the main thing, obviously that, that the infection, but also, I think the' I found it very hard to breastfeed because obviously I was in a lot of pain, and there wasn't really any sort of support given to me for, for the breastfeeding afterwards, so I, I knocked it on the head.
And how long did you manage to do it for?
Well, I tried unsuccessfully for a number of days and then I actually hired an electric pump for a month and expressed, so it was about a month all in all, really. But'
And did you have any worries, long-term worries that either you or your daughter were affected by how you delivered?
And did you have any difficulties going to the loo or resuming your sex life after?
Going to the toilet was very painful for about three or four days afterwards. Whilst they give you things like peppermint tea and stuff like that in hospital, it's still, you know, obviously because everything's been pushed and shoved around, it's still very, very painful. Sex life, no, no complications as such through the C-section, just obviously, obviously, very sort of' the whole area was a bit painful really for a while.
None of the women we talked to felt that they had suffered serious long-term complications as a result of caesarean birth. Such complications are rare, but they do happen.
A few women we talked to felt quite badly affected in the first few days and weeks after the operation. Depending on the circumstances of the operation, women may remain connected to a drip or catheter for several hours afterwards. More rarely, women who have lost a large amount of blood may be given a blood transfusion to help them regain their strength. They may also receive a course of antibiotics to prevent or treat infections of the uterus or caesarean scar. Bleeding from the uterus (known as the 'lochia') is the same as those experienced after vaginally delivery and can last for up to six weeks. A couple of women we spoke to, who felt very ill and tired immediately after the birth, said receiving a blood transfusion had helped them regain their energy.
Very rarely, women's experience of birth can be so stressful that they might experience symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PDST).
After the caesarean, she developed heart palpitations that lasted for several months and which she thinks may have been caused by the stress of the delivery.
Retail assistant with one daughter aged seventeen months. Husband is a design engineer. Ethnic background: White British (English).
When my daughter was delivered I had quite a lot of pain in my right shoulder and no-one could really tell me at the time why that happened, and it lasted a few days and I was given painkillers for it. And also I had quite a few problems with my heart after as well; whether it was due to the stress of the delivery I don't know or if it was just' I really don't understand why it happened, but I ended up having to see a heart specialist because of it because it went on for about four or five months.
And what kind of problem was that?
It was, it just felt like my heart was thumping really hard in my chest all the time, almost like palpitations I suppose.
And how did that resolve, did that do it by itself or '?
It resolved itself in the end. They said that if it didn't I would have to take medication, but luckily it did, it did go eventually.
Several women had concerns about their caesarean scar. These included concerns about the visible appearance of the scar and concerns that the wound might get infected. Some were also concerned about whether the scar would affect future pregnancies. Many women said that it had taken them a fair while to get 'back to normal' in all aspects of their lives. Several women felt nervous at first about going to the toilet or resuming their sex life. A couple of women were amused to receive advice on contraception when having sex was the last thing on their mind. A couple of women also said they were put off by the thought of becoming pregnant again.
She experienced bleeding for six weeks after the birth. Sex was the last thing on her mind.
She experienced deep pain from her scar for almost a year but was reassured by the doctor that they were normal healing pains.
She felt scared when she first looked at her scar but it healed very well and eventually faded.
She feels a bit more tentative than she used to since her caesarean, but her scar healed well and she thinks being an active person helped her to recover more quickly.
Shop supervisor with one son aged two. Living with fiance, who works as a risk assessor. Ethnic background: White British (English).
And did you have any problems either going to the loo or resuming your sex life afterwards at all?
No, no. I mean, I did kind of panic a little bit obviously because of it healing and everything, I sort of thought, 'Be gentle with me'. But I mean obviously the last thing on your mind is sex [laughs] once you've had a baby, but obviously you've got all the heavy bleeding and everything afterwards and mine sort of lasted about sort of six' it was about six weeks-ish. So obviously that was another no-no really. But, I mean, that's the funniest thing when you go to the doctors and they ask you what sort of contraception you're on, and you're thinking, "Well I don't want him anyway near me', keep him away!" [laughs].
Manager with two children aged three and four. Husband is an electrician. Ethnic background: White British.
The only worry was that the pain, sort of deep pain from the scar went on for I'd say almost a year. Sort of twinges and that's' I went to see the doctor about that and she just said well you've had a' it's the nerve endings knitting and just expect it. So after I'd been told that and I knew it wasn't anything going wrong. And obviously you worry about the stitches coming open.
Homemaker with one daughter aged 13. Lives with her partner works as computer software engineer. Ethnicity: White British (English)
I think the, the scary part was when I looked down and I've sort of been half, half-shaved, and it looked, it did look quite, obviously bruised and tender and there was sort of still the anti-bacterial dye but then, as time went on and the shape went back to normal, and the hair started to grow back, it was like, looking in the mirror, sort of, you know, 'This is me again', and it didn't bother me, because the scar did heal up ever so well. It went quite faded and wasn't quite noticeable.
Personnel worker with one son aged two and a half. Husband is an IT consultant. Ethnic background: White British (English).
Okay and did you have any trouble going to the loo or resuming your sex life after?
No I mean it was' obviously I'm assuming it was longer than what it would have been normally. Loo wise, no I think' they talk about the incontinence thing but I think that's been for a natural labour as well as a caesarean and that's not really affected me that much but it's when you sneeze and that sort of thing it's- a little bit different.
A bit more tentative?
Okay that makes sense. And you still feel like that now?
Yes, yeah.
And did it affect how you felt about yourself at all ' having a section?
No' I mean you obviously think about the scar because that's a personal thing isn't it? But I was soon into my bikini the next summer, so' [laughs].
And do you think that's because you're such an active person?
Most probably yeah because you know I do' I do go to the gym, I keep fit and it helps and you know' and it was a- it was a good section, I've been told it was a good scar in terms of the stitching and things, so...
At the time of the operation, many women said that their main concern had been for their baby and not for themselves. Most women felt confident that a caesarean was necessary for their baby's health and safety. However, a few women worried about how a caesarean might affect their baby. For example, one woman was concerned that her baby might get cut during the operation (Interview 29). A few women had also read that coming through the birth canal is good for the baby as it helps to clear mucus and stimulate breathing. They wondered whether being born by caesarean might have been more stressful for their child.
Her son experienced breathing difficulties and had a low Apgar score at birth. Feeling very sick herself meant she was unable to hold him until several hours later.
Marketing manager with a son aged two years two months. Husband is an accountant. Ethnic background: White British.
I recovered quickly, I didn't have any complications with my scar or anything. 'And luckily [Son] was a good feeder because I think that would be a concern. Now I know about sections, you know that possibly' because I was sick from one of the drugs so I was' my blood pressure went really low and I was sick. It was three o'clock the operation and I was being sick for the rest of that day. So I didn't actually get to hold [Son] or feed him for several hours.
And you carried on breast feeding after that?
Yep, but I think the first feed was probably two or three hours after he was born.
Okay. And did you have any worries immediately after that you or the baby were in some way harmed or affected by the way he was born?
I did when he was delivered because he didn't cry for ages. And they had to suck the meconium out, it hadn't gone down too far, and they had to help him to breathe and he had a low score* initially. But there was a paediatrician and everything there and' it was all very stressful, the actual operation.
*APGAR score (a measure of the baby's condition at birth).
Two mothers who'd had their babies delivered prematurely needed to have them looked after in the Special Care Baby Unit (SCBU) for several weeks. They felt helpless about the situation and were very upset to return home without their baby. A couple of other women had to have their babies readmitted to hospital due to weight loss and other concerns.
Her daughter weighed 1 pound 15 ounces at birth and was kept at the Special Care Baby Unit for several weeks. Having to go home without a baby was terrible.
So, your baby was taken, was she taken to SCBU or ITU?
The SCBU straight away.
So how long did she stay there for?
Seven weeks, which wasn't that bad really, sort of compared to other babies that were in there for like five months. Because she was breathing on her own, and didn't need ventilation, that she, you know, she had antibiotics to overcome infections and possibly, there was the chance of a blood transfusion for septicaemia, but then, you know, once she got over these little infections, it was just a general case of sucking reflexes to take feeds properly and then just to gain the weight.
So she didn't have any other problems, just apart from the fact that she was one pound fifteen?
One pound fifteen, yeah. It went down to one pound eight. I, my mum, she sort of knows obviously more'
That's alright, there's no right or wrong answers, don't worry. And what about you, were you well afterwards? You didn't have any complications?
No, no. I think I had a reaction to the morphine, burning hands and itchy face and, sort of tiredness and people wanting to come and see you all the time and you didn't get a minute to sort of sit down for yourself, because everyone sort of expects you to, because you're walking about and you're wearing make-up or something, everyone expects that this is how you actually are, but not on the inside.
So when did you go home?
I had her, got referred on the Thursday, everything went kicking off on the Sunday, she was born on the Monday and I went home on the Sunday, so I was in there for nine days in total.
So, what was it like going home without your baby?
Horrible. Really horrible. I mean, my daughter's dad had said, you know, he'd pick me up, we'd have a Sunday lunch and just sort of stay in at his house and just relax and he came to pick me up and I just said, 'I can't, I've got to go back in and see her', and we went back in and sat, just sat with her and had a quick cuddle, but I just ' I, I got used to it as the days went on but the initial, actually going out into the air and back out in, because I'd been in that hospital all that time, not even gone outside the building. It was horrible, leaving her there.
(See also 'Bonding, feeding and support after caesarean' and 'Women's feelings about their previous caesarean'.)
* APGAR score (a measure of the baby's condition at birth).
Last reviewed August 2018.
Last updated November 2012.
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This article is about the year 1889.
Millennium:
2nd millennium
Decades:
1889 in topic
Archaeology – Architecture – Art
Literature – Music
Australia – Belgium – Brazil – Canada – Denmark – France – Germany – Mexico – New Zealand – Norway – Philippines – Portugal – Russia – South Africa – Spain – Sweden – United Kingdom – United States – Venezuela
Rail transport – Science – Sports
Lists of leaders
Sovereign states – State leaders – Territorial governors – Religious leaders
Birth and death categories
Births – Deaths
Establishments and disestablishments categories
Establishments – Disestablishments
Works category
1889 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar 1889
MDCCCLXXXIX
Armenian calendar 1338
ԹՎ ՌՅԼԸ
Assyrian calendar 6639
Bahá'í calendar 45–46
Balinese saka calendar 1810–1811
Berber calendar 2839
British Regnal year 52 Vict. 1 – 53 Vict. 1
Buddhist calendar 2433
Burmese calendar 1251
Byzantine calendar 7397–7398
Chinese calendar 戊子年 (Earth Rat)
— to —
己丑年 (Earth Ox)
Coptic calendar 1605–1606
Discordian calendar 3055
Ethiopian calendar 1881–1882
Hebrew calendar 5649–5650
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat 1945–1946
- Shaka Samvat 1810–1811
- Kali Yuga 4989–4990
Holocene calendar 11889
Igbo calendar 889–890
Iranian calendar 1267–1268
Islamic calendar 1306–1307
Japanese calendar Meiji 22
(明治２２年)
Javanese calendar 1818–1819
Julian calendar Gregorian minus 12 days
Korean calendar 4222
Minguo calendar 23 before ROC
民前23年
Nanakshahi calendar 421
Thai solar calendar 2431–2432
Tibetan calendar 阳土鼠年
(male Earth-Rat)
2015 or 1634 or 862
阴土牛年
(female Earth-Ox)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1889.
1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar and a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar, the 1889th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 889th year of the 2nd millennium, the 89th year of the 19th century, and the 10th and last year of the 1880s decade. As of the start of 1889, the Gregorian calendar was 12 days ahead of the Julian calendar, which remained in localized use until 1923.
1.1 January–March
1.2 April–June
1.3 July–September
1.4 October–December
1.5 Date unknown
2.1 January
2.2 February
2.3 March
2.5 May
2.6 June
2.7 July
2.10 October
2.11 November
2.12 December
2.13 Date unknown
3.1 January–June
3.2 July–December
5 Further reading and year books
January 30: Rudolf & Maria at Mayerling.
A total eclipse of the Sun is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in the Dakotas.
January 4 – An Act to Regulate Appointments in the Marine Hospital Service of the United States is signed by President Grover Cleveland. It establishes a Commissioned Corps of officers, as a predecessor to the modern-day U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
January 5 – Preston North End F.C. is declared the winner of the inaugural Football League in England.
January 8 – Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine in the United States.
January 15 – The Coca-Cola Company is originally incorporated as the Pemberton Medicine Company in Atlanta, Georgia.
January 22 – Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C.
January 30 – Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera commit a double suicide (or a murder-suicide) in the Mayerling hunting lodge.
February 5 – The first issue of Glasgow University Magazine is published in Scotland.
February 15 – The first issue of La Solidaridad is published in Spain.
February 11 – The Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted; the 1st Diet of Japan convenes in 1890.
February 22 – President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
March 4 – Benjamin Harrison is sworn in, as the 23rd President of the United States.
March 9 – Battle of Metemma: Yohannes IV, Emperor of Ethiopia, is killed; Sudanese forces, who had been almost defeated, rally and destroy the Ethiopian army. Yohannes is probably the world's last ruler ever to die in battle. Menelik II proclaims himself as his successor on March 25.
March 11 – The North Carolina Legislature issues a charter for the creation of Elon College.
March 15 – Samoan crisis: German and American warships keep each other at bay in a standoff in Apia Harbor, ending when a cyclone blows in and sinks them all.
March 22 – English Association football team Sheffield United F.C. is formed at the Adelphi Hotel, Sheffield.
March 23 – Claiming to be the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founds the Ahmadiyya Muslim community in Punjab Province (British India).
March 31 – The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated (opens May 6). At 300 m (980 ft), its height exceeds the previous tallest structure in the world by 130 m (430 ft). Contemporary critics regard it as aesthetically displeasing.
The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated on March 31, thus becoming the tallest structure in the world
April–June
April 1 – Following a failed attempt at a coup, French defense minister Georges Boulanger is forced to flee the country.
April 10 – The Hammarby Roddförening (later Hammarby IF) is founded in Sweden.
April 22 – At high noon in Oklahoma Territory, thousands rush to claim land in the Land Rush of 1889. Within hours the cities of Oklahoma City and Guthrie are formed, with populations of at least 10,000.
April 22: Land Run.
May 2 – Menelik II, Emperor of Ethiopia, signs a treaty of amity with Italy, giving Italy control over what will become Eritrea.
May 6 – The Exposition Universelle opens in Paris, with the Eiffel Tower as its entrance arch. The Galerie des machines, at 111 m (364 ft), spans the longest interior space in the world at this time.
May 11 – Wham Paymaster robbery: An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort in the Arizona Territory results in the theft of over $28,000, and the award of two Medals of Honor.
May 28 – Rubber tire company Michelin is registered by Édouard and André Michelin in Clermont-Ferrand, France.[page needed]
Johnstown Flood: The South Fork Dam collapses in western Pennsylvania, killing more than 2,200 people in and around Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
The Naval Defence Act dictates that the fleet strength of the British Royal Navy must be equal to that of at least any two other countries.[1]
June – Vincent van Gogh paints The Starry Night at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence.
June 3 – The first long distance electric power transmission line in the United States is completed, running 14 miles (23 km) between a generator at Willamette Falls and downtown Portland, Oregon.
June 6 – The Great Seattle Fire ravages through the downtown area without any fatalities.
June 8 – The Wall Street Journal is established in New York City.
June 12 – The Armagh rail disaster near Armagh, Ireland kills 80 people.
June 19 – A Neapolitan baker named Raffaele Esposito invents the Pizza Margherita, named after the queen consort of Italy Margherita of Savoy. This is the forerunner of the modern pizza.
June 26 – Bangui is founded in the French Congo.
June 28 – An annular solar eclipse is visible in Atlantic Ocean, Africa and Indian Ocean, and is the 47th solar eclipse of Solar Saros 125.
June 29–30 – The First Inter-Parliamentary Conference held.
July–September
The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published in New York City.
The last official bare-knuckle boxing title fight is held (under London Prize Ring Rules): Heavyweight Champion John L. Sullivan, the Boston Strong Boy, defeats Jake Kilrain in a world championship bout, lasting 75 rounds, in Mississippi.
July 14 – International Workers Congresses of Paris open, and establish the Second International.
July 31 – Louise, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom, marries Alexander Duff, 1st Duke of Fife.
August 3 – Mahdist War – Battle of Toski: Egyptian and British troops are victorious.
August 4 – The Great Fire of Spokane, Washington destroys some 32 blocks of the city, prompting a mass rebuilding project.
August 6 – The Savoy Hotel in London opens.[2]
August 10 – At the Vienna Hofburg, the grand opening ceremony is held for the Imperial Natural History Museum (German: K.k. Naturhistorisches Hofmuseum), begun in 1871; from August 13 to the end of December, the museum counts 175,000 visitors.
August 14–September 15 – London Dock Strike: Dockers strike for a minimum wage of sixpence an hour (The dockers' tanner), which they eventually receive (a landmark in the development of New Unionism in Britain).[3]
August 26 – The Prevention of Cruelty to, and Protection of, Children Act, commonly known as the Children's Charter, is passed in the United Kingdom; for the first time it imposes criminal penalties to deter child abuse.[4]
August 30 – The Royal Mail Mount Pleasant Sorting Office officially opens in London.
August – The Jewish settlement of Moisés Ville is founded in Argentina.
September 10 – Albert Honoré Charles Grimaldi becomes Albert I, Prince of Monaco.
September 17 – Civil War veteran Charles Jefferson Wright founds New York Military Academy, with 75 students on 30 acres (120,000 m2) of land in Cornwall, New York.
September 23 – The Nintendo Koppai (Later Nintendo Company, Limited) is founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi, to produce and market Hanafuda playing cards.
October–December
September 23: Nintendo founded as a playing card manufacturer
October 2 – In Washington, D.C., the first International Conference of American States begins.
Mount Kilimanjaro's summit is first reached, by German geologist Hans Meyer with Austrian mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller.
The Moulin Rouge cabaret opens in Paris.
October 12 – Gustaf Åkerhielm, previously Swedish Foreign Minister, replaces Gillis Bildt as Prime Minister of Sweden.
October 24 – Sir Henry Parkes, Premier of New South Wales, delivers the Tenterfield Oration, calling for the Federation of Australia.
October 29 – The British South Africa Company receives a Royal Charter.[1]
November – The first free elections are held in Costa Rica.
North Dakota and South Dakota are admitted as the 39th and 40th U.S. states, respectively.
English Association football team Wimbledon F.C. plays their first match.[5]
November 8 – Montana is admitted as the 41st U.S. state.
November 11 – Washington is admitted as the 42nd U.S. state.
November 14 – Inspired by Jules Verne, pioneer woman journalist Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) begins an attempt to beat travel around the world in less than 80 days (Bly finishes the journey in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes).
November 15 – Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca organizes a military coup, which deposes Emperor Pedro II of Brazil and abolishes the Brazilian monarchy. Deodoro da Fonseca proclaims Brazil a republic, and forms a provisional government.
November 17 – The Brazilian Imperial Family is forced into exile in France.
November 19 – The modern-day flag of Brazil is adopted by the Provisional Government of the Republic.
Argentina is the first country to recognize the abolition of the monarchy in Brazil.
Gustav Mahler premieres his Symphony No. 1, in Budapest.
November 23 – The first jukebox goes into operation, at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
November 27 – Clemson University is founded in Clemson, South Carolina.
December 4 – The Bayswater Railway Station (Victoria, Australia) officially opens.
December 14 – Wofford and Furman play the first intercollegiate football game, in the state of South Carolina.
December 23 – The Spanish football team Recreativo de Huelva is formed (the oldest club in Spain by the 21st century).
Date unknown
Panama, yellow fever.
An early method of high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission, as developed by the Swiss engineer René Thury, [6] is implemented commercially in Italy by the Acquedotto de Ferrari-Galliera Company. This system transmits 630 kW at 14 kV DC over a distance of 120 km (75 mi).[7][8]
The first West Virginia tornado is recorded.
The Wisden Cricketers' Almanack publishes its first Wisden Cricketers of the Year (actually titled Six Great Bowlers Of The Year). The cricketers chosen are George Lohmann, Bobby Peel, Johnny Briggs, Charles Turner, John Ferris and Sammy Woods.
Frederick Abel invents cordite.
The 1889–90 flu pandemic originates in Russia.
Yellow fever interrupts the building of the Panama Canal.
A huge locust swarm crosses the Red Sea and destroys crops in the Nile Valley.
The Capilano Suspension Bridge (the longest suspension foot-bridge in the world) is opened in British Columbia.
Capilano Bridge.
Brook trout is introduced into the upper Firehole River, Yellowstone National Park.
Schools founded include:
Plattsburgh Normal School (Plattsburgh, New York)
Riverside Elementary School (Wichita, Kansas)
Battle Ground Academy Franklin, Tennessee.
Samuel Marinus Zwemer co-founds the American Arabian Mission.[9]
The Indian Religious Code is created, which forbids Native Americans to practice their religions.[citation needed]
January 2 – Walter Baldwin, American actor (d. 1977)
January 12 – Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, 2nd Caliph of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Islam (d. 1965)
January 21 – Edith Bratt, English wife of J. R. R. Tolkien (d. 1971)
January 26 – Jeanne de Salzmann, Russian pupil of G. I. Gurdjieff (d. 1990)
January 31 – Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
Ernest Tyldesley
Edward Hanson
February 2 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general, posthumous Marshal of France (d. 1952)
February 3 – Risto Ryti, Prime Minister and President of Finland (d. 1956)
February 5 – Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (d. 1962)
February 7 – Harry Nyquist, Swedish-American contributor to information theory (d. 1976)
February 11 – John H. Mills, Sr., African-American singer, one of the Mills Brothers (d. 1967)
February 12 – Edward Hanson, 28th Governor of American Samoa (d. 1959)
February 16 – Hawthorne C. Gray, record-setting American balloonist (d. 1927)
February 19 – Ernest Marsden, British physicist (d. 1970)
February 21 – Pieter Voltelyn Graham van der Byl, South African politician (d. 1975)
Lady Olave Baden-Powell, English founder of the Girl Guides (d. 1977)
R. G. Collingwood, British philosopher, historian (d. 1943)
February 23 – Victor Fleming, American motion picture director (d. 1949)
February 24 – Suzanne Bianchetti, French actress (d. 1936)
February 25 – Homer S. Ferguson, American politician (d. 1982)
Oren E. Long
Kanoko Okamoto, Japanese novelist, poet and Buddhist scholar (d. 1939)
Watsuji Tetsuro, Japanese philosopher (d. 1960)
Oren E. Long, American politician, 10th Governor of Hawai'i (d. 1965)
Pearl White, American silent film actress (d. 1938)
March 6 – William D. Francis, Australian botanist (d. 1959)
March 7 – Godfrey Chevalier, American naval aviation pioneer (d. 1922)
March 15 – Hiroaki Abe, Japanese admiral (d. 1949)
March 16 – Reggie Walker, South African athlete (d. 1951)
March 21 – Aleksandr Vertinsky, Russian singer, actor (d. 1957)
March 24 – Albert Hill, British athlete (d. 1969)
March 29 – Warner Baxter, American actor (d. 1951)
March 30 – Herman Bing, German-American character, voice actor (d. 1947)
March 31 – Muriel Hazel Wright, Oklahoma author, historian (d. 1975)
Manuel Prado Ugarteche
Hans-Jürgen von Arnim, German general (d. 1962)
Angelo Iachino, Italian admiral (d. 1976)
April 7 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
Adrian Boult, English conductor (d. 1983)
Tomoshige Samejima, Japanese admiral (d. 1966)
Nick LaRocca, American musician (d. 1961)
Aketo Nakamura, Japanese general (d. 1966)
James Stephenson, British actor (d. 1941)
Arnold J. Toynbee, British historian (d. 1975)
Thomas Hart Benton, American painter (d. 1975)
A. Philip Randolph, African-American civil rights activist (d. 1979)
April 16 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor, film director (d. 1977)
April 18 – Harold Saxton Burr, American scientist (d. 1973)
April 20 – Adolf Hitler, Austrian-born dictator of Nazi Germany (d. 1945)
Paul Karrer, Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1971)
Manuel Prado Ugarteche, President of Peru (d. 1967)
April 23 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (d. 1942)
April 26 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian-born philosopher (d. 1951)
Takeo Kurita, Japanese admiral (d. 1977)
António de Oliveira Salazar, Portuguese dictator (d. 1970)
April 30 – Fritz Pfeffer, German-Dutch housemate of Anne Frank (d. 1944)
Ouyang Yuqian
Igor Sikorsky
Beulah Bondi, American actress (d. 1981)
Gottfried Fuchs, German-Canadian Olympic soccer player (d. 1972)
Otto Frank, German publisher, businessman, father of Anne Frank (d. 1980)
Abelardo L. Rodríguez, Mexican professional baseball player, general and substitute President of Mexico, 1932-1934 (d. 1967)[10]
Ouyang Yuqian, Chinese playwright, director and Peking opera performer (d. 1962)
May 18 – Thomas Midgley, Jr., American chemist, inventor (d. 1944)
May 21 – Bernard Rawlings, British admiral (d. 1962)
May 23 – Carlo Braga, Filipino Roman Catholic priest, archbishop and servant of God (d. 1971)
Günther Lütjens, German admiral (d. 1941)
Igor Sikorsky, Russian developer of the helicopter (d. 1972)
May 31 – Charles Gordon Bell, British pilot (d. 1918)
Beno Gutenberg
June 2 – Martha Wentworth, American actress (d. 1974)
Henry F. Phillips, American businessman, inventor (d. 1958)
Beno Gutenberg, German-American seismologist (d. 1960)
June 10 – Sessue Hayakawa, Japanese actor, film director (d. 1973)
Amadeo Bordiga, Italian Marxist theorist, politician (d. 1970)
Adolphe Pégoud, French acrobatic pilot, World War I fighter ace (d. 1915)
June 21 – Ralph Craig, American athlete (d. 1972)
June 23 – Anna Akhmatova, Russian poet (d. 1966)
June 25 – John Morton-Finney, American civil rights activist, lawyer and educator (d. 1998)
June 27 – Moroni Olsen, American actor (d. 1954)
June 28 – Frank Mayo, American actor (d. 1963)
July 3 – Richard Cramer, American actor (d. 1960)
July 5 – Jean Cocteau, French writer (d. 1963)
July 6 – Takeo Itō, Japanese general (d. 1965)
July 7 – Shiro Kawase, Japanese admiral (d. 1946)
July 8 – Eugene Pallette, American actor (d. 1954)
July 13 – Emma Asson, Estonian politician (d. 1965)
July 14 – Ante Pavelić, Croatian fascist dictator (d. 1959)
July 15 – Marjorie Rambeau, American actress (d. 1970)
July 17 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American author (d. 1970)
July 18 – Kōichi Kido, Japanese politician (d. 1977)
July 19 – William Andrew Paton, American accountancy scholar (d. 1991)
July 22 – Tony Jannus, American aviator, aircraft designer (d. 1916)
July 24 – Murray Kinnell, English actor (d. 1954)
July 30 – Dr. Rajeshwar Bali, Indian intellectual reformist (d. 1945)
August 5 – Conrad Aiken, American writer (d. 1973)
August 6 – George Kenney, World War II United States Army Air Forces general (d. 1977)
August 10 – Norman Scott, American admiral, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1942)
August 11 – William Ronald Dodds Fairbairn Scottish psychiatrist, psychoanalyst and a central figure in the development of the object relations theory of psychoanalysis (d. 1942)
August 12 – Zerna Sharp, American writer, educator (Dick and Jane) (d. 1981)
August 15 – Marthe Richard, French prostitute, spy and politician (d. 1982)
August 21 – Sir Richard O'Connor, British general in World War II (d. 1981)
Joseph Egger, Austrian character actor (d. 1966)
Alfredo Obviar, Filipino Roman Catholic bishop and Servant of God (d. 1978)
September 2 – George H. Plympton, American screenwriter (d. 1972)
September 7 – Albert Plesman, Dutch aviation pioneer (d. 1953)
September 8 – Robert A. Taft, U.S. Senator from Ohio (d. 1953)
September 11 – Suzanne Duchamp, French painter (d. 1963)
September 12 – Ugo Pasquale Mifsud, 3rd Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1942)
September 13 – Masao Maruyama, Japanese general (d. 1957)
September 14 – María Capovilla, Ecuadorian supercentenarian, the last surviving person verified as born in 1889 (d. 2006)
September 18 – Doris Blackburn, Australian politician (d. 1970)
September 20 – Charles Reidpath, American athlete (d. 1975)
September 25 – C. K. Scott-Moncrieff, Scottish writer, translator (d. 1930)
September 26 – Martin Heidegger, German philosopher (d. 1976)
Carl von Ossietzky
October 1 – Charles Hurlbut "Dutch" Sterrett, American professional baseball player (d. 1965)
October 2 – Margaret Chung, Chinese-American physician (d. 1959)
October 3 – Carl von Ossietzky, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1938)
October 8 – C. E. Woolman, American airline executive (d. 1966)
Kermit Roosevelt, American explorer, author (d. 1943)
Han van Meegeren, Dutch painter, art forger (d.1947)
October 12 – Troy H. Middleton, American general, educator (d. 1976)
Douglass Dumbrille, Canadian-born actor (d. 1974)
Cedric Holland, British admiral (d. 1950)
November 1 – Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, Canadian-born peace activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1982)
November 10 – Claude Rains, English-born American actor (d. 1967)
November 12 – DeWitt Wallace, American magazine publisher (Reader's Digest) (d. 1981)
November 14 – Jawaharlal Nehru, 1st Prime Minister of India (d. 1964)
November 15 – Taha Hussein, Egyptian writer and intellectual (d. 1973)
November 16 – George S. Kaufman, American playwright (d. 1961)
November 18 – Zoltán Tildy, President of Hungary (d. 1961)
Vasily Blyukher, Soviet military commander (d. 1938)
Clifton Webb, American actor, dancer and singer (d. 1966)
November 20 – Edwin Hubble, American astronomer (d. 1953)
Harry Sunderland, Australian rugby league administrator (d. 1964)
Alexander Patch, American general (d. 1945)
November 25 – George McMillin, American admiral, last Naval Governor of Guam (d. 1983)
Edgar Adrian, English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1977)
Reuvein Margolies, Austrian-Hungarian-born Israeli author and Talmudic scholar (d. 1971)
Shōji Nishimura, Japanese admiral (d. 1944)
Robert Maestri
December 2 – Oei Hui-lan (Madame Wellington Koo), Chinese-Indonesian socialite and First Lady of the Republic of China (d. 1992)
December 3 – Walton Walker, American general (d. 1950)
December 4 – Isabel Randolph, American actress (d. 1973)
December 7 – Gabriel Marcel, French philosopher, playwright (d. 1973)
Hannes Kolehmainen, Finnish Olympic athletic (d. 1966)
Shigeyoshi Inoue, Japanese admiral (d. 1975)
Walter Knott, American farmer, creator of Knott's Berry Farm (d. 1981)
Robert Maestri, 53rd Mayor of New Orleans (d. 1974)
December 23 – Daniel E. Barbey, American admiral (d. 1969)
December 30 – Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, Mexican politician and president (1952-1958) who granted women the right to vote. (d. 1973)[11]
Nezihe Muhiddin, Turkish women's rights activist, suffragette, journalist, writer and political leader (d. 1958)
Reşit Süreyya Gürsey, Turkish intellectual, MD and physicist (d.1962)
January–June
Youssef Bey Karam
Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada
January 13 – Solomon Bundy, American politician (b. 1823)
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria (suicide) (b. 1858)
Baroness Mary Vetsera (suicide) (b. 1871)
February 3 – Belle Starr, American outlaw (b. 1848)
February 13 – João Maurício Vanderlei, Brazilian magistrate and politician (b. 1815)
March 5 – Mary Louise Booth, American editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar (b. 1831)
March 8 – John Ericsson, Swedish inventor, engineer (b. 1803)
March 9 – Emperor Yohannes IV of Ethiopia (b. 1837)
March 13 – Felice Varesi, French-born Italian baritone (b. 1813)
March 22 – Stanley Matthews, American jurist and politician (b. 1824)
March 24 – The Leatherman, possibly French-Canadian vagabond in the U.S. (b. c. 1839)
March 26 – Elizabeth Ayton Godwin, English hymn writer and religious poet (b. 1817)
April 6 – Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel (b. 1797)
April 7 – Youssef Bey Karam,[12] Lebanese nationalist leader (b. 1823)
April 12 – Robert Dunsmuir, Scottish-born Canadian industrialist and politician (b. 1825)
April 15 – Father Damien, Belgian Roman Catholic priest, missionary to Hawaiians with leprosy and saint (b. 1840)
April 21 – Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Mexican jurist, 27th President of Mexico (b. 1823)[13]
April 23 – Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly, French writer (b. 1808)
May 9 – William S. Harney, U.S. Army general (b. 1800)
May 10 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian satirist (b. 1826)
May 14 – Volney E. Howard, American politician (b. 1809)
May 28 – Madeleine Vinton Dahlgren, American translator and anti-suffragist (b. 1825)
June 8 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (b. 1844)
June 10 – Abraham Hochmuth, Hungarian rabbi (b. 1816)
June 15 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian poet (b. 1850)
June 25 – Lucy Webb Hayes, First Lady of the United States (b. 1831)
July–December
James Prescott Joule
King Luis I of Portugal
July 7 – Giovanni Bottesini, Italian conductor, composer and virtuoso double bass player (b. 1821)
July 10 – Julia Gardiner Tyler, First Lady of the United States (b. 1820)
August 2 – Eduardo Gutiérrez, Argentinian author (b. 1851)
August 19 – Auguste Villiers de l'Isle-Adam, French writer (b. 1838)
September 16 – Bob Younger, American outlaw, youngest of the Younger outlaws
September 23 – Wilkie Collins, British novelist (b. 1824)
September 24 – Charles Leroux, American balloonist, parachutist (b. 1856)
October 3 – Karel Miry, Belgian composer (b. 1823)
October 10 – Adolf von Henselt, German composer (b. 1814)
October 11 – James Prescott Joule, English physicist (b. 1818)
October 17 – Rodrigo Augusto da Silva, Brazilian Senator, author of the Golden Law (b. 1833)
October 19 – King Luís I of Portugal (b. 1838)
October 25 – Émile Augier, French dramatist (b. 1820)
November 18 – William Allingham, Irish author (b. 1824)
November 24 – George H. Pendleton, American politician (b. 1825)
December 6 – Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1808)
December 12 – Robert Browning, English poet (b. 1812)
December 28 – Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies, Empress consort of Brazil (b. 1822)
Glele, King of Dahomey (suicide)
Priscilla Cooper Tyler, de facto First Lady of the United States (b. 1816)
December 30 – Sir Henry Yule, Scottish orientalist (b. 1820)
December 31 – Ion Creangă, Romanian writer (b. 1837 or 1839)
Warren Felt Evans, American writer (b. 1817)
Little Raven, Southern Arapaho Indian chief (b. c. 1810)
Amalia Assur, Swedish dentist (b. 1803)
^ a b Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 315–316. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
^ Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
^ "The Great Dock Strike". PortCities project. Archived from the original on February 25, 2008. Retrieved January 29, 2008.
^ Batty, David (May 18, 2005). "Timeline: a history of child protection". The Guardian. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
^ "The Historical Don". Retrieved May 15, 2015.
^ Donald Beaty et al., "Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers 11th Ed.", McGraw Hill, 1978
^ "ACW's Insulator Info - Book Reference Info - History of Electrical Systems and Cables".
^ R. M. Black The History of Electric Wires and Cables, Peter Perigrinus, London 1983 ISBN 0-86341-001-4 pages 94–96
^ "Zigzag Journeys in the Camel Country: Arabia in Picture and Story". World Digital Library. 1911. Retrieved September 22, 2013.
^ "Abelardo L. Rodríguez" (in Spanish). Retrieved May 31, 2019.
^ "Adolfo Ruiz Cortines" (in Spanish). Biografias y Vidas. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
^ Youssef Bey Karam on Ehden Family Tree website
^ "BIOGRAFÍA DE SEBASTIÁN LERDO DE TEJADA" (in Spanish). Historia-Biografia.com. Retrieved May 30, 2019.
Further reading and year books
1889 Annual Cyclopedia online, Highly detailed global coverage
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1889&oldid=904509027"
Use mdy dates from March 2011
Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from December 2018
This content was retrieved from Wikipedia : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1889
This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article "1889"; it is used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License (CC-BY-SA). You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the CC-BY-SA
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The Moon Landings Have a Nazi Problem
tags: Nazis, NASA, space history, moon landings, rockets
by Fraser MacDonald
Fraser MacDonald is the author of ESCAPE FROM EARTH: A Secret History of the Space Rocket. He is a lecturer in human geography at the University of Edinburgh and has written for The Guardian, Aeon Magazine, and The Age.
Somewhere in the scarier reaches of the internet, a conspiracy theory circulates that the Nazis landed on the moon in 1942. Maybe you’ve never heard that 27 years before Apollo 11, Hitler had a successful space program that bored into the lunar surface to create a moon base.
It doesn’t need saying that this idea is wrong – it’s beyond absurd. Part of what’s troubling with this mythis that people would treat the history of the Third Reich with anything other than sober realism. It feels dangerous.
But the Nazi moon theory is unnerving in another sense. It’s a distortion of an historical reality that is itself profoundly uncomfortable: Nazi technology and personnel were indeed central to the moon landing.
No, this isn’t news. Wernher von Braun is widely known as Hitler’s wunderkind engineer whose V-2 rocket rained down on London and Antwerp in the final year of the Second World War. After the war, the technological dividend of victory in Europe proved hard for the United States to resist: under the auspices of Operation Paperclip, the US brought over 1600 V-2 engineers and their families.
That, of course, was exactly what von Braun had been hoping for. As another engineer put it, “we despise the French; we are mortally afraid of the Soviets; we do not believe that the British can afford us, so that leaves the Americans.” In time, Von Braun became the face of the Space Age, beaming an orbital future into living rooms courtesy of Walt Disney. Today, he’s remembered for his engineering brilliance and for his Saturn V engine that took Apollo 11 to the moon. He even has a crater on the moon named after him.
So what’s the problem? Wernher von Braun was, for the most part, an unrepentant Nazi. He joined the SS as well as the Nazi Party. The monumental status of his V-2 was partly founded on the 10,000 enslaved prisoners – Jews, Roma, Soviet soldiers and French resistance fighters – that the Reich expended in its construction. They died in the horrors of the Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp from hunger, cold and overwork. Some were executed for suspected sabotage. No, Von Braun wasn’t responsible for these deaths, but he was perfectly willing for his rocketry ambitions to be propelled by fascism.
The prevailing histories of the US space programme cede a great deal of credit to von Braun, much of it deserved. But as we commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landings, the Nazi provenance of some technology and personnel is too often kept at bay.
There’s no need to focus exclusively on von Braun. There’s Arthur Rudolph who worked as project director of the Saturn V engines, and won a NASA Distinguished Service Medal. “I read Mein Kampf and agreed with a lot of things in it” Rudolph told a journalist in 1985. “Hitler's first six years, until the war started, were really marvellous. Everybody was happy”. Rudolph fled the US to avoid prosecution for war crimes.
Kurt H. Debus was director of NASA launch operations who also has a lunar crater named after him. He joined the Nazi Party, the SS and the Sturmabteilung (SA). And there’s Hubertus Strughold, ‘the father of space medicine’, who designed Apollo’s pressure suit and onboard life systems. Previously, in his Nazi career, he conducted oxygen deprivation experiments on epileptic children.
All this is well established but it’s the sort of context that often gets left out of popular accounts of Apollo.
The problem is not one of scholarship, at least not since the forensic work of von Braun scholars like Mike Neufeld. It’s that the Nazi provenance of US space exploration shapes the popular image of astronautics without it being recognized. Consider the innocuous rocket emoji, Twitter shorthand for soaring ambition and high achievement. It’s the archetypal rocket that rises from the pages of a children’s book. It’s also a thinly veiled V-2.
What’s most remarkable is the political discrepancy when it comes to the memorialization of America’s homegrown rocketeers. Von Braun and Debus may have craters on the moon, but no such honor has been bestowed on Frank J. Malina, founder of Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Before Operation Paperclip, he designed the first American rocket to reach extreme altitudes, the WAC Corporal; he was also a socialist and a campaigning anti-Nazi.
Malina had no involvement in Apollo but he made practical, theoretical and institutional contributions that to some degree were part of its success. At the time of Neil Armstrong’s giant leap, FBI agents were sitting in a car outside Malina’s Parisian home. His involvement in the Communist Party had made him persona non grata with the US space establishment. He had campaigned against racial segregation at home and supported the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War. For this, he lost his passport in the 1950s and for a while was rendered an international fugitive.
While von Braun was relatively unencumbered by his Nazi past, it was irksome for Malina that the political baggage of anti-fascismdragged his own reputation. He felt sore that so little recognition was given to the early success of JPL’s rockets, all designed without technical influence from Germany: ‘All glory to the German V-2’, Malina complained to a NASA historian, ‘but why home-grown American rocket developments is [sic] so frequently minimised is beyond me’.
Fifty years after Apollo 11 we’re still coming to terms with the Earth-shaking significance of its achievement. Yet the prior histories of how we got there are unevenly remembered, a pattern that was established in the McCarthy era that favored anti-communists and too easily forgave fascism. It’s time, surely, to de-Nazify the popular image of space exploration, and to question the many ways in which dutiful defenders of the Third Reich have inscribed their presence on the moon.
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PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT
Transfer of Property Act, 1882, Section 58-- Provision of S.58(d) is not applicable to the areas falling within the jurisdiction of Punjab & Haryana High Court - However, usufructuary mortgage is required to be made by way of registered deed in the State of Punjab w.e.f. 10.06.1968 and from 05.08.1967 in the State of Haryana - If the..........
Punjab Excise Act, 1914, Section 30, Constitution of India, 1950, Article 19(1)(g), 14, 15-- Employing woman in any part of such premises, in which liquor or intoxicating drugs are consumed by public - Restriction imposed by S.30 of Punjab Excise Act - Held, ultra vires Articles 19(1)(g), 14 & 15 of the Constitution of India...........
Punjab Excise Act, 1914, Section 30, Constitution of India, 1950, Article 19(1)(g), 14, 15-- Prohibiting employment of 'any man under the age of 25 years' or 'any woman' in any part of such premises in which liquor or intoxicating drug is consumed by the public - Held, S.30 of the Act is ultra vires Article 19(1)(g), 14 & 15 of Constitution...........
Love marriage/Rebellion marriage/Run away marriage-- Protection of life and liberty of couples - Directions issued - (i) Whenever any intimation is received by the SSP/SP of concerned District regarding the marriage of a young couple with a threat and an apprehension of infringement of the right of life and liberty by the police at the instance of..........
Punjab Civil Services Rules, 1952, Rule 5.32-- Voluntary retirement - Pension - An employee giving notice for voluntary retirement should satisfy himself by means of a reference to the appropriate authority that he has, in fact, completed twenty years service qualifying for pension...........
East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949, Section 13(2)(ii)(a)-- Eviction petition - Sub letting - Plea of tenant that a person is kept in the premises to protect his forcible eviction by the landlord - Held, it is sub letting...........
East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949, Section 13(2)(ii)(a)-- Sub letting - Sub tenant occupying part of premises and his possession found exclusive - Tenant admitting that sub tenant has been kept in the premises to protect his forcible eviction by the landlord - Eviction order upheld...........
East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949, Section 13(2)(v)-- Ceased to occupy - No business transacted in shop - Purchase or sale bills not produced to prove that some business was transacted in the shop - No customer produced to prove that he purchased some material from the shop in question from the tenant during the relevant period - Tenant ceased to..........
East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949, Section 13(2)(v)-- Ceased to occupy - Only one sentence in cross examination of landlord that tenant was sitting idle - Held, not sufficient to come to a conclusion that tenant had not ceased to occupy the premises without any sufficient cause...........
East Punjab Urban Rent Restriction Act, 1949, Section 13(2)(v)-- Ceased to occupy - No electricity consumption, in summer months - No evidence to rebut that either meter was dead or that he had gone to a pilgrimage or to some other place, on account of some unforeseen circumstances and thus could not sit in the shop and use the electricity - Tenant ceased to..........
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Developer - Grezzo Ltd.
Grezzo Ltd. is a privately held company that specializes in video game development. The company was originally founded in December 2006 and is located in Tokyo, Japan. It's key founder Koichi Ishii, known for his work on the Mana series of games by Square Enix, was hired as CEO and president of the company in April 2007. The company has contracted minor work for third party licensees, but mainly has worked exclusively for Nintendo on several first-party projects including ports of The Legend of Zelda.
Work History for Nintendo Company Limited
Title Year Main Work Additional Work Notes
Ever Oasis 2017 ■
The Legend of Zelda: Triforce Heroes 2015 □ Co-Developer
The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask 3D 2015 □ Co-Developer
The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Anniversary Ed. 2012 □ Co-Developer
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D 2012 □ Co-Developer
StreetPass Games DLC Pack No. 1 2013 □ Mini-Games
Line Attack Heroes 2010 ■
➥ Complete List of Works
Profile: Grezzo Ltd.
Source: Game Credits. Company Homepage. Kyoto Report Investigative Methods.
← Back to List of Grezzo Works
← Back to List of Grezzo Personnel
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kawaiiitems
Posted by Wilbert Lamarca on Sunday, August 16, 2009
The official logo of Pokémon, the English variant of the original Japanese Poketto Monsutā
Pokémon (ポケモン, Pokemon?, English pronunciation: /ˈpoʊkeɪmɒn/[1]; often simplified as "Pokemon"[2]) is a media franchise published by the video game company Nintendo and created by Satoshi Tajiri around 1995. Originally released as a pair of interlinkable Game Boy role-playing video games, Pokémon has since become the second most successful and lucrative video game-based media franchise in the world, behind only Nintendo's own Mario series.[3] Pokémon properties have since been merchandised into anime, manga, trading cards, toys, books, and other media. The franchise celebrated its tenth anniversary on February 27, 1996, and as of 23 April 2008 (2008 -04-23)[update], cumulative sales of the video games (including home console versions, such as the "Pikachu" Nintendo 64) have reached more than 186 million copies.[4]
The name Pokémon is the romanized contraction of the Japanese brand Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター, Poketto Monsutā?),[5] as such contractions are very common in Japan. The term "Pokémon", in addition to referring to the Pokémon franchise itself, also collectively refers to the 493 fictional species that have made appearances in Pokémon media as of the recent release of the newest Pokémon role-playing game (RPG) for the Nintendo DS, Pokémon Platinum. Like the words deer and sheep, the word "Pokémon" is identical in both the singular and plural, as is each individual species name; in short, it is grammatically correct to say both "one Pokémon" and "many Pokémon". In November 2005, 4Kids Entertainment, which had managed the non-game related licensing of Pokémon, announced that it had agreed not to renew the Pokémon representation agreement. Pokémon USA Inc. (now The Pokémon Company International), a subsidiary of Japan's Pokémon Co., now oversees all Pokémon licensing outside of Asia.[6]
2 Video games
2.1 Generations
2.2 Game mechanics
2.2.1 Starter Pokémon
2.2.2 Pokédex
3.1 Anime series
3.2 Films
3.3 Soundtracks
3.4 Pokémon Trading Card Game
3.5 Manga
4 Criticism and controversy
4.1 Morality
4.2 Health
4.3 Monster in My Pocket
5 Cultural influence
The concept of the Pokémon universe, in both the video games and the general fictional world of Pokémon, stems from the hobby of insect collecting, a popular pastime which Pokémon executive director Satoshi Tajiri-Oniwa enjoyed as a child.[7] Players of the games are designated as Pokémon Trainers, and the two general goals (in most Pokémon games) for such Trainers are: to complete the Pokédex by collecting all of the available Pokémon species found in the fictional region where that game takes place; and to train a team of powerful Pokémon from those they have caught to compete against teams owned by other Trainers, and eventually become the strongest Trainer, the Pokémon Master. These themes of collecting, training, and battling are present in almost every version of the Pokémon franchise, including the video games, the anime and manga series, and the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
In most incarnations of the fictional Pokémon universe, a Trainer that encounters a wild Pokémon is able to capture that Pokémon by throwing a specially designed, mass-producible tool called a Poké Ball at it. If the Pokémon is unable to escape the confines of the Poké Ball, that Pokémon is officially considered under the ownership of that Trainer. Afterward, it will obey whatever commands its new master issues to it from that point onward, unless the Trainer demonstrates enough of a lack of experience that the Pokémon would rather act on its own accord. Trainers can send out any of their Pokémon to wage non-lethal battles against other Pokémon; if the opposing Pokémon is wild, the Trainer can capture that Pokémon with a Poké Ball, increasing his or her collection of creatures. Pokémon already owned by other Trainers cannot be captured, except under special circumstances in certain games. If a Pokémon fully defeats an opponent in battle so that the opponent is knocked out (i.e., "faints"), the winning Pokémon gains experience and may level up. When leveling up, the Pokémon's statistics ("stats") of battling aptitude increase, such as Attack and Speed. From time to time the Pokémon may also learn new moves, which are techniques used in battle. In addition, many species of Pokémon possess the ability to undergo a form of metamorphosis and transform into a similar but stronger species of Pokémon, a process called evolution.
In the main series, each game's single-player mode requires the Trainer to raise a team of Pokémon to defeat many non-player character (NPC) Trainers and their Pokémon. Each game lays out a somewhat linear path through a specific region of the Pokémon world for the Trainer to journey through, completing events and battling opponents along the way. Each game features eight especially powerful Trainers, referred to as Gym Leaders, that the Trainer must defeat in order to progress. As a reward, the Trainer receives a Gym Badge, and once all eight badges are collected, that Trainer is eligible to challenge the region's Pokémon League, where four immensely talented trainers (referred to collectively as the "Elite Four") challenge the Trainer to four Pokémon battles in succession. If the trainer can overcome this gauntlet, he or she must then challenge the Regional Champion, the master Trainer who had previously defeated the Elite Four. Any Trainer who wins this last battle becomes the new champion and gains the title of Pokémon Master.
Main article: Pokémon (video game series)
The original Pokémon games were Japanese RPGs with an element of strategy, and were created by Satoshi Tajiri for the Game Boy. These role-playing games, and their sequels, remakes, and English language translations, are still considered the "main" Pokémon games, and the games which most fans of the series are referring to when they use the term "Pokémon games". All of the licensed Pokémon properties overseen by The Pokémon Company are divided roughly by generation. These generations are roughly chronological divisions by release; every several years, when an official sequel in the main RPG series is released that features new Pokémon, characters, and gameplay concepts, that sequel is considered the start of a new generation of the franchise. The main games and their spin-offs, the anime, manga, and trading card game are all updated with the new Pokémon properties each time a new generation begins. The franchise is in its fourth generation.
A level 5 Bulbasaur engaged in a battle with a level 5 Charmander in Pokémon Red and Blue.[8]
The Pokémon franchise started off in its first generation with its initial release of Pocket Monsters Aka and Midori ("Red" and "Green", respectively) for the Game Boy in Japan. When these games proved extremely popular, an enhanced Ao ("Blue") version was released sometime after, and the Ao version was reprogrammed as Pokémon Red and Blue for international release. The games launched in the United States on September 30, 1998. The original Aka and Midori versions were never released outside of Japan.[9] Afterwards, a further enhanced version titled Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition was released to partially take advantage of the color palette of the Game Boy Color, as well as to feature more elements from the popular Pokémon anime. This first generation of games introduced the original 151 species of Pokémon (in National Pokédex order, encompassing all Pokémon from Bulbasaur to Mew), as well as the basic game concepts of capturing, training, battling, and trading Pokémon with both computer and human players. These versions of the games take place within the fictional Kanto region, though the name "Kanto" was not used until the second generation.
The second generation of Pokémon began in 2000 with the release of Pokémon Gold and Silver for Game Boy Color. Like the previous generation, an enhanced version titled Pokémon Crystal was later released. The second generation introduced 100 new species of Pokémon (starting with Chikorita and ending with Celebi), with a total of 251 Pokémon to collect, train, and battle. The Pokémon mini is a handheld game console released in November 2001 in North America, December 2001 in Japan, and 2002 in Europe. Pokémon entered its third generation with the 2003 release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire for Game Boy Advance and continued with the Game Boy Advance remakes of Pokémon Red and Blue, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, and an enhanced version of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire titled Pokémon Emerald.
The third generation introduced 135 new Pokémon (starting with Treecko and ending with Deoxys) for a total of 386 species. However, this generation also garnered some criticism for leaving out several gameplay features, including the day-and-night system introduced in the previous generation, and it was also the first installment that encouraged the player to collect merely a selected assortment of the total number of Pokémon rather than every existing species (202 out of 386 species are catchable in the Ruby and Sapphire versions).
In 2006, Japan began the fourth generation of the franchise with the release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl for Nintendo DS. The fourth generation introduces another 107 new species of Pokémon (starting with Turtwig and ending with Arceus), bringing the total of Pokémon species to 493.[10] The Nintendo DS "touch screen" allows new features to the game such as cooking poffins with the stylus and using the "Pokétch". New gameplay concepts include a restructured move-classification system, online multiplayer trading and battling via Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, the return (and expansion) of the second generation's day-and-night system, the expansion of the third generation's Pokémon Contests into "Super Contests", and the new region of Sinnoh, which has an underground component for multiplayer gameplay in addition to the main overworld. Pokémon Platinum, the enhanced version of Diamond and Pearl, much like Pokémon Yellow, Crystal, and Emerald, was released September 2008 in Japan, March 2009 in North America, and is scheduled to be released in Australia and Europe in May 2009. Spin-off titles in the fourth generation include the Pokémon Stadium follow-up Pokémon Battle Revolution for Wii, which has Wi-Fi connectivity as well.[11] Nintendo announced in May 2009 that enhanced remakes of Pokémon Gold and Silver, entitled Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, will be released for the Nintendo DS. HeartGold and SoulSilver will be set in the Johto region and will be released in Fall 2009 in Japan.[12]
Main article: Gameplay of Pokémon
Main article: Starter Pokémon
One of the consistent aspects of the Pokémon games — spanning from Pokémon Red and Blue on the Nintendo Game Boy to the Nintendo DS game, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl — is the choice of one of three different Pokémon at the start of the player's adventures; these three are often labeled "starter Pokémon". Players can choose a Grass-type, a Fire-type, or a Water-type.[13] For example, in Pokémon Red and Blue (and their respective reworks, Pokémon FireRed and Pokémon LeafGreen), the player has the choice of starting with Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. The exception to this rule is Pokémon Yellow (a remake of the original games that follows the story of the Pokémon anime), where players are given a Pikachu, an Electric-type mouse Pokémon, famous for being the mascot of the Pokémon media franchise; in this game, however, the three starter Pokémon from Red and Blue can be obtained during the quest by a single player, something that is not possible in any other installment of the franchise.[14] Another consistent aspect is that the player's rival will always choose as his or her starter Pokémon the one that has a type advantage over the player's Pokémon. For instance, if the player picks a Grass-type Pokémon, the rival will always pick the fire-type starter. Of course, the exception to this is again Pokémon Yellow, in which the rival picks an Eevee, but whether this Eevee evolves into Jolteon, Vaporeon, or Flareon is decided by when the player wins and loses to the rival through the journey.
Main article: Gameplay of Pokémon#Pokédex
The Pokédex is a fictional electronic device featured in the Pokémon video game and anime series. In the games, whenever a Pokémon is first captured, its data will be added to a player's Pokédex, but in the anime or manga, the Pokédex is a comprehensive electronic reference encyclopedia, usually referred to in order to deliver exposition. "Pokédex" is also used to refer to a list of Pokémon, usually a list of Pokémon by number. In the video games, a Pokémon Trainer is issued a blank device at the start of the journey. A trainer must then attempt to fill the Pokédex by encountering and at least briefly obtaining each of the different species of Pokémon. A player will receive the name and image of a Pokémon after encountering one that was not previously in the Pokédex, typically after battling said Pokémon either in the wild or in a trainer battle (with the exceptions of link battles and tournament battles, such as in the Battle Frontier). In Pokémon Red and Blue, some Pokémon's data is added to the Pokédex simply by viewing the Pokémon, such as in the zoo outside of the Safari Zone. Also, certain NPC characters may add to the Pokédex by explaining what a Pokémon looks like during conversation. More detailed information is available after the player obtains a member of the species, either through capturing the Pokémon in the wild, evolving a previously captured Pokémon, hatching a Pokémon egg (from the second generation onwards), or through a trade with another trainer (either an NPC or another player). This information includes height, weight, species type, and a short description of the Pokémon. Later versions of the Pokédex have more detailed information, like the size of a certain Pokémon compared to the player character, or Pokémon being sorted by their habitat (so far, the latter feature is only in the FireRed and LeafGreen versions). The most current forms of Pokédex are capable of containing information on all Pokémon currently known. The GameCube games, Pokémon Colosseum and Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, have a Pokémon Digital Assistant (P★DA) which is similar to the Pokédex, but also tells what types are effective against a Pokémon and gives a description of its abilities.[15]
Main article: Pokémon (anime)
Ash Ketchum and Pikachu together in the pilot episode, "Pokémon, I Choose You!"
The Pokémon anime series and films are a meta-series of adventures separate from the canon that most of the Pokémon video games follow (with the exception of Pokémon Yellow, a game based loosely on the anime storyline). The anime follows the quest of the main character, Ash Ketchum[16] (known as Satoshi in Japan) a Pokémon Master in training, as he and a small group of friends[16] travel around the fictitious world of Pokémon along with their Pokémon partners. The original series, titled Pocket Monsters, or simply Pokémon in western countries (often referred to as Pokémon: Gotta Catch 'Em All to distinguish it from the later series), begins with Ash's first day as a Pokémon trainer. His first (and signature) Pokémon is a Pikachu, differing from the games, where only Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle could be chosen.[17] The series follows the storyline of the original games, Pokémon Red and Blue, in the region of Kanto. Accompanying Ash on his journeys are Brock, the Pewter City Gym Leader, and Misty, the youngest of the Gym Leader sisters from Cerulean City. Pokémon: Adventures in the Orange Islands follows Ash's adventures in the Orange Islands, a place unique to the anime, and replaces Brock with Tracey Sketchit, an artist and "Pokémon watcher". The next series, based on the second generation of games, include Pokémon: Johto Journeys, Pokémon: Johto League Champions, and Pokémon: Master Quest, following the original trio of Ash, Brock, and Misty in the western Johto region. The saga continues in Pokémon: Advanced Battle, based on the third generation games. Ash and company travel to Hoenn, a southern region in the Pokémon World. Ash takes on the role of a teacher and mentor for a novice Pokémon trainer named May. Her brother Max accompanies them, and though he isn't a trainer, he knows large amounts of handy information. Brock (from the original series) soon catches up with Ash, but Misty has returned to Cerulean City to tend to her duties as a gym leader (Misty, along with other recurring characters, appears in the spin-off series Pokémon Chronicles).
The Japanese Logo for the current series, Diamond & Pearl
The Advanced Battle series concludes with the Battle Frontier saga, based on the Emerald version and including aspects of FireRed and LeafGreen. The most recent series is the Diamond and Pearl series, with Max leaving to pick his starter Pokémon, and May going to the Grand Festival in Johto. Ash, Brock, and a new companion named Dawn travel through the region of Sinnoh. In addition to the TV series, eleven Pokémon films have been made, with a twelfth to be released in Japan in July 2009. Collective bonuses, such as promotional trading cards, have been available with some of the films.
Pokémon: The First Movie (1998)
Pokémon: The Movie 2000 (1999)
Pokémon 3: The Movie (2000)
Pokémon 4Ever (2001)
Pokémon Heroes (2002)
Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker (2003)
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (2004)
Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (2005)
Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea (2006)
Pokémon: The Rise of Darkrai (2007)
Pokémon: Giratina and the Sky Warrior (2008)
Pokémon: Arceus and the Jewel of Life (2009)
Note: Given release dates are for the original Japanese releases
The 2.B.A. Master CD.
There have been several Pokémon CDs that have been released in North America, most of them in conjunction with the theatrical releases of the first three Pokémon films. These releases were commonplace until late 2001. On March 27, 2007, a tenth anniversary CD was released containing 18 tracks from the English dub; this was the first English-language release in over five years. Soundtracks of the Pokémon feature films have been released in Japan each year in conjunction with the theatrical releases.
June 29, 1999[18] Pokémon 2BA Master
November 9, 1999[19] Pokémon: The First Movie
February 8, 2000 Pokémon World
May 9, 2000 Pokémon: The First Movie Original Motion Picture Score
July 18, 2000 Pokémon: The Movie 2000
2000 Pokémon The Movie 2000 Original Motion Picture Score
January 23, 2001 Totally Pokémon
April 3, 2001 Pokémon 3: The Ultimate Soundtrack
October 9, 2001 Pokémon Christmas Bash
March 27, 2007 Pokémon X: Ten Years of Pokémon
Main article: Pokémon Trading Card Game
Palkia, the Spacial Pokémon Trading Card Game card from Pokémon TCG Diamond and Pearl.
The Pokémon Trading Card Game is a collectible card game with a goal similar to a Pokémon battle in the video game series. Players use Pokémon cards, with individual strengths and weaknesses, in an attempt to defeat their opponent by "knocking out" his or her Pokémon cards.[20] The game was first published in North America by Wizards of the Coast in 1999.[21] However, with the release of Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Game Boy Advance video games, Nintendo USA took back the card game from Wizards of the Coast and started publishing the cards themselves.[21] The Expedition expansion introduced the Pokémon-e Trading Card Game, where the cards (for the most part) were compatible with the Nintendo e-Reader. Nintendo discontinued its production of e-Reader compatible cards with the release of EX FireRed & LeafGreen. In 1998, Nintendo released a Game Boy Color version of the trading card game in Japan; Pokémon Trading Card Game was subsequently released to the US and Europe in 2000. The game included digital versions cards from the original set of cards and the first two expansions (Jungle and Fossil), as well as several cards exclusive to the game. A Japan-exclusive sequel was released in 2001.[22]
Main article: Pokémon (manga)
There are various Pokémon manga series, four of which were released in English by Viz Media, and seven of them released in English by Chuang Yi. The manga differs greatly from the video games and cartoons in that the trainers, though frowned upon, were able to kill the opponent's Pokémon.
Manga released in English
The Electric Tale of Pikachu (a.k.a Dengeki Pikachu), a shōnen manga created by Toshihiro Ono. It was divided into four tankōbon, each given a separate title in the North American and English Singapore versions: The Electric Tale of Pikachu, Pikachu Shocks Back, Electric Pikachu Boogaloo, and Surf’s Up, Pikachu. The series is based loosely on the anime.
Pokémon Adventures (Pocket Monsters SPECIAL in Japan), a shōnen manga based on the video games.
Magical Pokémon Journey (a.k.a. Pocket Monsters PiPiPi ★ Adventures), a shōjo manga
Pikachu Meets the Press (newspaper style comics, not released by Chuang Yi)
Ash & Pikachu (a.k.a. Satoshi to Pikachu, not released by Viz)
Pokémon Gold & Silver (not released by Viz)
Pokémon Ruby-Sapphire and Pokémon Pocket Monsters (not released by Viz)
Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker (not released by Viz)
Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys (not released by Viz)
Pokémon: Lucario and the Mystery of Mew (the third movie-to-comic adaptation)
Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Adventure!
Manga not released in English
Pokémon Card ni Natta Wake (How I Became a Pokémon Card) by Kagemaru Himeno, an artist for the TCG. There are six volumes and each includes a special promotional card. The stories tell the tales of the art behind some of Himeno’s cards.
Pokémon Get aa ze! by Asada Miho
Pocket Monsters Chamo-Chamo ★ Pretty ♪ by Yumi Tsukirino, who also made Magical Pokémon Journey.
Pokémon Card Master
Pocket Monsters Emerald Chōsen!! Battle Frontier by Ihara Shigekatsu
Pocket Monsters Zensho by Satomi Nakamura
Criticism and controversy
This article's Criticism or Controversy section(s) may mean the article does not present a neutral point of view of the subject. It may be better to integrate the material in such sections into the article as a whole. (June 2009)
Pokémon has been criticized by some Christians, Jews, and Muslims; Christian concerns over Pokémon have primarily addressed perceived occultic and violent themes as well as the concept of "Pokémon evolution" (which some relate to the theory of evolution), which is said to go against the Biblical creation account in Genesis.[23] The Vatican, however, has countered that the Pokémon trading card game and video games are "full of inventive imagination" and have no "harmful moral side effects".[24] In the United Kingdom, the "Christian Power Cards" game was introduced in 1999 by David Tate who stated, "Some people aren't happy with Pokémon and want an alternative, others just want Christian games." The game was similar to the Pokémon TCG but used Biblical figures. [25] In 1999, the Jewish civil rights group Anti-Defamation League also pressured Nintendo to edit the image of the Pokémon trading cards for Golbat and Ditto because the cards depicted a left-facing manji, which the League interpreted as antisemitism, although these cards had been intended for sale only in Japan with Nintendo planning to release edited versions in North America the following year.[26] In 2001, Saudi Arabia banned Pokémon games and cards, alleging that the franchise promoted Zionism in violation of Muslim doctrine.[27][28] Pokémon has also been accused of promoting materialism.[29] In 1999, two nine-year-old boys sued Nintendo because they claimed that the Pokémon Trading Card Game caused their problematic gambling.[30]
Main article: Dennō Senshi Porygon
On December 16, 1997, more than 635 Japanese children were admitted to hospitals with epileptic seizures. It was determined that the seizures were caused by watching an episode of Pokémon, "Dennō Senshi Porygon", (most commonly translated "Electric Soldier Porygon", season 1, episode 38); as a result, this episode has not been aired since. In this particular episode, there were bright explosions with rapidly alternating blue and red color patterns.[31] It was determined in subsequent research that these strobing light effects cause some individuals to have epileptic seizures, even if the person had no previous history of epilepsy.[32] This incident is the most common focus of Pokémon-related parodies in other media, and was lampooned by The Simpsons episode "Thirty Minutes over Tokyo"[33] and the South Park episode "Chinpokomon",[34] among others.
In March 2000, Morrison Entertainment Group, a small toy developer based at Manhattan Beach, California, sued Nintendo over claims that Pokémon infringed on its own "Monster in My Pocket" characters. A judge ruled that there was no infringement, so Morrison appealed the ruling in November 2001.[35]
Cultural influence
All Nippon Airways Boeing 747-400 in Pokémon livery.
Pokémon, being a popular franchise, has undoubtedly left its mark on pop culture. The Pokémon characters themselves have become pop culture icons; examples include two different Pikachu balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, a Pokémon-styled Boeing 747-400, thousands of merchandise items, and a theme park in Nagoya, Japan in 2005 and Taipei in 2006. Pokémon also appeared on the cover of the U.S. magazine Time in 1999. The Comedy Central show Drawn Together has a character named Ling-Ling which is a direct parody of Pikachu.[36] Several other shows such as ReBoot, The Simpsons, South Park, The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Robot Chicken,All Grown Up! and Johnny Test have made references and spoofs of Pokémon, among other series. Pokémon was also featured on VH1's I Love the '90s: Part Deux. A live action show called Pokémon Live! toured the United States in late 2000. It was based on the popular Pokémon anime, but had some continuity errors relating to it.
In November 2001, Nintendo opened a store called the Pokémon Center in New York, in New York's Rockefeller Center,[37] modeled after the two other Pokémon Center stores in Tokyo and Osaka and named after a staple of the videogame series; Pokémon Centers are fictional buildings where Trainers take their injured Pokémon to be healed after combat.[38] The store sold Pokémon merchandise on a total of two floors, with items ranging from collectible shirts to stuffed Pokémon plushies.[39] The store also featured a Pokémon Distributing Machine in which players would place their game to receive an egg of a Pokémon that is being given out at that time. The store also had tables that were open for players of the Pokémon Trading Card Game to duel each other or an employee. The store was closed and replaced by the Nintendo World Store on May 14, 2005.[40]
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News » Headlines
Winners of the Wienerberger Brick Awards 2016 announced
Published: 23 May, 2016
The winners of the Wienerberger Brick Awards 2016 have been announced, in the following categories: Residential Use, Public Use, Re-Use, Urban Infill, and Special Solution. In total, more than 600 projects from 55 countries had been submitted, a new record participation. An independent pre-jury panel narrowed down the submissions to 50 nominations and, from this shortlist, a jury of four architects selected the winners.
This year, two projects were awarded the Grand Prize. One of these prizes went to the office building 2226 by architect Dietmar Eberle, which is located in Lustenau. The entire building manages without ventilation, without air conditioning, without heating. The name already indicates the prevailing indoor temperature, which ranges between 22 to 26 degrees celsius all year round, made possible by 76cm thick brick walls.
The second Grand Prize winner, House 1014 in the historic city centre of Granollers (Barcelona), is an excellent example of how to use space in urban areas. The very long and narrow site, with a width of only 6.5 metres, shows extreme site conditions. The use of bricks conveys both tradition and modernism, and substantially contributes to the overall appearance of the property. In addition to the Grand Prize, this project also came out as winner in the Urban Infill category.
“I am impressed with the quality and internationality of this year’s submissions. They illustrate how customized architecture concepts can bring about unique and forward-looking projects – even under extreme climatic or spatial conditions. The innovative winning projects thus emphasize the varied application possibilities of brick as a building material,” said Heimo Scheuch, chief executive of Wienerberger AG.
Full details of the award winners can be found at the awards website.
Wienerberger hosts its architecture awards for the 8th consecutive year
Merchants rewarded at Master Builder Awards
Liverpool housing charity receives cash boost after robbery
FMB wins public affairs award
Le Mondial du Bâtiment’s Innovation Awards 2017 unveils its 27 winners
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Former President Le Duc Anh passes away, aged 99
VNA Tuesday, April 23, 2019 08:41
Former President and Politburo member Le Duc Anh passed away Monday evening at his home in Hoang Dieu Street, Hanoi due to illness and old age, according to the board of healthcare services for senior officials.
Former President and Politburo member Le Duc Anh
Le Duc Anh was born in 1920 in Phu Loc District, Thua Thien-Hue Province.
At the time of the General Offensive and Uprising in the spring of 1968 (Tet Offensive), Anh was the Chief of Staff of the Command of the South Vietnamese Liberation Army. He served as the second-in-command of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign, the military campaign that put an end to the three-decade conflict in Vietnam and unified the country on April 30, 1975.
Anh served as Minister of Defence from 1987 to 1991, then served as President until September 1997, playing an important role in normalising diplomatic relations between Vietnam and China and the US.
Information about his funeral will be announced later.
Former President Le Duc Anh senior officials
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about nuclear physics.” To determine which sites to target, a mediated search engine has to run some type of textual analysis on the original query, then use that interpretation to select the appropriate sites. “Analyzing the query isn’t hard,” says Halevy. “The hard part is figuring out which sites to query.”
At Kosmix, the team has developed an algorithmic categorization technology that analyzes the contents of users’ queries—requiring heavy computation at runtime—and maps it against a taxonomy of millions of topics and the relationships between them, then uses that analysis to determine which sites are best suited to handle a particular query. Similarly, at the University of Utah’s School of Computing, assistant professor Juliana Freire is leading a project team working on crawling and indexing the entire universe of Web forms. To determine the subject domain of a particular form, they fire off sample queries to develop a better sense of the content inside. “The naïve way would be to query all the words in the dictionary,” says Freire. “Instead we take a heuristic-based approach. We try to reverse-engi-neer the index, so we can then use that to build up our understanding of the databases and choose which words to search.” Freire claims that her team’s approach allows the crawler to retrieve better than 90% of the content stored in each targeted site.
Google’s Deep Web search strategy has evolved from a mediated search technique that originated in Halevy’s work at Transformic (which was acquired by Google in 2005), but has since evolved toward a kind of smart warehousing model that tries to accommodate the sheer scale of the Web as a whole. “The approaches we had taken before [at Transformic] wouldn’t work because of all the domain engineering required,” says Halevy.
Instead, Google now sends a spider to pull up individual query forms and indexes the contents of the form, analyzing each form for clues about the topic it covers. For example, a page that mentions terms related to fine art would help the algorithm guess a subset of terms to try, such as “Picasso,” “ Rembrandt,” and so on. Once one of those terms returns a hit, the search engine can analyze the results and refine its model of what the database contains.
Rather than relying
on web site owners
to mark up their
data, couldn’t search
engines simply do it
for them?
“At Google we want to query any form out there,” says Halevy, “whether you’re interested in buying horses in China, parking tickets in India, or researching museums in France.” When Google adds the contents of each data source to its search engine, it effectively publishes them, enabling Google to assign a PageRank to each resource. Adding Deep Web search resources to its index—rather than mediating the results in real time—allows Google to use Deep Web search to augment its existing service. “Our goal is to put as much interesting content as possible into our index,” says Halevy. “It’s very consistent with Google’s core mission.”
a Deep semantic web?
The first generation of Deep Web search engines were focused on retrieving documents. But as Deep Web search engines continue to penetrate the far reaches of the database-driven Web, they will inevitably begin trafficking in more structured data sets. As they do so, the results may start to yield some of the same benefits of structure and interoperability that are often touted for the Semantic Web. “The manipulation of the Deep Web has historically been at a document level and not at the level of a Web of data,” says Bergman. “But the retrieval part is indifferent to whether it’s a document or a database.”
So far, the Semantic Web community has been slow to embrace the challenges of the Deep Web, focusing primarily on encouraging developers to embrace languages and ontology definitions that can be embedded into documents rather than incorporated at a database level. “The Semantic Web has been focused on the Shallow Web,” says Stonebraker, “but I would be thrilled to see the Se-
mantic Web community focus more on the Deep Web.”
Some critics have argued that the Semantic Web has been slow to catch on because it hinges on persuading data owners to structure their information manually, often in the absence of a clear economic incentive for doing so. While the Semantic Web approach may work well for targeted vertical applications where there is a built-in economic incentive to support expensive mark-up work (such as biomedical information), such a labor-intensive platform will never scale to the Web as a whole. “I’m not a big believer in ontologies because they require a lot of work,” says Freire. “But by clustering the attributes of forms and analyzing them, it’s possible to generate something very much like an ontology.”
While the Semantic Web may be a long time coming, Deep Web search strategies hold out hope for the possibility of a semantic Web. After all, Deep Web search inherently involves structured data sets. Rather than relying on Web site owners to mark up their data, couldn’t search engines simply do it for them?
Google is exploring just this approach, creating a layer of automated metadata based on analysis of the site’s contents rather than relying on site owners to take on the cumbersome task of marking up their content. Bergman’s startup, Zitgist, is exploring a concept called Linked Data, predicated on the notion that every bit of data available over the Web could potentially be addressed by a Uniform Resource Indicator. If that vision came to fruition, it would effectively turn the entire Web into a giant database. “For more than 30 years, the holy grail of IT has been to eliminate stovepipes and federate data across the enterprise,” says Bergman, who thinks the key to joining Deep Web search with the Semantic Web lies in RDF. “Now we have a data model that’s universally acceptable,” he says. “This will let us convert legacy relational schemas to http.”
Will the Deep Web and Semantic Web ever really coalesce in the real world of public-facing Web applications? It’s too early to say. But when and if that happens, the Web may just get a whole lot deeper.
Alex Wright is a writer and information architect who lives and works in New York City.
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Puppetry is a popular folk art form being practiced in India since ancient times. Here, we trace the art of puppetry and its various forms in different parts of India.
Puppetry In India
Puppetry is a popular traditional art form of India, which has been practiced in the country since ancient times. In the early days, handmade puppets were used as an important means of communicating with people and even educating them. Though the use of art form changed, with the passing time, to entertainment, the original purpose is still not entirely lost. Many social groups in India, till date, continue to employ puppetry for the purpose of educating children, disabled and rural folks, on a wide variety of subjects.
The history of puppetry in India dates back to the epic era. The art form finds a mention in the epic Mahabharata as well as the Tamil literature from the Sangam era. Then, we find a reference to puppetry in the literary works dating from the late centuries BCE to the early centuries of the Common Era, including Ashokan edicts. Even Natya Shastra and the Kamasutra describe puppetry in some detail. As for concrete evidence on the history of puppetry, one can mention the excavations at the Indus Valley Civilization, which unearthed terracotta dolls, with removable heads and operated by a string (dating to 2500 BC), as well as terracotta animals, capable of being manipulated up and down a stick.
Types of Puppets
Glove Puppet
One of the most common puppets used in India is the glove puppet. It is quite small in size, comprising of a head, arms and a long skirt, which are attached to a glove, as the costume, and worn by the puppeteer on his hand. The head and arms movements are controlled by the puppeteer with his/her fingers. This form of puppet is more popularly seen in the states of Kerala and Orissa.
Rod Puppet
Rid puppets come in various shapes in sizes. These puppets are made to act by the support of attached rods, held by the puppeteer. While the rods to control actions are attached to hands, the main rod of the puppet is concealed in its costume. This type of puppet show is popular in Orissa and West Bengal.
Shadow puppets comprise of a flat two-dimensional figure, made of out animal skin and operated from behind a tightly stretched white cloth screen. Light is directed on the screen from behind, in a way that the shadow of the puppet falls on it. The puppets cutouts have cane sticks attached vertically to them, for handling and manipulation. Shadow puppets are popular in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa and Tamil Nadu.
Benefits Other Than Entertainment
Puppetry can be used for a number of purposes other than entertaining as well educating the masses. In fact, studies have proved that the art form can be used in the development of speech, reading, hearing and motor-control in spastic children. It is also believed to be helpful in enhancing the artistic and creative abilities in kids, like drawing, painting, needlework, carpentry, composing music, writing songs and stories. As such, many voluntary and educational organizations in India have been using the puppetry art towards these tasks and the use has now increased with time.
Indian Folktales
Mall Culture In India
Terracotta Art
Paper Crafts | Party Games | Party Ideas | People | Photography Tips | Present Ideas | Quotes & Sayings | Reality Shows | Recipes | Recycled Crafts
More in 'Art & Entertainment'
Madhubani Painting
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The agent The Office represents an entity (e.g. person, organization, etc.) associated with resources found in Biddle Law Library.
The Resource The Office
100+ Items by the Agent The Office
1-dollar coin : reintroduction could save millions if it replaced the 1-dollar note : statement of L. Nye Stevens, Director of Planning and Reporting, General Government Division, before the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Committee on Banking and Financial Services, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
10 studies on demographics near waste facilities, United States General Accounting Office, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division
1980 national housing production report, prepared by U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research, Division of Housing and Demographic Analysis
1996 DOD budget : potential reductions to operation and maintenance program : report to congressional committees, United States General Accounting Office
1997 Defense Reform Bill : observations on H.R. 1778 : statement of Henry L. Hinton, Jr., Assistant Comptroller General, National Security and International Affairs Division, before the Committee on National Security, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
1998 DOD budget : DOD's procurement and RDT&E programs, United States General Accounting Office, National Security and International Affairs Division
1998 DOD budget : operation and maintenance program, United States General Accounting Office, National Security and International Affairs Division
1998 NASA budget : review of selected activities, United States General Accounting Office, National Security and International Affairs Division
2000 Census : actions taken to improve the Be Counted and Questionnaire Assistance Center programs : report to the Subcommittee on the Census, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
2000 Census : best practices and lessons learned for more cost-effective nonresponse follow-up : report to Congressional Committees, United States General Accounting Office
2000 Census : contingency planning needed to address risks that pose a threat to a successful census : report to the Subcommittee on the Census, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
2000 Census : headquarters processing system status and risks : report to the Subcommittee on the Census, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
2000 Census : information on short- and long-form response rates, United States General Accounting Office, General Government Division
2000 Census : preparations for dress rehearsal leave many unanswered questions : report to the Committee on Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
2000 census : analysis of fiscal year 2000 amended budget request : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on the Census, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
2000 census : analysis of fiscal year 2000 budget and internal control weaknesses at the U.S. Census Bureau : report to Congressional Requesters, United States General Accounting Office
2000 census : better productivity data needed for future planning and budgeting : report to Congressional Requesters, United States General Accounting Office
2000 census : coverage evaluation matching implemented as planned, but Census Bureau should evaluate lessons learned : report to Congressional Requesters, United States General Accounting Office
2000 census : information on the implications of a post census local review program, United States General Accounting Office, General Government Division
2000 census : progress made on design, but risks remain : report to the ranking minority member, Committee on Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
2000 census : refinements to Full Count Review Program could improve future data quality, United States General Accounting Office
2000 census : review of partnership program highlights best practices for future operations : report to congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
401(k) pension plans : extent of plans' investments in employer securities and real property : report to the Chairman, Committee on Ways and Means, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
401(k) pension plans : loan provisions enhance participation but may affect income security for some : report to the Chairman, Special Committee on Aging, and the Honorable Judd Gregg, U.S. Senate., United States General Accounting Office
A Guide to federal agency rulemaking, Office of the Chairman, Administrative Conference of the United States
A Guide to research collections of former members of the United States House of Representatives, 1789-1987, prepared under the direction of the Office for the Bicentennial of the United States, House of Representatives ; Cynthia Pease Miller, editor-in-chief
A comparative review of information technology management practices in selected state governments, prepared for the Office of Technology Assessment by John C. Kresslein
A country law study for Australia, prepared by the U. S. Sending State Office for Australia at the direction of the Secretary of Defense
A dollar coin could save millions : statement of L. Nye Stevens, Director, Federal Management and Workforce Issues, General Government Division, before the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
A glossary of terms used in the federal budget process, United States Government Accountability Office
A guide to filing a utility patent application, United States Patent and Trademark Office
A model of strategic human capital management : exposure draft, United States General Accounting Office
A review of the accuracy of treasury revenue forecasts, 1963-1978, the Congress of the United States, Congressional Budget Office
A survey of international trends in government information dissemination, Thomas B. Riley for Office of Technology Assessment, U.S. Congress
A survey of pay provisions in Federal labor agreements, prepared and issued by the Office of Labor-Management Relations, U.S. Civil Service Commission
AID IRM planning, United States General Accounting Office, Accounting and Information Management Division
AIM-9X acquisition : missile risk reduction underway but system production plans need to be reexamined : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Military Research and Development, Committee on National Security, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
AIP funding for the nation's largest airports, United States General Accounting Office, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Divison
Abortion clinics : information on the effectiveness of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act : report to the ranking minority member, Subcommittee on Crime, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
Aboveground oil storage tanks : status of EPA's efforts to improve regulation and inspections : report to Congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
Abstracts of reports and testimony, United States General Accounting Office, Office of Information Management and Communications
Acceptable identification of goods and services manual, issued by Patent and Trademark Office, U.S. Dept. of Commerce
Access to space : issues associated with DOD's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on National Security, Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
Accidental contamination of samples used in Canadian lynx study rendered the study's preliminary conclusion invalid, United States Accounting Office
Accidental release prevention requirements : risk management programs under Clean Air Act section 112(r)(7), United States General Accounting Office, Office of the General Counsel
Accrual budgeting : experiences of other nations and implications for the United States : report to the Honorable Benjamin L. Cardin, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
Accuracy of information in the unified agenda, United States General Accounting Office
Acid rain : emissions trends and effects in the Eastern United States, report to congressional requesters
Acquisition management : agencies can improve training on new initiatives : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition management : waivers to workforce training, education, and experience requirements : report to Congressional committees, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition management : workforce reductions and contractor oversight : report to the Honorable Tom Harkin, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : DOD faces challenges in reducing oversight costs : report to congressional committees, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : DOD's guidance on using Section 845 agreements could be improved : report to the chairman and ranking minority member, Committee on Armed Services, Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : GSA and VA efforts to improve training of their acquisition workforces : report to congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : NASA's Internet service improves access to contracting information : report to congressional committees, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : classes of contracts not suitable for the Federal Acquisition Computer Network : report to congressional committees and Acting Administrator, Office of Federal Procurement Policy, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : comparison of Army's commercial helicopter buy and private sector buys : report to the Secretary of Defense, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : implementation of key aspects of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 : report to Congressional Committees, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : multiple-award contracting at six federal organizations : report to congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : obstacles to implementing the Federal Acquisition Computer Network : report to congressional committees, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition reform : purchase card use cuts procurement costs, improves efficiency : report to congressional committees, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition workforce : Department of Defense's plans to address workforce size and structure challenges : report to congressional committees, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition workforce : agencies need to better define and track the training of their employees : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy, Committee on Government Reform, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
Acquisition workforce : status of agency efforts to address future needs : report to Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States General Accounting Office
Action transmittal
Additional information about the scope and limits of sanction data provided in recent GAO report on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), United States General Accounting Office, Health, Education, and Human Services Division
Additional information related to analysis of the administration's proposal to ensure solvency of the United Mine Workers of America Combined Benefit Fund, United States General Accounting Office, Accounting and Information Management Division
Addressing the deficit : budgetary implications of selected GAO work for fiscal year 1996 : report to the Congress, United States General Accounting Office
Adult education : measuring program results has been challenging : report to congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
Adults with severe disabilities : federal and state approaches for personal care and other services : report to congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
Advanced Technology Program : inherent factors in selection process could limit identification of similar research : report to congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
Adverse drug events : the magnitude of health risk is uncertain because of limited incidence data : report to congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
Aerial tanker force modernization, the Congress of the United States, Congressional Budget Office
Aerospace testing : promise of closer NASA/DOD cooperation remains largely unfulfilled : report to the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Science, Technology and Space, Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
Afloat prepositioning : not all equipment meets the Army's readiness goal : report to the Chairman, Subcommittee on Readiness, Committee on Armed Services, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
Agencies' annual performance plans under the Results Act : an assessment guide to facilitate Congressional decisionmaking, United States General Accounting Office, General Government Division, [and] Accounting and Information Management Division
Agencies' strategic plans under GPRA : key questions to facilitate congressional review, United States General Accounting Office, General Government Division
Agency component criteria, United States General Accounting Office, Accounting and Information Management Division
Agency performance plans : examples of practices that can improve usefulness to decisionmakers : report to the chairman, Committee on Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
Agent Orange : actions needed to improve communications of Air Force Ranch Hand study data and results : report to the ranking minority member, Committee on Veterans Affairs, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
Agreed-upon procedures : Airport and Airway Trust Fund excise taxes, United States General Accounting Office, Accounting and Information Management Division
Agreed-upon procedures : Black Lung Disability Trust Fund excise taxes, United States General Accounting Office, Accounting and Information Management Division
Agreed-upon procedures : Highway Trust Fund excise taxes, United States General Accounting Office, Accounting and Information Management Division
Agreed-upon procedures : excise taxes, United States General Accounting Office, Accounting and Information Management Division
Agreed-upon procedures : federal unemployment taxes, United States General Accounting Office, Accounting and Information Management Division
Agricultural conservation : State Advisory Committees' views on how USDA programs could better address environmental concerns : report to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
Agricultural conservation : status of programs that provide financial incentives : report to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
Agricultural exports : U.S. needs a more integrated approach to address sanitary/phytosanitary issues : report to congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
Agricultural inspection : improvements needed to minimize threat of foreign pests and diseases : report to congressional committees, United States General Accounting Office
Agricultural marketing : U.S. cotton market before and after import assessments : report to congressional committees, United States General Accounting Office
Agricultural marketing : comparative analysis of U.S. and foreign promotion and research programs : report to the ranking minority member, Subcommittee on Risk Management and Specialty Crops, Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
Agricultural research : more efficient and accountable system could better respond to new challenges : statement of Robert A. Robinson, Director, Food and Agriculture Issues, Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division, before the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, U.S. Senate, United States General Accounting Office
Agricultural trade : changes made to Market Access Program, but questions remain on economic impact : report to congressional requesters, United States General Accounting Office
Agricultural trade : competitor countries' foreign market development programs : statement of Allan I. Mendelowitz, Managing Director, International Trade, Finance, and Competitiveness, General Government Division, before the Committee on Agriculture, House of Representatives, United States General Accounting Office
Agricultural trade : impacts of the Andean Trade Preference Act on asparagus producers and consumers : report to congressional subcommittees, United States General Accounting Office
Context of The Office
Provider agent of
260 Washington, D.C., The Office, 1996
Ashington, D.C., The Office, 1999
Baltimore, Md., The Office, 1916-
Baltimore, The Office, 1939
Brussels, The Office, 1993-
Buffalo, N.Y., The Office
Canberra, Australia, The Office, 1967
College Park, Md., The Office
Geneva, The Office, 1965
Geneva, The Office, 1965-1988
Harrisburg?, The Office, 1990-
Honolulu, The Office, 1971-
Indianapolis, The Office
Juneau, The Office, 1960-
Lansing, Mich., The Office
London, The Office, 1998-
Luxembourg, The Office, 1987-
Luxembourg, The Office, 1999-2001
Luxembourg, The Office, date of publication not identified
Montréal, The Office, 1966-1976
New York, NY, The Office, 1999
New York, The Office, 1958
Olympia, Wash., The Office
Philadelphia, Pa., The Office
Philadelphia, Pa., The Office, 1999-
Raleigh, The Office, 1977-1998
Rockville, Md., The Office, 1986-
San Francisco, Calif., The Office, 1994?
Springfield, Ill., The Office, 1965-
Trenton, N.J., The Office, 1985-
Washington , D.C., The Office, 2003
Washington D.C. P.O. Box 37050, Washington D.C. 20013, The Office, 1999
Washington D.C., The Office, 1998
Washington DC, The Office, 1988
Washington, D.C P.O. Box 37050 Washington 20013, The Office, 1998
Washington, D.C, The Office, 1982
Washington, D.C. 441 G St. NW, Room LM, Washington 20548, The Office, 2002
Washington, D.C. 441 G St., NW, Room LM, Washington 20548, The Office, 2002
Washington, D.C. 700 4th St., NW, The Office, 2001
Washington, D.C. : P.O. Box 37050, Washington 20013, The Office, 2000
Washington, D.C. : P.O. Box 37050, Washington, D.C. 20013, The Office, 2000
Washington, D.C. P.0. Box 37050 Washington, D.C. 20013, The Office, 2000
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050 Washington 20013, The Office, 1998
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050 Washington, 20013, The Office, 1999
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050 Washington, D.C. 20013, The Office, 1999
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050, DC 20013, The Office, 2000
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050, Washington 20013, The Office, 1975
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050, Washington 20013, The Office, 19xx
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050, Washington 20548-0001, The Office, 1997
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050, Washington, 20013, The Office, 1999
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050, Washington, D.C. 20013, The Office, 1994
Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050, Washington, DC 20013, The Office, 1998
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. 20548-0001, The Office, 2001
Washington, D.C. | Gaithersburg, Md. P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg 20877, The Office, 1992
Washington, D.C., P.O. Box 37050, Washington, D.C. 20013 | The Office, 2001
Washington, D.C., The Office
Washington, D.C., The Office | U.S. G.P.O., 1961-
Washington, D.C., The Office | U.S. G.P.O., 1994
Washington, D.C., The Office | Washington, D.C. P.O. Box 37050, Washington 20013, 1999
Washington, D.C., The Office | Washington, DC P.O. Box 37050, Washington 20013, 1999
Washington, D.C., The Office | Washington, DC P.O. Box 37050, Washington, 20013, 1999
Washington, D.C., The Office | Wasington, DC P.O. Box 37050, Washington, 20013, 1999
Washington, D.C., The Office, 19
Washington, D.C., The Office, 1971 i.e. 1981
Washington, D.C., The Office, 1975-1995
Washington, D.C., The Office, 1980-
Washington, D.C., The Office, 1983-1991?
Washington, D.C., The Office, 1986?-
Washington, D.C., The Office, 1997xx
Washington, D.C., The Office, 1998?
Washington, D.C., The Office, 19xx
Washington, D.C., The Office, For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 1987?
Washington, D.C., The Office, Gaithersburg, MD P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg 20877, The Office distributor, 1996
Washington, D.C., The Office, Gaithersburg, MD P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg 20884-6015 : The Office distributor, 1997
Washington, D.C., The Office, Gaithersburg, MD P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg 20884-6015, The Office distributor, 1993
Washington, D.C., The Office, Gaithersburg, MD P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg 20884-6015, The Office, 1996
Washington, D.C., The Office, Gaithersburg, MD P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg 20884-6015, The Office, distributor, 1996
Washington, D.C., The Office, Springfield, Va., 1975
Washington, D.C.., The Office, 2006
Washington, D.C.?, The Office
Washington, D.C.?, The Office, 1979
Washington, D.C.?, The Office, 1981?
Washington, D.C?, The Office, 1997-
Washington, DC 600 Pennsylvania Ave., SE, Washington 20003, The Office, 1994?
Washington, DC P.O. Box 37050, Washington 20013, The Office, 1999
Washington, DC P.O. Box 37050, Washington, D.C. 20013, The Office, 1997
Washington, DC P.O. Box 37050, Washington, DC 20013, The Office, 2001
Washington, DC, The Institute | The Office, 1998
Washington, DC, The Office
Washington, DC, The Office | For sale by the U.S. G.P.O., Supt. of Docs., 1999-
Washington, DC, The Office, 1982-
Washington, DC, The Office, 1986
Washington, DC, The Office, 1994?
Washington, The Office
Washington, The Office | For sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. G.P.O., 2000
Washington, The Office, 1922-1982
Washington, The Office, 1964-
Washington, The Office, 1970
Washington, The Office, 1981?-
<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.law.upenn.edu/resource/jgUdLQeoWx0/" typeof="Organization http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/Agent"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.law.upenn.edu/resource/jgUdLQeoWx0/">The Office</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.law.upenn.edu/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.law.upenn.edu/">Biddle Law Library</a></span></span></span></span></div>
Data Citation of the Agent The Office
http://link.law.upenn.edu/resource/jgUdLQeoWx0/
http://library.link/resource/jgUdLQeoWx0/
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Compromise bill
"A legislative compromise should make it "less painful" for Washington to study the cost of modernizing its nuclear arsenal, one congressional source says. At issue is an Energy Department plan to create interoperable nuclear warheads capable of multiple tasks. The first such weapon that Energy contractors would develop would be called the IW-1, envisioned as having the ability to replace both the Air Force W-78 warhead -- currently fitted on ground-based ballistic missiles -- and the Navy W-88 warhead, used on submarine-based missiles. In Congress, the plan has prompted concerns from both sides of the aisle, with lawmakers suggesting that the Obama administration should first compare its cost to that of an alternative plan under which it would simply refurbish the existing two warheads." http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/compromise-bill-could-make-nuclear-warhead-cost-study-less-painful/
By scooby at December 28, 2013 No comments:
LLNL Wins Age Discrimination Lawsuit!!
LLNL Wins Age Discrimination Lawsuit!! Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has won the age discrimination phase of a lawsuit alleging that 130 Laboratory employees were laid off improperly in 2008. In a verdict rendered last week in Alameda County Superior Court, a jury found that Laboratory managers had acted in good faith and followed their own policies and the law with regard to the ages of the laid off employees
By scooby at December 28, 2013 26 comments:
Article retraction
A journal article co-authored by a current employee at Sandia National Laboratories has been retracted: http://retractionwatch.com/2012/06/08/jacs-science-retracting-three-papers-from-leading-emory-chemist-craig-hill/
More about credit score
I’ve been offered a job at the lab and am going through the rigorous clearance screening process. I am not sure whether I should tell the HR department that my credit is not perfect. We lost our home during the recession and what followed was some pretty damaging stuff on our credit. The position that they are considering me for has access to proprietary information. Can you please ask other bloggers if they have any thoughts regarding this dilemma? Thank you in advanced. Signed, Midscore640
By scooby at December 26, 2013 4 comments:
Compensation increase
CIP: DOE says yes, LLNS says not so fast.
When is Monya leaving?
When is Monya Lane leaving? It was published she was leaving last June, but no date given and she is still here. I understand not having interim director Brett Knapp having to decide this but couldn't someone in Engineering who will probably remain with LLNL do a better job than Monya as a lame duck? Plus LLNL would save an AD salary!
AF General re-assigned
AF General re-assigned because of behavior during Russia trip And he was in charge of the nuclear forces. When will these guys learn to behave? * * *http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/report-us-air-force-general-drank-too-much-fraternized-with-foreign-women-in-moscow/2013/12/19/7f3cdba0-68ed-11e3-a0b9-249bbb34602c_story.html?hpid=z4
LANL contract not extended by NNSA
LANL contract not extended by NNSA http://www.lamonitor.com/content/lab-scores-89-percent-nnsa-performance-evaluation
Marylia Kelley said... http://nnsa.energy.gov/aboutus/ouroperations/apm/perfevals This link will lead you to the NNSA Memorandum of December 16, 2013 RE: LLNL, LLC's FY 2013 Performance Fee. As you will see, LLNS did not earn the "award term." However, the Performance Evaluation Report - upon which this memo is based - is not yet up on the web. Some of you will recall that last year, the Fee Determining Official (at that time, Neile Miller) gave LLNL management a "bump up" to allow them the "award term." She also gave LANL management an anomaly to give them the "award term." Congress was not amused - and so it may be particularly interesting to see the actual Performance Evaluation Reports this year. Tri-Valley CAREs will be watching for the FY 2013 Performance Evaluation Report, and will use the Freedom of Information Act to ensure its public availability if it is not posted by NNSA on the web in a timely manner.
How you rate the managers in the various directorates?
LLNL receives annual performance scores
LLNL receives annual performance scores 12/20/13 The Laboratory has received the scores determined by the NNSA Fee Determination Official for fiscal year 2013, earning an overall 87 percent of the total fee, or $41.3 million. We are pleased NNSA recognizes the Lab's continued strong performance in programs, operations and infrastructure, but we are disappointed an award term was not given. For the three program-related performance objectives (mission and science), the Laboratory earned two ratings of "very good" and one rating of "excellent." The Operations and Infrastructure Performance Objective received a rating of "very good." For the Contractor Leadership Performance Objective, the Laboratory earned a rating of "satisfactory." Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC, holds a seven-year contract to manage the Laboratory, with four consecutive one-year award terms already earned, taking the contract to 2018. Additional award terms could extend the contract through 2026. We understand NNSA will issue a detailed report on the PER at a later date. We will address the findings of the report at that time. -- Bret Knapp (Acting LLNL Director)
Nuclear security lessons from Australia:
Our latest column from the Fissile Materials Working Group explores lessons from Australia, because no country should be complacent about nuclear and radiological terrorism. I hope you find it of interest! Best, Janice Nuclear security lessons from Australia: http://thebulletin.org/nuclear-security-lessons-australia -- Janice Sinclaire Internet Outreach Coordinator
By scooby at December 21, 2013 1 comment:
Strike rumor
I heard a rumor earlier this week that one of the unions and LLNS are at a stalemate on contract talks. The union is about to go on strike, and operations may be cut back at LLNL. Anyone have any details or knowledge of the issues?
Ken Moody AAAS Fellow Award
Ken Moody AAAS Fellow Award Congratulations to Ken for this acknowledgement of his contributions to science and actinide research. It begs me to wonder how and why he is still there at the lab so long. I would have expected management and the sniper culture adopted by the mediocrity to have done him in or chased him out. The hollow acknowledgment by the lab are more than compensated by his recognition in the broader community. He serves as an exemplar and beacon for scientific excellence despite to strive for institutional and technical failure and mediocrity around him. Congratulations to Ken Moody.
Former president disagrees with current president at Sandia
Robert Peurifoy, a retired Sandia vice president who worked on the B-61, disagrees with current Sandia President Paul Hommert and questions the need for the LEP. From the recent December 2013 Issue of "Physics Today": Costing up to $10 billion over a dozen years, the refurbishment of what is planned to be the last class of US nuclear bombs is the lowest-cost option for extending its life for several decades, officials from the Departments of Defense and Energy insist. But some critics of the B-61 life extension program (LEP) question whether the program is necessary. At least one of the modifications planned for it—a new guided tail kit supplied by the US Air Force—would increase its military capabilities, not just ensure its reliability and safety. Sandia National Laboratories director Paul Hommert warned lawmakers during the hearing that without the LEP, the B-61 will reach a point where it will no longer be reliable “in the next decade.” Robert Peurifoy, a retired Sandia vice president who worked on the B-61, questions the need for the LEP; he says there has been little discussion of whether observations of the aging weapons components warrant their replacement. “I want to know what the surveillance findings are for each component. If they are dying, you’ve got to replace them. But I’m not willing to replace them just so NNSA and the labs can extract money from the taxpayer,” he says in an interview. Peurifoy says the B-61’s ground proximity radar has been “stigmatized” by the NNSA and the weapons labs because it contains vacuum tubes. Indeed, Hommert held up a B-61 vacuum tube and a newly developed replacement solid-state radar during his October testimony. Peurifoy says he has seen no evidence that the tubes are failing or about to fail. “Until I do, I’d leave the radars alone,” he says. But Peurifoy downplays the benefits of reducing the amount of highly enriched uranium contained in the bombs. “There are lower-yield versions of the B-61 in the stockpile right now. If you want lower yields, use them.” He dismisses the argument that less highly enriched uranium contained in the warheads reduces the danger if a B-61 were to fall into the wrong hands. “NNSA and the labs are quite good at obfuscation. They use rubber words [like] security,” he says. “Security means you maintain possession. You don’t lose a weapon. If you lose a weapon, you should not be too concerned about the distinctions about what it contains. You’d better get the goddamned weapon back.”
Statistical Impact of Disproportionate Age Discrimination at Lawrence Livermore Lab
Statistical Impact of Disproportionate Age Discrimination at Lawrence Livermore Lab *************************************************************************************************************************************** The plaintiffs in Phase II of our trial Andrews v. Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) have suffered emotional distress, humiliation, and feelings of inadequacy as a result of their illegal layoffs from Lawrence Livermore Lab (LLNL) in 2008. The disproportionate layoff of workers age 40+, leading to disparate age discrimination at LLNL, can be illustrated through statistical analysis. To that end, plaintiff’s expert witness, statistics Professor William Lepowsky, came to the conclusion that the odds of so many older employees, over age 40, being laid off were “1 in 1,091,000.” The emotional and statistical significance of this layoff are at the heart of our case. Andrews vs. Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC is a unique case that began with Judge Robert Freedman separating the trial into two Phases. Phase I focused on breach of contract and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing at LLNL. Our plaintiffs prevailed in Phase I with an award of $2.7 million for plaintiffs Elaine Andrews, Marian Barraza, Mario Jimenez, Greg Olsen, and James “Rocky” Torrice. Statistician: Professor William Lepowsky Professor Lepowsky has taught statistics and mathematics for 45 years at Laney College in Oakland, California. He is not a professional expert witness, like the statistician hired by LLNS defense team, but rather a professional educator with an esteemed background. Professor William Lepowsky’s qualifications include: B.A., Harvard College 1967; Major Mathematics M.A., U.C. Berkeley 1968; Department Mathematics (graduated summa cum laude) M.A., U.C. Berkeley 1976; Department Statistics Qualified as expert witness to testify in the California court system and the Federal courts “Statistical Significance” Key to Disproportionate Age Discrimination One of the most important aspects of Andrews v. Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC is the utilization of statistical analysis brought forth by Professor Lepowsky. Professor Lepowsky’s statistical analysis illustrates that LLNS discriminated against older workers, 40+, during the layoff in 2008. To this end Professor Lepowsky utilizes “statistical significance” the probability that an effect is not likely due to just chance alone. Lawrence Livermore Lab’s Faulty Layoff Unit Statistical Analysis The basis for LLNL’s statistical argument was their creation called the Layoff Unit. 273 Layoff Units were created by LLNS line managers, the decision makers in the layoff process, as a means of grouping employees. Layoff Units were not recognized within the rules for layoffs or within the plaintiff’s contracts. According to Professor Lepowsky, the Layoff Units do not accurately represent the layoff in 2008. A few of the characteristics of LLNS Layoff Units: Nearly 20% of the 273 Layoff Units (48) had only one employee More than 25% of the 273 Layoff Units (72) had only one or two employees Nearly 50% of the 273 Layoff Units (125) had five or less employees 30% of the employees that were classified in Layoff Units were assigned to 1% of the Layoff Units Statistical Analysis Process In Professor Lepowsky’s statistical analysis, Layoff Units were not used. Instead, Professor Lepowsky utilized the following process in his statistical analysis: Workforce: 40% of the workforce was not eligible for layoff. These “excluded” workers were chosen solely by LLNS line managers. Professor Lepowsky identified who could be laid off Comparison: compare “like” employee positions such as physicists with physicists and engineers with engineers Where Workforce Worked: identify where the workers work and which line managers they worked for at the lab Job Code: group workers by the same job code Classifications: group and classify workers by directorate, division, or department Vital to the analysis is the fact that every employee analyzed by Professor Lepowsky is tied to a decision maker, line manager at the lab. The disparity of sizes of the Layoff Units, used by LLNS in their analysis, was a major reason why Professor Lepowsky did not accept the Layoff Unit analysis. The importance being the fact that Layoff Units did not compare employees with like characteristics. Statistical Significance Points to Age Discrimination The following are key statistics and information that support the assertion that disproportionate age discrimination was prevalent during the 2008 Lab layoff. According to Professor Lepowsky, the exclusion process favored employees under the age of 40 to a statistically significant degree and it hurt employees over the age of 40 to a statistically significant degree. The statistical impact is evident within the numbers. Excluded Employees: line managers chose who would be excluded or safe from the layoff. Of those excluded as of May 22, 2008: 54.1% were 39 years old or younger and 40.6% were 40 years old or older Excluded Employees Standard Deviation: of all employees analyzed by directorate, division, or department at all levels the layoff had a statistically significant impact on employees over the age of 40. Ranging from 3.34 to 4.09 well above the agreed upon 2.0 Standard Deviation Layoff Policy: the “different employees, different policies” assertion by LLNS is not correct. There was one layoff with specific rules that were broken by LLNS 1 in 645,000: the probability (chance) that older workers in Directorate and Job Code were “over selected” for layoff if the process of layoff equally impacted young and older workers. Equal to 4.66 Standard Deviations 1 in 1,091,000: the probability that older workers in Division and Job Code were “over selected” for layoff. Equal to 4.77 Standard Deviations 1 in 76,000: the probability that older workers in Department and Job Code were “over selected” for layoff. Equal to 4.20 Standard Deviations Termination Percentages: 6.6% of employees 39 and younger were terminated vs employees 40 and older who were terminated at a rate of 11.5% In the final analysis according to Professor Lepowsky, “The disparity between old and young in selection rates (for layoff) is statistically significant.” ********************************************************************************************************************************************** Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli, & Brewer If you are interested in information regarding this case or If you suspect that you, have been the victim of workplace age discrimination, wrongful termination, harassment, or retaliation please contact attorney J. Gary Gwilliam or attorney Randall E. Strauss of the law firm of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli, & Brewer at (510) 832-5411 ext. 233 or GGwilliam@giccb.com
This news article below deserves top billing, if nothing else than to better inform DOE contractor employees about a major hack at DOE HQ that the DOE still hasn't properly informed people about! It was a serous breach of security involving lots of personal information .... *** Free Beacon - Dec 13, 2012 *** IG: Personal Information Stolen from 104,179 after Energy Department Cyber Attack -- Hackers breached system with ‘relative ease’ .... The Energy Department also underreported the significance of the breach, saying only 53,000 employees were affected prior to the IG’s investigation. As a result, many employees were not informed that their personal information was stolen. The department is still in the process of notifying all of its employees. “We also found that the extent of PII stolen was much more extensive than that originally reported by the Department,” the IG said. “Breached information exceeded just names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers as initially reported by the Department,” they said. “In particular, we noted through investigation or discussions with officials that select bank account numbers, places of birth, education, security questions and answers, and disabilities were also included in the loss of information.” .... freebeacon.com/ig-personal-information-stolen-from-104179-after-energy-department-cyber-attack/
Does credit score count at LLNL?
Hi there, I’ve been offered a job at the lab and am going through the rigorous clearance screening process. I am not sure whether I should tell the HR department that my credit is not perfect. We lost our home during the recession and what followed was some pretty damaging stuff on our credit. The position that they are considering me for has access to proprietary information. Can you please ask other bloggers if they have any thoughts regarding this dilemma? Thank you in advanced. Signed, Midscore640
The search is on
Nuclear Weapons & Materials Monitor Todd Jacobson Dec 6, 2013 The University of California has formed a committee to search for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s next director,, and the group will solicit input from employees at its first meeting in January, Norm Pattiz, the chairman of the UC Board of Regents Committee on Oversight of the DOE Laboratories, said in a message to employees this week. Pattiz will chair the 17-member search committee, which will take nominations through the end of January. Parney Albright abruptly resigned last month as the lab’s director effective Nov. 1. “LLNL has a stellar record of outstanding science, engineering and technology in support of the nation, and the selection of a visionary leader is critical to the Laboratory’s continued success,” Pattiz said in his message to employees. “I can assure you that the selection of your next leader is a responsibility that all of us involved in the search process take very seriously. Collectively, we will have an impressive group of individuals providing advice and counsel, and I am confident that we will have an exceptional outcome.” Joining Pattiz on the search committee is former NNSA Administrator Linton Brooks; Bechtel Systems and Infrastructure President Craig Albert; Livermore Global Security Manager Kim Budil; Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC Board of Governors Executive Committee member William Frazer; UC Provost and Executive Vice President Aimee Dorr; UC Vice President of Laboratory Management Glenn Mara; University of California-Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi; former Strategic Command chief Adm. Rich Mies; UC-Davis professor Bob Powell; UC Board of Regents Chairman Bruce Varner; former Argonne National Laboratory Director Bob Rosner; UC President Janet Napolitano; UC-Berkeley nuclear engineering professor Karl Van Bibber; Texas A&M nuclear engineering professor Marvin Adams; LLNS Assistant Secretary to the Director for Laboratory Governance Ann Willoughby; and former Los Alamos and Livermore Director Mike Anastasio. A screening task force chaired by Adams has also been formed, and Pattiz said the task force “will ensure that we are looking at a broad and diverse spectrum of potential candidates and will recommend a pool of candidates for consideration by the Search Committee.” Bret Knapp, who has headed up Los Alamos’ weapons program since 2011, is currently serving as the lab’s acting director, but industry officials say he is not likely to be a candidate for the permanent position. Several interesting candidates from the lab’s last search could emerge as candidates once again, including Bruce Goodwin, who after heading up the lab’s weapons program for years was named the head of the lab’s Center for Global Security Research and the lab’s National Security Office May 1. UC could also make another push for Oak Ridge National Laboratory Director Thom Mason, one of the most widely respected lab directors in the DOE complex. Industry officials have suggested other possible candidates could include former Oak Ridge National Laboratory Thomas Zacharia, now the head of the Qatar Science and Technology Park, as well as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Deputy Director for Science and
A budget deal has been reached!
A budget deal has been reached! Is this bad news for the labs? Is the NNSA going to get the sequester cuts? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/us/politics/party-leaders-indicate-deal-is-reached-on-budget.html?_r=0
LLNS has found a way to transfer moneys already earned by the worker to their coffers. Gee, if they were half way competent, they could also charge an administrative and record keeping fee on time card submissions, sick leave, vacation, etc. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9eIrcyRIQxya0x0Z042dEU1REE/edit?usp=sharing
Why vote for disarmament?
Kennette Benedict has posted a terrific piece on how nuclear disarmament will make us (and our economy) stronger. I hope you find it of interest! Best regards, Janice Why vote for disarmament? http://thebulletin.org/why-vote-nuclear-disarmament -- Janice Sinclaire Internet Outreach Coordinator
Weapons work versus diversification
The central matter facing UC as they search for the next Director is should LLNL be uniquely focused on weapons work, or expanding its sponsor suite. This question has been danced around since the transition, but still remains an open subject. In the last six years, between the two facilities, six leaders have been tasked with program funding diversification in an effort to migrate towards a multi-sponsor lab (LLNL: Doesburg, Albright, Warner; LANL: Beason, Reese, Wallace). Internally some have regarded this as a fool’s errand, while others have watched SNL benefit from non-weapons programmatic projects. In its typical schizophrenic fashion, NNSA has sent mixed signals on how these efforts are viewed – derisively calling them work for “others” and simultaneously making a big deal out of the cooperation agreement that was signed with DOD, DHS, and IC. The multiple attempts by multiple lab leaders to move the needle on WFO funding have led to very limited success, and in most cases have actually decreased external support. As the next Director is selected, it is worth a critical examination of why WFO only increased under one of the above six leaders. Perhaps the enterprise is not ready for diversification, and should uniquely focus on weapons work. From all accounts, this is clearly the path that LANL has taken most recently, and maybe LLNL should follow that lead as well.
Search committe for new LLNL director
https://www.llnl.gov/director-search/committee.html
Search for UC new Vice President for Laboratory Management
Weapon Complex Monitor December 5, 2013 The University of California has begun the search for a new Vice President for Laboratory Management after Glenn Mara recently announced his retirement. Mara took over as the head of UC’s lab management efforts last year, replacing Bruce Darling. Mara has served at both Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, last serving at Los Alamos as the head of its weapons program until 2008. He left Livermore in 2004 after serving as the lab’s deputy director of operations. He is expected to remain in the position until a successor is chosen. In a job posting released yesterday seeking nominations and applications for Mara’s job, UC officials gave no timeline for the search, but outlined the job’s requirements. “The Vice President should have an outstanding record of accomplishment in a scientific program, engineering, and/or the operations and administration disciplines that underwrite the mission of the three laboratories [LBNL, LLNL, LANL],” UC said in the posting. “He/she should also have knowledge and experience in the operations of, and relationships with, the DOE, NNSA, and Office of Science, and those organizations’ senior leadership and approach to their laboratory system.”
Detroit and the impact on pension reform
Moral of the story, KEEP VOTING DEMOCRATIC! Detroit is all Democratic (Spendocratic) and Union even in the State Constitution to leave Union pensions alone. "Even for those who think this common sense has been a long time coming, it’s a tough hit for Detroit city workers at or near retirement age. Not only does it mean they’ll get less than they were promised, the news comes late in their lives, at a time when they have little way to make up for it. And they won’t be the last, given the unfunded pensions across this country". Good luck with your pension with Democrats running (into a grave) California. Second moral: You voted for Spendocrats and soon you will get what you deserve. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- http://nypost.com/2013/12/06/detroit-and-the-impact-on-pension-reform/
Facts Surrounding Lawrence Livermore Lab Layoffs
By J. Gary Gwilliam “The odds of this many older employees, over 40, being laid off were 1 in 1,091,000.” – Randall Strauss attorney Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli, & Brewer In order to understand the injustice of the Lawrence Livermore National Security (LLNS) layoffs of 430 employees in 2008, it is essential to weigh some of the initial facts surrounding this case. Phase II of our trial Andrews v. Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) and Lawrence Livermore Lab, the second trial for the five plaintiffs, focuses on disproportionate age discrimination claims. Facts Surrounding Lawrence Livermore Lab Layoffs The following facts begin to paint a picture how LLNS disproportionately laid off workers 40+ in an age discriminatory manner. Layoff History: prior to the LLNS layoffs in 2008, Lawrence Livermore Lab had not had a layoff in over 30 years How Many Laid Off: LLNS laid off 430 employees Lawrence Livermore National Security: LLNS a private company, that includes investors University of California and Bechtel, is tasked with managing Lawrence Livermore Lab. LLNS is not the government Department of Energy: DOE did not order the layoff of workers at Lawrence Livermore Lab (LLNL) 3161 Planning: this is a plan required by law to be developed whenever there is a possibility of a layoff. The DOE informed all the national security labs in the U.S. to begin preparing 3161 plans. October 2007 the DOE informed LLNS to prepare their plan Goal of 3161: the goal of the 3161 plan was to do everything possible to avoid a layoff Layoff Decisions: the DOE allowed LLNS to decide how many employees would be laid off if anyone at all Plaintiff’s Job Performance: the plaintiff’s job performance was not an issue in this case Performance Ratings: all plaintiffs were rated good to excellent in their job performance reviews by management before the layoffs. Workers made life long contributions, stayed current in their job skills, and accrued seniority which was considered an asset at the lab Job Functions: all job functions performed by laid off plaintiffs continued after they were let go The plaintiffs’ work was above standards and relevant to the Lab’s success. They were not slackers, they maintained their skills through continuous training, and these plaintiffs cared about the quality of their work and were proud of their contributions to the success of Lawrence Livermore Lab. Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli, & Brewer If you are interested in information regarding this case or if you have questions about legal issues with your employment, please contact attorney J. Gary Gwilliam or attorney Randall E. Strauss of the law firm of Gwilliam, Ivary, Chiosso, Cavalli & Brewer 510-832-5411 ext. 233 or GGwilliam@giccb.com
UC begins search for new LLNL Director
As agreed among the Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) partners, the University of California (UC) is responsible for leading the search for the next LLNL Director. Today, UC Regent and Chairman of the LLNS Board of Governors Norman Pattiz announced the commencement of the LLNL Director search process. In a letter to employees requesting nominations for and asking for comments on the position, Pattiz indicated: "The University's search process will be similar in scope and breadth to those of prior Director searches for all three UC-affiliated labs -- Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos (LANL) and Lawrence Berkeley (LBNL) national laboratories. The process includes use of a Search Committee and a Screening Task Force, both of which include LLNL colleagues." In addition, an executive search firm has been hired. A number of actions have been accomplished or are in the planning stages: - Chairman Pattiz and UC President Janet Napolitano have approved the Search Committee as directed by UC Regents policy. - The position has been posted on LLNL and UC jobs websites and will be listed on LANL, LBNL, other national lab, and LLC partner jobs websites. The job posting is also being advertised nationally on respected science, higher education, social media, and diversity outreach websites. - The Search Committee will be at LLNL in January for "Lab Day" to hear from employees, management and the Livermore Field Office manager. The Committee will use input from Lab Day to further develop selection criteria to be used to assess the candidates during the search process to determine the best individual for the position. - Letters requesting nominations are being sent to senior leaders in Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, and Department of Defense, national laboratory directors; past LLNL, LANL and LBNL directors; the LLNS Board of Governors; UC leadership; appropriate federal, state and local elected officials, and selected research university presidents. - The Screening Task Force has been formed to assist the Search Committee. It is chaired by Professor Marvin Adams, Texas A&M University, and will consist of a cross-section of LLNL employees, representatives from LANL and LBNL, and noted scientists and administrators who are knowledgeable about LLNL, its scientific work and its role as a DOE/NNSA national laboratory, and who are informed about the relevant LLNL scientific areas. - A moderated questions and answers forum has been posted. In his letter to employees, Pattiz stated: "LLNL has a stellar record of outstanding science, engineering and technology in support of the nation, and the selection of a visionary leader is critical to the Laboratory's continued success. I can assure you that the selection of your next leader is a responsibility that all of us involved in the search process take very seriously. Collectively, we will have an impressive group of individuals providing advice and counsel, and I am confident that we will have an exceptional outcome." To be given full consideration, nominations and applications for the LLNL Director should be submitted no later than January 31, 2014 in accordance with the nominations & applications instructions provided. https://www.llnl.gov/director-search/
Double standard for lab upper management?
Double standard for lab upper management? LANL Employees File Complaint Against Former Supervisor - Los Alamos Daily Post, Dec 4th 2013 ..."This was a horrifying situation, Erika was assaulted by her high ranking employer who demanded sex ... she complained to high level Laboratory officials who did nothing to help her, instead they rewarded the perpetrator by allowing him to retire with full benefits," Day told the Los Alamos Daily Post today. "Mr. Stanford supervised both Erika and her husband William and he knew William was aware of what he was doing and he didn't care. His behavior was that of a pig and the Lab took no action to step in and stop it."... http://www.ladailypost.com/content/lanl-employees-file-complaint-against-former-supervisor Why did the executive management at LANS continue to protect this "pig" (sexual harasser?) Why do the regular staff get bombarded with online training, etc. regarding sexual harassment but when it actually happens, it is usually the managers who are found to be the culprits? And does the name of Rick Marquez ring a bell for anyone? The stories about his "hot pursuits" at LANL are legendary and long running!
UC Screening Task Force for the selection of the new LLNL Director:
Marvin Adams Screening Task Force Chairman HTRI Professor of Nuclear Engineering Director, Institute of National Security Education and Research Texas A&M University William Jeffrey President & CEO, HRL Labs, LLC Former Director National Institute of Standards and Technology Steven Beckwith LLNS Board of Governors Vice President for Research & Graduate Studies University of California Office of the President Michael Nacht Thomas and Alison Schneider Professor of Public Policy University of California, Berkeley Frances Alston Director Environment, Safety & Health Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Natalie Roe Physics Division Director Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory John Browne Director Emeritus Los Alamos National Laboratory John Sarrao Associate Director Theory, Simulation & Computation Los Alamos National Laboratory Robert Byer Co-Director Stanford Photonics Research Center Department of Applied Physics Stanford University Cliff Shang Director of Laboratory Strategic Infrastructure Weapons & Complex Integration Directorate Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory John Edwards Associate NIF Director for ICF & HED NIF & Photon Science Directorate Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Bruce Tarter Director Emeritus Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Mary Gilly Vice Chair Universitywide Academic Senate University of California Office of the President Larry Welch Trustee Emeritus and Senior Fellow Institute for Defense Analyses Omar Hurricane Distinguished Member of Technical Staff Weapons & Complex Integration Directorate Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Crystal Jaing Scientist Group Leader, Applied Genomics Physical & Life Sciences Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Ann Willoughby (Staff to Task Force) LLNS Assistant Secretary Director Laboratory Governance UC Laboratory Management Office November 30, 2013 at 8:22 AM
HAPPY THANKSGIVING ALL !
By scooby at November 28, 2013 7 comments:
Sandia nuke safety
Watchdog organization sues for Sandia nuke safety records: http://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/watchdog-sues-for-sandia-nuke-safety-records_16447506
All managers I have dealt with in PLS are abusive....However, remember they are guided by Employee Relations. They are unprofessional and have lost millions for the laboratory. If we actually had competent people in Employee Relations this would not happen. My advice is fire everyone in Employee Relations and find people who will hold abusive manager and this will save the laboratory millions of dollars in lawsuits. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November 24, 2013 at 6:27 PM You must realize that ER does absolutely nothing that they are not told to do by LLNS upper management. Management abuse of employees comes from the top. Is is their corporate culture. Live with it or leave. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- November 24, 2013 at 7:14 PM Frankly ER has no reason to exist at LLNS.
By scooby at November 25, 2013 33 comments:
Nukes and drones
Hugh Gusterson believes the US government now faces the same dilemma over drones as it did over nuclear weapons in the late 1940s, and Filippa Lentzos examines the claim that Syria may have a weapon, perhaps a bioweapon, that can "blind in an instant," as Assad claims. These are great reads, and I hope you find them of interest. Which Drone Future Will Americans Choose? http://thebulletin.org/which-drone-future-will-americans-choose Syria and Bioweapons Transparency: http://www.thebulletin.org/syria-and-bioweapons-need-transparency -- Janice Sinclaire Internet Outreach Coordinator
Moniz Seek to Assure Feinstein Over B61 Refurbishment
Weapons Complex Monitor November 20, 2013 Hagel, Moniz Seek to Assure Feinstein Over B61 Refurbishment The Obama Administration will pursue retirement of the B83 nuclear gravity bomb once the current B61 life extension program is completed, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz said in a letter to Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) earlier this month. Feinstein has been an outspoken skeptic of the Administration’s plans to refurbish the B61, a plan that it says will allow for future stockpile reductions by combining four B61 variants into one new refurbished bomb. In their Nov. 6 letter, which was obtained by NW&M Monitor, Hagel and Moniz noted that Feinstein suggested during a meeting with Liz Sherwood-Randall of the National Security Staff that she would support the B61 LEP if it led to stockpile cuts and the retirement of the B83 and sought to assure Feinstein that would take place. “Having a single B61 variant will enable a reduction in the number of deployed and non-deployed air-delivered nuclear gravity weapons in the stockpile, while increasing the safety and security of this aging system,” Hagel and Moniz wrote. “Additionally, by balancing reduced yield with improved accuracy, this LEP would allow us to pursue retirement of the B61-11, and the B83 gravity bomb, once confidence in the B61-12 stockpile is gained, as provided in the FY 2014 National Nuclear Security Administration Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan.” Led by Feinstein, the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee cut $168 million from the Administration’s $551 million request for work on the B61 in FY 2014, but the Administration has continued to advocate for the full amount. “Even in these times of reduced budgets, we believe the investments required to achieve these plans are needed to fulfill the President’s nuclear vision,” Hagel and Moniz wrote. “Both Departments are committed to the program and through studies of alternative options, believe the B61-12 LEP is the most cost effective option that meets military requirements and policy objectives. Maintaining the commitment to the necessary investments in this program and its capability is critical to the Administration’s nuclear security objectives, and we look forward to the full support of Congress.” When asked by NW&M Monitor last week whether a commitment to retire the B83 would allow her to support the B61 LEP, Feinstein said she was concerned about the size of the weapons and the scope of the LEP, which she said was “more like a Cadillac than a Ford.” November 21, 2013 at 8:17 AM Anonymous said... The Obama Administration will pursue retirement of the B83 nuclear gravity bomb once the current B61 life extension program is completed, November 21, 2013 at 8:17 AM It's curtains for the LLNL weapons program when this happens. Unless of course they steal another LANL design.
Nuke troubles run deep
Any of this below in the AP story sound familiar? Headline: Nuke troubles run deep; key officers "burned out" - Nov 20, 2013 - WASHINGTON (AP) — Trouble inside the Air Force's nuclear missile force runs deeper and wider than officials have let on. An unpublished study for the Air Force, obtained by The Associated Press, cites "burnout" among launch officers with their fingers on the triggers of 450 weapons of mass destruction. Also, evidence of broader behavioral issues across the intercontinental ballistic missile force, including sexual assaults and domestic violence. The study, provided to the AP in draft form, says that court-martial rates in the nuclear missile force in 2011 and 2012 were more than twice as high as in the overall Air Force. Administrative punishments, such as written reprimands for rules violations and other misbehavior, also were higher in those years. These indicators add a new dimension to an emerging picture of malaise and worse inside the ICBM force, an arm of the Air Force with a proud heritage but an uncertain future... ...Based on confidential small-group discussions last winter with about 100 launch officers, security forces, missile maintenance workers and others who work in the missile fields — plus responses to confidential questionnaires — RAND found low job satisfaction and workers distressed by staff shortages, equipment flaws and what they felt were stifling management tactics. It also found what it termed "burnout." Burnout in this context means feeling exhausted, cynical and ineffective on the job, according to Chaitra Hardison, RAND's senior behavioral scientist and lead author of the study. She used a system of measure that asks people to rate on a scale of 1 to 7 — from "never" to "always" — how often in their work they experience certain feelings, including tiredness, hopelessness and a sense of being trapped. An average score of 4 or above is judged to put the person in the "burnout" range. One service member said, "We don't care if things go properly. We just don't want to get in trouble." That person and all others who participated in the study were granted confidentiality by RAND in order to speak freely... news.yahoo.com/nuke-troubles-run-deep -key-officers-burned-184232764.html
Ranking does NOT work!
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/11/12/microsoft_kills_stack_ranking_reviews/
By scooby at November 13, 2013 123 comments:
Bret Knapp All-Hands
Bret Knapp All-Hands - any comments of note?
Next round of cuts jan 1st
Jan 1st and this next round of cuts will be far more painful than the first dose of last spring. The poisoned political atmosphere in Congress makes it highly unlikely that sequestration cuts will be throttled back anytime soon. Further cutbacks in lab staffing will be necessary soon after these next cuts hit. Get prepared as best you can: ******** Automatic spending cuts would bite more in 2014 ********* AP News, Nov 11, 2013 WASHINGTON (AP) — The first year of automatic, across-the-board budget cuts didn't live up to the dire predictions from the Obama administration and others who warned of sweeping furloughs and big disruptions of government services. The second round just might. Several federal agencies found lots of loose change that helped them through the automatic cuts in the 2013 budget year that ended Sept. 30, allowing them to minimize furloughs and maintain many services. Most of that money, however, has been spent. The Pentagon used more than $5 billion in unspent money from previous years to ease its $39 billion budget cut. Furloughs originally scheduled for 11 days were cut back to six days. The Justice Department found more than $500 million in similar money that allowed agencies like the FBI to avoid furloughs altogether. Finding replacement cuts is the priority of budget talks scheduled to resume this week, but many observers think the talks won't bear fruit. Agencies that have thus far withstood the harshest effects of the across-the-board cuts in 2013 are bracing for a second round of cuts that'll ... http://finance.yahoo.com/news/automatic-spending-cuts-bite-more-081524860.html
Where is the gun?
It has been a week since a LANL guard lost their gun and the search goes on. Where could it be?
Creedon nominated to be #2 at NNSA
Creedon nominated to be #2 at NNSA http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/11/06/president-obama-announces-more-key-administration-posts Madelyn Creedon, Nominee for Principal Deputy Administrator, National Nuclear Security Administration, Department of Energy Madelyn Creedon is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs, a position she has held since 2011. From 2001 to 2011, Ms. Creedon was counsel for the Democratic staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services and was responsible for the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces as well as threat reduction and nuclear nonproliferation issues. From 2000 to 2001, she served as the Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration, and from 1997 to 2000 she was counsel on the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Ms. Creedon was the Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy from 1995 to 1997 and served as the General Counsel for the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission from 1994 to 1995. From 1990 to 1994, Ms. Creedon was counsel for the Senate Committee on Armed Services. Prior to this, from 1980 to 1990, she was a trial attorney and Acting Assistant General Counsel for Special Litigation in the Office of the General Counsel at the Department of Energy. Ms. Creedon received a B.A. from the University of Evansville and a J.D. from St. Louis University School of Law.
Another gift that just keeps on giving
An example of just another gift that just keeps on giving, and giving, and gives some more. http://www.pogo.org/blog/2013/11/20131106-new-documents-show-former-rep-ran-through-revolving-door.html
Ex-Congresswoman Heather Wilson inappropriately paid by Sandia Labs
Ex-Congresswoman Heather Wilson inappropriately paid by Sandia Labs: http://www.nukewatch.org/watchblog/?p=1617 "The DOE IG report said that the facts indicate that federal funds were used for prohibited lobbying activities"
Lockheed Martin joins others to run NNSA sites
Lockheed Martin joins others to run NNSA sites .. The contract that consolidates the NNSA facilities could portend the fate of the Sandia National Laboratories’ contract. The NNSA, in a cost-cutting move, consolidated Y-12 and Pantex. .. “NNSA is moving toward a smaller and less expensive enterprise,” the agency said in the RFI. .. http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2013/11/04/lockheed-joins-others-to-run-NNSA-sites.html ------------------------- Guess who will be combined next? LLNL & LANL. Knapp is the vanguard for this move. November 5, 2013 at 8:48 AM
LANL lost gun
Los Alamos security lost gun http://www.koat.com/news/new-mexico/albuquerque/gun-missing-from-lanl-security/-/9153728/22804010/-/u7vwmgz/-/index.html
Bipartisan National Laboratories Mean National Security Act
Congressman Swalwell Introduces the Bipartisan National Laboratories Mean National Security Act - November 4, 2013 The following information is from the office of U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell: U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (CA-15) introduced H.R. 3438, the National Laboratories Mean National Security Act, to ensure the full resources of Department of Energy (DOE) labs like Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories are clearly available to help states and localities secure our country. The government-owned, contractor-operated structure of the national labs has caused some state and local recipients of federal homeland security grants to decline to utilize DOE labs because of a mistaken belief that these funds would be paid impermissibly to the federal government as opposed to contract operators. “Lawrence Livermore, Sandia and our other DOE national laboratories are world-class scientific research and development institutions with expertise relevant to addressing our homeland security challenges,” said Swalwell. “States and localities should feel free to utilize these capabilities, but the unique structure of these labs means they aren’t always being used fully. "It’s in our homeland security interest to remove this existing barrier and clearly establish in statute that national labs can work with recipients of key federal homeland security initiatives and grants.” The research, expertise and knowledge of DOE labs are all directly relevant to addressing how to prevent and respond to attacks involving the worst threats, such as chemical, biological, and radiological weapons. Swalwell was joined on the bipartisan bill by U.S. Reps. Mike Simpson (R-ID), Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA) and Bill Foster (D-IL). A similar bill passed the House of Representatives by voice vote in the 112th Congress but was not taken up by the Senate. “We can’t let a lack of clarity prevent states and localities from consulting with the best and brightest at our national labs on issues as critical as our homeland security. This is commonsense legislation that would provide a boost to the safety of our communities,” Swalwell added.
Apple in AZ
http://appleinsider.com/articles/13/11/04/apple-to-open-us-manufacturing-facility-in-mesa-arizona So Apple is opening it's new manufacturing plant in ....oh not California but a RIGHT TO WORK STATE.....Arizona. They are smart enough that they do not want to deal with Union infants. The moral of the story is DO NOT LISTEN TO people with a UNION MENTALITY (like we sometimes have here in on this Blog). Because this is what you get. NUMI was Toyota's only union plant and guess what... they closed it. So LEARN from this and when infantile union people try to plead their case just think of all those Apple jobs in a Right to Work state (not California) or think of, Steel Mills (closed) Detroit (Bankrupt) Hostess (closed) Boeing in S. Carolina NUMI (closed) I think I'll stop there. Or should we talk about the many Corporations opening their factories in Right to Work states.........
From a former employee
As a former employee, here are a few observations/comments: - NNSA needs to go. - Get rid of NIF, too expensive and it's going nowhere - DOE should restructure LLNL to be more like LBNL. Too expensive to maintain Sandia and LLNL. LLNL and LANL can't continue to do duplicate work. - Sandia should close all operations in Livermore. - LLNL can't compete with Bay Area's tech companies in terms of employee retention. How many software engineers leave LLNL every year? Yes, LLNL employees are highly qualified and competent, but not feasible to maintain current number of employees/salaries/cost of living in CA/pensions/etc...
The war on hackers
Another interesting article that hits on the big questions people have been asking about the situation: http://techcrunch.com/2013/10/26/the-war-on-hackers This particular paragraph is interesting: "There is so much so wrong here that I scarcely know where to begin. Should we be more outraged by Battelle’s decision to license, rather than open-source, code developed with taxpayer money? By their breathtakingly broad patent application? By the idea that their belatedly-registered copyright should apply to similar code written independently in different languages? By the amazing contention that an open-source version of a network visualization tool would have “national security implications”? Or by the notion that those who call themselves “hackers” are advertising to the world their intent to break the law?"
By scooby at November 05, 2013 No comments:
Restraining order against open source programmer!
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131022/13260324972/govt-contractor-uses-copyright-fear-hackers-to-get-restraining-order-against-open-source-developer.shtml
By scooby at November 03, 2013 1 comment:
"3+2" is in trouble with both the customers and Congress (House and Senate). There's been a now public proclamation by the USAF that they plan to retire the B-83. This will leave only the W87 as a LLNL system - So is this enough to justify keeping LLNL primarily as a nuclear weapons lab? http://www.nti.org/gsn/article/cost-concerns-could-prompt-new-look-warhead-modernization-plan/
So long Parney
DOD doesn't need LLNL's B-83...
DOD doesn't need LLNL's B-83... House Democrat Eyes More Powerful Alternative to B-61 Nuclear Bomb Oct. 30, 2013 By Douglas P. Guarino Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON -- A key House Democrat on Tuesday pressed the Obama administration over whether it could use another, more powerful nuclear weapon to defend U.S. allies in Europe rather than making controversial and costly upgrades to the B-61 atomic warhead. The B-61 is a U.S. nuclear gravity bomb stationed in five NATO member nations in Europe. The National Nuclear Security Administration and its contractors are currently in the early phases of a life-extension program for variants of the aging weapon, which administration officials say is urgently needed to ensure they remain safe and reliable. Some Democrats question the administration's position, however. During a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Representative Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) referenced prior remarks by retired Gen. James Cartwright indicating that there are other weapons in the U.S. arsenal that could deter attacks on NATO allies. She called the continued use of the B-61 "political." Given fiscal constraints facing the United States, Representative John Garamendi (D-Calif.) asked specifically whether another U.S. gravity bomb, the B-83, could be used instead. Administration officials indicated that the B-83 would not require a major overhaul for approximately 10 to 15 years, whereas the B-61 is in need of more urgent refurbishment if its use is to be continued. But the B-83, which is capable of destroying entire cities, is a much more powerful weapon than those the United States currently deploys in Europe. "It truly is a megaton-class weapon -- it is the relic of the Cold War," Madelyn Creedon, assistant secretary of Defense for global strategic affairs, said at the Tuesday hearing. "The B-83 is not compatible with European aircraft and the idea of introducing a megaton warhead into Europe is almost inconceivable to me, so we need the B-61." Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, who heads the U.S. Strategic Command, said the B-61 life-extension program would enable the nation to reduce the number of B-83 warheads and eventually eliminate the more powerful weapon entirely. "That's what we will do … so we're not spending money twice," Kehler said. If, however, the administration does not refurbish the B-61 as currently planned, it would then become necessary to conduct a separate life-extension program for the B-83, according to Donald Cook, NNSA deputy administrator for defense programs. "We'd have to do compatibility with aircraft which don't currently fly it and we will not have the basis to do that at anywhere near the cost" of the planned B-61 refurbishment, Cook told the House lawmakers. "All I can say right now is it would be considerably more expensive in my opinion." The B-61 plan is "absolutely consistent with the president's goals," according to Creedon. "It's very important to remember that there are sort of two points to all of this," she said. President Obama "has been very strong that the stockpile be safe, secure and reliable, and that it remain that way as long as there are any nuclear weapons. "That said," Creedon continued, "he has clearly indicated that he would like to entertain reductions … along with Russia. But until such time as that happens, the [planned B-61 refurbishment] is absolutely consistent with the president's goals, as well as our commitment to our allies."
By scooby at October 31, 2013 1 comment:
What is the word?
So Parney got fired for being a people person and Bret Knapp took his as hatchet man. What's the word on layoff and how soon are we going to start shit-canning people. Christmas is coming soon or are we going to wait until after Thanksgiving?
By scooby at October 31, 2013 46 comments:
Moscow Conducts Large-Scale Nuclear Attack Drill - Oct 30th
Interesting..... Moscow Conducts Large-Scale Nuclear Attack Drill - Oct 30th ( Freebeacon ) Russian strategic forces carried out a large-scale surprise military drill on Wednesday, launching four nuclear missiles that were closely monitored by U.S. intelligence agencies, U.S. officials said. ...The strategic missile exercises highlight Moscow’s large-scale nuclear forces build up under Putin. Russia is developing several new missiles, including a weapon U.S. intelligence agencies have assessed as a covert intermediate-range nuclear missile called the RS-26 that is being developed and tested in apparent violation of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty. freebeacon.com/ moscow-conducts-large-scale-nuclear-attack-drill/
By scooby at October 31, 2013 4 comments:
What happened to the old PAD?
What happened to the old PAD? Principal Associate Director for NIF & Photon Science Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, United States Job Description Principal Associate Director for NIF & Photon Science, #11724 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has an opening for a Principal Associate Director (PAD) for the National Ignition Facility & Photon Science (NIF&PS) principal directorate. The PAD for NIF&PS is responsible for developing and maintaining the broad range of NIF&PS technical capabilities and infrastructure that supports the current and long-range missions of the Laboratory and for the successful execution of multiple programs for a diverse set of customers. This individual will develop and articulate the mission and strategic plan for the Principal Directorate and develop and maintain close partnerships and collaborations internationally and with government agencies including DOE/NNSA and DoD. The position requires a broad knowledge of NIF&PS core capabilities and infrastructure. The person in this role serves as the leader of the Inertial Confinement Fusion Program (ICF). The PAD for NIF&PS has the prime responsibility for operating the NIF safely and securely for its multiple mission customers...
o this is a bit premature but Detroit is talking about lowering union pensions to 16% of original amounts http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/10/30/detroit-bankruptcy-proposal-would-leave-pensioners-with-16-cents-on-dollar/ I also see in Virgina a Democrat might win for Governor. I am guessing people there and here just do not get it. I believe Pres. Obama innately understands how stupid the voters are and feeds into that with his absurd promises that (never happen)and of course is covered by the media which helps control the stupid people. So my liberal and union friends, this spending will not last (no question about it). I would say to my progressive friends that if at the end of the day if the worst that happens is your pension is cut to 16% of the original value then you should count yourself lucky because I personally have no doubt(at all) that the ramifications of the debt of our country will be 100x worse than just having a pension cut. I'm just saying...........
LANL security fixes
This breaking story puts a whole new light on last year's press coverage about the cost overrun, performance failure, and schedule delay issues of the TA-55 perimeter security system. This time last year, Neile Miller reversed the local NNSA decision and awarded LANS a contract extension. She was reportedly inclined to do this, despite the safety and security lapses that had happened during the year, after the operator committed to fix the TA-55 perimeter security system. Now that it has come out that this issue has not yet been resolved by the committed deadline, this might impact contract extension decisions. http://www.abqjournal.com/291044/news/lanl-security-fixes-behind-schedule.html
LANL: 6,866 employees, 1,115 vehicles
LANL: 6,866 employees, 1,115 vehicles According to the IG report, the odds are pretty good for a job perk to be a government car. http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/10/f4/IG-0896.pdf
Defense Department Successfully Conducts Warhead Sled Test
Defense Department Successfully Conducts Warhead Sled Test LLNL served as technical lead and integrator on an important test to assess a new conventional warhead designed by the Lab. Dave Hare, Livermore's program manager of the test, called it an "unequivocal success." www.defense.gov/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=121006
NNSA to DOE?
With stories like this coming every few weeks, it becomes harder and harder to defend keeping NNSA under the Department of Energy. While it still may not be the ideal situation to move over to Defense, something drastic is required to alter the present course. http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_24379351/first-auction-solar-rights-public-lands-colorado-draws-no-one?IADID=Search-www.denverpost.com-www.denverpost.com
WHere is th eletter from Pattiz?
Looks like the letter to employees from Pattiz got lost in the threads. Maybe someone would post it again.
ARE FLEX TERMS BEING ASKED TO LEAVE THE LAB?
Should this BLOG do away with anonymous comments?
"Should this BLOG do away with anonymous comments? (to reduce virulence)?" Question to moderator: Does this mean that you would require a "Blog Name" that would be attached to an email address so that you could ban blog offenders? In other words, your post would still be "anonymous" but you could be tracked and banned if you break the blog rules? I believe this needs to be explained before people can vote properly.
Los Alamos view on Livermore
DIR-13-253 SUBJECT: ANNOUNCEMENT OF BRET KNAPP AS LLNL ACTING DIRECTOR Parney Albright announced he is stepping down as Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Director at the end of the month in order to pursue broader interests in the national security arena. Board of Governors Chair Norm Pattiz announced today the appointment of Principal Associate Director for Weapons Programs Bret Knapp to the position of Acting Director of LLNL, effective November 1, 2013. The Los Alamos and Livermore Boards have advised Secretary Moniz and the Acting NNSA Administrator Held of Parney’s departure and have coordinated with them on the designation of Bret as Acting Director while the search for a permanent replacement is completed. A national search for a permanent Director will commence shortly under the leadership of University of California. It is in the nation’s interest to have two strong nuclear security science laboratories, and I have committed to the Boards my support to Bret as he assumes this important role. Bret is no stranger to Livermore having worked there for 26 years before coming to Los Alamos in 2006. He has built strong and effective relationships across the laboratory community, the DOE/NNSA, the Department of Defense, and with other stakeholders. In Bret’s absence, I have asked Craig Leasure to serve as the Acting Principal Associate Director for the Weapons Program. I ask for your full support of Craig during this transition period.
AAAS workshop
AAAS leadership is to be applauded for putting this workshop together, and one wonders why it took almost a year for the summary to be published. http://www.aaas.org/cstsp/files/Nuclear-Weapons-Workshop_AAAS_2012.pdf
By scooby at October 25, 2013 No comments:
B-61 budget
A congressional hearing is scheduled to be held on the escalating B-61 budget next week. POGO has a summary of issues that relate to the hearing, including the suggestion that NATO countries be asked to defray the costs. http://www.pogo.org/blog/2013/10/congressional-panel-to-review-b61-nuclear-weapons-spiraling-costs.html
More good news. But Obama said we could keep our existing policy and doctors if we like them. Another lie brought to you by your socialist democratic party. http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/Stories/2013/October/21/cancellation-notices-health-insurance.aspx
Morale at LLNL
Morale is low at LLNL. Too many layers of management to tell you what to do that results in a 300% overhead (4.0 multiplier). Young and bright engineers and scientists are going to the Silicone Valley.
Penrose resigns
https://www.llnl.gov/news/newsreleases/2013/Oct/NR-13-10-03.html
LLNL Employees Need To Strike
LLNL Employees Need To Strike http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_24360490/strike-now-over-bart-trains-resume-limited-service
LANL rejoices!
LANL rejoices! Brett Knapp sent to temporarily replace Parney who is stepping down Nov 1
History repeats itself
First come the IG reports, then come the press coverage, then come the LANL House hearings. History repeats itself? http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/23/energy-department-spends-56-million-on-waste-facil/?page=all#pagebreak
A bad few months for the nuclear forces
It has been a bad few months for the nuclear forces. http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/23/us/air-force-nuclear-silo-doors-opened/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
Pincus on prolonged sequester impact to NNSA
Will the threat of a continued sequester yield rational changes to the U.S. nuclear weapons program? It won’t save much money in the short run, but it’s an opportunity to apply some logic to the Cold War thinking that hangs over these most destructive weapons. The fiscal 2014 continuing resolution, thanks to sequestration, cuts almost $1 billion from President Obama’s requested $7.9 billion for the weapons program of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the Energy Department outfit that runs the nation’s nuclear weapons complex. If the $6.9 billion projected by the Congressional Budget Office for the NNSA weapons program is maintained for fiscal 2014, it “could soon accomplish what arms control activists have repeatedly failed to do, curbing the rapid growth of the U.S. nuclear weapons budget,” according to an analysis in the Albuquerque Journal, the New Mexico newspaper that closely follows the nation’s nuclear weapons laboratories. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/the-sequester-a-new-lever-for-cutting-nukes/2013/10/21/8a50e948-382b-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html
Fact or Fiction: It looks like the next dose of sequestration will be going through on Jan 1st, so prepare for even more cut-backs and head count reductions at all the labs for FY2014 and probably every year thereafter. You might want to "spend you day" polishing up your resumes and search the job ads.
Tom D moves to Fluor
Tom D moves to Fluor Should be exciting to watch the impact of this move on contracts, both short and long term. http://article.wn.com/view/2013/10/17/Former_Head_of_NNSA_Thomas_D_Agostino_Joins_Fluor_s_Governme/#/related_news
DoE wins the Golden Hammer Award
DoE wins the Golden Hammer Award For contractor expenses that were not in accord with policy, including large food and beverage bills, the award was given to DoE. It is shocking that such abuses can go on, and more shocking that they are reported to be wide spread. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/oct/17/energy-department-pays-out-millions-for-contractor/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
not so old
That's not the only lawsuit against Sandia. Here's a more recent one: http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/01/11/electric-car-designers-suing-department-energy-over-loan-denials-disclosing/
old news but funny
This is old news, but it's still funny: "Sandia National Laboratories says it's worthless" http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2002/05/20/story3.html?page=all
How did you spend your day?
How did you spend your non-programmatic work days leading up to the 1-day shut down?
Concerned scientists
Union of concerned scientists analysis of the NWC This long analysis just came out from several authors that worked in the current administration at one time. http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/nwgs/nuclear-weapons-complex-report.pdf
Sad news?
Sad news for the nation http://www.modbee.com/2013/10/15/2977143/senators-seek-budget-deal-house.html
With a $17T deficit you should expect your budget to be cut drastically since it's the logical thing to do to any none mission critical project, NIF being the biggest of them all. The nation cannot afford toys for the boys anymore. With that said I'm very disappointed the Republicans allowed the debt ceiling to be raised for any reason. All this is doing is postponing the inevitable. I guess the socialist democratic party will go down in history for being the party of the people who caused the greatest depression this world has ever seen. The good news is, they SDP “socialist democratic party” will get what they deserve. Global recognition.
What a waste!
Here is what looks like is going on with the budgets and programs, gathered from several reports. 1. Labs spent this week safely shutting down - did no program work. 2. Labs spent prior two weeks planning for the safe shut down - did no program work. 3. Labs will spend next week doing a safe re-start - will do no program work. 4. A budget is in place until January 15, 2014 - at the 2013 sequestration cut levels. 5. A new budget is scheduled to be in place by January 15, 2014 - but if it is not, then the next round of sequestration cuts (about twice as large for national security programs as the first round) take place. Overall, no program work for four weeks, a three month budget that is too small to support the existing workforce, and a very high chance that the next budget is even smaller. That about covers it, until February 2014, when the debt limit is hit once more and the next round of negotiations happen. Since it has already been done once, maybe next time we can skip step 2, and only have two weeks of no program work.
Why is LANL closing?
Why is LANL closing? What happened to the $450 million in reserve that McMillan reportedly was crowing about recently? Appears to be that it suddenly went from ten weeks of available worker wages down to three. Where did the money go to?
Security manager sues LANL
Security manager sues LANL Lawsuit cites retaliation, discrimination after complaint October 15, 2013 By T.S. Last Journal Northern Bureau SANTA FE — A Los Alamos National Laboratory employee is suing the lab in federal court, alleging that he was subject to retaliation and discrimination after he complained to superiors about breaches in security protocols during VIP visits. Michael Irving, described in the lawsuit as a security program leader/manager for LANL’s director’s office, says he was removed from his security oversight role with regard to VIP visits and placed in a position two levels lower in authority than his previous job. According to the lawsuit, Irving became aware during the spring and summer of 2011 that security protocols at LANL were not being followed during VIP visits to the lab and made several complaints to his superiors about it. The suit alleges that he was labeled as a “malcontent” and “troublemaker” by his superior, who told him he would not be considered for promotion. Irving, who began working at LANL in 1997, was later reassigned to a position with less authority and a change in duties “under the guise of a reorganization of security personnel at LANL.” He has since been “isolated and prevented from managing his former projects and personnel,” and “denied participating in some of his prior duties.” The suit says Irving was made subordinate to someone younger and with less experience, and that his opportunities for advancement are now limited. The lawsuit states that Irving had a legal right to complain about violations in security protocols with regard to the safety of nuclear weapon materials and report discriminatory conduct in the workplace. Instead, the lawsuit alleges that he has suffered lost wages and benefits, significantly decreased his chances to be promoted and has undergone treatment for emotional distress as a result of retaliatory actions. It also alleges that Irving has been subjected to a hostile work environment and was discriminated against on the basis of his age in violation of the New Mexico Human Rights Act. The lawsuit was filed in Albuquerque federal court Wednesday by attorney Donald Gilpin, who did not return a phone message from the Journal on Monday. Comment was also unavailable from LANL’s public information office. http://www.abqjournal.com/282007/north/lanl-security-manager-claims-retaliation.html
US NUCLEAR FORCE FACES A CASCADE OF MISSTEPS
US NUCLEAR FORCE FACES A CASCADE OF MISSTEPS BY ROBERT BURNS AP NATIONAL SECURITY WRITER WASHINGTON (AP) -- First it was bad attitudes among young officers in nuclear missile launch centers. Now it's alleged bad behavior by two of the nuclear arsenal's top commanders. Together the missteps spell trouble for a nuclear force doubted by some for its relevance, defended by others as vital to national security and now compelled to explain how the firing of key commanders this week should not shake public confidence. The Air Force on Friday fired Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, who was in charge of its nuclear missiles. Two days earlier the Navy sacked Vice Adm. Tim Giardina, the second-in-command at U.S. Strategic Command, which writes the military's nuclear war plans and would transmit launch orders should the nation ever go to nuclear war. In an Associated Press interview Friday, the nation's most senior nuclear commander, Air Force Gen. Robert Kehler, said he told his bosses, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and the Joint Chiefs chairman, Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, that despite the two "unfortunate behavioral incidents," the nuclear force is stable. "I still have 100 percent confidence that the nation's nuclear deterrent force is safe, secure and effective," Kehler said from his Strategic Command headquarters in Nebraska. Together, the Carey and Giardina dismissals add a new dimension to a set of serious problems facing the military's nuclear force. The decision to sack Carey was made by Lt. Gen. James Kowalski, commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, which is in charge of all Air Force nuclear weapons, including bombers. The case appears to be unrelated to that of Giardina, but the two men are associated in the chain of responsibility for U.S. nuclear weapons. Carey did not report directly to Giardina, but the ICBMs under Carey's command would, in the event of war, receive their launch commands through Strategic Command, where Giardina had been the deputy commander since December 2011. By coincidence, Kowalski, who fired Carey, has been nominated to succeed Giardina at Strategic Command. The Senate has not yet confirmed Kowalski. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_NUCLEAR_MISSTEPS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
How is going the shutdown going to affect you?
Assuming there is a shutdown tomorrow, I'd like to get some current lab employees' contact info so I can talk to them about how they're being affected. I figured this site was just as good a place as any to start. They can be anonymous if they choose, but it's best if they will allow us to freely use their names. Can you help me out with this? Jeremy Thomas Staff Reporter Bay Area News Group (925) 847-2184 Jethomas@bayareanewsgroup.com
Dont know how
There are some very creative people in the world. I suspect the lyrics of 1week, two, weeks, three weeks, month, 5,6,7, take the summer off may in fact come true with a $17T national debt and $126T unfunded liabilities over our heads. I’m actually surprised we haven’t had another 1929 already and I believe the only thing that preventing it is the treasury is pumping billion of fake money into the economy monthly is has all caught up with us. I don’t know how this US is going to make it thru this without cutting a lot of funds in many places. http://llnlthetruestory.blogspot.com/2013/10/doe-furlough-song.html
Please Wake up!
Please Wake up! There are today at LLNL islands of stability, projects and tasks which are populated by scientists, engineers and techs, that are satisfied and happy with the interesting work that they are doing, the good colleagues that they are working with, and the knowledge that they are contributing to the security of the nation. At the same time these islands are surrounded by an ever deepening sea of despair populated by scientists, engineers and techs who are being marginalized thru no fault of their own. For those of you who are still on the islands of productivity, look into the abyss and ask yourself, "why is LLNL become unsustainable?" You knoe the reasons so speak up, act up, for you too can become another statistic as LLNL slides deeper into the sea of despair.
LLNL faces closure
Lawrence Livermore lab faces closure under shutdown San Francisco Chronicle October 11, 2013 Washington -- Two national laboratories in the Bay Area will close Oct. 21 if the partial government shutdown continues, resulting in the furloughs of more than 7,000 employees, members of Congress said Friday. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore is the largest, with 6,500 workers. Roughly 1,000 more work at the Livermore campus of the Sandia National Laboratories. Both sites test nuclear arms and maintain the nation's weapon stockpiles. They also conduct research in alternative energy. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Dublin, whose district includes Lawrence Livermore and Sandia, said the labs have been operating on funds from existing contracts that will run out in a week if the partial shutdown drags on. The two nuclear labs "were told Oct. 21 is the last day they can use what they received from their government contract service agreements," Swalwell said. A spokesman for the Lawrence Livermore lab directed questions to the National Nuclear Security Administration in Washington, which seeks preparations for an "orderly" shutdown. Officials at the agency could not be reached. The Bay Area is also home to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, which employs 4,200 scientists, engineers and support staff, conducting scientific research across many disciplines. A spokesman there said the lab has no plans to shut down Oct. 21. In Menlo Park, the Slac National Accelerator Laboratory employs more than 1,500 scientists and engineers conducting advanced scientific research. The lab intends to stay open beyond Oct. 21, a spokesman said. All four Bay Area labs are owned by the government but operated by contractors, usually a consortium of universities and private companies. As a result, they've been able so far to avoid laying off employees, unlike government agencies that have furloughed 800,000 workers. The federal government largely closed Oct. 1 when House Republicans refused to pass funding legislation unless it included provisions to dismantle or delay the Affordable Care Act. Negotiations continued Friday between the White House and House and Senate Republicans on a possible path forward. The House has unanimously passed legislation to pay furloughed government workers. Although the Senate has not taken up the bill, the approval by House Republicans all but guarantees federal workers will eventually be paid for the two weeks and counting that they have been furloughed. As contractors, however, workers at national laboratories would have no such guarantee. No legislation has been approved that covers contractors. Swalwell said the Department of Energy, which runs the contracts for the labs, has authority to pay the workers once the labs reopen without requiring a separate act of Congress. Swalwell drafted a letter to Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz asking that the department work with the labs to provide back pay to anyone furloughed. He has signatures from Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock (Stanislaus County), and several Bay Area Democrats including Reps. Zoe Lofgren of San Jose, Barbara Lee of Oakland and Anna Eshoo of Palo Alto. All have labs in their districts. The four Bay Area labs are among seven nationwide that together employ about 30,000 workers, many of them research scientists and engineers. The others are the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. Swalwell scheduled a town hall meeting at 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Martinelli Event Center in Livermore to address questions about the possible furloughs.
Another US nuclear commander sacked
Another US nuclear commander sacked, making two in one week. The general in charge of the US Air Force's long-range nuclear missiles has been sacked due to "loss of trust and confidence", officials have said. The Air Force said Maj Gen Michael Carey's removal was for "behaviour during a temporary duty assignment". The sacking was not linked to the operation of the nuclear arsenal, which was safe, the officials insisted. On Wednesday the US Navy announced an admiral overseeing nuclear weapons forces had been sacked from the role. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24499310
Lujan votes against funding NNSA
Lujan votes against funding NNSA When times get tough, it is hard to know who to count as a friend. The list of votes tells the story, and it is not a pretty one for the northern NM economy. http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2013/roll542.xml
Ash Carter resigning at Defense.
Ash Carter resigning at Defense. Carter knew nuclear issues far better than anyone else high up in the Pentgon. As a former chair of the NWC and a PhD physicist, his views were unusually well informed. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ashton-carter-deputy-defense-secretary-to-step-down/2013/10/10/204ab64a-31e2-11e3-8686-68fca83a474f_story.html
NNSA funding
The House on Friday could debate legislation to temporarily restore funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration as the federal government remains partially shut down amid partisan gridlock over a U.S. budget. House Republicans have prepared multiple bills to fund until Dec. 15 politically popular portions of the federal budget, including the National Nuclear Security Administration, national intelligence activities and border security. It was not clear on Thursday precisely if and when the GOP-controlled House could vote on these measures. However, the office of Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said the vote on the NNSA measure could hit the House floor on Friday. Thornberry's Texas district includes the Pantex nuclear weapons plant, which receives NNSA funding. Pantex has been instructed by the Energy Department's nuclear-weapons branch to begin preparing for a temporary shutdown of plant operations, while maintaining security, the congressman said Thursday in a statement. "There is no reason whatsoever to instruct people who are essential to the security of our country, like workers at Pantex, not to show up to work," Thornberry said. In addition to the Pantex facility, the NNSA-funded Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories and Y-12 National Security Complex are facing partial shutdowns. House Republicans have tried to advance multiple additional budget measures that call for continue funding at fiscal 2013 levels through Dec. 15 for politically sensitive and popular federal programs, including the National Institutes of Health. The Democrat-led Senate has not approved them, and the White has threatened to veto such piecemeal spending proposals. Obama, though, did on Sept. 30 sign in to law the Pay Our Military Act, which keeps uniformed military on the job. http://www.nationaljournal.com/global-security-newswire/nnsa-funding-bill-floated-in-house-20131010
Message from the LLNL Director
LLNL Update: Lapse in federal appropriations Message from the Director As of today, there is no resolution regarding the lapse in federal appropriations impacting the Laboratory. As directed by NNSA, we have made, and continue to refine, plans for a safe and orderly shutdown of all but essential operations. As I stated in my previous Newsline message, our guiding principle is to minimize the impact to our workforce while delivering on our national missions as long as possible. We now can share the path forward. During the week of Oct. 13, we will be expending three of our FY14 planned holidays in order to keep employees on paid status through the week. Those holidays are the spring holiday (previously scheduled for April 21); the President’s Day holiday (previously scheduled for Feb. 17); and the New Year’s Eve holiday (previously scheduled for Dec. 31, 2013)... On Tuesday, Oct. 15 and Wednesday, Oct. 16, employees will be working to place the Laboratory in a minimum safe and secure operational status. Upon completion of this task, each employee is instructed to take the remaining time to catch up on institutional training courses and complete any outstanding performance appraisal activities. Labwide project/task numbers will be provided for these activities and time card guidance will follow shortly. Beginning Oct. 17, Laboratory operations will be extremely limited, except where consistent with protecting human life, property and the environment. Only those personnel previously notified as required to meet these objectives will be allowed on site. Programmatic organization or administrative line supervisors will notify those employees and subcontractors who will be working during the shutdown and providing their respective schedules. NNSA has asked the Laboratory to initiate an orderly shutdown in support of minimum safe and secure operations no later than Oct. 21, and to maintain that status until Nov. 1. However, due to limited financial reserves, the Laboratory will initiate safe and secure operations beginning Oct. 15. NNSA will provide additional guidance should the lapse in appropriations continue past Nov. 1. The Laboratory has developed a list of critical personnel who will continue to report to work, but all other employees will be furloughed (leave without pay – LWOP). At this time, we have not received permission from DOE/NNSA to use accrued vacation in lieu of LWOP. We will communicate NNSA’s decision as soon as it becomes available. As you may know, the decision to raise the debt ceiling is currently being debated in Washington, D.C. It is important to understand that if the President and Congress agree to raise the debt ceiling without agreeing to a FY14 federal budget, then the schedule above remains in place. If a budget is passed between now and Nov. 1, we will communicate a return-to-work schedule. It is extremely important that each employee sign-up for TxtWire and take note that they also can call (925) xxx-LLNL for updated information. I realize this uncertain situation is difficult on a personal level and may lead to hardship for many employees. I will continue to do my best to update you with the latest information as it becomes available. Human Resources and Public Affairs continue to develop FAQs to address the many valid and important questions you have. You can find the current FAQs on the internal LLNL website . Addressing this challenging situation remains our highest priority, and we are continuing to work to minimize the impacts on staff to the extent possible. I expect this lack of federal appropriations will be resolved in the days and weeks ahead. Until then, I ask that each of you be vigilant to ensure the safety of yourselves, your colleagues, and your family under these stressful circumstances. Parney Albright
Time to send stories to KCRA
Looks like its time to send that to the IG and newspapers. Get-r-done. Channel 3 Reports http://www.kcra.com/tv/contact
Why is Livermore different?
Why is Livermore different? Not everyone has a lot of days of unused vacation just sitting around to burn during the impending stand down, and Parney once again demonstrates his concern for his employees by permitting vacation advances. LANL issued guidance (below) specifically forbids this. 'The memo also stipulated: • Employees with adequate vacation balances will be able to record vacation on timecards for the weeks starting Oct. 21 and Oct. 28 if they wish. Vacation advances or other paid leave (sick, jury duty, etc.) will not be allowed, with the exception of employees currently on long-term sick leave. McMillan concluded his memo by saying, “I understand the turmoil this creates for you, your families, and the region. I urge you make plans with a possible furlough in mind,” McMillan wrote.'
Strategic Command deputy demoted
Update on Strategic Command deputy Reports that he has been demoted in rank and fired from his position. http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/3-star-navy-admiral-fired-as-deputy-chief-of-nuclear-command-demoted-to-2-star-rank/2013/10/09/fc8899f2-3123-11e3-ad00-ec4c6b31cbed_story.html?tid=auto_complete
Charlie! Where are you?
Where's Charlie? Livermore had an all hands meeting on the budget so that the director could communicate to the staff. Sandia had one this week as well. Los Alamos is still working on rumors and waiting on an appearance by McMillan.
Sandia cannot use vacation days during shutdown
Sandia had an all hands meeting today where lab director Paul Holmert said SNL is shutting down Oct 21, and we will be paid until Oct 25. After Oct 25, nobody will receive pay and vacation can't be used when on furlough to continue getting paid. Benefits like medical are only paid up until early Nov, and will lapse if the shutdown drags on longer than that. In short, now is a good time to find another job in the private sector with better pay and similar or better job security.
DOE furlough song
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZAVjDI2E7M
LANL plutonium work
Back in the summer when LANL halted all plutonium work due to DNFSB crit. safety problems it was to be back in operation in six months. With the budget situation, has this timeline been extended?
NIF breakthrough!
NIF breakthrough! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24429621
Cavuto on the president
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDdmtJCEWPA
LLNL may shutdown on Friday
Rumor around LLNL is that it will shut down next Friday if no agreement is reached, aside from essential security personnel. Staff will be allowed to use their vacation time to remain on full-time status. If they run out or don't have enough, they will front you up to 40 hours. After that, you go on LWOP and no one is really sure how that will impact your benefits ... yet. Parney is supposed to have an all-hands meeting Monday at 2 PM to address these issues. From what any of us have been able to tell though, even if you're on accounts that are fully funded (I have several that go through December) you will still not be allowed to work after next Friday.
Bureaucratic ineptitude entrenched at LANL
Bureaucratic ineptitude entrenched at LANL By Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board | 11 hours ago Unlike thousands of federal employees, the top brass at Los Alamos National Laboratory are still going to work – and getting paid. What they are not doing – and have not been doing for years – is making any measurable progress on the efficiency front. In fact, runaway regulation, excessive bureaucratic red tape and incompetence are so clogging the work pipeline that the lab and the National Nuclear Security Administration that oversees it are virtually ineffective when it comes to getting some very large and very expensive projects off the dime. Newest example is the lack of progress on a new nuclear waste treatment plant. An analysis by the U.S. Inspector General’s office says the lab is a decade behind schedule and $129 million over budget in replacing the aging plant where radioactive liquid waste is treated – after spending $56 million on just design work. The report says breakdowns at the 50-year-old plant put the lab’s mission – protecting and maintaining the U.S. nuclear stockpile – at risk. It lays the blame clearly at the feet of the lab managers and the NNSA. A key problem claimed by the inspector general was the lab’s failure to develop a formal risk management plan when planning began in 2004. The risk plan would have identified ways the project could go over budget and get behind schedule. However, such an analysis was not done until 2009, long after problems emerged. If this was an isolated problem, it might be excused away, but it’s just the latest in a long list of behind-schedule, over-budget projects. Last year, the NNSA indefinitely delayed construction of a new Los Alamos plutonium laboratory after estimated costs soared from $600 million to more than $4 billion. About a year ago, a new $213 million security system at the lab’s most sensitive nuclear weapons work site was found not to work and that it would require tens of millions of dollars to fix. Such a pathetic history would be enough to send most American workers to the unemployment line. But the NNSA has continuously turned a deaf ear to Congress’s calls for tightening up its game.
How long will LLNL or LANL or Sandia be able to stay open using carryover funds?
The latest in a series of security problems at LLNL. This one from the Inspector General. The link to the full report is at the end. SUMMARY: The High Explosives Applications Facility (HEAF) is a state-of-the-art explosives research facility located on-site at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore). The Office of Inspector General received a complaint alleging weaknesses with the controls over physical access to explosive material, as well as weaknesses with explosive inventory control and accountability in the HEAF explosive operations area. We substantiated the allegations regarding weaknesses with controls over access and inventory of explosive materials at the HEAF. We found that Secret and Top Secret cleared individuals at Livermore had the potential to access the HEAF explosive operations area even though they lacked specific authorization and/or had not received required safety training. Additionally, we found that Livermore's Safety Access Training did not adequately address the requirements for unescorted access to the facility's explosive workrooms. Further, a unified perpetual system of records capable of tracking and accounting for explosives acquired, stored and expended at HEAF did not exist. The identified issues regarding potential unauthorized access occurred, in part, because officials did not adequately consider the risks associated with access at the facility and the increased potential for theft or diversion of explosives. The weaknesses identified with the training occurred because the HEAF Safety Plan's requirement related to unescorted workroom access was not fully incorporated into the Safety Access Training module. In addition, the inventory controls for explosives within HEAF primarily focused on safety, and not tracking and accountability of high-risk personal property such as explosives from acquisition to disposition. Management generally agreed with our findings and recommendations and provided planned corrective actions that are generally responsive to our report findings and recommendations. Begin forwarded message: Subject: Report Alert Notice from DOE Inspector General Date: October 4, 2013 9:30:21 AM PDT The Office of Inspector General has issued a report titled “Accountability and Control of Explosives at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s High Explosives Applications Facility," (INS-O-13-06). This report is now available for viewing and can be accessed by clicking the link below: http://energy.gov/node/724051 If you are unable to access this report, please call (202) 586-4128 for assistance.
NIF rumors
Just heard NIF is sending back Procurement and ES&H..Anyone know if that is true?
LANL
In the last two years LANL has lost 1,200 employees and 580 million dollars in annual budget. Yet the per capita income of the county is still the highest in the US. Thanks, Charlie! http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d15f43d6-2a05-11e3-9bc6-00144feab7de.html#axzz2gez1FFcM
SIte offices exceptions
"Livermore Site Office (6 Excepted employees), Los Alamos Site Office (6 Excepted employees), Sandia Site Office (5 Excepted employees), Kansas City Site Office (3 Excepted employees), Nevada Site Office (7 Excepted employees), Savannah River Site Office (4 Excepted employees), NNSA Production Office (9 Excepted employees), Naval Reactors (158 Excepted employees)." http://energy.gov/articles/department-energy-implementation-activities-case-lapse-appropriations
Marylia Kelley said... http://nnsa.energy.gov/abou...
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The latest in a series of security problems at LLN...
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In 1960 a Retired Postal Worker Almost Killed JFK
BY Dan Lewis
Dan Lewis runs the popular daily newsletter Now I Know (“Learn Something New Every Day, By Email”). To subscribe to his daily email, click here.
In November of 1960, John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected President of the United States. Three years later, he was assassinated in Dallas. But Richard Paul Pavlick had gotten close enough to kill JFK first.
On December 11, 1960, JFK was the President-Elect and Richard Paul Pavlick was a 73-year-old retired postal worker. Both were in Palm Beach, Florida. JFK was there on a vacation of sorts, taking a trip to warmer climates as he prepared to assume the office of the President. Pavlick had followed Kennedy down there with the intention of blowing himself up and taking JFK with him.
His plan was simple. He lined his car with dynamite -- "enough to blow up a small mountain," according to a CNN report -- and outfitted it with a detonation switch. Then, he parked outside the Kennedy Palm Beach compound and waited for the President-Elect to leave his house to go to Sunday Mass. Pavlick's aim was to ram his car into JFK's limo as he left his home, blowing both assassin and politician to smithereens.
But JFK did not leave his house alone that morning. He made his way to his limo with his wife, Jacqueline, and children, Caroline and newborn John, Jr., with him. While Pavlick was willing to kill their husband and father, he did not want to kill them, so he resigned himself to trying again another day.
He would not get a second chance at murderous infamy. On December 15th, he was arrested by a Palm Beach police officer working off a tip from the Secret Service.
Pavlick's undoing was the result of deranged postcards he sent to Thomas Murphy, then the Postmaster of Pavlick's home town of Belmont, New Hampshire. Murphy was put off by the strange tone of the postcards and his curiosity led him to do what Postmasters do -- look at the postmarks. He noticed a pattern: Pavlick happened to be in the same general area as JFK, dotting the landscape as Kennedy traveled. Murphy called the local police department who in turn called the Secret Service, and from there, Pavlick's plan unraveled.
The would-be assassin was committed to a mental institution in January 1961, a week after Kennedy was inaugurated as the 35th President of the United States, pending charges. These charges were eventually dropped as it became increasingly clear that Pavlick acted out of an inability to distinguish between right and wrong (i.e. he was legally insane). Pavlick remained in institutions until December of 1966, nearly six years after being apprehended. He died in 1975.
To subscribe to Dan’s daily email Now I Know, click here. You can also follow him on Twitter.
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We are the largest independent vehicle retailer in the United Kingdom and sell nearly-new vehicles, most of which are up to two years old and have covered less than 15,000 miles. We sell vehicles from all of the biggest brands, with our best sellers including models from Ford, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Nissan, Hyundai, Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.
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No one believes in your child the way you do
by Wendy Fournier | Apr 4, 2016 | Featured | 0 comments
NAA Board Member, Claire Bothwell serves as a Consumer Reviewer for the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Autism Research Panel. We’re proud to share with you this blog she wrote regarding her experience as a research reviewer for this important federal program.
By Claire Bothwell
The role that is the source of my greatest pleasures and concerns is that of Mother: Mother to three wonderful people – 23-year-old Will, 21-year-old Katrina, and 19-year-old Jillian. The reason I have participated, several times, in the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) Autism Research Panel as a consumer reviewer is because of my son, Will, who has autism.
Our concerns for Will began when he was around two. It took us a while to realize there was a real “difference” between him and other 2-year-olds, but even longer to get assessed. By then, life had become pretty difficult with this beautiful little boy. My son was always at the center of some row and would either ignore or push away the other toddlers. He couldn’t share or tolerate sitting down for “circle time.” He threw terrible violent tantrums at the slightest thing and would be really difficult to calm down. I stopped going out in public with him unless it was absolutely necessary. I was about to deliver our second baby and I just didn’t have the strength to deal with Will outside of the house.
Although he said his first word at 10 months and gradually developed a considerable vocabulary, somewhere along the line he stopped developing any new language and he didn’t use the language he had to interact with people. He never pointed. Eye contact had also disappeared. The baby that used to smile straight at us was gone, and the little boy left behind observed things in furtive glances through his peripheral vision or stared blankly into space. He had dreadful gross motor skills and was constantly falling down.
Will was 34 months old when he was diagnosed. I was surprised at how very little was out there for my family in the way of resources. There were a few books and a few parent support groups, but not nearly the amount of information and support that can be found for other diseases and conditions affecting children and their families when facing a new diagnosis. I joined support groups that I could, but I was quickly frustrated by the static nature of these organizations and what I perceived as their inertia when it came to finding current research and treatments that might make a difference for my son. I contacted the local regional center and school district and was dismayed to find they were only interested in offering the most basic of services: something offered to every single child with autism and not designed to address Will’s, or others’, individual needs. They didn’t see him as a child with promise, who could learn and improve, only one drop in a rapidly increasing pool of children draining the school’s budget seeking special education services. This is when I learned my biggest lesson about advocacy: No one believes in your child the way you do.
I realized I needed more knowledge and power to advocate for my son. Through my advocacy research, I participated in meetings, influenced decisions made at school districts and regional centers, and quickly provided parents with information about the latest research and teaching programs for their children. Within the local Autism Society of America chapter, another mother and I founded a separate support group specifically designed for the Newly Diagnosed Parent. We amassed as much information and resources as we could and developed reference binders to address all the concerns and issues for newly diagnosed families. We held support group meetings and assigned around-the-clock mentors to be available for phone conversations. We sought to empower other parents to successfully advocate for their children. We continued that support group until 2007 while I also became affiliated with FEAT (Families for Effective Autism Treatment) and was one of the founding members of LA FEAT (Los Angeles Families for Effective Autism Treatment).
By the year 2000, I was traveling more to attend government hearings, conferences, and meetings addressing many different autism topics and I became involved with the founders of Moms on a Mission for Autism (MOMA). I met other parents from all over the United States who had experiences and concerns similar to mine. Together we networked to have our voices heard on a national level. We sought out lawmakers and policymakers and took our children’s issues to State and National government offices to meet with our elected representatives about the plight of our children, hoping to convince them to address the rising epidemic and help us make changes that would positively affect the future outcome of children with autism. MOMA became the National Autism Association (NAA) and, after being involved as a general member, I was invited to join the Board. I served as Board Chair during 2007-2008 and continue to be an active Board member. NAA is the leading autism membership organization for breaking through the myths of autism as a mysterious and incurable disorder. Recognizing that the future of those with an autism diagnosis cannot rely on raising awareness alone, we are committed to empowering parents and caregivers with the most up-to-date resources available to enable all affected individuals to reach their full potential.
It was through my service on the NAA Board that I learned about the CDMRP Autism Research Program in 2008. In 2010, I was nominated by NAA to serve on a panel as a consumer reviewer. I had never served on a peer review group before, but I was very interested in being part of the process. I was keen to represent the autism community in discussions about the sort of research that our community needed to be funded and was very excited that consumers were consulted on what research would be important to fund for individuals with autism. I was hopeful that we might help shift the prevailing trend of “nice to know” research towards “need to know” research.
I have been impressed with the broad range of research proposals submitted to the CDMRP, as well as the thoughtful and careful review and discussion by the scientific reviewers on the panel. As a consumer reviewer, I have been able to bring the perspective of the community to those peer reviews and to discuss the relevance and potential impact of each proposal to our community’s concerns and needs. I am extremely grateful to the scientific reviewers and their commitment and dedication to improving the lives and possible outcome for individuals with autism, and I applaud the Department of Defense CDMRP for developing this program for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and committing the funds to move necessary research proposals forward. It is important to acknowledge the many challenges facing individuals with autism and their families, and also the scientists, therapists, clinicians, psychologists, teachers, and technicians working so hard behind the scenes so that research into this devastating disorder can not only continue, but increase as well.
I’m very encouraged to see more research proposals focusing on the effect of environmental triggers or events on pre-existing genetic conditions. I would love to see more research focusing on the growing adult population that will be increasing exponentially as the boom of ASD children diagnosed in the 1990’s and beyond age out of school and special education – such as Will, who is continuing to blossom. He has learned to drive and would like to eventually transfer to Cal State Long Beach and work on a Bachelor’s degree in Statistics. He has volunteered at local summer camps for children with disabilities and he works particularly well with young children. He is kind and, contrary to what “experts” predicted, very empathetic. He is extremely literal and can be pedantic and obtuse. And he is very much loved.
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Morte d'Author: An Autopsy (review)
Gerald Prince
Volume 16, Number 1, April 1992
Reviews205 perhaps because there really isn't much to say about the somatic bases of translation, no matter how fundamental they may be. And while his rather brash, flippant style is refreshing at first, it doesn't wear well. Although he declares his commitment to the "dialogic," he often parodies his opponents' views at tiresome length—a practice he seems to justify in his discussion of "ironic translation" (pp. 167-75) and "subversion" (pp. 223—31). I wish he had limited his abstract theorizing and examined more concrete examples. Despite its manifest flaws, Robinson's book is original and stimulating, and I suspect it will remain a provocative landmark in its field for some time to come. University of OregonSteven Rendall Morte d'Author: An Autopsy, by H. L. Hix; xii & 254 pp. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1990, $34.95. In this book H. L. Hix asks what an author is and, to answer the question, drops the assumption of authorial homogeneity. For Hix, rather than being just an origin of the text or just an effect of it, authorship partakes of both and constitutes a complex phenomenon resulting from the interdependence of writer, text, and reader. The first part oíMorte d'Author discusses major views ofauthorship and major debates provoked by the concept (Michel Foucault and Alexander Nehamas; Roland Barthes and William Gass; E. D. Hirsch,Jacques Derrida, William Cain, Robert Stecker). Hix finds that "each of the views considered mistakes one aspect of the author for the whole" (p. 11). In the second part, Hix examines the creative author—the author as origin/cause of the text—and isolates five factors in the making ofa work: ore (the raw materials—language used, tradition exploited, etc.—representing the conditions for the possibility of product creation ); arche (the inspiration for the product: God, say, or the Muses); archive (the "true work" which the arche provides and which the writer attempts to capture the essence ofin the product she makes); artisan (the writer); and artifact (the product itself). The creative mode—the story of how a work came to be— depends on the role attributed to the artisan in the process ofcreation (he may, for instance, be a mere recorder or transcriber or she may be endowed with special powers or abilities) and it is further affected by "displacement" (as in the reproduction of a work by a series of scribes) and "multiplication" (more than one artisan is involved; variant entities rather than a single one function as artifact). The third part of Hix's study considers the created author, the author as function/effect of the text. After showing that Wayne Booth's implied 206Philosophy and Literature author should be thought of as an inferred one and that there are different kinds of implied authors (for example, the singular proxy inferred from a single work and the synoptic proxy constructed on the basis ofan entire œuvre), Hix shows how the interaction of narrator, singular proxy, and synoptic proxy influences textual interpretation. Finally, in the fourth part of Morte d'Author, Hix argues that to abandon the assumption of authorial homogeneity does not imply that meaning has no locus and does not preclude aesthetic or moral judgments on texts or writers. Hix's study is admirably clear (analytical in the best sense of the word) and well informed—though he should have referred to the second edition of The Rhetoric of Fiction, which presents a more complex model of authorship than the first and, in particular, sketches a "career author" similar to the synoptic proxy. It draws on a wide variety of examples and proves wonderfully supple (synoptic proxies and singular ones, archives, artisans, and creative modes are not fixed entities but variables). On a few occasions, Hix's phrasing or argumentation are perhaps not sufficiendy precise or entirely convincing. He strongly suggests, for example, that Barthes, Foucault, and Derrida are humanists (p. 69); he considers Harold Bloom a deconstructionist (p. 220); and, in his interesting critique of Nehamas, he reaches conclusions that his own account of the philosopher's work does not quite warrant: thus, to say, like Nehamas, that writer and author are distinct does not entail that they...
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Contending Kingdoms (review)
Jan Pilditch
Reviews413 Tannery's generous ardor brings with it some weaknesses as well as strength. At times he exclaims and defends too much, persisting, for example, in treating the butcher Mao Zedong and his vicious "cultural revolution" with undeserved respect. It is too much to say that Malraux regards "every revolution" as a lyrical illusion (p. 91); Malraux is both less "disillusioned" and less Utopian than Tannery, more genuinely political. Tannery does share one weakness with Malraux: the failure to distinguish sufficiendy the classical from the modern conception of reason. In Plato reason yields transcendence, a possibility Malraux , following Nietzsche, too hastily rejects. Tannery insists too much on the development, the metamorphosis, of MaIraux 's thought, underestimating its continuity. He discusses The Walnut Trees of Altenburg without fully considering Malraux's integration of that novel, its chapters largely unchanged, into The Mirror of Limbo, published some three decades later. This happens because Tannery sometimes does not attend closely to the texts as Malraux presents them, making it difficult to see exactly where Malraux's thoughts end and Tannery's begin. This is especially and most regrettably true of Tannery's penultimate chapter, treating his principal theme, metamorphosis as universal law. Here he brings in a plethora of writers from Goethe (quite informatively) to Stephen Jay Gould. There's just not enough Malraux. We who admire Malraux and find nourishment in his writings would betray what he has given us were we to use such occasions as this for multiplying unfraternal complaints. Tannery has written a book to learn from, and to build with. Rumson, New JerseyWill Morrisey Contending Kingdoms, edited by Marie-Rose Logan and Peter L. Rudnytsky; 373 pp. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1991, $44.95 cloth, $24.95 paper. The critical movement of new historicism, ushered in by the publication of Stephen Greenblatt's Renaissance Self-Fashioning in 1980, has enjoyed a steady if not spectacular rise over the past decade. New Historicism's anti-formalist convictions, together with a tendency to gravitate toward the Renaissance as a period in which art and politics were closely intertwined, form the critical basis for ContendingKingdoms. The title, taken from Shakespeare'sHenry V, is intended not only to signal the inclusion of essays on the French as well as the English Renaissance and the oppositions inherent in any study of the early modern 414Philosophy and Literature period, but also to allude to the divergence of theoretical paths taken by the contributors. The catch-all title is symptomatic. The book includes a variety of essays by a number of writers all of whom adopt a self-conscious critical posture. This is reinforced by the division ofessays according to critical method, and occasionally leads to a division of interest between subject and method. Burt's essay, "A Dangerous Rome," for instance, begins with a stimulating discussion of what he terms discursive determinism. This is to say that "unlike the Gramscian notion that political interests determine discourse, discourse, in [his] view, determines politics." To take Burt's own concrete example, there is no transcendent signified by Roman history in the Renaissance, rather Roman history had to be articulated in and for the Renaissance present. This latest foray into the postmodernist debate, via Shakespeare 's Julius Caesar, is of at least as much, and possibly of more, interest to the student ofliterary criticism, as to the Renaissance scholar. Nor are the essays always in agreement. Carron's essay, "The Persuasive Seduction," suggests that the apparent opposition inherent in the dialogue form of sixteenth-century France merely creates an illusion of an "other" while giving preeminence to a single voice, that of the author, thus demonstrating the capacity of power to contain subversion. In this respect, Burt's essay offers a possible solution to the foreclosure of opposition within a text, a problem inherent in the position of the new historicist. The spectre of foreclosure is also addressed by feminist critics in this volume. In her essay, "Rewriting the Rhetoric of Desire in the Heptameron," Carla Freccero asks whether it is really possible for feminist critics to speak of an outsider's point of view when this outside is already contained within an ideological institution and...
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August 27, 2018: Most of the road accidents have occurred due to drivers' carelessness in the Kathmandu Valley.
According to the information shared by the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, in more than 90 percent road accidents, drivers' carelessness was blamed. In the last fiscal year (2074/75), the Division recorded a total of 6,381 accidents. Among these, drivers were culpable for 5,961 accidents.
Similarly, the factor behind 71 accidents was high speed and mechanical hitches caused 221, overtake 29, pedestrians' recklessness three, and road condition 48.
A total of 219 persons were injured seriously in the incident while 4,333 got minor injuries. Division Chief and SSP Basanta Kumar Pant said drivers were not abiding by traffic rule and driving carelessly resulting in the road accidents.
He however admitted, "Narrow roads were also responsible for it."
Among 1.1 million vehicles registered in the Bagmati Zone, nearly 800 thousand vehicles are operated in the Kathmandu Valley. Last year alone, 194 persons had lost lives in the accident.
Two wheelers are the most susceptible to accident. Most of those killed in the accidents are males (147) whereas 47 victims were the women.
A total of 111 motorcycle and scooter riders died in the accident.
Source: RSS
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
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Heads of the DPR and LPR have honored memory of the dead in the Georgian-Ossetian conflict - RIA Novosti, 8/26/2018
Date: 11 months ago 2018-08-28 18:09 Category: World
TSKHINVALI, 26 Aug — RIA Novosti. The head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Zakharchenko has laid flowers at a grave of the dead during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict in the yard of the 5th school of Tskhinvali.© Sputnik / Alexey Kovalyov to Pass into an image bank South Ossetia has established official diplomatic relations from DNRSHKOL is notorious for what during the first Georgian-Ossetian conflict of the dead had to be buried under firings directly in her yard. Later there the cemetery and a memorial to fallen have been equipped. Also flowers at a grave were laid by the acting head of the Luhansk People's Republic Leonid Pasechnik, memory of the dead was honored by delegation of parliamentarians from Nauru. On Sunday in South Ossetia there take place the festive events connected with the 10 anniversary of recognition of independence of the republic by Russia. It is expected that all delegations which have arrived on this occasion in Tskhinvali will visit a memorial in the school No. 5 yard, and then will go to reception to the president of South Ossetia Anatoly Bibilov.© RIA Novosti / Igor Maslov to Pass into Zakharchenko's image bank: The DPR will develop the relations with Southern Osetiyeyocheredny escalation of the conflict of Georgia with South Ossetia has taken place in August, 2008. Many, including the current ambassador of Russia in South Ossetia, the former commander of peacekeepers Marat Kulakhmetov, connected this escalation with coming to power in Georgia of Mikheil Saakashvili who has decided to undertake a role of "the collector of the Georgian lands". On the night of August 8, 2008 Georgia has fired at South Ossetia from installations of volley Grad fire, the Georgian troops attacked the republic and have destroyed a part of her capital of Tskhinvali. Russia, protecting residents of South Ossetia, many of which were naturalized the Russian Federation, has sent troops in the republic and after five days of fighting has forced out the Georgian military from the region. Moscow recognized on August 26, 2008 sovereignty of South Ossetia.
URL: http://newletter.us/articles/heads_of_the_dpr_and_lpr_have_honored_memory_of_the_1535468980_49918
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Marking Four Centuries of Far East Trade, “JAPAN 400”
September 6, 2013 By Michael Alexander Leave a Comment
The Government & Treasury of St. Helena have authorized two coins which highlight the 400th anniversary of official trade between England and Japan.
Four centuries ago, in July 1613, the East India Company ship ‘The Clove’ set sail from England and arrived on the shores of Hirado after almost two years at sea, carrying gifts and official letters for Retired Shogun, Tokugawa Ieyasu and his ruling son, Hitetada from HM King James I of England (and VI of Scotland). With the assistance of Ieyasu’s confidant and trusted advisor, William Adams, known locally as ‘Anjin’ (The Pilot), the Clove’s Commander, John Saris was formally introduced to Retired Shogun Ieyasu and Hitetada. In an exchange of gifts – the Retired Shogun Tokugawa received a telescope, Hidetada – a precious cup and cover. In return Saris was given two suits of armor for King James, ten spectacularly painted gold-leaf screens, a letter and an official shuinjô granting the British permission to live and trade freely throughout Japan.
“Japan 400” commemorates the start of diplomatic, trading, scientific and cultural relations between Britain and Japan in 1613. Through a host of exciting events during 2013, this initiative celebrates the spirit of discovery and mutual regard that has inspired many successful collaborations and a remarkable friendship between two societies on opposite sides of the world.
The two coins are exclusively commissioned by The East India Company and issued by the Treasury of St. Helena. The East India Company (EIC), have long been known in the precious metal trade. It was, and still is, the only private company in history to mint its own trading currency and grew to become one of the two largest bullion traders of its time. Designed by Former Royal Mint Chief Engraver and Head of Design, Matthew Bonaccorsi, the design has been formally agreed and approved by HM Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Household and is the only official coin issued to celebrate the anniversary between Japan and Britain. The reverse design features for the first time ever on a coin, the portrait of Retired Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Next to him is a portrait of King James l of England (and Vl of Scotland) with an image representing The East India Company ship “The Clove”. The obverse includes the well-known effigy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll as designed by Raphael Maklouf and previously used on all British circulation coins from 1985 to 1997.
50 Pence
.999 gold
.999 silver
22.5 mm.
Each coin is included in a beautiful presentation case, each with a numbered certificate. Only 400 coins in each metal will be made available worldwide – Pre-ordering is available through the “Japan 400” website before General Release. A donation of £100 for each gold coin and £10 for each silver coin will be made to the “Japan 400” Organisation to ensure that future generations will be able to benefit from the legacy of this special anniversary, through a range of educational and monumental restoration projects.
For more information on these and other coins commissioned by the East India Company, please visit their website at: http://www.eicgold.com/japan400/ Information offered in English, please inquire for international orders.
** Official launch of these coins on the 10th September will be covered in Coinupdate.com**
Filed Under: East India Company, World Coins
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Pope sends condolences for death of Cardinal Husar
Pope Francis has sent a telegram his condolences on the death of His Beatitude, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop emeritus of Kyiv-Halyč. The telegram is addressed to Major Archbishop Sviatoslav (Shevchuk), Cardinal Husar’s successor as head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. The UGCC is the largest of the sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches, with more than 4.5 million faithful.
"The war in Ukraine is a colonial war, aimed at restoring a system like the Soviet Union," Head of the UGCC
The Head of the UGCC: After meeting with the Pope, three dreams of the UGCC became closer to realization
In the telegram, signed by the Pope himself, the Holy Father describes Cardinal Husar as a zealous pastor, and recalled “his tenacious faithfulness to Christ, despite the hardships and persecutions against the Church, as well as his fruitful apostolic activity to promote the organization of Greek Catholic faithful, descendants of families forced to leave western Ukraine, and his efforts to find new ways for dialogue and collaboration with the Orthodox churches.”
Below, please find the full text of Pope Francis’ telegram of condolences for the death of His Beatitude Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop emeritus of Kyiv-Halyč:
His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk
Major Archbishop of Kyiv-Halyč
I have learned of the departure of Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, Major Archbishop emeritus of Kyiv-Halyč, and I raise fervent prayers to God that He may grant eternal repose to this zealous pastor. I unite spiritually with the faithful of this diocesan community where he exercised his pastoral ministry, endeavouring with care to serve the rebirth of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. I remember his tenacious faithfulness to Christ, despite the hardships and persecutions against the Church, as well as his fruitful apostolic activity to promote the organization of Greek Catholic faithful, descendants of families forced to leave western Ukraine, and his efforts to find new ways for dialogue and collaboration with the Orthodox churches. In expressing my condolences to the relatives of the departed cardinal, to the clergy and to those who were aided by his episcopal ministry, I wholeheartedly impart a consoling apostolic blessing, as a sign of faith and Christian hope in the risen Lord.
Franciscus pp.
Source:http://en.radiovaticana.va/
TAGS: Pope Francis, His Beatitude Lubomyr, pray
Head of the UGCC in Zarvanytsia emphasized that we will be children of the patriarchal Church when we learn to be together.16 July
His Beatitude Sviatoslav in Zarvanytsia: The front line of struggle between good and evil lies not somewhere in the East of Ukraine, but through my heart16 July
Head of the UGCC: Our Church has its faithful even among the Chinese14 July
If you know how to distinguish the truth from lies, then no false politician will receive your voice, Head of the UGCC to the youth in Zarvanytsia14 July
Head of the UGCC: Paul could fulfill his mission only in unity and communion with Peter14 July
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Home Sports AIBA suspends Indian boxer Sarita Devi
AIBA suspends Indian boxer Sarita Devi
Taking a strict action, AIBA has provisionally suspended India’s woman boxer Laishram Sarita Devi for refusing to accept the bronze medal at the Asian Games podium ceremony.
Protesting against a controversial verdict, Sarita in an unprecedented move, had refused to wear the medal around her neck as she broke down on the podium during the ceremony for the 57-60 kg category.
“The AIBA also provisionally suspended Sarita’s coaches (Messrs Gurbakhsh Singh Sandhu, Blas Iglesias Fernandez and Sagar Mal Dhayal) as well as Indian chef-de-mission in the Incheon Asiad, Adille J. Sumariwalla and will not allow any of them to participate at all levels of competitions, events and meetings until further notice,” an AIBA statement said.
This case has been sent for review by the AIBA Disciplinary Commission and it means that Sarita Devi, the above mentioned coaches as well as Sumariwalla, will not be allowed to participate in the AIBA women’s world boxing championships in Jeju Islands (Korea), 2014, the statement added.
Even though the AIBA had taken note of her written apology, the international body surprisingly decided to suspend the boxer and the national coaches.
The medal, which Devi had refused to accept, was handed over to India’s chef de mission Sumariwalla. It is understood that a battery of Indian officials, including chief boxing coach Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu, pressured Devi into writing an apology.
AIBA’s tainted history
This is not the first time that such an allegation has been levelled against the world body. Some officials are terming Devi’s actions an emotional outburst. But there’s more to it.
In the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Park Si-Hun, who is now the head coach of the South Korean boxing contingent, won the gold medal in the light middleweight category in controversial fashion. Even then, not a single observer believed that Park had won, for he had received a terrific pummelling at the hands of Roy Jones Jr of the United States.
The verdict of three of the five judges was that Park was the winner, while two judges had picked Jones. It was officially recorded that Jones had landed 86 punches against Park’s 32. One judge even admitted after the bout that the decision was wrong. Two of the three judges who voted for Park were later banned for life.
Later, an International Olympic Committee (IOC) investigation concluded that three of the five judges had been brought around with inducements. Interestingly, Jones was awarded the Val Barker Trophy in 1988. This trophy is given to the boxer who exemplifies style at every Olympic Games. But the gold is still in the drawing room of Park.
During the 1986 Seoul Asian Games, South Korea rigged the boxing bouts and walked away with each of the 12 gold medals on offer. Four Indian boxers — Birajdar Sahu, Jayaram Seera, Daljit Singh and Jaipal Singh — were among the finalists, nay victims, of South Korea’s foul play.
Daljit Singh
Gurbaksh Singh Sandhu
International Boxing Federation (AIBA)
International Olympic Committee (IOC)
L Sarita Devi
Brutal assault on ACP: Have criminals lost all fear of Delhi Police?
China considers abolishing death penalty for 9 crimes
Porsche’s Tesla-Fighting Mission E Sports Car Gets Its Own Network of Superchargers
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Jon Vickers
IU Cinema
jwvicker@indiana.edu
Department of Communication and Culture
Last modified: Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Uslan lecture to headline symposium, film series at IU Cinema
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- IU Cinema and the Department of Communication and Culture at Indiana University Bloomington will explore the evolution of comics in film through "The Comic Book Rises: From Underdogs to Blockbusters" symposium and film series Oct. 27-29.
Michael Uslan
The event will feature a public lecture and book signing with movie producer and IU alumnus Michael Uslan, set to begin at 3 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27, at the IU Cinema. The lecture will be followed by a 7 p.m. screening of 2008's The Dark Knight.
Perhaps best known as the architect behind the superhero Batman's renaissance on the silver screen, Uslan is considered an authority on comic book history, having developed both the first accredited college course and correspondence course on comic books at IU in 1971, the first textbook on comics and more than two dozen other books on the history of comics. In 2001, he donated approximately 30,000 comic books from his collection to the Lilly Library, IU's library for rare books and manuscripts.
Uslan gave IU's 2006 commencement address; an experience he said helped him realize he wanted to share his story with others, resulting in his newly published memoir, The Boy Who Loved Batman: The True Story of How a Comics-Obsessed Kid Conquered Hollywood to Bring the Dark Knight to the Silver Screen.
"My journey pretty much began when IU allowed me to teach the first accredited course on comic books. That changed everything, and put me on the road to getting where I wanted to go in life," he said. "I love telling students about my journey, and IU is an essential part of that."
In addition to eating one of Nick's celebrated stromboli sandwiches while he's in town, Uslan said he's looking forward to speaking at a symposium meant to illustrate today's strong connection between comics and film.
"When I started collecting comic books as a kid, it was the most isolating hobby in the world. In the days before the Internet and the conventions, there was no way to communicate with anyone else," he said. "And when I was growing up, after age 12, comic books became very uncool, very unhip. By the time you turned 16, 17, and girls found out, people like me became what I like to call 'date challenged.' But today, those of us total comic book geeks can sit back with great big smiles. Comics are the basis of films, hit TV shows, great video games. They're impacting culture, they're impacting fashion. So I say to all my fellow comic book nerds: We win."
As part of the film series, the IU Cinema will also screen Ironman, Wanted, Persepolis, Serenity, Oldboy and a collection of animated film shorts that provide some history of comic franchises as well as a look at a locally made homage to graphic novels-to-film.
Uslan's son David, an IU alumnus and producer in Los Angeles, will give an industry presentation at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at the IU Cinema.
At the symposium, academics will present papers focused on the relationship between comics and film, delving into issues ranging from themes of redemption in superhero movies to how producers use viral marketing and alternate reality gaming to draw in devotees in an effort to redirect potential complaints about changes to the franchise. Presentations begin at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29, at the IU Cinema.
There will also be a lecture from IU assistant professor Andrei Molotiu titled "The Language of Film and the Language of Comics" on Friday, Oct. 28, at 1 p.m. Molotiu is an art historian who teaches in IU's Art History Department and is also an exhibiting artist and comics creator.
For a complete schedule of the film series, visit http://www.cinema.indiana.edu/.
No ticket is required to attend Uslan's lecture, which is part of the Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Lecture Series made possible through the support of the Ove W. Jorgensen Foundation. For free tickets to the film series, visit the IU Auditorium Box Office or call 812-855-1103.
Uslan will also speak and sign copies of his book at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28, at the Lilly Library. For more information about the event, contact the library at 812-855-2452 or visit http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly.
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"What?" Comes Before "Who?"
Now that Frank McKenna, John Manley, Gerard Kennedy and Martha Hall Findlay have left the Liberal leadership open to either Dominic Leblanc, Michael Ignatieff or Bob Rae, some may conclude that life in the party will be more of the same. But the small coterie of leadership candidates allows the party to do what it should have done after its previous defeat. The prime directive -- for the moment -- is not to decide who will stand for the party, but to determine what the party will stand for.
This is not the first time the Liberals have been in this spot. After the Diefenbaker Progressive Conservatives sent the Liberals packing in 1957, the party held an historic policy conference in Kingston. Out of that conference came the document, "New Statements of Liberal Policy." As Tom Kent -- who was at that conference and who later became a senior advisor to Lester Pearson -- wrote in The Globe and Mail, the conference "set the party's direction through the years of gathering membership and onto the programs implemented by the Pearson government." Those programs included the Canada Pension Plan, Medicare and (although many have forgotten the cantankerous debate which surrounded it) the adoption of a distinctly Canadian flag.
The Kingston Conference concentrated on the future and thoroughly examined -- painful though it was -- why Canada's "natural governing party" had been reduced to a shadow of its former self. And it started, not from the proposition that the people were stupid, but from the realization that the world had changed.
The global financial crisis of the last year and the election of Barack Obama in the United States has, indeed, confirmed that -- once again -- the world has changed. Kent told his readers that it is time for the Liberals to engage again in such a far reaching rethink -- and he sketched out the general parameters of such an exercise: "In my view, the dominant aim should be to enable all families to nurture their youth in health, with early care and learning, and with the stimulating opportunities that can make good lives possible in the contemporary economy."
Last week, Deborah Coyne -- a long time Liberal activist -- tried to flesh out that vision. "National action -- from food safety to clean air and water, to removing toxins in our environment -- has, at best, been anemic, incoherent and after the fact. At worst, it has placed the public in jeopardy. Medicare is less and less a national program and more and more an uneven patchwork of medically required services across provinces with tragic consequences, as in the case of cancer pathology in Newfoundland. Our physical infrastructure is dangerously decayed and public transit is inadequate everywhere. Inequality of wealth and income among Canadians is increasing alarmingly. Even in the international arena, our national impact is weak and blurred as provinces multiply their independent initiatives abroad."
These effects are the naturally occurring consequences of neo-conservative policies, not just of the Harper government, but of previous Liberal governments. What Canada needs, Coyne writes, is a party "that gives us a sense of national purpose and pride, and sees national government as an instrument of the people, not as a business to be downsized."
The renewal which Liberals seek can only be accomplished from the bottom up. Before it meets in Vancouver next May, the party needs another Kingston Conference to set policy and to organize the grassroots. This is not to say that choosing a leader will be mere frosting on the cake. Stephane Dion's recent showing proves that being a good and decent man is not enough. The party needs an extraordinary leader. But before it chooses one, it needs an extraordinary platform.
Labels: The Liberal Party
Hope in Scarcity
We are in for tough times. This morning comes word that Japan is officially in recession. On Friday came news that the fifteen countries which use the Euro are in recession. And then, of course, there is North America, where the storm first came ashore. The last time this happened was in 1979 -- after the first oil shock -- when Jimmy Carter went to the mountain (Camp David) and came down with an address for his countrymen.
"In a nation that was once proud of hard work, strong families, close knit communities, and our faith in God," he told his fellow citizens, "too many of us now tend to worship self indulgence and consumption. Human identity is no longer defined by what one does, but by what one owns. But we've discovered that owning things and consuming things does not satisfy our longing for meaning. We've learned that piling up material goods cannot fill the emptiness of lives which have no confidence or purpose."
Not only was the search for more material goods a dead end, said Carter. It was also a clear and present danger, because it could only be supported by ever increasing energy consumption; and those energy resources would have to come from outside the United States. When Carter delivered his speech, 43% of America's energy came from beyond its borders. Just before the U.S. invasion of Iraq it was 60%.
Carter pleaded with Americans to turn down their thermostats and to wear sweaters, to drive their cars less and to learn to live within their means. But Americans saw him as a modern day Jeremiah, just when Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan were telling their citizens that a brighter future lay with free markets and unfettered capitalism. It was possible to have more -- much more -- not less.
Unfortunately, such a future required a reordering of American and British military priorities. And it was most fortunate that, ten years later, the Berlin Wall fell. Instead of concentrating their attention on Europe, both countries could concentrate on where the oil was -- the Middle East. As Andrew Bacevich makes clear in his book, The New American Militarism, Reagan began the process of refocusing the American military -- a process which continued during the administrations of George Bush and Bill Clinton.
It was a process that began long before the elder Bush's prodigal son took office. Several administrations committed themselves to the same goal: "Only by enjoying unquestioned primacy in the region," writes Bacevich, "-- initially defined as "Southwest Asia" but eventually to encompass all of the Persian Gulf, the Caucasus, and Central Asia -- could the government of the United States guarantee American prosperity and therefore American freedom."
For neo-conservatives -- from Thatcher to Reagan , to the two Bushes and Canada's Stephen Harper -- "freedom" has meant the freedom to have more. Unfortunately, that kind of freedom costs a great deal of money (most of it borrowed) and blood. In the last year, all the bills have come due.
It has taken thirty years to prove that Jimmy Carter was right. We are all going to have to live with less. And getting out of the swamp we are in will take a lot of effort and time. But we are not without hope. As Armine Yalnizyan writes in today's Toronto Star, "It's a time for action, and some of our governments have already begun. Even before this crisis, some municipal and provincial governments had started to focus on how to tackle poverty in a systematic, comprehensive way."
Besides injecting liquidity into the banks,Yalnizyan writes, governments will have "to speed up the repair and expansion of infrastructure . . . ramp up skills development programs . . .[and] improve income supports for those without work."
That seems to be Obama's plan, too; and it would appear that the leaders of the G20 have also seen the writing on the wall. Even Stephen Harper is making noises about the necessity of government intervention.
Obama's election does not mean, as Ronald Reagan boasted, that "it's morning in America" again. But it does mean that a man who knows something about collective action and social justice will be sitting at future G20 meetings. There is a long, long way to go. But we just might make it.
Labels: Economic Crisis
From the Bottom Up
Almost a week has passed since the American election. And, now that analysts have not only counted the votes but traced them back to their sources, the news is even better than the fact that the first African American has been elected president.
For, while Obama promises a better future, he also reminds all of us of the past -- and how democracy is supposed to work. For nearly a generation now, in both the United States and Canada, political parties have practiced wedge politics -- the tactic of winning elections by dividing the electorate into subgroups and setting them one against the other. The technique is manifested in the conceit of blue and red states south of the border and regional political affiliations in Canada. In the recent Canadian election, the old pattern held. Stephen Harper's electoral strength is in rural and Western Canada. His party elected no members from any of the major Canadian cities; and he has very few seatmates from the Maritime provinces or Quebec.
In the United States, the Republican party is basically a southern and rural party -- but Obama has changed that configuration by winning both Virginia and North Carolina. Even more importantly, as a map in last week's New York Times indicated, Obama has significant support even in red states. That is the way elections used to be won.
Obama's support cuts across both genders and all income and ethnic groups. As Frank Rich noted in Sunday's Times, "A higher percentage of white men voted for Obama than any Democrat since Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton included." And Obama won "all four of those hunting and Hilary loving Rust Belt states that became 2008's obsession among slumming upper middle class white journalists: Pennsylvania and Michigan by double digits, as well as Ohio and even Indiana, which has gone Democratic only once (1964) since 1936."
Obama won 78% of the Jewish vote and 67% of the Hispanic vote -- and the young, who were the foot soldiers in his political army, turned out in droves. In fact, they are the real reason for Obama's success. Much has been made of the money the Obama campaign spent on television ads. But what made the difference was all of the field offices, staffed with young volunteers and spread across all fifty states, who managed to turn out the second highest number of voters ever. Only in 1960, when John Kennedy ran, was the turnout higher.
Sarah Palin and Rudy Gulliani mocked Obama's experience as a community organizer. "I guess a small town mayor is sort of like a community organizer," Palin proclaimed sarcastically, "except that you have actual responsibilities." It turns out that knowing how to organize from the bottom up makes all the difference. It's all about what happens on the ground, not what is mandated from above.
And that is the real cause for hope, which Obama brings to the monumental problems he faces. If he is to solve those problems, he will not be able to mandate solutions. What he will need is community action on a large scale -- the very opposite of the unfettered individualism which has been the bedrock of modern neo-conservatism. Some will call that socialism or communism. They already have. We heard those slurs at McCain-Palin rallies. But citizenship is about one's responsibility for the common welfare. There is great wisdom in that notion.
"For the last eight years," Rich wrote, "we've been told by those in power that we are small, bigoted and stupid -- easily divided and easily frightened. That was the toxic catechism of Bush- Rove politics."
It turns out that, occasionally, the common man can be guided by what Abraham Lincoln -- one of Obama's heroes -- called "our better angels," and act, -- also in Lincoln's phrase -- "with malice toward none, with charity toward all." Such moments are rare. But this might be one of them. Stephen Harper take note.
Labels: Burying Wedge Politics
A Long Time Coming and a Long Way to Go
Barack Obama was two years old when Martin Luther King stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial and dreamt out loud that one day his and everyone else's children would "one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Last night King's dream came true.
It has been a long time coming. And for those of us who remember the police dogs and the fire hoses and the bombings -- if not the signs on restrooms and water fountains that read "Colored" and "White" -- it still seems like a dream.
Last night, as Tom Friedman wrote this morning in The New York Times, the American Civil War ended. "For despite a century of civil rights legislation," Friedman opined, "judicial interventions and social activism -- despite Brown v. Board of Education, Martin Luther King's I- have-a -dream crusade and the 1964 Civil Rights Act -- the Civil War could never truly be said to have ended until America's white majority actually elected an African American president."
And now Obama will need that majority to not just fix -- but to remake -- the American government. As he himself acknowledged last night, the job he faces is monumental. With America bogged down in two wars, with a world economy teetering on the abyss, with the fate of the planet in the balance, and with the American Constitution badly bruised, he has his work cut out for him.
However, he has earned a windfall of international good will. The entire world has watched this election -- and most of its inhabitants were clearly rooting for the person Obama called "the skinny kid with the funny name." Last night, in Canada, the radio network of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation covered the American election as they covered the recent Canadian election, devoting the entire evening to reporting and analyzing the results as they came in.
And now the hard part begins. As Obama said in his victory speech, "We know that the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime;" and, to meet them, Obama knows that he will need the help and the support of those who didn't vote for him. "The road ahead will be long, " he said, "our climb will be steep." It will require "a new spirit . . . where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and not only look after ourselves but each other."
Tom Friedman understands what Obama was talking about. "There is much work to be done," Friedman wrote. "The Civil War is over. Let reconstruction begin." God speed.
Labels: American Election 2008
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The role of the school media centre in Venda secondary education
Bristow Ap
In investigating the role of the school media centre in Venda secondary education, consideration has been given to the development of Venda in general and its educational development in particular. For a broader view of the situation, a study of librarianship in developing communities was undertaken. The reports of various official investigations were closely studied to establish what, if any, of their findings could influence the present and future role of the school media centre in Venda. The present position of the secondary school media centre in Venda was investigated. An analysis was made of the questionnaires and interviews used to establish the use of and the attitude towards the secondary school media centre by principals, teacher-librarians, teachers and pupils in selected schools. From the results of these questionnaires and interviews, conclusions have been drawn and recommendations made for the improvement of such attitudes and use.
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Leo de Bever Leaving AIMCo?
By Leo Kolivakis April 29, 2014
Gary Lamphier of the Edmonton Journal reports, AIMCo to replace CEO Leo de Bever:
Alberta’s big public sector pension fund manager is in the hunt for a new boss.
Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo) announced Friday it has launched a search for a new CEO to replace its current chief, Leo de Bever.
The 65-year-old has guided AIMCo since it was spun off by the province as a crown corporation in 2008.
“Executive succession for an organization is an important fiduciary responsibility for both the board and the CEO,” AIMCo said in a news release. “AIMCo has been focusing on this initiative for a number of months and ... will now be proceeding with a search process for our next CEO to ensure a new leader is in place to guide the organization into the next phase of its evolution.”
AIMCo said de Bever will continue in the role as CEO while the search process is underway.
“I’m now the oldest CEO in the pension industry in Canada,” said de Bever, whose blue-chip resume includes stints at the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Victorian Funds Management, one of Australia’s biggest pension funds.
“The board felt that they should start a CEO search because they want to make sure they have someone in place for the next five or 10 years. In the meantime, I’m in place and it’s business as usual.”
On Wednesday, AIMCo announced that it generated a 12.5 per cent net return for 2013 and a 14 per cent return on its balanced funds, marking the best results in its history.
I covered AIMCo's 2013 results here. aiCIO also reports, AIMCo to Replace CEO de Bever:
The Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo) is launching a search for a new chief executive to replace founding CEO Leo de Bever.
AIMCo "will undertake a comprehensive and diligent process, and will take the full time necessary to identify and secure AIMCo’s next CEO,” the sovereign wealth fund has announced.
De Bever has led the fund to strong performance for several years, adding $23 billion in total return since its inception. Charles Baille, chair of AIMCo’s board of directors, called him “the driving force behind many of our successes.” De Bever, he said, had "created a high performing investment organization of which Albertans can be proud.”
He joined the organization in 2008 at its first CEO. The Alberta government created AIMCo as a Crown Corporation to professionalize the management of its sovereign wealth and pension assets, primarily.
“The Crown Corporation set-up allowed me to hire people and compensate them on a commercial basis, at one-third to one-fifth of the cost of doing things externally,” de Bever told aiCIO in 2012.
In the announcement, he said, "a critical part of the CEO’s job is to effectively pass the torch to the next generation of leadership.”
However, the CEO drew public criticism and the eye of regulators for his role at now-defunct real estate firm First Leaside Group. The Ontario-based investment group raised more than $330 million—largely from retail investors—but began seeking creditor protection in 2012, according to Morningstar.
De Bever served as a founding partner of First Leaside in addition to his duties at AIMCo. An archived version of his biography from the firm’s website touted his “extensive experience in managing and evaluating risk.”
The Ontario Securities Commission pursued a case against two other First Leaside executives, alleging that one of the founders “intentionally deceived investors" by selling assets without informing them that the company’s viability had been called into question by an accounting review.
De Bever was not charged with any wrongdoing.
The statement of his pending resignation made no mention of the First Leaside situation.
De Bever spent much of his career at the Bank of Canada, and served nearly ten years as a senior vice-president of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Prior to joining AIMCo, de Bever led the Victorian Funds Management Corporation in Melbourne, Australia.
There is no doubt about it, Leo de Bever is a giant in the pension fund world. He has battle scars going back from his days at Ontario Teachers where he ran the risk department. He came to AIMCo in August 2008 after a brief stint in Australia, lowered fees paid to external managers and was able to attract and retain talent in Edmonton, no easy feat.
I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Leo a few times. He is unquestionably one of the smartest and nicest people in the industry. In fact, he's brilliant. He has a PhD in Economics and reads continuously on all subjects. If you sit down with him, you'll be amazed at the breadth and depth of his knowledge.
In 2010, Leo warned my readers of what will happen when the music stops. That was one of my best interviews on this blog. Leo covered risks in bonds, stocks, hedge funds and private markets in that discussion. In June 2011, he discussed rearranging the chairs on the Titanic, where he shared his skepticism on the Fed's quantitative easing (QE) policy in regards to improving the real economy.
In May 2012, Leo called the top in the bond market and warned of storm clouds ahead, a controversial call which helped AIMCo last year. Nevertheless, despite the bond panic of 2013, I remain more worried about deflation than inflation and think bonds are far from dead.
The one thing that struck me about Leo is that he's worried about many things but always remains optimistic. In fact, Leo de Bever is always imagining a better future and has access to the most senior policymakers in Ottawa.
So why is Leo stepping down? I don't think First Leaside played any role and it is a minor blemish in an otherwise spectacular career (the aiCIO article is factually incorrect). I honestly think Leo is tired. He looked tired when I first met him at PSP back in 2006. He has been battling politicians in Alberta who don't understand how important it is to properly compensate pension fund managers and how hard it is to add value over public market benchmarks.
And let me be clear on something, Leo de Bever is properly compensated and he knows it. But his compensation pales in comparison to the outrageous compensation they doled out for PSP Investments' senior managers last year. I initially defended PSP's hefty payouts but then came to my senses and saw that PSP's tricky balancing act is all about screwing around with their bogus benchmarks so they can dole out huge bonuses to their senior managers in good and terrible years. Not to mention that PSP is based in Montreal so getting millions in total compensation is literally winning the lottery every year!
Let me be clear on something else. Even though I defend compensation at Canada's public pension funds, I think a lot of people on the buy side are way overpaid for the supposed risks they take. I have doctors in my family and group of friends who truly bust their ass working crazy hours and they don't get compensated anywhere near what these senior pension fund managers get. Admittedly, most people in finance are way overpaid but it's a joke and compensation needs to be reined in.
Lastly, I will express some disappointment that Leo and some of his counterparts at Canada's large public pension funds have not subscribed to my blog to help support my work. Nobody owes me anything but their financial support is appreciated.
Below, Warren Buffett discusses Coke's frothy pay plan which Berkshire abstained from voting on (but sent a strong signal to Coke's management). I wonder what the Oracle of Omaha would say about the frothy pay plans at some of Canada's largest public pension funds.
Hiding Private Equity Details?
Consultants Eating Up Funds of Funds?
Wall Street's Secret Pension Swindle?
AIMCo Gains 12.5% Net in 2013
CAAT Gains 13.9% Net in 2013
Michael Castor on Investing in Healthcare
Has Capitalism Failed The World?
Resurrecting Your Portfolio?
Bridgewater's Dire Outlook For Pensions?
The Big Unwind?
Canadians Heading for a Retirement Crisis?
A Tribute to Jim Flaherty
Ontario Teachers To Acquire Telesat from PSP?
Bogus Private Equity Fees?
Beyond Quebec's Politics of Division?
Beware of Dark Markets?
Ontario Teachers Gains 11% in 2013
P is for Ponzi?
CalPERS Vs. Naked Capitalism?
The Great HFT Debate?
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Democracy and Development: The Indian Experience
Prof. Deepak Nayyar
I would like to thank the Prem Bhatia Memorial Trust for the invitation to deliver this lecture. And I consider it an honour to be in your midst this evening. The theme that I have chosen for my lecture is democracy and development with reference to the Indian experience. I never knew Prem Bhatia but I think he would have approved of my choice, for he devoted his professional life to writing about polity, economy and society in independent India. More citizens like him would make the Republic of India a better place to live in.
There is a vast literature on the theme of economic development in India over the past fifty years. The literature on the subject of political democracy in India since independence is just as extensive. Both are rich in terms of range and depth. But they constitute two different worlds, divided into the disciplines of economics and political science. The intersections are few and far between. This lecture is a modest attempt to reflect on the interconnections. It situates the process of economic development in the wider context of political democracy to explore the interaction between economics and politics in independent India. This is an ambitious endeavour: in part, because I venture beyond economics into politics and, in part, because I seek to encapsulate the complexity of India into one lecture. Some of you might think of the old proverb: “fools rush in where angels fear to tread”. If I need an alibi, it is simple. Sometimes, painting with bold strokes on a wide canvas might just create a discernible picture. Such an effort is worthwhile in a situation where the reality is a bewildering mosaic.
The narrow confines of, and the dividing walls between, academic disciplines often conceal more than they reveal. In my judgment, market economy and political democracy cannot and should not be separated from each other as if they constitute two different worlds. In every society, economy and polity are closely inter-twined. It is, therefore, essential to explore the interaction of economics and politics which shapes outcomes for people.
The essence of the tension between the economics of markets and the politics of democracy must be recognized. In a market economy, people vote with their money in the market place. But a political democracy works on the basis of one-person-one-vote. The distribution of votes, unlike the distribution of incomes or assets, is equal. One adult has one vote in politics, even though a rich man has more votes than a poor man, in terms of purchasing power, in the market. This tension may be compounded by a related asymmetry between economy and polity. The people who are excluded by the economics of markets are included by the politics of democracy. Hence, exclusion and inclusion are asymmetrical economics and politics. The distribution of capabilities is also uneven in the economic and political spheres. The rich dominate a market economy in terms of purchasing power. But the poor have a strong voice in a political democracy in terms of votes. And there is a mismatch. It is clear that, in reconciling market economy and political democracy, a sensible compromise must be reached between the economic directions which the market sets on the basis of purchasing power and the priorities which a political system sets on the basis of one-person-one-vote. In this context, it is not surprising that successive generations of economic thinkers and social philosophers have stressed the role of the state in this process of mediation. The reason is simple. Governments are accountable to their people, whereas markets are not. In a democracy, of course, governments are elected by the people. But even where they are not, the state needs legitimation from the people, most of whom are not rich or are poor. The task of reconciliation and mediation is obviously difficult but clearly necessary.
In my lecture on the Indian experience with democracy and development, I shall divide the period of five decades since independence into three phases. Any such periodisation is obviously arbitrary but it serves an analytical purpose. In the first phase, 1947-1966, the strategy of development was shaped by a political consensus and characterised by a long-term perspective. The spirit of nationalism meant that there was less need to manage conflict, but there was a conscious effort to accommodate the poor even if it was long on words and short on substance. The second phase, 1967-1990, witnessed a qualitative change in the interaction of economics and politics. Economic policies and economic development were strongly influenced by the compulsions of political democracy. Those with a political voice made economic claims on the state. But the process of mediation and reconciliation had long-term economic and political consequences. In the third phase, 1991 onwards, characterised by an absence of consensus and a presence of short-termism, the economics of liberalization and the politics of empowerment seem to be moving the economy and the polity in opposite directions. The need for conflict resolution is greater than ever before. But the task has become more difficult. And, strangely enough, the effort is much less.
NATIONALISM AND DEVELOPMENT : 1947-1966
The conception and the birth of political democracy in independent India was unique in its wider historical context. For democracy did not follow but preceded capitalist industrialization and development. What is more, democracy came to India neither as a response to an absolutist state nor as the realisation of an individualist conception of society. In each of these attributes, it provided a sharp contrast with the experience elsewhere particularly in Europe. In fact, it was not even an obvious outcome of the nationalist movement. The struggle for independence was much more about autonomous space for the nation than about freedom for the individual. Indeed, the Gandhian notion of a just state was premised on the idea that the collective interest must take precedence over individual interests. Yet, the constitution adopted by independent India created a democratic republic and pledged to secure justice, liberty, equality and fraternity for all its citizens. Universal adult franchise was provided at one stroke. The republicanism of the western world was perhaps the role model. This was, in a sense, India invented. A liberal democracy was constructed by an enlightened elite in accordance with its conception of a modern nation state. It was democracy from above provided to the people. And not democracy from below claimed by the people. This is perhaps an oversimplified view. The reality was, obviously, more complex. For the nationalist movement meant a dialectical relationship between the provision from above and the claim from below. In this construct, the state was the essential mediator. It had to perform a critical role in reconciling the conflict between political democracy and economic democracy as also in mediating between economic development and social needs.
In this milieu, the strategy of economic development was shaped by the colonial past and the nationalist present. For one, there was a conscious attempt to limit the degree of openness and of integration with the world economy, in pursuit of a more autonomous, if not self-reliant, development. For another, the state was assigned a strategic role in development because the market, by itself, was not perceived as sufficient to meet the aspirations of a latecomer to industrialization. Both represented points of departure from the colonial era which was characterised by open economies and unregulated markets. But this approach also represented a consensus in thinking about the most appropriate strategy for industrialization. It was, in fact, the development consensus at the time.
The objectives were clear enough: to catch up with the industrialized world and to improve the living conditions of the people. So were the perceived constraints. The scarcity of capital was seen as the fundamental constraint on growth but the low capacity to save limited the rate of capital accumulation, and even if savings could be raised there were structural constraints on transforming savings into investment. It was believed that primacy of the market mechanism would lead to excess-consumption by the rich and under-investment in sectors critical for development. At the same time, it was assumed that agriculture was subject to diminishing returns whereas industrialization promised not only increasing returns but also productive employment for surplus labour from the rural sector. These perceptions shaped the contours of economic policies: the lead role of public investment, industrialization based on import substitution, the emphasis on the capital goods sector, industrial licensing to guide the allocation of investible resources in the private sector, or even the relative neglect of agriculture. And state intervention was meant to create the conditions for the development of industrial capitalism. It did so. Large doses of public investment created a physical infrastructure and set up intermediate goods industries, which reduced the cost of inputs used by the private sector and increased the demand for goods produced by the private sector. Import substitution, implemented through protection, not only guaranteed existing markets for domestic capitalists but also ensured a future insofar as the excess demand attributable to import restrictions would continue to provide markets. This modus operandi of fostering industrialization, a state-led capitalism, was no different from state capitalism elsewhere in the world.
At this juncture in independent India, industrialization was thought of as synonymous with development while it was presumed that national interest and the people’s interest were the same. There was not only a consensus about the strategy of economic development that was adopted. There was also a political consensus on what was attempted. This was attributable in part to the legacy of nationalism which emphasised unity in diversity and in part to the nature of the Congress Party which represented a composite coalition of interests. It was not as if there was no conflict of economic interests. There was. And it was recognised. Some steps were debated but ruled out. It was decided, for example, not to expropriate foreign capitalists or local landlords. Similarly, even though economic inequalities posed a problem, a redistribution of assets was not seen as desirable because it would be detrimental to savings while a redistribution of incomes was not seen as feasible because India, Nehru said, could only redistribute its poverty. Other steps were taken in a half-hearted manner. Land reform legislations were passed. However, these were either replete with loopholes or simply not implemented. The abolition of absentee landlordism was a significant outcome. But these reforms did not give land to the cultivators. Instead, they forced owners to turn into cultivators. Some steps were devised to address the exclusion of the poor and the exploited. The community development programme was introduced to create an infrastructure in rural India. A system of panchayats was created to facilitate institutional change at the village level. Social legislation, which introduced reservations in educational institutions and government employment for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, made for affirmative action.
The consensus of the time meant that there was less need for conflict resolution. Yet, there was a conscious attempt by the state to reconcile economic policies with the compulsions of the political process, to minimise the conflicts in the interaction of economics and politics. But this was possible only within limits. For the state was substantively an alliance of the industrial capitalist class, the land owning class and the educated elite. There were, also, the people of India whose interests could not be set aside altogether, or forgotten, in a democracy. The solution was found in a politics of accommodation among the dominant economic and social classes, the rulers, on the one hand, and with the multitude of people, the ruled, on the other. The accommodation among the rulers was a complex process because there were conflicts and tensions, particularly between the rural oligarchy and the industrial bourgeoisie, which were resolved through mediation by the state in the form of mutually acceptable trade-offs in the economy or in the polity. This was inevitably based on a sharing of the spoils. The accommodation of the poor, who were the ruled, however, was long on words and short on substance. The strategy of economic development was given a statist orientation, epitomized in the phrases `commanding heights of the economy’ and `socialistic pattern of society’. The building of industrial capitalism was combined with the radical rhetoric of a political democracy as a means of reconciling economics and politics. It was no surprise, then, that the language of political discourse in this phase came to be strongly influenced by a virus of socialism without substance’ across the ideological spectrum of political parties.
All the same, it must be recognised that this strategy of development was characterised by a long-term perspective. In this phase, there was a vision, however imperfect, about the future of economy, polity and society. In the economy, the object was to eradicate poverty of the people and put the country on the road to industrialization. In the polity, it was believed that democracy was an alternative to revolutionary class struggle in equalising society. For political democracy would, ultimately, endow the poor with the strength to exert strong pressures on the ruling classes for moving towards economic democracy. It is worth noting that this perception reversed the sequence observed elsewhere, as economic development mounted pressures on the ruling classes for moving towards political democracy. In the society, it was hoped that affirmative action would make caste wither away, secularism would dispense with religious identities and modernisation would reduce the significance of linguistic differences.
The reality, as it turned out, belied these expectations. Yet, at the beginning of this period, in the early 1950s, India was a role model. And the optimism extended beyond those who had a dream about India. For some, its mixed economy was an answer to the challenge posed by communism in China. For others, its strategy represented a non-capitalist path to development. For yet others, who recognised the problems of industrial capitalism, India was on the road to their ideal of a social democracy and a welfare state. It is another matter that, towards the end of this period, by the mid-1960s, there was a drastic change in perceptions. India ceased to be a role model in the outside world.
DEVELOPMENT AND DEMOCRACY : 1967-1990
The economic consequences and the political implications of the development process over the two decades that followed independence also surfaced at about the same time inside India.
The economic reality that unfolded did not conform to the expectations and the promises. The benefits of economic growth accrued mostly to the rich, while the process of development largely bypassed the poor. Indeed, available evidence suggests that there was a sharp increase in the incidence of poverty during the 1960s as both the number of the poor and the proportion of the population below the poverty line registered a substantial rise. And, matters were brought to a head by the crisis in the economy in the mid-1960s. Successive droughts which necessitated large-scale imports of food from the United States under PL 480 created images of a `basket-case’. The devaluation of the rupee, in June 1966, made a dent on autonomy in economic decisions as the government came under the influence of foreign donors. The industrial sector was caught in a persistent recession. Savings and investment rates dropped. Economic planning was suspended for an interregnum of three years.
The political scenario that emerged was characterised by two discernible changes. First, the ideology of nationalism had begun to wane. This was partly a consequence of the passage of time as the second generation came to the fore in the Congress Party. It was also related to the regionalisation of politics that surfaced because the central leadership, after Nehru, was weaker. At the same time, politics in India witnessed the first revolts of the young, manifest in the Naxalite movement and the stirring among Dalits. Second, there was a slow but steady erosion of the political consensus. The heritage of nationalism began to fade from memories and the compulsions of political democracy came home to roost. It became clear that governments were elected by the people and the mandate to rule had to be renewed at election time. But winning elections depended on the votes from the poor who constituted the vast majority of the people. The general elections of 1967 established that electoral outcomes could no longer be taken for granted and that the Congress Party could no longer assume the support of the people.
The rise of the rich peasantry, sometimes described as capitalist farmers, provides a powerful illustration of the economic and political changes set in motion by the process of development. Semi-feudal landowners lost their economic strength and social dominance in the countryside. This power was captured by a class of farmers who cultivated their land, reinvested their surpluses in agriculture and engaged wage labour. It was this rich peasantry which captured the benefits of the land reform legislation, the community development programme, the panchayati raj system and the network of cooperatives. As a new entrant, it began to place demands on the ruling political coalition. Unsatisfied by what the ruling elite was willing and able to do for it, this rich peasantry deserted the Congress Party to join or to create coalitions of opposition parties. It was this that led to the defeat of the Congress Party, in almost every North Indian state, in the general elections of 1967.
It must be said that 1967 represented a watershed in an evolving situation and a continuum of developments. In retrospect, however, it is possible to discern a qualitative change in the interaction of economics and politics in independent India which surfaced around that time. It is difficult to understand, let alone analyse, the complexities of the development process in India over the next two decades or so. For an understanding, it is perhaps necessary to distinguish between two periods in this phase : the first from 1967 to 1980 and the second from 1980 to 1990. Such periodisation is, in a sense, arbitrary but serves an analytical purpose.
A. Co-option and Mediation : 1967-1980
The crisis in the economy and the political setback to the Congress Party, at the very beginning of the first period in this phase, led to rethinking in economics and politics. There was a recognition of two realities. For one, the rich peasanty had emerged as a new force demanding its due share in benefits derived from economic policies and seeking an upward mobility in the political process. For another, the poor, who had not seen any improvement in their living conditions, did exercise their right to vote in a political democracy. The system responded in accordance with its perceptions of this reality. This response can be characterised as a politics of co-option.
In the sphere of economics, the response was two-fold. First, there was a strong, new, emphasis on agriculture. The new strategy for agricultural development, which culminated in the Green Revolution, was motivated by the imperative of increasing the output of foodgrains. This quest for food security was driven, in part, by a concern that the nation could not continue its `ship-to-mouth’ existence and, in part, by a concern that if there was a shortage of food it was the poor who went without. The end shaped the means. The better endowed farmers and regions were provided extensive support to increase their marketable surplus of food. This came in a variety of forms: mostly as lower (subsidised) prices of inputs whether fertilizers, seeds, water, power or credit, but also as higher prices of output through a system of procurement prices for producers and a manipulation of the inter-sectoral terms of trade in favour of agriculture. Economic benefits of this regime of subsidies, explicit and implicit, accrued to the rich peasanty. It was not without political purpose. Second, poverty alleviation programmes began life in independent India, albeit on a modest scale. Most of these programmes sought to create employment for the poor while a few sought to provide them with assets for self-employment.
In the realm of politics, the response had three dimensions. First, there was a conscious effort to co-opt the rich peasantry into the ruling coalition and, wherever possible, the Congress Party. Second, the dissent and the regionalism in the Congress Party was met by a strategy of `divide-and-rule’, where one faction was pitted against another to be neutralised and then vanquished. Third, populist rhetoric was born in an endeavour to woo the people. The slogan of garibi hatao, even if it was mere words, captured the popular imagination. But the rhetoric went further to the nationalisation of banks and the abolition of privy purses. It was these steps which gave Mrs. Gandhi, who dominated politics in this period through the democratic, populist and authoritarian phases of her rule, a stranglehold on the political process.
These responses led to some expected outcomes in the economy and some unexpected outcomes in the polity. In the economy, rapid growth in the agricultural sector ensured food security. A surge in savings and investment boosted growth. The balance of payments situation surmounted the oil shock. Industrial growth revived. In the polity, the rich peasanty returned to the fold, the Congress Party won a decisive mandate in the general elections of 1971, and Mrs. Gandhi consolidated her control over both the party and the government by reaching out directly to the people. As it turned out, the economic bliss and the political equilibrium did not last long. Crises in the economy led to agitations in the polity. An erosion of the political mandate strengthened the opposition both inside and outside the Congress Party. In response, Mrs. Gandhi sought to control and curb the political opposition, to establish herself as an undisputed leader in the mode of Caesar. The majoritarianism soon turned into an authoritarianism. But this was not consistent with the checks and balances needed in a political democracy. And, it was this, rather than an economic crisis, which led to the Emergency. However, the authoritarian regime did not last even two years. Democracy reasserted itself. There were two reasons. For one, the suppression of dissent and opposition was ultimately not sustainable because political democracy was, by then, embedded in the system. For another, the mediation between the constituents of the ruling elite that sustained the coalition of class interests required an institutional mechanism, which had, until then, been provided by political democracy. Thus, it needs to be said that the Janata government was the beneficiary rather than the cause of the return of democracy in India. In most respects, it was much like the Congress government before 1975. But, towards the end of its regime, the second oil shock and an inept management of the economy led to unprecedented inflation. The management of the polity was not even functional as the coalition failed to provide governance. The people were hurt by inflation and tired of squabbling among political leaders of the Janata regime. And, in 1980, the electorate voted a largely unrepentant Mrs. Gandhi back to power.
B. Populism and Patronage: 1980-1990
The next period in this phase, the 1980s, was in a sense more of the same but not quite. The compulsions of political democracy exercised an even stronger influence on economic policies and economic development. It turned out to be the age of populism in both economics and politics.
In the sphere of economics, this led to some important changes in policies. First, there was a proliferation of subsidies. Some, such as the subsidies on food, fertilizers and exports, were explicit. These meant expenditure disbursed. Others were implicit in under-priced services of public utilities such as irrigation, electricity and road transport, or in under-priced goods produced in public sector such as steel and coal. These meant revenue foregone. There was something for everybody. The rich peasanty, of course, continued to benefit from implicit and explicit subsidies. But the industrial capitalist class was not far behind. The public sector provided them with cheap inputs and carried the losses. The nationalised banks extended loans which turned into non-performing assets. And, in effect, loan waivers for big firms the industrial sector quietly came into existence much before they were announced for small farmers in the agricultural sector. Loan melas, which began life then, were just a more explicit example of such directed lending as patronage. The government took over sick firms from the private sector, which privatized the benefits and socialised the costs. Second, beyond these subsidies, there was a rapid increase in public consumption expenditure, which provided a sharp contrast with the expansion in public investment expenditure during the first phase. Some of it supported an increase in social consumption and, thus, contributed to an inclusion of the poor. However, a lot of such public expenditure, particularly that on salaries of those employed in the government and in the public sector, supported increases in private consumption. All of it contributed to an increase in aggregate demand and, to the extent that supply constraints were not dominant, an increase in output. Third, there was a massive expansion in poverty alleviation programmes. This was a systematic attempt at creating a safety net for the poor, who experienced exclusion. It needs to be said that this effort at the inclusion of the poor was far more extensive and substantive than it had been in the 1970s. Yet, it must be recognised that economic development did not create social opportunities for people at large. There were transfer payments to sustain minimum levels of consumption. But the provision of basic education, health care and social security was simply inadequate.
In the realm of politics, there were two discernible changes. For one, electoral compulsions, which required the support of the people through their votes, unleashed a competitive politics of populism. Political parties and political leaders across-the-board sought to woo the people with sops. In this quest, no group with a political voice was left unsolicited or untouched. And there was not much difference between the centre, where one party ruled for most of the time, and the states, where different parties ruled at different times. The number of promises made multiplied but the number of promises kept dwindled. For another, a state that was increasingly unable to mediate between conflicting interests and competing demands resorted more and more to a politics of patronage. This patronage, which came to be extended in a bewildering variety of ways, was a means of sharing the spoils among the constituents of the ruling elite.
These changes led to some visible, as also some invisible, economic and political consequences. The rate of growth of the economy during the 1980s was unprecedented. In real terms, national income increased at a rate of more than 5 per cent per annum and per capita income increased at a rate of more than 3 per cent per annum. At the same time, there was a substantial reduction in the incidence of poverty. In economics, this was attributable to rapid growth, moderate inflation and the spread of anti-poverty programmes. In politics, this was attributable to the compulsions of democracy for, after a time, elections could no longer be won by slogans alone. But there was also the other side of the coin. The seeds of the fiscal crisis and the debt crisis were also sown during this period. There were no obvious dividends in politics, except that this period represented a concerted attempt at reconciling the distribution of gains from economic growth with the context of political democracy. There was, however, a visible consequence in the political process. The arena of conflict shifted from the rich versus the poor to the centre versus the states. Dissent in democracy took the form of regional movements which turned to militancy and terrorism in Punjab, Assam and Kashmir. There was also an invisible political consequence in the consolidation of the subaltern classes who recognised that their political identity made their right to vote that much more potent.
C. The Solution as a Problem
In retrospect, it is clear that in the second phase as a whole, from 1967 to 1990, conflicts of interests were that much sharper and the need for resolution that much greater. This was attributable partly to the eroding consensus and partly to the development process. It was also inevitable given the essential tension between the economics of markets and the politics of democracy. The exclusion of the poor by market had to be reconciled with the inclusion of the poor by democracy. There was, indeed, a conscious attempt by the state to reconcile the process of economic development with the compulsions of the political democracy. That the mediation did not lead to a resolution is another matter.
During the first period of this phase, from 1967 to1980, the intervention was purposive. There was an attempt to build new coalitions in terms of economic interests and sustain them through a consolidation of political power. This process was laced with a dose of electoral populism. But the economics remained within limits of prudence. The macro-management of the economy by the government was conservative. Inflation remained within limits of economic and political tolerance. The balance of payments situation was not allowed to get out of hand. It is not as if there were no hiccups. There were. But the system had the ability to cope with shocks, whether the oil price increases in the economy or the Emergency in the polity. In other words, the economy and the polity both had a resilience.
The solutions, however, became a part of the problem. The management of the political process in this period had profound consequences with long-term implications. First, even though the government became stronger, the centralisation of authority and power at the apex weakened the institutional base of the pyramid, so that the ability of the government to mediate between conflicting interests was much reduced. Second, the same culture spread rapidly to institutions and structures in the political process so that there was no room for dissent or debate within political parties. In this situation, the choice was to stay but accept authority without question or to leave the mainstream and strike out on your own. Third, the politics of co-option meant inclusion for some but, at the same time, exclusion for others. This did lead to a tyranny of majorities which is always a possible danger in a democracy. It needs to be said that each of these changes in the political process was to have a lasting impact.
There was, also, an interaction between economics and politics which, slowly but surely, transformed the solution into a problem. It surfaced at the beginning of the first period in this phase, gathered momentum through the 1970s, and was established practice by the end of the second period in this phase. It was also to have a lasting impact, as the role of money extended beyond the economics of markets to exercise a profound influence on the politics of democracy. To begin with, votes were purchased at election time, not everywhere but in close contests or important constituencies. The practice spread. Those with money progressively acquired an advantage, over those without money, in the battle of the ballot. This created barriers to entry in politics, which are, by now, formidable. The process did not quite stop there. It was soon realised that, after elections, even legislators could be bought and sold. If the price was right, a legislator conveniently forgot the mandate on which he was elected and crossed over to support a programme, a party or a government, in direct conflict with the interests of those who elected him in the first place. It did not take very long for such practices to spread from legislators to parliamentarians.
The consequences are no surprise and are observable in the reality of contemporary India. Election season is about mobilising gigantic vote banks. This is often based on money power. There are, of course, vote banks mobilised on the basis of caste, religion or ethnicity, but these can also be swayed in this or that direction, at critical moments, by the lure of money. Similarly, the scenario after elections, if there is no decisive mandate, is predictable as `money-bags’ descend upon state capitals, or even the national capital, to make or unmake coalition governments. It needs to be said that these attributes now almost characterise the political system in India. And, it should be clear that once profit maximisation becomes an important motive for political acts or deeds, the conflict between the economics of markets and the politics of democracy is neither reconciled nor resolved. It is side-stepped or circumvented.
During the second period of this phase, from 1980 to1990, the politics of co-option relied almost entirely on a politics of patronage. It was neither supported nor supplemented by an effective political mediation. The co-option during the first period of this phase, from 1967 to 1980, was based on an understanding, even if imperfect, of the interaction between economics and politics. It had a clear objective. The drift to an overwhelming reliance on patronage in the 1980s, however, simply represented a path of least resistance and a strategy of survival in state power. It was a means of buying time. This populist politics and cynical economics, taken together, translated into soft options, which had the most serious consequences for the economy. It was possible for the government and the country to live beyond its means, on borrowed money, for some time, but it was not possible to postpone the day of reckoning for ever. The inevitable crunch did come at the end of this phase.
LIBERALIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT : 1991-2001
The external debt crisis, which surfaced in early 1991, brought India close to default in meeting its international payments obligations. The balance of payments situation was almost unmanageable. The fear of an acceleration in the rate of inflation loomed large. The underlying fiscal crisis was acute. This juxtaposition was neither an accident nor a coincidence. It was man-made and policy-induced.
In response to the crisis situation, the government set in motion a process of macro-economic stabilisation combined with fiscal adjustment and structural reform. This strategy was nothing new. In conformity with orthodoxy of the IMF and the World Bank, it replicated broadly the response of several developing countries in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa to the debt crisis in the 1980s. But it constituted a fundamental departure from the past in independent India. First, economic growth combined with economic efficiency became the objective function. The object of bringing about a reduction in poverty and inequality was not set aside but such concerns about equity were subsumed in the pursuit of growth on the premise that it is both necessary and sufficient for an improvement in the living conditions of the people. Second, there was a conscious decision to substantively reduce the role of the state in the process of economic development and rely far more on the market. Public investment, seen as a catalyst if not a leader until then, it was argued, pre-empts scarce resources at the expense of private investment and leads to inefficient resource utilization which constitutes a drain on the exchequer. Third, the degree of openness of the economy was increased significantly and at a rapid pace. The object was not simply to enforce a cost-discipline on the supply side through international competition, but also to narrow the difference between domestic and world prices. Foreign capital and foreign technology were assigned a lead role in the process. Every aspect of this quest for integration with the world economy provided a striking contrast with the development consensus four decades earlier. In sum, India moved from a quest for state-led capitalism to a world of market-driven capitalism.
It is clear that economic liberalization in India began on a dramatic note with sudden and fundamental changes in the strategy of development. In the context of a democracy, it is essential to understand the political foundations of such economic change. There are two obvious questions which arise. First, why did a relatively minor crisis in the economy evoke this response while decades of persistent poverty had so little impact? Second, how were such far-reaching changes introduced by what was then a minority government while predecessor governments with overwhelming majorities were unable to do so? These complex political questions seem to have a relatively simple economic answer. The change was dictated by the immediate economic compulsions of crisis management. The external debt crisis which erupted in 1991 meant that the fear of default hung as the Sword of Damocles. There was a sudden realisation that governments can and do become insolvent even if countries do not go bankrupt. The problem was accentuated by a change in the international context at about the same time. The collapse of communism meant that competing ideologies gave way to a dominant ideology, while the collapse of the erstwhile USSR removed the countervailing force, an important prop for India in the past, from the international system. It is not as if there were no other underlying factors. The emerging concerns about efficiency and productivity – even if not about poverty and inequality – had led to a debate and some rethinking in India about development strategy through the 1980s. This had permeated vaguely through the political system inasmuch as the manifesto of every political party for the 1991 elections, across the ideological spectrum, talked about the need for restructuring the economy. In sum, it was a combination of the reality in the national context and the conjuncture in the international context which provided the impetus for sudden change. But there can be no doubt that the response was driven even dictated by the crisis. It was not planned.
It would seem that 1991 was a watershed much more for the economy than for the polity. The economic liberalization introduced as a big bang was crisis-driven and not strategy-based. Yet, it was superimposed on a process of economic development and political democracy that had evolved in independent India over a period spanning four decades. It was, therefore, bound to influence the interaction of economics and politics.
Given the complexity of India’s economic development experience, it would be idle to pretend that everything it did was right but it would be naive to suggest that everything it did was wrong. A discussion of this issue would mean too much of a digression. Suffice it to say that there were both successes and failures. In a long-term perspective, the most important success was the significant step up in savings, investment and growth, which provided a sharp contrast with the near-stagnation in the colonial era, particularly during the first half of the twentieth century. The most important failure, situated in a long-term perspective, was that this process of development did not improve the living conditions, or the quality of life, for the common people. Persistent poverty and absolute deprivation remained the reality for a large proportion of the population. It needs to be said that, despite the significant reduction in the incidence of poverty during the 1980s, the number of the poor circa 1990 was larger than the total population of India at the time of independence. In retrospect, it is clear that the objectives of eradicating poverty of the people and placing the country on the path of sustained industrialisation were not quite realised. Economic liberalization, however, is no panacea. It is limited in both conception and design. At one level, it is concerned with the economic problems of the government such as the balance of payments situation, the rate of inflation and the fiscal crisis. At another level, it is concerned with the efficiency of industrialisation. But it is not concerned with the economic priorities of the people such as employment and poverty, agriculture and the rural sector or physical and social infrastructure. Long-term development objectives, such as education and human resource development or the acquisition of technological and managerial capabilities, are simply neglected.
The story of the evolution of political democracy in India, spanning the first four decades of the republic, is as complex but somewhat more positive. The real achievement is that democracy has taken roots at the level of the people. There is a political consciousness among voters who judge political parties and their performance. It is also possible to discern an increasing, almost silent, participation in the political process, combined with an emerging mobilisation on some issues. In this respect, the expectations of the founding fathers of the republic have been more than realised. For one, there is an absolute institutionalisation of adult franchise which is irreversible. For another, democracy which was provided largely from above is now being claimed increasingly from below by the people. Taken together, these two attributes reflect an increasing empowerment of the people in the political process. In other respects, however, the expected did not happen. Polity did not transform society. Caste did not wither away. In fact, reservations ultimately led to a politicisation of caste. Secularism did not dispense with religious identities. If anything, religion became an increasingly important factor in politics. The significance of linguistic or cultural differences did not diminish. It persisted as ethnic identities and regional movements became an important form of dissent in politics. If the main vocabulary of politics turned out to be caste and religion, or other forms of social identity, rather than class, democracy did, in a sense, bring politics to the people. The irony is that, although democracy struck roots among the people, it was not so embedded in political parties. Indeed, intra-party democracy diminished slowly but surely with the passage of time. Thus, dissent did not lead to debates or factions within parties. It led to splinters. In this world, politics in political parties became more and more personalised so that ideology was less and less a point of reference. The economic liberalization which was introduced in 1991 and gathered momentum thereafter, was simply not related to the institutional framework of political democracy. It was, therefore, neither shaped by political processes nor rooted in social formations, which could have provided constituencies in polity and society.
It is always difficult to analyse the present without the benefit of distance in time. It is, however, plausible to suggest that the 1990s witnessed an accentuation of conflict both in economic interests and in political interests. The former is implicit while the latter is explicit. This is bound to make the interaction of economics and politics even more complex.
The retreat of the state, which is almost a corollary of economic liberalization, hurts the poor in a material sense. And India is no different. The soft options in fiscal adjustment lead to cuts in public expenditure in social sectors, as the resources allocated for poverty alleviation, health care, education and welfare programmes decrease, or do not increase as much as they should, in real terms, so that there is a squeeze on social consumption. Cuts in subsidies are often at the expense of the poor. So are many of the increases in user charges for public utilities. The story does not end there as the state withdraws from investment in infrastructure. It is the poor who go without. But that is not all. Globalisation has introduced a new dimension to the exclusion of people from consumption possibilities. Exclusion is no longer simply about the inability to satisfy the most basic human needs in terms of food, clothing and shelter for large numbers of people. It is much more complicated. For the consumption patterns and the lifestyles of the rich associated with globalisation have powerful demonstration effects. People everywhere, even the poor and the excluded, are exposed to these consumption possibility frontiers because the electronic media has spread the consumerist message far and wide. This creates expectations and aspirations. But the simple fact of life is that those who do not have incomes cannot buy goods and services in the market. Thus, when the paradise of consumerism is unrealisable or unattainable, which is the case for the common people, it only creates frustration or alienation.
This process is juxtaposed with a politics of segmentation arising out of conflicts in the political process. For one, religion has become a major factor in political mobilisation, reflected primarily in the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party. For another, caste identities are now crucial in political parties and the electoral process, reflected not only in Dalit mobilisation by the Bahujan Samaj Party but also in the co-option of backward castes into most political parties sometimes referred to as the `Mandalisation’ of politics. At the same time, the decline of national political parties is leading to a regionalisation of politics, reflected in the fact that regional parties now rule a large proportion of the states in India. Indeed, these regional parties now exercise a profound influence on who rules India. This politics of segmentation means that there is no dominant political party and no stable coalition. The reality is constantly shifting coalitions or unstable governments. Yet, there is a functional stability in political democracy because each of these segments have a stake in the system and aspire to a share in state power. It is not about empowerment alone. There are the material spoils of office, with or without corruption.
These tensions are compounded by conflicts between the sphere of economics and the realm of politics. The people who are excluded by the economics of markets are included by the politics of democracy. Hence, inclusion and exclusion are asymmetrical in politics and economics. The distribution of capabilities is also uneven in the economic and political spheres. The rich dominate the economy now more than earlier, but the poor have a strong voice in the polity now more than earlier. And there is a mismatch.
It is, then, plausible to suggest that this third phase in independent India is characterised by an intensification of conflict in the economy, in the polity and in the interaction between economy and polity. There can be little doubt that the need for conflict resolution is much greater than ever before. But the task has become more difficult. And the effort is much less.
It is more difficult to mediate in the conflicts between economic development and political democracy for two reasons. First, there is no consensus. In the sphere of economics, the old consensus has broken down while a new consensus has not emerged. The oft-stated view that there is a political consensus on economic reforms in India is not quite correct because such a consensus exists only among the rich, the literati and the influential. It extends to most political leaders, whose discourse on the economy has come to be strongly influenced by a `virus of liberalization without understanding’ although not to the rank and file of most political parties. But it does not have an acceptance at the level of the people, most of whom are poor or silent and thus unheard. In the realm of politics, too, the old consensus has turned into a new dissensus, as divisive issues such as caste, religion, language and regionalism have multiplied. Second, a short-termism has replaced the long-term perspective of yesteryears. In the sphere of economics, the pre-occupation with adjustment or reform leads to confusion between tactics and strategies or means and ends in the minds of governments. In the realm of politics, where governments are no longer sure about their tenure, a visible myopia has crept in. In this milieu, political parties and political leaders can think only about the next month or the next year or, at most, the next election. The next quinquennium or the next decade are simply irrelevant. Such short-termism leads to a neglect of long-term development objectives.
The effort to mediate in conflicts between economic development and political democracy is also much less. Curiously enough, the willingness and the ability of the state to mediate is not quite there. Its willingness to mediate is dampened by the use of money power to influence or to use the state apparatus for particular purposes. In most democracies, governments can be sectarian in their actions as they seek to protect or promote the interests of classes, or groups, whom they represent. The apparatus of governments is often need deliberately to promote the interests of the ruling elite. This does not surprise anyone. In India, however, the governmental system is increasingly being used to further, sometimes crudely and openly, the interests of powerful individuals through corruption and nepotism. In this milieu, people with money lobby hard and exercise influence in pursuit of their interests. But people without money do not have the voice or the resources to support their cause. Thus, the desire of the state to mediate surfaces only in election season. Its ability to mediate is constrained by the spread of markets and the march of globalisation. This process is not only eroding the autonomy of the nation state in the international context, but is also creating a situation where the political process is losing control over the economy in the national context. The credibility of the state as an institution has eroded and the government, it appears, is abdicating its role in reconciling economic and political democracy.
In sum, the economics of liberalization and the politics of empowerment represent an unstable, if not volatile, mix. Ultimately, empowerment is a more potent force than liberalization. At present, however, it would seem that these forces are moving the economy and the polity, for the first time in independent India, in opposite directions, without any concerted attempt at a reconciliation or a mediation. This is fraught with risk. And, if the state cannot perform this role, the mediation would have to come through citizens and civil society.
< Press Freedom: Problems, Perils & Paradoxes
The Limits of Tolerance: Prospects of Secularism in India After Gujarat >
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Nov 14, 2013 by DAVE MIHALOVIC
What Is The Deadliest Of All Vaccines According To The Data?
The standard DTP or DPT (diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough) and tetanus) vaccine is acknowledged to be the deadliest of all vaccines, causing more disability, illness and the highest risks, even exceeding MMR (measles, mumps and rubella).
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services set up the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (NVICP) in 1988 to compensate individuals and families of individuals injured by covered childhood vaccines. The VICP itself was adopted in response to a the pertussis portion of the DTP vaccine.
Since 1988, the program has been funded by an excise tax on every purchased dose of a covered vaccine. To win an award, a claimant must show a causal connection; if medical records show a child has one of several listed adverse effects soon after vaccination. The burden of proof is the civil-law preponderance-of-the-evidence standard, in other words a showing that causation was more likely than not.
As of May 2013, the VICP has paid out $2.7 billion for cases involving injury amongst all vaccines.It obliges drug companies that produce vaccines to contribute to the program by paying an excise tax on each dose of vaccine, based on potential risk.
Although the taxes raised by the vaccine tax go into a "trust fund," this trust fund, like most government trust funds, is on paper only. According to the most recent report on the fund, November 2012, the balance in the fund is nearly $3.5 billion.
Epidemiologists Admit Pertussis (Whooping Cough) Is Spreading And Vaccines Are The Cause
Whooping cough, or pertussis, is spreading across the entire US at rates at least twice as high as those recorded in 2011 and epidemiologists and health officials are even admitting that the vaccines may be the cause.
The cause could very well be due to multiple loads of toxins delivered through the DTP vaccine which include, (but not limited to): formaldehyde, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum phosphate, thimerosal, and polysorbate 80. That means that every DTP vaccine contains carcinogenic, neurotoxic, immunotoxic and sterility agents just like many of this year's flu vaccines. These chemicals then bioaccumulate in the child with each successive vaccine, further introducing an additional load of toxins with each injection.
Dangerous new strains of whooping cough bacteria are now evading Australia's vaccine against the disease and entrenching a four-year epidemic that could soon spread overseas, Sydney scientists have found in research that raises questions about the national vaccine program.
The dangerous new strains of whooping cough bacteria were reported in March 2012. The vaccine, researchers said, was responsible. The reason for this is because, while whooping cough is primarily attributed toBordetella pertussis infection, it is also caused by another closely related pathogen called B. parapertussis, which the vaccine does NOT protect against. Two years earlier, scientists at Penn State had already reported that the pertussis vaccine significantly enhanced the colonization of B. parapertussis, thereby promoting vaccine-resistant whooping cough outbreaks.
According to the authors:
"... [V]accination led to a 40-fold enhancement of B. parapertussis colonization in the lungs of mice. Though the mechanism behind this increased colonization was not specifically elucidated, it is speculated to involve specific immune responses skewed or dampened by the acellular vaccine, including cytokine and antibody production during infection. Despite this vaccine being hugely effective against B. pertussis, which was once the primary childhood killer, these data suggest that the vaccine may be contributing to the observed rise in whooping cough incidence over the last decade by promoting B. parapertussis infection."
Pertussis whooping cough is a cyclical disease with natural increases that tend to occur every 4-5 years, no matter how high the vaccination rate is in a population using DTP or Tdap vaccines on a widespread basis. Whole cell DTP vaccines used in the U.S. from the 1950's until the late 1990's were estimated to be 63 to 94 percent effective and studies showed that vaccine-acquired immunity fell to about 40 percent after seven years.
In the study cited above, the researchers noted the vaccine's effectiveness was only 41 percent among 2- to 7-year-olds and a dismal 24 percent among those aged 8-12
The fact that many vaccines are ineffective is becoming increasingly apparent. Merck has recently been slapped with two separate class action lawsuits contending they lied about the effectiveness of the mumps vaccine in their combination MMR shot, and fabricated efficacy studies to maintain the illusion for the past two decades that the vaccine is highly protective.
Whooping Cough Outbreaks & Vaccine Failures
History of Adverse Events Associated With The DTP Vaccine
The whole-cell pertussis component is associated with a range of adverse events, including serious neurological consequences. Concerns about the safety of whole-cell pertussis vaccine date back to the 30s and 40s. By the 1950s, concern about potential adverse events led some researchers to begin searching for a more refined, acellular version of pertussis vaccine with less reactogenicity.
Fertility has been declining rapidly since the 1950s in all countries of the world and the start of the change coincided with the introduction of the first mass vaccination programs. For instance, in the UK in 1947, a mass DPT vaccine campaign was initiated and in 1958, the first polio and diphtheria vaccines were brought in on a mass scale for all people under 15 years old.
In the early to mid-1970s, the safety of whole-cell pertussis came under increasing scrutiny both in the U.S. and abroad. Newly heightened concerns were in part related to reports published
in Great Britain and Germany linking whole-cell pertussis vaccine to long term neurologic effects.
In 1975, in response to the deaths of two infants within 24 hours after DTP vaccination, Japanese health authorities temporarily suspended the routine use of pertussis vaccine in infants, and soon after recommended that vaccination against pertussis start instead at age two years.
In Britain, while health authorities continued to recommend routine DTP immunization for infants, the public became increasingly wary of potential adverse effects, and many parents chose not to immunize their children.
From 1978 through 1981, a total of nine product liability lawsuits were filed against DTP manufacturers in the U.S.. For the single year 1982, however, 17 DTP lawsuits were filed; and by 1986, the number of pertussis productliability suits filed during the year reached an all-time high of 225. During a six-month period in 1984, in response to the growing liability crisis, two of the three manufacturers distributing DTP in the U.S. market B Wyeth and Connaught B dropped out.
In 1997, the DTP vaccine was taxed at the highest rate per dose - $4.56 - compared with $0.29 for polio and $0.06 for DT (without pertussis). Only the MMR vaccine, at $4.44 per dose, approaches the DTP in ‘taxation’. This is tacit acknowledgement by the government that the pertussis vaccine carries the highest risk of them all.
No Placebo-Controlled Trials of Whole-Cell Vaccine Since 1950 - All Post-Vaccination Research in The Last 60 Years Shows Health Damage
No randomised placebo-controlled trials of whole-cell vaccine have been performed since the 1950s, when diagnostic methods were different. Indeed, in the early 1990s, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), which spent 20 months studying all the available data on vaccinations, confirmed that no controlled clinical trials have ever been conducted to rule out whether the vaccine can cause chronic neurological damage, blood disorders, juvenile diabetes, Guillain-Barre paralysis and learning disabilities. With the most controversial vaccine in history, most questions about safety have never been asked.
The only large-scale study ever conducted in the US, at University of California at Los Angeles in 1979, found that one in 875 doses of DTP is followed by convulsions, or an episode of shock or collapse, leading to death in the case of two babies (Pediatrics, 1981; 68: 650-60). As for brain damage, a Swedish study showed a rate of brain damage or death of one in 17,000 children (BMJ, 1967; 4: 320-3).
The IOM report concluded that: the triple shot definitely causes anaphylactic shock and extended periods of inconsolable crying or screaming evidence is consistent with a causal relationship between acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and shock and unusual shock-like (hypotonia/hyporesponsive) reactions, causing total collapse (Stratton K, Adverse Events Associated with Childhood Vaccines; Evidence Bearing on Causality, Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 1993).
In 1993, The National Childhood Encephalopathy study: a 10-year follow-up reported on the medical, social, behavioural and educational outcomes after serious, acute, neurological illness in early childhood. The analysis found a four-fold increase in the estimated risk of encephalitis from the pertussis vaccine. The analysis showed the risk of encephalitis with the vaccine have been grossly underestimated.
Diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and whole-cell pertussis vaccine (DTP) and pediatric diphtheria and tetanus toxoids (DT) are not recommended for individuals 7 years of age or older due to increased adverse reactions. Yet in 1994, a study in the Family Practice Research Journal found that children 7 years of age or older are inadvertently receiving DTP or DT and were unnecessarily experiencing adverse reactions.
In another study in the The Journal of the American Medical Association, children vaccinated with pertussis vaccine were six times more likely to develop asthma. In 2004, a study in the British Medical Journal found that the prevalence of asthma and wheezing in non-vaccinated individuals was approximately 50% less at age 69-81 months than children who had 3 or more doses of with the Diptheria and tetanus vaccine.
Researchers reported in the OSMA Journal that the pertussis vaccine may cause lasting and permanent brain damage. Physicians are required to warn all responsible parties of vaccine recipients that pertussis vaccine may cause "lasting brain damage", but rarely if ever to Physicians inform parents of this fact.
In the Journal of Pediatrics researchers found an association observed between the DTP vaccination of preterm infants and a transient increase or recurrence of apnea where they would stop breathing.
New England Medical Journal reported in 2001 that the DTP vaccine increases the risk of febrile seizures fivefold on the day of vaccination and that there are significantly elevated risks.
According to the Anti-Aging Manual: The Encyclopedia of Natural Health, DTP vaccines may cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) - 85% in 1 -6 months, same as the 2-4-6-month DTP vaccinations risk; the death rate increases eight times within 3 days of injection; in one study 70% of SIDS deaths occurred within 3 weeks of DTP vaccinations causes reported adverse reactions in 100 per 1000 vaccinations (10%).
In a hard hitting editorial in the Indian Journal of Medical Ethics (IJME), Dr. Jacob Puliyel, head of pediatrics at St Stephens Hospital in New Delhi, reports on detailed investigation into the deaths of children in Bhutan, Sri Lanka, India and Vietnam following use of Pentavalent vaccine. This vaccine combines the Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus or DTP vaccine. (See WHO Caught Falsely Stating Pentavalent Vaccine Was Safe After It Was Discontinued In Some Countries Due To Deaths In Children)
Several other research citations linking the DTP vaccines to disease have they cause complications in neurological systems, the central nervous system, sudden death, cervical lymphadenitis and convulsions.
Former FDA Commissioner David Kessler wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association that “only about 1% of serious adverse events are reported to the FDA.” This study confirms the systematic under-reporting bias against vaccine adverse reactions. So we could reasonably multiply the incidence in VAERS reports by 100 to get a better handle on the magnitude of the problem. Apparently, no number of VAERS vaccine adverse reaction reports is sufficient to cause the FDA or CDC to raise a red flag or withdraw a vaccine from the market.
iom.edu
healthy.net
vaccinenewsdaily.com
Dave Mihalovic is a Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in vaccine research, cancer prevention and a natural approach to treatment.
WHO Caught Falsely Stating Pentavalent Vaccine Was Safe After It Was Discontinued In Some Countries Due To Deaths In Children
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Agricultural research alleviating poverty in Africa
By Masa Iwanaga - posted Monday, 29 August 2005 Sign Up for free e-mail updates!
The Live 8 concerts staged ahead of the G8 summit in Scotland raised a flag about poverty in the developing world but did little else. The aging rock 'n' rollers, sincere though they were, could offer little more than melodious slogans.
Unfortunately the world's disadvantaged need slogans as much as they need drought or disease. Poverty has complex causes but undeniable outcomes. Poverty robs people of their dignity.
Methods to eliminate or at least reduce poverty will depend on a range of actions in the areas where poverty is endemic and crippling. We know the ends we want: a vibrant, viable education system that gives opportunities to girls and boys; good governance to reduce corruption and increase public participation; access to quality health care services, markets, and service infrastructure; and food and nutritional security for all.
Most people of the developing world depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. In much of Africa, farmers cannot meet the demands of the growing populace even when climate and politics are stable. The land is infertile and degraded. Farming systems and the very crops they produce are antiquated.
Climbing the charts with improved crop varieties
Agricultural research has historically performed what looked like miracles and continuously provided new ways to enhance farm productivity and feed a growing world. For example, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT, by its Spanish-language abbreviation) was built on the shoulders of the researchers who created the "green revolution" of the 1960s.
This revolution occurred when high-yielding, disease-resistant wheat varieties developed by Nobel Peace Laureate, Norman E. Borlaug, and his team in Mexico were delivered to India and Pakistan. They brought food self-sufficiency to the Indian subcontinent when it had faced mass famine and also sparked a global movement toward science-based agriculture.
In a changing world, with continuously growing populations and less available land, yesterday's solutions are not enough. Nevertheless, three lessons from the green revolution stand out for policy makers in all countries, rich or poor.
First, agricultural research is a fundamental building block for progress in food production and global food security. Second, rapid access for farmers to advances from the research labs and experimental fields depends on the functioning in concert of many actors along complex research and impact pathways. Third, the farmer is king. In the end, the decisions of millions or hundreds of millions of farmers across the world determine whether the new varieties and technologies are adopted, impacts registered, poverty reduced and livelihoods improved.
Bachelors take note: better farming is attractive!
By way of illustration, consider the case of Indian researcher Arun Joshi and farmer Anil Singh. Joshi is an agricultural researcher at Banaras Hindu University in northern India and a CIMMYT research partner. Anil Singh is a farmer from Karhat Village in Mirzapur District (Uttar Pradesh, northern India). Singh was once an impoverished smallholder before he began experimenting with zero-tillage and new wheat varieties in 1997. He received support from CIMMYT and its partners, funding from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, and donations from others.
"When Anil's future father-in-law first saw the village of Karhat, he told everyone that women shouldn't marry its men, because they wouldn't be able to support a family," says Joshi. "When Anil had success with zero-tillage and other farmers adopted the practice, his father-in-law changed his tune completely, and now says that all young ladies should marry men from Karhat!"
Singh, his brother, and the 11 other family members used to scrape by, growing only a rice-wheat rotation on a small farm. Adoption of direct seeding without tillage for wheat has increased harvests and brought savings in seed, labour, diesel, farm equipment, and irrigation water.
With less time taken in preparing the land, they can plant their wheat earlier, so the brothers have introduced okra, tomato, gourd, potato, mung bean, and other crops, and are growing "green-manure" legumes that can fix nitrogen from the air to enrich the soil. Through a selection program supported by the Department for International Development (DFID-UK) and co-ordinated by Joshi with CIMMYT input, farmers themselves judged and selected the best new varieties and gained access to the seed.
Article edited by Daniel Macpherson.
If you'd like to be a volunteer editor too, click here.
Dr Masa Iwanaga is Director General of the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico.
» We need to sow seeds of development, not violence, in developing states - July 24, 2003
All articles by Masa Iwanaga
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Visa Wars: Constantinople Opens a New Front Against Russian Priests
Roman Silantyev
whoswhos.org
Recently, there has appeared in the media as well as in social networks information that the Greek consulate in Moscow is refusing to issue visas to Russian priests or is offering not three-year visas, as they do to tourists, but visas for only one month or even only for a few days.
The first to write about the visa problem on his Facebook page was the rector of the Moscow State University Church of St. Tatiana, Fr. Vladimir Vigilyansky. At the end of May, he received a Greek visa: His wife was given a three-year visa but he was given a visa for only one month, even though he requested a three-year visa. At the same time, he was told at the visa cent that he could not receive a three-year visa because the Greek authorities prefer not to issue them to priests "for certain reasons." If he had requested a visa as a retiree or as a member of the Union of Journalists, then these problems would not have arisen.
Fr. Vladimir insisted that he had visited Greece before on no less than fifteen occasions and accused the Greek authorities of a "gross violation" of the European Convention on Human Rights and Freedom, as well as of discrimination. He stated that many Russian clergymen had complained that over the past six months they had encountered a similar situation–visas were issued for a maximum of one month or were refused altogether.
Another priest, Fr. Vasily Biksei from Moscow, stated that this summer he had planned to spend his vacation with his family in Greece; all of his family received visas but he was refused. At the end of July, yet one more Moscow priest, the vice-chairman of the Department of External Church Relations Fr. Alexander Aleshin was also refused a visa.
Fr. Vasily Pliska from Krasnodar told how he requested a multi-entry visa from the Greek consulate but received a short-term visa for forty-five days. Fr. Vasily wanted to visit Mount Athos, yet he was told in no uncertain terms at the visa center that if before they could give him a visa for two to three years, then now they can give one only for forty-five days. This is the decision of the Greek authorities.
The case which caused most waves was the refusal by the consular department of the Greek embassy to grant a Schengen visa to the Holy Synod member and chancellor of the Moscow Patriarchate Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga. Metropolitan Barsanuphius had planned to go on a pilgrimage to Mount Athos. The chancellery of the Moscow Patriarchate has stated that “Metropolitan Barsanuphius has gone on pilgrimage to Mount Athos in the autumn for many years, yet this time he was refused a visa.”
We can see how these refusals to grant Greek visas to clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church are not isolated instances but have assumed a systematic nature.
From unofficial sources we learn that those who work in the Greek consulate and visa centers in Moscow have been issued a secret directive to pay great attention to people who outwardly resemble Orthodox clergymen. Thus, a beard and a soft-spoken manner have become signs of someone whose presence in Greece is undesirable.
In August the Russian Foreign Ministry handed a diplomatic note to Greece with a request to explain why difficulties have arisen with the issue of visas to priests of the Russian Orthodox Church. However, the Foreign Ministry has yet to receive a reply.
Many clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church travel to Greece not primarily to sunbathe on Greek beaches, but to visit the holy place of the Orthodox world located in Greece, that is, the Holy Mountain of Athos. However, in order to get there, it is necessary to have not only a Greek visa or a visa from one of the Schengen countries, but also to have special permission in the form of a diamonitirion, which is issued by the pilgrimage office for the Holy Mountain in Thessalonica. It should be borne in mind at the same time that Athos is under the jurisdiction of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which has embarked on an open conflict with the Russian Orthodox Church. The issue of a diamonitirion depends completely upon the will of Constantinople–if it wants to issue a visa, it will do so; if not, then there is no point in convincing the office in Thessalonica. The Phanar (the area in Istanbul where the residence of the Patriarch of Constantinople is located) has decided to close Athos to pilgrims from Russia by refusing to issue a document giving permission to visit. Incidentally, these documents have not been issued to priests from Moscow for several months now. According to the time-scale, this comes at the same time as the obstacles concerning visas. Is this a coincidence? It hardly seems likely. Rather, it points towards to a secret conspiracy between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Greek authorities.
All this "visa war," which started in April-May of this year strangely coincides with the appeal in April by the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, the deputies of the Verkhnova Rada, and representatives of schismatic groups to Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and thereby create in Ukraine an "independent Local Orthodox Church," as well as the Phanar’s resolve to begin the process of granting autocephaly. The Phanar, of course, realized that such actions would mean the beginning of a direct conflict with the Moscow Patriarchate, and then started with a "visa frontline" against Russian priests.
We may ask the question: How are the Church of Constantinople, the administrative center of which is located in Turkey, and the Greek authorities connected?
It should be noted that Greek solidarity plays an important role (Patriarch Bartholomew and the bishops, priests and flock of the Patriarchate of Constantinople are mainly Greek), supported by the authorities in Athens. An external factor should also be added, that is, that Patriarch Bartholomew and his Church are far from independent: They are an instrument in the hands of globalist forces, the center of which is the United States of America.
Discrimination in relation to clergymen of the Russian Orthodox Church (this is mentioned in the Greek media) is linked to the circumstance that two years ago one of the authors of the Ukrainian Euromaidan, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Greece. Soon after his appointment he visited Mount Athos, but not on a pilgrimage; rather, he was there as on an "inspection."
There is the suspicion that during this visit the American Ambassador openly demanded that cooperation between the Athonite monasteries and the Russian Orthodox Church should cease. We should add to this that at present in Greece there is an organized propaganda campaign against Russia and the Russian Church. Thus, recently the Greek public found out to their great surprise from a number of totally unfounded media statements that Russia was sending "spies in cassocks" to Greece.
We are forced into concluding that behind the project for Ukrainian autocephaly, which is being insisted upon by the Patriarchate of Constantinople, are American elites acting through their agents of influence close to the leadership within the Phanar. The USA is more openly showing its role in bringing to fruition the project of Ukrainian autocephaly, the aim of which is to deepen the division between Ukraine and Russia.
Constantinople, in aggressively advancing its supremacy in the Orthodox world, is acting inexcusably and brazenly, humiliating its brother bishops and priests from Russia. This policy of open discrimination according to jurisdictional allegiance leads us down a blind alley, the exit from which requires both time and great effort. It imposes upon the Orthodox Church an internal confrontation, divides and weakens Orthodoxy. It is all the sadder that what is happening is not a mistake but the conscious choice of the Phanar.
Roman Silantyev is a researcher in religion, a doctor of historical sciences, and the director of the Human Rights Center for the All-Russian People’s Assembly.
Refusal of visa to Russian bishop is scandalous—Russian Church representative Refusal of visa to Russian bishop is scandalous—Russian Church representative
A representative of the Russian Orthodox Church has responded to Greece’s refusal to issue a visa to His Eminence Metropolitan Barsanuphius of St. Petersburg and Ladoga, calling it unexpected and scandalous. Greece refuses visa to bishop of St. Petersburg Greece refuses visa to bishop of St. Petersburg
His Eminence has gone on pilgrimage to Mt. Athos many times in the past and has never been denied a Schengen visa before. Greece restricting visits from Russian priests Greece restricting visits from Russian priests
A priest of the Russian Orthodox Church has reported that he faced discrimination on a professional basis at the Greek embassy in Moscow.
Theodoros9/19/2018 6:55 pm
The relationship between Russia and
Turkey cannot last. The two have always
Been enemies. I am of the opinion
That putin is concentrating on the
Problems NATO has been giving
Russia.
Russia is gradually pulling turkey from
NATO which will leave Turkey
Vulnerable later. Russia helped
Cyprus at the UN Security Council
In 2004 when it vetoed the Annan
In September 2017 putin gave
Assurances that Russia has
Not forgotten cyprus.
The big concern is how Greek
Leaders treat the Russians.
Anthony9/18/2018 8:51 pm
Hi! Rejoice! I think this may be part of a wider spat between the Hellenic Republic and Russia, especially given Moscow's cosying up to Erdogan, and the proposed sale of s-400 missiles to that genocidal nation. Of course, when you have an atheist government as said Hellenic Republic does, then they no doubt would be willing to use whatever means they have at their disposal to up-the-ante, including playing games with the Church. No doubt though, as stated in the articel, the puppetmasters in Washington are playing their usual filthy role in divide and rule. What a shambles.
I disagree with only one part of the
Article. The anti Russian elements
Spoken of in the article are not Greeks
But collaborationists and quislings.
Real Greeks are loyal to Christ and love
The Russians. After the Greek war of
Independence Greece was taken over
By the western powers who continue to
Rule.
The national hero general Theodore
Kolokotronis was thrown into prison
For his pro Russian stance. More
Recently in 2009 a pro Russian
Prime minister who signed a pipeline
Agreement with Russia was toppled
By the western powers.
Greece is an occupied country.
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5 things we just learned about Fox's Roger Ailes
For the three years that Gabriel Sherman was reporting and writing "The Loudest Voice in the Room," a biography of the Fox News chairman Roger Ailes, friends and enemies of both men (and impartial observers) wondered what surprising information Sherman would dig up.
Now we're finding out. The New York Times obtained a copy of the book and published several quotes from it on Wednesday, kick-starting what are likely to be weeks of media coverage.
TV Guide Network goes after E! with 'PopSugar Now'
PopSugar, the popular entertainment Web site for young women, is getting its first shot on television in a partnership with the TV Guide Network, the cable channel also known as TVGN.
For 12 weeks beginning Monday, a half-hour entertainment show called "PopSugar Now" will be shown on TVGN, which is slowly shedding its old TV-listings identity and becoming a broad entertainment channel.
The show is being televised at 6 p.m. ET weeknights, suggesting a brewing rivalry with the much bigger E! cable channel, which has its own nightly celebrity newscast at 7 p.m. ET.
"PopSugar Now" is being billed as an awards season addition to TVGN. But if it performs, "Now" could become a permanent part of the lineup.
Taking a page from Netflix, Hulu promotes original shows for 2014
There are two faces to Hulu, the online video hub owned by the parent companies of ABC, Fox and NBC.
Hulu is a destination for next-day repeats of TV shows that have already aired on those and other networks. But for a variety of business reasons, it's becoming harder for Hulu to hold onto those shows.
So Hulu is increasingly also a home for TV shows that it can call its own - ones that haven't been on other networks before. That's the face it wants to show the world.
On Wednesday, Hulu announced a lineup of programming for the New Year that it says is its most extensive to date.
New York Times redesign points to future of online publishing
The last time The New York Times embarked on a wholesale redesign of its Web site, in 2006, the iPhone wasn't on the market. Tablets like the iPad were still years away.
So the new design that The Times is unveiling Wednesday is generating much interest within the journalism industry, both for what it says about The Times and about the future of online publishing.
For visitors to NYTimes.com, it will be obvious "that we've redesigned our article pages and restyled our homepage and section fronts to provide a cleaner, more engaging user experience," said Denise Warren, the executive vice president of the digital products and services group at The Times.
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Burrage, A M
(1889-1956) UK short-story writer who published a vast amount of fiction in popular Magazines, including boys' magazines, for over 40 years, starting in 1905. AMB's total output has never been fully assessed, and more may be hidden under pseudonyms other than the known Frank Lelland and Ex-Private X. He wrote in all genres, but is remembered today for his Ghost Stories, some of which are among the most effective ever written. AMB's Ghosts, frequently menacing but not always Evil, often serve as Portents or warnings. With fecund originality, he frequently mixed his ghost stories with elements of Timeslip or switched the perspective to the ghost's, so as to allow alternate interpretations (> Perception). These tales have been collected as Some Ghost Stories (coll 1927), Someone in the Room (coll 1931) as by Ex-Private X, and the posthumous Between the Minute and the Hour (coll 1967). Jack Adrian (1945- ) has since assembled further collections from old magazines: Warning Whispers (coll 1988; rev 1999), Intruders (coll 1995) and The Occult Files of Francis Chard (coll 1996).
AMB also produced a Black-Magic thriller, Seeker to the Dead (1942), which was almost certainly based on the occult practices of Aleister Crowley. Not published in book form but typical of AMB's lighter moments was a series of amusing romps, in the style of P G Wodehouse, set in the time of Arthur and featuring Sir Archibald; these stories are Satires on 1920s society. Titles were "The Knightly Adventures of Sir Archibald" (1922 Yellow Magazine), "The Further Adventures of Sir Archibald" (1923 Yellow Magazine) and "The Further Adventures of Sir Archibald and the Knights of the Round Table" (1925 Yellow Magazine). [MA]
Alfred McLelland Burrage
Entry: Burrage, A M
Category: Author
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Home Europe Aitor Karanka reveals Middlesbrough’s targets in Portugal, talks about transfers and value
Aitor Karanka reveals Middlesbrough’s targets in Portugal, talks about transfers and value
By Lucas Sposito -
Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka has given a pretty cool interview to the Portuguese newspaper Record this Friday.
Karanka, who worked with the Manchester United boss José Mourinho at Real Madrid, was asked a lot about their relationship this week as they’re facing each other at Old Trafford this Saturday.
But even though the manager’s career can’t be split much apart from the Special One, especially in Portuguese eyes, Record still asked some different questions, and some about Karanka’s transfer plans at Boro.
“Yes, of course, even because of market matters,” said Karanka when asked if he follows the Portuguese league
When questioned if the Portuguese market is interesting for Middlesbrough, he said: “The quality/price ratio depends on where you are. Sometimes it seems the player is cheap ad then it doesn’t succeed and you end up having to spend more money.
“In the Premier League, having more money doesn’t mean you’ll get the best players. For example, Middlesbrough were very close on signing Lindelof last year and now it’s been said that Premier League clubs are ready to spend much money on him. It’s a sign that we’ve been working well.”
Karanka also revealed which players Boro had the intention to sign: “I can tell you we asked about Danilo Pereira, when he was on loan at Marítimo, but then he showed up at FC Porto. And between FC Porto and a second division team… But the truth is there are good players in many countries.”
Speaking of José Mourinho, Record asked the manager if he consulted the Portuguese before accepting the offer to take charge of Middlesbrough in 2013.
“Yes, even because there was a player at Chelsea at the time, Mark Schwarzer, who had been at Middlesbrough, who knew the club and the city well. And when you have everything decided to sign and José Mourinho gives you a last push, the doubts are gone.”
Karanka also confirmed he was invited by José Mourinho to work alongside him at Chelsea during the manager’s last spell, but thought it was time to stand his ground as a manager.
“Yeah, it was a pride and a privilege, but I thought, together with my family, and saw I wouldn’t be as useful to José at Chelsea as I was at Real Madrid. Because I didn’t know the club, the league nor the language. And after three years working with Mourinho and the staff I decided it was time to start alone.”
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Lucas Sposito
Journalist graduated from the Universidade Metodista de São Paulo. Forever missing the 2014 World Cup. Not sure if I want to be John Frusciante or Andrea Pirlo when I grow up.
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June 1st, 2016 DICTATORS DESPOTS, LEGAL COURT none Comments
Tue, 05/31/2016 – 1:49pm 9 Comments by The Associated Press
Anastasia Bubeyeva shows a screenshot on her computer of a picture of a toothpaste tube with the words: “Squeeze Russia out of yourself!” For sharing this picture on a social media site with his 12 friends, her husband was sentenced this month to more than two years in prison.
As the Kremlin claims unequivocal support among Russians for its policies both at home and abroad, a crackdown is underway against ordinary social media users who post things that run against the official narrative. Here the Kremlin’s interests coincide with those of investigators, who are anxious to report high conviction rates for extremism. The Kremlin didn’t immediately comment on the issue.
At least 54 people were sent to prison for hate speech last year, most of them for sharing and posting things online, which is almost five times as many as five years ago, according to the Moscow-based Sova group, which studies human rights, nationalism and xenophobia in Russia. The overall number of convictions for hate speech in Russia increased to 233 last year from 92 in 2010.
A 2002 Russian law defines extremism as activities that aim to undermine the nation’s security or constitutional order, or glorify terrorism or racism, as well as calling for others to do so. The vagueness of the phrasing and the scope of offenses that fall under the extremism clause allow for the prosecution of a wide range of people, from those who set up an extremist cell or display Nazi symbols to anyone who writes something online that could be deemed a danger to the state. In the end, it’s up to the court to decide whether a social media post poses a danger to the nation or not.
In February 2014, when Ukraine was in the middle of a pro-European revolution, President Vladimir Putin signed a bill tightening penalties for non-violent extremist crimes such as hate speech. In July of that year, three months after Russia had annexed the Crimean Peninsula, he signed a bill making calls “to destroy” Russia’s territorial integrity a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison. The new amendment makes the denial of Russia’s claims on Crimea an even greater offense if the statement is made in the press or online, even on a private social media account.
Many of the shares that led to the recent rash of convictions were of things critical of Russia’s involvement in Ukraine.
This was true of the articles and images shared by Bubeyeva’s husband, a 40-year-old electrician from Tver, a sleepy provincial capital halfway between Moscow and St. Petersburg.
“Andrei Bubeyev thinks that he was charged as an example so that other ordinary citizens would be discouraged from expressing their opinion,” said his lawyer, Svetlana Sidorkina.
Bubeyev spent a lot of time online, sharing links to various articles on his VKontakte page and engaging in political debates on local news websites, his wife says.
In spring 2015, he left town to work on a rural construction site. After investigators couldn’t get through to him on the phone, they put him on a wanted list as an extremism suspect. When Bubeyev stopped by to visit his wife and young son at their country cottage, a SWAT team stormed in and arrested him.
His wife now lives alone with their 4-year-old son in a sparsely furnished apartment on the ground floor of a drab Soviet-era apartment block. After her husband was arrested, Anastasia Bubeyeva, 23, dropped out of medical school because she couldn’t find affordable day care for her child, who still wears an eye patch for an injury he suffered when he bumped his head during the raid.
Several months after his arrest, Bubeyev pleaded guilty to inciting hatred toward Russians and was sentenced to a year in prison. His offense was sharing articles, photos and videos from Ukrainian nationalist groups, including those of the volunteer Azov battalion fighting Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. Among them was an article about the graves of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine and a video describing Russia as a “fascist aggressor” and showing Russian tanks purportedly crossing into Ukraine.
Less than two weeks after the verdict, Bubeyev was charged again. This time, he was accused of calling for “acts of extremism” and “actions undermining Russia’s territorial integrity.” He had shared the picture of a toothpaste tube and also an article under the headline “Crimea is Ukraine” by a controversial blogger, who is in jail now, calling for military aggression against Russia.
“He was interested in politics, read the news, shared things, but he did it for himself. It was like collecting newspaper clippings,” his wife said. “His page wasn’t popular — he only had 12 friends. He couldn’t have aimed to coerce anyone into anything.”
The new charges were soon followed by a damning report on local television station Tverskoi Prospekt. The program showed an anonymous blogger complaining about social media users who voiced their support for Ukrainian troops and were “ready to back a coup in Russia and take up arms and kill people as the Nazis did.” The television report claimed that the blogger’s complaint had prompted the prosecution of the electrician.
On May 6, Bubeyev was convicted and sentenced to two years and three months in prison.
Also this month, a court in the Caspian Sea city of Astrakhan sentenced a man to two years in prison for his social media posts urging Ukrainians to fight “Putin’s occupying forces.”
In December, a court in Siberia sentenced a man to five years in prison for “inciting hatred” toward residents of eastern Ukraine in his video posts. In October, a court in southern Russia sent a political activist to prison for two years for an unsanctioned picket and posts on social media criticizing Putin and calling for southern Russia to join Ukraine.
The articles, photos and videos that landed Bubeyev in prison were posted on his page on VKontakte, Russia’s most popular social media network with 270 million accounts.
VKontakte founder Pavel Durov sold the site and fled Russia in 2014, claiming that he had come under pressure from the security services for VKontakte to disclose personal data of the users of a group linked to a protest movement in Ukraine. The company is now controlled by the media holding of Kremlin-friendly billionaire Alisher Usmanov.
Alexander Verkhovsky, director of the Sova group, says roughly half of the convictions of hate speech online are about posts on VKontakte, which he said might be because its administration might be easier for the Russian police to deal with than that of foreign-owned social media.
Bubeyev’s defense claimed that the privacy settlings on his account made the articles he shared available only to him and his 12 friends. Sidorkina, his lawyer, said she has no explanation for how the security services found his posts unless they received the credentials to his account from VKontakte.
VKontakte declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.
Russia faced a surge of racially motivated attacks against Central Asian migrant workers in the 2000s, but the crime rates dropped drastically after dozens of neo-Nazis got lengthy prison sentences for extremism.
Rights activists and lawyers who have worked on extremism cases say the drop in violent hate crimes sent police and investigators scrambling to prosecute people for non-violent offenses to show a solid record of tackling extremism.
The Moscow-based Center for Economic and Political Reform said in a 23-page report on extremism law released this month that most convictions for this type of crime resulted in fines or a few days in custody, with the aim of boosting the crime statistics.
But as tensions with neighboring Ukraine heated up, courts across Russia began to hand out more and more prison sentences for hate speech, the report said.
Many of the hate speech convictions do deal with dubious content, but the severity of the punishment doesn’t seem to correspond to the level of public danger posed, said Verkhovsky of Sova.
“These cases are very arbitrary because there are lots more people out there who have done the same thing. Such enforcement of the law does not address or combat radical activities,” he said. “No one knows where the red line is: It’s like roulette.”
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Licensing Road Map: Industry seeks clarity on TRAI’s recommendations
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released the draft guidelines on Unified Licence/Class Licence and Migration of Existing Licences on February 10, 2012. The move is seen as a step towards bringing in the one nation, one licence regime in line with the draft National Telecom Policy (NTP), 2011. At present, the regulator is seeking the opinion of various stakeholders in this regard. Industry experts share their views on the benefits of such a regime, its potential impact on the telecom sector and its financial implications as well as the issues and challenges in the implementation of TRAI’s draft guidelines...
What are your views on TRAI’s recent draft guidelines on Unified Licence/Class Licence and Migration of Existing Licences?
Ashish Basil
Overall, the guidelines are in line with the global practice of clearly separating the licence from spectrum.
Gaurav Dixit
There has been considerable debate on the concept of unified licensing. Today, the distinction amongst technologies is gradually diminishing due to rapid improvements in this space. A particular technology can be used to provide multiple services. Thus, the entire concept of unified licensing becomes prominent. With a unified licence, operators would be able to offer services like voice, internet telephony and internet protocol television on a single platform. This would also reduce the investment risk for operators as they would be free to provide any type of service.
Jaideep Ghosh
The draft NTP, 2011 explained the government’s objective of creating a one nation, one licence regime across services and service areas. TRAI’s draft guidelines are another step in this direction. Placing all the basic communication services under a unified licence would reduce complexity and increase transparency in licence management by providing consistent licensing conditions across services.
These guidelines, however, depart from the draft NTP 2011 in the area of unified licence categories. The draft NTP 2011 envisaged technology-neutral unified licences in two separate categories, network service operators and service delivery operators, in order to separate network ownership and maintenance from service delivery to the end-consumer. On the other hand, TRAI’s draft guidelines mention only a single unified licence, irrespective of network management and service delivery rights. More clarity is required in this regard.
In terms of the impact on telecom players, these guidelines would not affect the existing operators significantly. They do, however, extend the convergence objective, as discussed in the draft NTP, by combining telephony services including triple-play services like voice, video and data under a unified licence.
These guidelines mention that the existing category 1 infrastructure providers (IP-1) would be required to take the unified licence by paying the prescribed entry fee. However, as the telecom minister mentioned in his press statement, a decision on the recommendation to bring IP-1 service providers (who are currently unlicensed passive infrastructure providers) under the licensing regime has been deferred for further examination.
How would these guidelines impact the competitive landscape of the telecom industry?
These guidelines address issues related to the migration of existing licensees to a uniform licensing regime and are expected to provide clarity on the separation of licences from spectrum. As such, these guidelines will not materially impact the competitive landscape, which would be driven by stipulations under NTP, 2012. These stipulations would be related to mergers and acquisitions, and active infrastructure sharing.
The guidelines would allow operators to deploy new services quickly, saving them the time and effort made in applying for and acquiring multiple licences – one for each service. It will also encourage mergers and acquisitions in the sector as operators which do not have the capability to offer diverse services would either merge with or be acquired by other companies. Further, unified licensing would facilitate competition and would be favourable for subscribers. To garner a higher market share, operators would be ready to offer a host of services; however, only those who have the financial and operational strength would survive the competition. Operators offering only one service would find it difficult to sustain competition as compared to those offering a complete service package.
These guidelines would have the largest impact on the internet service provider (ISP) market. Some of these players are very small in terms of operational area, with a limited internet subscriber base. It might not be easy for these players to meet the stipulated licence qualification criteria while migrating from the unified licence (restricted) to the unified licence regime.
Competition in the wireless market is likely to increase as companies holding spectrum for services such as broadband wireless access (BWA) would be able to provide triple-play services under the unified licence regime.
How are the proposed guidelines likely to impact the incumbent operators? What will be the financial implications?
The proposed guidelines would have a marginal impact on the incumbent operators. The universal licence regime lays down a minimum net worth and the financial criteria to acquire a licence and bid for spectrum. Most of the large operators will not face any major constraints in meeting the criteria.
The move towards unified licensing is likely to favour the incumbents. While market competition would increase, the incumbent operators, which have a large presence across the country, will have a significant advantage in terms of providing a bouquet of services.
Having said that, it cannot be ignored that incumbents have witnessed declining profits over the past year and a half. Moreover, once the sector achieves some clarity in terms of charges that should be levied on operators such as the licence fee and spectrum usage charges, these payouts would have a bearing on the financials of the incumbents.
Overall, the move towards unified licensing will be beneficial for the incumbents as they have the required capability to bear additional expenses as well as have strong promoter support.
The incumbent operators are not likely to be impacted significantly by the proposed guidelines as there would not be any change in the type of services that they can provide between the two licensing regimes. However, their competitiveness may change with BWA players being able to offer voice and related services.
The financial implication in terms of licence fee payouts is likely to be more perceptible at an individual operator level rather than at the industry level. As per the telecom minister’s press statement, there will be a uniform licence fee across licences and service areas, which would be progressively made equal to 8 per cent of the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) in two yearly steps starting from 2012-13. Under the current licensing regime, the licence fee varies from 6 per cent to 10 per cent of the AGR, based on the service area. The industry average is a little more than 8 per cent and, therefore, there will not be many changes overall. At present, the net payout towards the licence fee is a function of the subscriber split (hence revenues) across circles. A move towards a uniform licence fee would thus have implications at the individual operator level depending on the geography and revenue mix.
The proposed entry fee of Rs 200 million for a pan-Indian unified licence is a nominal charge as compared to the overall revenue of the incumbent operators. The combined impact of fixed as well as variable operator payouts is likely to be negligible.
What are the likely issues/challenges in the implementation of these guidelines?
We do not see any significant challenges in implementing these guidelines.
Although the guidelines will be beneficial for the sector, there are a few ambiguities in the recommendations. One issue could be the ambiguity regarding the licence fee to be paid by the operator as the recommendations do not throw any light on the percentage of the AGR that needs to be paid as the licence fee. While it does mention that the licence fee should be at least 10 per cent of the entry fee, TRAI, in its earlier recommendations on Spectrum Management and Licensing Framework, which were released in May 2010, had proposed that the licence fee should be brought to a uniform 6 per cent over a period of four years, that is, by 2014. However, no final decision in this regard has been taken. Also, there should be some clarity on the detailed migration plan, which has to be put in place for each type of licence. The guidelines should clearly mention the payment to be made by operators, refund of the licence fee, the entry fee, spectrum usage charges, interconnection usage charges, etc. to minimise roadblocks related to their implementation.
The government, telecom operators and end-consumers are the key stakeholders with regard to the implementation of the unified licence guidelines.
For the government, there would be no revenue loss. Moreover, there could be a higher revenue realisation from IP-1 and ISP players in view of the telecom minister’s press statement, which mentions the licence fee as 8 per cent of the AGR for all telecom services. However, a decision is awaited regarding the inclusion of IP-1 players in the unified licence regime. For telecom operators, the impact is likely to be more pronounced in the ISP sector. Given its small scale of operations, the ISP sector could witness consolidation after the implementation of these guidelines. The wireless telephony sector is not likely to be impacted significantly. While applying for a unified licence, operators are likely to focus on service areas that are their strongholds instead of going for pan-Indian operations.
Consumers of wireless telephony services are not likely to pose any challenges with respect to the implementation of the TRAI guidelines.
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Truckee-Tahoe Lumber Company’s Truckee location, photo by Sylas Wright
24 Feb Timber Tariffs Sting Tahoe Homebuilders
Written by Kyle Magin Posted at 03:00h in Around Town, Mountain Home Awards 2019 2 Comments
International trade policy lumbered into Tahoe’s homebuilding industry last year with pricy results.
Timber tariffs, targeting Canada, added tens of thousands of dollars to new home construction during the 2018 building season. Rising labor and fuel costs, and a hot housing market regionally, compounded the uptick’s financial impact.
Mark Tanner of Truckee-based Mark Tanner Construction says prices for a standard lumber package for a 4,000-square-foot home—the sort you may find in the Martis Camp development where Tanner’s team often has projects—increased from $125,000 to $145,000 during the 2018 building season. Siding packages rose from $55,000 to $70,000, he says.
A new home under construction in the Glenshire area, photo by Sylas Wright
“For a lot of our clients, it was sort of a ‘gulp,’ moment,” Tanner says. “They said, ‘OK, if that’s what it costs…’”
Tanner typically builds a 15 percent cushion into the budget for contingencies like the cost increase, so clients weren’t caught totally flat-footed, he says.
For background: In November 2017, the U.S. Department of Commerce finalized a roughly 20 percent tariff on softwood lumber imported from Canada. That’s the wood used in framing homes. Canada provides about 30 percent of the softwood timber used in American homes.
The levy came in response to a Department of Commerce review of the Canadian timber industry. The review found that Canada unfairly disadvantaged U.S. suppliers by providing subsidies to its timber companies, creating an artificial price 3 to 9 percent below market that Americans could not compete with, said U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in a bulletin about the review.
There “might be some small increase” in the price of lumber for a house, but it would “not necessarily” increase a home’s total price, Ross said when announcing the planned tariffs.
Results show they have.
“The current 20 percent tariffs on Canadian softwood lumber have contributed to huge price volatility which has been detrimental to the U.S. home building industry and American home buyers,” wrote National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB) Chair Karl Randy Noel in an October letter to President Trump asking him to reconsider the tariffs. The tariffs added $9,000, on average, to new homes in the United States, according to the NAHB.
Andrew Cross, of Truckee-Tahoe Lumber Company, a major supplier to local builders, says the increases, in the grand scheme of regional homebuilding, were “irrelevant.”
Lumber stacks at the Truckee-Tahoe Lumber Company, photos by Sylas Wright
“On some of these houses, the average framing package went up to $150,000 and the average siding package went up to $70,000, but that’s on a $5 million house,” he says.
Both Cross and Tanner note that a hot regional housing market—including Reno, where new starts in the last two building seasons have surged to their highest levels since 2005—have increased the demand for lumber and, consequently, the cost.
Sharing subcontractors and laborers with the Biggest Little City’s housing boom has also added to the cost, Tanner says.
Relief for homebuilders could be in sight for 2019, however.
Lumber prices fell from $638 per 1,000 board feet in May 2018 to $332.50 by early January this year, according to a Wall Street Journal report. New housing starts stagnated nationally—dropping 3.6 percent year-over-year in November 2018, and 4.6 percent from October 2018 to November 2018, according to the most recent figures available from the U.S. Census Bureau—signaling there may be less competition for lumber in 2019 and a leveling off of prices.
Stephen Grove
Posted at 04:18h, 20 March Reply
So prices were negatively affected, but then by the end of your article they had dropped by almost half for 1,000 board feet? And the title still remains that timber prices sting Tahoe home builders? That’s misleading. That’s what I would call a bait and switch. Why write something if by the end of the article you’re going to say, “But whatever the protagonist of my story was, well, that’s pretty much all fixed now?”
TIMBER TARIFFS STING TAHOE HOMEBUILDERS | Mark Tanner Construction
[…] by Kyle Magin in Around Town, Mountain Home Awards […]
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Home Interviews Interview: ANGRY ANDERSON
ANGRY ANDERSON talks about new live album ‘TATTS: LIVE IN BRUNSWICK’ and album tour
Thirty-five years ago, Australia’s booming ‘pub culture’ provided a fertile ground for the country’s live music scene and bands like The Angels, Cold Chisel and Rose Tattoo were permanent fixtures at boozy, smoky rock venues all around the country. Venues where your shoes stuck to the beer scented carpet like chewing gum and probably more than the legally allowed number of sweaty patrons filled the room to the rafters to see and hear their favourite bands play the songs that are now referred to as ‘classic hits’.
The Bombay Bicycle Club in Melbourne’s Brunswick was one such venue and the recently released ‘Tatts: Live in Brunswick’ is a 14-track album recorded live at the venue in the early 80s and now remastered to capture that time in the band’s history.
I caught up with singer Angry Anderson to talk about the live album and a series of gigs his band will be doing to promote this latest release.
According to Angry, it is believed that the recording was made at a Rose Tattoo gig at the venue in 1982. “We’re not absolutely sure but then again, never let the truth get in the way of a good tale. It’s the early 80s and we think it’s 1982. It’s the classic romantic story of the missing treasure trove and this one quite literally is true.” He tells me that there are, apparently, some missing tapes of out-cuts and tracks that didn’t make it on to the album, from the days when Rose Tattoo recorded with Alberts. “Alberts released it through a series of major labels like Festival originally I think and then EMI and then later on I think BMG maybe and then Sony. Having said that, we knew that there was a box of tapes from the studio sessions. We also knew that there were reels, tapes of live albums that had been recorded over the years.” As Angry points out, it seems that over the years many tapes of classic albums had been thrown out, probably by people who really didn’t understand what they were doing or the significance of the items they were discarding and there was, of course, the possibility that some of the tapes they were looking for might be among those. “So, our crew went looking through these labels at old warehouses.” Some of the boxes weren’t clearly marked and some weren’t marked at all. It was a tedious process, going through each box of tapes but the search proved fruitful. “Our crew found several boxes of missing tapes and so we’ve got enough live tapes for about half a dozen very good, very well recorded and played well enough on the night to release pretty much as they are. In fact, this one was remastered only digitally to boost the frequencies because it’s an old tape and that’s it. There’s no overdubs or anything, even though it was a multi-track, we felt that the recording was true enough and good enough. There’s some pretty rough moments in it but that’s the beauty of live music so we basically just remastered it and digitally refreshed it, so to speak, and it came out ‘warts and all’ as they say.”
He points out that there were a couple of songs that were not included on the album. In one instance, a fight had broken out close to the front of the stage. “And, as I used to do, I’ve stopped the band mid song and basically verbally gave these fellows a lashing, threatening them with physical violence and using language that shouldn’t appear (on the album). They chose not to reproduce that bit and the great thing about it was, we sort of launched back into the song almost at the point where we finished as if nothing had happened which was pretty funny but the language was too blue to put it on and there was another song where the tuning was really, really bad in the opening chords and the band kept playing and I tried to get in on the vocal and just couldn’t because the tuning was pretty bad.” He believes that this recording really captures the feel of the band’s live shows during that period and is a good representation of what the gigs were like back in the day. “There’s a few songs off the first album and a couple of songs off the second album but predominantly the songs are off the new album which at that stage was ‘Scarred for Life’. We were just writing those songs and we recorded the album around about that time and then we took it straight to America and that was ’83. We toured in America in ‘83 and that was the year a lot of things changed for me, not just musically but my daughter was born so I decided to clean myself up as a person from my physical habit as well as my emotional dependencies etc. It’s a real slice out of a pivotal moment for Rose Tattoo because, in a roundabout sort of way, it was the beginning of the recognition that Rose Tattoo now enjoys internationally. When we toured ‘Scarred for Life’ in America, we toured part of the year with ZZ Top, part of the year with Aerosmith, we toured with Nazareth, we toured with a couple of other bands doing smaller venues and that was when we met the boys that went on to form Guns ‘n’ Roses. So, it was a very pivotal moment in our life; in the history of the band, for a lot of different reasons.”
“We were never very comfortable in the studio. We liked what we produced but we saw ourselves more as a live act. Most bands will say that but a lot of bands really record well. They can do that right from the very beginning. They just have a natural affinity with the studio or they’re very good at being recorded or having themselves recorded. We were a live band and we just lived to play live. We toured obsessively. We hated not being on the road and that took its toll later on but we weren’t to know that at the time. It was going to wear us out or burn us out.”
“Anyway I signed up with a few other old crusties, joined a new label called Golden Robot and they signed a bunch of old war dogs, rock dogs, rock pigs whatever you want to call them because their philosophy was that these people helped to establish the industry and they’re without deals so the guy who started the label thought that was a travesty of justice and people like myself and a few others should have deals so we were offered deals and, quite properly, he has signed a bunch of new acts because they’re the future. It’s kind of like having faith in your own industry.” Angry readily admits to not knowing some of these new, younger artists but, he says, “having listened to some of their music, I think there’s some really talented young people out there doing some really, really good stuff.”
Acknowledging that the music scene has changed a great deal over the years, he recalls what it was like thirty or forty years ago when the so-called ‘pub culture’ kept live music going in this country. “As you know, in our day, you used to play a different pub every night of the week. You could do that for weeks and weeks and weeks or months in a row, moving from state to state of course but in N.S.W. alone, there must have been fifty big pubs you could play at any one given time. There was a big rock pub in every main town. It was a better industry then, as far as fertility goes. It was nurtured and supported. (There was) some amazing talent. We have been doing a bunch of shows in recent years, ten or twelve bands each playing a couple of songs from the seventies and the eighties. I remember sitting around having a conversation with Glenn Shorrock and Ralph (Richard Clapton), the guys from 1927, Pseudo Echo and Ross Wilson was there and we were just nattering about the old days and none of them have got a major deal anymore,” he laments, remarking on what a travesty it is. “Because these people are even better than they were back then. You keep on doing gigs for a lot of different reasons but one of the benefits, one of the bonuses is that you get better at it.”
And right now, he is happy to ‘blow the trumpet long and loud’ for his new band. “The Angry Anderson Band, (until we get a proper name),” he says, “is arguably some of the best rock players in the country and so we’re getting an amazing musicianship. We play the entire set and I have to say, these guys are so good that they could easily be Rose Tattoo in name.” But Angry is adamant that he has no immediate plans to reform Rose Tattoo. “I promised our drummer (Paul DeMarco) that I wouldn’t reform the band; that I would only reform the band to celebrate him getting out of jail. Having said that, part of his rehabilitation process is that he gets rid of his addictions and he’s got to work very, very hard and has been for the last three years to put that chapter, that episode, that part of his life behind him. And one of the things I promised him was that (in) Rose Tatts, he’s the drummer. That’s a commitment and I intend to keep it and when he gets out, we’ll reform the band but like I said, the band that we’ve got now… my band… is as good a band as I’ve ever been in. They are on fire.”
The Angry Anderson Band is Angry on vocals, Dai Pritchard on lead and slide guitar; as Angry explains, Dai took over from Pete Wells when he became too sick to travel. “So, he’s been in the band twelve years at least, maybe longer”; Peter Heckenberg on drums; Dario Bortolin on bass and Joel McDonald, rhythm and soloist guitarist.
“One of the things which is really good is that it’s very boyish. It’s great when you realise there’s still boyishness within you. We’re so happy with this band and we’re grinning from ear to ear every time we talk together on the phone and particularly when we get on stage. This is such a great band. We want to play; we want to play all the time, every night of the week. You know what I mean? It’s that kind of enthusiasm. And that’s terrific because I’m happy to say that most of the people that have been around as long as I have, we’re back doing it and no one does it better and we’re all so charged, we’re so in love with what we do, and falling in love with our own music and that’s the great thing. When we go out and play back to where we started and you get all these younger people in the crowd, and they’re just looking at you with big eyes and they sing all the words and you know that they’re getting it. You know it; you can feel it; you can see it; you can taste it.”
You can catch The Angry Anderson Band on their
‘TATTS: LIVE IN BRUNSWICK’ ALBUM TOUR
at the following venues:
NEWCASTLE SHOW
Friday, May 5 | Beresfield Bowling Club | Free Entry
SYDNEY SHOW
w/ The Kids and Darcee Fox
Thursday, May 11 | The Bridge Hotel, Rozelle | Ticket link (Moshtix)
TATTS: LIVE IN BRUNSWICK
released via Golden Robot Records
SFR Store (fan bundles/signed CDs) | http://bit.ly/RT-LIB-SFRStore
iTunes | http://bit.ly/RT-LIB-iTunes
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Rock Club 40 chats with MARY RENSHAW about LIVE WIRE – BON SCOTT
He was best known to millions of fans around the world as the …
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Home Interviews Interview: MICK BOWER (1965 MASTERS APPRENTICES)
Interview: MICK BOWER (1965 MASTERS APPRENTICES)
It is more than fifty years since Adelaide musicians Mick Bower and Brian Vaughton formed a band called The Mustangs. When they decided to advertise for a new lead singer, a young man named Jim Keays applied for – and got – the job and the rest is history. From these humble beginnings, a major force was thrust onto the Australian music scene. The Masters Apprentices made their mark and became an important part of our rock and roll soundscape.
Now, five decades later, the original members have reunited and they will be performing as the 1965 Masters Apprentices at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne on Friday, 1st September when they will honour their late bandmate Jim Keays with their first Melbourne show.
I caught up with guitarist and founding member Mick Bower, to talk about the show and a bit of Masters Apprentices’ history.
“There were five of us,” he explains. “The singers came and went in the very early days but we decided we needed to change our tact. We needed to change our repertoire. We were just doing covers. We wanted to go more rhythm and blues. We’d seen an Adelaide group called The Others who were just fantastic and their repertoire of all that blues stuff and we decided that was the direction we wanted to go in so we advertised. The singer we had at the time just wanted to sing Elvis and Cliff Richard all the time and he did that very well but that wasn’t what we wanted.” So they placed an ad in a music shop in Adelaide and three or four people answered the ad and came along for an interview; one of whom was Jim Keays who shared the same musical tastes as the rest of the band. The rest is history. So the band changed their musical direction. “And we started to write our own songs.” Astor Records took an interest in the band and they recorded ‘Undecided’ and ‘War or Hands of Time’.
“And then we went to Melbourne for a week’s work in the middle of winter. We stayed at the Sunshine Caravan Park and that really was a wake-up. You were more dirty when you came back from the showers than when you went over there. You were up to your hocks in mud! It was an experience. I hadn’t been to Melbourne before and coming from a small town like Adelaide, it was a big shock to me. Everything’s happening. It was exciting for young people. We did a few jobs at the Thumping Tum and Sebastian’s and the Biting Eye. Then we came back to Adelaide and we got some good reports from Adelaide and our record ‘Undecided’ was released. Well, it was going to take off, wasn’t it? We were going to be big stars. Week after week went by and nothing happened and it wasn’t until about three or four months went by, that we got a telegram from Melbourne. ‘Undecided’ was No. 4 on 3UZ and after all that time, it finally happened. We wanted ‘War or Hands of Time’ to be the A Side but the DJs around the country who played the songs felt that ‘Undecided’ was the one that was going to go further so that became the A Side.”
“And then it began. We had decisions to make. Are we going to leave our jobs and turn professional? We’re 18 and 19 and our parents supported our music and the band but give up your job and go to Melbourne with no guarantees? That doesn’t sound too smart. But we were up for it. We were young and reckless and believed in ourselves. Brian the drummer stayed in Adelaide and we replaced him with Steve Hoffman who had been drumming for The Others and we were in Melbourne for about four or five months and Rick Morrison our other guitarist became ill. He wasn’t coping with this unhealthy life and he left and went back to Adelaide and we got Tony Sommers who had been playing I think with Johnny Young. Then we commenced recording and so we recorded ‘In a Child’s Dream’. We were doing pretty well around Melbourne and we did a couple of tours of Sydney. We did a lot of touring plus Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights we’d be working at the clubs if we weren’t touring. It was a very demanding, draining sort of life.”
The idea to get the band members together again came about when Masters Apprentices were inducted into the South Australian Music Hall of Fame in Adelaide. “We went into the ARIA Hall of Fame some years ago but there was a new South Australian Music Hall of Fame started up in Adelaide and we were inducted into that and so we had to get back together and practice half a dozen songs and so on. We were very well received here in Adelaide and Rob thought to himself well this might have some legs. We’ve done the odd job sparingly since and it’s worked out very well. We were very well received at the Adelaide Fringe. It was a big success. It’s great that there are people from the mid-60s to early 70s who were so into music then and just want to come back and listen to the real thing, the raw rock and roll and blues. It’s the music they remember.”
Unfortunately, Rick and Gavin are not able to make it to Melbourne for health reasons. “Their health is not quite up to it to go interstate at this stage so we’re using John Bywaters from The Twilights and Rick Harrison who replaced me in the Masters. He was there for two or three months, so the line-up for the Melbourne show will be Brian Vaughton, Rob Pippan, Ian ‘Polly’ Politus, John Bywaters, Rick Harrison, Craig Holden, Matthew MacNamee, Nanette Van Ruitin and me. We’re getting a good sound going. Mike Rudd with Spectrum will be opening for us and then I’m pretty sure he’s going to sing ‘Boy from the Stars’, with us as a tribute to Jim.”
Reminiscing about his time with Masters Apprentices, Mick says “It was all a bit magical really. You had to keep your head on your shoulders. You met a lot of interesting people. Some are nice and some not so nice. That’s show business. It’s another life by night and if you’re not terribly used to that, it can be a bit awesome. I have good memories. My best memories are back before we turned professional; before it became a job.”
He recalls how it felt when their single ‘Undecided’ made the charts. “We had been well received wherever we played so we felt pretty positive on the feedback but when we recorded ‘Undecided’, then we knew that it was worth giving it a go.”
“It’s great that we get positive feedback that people liked our songs. We played, I think, an important role in the evolution of popular music in Australia. We had our place and a lot of other bands did too. I suppose we had our share of good fortune as well. A lot of bands that are very, very good don’t get anywhere. You do need to have good fortune.”
1965 Masters Apprentices play one show at the Corner Hotel Friday 1st September. Tickets are available here.
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Rock Club 40 chats with IRENE THORNTON
It was 1971 and Irene Thornton was a young woman with her whole life …
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Uncovering Different Kinds
of Torah Passages
Sections of the Torah that have Special Status in Rabbinic Literature
Rabbinic literature exhibits several approaches to the status of the revelation of different parts of the Torah, approaches that differ substantially from that of Maimonides. I have chosen from among the many sources several examples in which this phenomenon is particularly significant.
We will begin with the approach found in the Jerusalem Talmud, tractate Megillah (3:7), in which the singularity of particular parts of the Torah is expressed in the obligation to recite blessings before and after reciting them:
Rabbi Jonathan the Scribe came here from Gufta. He saw Bar Avuna the Scribe reading the Song of the Well and reciting blessings before and after it. He said to him: “Is this done?” He responded: “Do you still not know this? All [biblical] songs require blessings before and after them.” It was asked of Rabbi Simon. Rabbi Simon said in the name of Rabbi Joshua b. Levi: “The only passages that require blessings before and after them are the Song of the Sea, the Decalogue, the curses in Leviticus, and the curses in Deuteronomy.” Rabbi Abahu said: “I had not heard this, but these words make sense in connection with the Decalogue.” Rabbi Jose said in the name of Rabbi Bon: “The last eight verses of Deuteronomy require blessings before and after them.”
In the parallel passage in the Babylonian Talmud, there is a narrower reference to the topic with a different halakhic implication:
A Tanna taught: “When one begins [reciting the blessings and curses that are read on fast days] one begins with the verse before them, and when one concludes, one concludes with the verse after them.” Abaye said: “This is taught only with respect to the curses in Leviticus, but with respect to the curses in Deuteronomy, one may break.” What is the reason? The former were spoken in the plural, and Moses spoke what God said. But the latter were spoken in the singular, and Moses said them himself (b. Megillah 31b).
This source notes that there are verses in the Torah that were spoken by Moses and not by God. This fits the plain meaning of the biblical texts, but it is the very statement that the Gemara in Sanhedrin defines as despising the word of the Lord!
“…One who says ‘the whole Torah is from heaven except this verse, which was not said by the Holy One blessed be He but by Moses himself’ is included in ‘because he despised the word of the Lord’” (b. Sanhedrin 99a).
The commentators sensed the contradiction between the plain meaning of the biblical texts and the Gemara in Sanhedrin, or else just the contradiction between the Talmudic passages. Nahmanides (1194-1270) and others claimed that although Moses spoke the words himself and, therefore, they began as human words, at some stage God had them written down and thus they became words of the living God.[11] Rabbi Nissim of Gerona (Ran, 1320-1376) also went in this direction, but in light of the ruling of Abaye, which argues that there is a difference between these verses and the rest of the Torah, he claims that at the end of the process there remained differences in status between these words and the rest of the Torah.[12]
“Torah from Heaven” or “Law of Moses from Sinai”
The expressions “Torah from heaven” and “law of Moses from Sinai” appear in rabbinic literature with various meanings that do not fit the image or context of a dictated Torah. In some instances, the word “Torah” describes only parts of the Pentateuch. The expression “law of Moses from Sinai” is applied, at times, to laws that were not spoken at Sinai.
The passages that discuss Moses’ rebuke of the people in the book of Deuteronomy are not the only ones that describe differences in the level of revelation of different verses. The following midrash (Lev. Rab. 1) describes the receiving of the Torah in a number of stages and in different types of revelation:
A different interpretation: ‘He called to Moses, and the Lord spoke’: From here they said that a boor is better than any scholar who does not have sense. Know that this is true: Come and learn from Moses, the father of wisdom, father of the prophets, who brought Israel out of Egypt and by whose hand several miracles were performed in Egypt, ‘wonders in the land of Ham, awesome deeds at the Sea of Reeds’ (Psalm 106:22). He went to the highest heavens and brought the Torah from heaven, and he was involved in the building of the tabernacle. Yet even he did not go in to the Holy of Holies until He called him, as it says: ‘He called to Moses, and spoke…’[13]
Leviticus Rabba tells the story of the formation of the Torah in a completely different way from the Babylonian Talmud in tractate Megillah. As I understand it, the Torah that was given at Sinai according to the authors of this midrash is the Book of the Covenant and the commandments relating to the tabernacle. Although it is possible to suggest a broader position, it would still be confined to Genesis and to the events preceding the revelation at Sinai at most. According to this description, the “Torah” that was given from heaven at Sinai does not include the divine revelation to Moses described in the book of Leviticus, let alone all the narrative events after the revelation at Sinai.
The difference between these views recalls the debate mentioned in the Babylonian Talmud:
Rabbi Ishmael says: “The general principles were spoken at Sinai and the details at the tent of meeting.” Rabbi Akiva says: “The general principles and the details were spoken at Sinai, repeated at the tent of meeting, and repeated a third time in the plains of Moab” (b. Chagigah 6a, b. Sotah 37b).
“The Torah” as a Term Referencing Particular Revelations or Sections
The rabbinic sources that we have seen suggest a view that the Torah was given in the variety of revelations described in the verses according to their plain sense. In different places, the rabbis used the expression “Torah from Sinai” and “from heaven” in order to comment on a particular revelation, or alternatively on the truth of words of Torah, and not as a precise description of the means of their transmission. We have seen this usage in the words of the poskim, the Rishonim, and the Acharonim with respect to the status of the Decalogue. In Sifre Deuteronomy (Ha’azinu, 306) it is clear that the Rabbis call only the revelation at Sinai “Torah from heaven”:
A different interpretation: ‘Hear O heavens and I will speak’(Deuteronomy 32:1): This refers to the fact that the Torah was given from heaven, as it says: ‘You have seen that I spoke to you from the heavens’(Exodus 20:19). ‘And let the earth hear the words of my mouth’(Deuteronomy 32:1):on which the Israelites stood and said, ‘All that God spoke we will obey and we will hear’(Exodus 24:7).
Similarly, in connection with Jethro’s counsel and the Book of the Covenant mentioned at the end of Parashat Mishpatim, Pesikta de-Rav Kahana (12) cites Rabbi Joshua b. Levi, who refers to Parsahat Mishpatim alone as “Torah.” Another source that may be interpreted this way is found in the debate in tractate Gitin (70a), which presents the opinion that the Torah was given in individual scrolls (and not sealed) and that therefore not the whole Torah was given at Sinai.
The Babylonian Talmud in Sanhedrin interpreted the idea of “Torah from heaven” that appears in the Mishnah as describing the means of transmission of the Torah, but as is generally the case in rabbinic literature, the expressions “from Heaven” and “from Sinai” do not always indicate the means of transmission to people. Rabbi Nehemiah in Kohelet Rabba (5:2) includes under the heading of “law of Moses from Sinai” the additional writings (tosafot) of the house of Rabbi and Rabbi Nathan, and even what a senior student will say to his teacher in the future:
Rabbi Nehemiah says: ‘The greatest advantage (yitron) in the land is his’ – Things that seem extra (meyutarin) in the Torah, such as the additional writings of the house of Rabbi and the additional writings of Rabbi Nathan, and the laws of sojourners and slaves—even these were given to Moses at Sinai. And, for example, the laws of fringes (tzitzit), phylacteries (tefilin), and mezuzot are included in “Torah,” as is written (Deuteronomy 9:10): ‘The Lord gave me the two stone tablets written by the finger of God, and on them was according to all the words’; and it says there (Deuteronomy 8:1): ‘all the commandments that I am commanding you, etc.’ Not only ‘all’ but ‘according to all’; not only ‘words’ but ‘the words’; not only ‘commandments’ but ‘the commandments’. This means that scripture, the Mishnah, the law, the Talmud, additional writings, legends, and even what a senior student will say to his teacher in the future were all given to Moses at Sinai.[14]
Likewise, the Jerusalem Talmud implies that there are legal rulings that are considered ‘law of Moses from Sinai’:
Rabbi Lazer said: “Everywhere where they learned truth(be-emet), it is the law of Moses from Sinai.”[15]
The problem is that “they spoke in truth (be-emet)” is also said about things that are clearly rabbinic in origin. Thus, Rabbi Asher b. Yehiel (Rosh, ca.1259-1327), referencing Rabbi Isaac b. Samuel of Dampierre (Ri the Elder, 1115-1184), writes:
Ri (Isaac of Dampierre) says that we do not find anywhere that the rules of what invalidates a ritual bath are “law of Moses from Sinai.” And if we do find a source that states this, we should interpret it in accordance with the meaning of this phrase in the baraita in Chagiga [3a]: “There is a law of Moses from Sinai that the lands of Ammon and Moab are subject to the laws of the poor tithe in the sabbatical year,” which means only: This is a clear ruling, as if it were a law given to Moses at Sinai. Moreover, any time the term “in truth” (be-emet) is used, it is a law [of Moses from Sinai, so to speak], as it says throughout the Talmud regarding matters of rabbinic origin.[16]
We find this in the Babylonian Talmud(Megillah, 19b), where Rabbi Chiyya b. Abba says in the name of Rabbi Yochanan that even innovations that will originate in the future, and not only things that will be said, as in Kohelet Rabba, are “law of Moses from Sinai.”
Rabbi Chiyya b. Abba said in the name of Rabbi Yochanan: What is the meaning of ‘And on all of them was according to all the words that the Lord spoke to you on the mountain’? It teaches that the Holy One blessed be He showed Moses the minutiae of the Torah and the minutiae of the scribes, and the innovations that would be introduced by the scribes. And what are these? The reading of the Book of Esther.
Part 4 – Echoes of Maimonides’ View in Medieval Biblical Interpretation
[11] Nachmanides wrote about this in his introduction to Genesis, Don Isaac Abarbanel discussed it extensively at the beginning of the book of Deuteronomy, and his contemporary, Rabbi Isaac b. Rabbi Joseph Karo, uncle of Rabbi Joseph Karo, discussed it in his book Toldot Yitzchak in several places.
[12] Ran on the Rif, Megillah 11a, s.v. הללו משה מפי עצמו אמרן.
[13]See also Eliyahu Rabba (Ish Shalom) parasha 7. And in Avot de-Rabbi Nathan,version1, chapter 1: “The Torah was given by Moses at Sinai, as it says: ‘He wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me’(Deuteronomy 5:19). And further on it says ‘The laws and statutes and teachings that the Lord gave between Him and the Israelites at Sinai by Moses’(Leviticus 26:46).”
[14]Likewise Exodus Rabba (Shinan) Va’era 10. And it would be impossible not to cite the Babylonian Talmud, Menachot 29b, which describes Moses’ visit to Rabbi Akiva’s house of learning; the latter refers to a law that he is teaching, which Moses does not recognize or understand, as “law of Moses from Sinai,” and it is clear that this is not a historical description. See Shmuel Safrai, “‘Law of Moses from Sinai’ – History or Theology?” Mechkere Talmud 1 (5750): 11–38 [Hebrew]. In his treatment of the gemara, in Menachot, Safrai writes: “Moses does not understand even the very law that Rabbi Akiva calls ‘law of Moses from Sinai’ because Rabbi Akiva innovated in the law, and because they refer to words of Torah as ‘law of Moses from Sinai.’ This means that everything that is created and erected as a Jewish law has its origin in the law of Moses, and it is a continuation of the course of the Torah and law that was given to Moses at Sinai and spoken at Horeb…”
[15] j. Kilayim 2:27; see also j. Terumot 2:41; j. Shabbat 1:3, 10:12; j. Nazir 7:56.
[16] Rosh Tractate Niddah, “Laws of Ritual Baths,” §1; see also what he says further on.
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The Decalogue: Are Female Readers Included?
Can all social change be antedated back to Sinai?
Prof. Athalya Brenner-Idan
Moses and Aaron with the Ten Commandments. Painted by Aron de Chaves, Amsterdam, 1674, for the Creechurch Lane Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue.
My first reflections on the Decalogue from a feminist perspective were published over two decades ago.[1] At that time, consciousness of the Bible’s male-biased language was not high on the agenda of many readers. The situation is different today. Language-bias is less politically correct, not only in social and political life, but also in biblical interpretation. There is a tendency, so very pronounced, to preserve so-called “biblical values” by presenting them as gender-neutral or “inclusive.”[2] Since the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, are often culturally accepted as of “universal” value, a return visit to this far from gender-egalitarianism inspiring text is in order.
Whom Is God Addressing?
The Decalogue is extant in two versions: one in Exodus 20, the other in Deuteronomy 5. The numerous minor variations between the two texts do not mask the fact that the two passages are, essentially, the same text. Major differences between the two versions, as seen in the differing motivation supplied for the Sabbath in each version (Exod. 20.8-11; Deut. 5.12-15), are rare; minor differences that make little difference for interpretation are more common.[3] But, despite these smaller and larger differences, the two versions share an important premise: they are addressed to males, and are typified by masculine 2nd person singular “[m.] you” imperatives, whether formulated in the negative or the positive modes.
Am I, a female reader, to view myself as unproblematically included in that form of address? I know that, grammatically speaking, male gendered verbs in Biblical Hebrew include females as well. This is especially true in plural verbs, and loosely so for singular verbs, but this grammatical custom does not feel like a sufficient response to the problem, since the uniform appearance of only male verbs quashes female subjectivity.
Imagine a picture of only men with the caption “people.” If the photographer were to say, “of course, women are people too, but they are being included implicitly,” this would hardly make women viewing the picture feel included. In fact, the lack of female subjectivity in the text is usually matched by the lack’s suppression by lay and scholarly exegesis alike.[4]
Explicit Exclusion of Women
Serious consideration of the exclusion-of-women problem in the account of the revelation of the Decalogue came with Judith Plaskow’s pioneering work, Standing Again at Sinai.[5] She begins by pointing out that the exclusion of women from the Sinai experience is embedded in the introduction of the Decalogue in Exodus:
שמות יט:טו וַיֹּאמֶר אֶל הָעָם הֱיוּ נְכֹנִים לִשְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים אַֽל תִּגְּשׁוּ אֶל אִשָּׁה:
Exod 19:15 And he said to the community, “Be ready in three days’ time, do not come [both verbs are in the grammatical masculine plural] near a woman” (my translation).
The “community” here is defined as the community of men. Thus, the text actually and decidedly excludes women from standing at Sinai and from receiving the Commandments, thus from participating equally in the foundational myth of Torah reception. That the rabbis reinterpreted the Sinai episode so that women were Standing Again at Sinai, according to Plaskow and her successors, is hardly a consolation for me—although I can empathize with the necessity to get there, even at this late stage. The point is that in the Torah’s picture of the scene, I was never standing there in the first place.
The Masculine Tone of the Verses
Am I being too sensitive? I do not think so. So that I am not suspected of exaggerating, I here reproduce the 1985 JPS (Jewish Publication society) translation of Deuteronomy 5.6-18[21]. The decision to reproduce the JPS translation is a deliberate one: it is widely used by Conservative and Reform Jewish congregations as their authoritative Bible; and these precisely are the communities seeking inclusive options for contemporary Judaism.
In my reproduction of the text, every time the addressee or any other gendered person/humans that is defined in the original Hebrew as a grammatical “[m.] you,” in pronoun or noun or verb, is highlighted in yellow for the addressed; other males and females in purple and blue respectively (other than YHWH, who is also male). The address is mostly in masculine singular.
דברים ה:ו אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם מִבֵּית עֲבָדִים. ז לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹהִים אֲחֵרִים עַל פָּנָיַ.
Deut. 5:6 I the LORD am your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, the house of bondage: 7 You shall have no other gods beside Me.
ה:ח לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה לְךָ פֶסֶל כָּל תְּמוּנָה אֲשֶׁר בַּשָּׁמַיִם מִמַּעַל וַאֲשֶׁר בָּאָרֶץ מִתָּחַת וַאֲשֶׁר בַּמַּיִם מִתַּחַת לָאָרֶץ. ט לֹא תִשְׁתַּחֲוֶה לָהֶם וְלֹא תָעָבְדֵם כִּי אָנֹכִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֵל קַנָּא פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת עַל בָּנִים וְעַל שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל רִבֵּעִים לְשֹׂנְאָי.י וְעֹשֶׂה חֶסֶד לַאֲלָפִים לְאֹהֲבַי וּלְשֹׁמְרֵי מצותו [מִצְוֹתָי].
5:8 You shall not make for yourself a sculptured image, any likeness of what is in the heavens above, or on the earth below, or in the waters below the earth.9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I the LORD your God am an impassioned God, visiting the guilt of the parents [Hebrew: fathers] upon the [Hebrew: sons] children, upon the third and upon the fourth generations of those who reject Me, 10 but showing kindness to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
ה:יא לֹא תִשָּׂא אֶת שֵׁם יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַשָּׁוְא כִּי לֹא יְנַקֶּה יְהוָה אֵת אֲשֶׁר יִשָּׂא אֶת שְׁמוֹ לַשָּׁוְא.
5:11 You shall not swear falsely by the name of the LORD your God; for the LORD will not clear one who swears falsely by His name.
ה:יב שָׁמוֹר אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת לְקַדְּשׁוֹ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ. יג שֵׁשֶׁת יָמִים תַּעֲבֹד וְעָשִׂיתָ כָּֿל מְלַאכְתֶּךָ. יד וְיוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי שַׁבָּת לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לֹא תַעֲשֶׂה כָל מְלָאכָה אַתָּה וּבִנְךָ וּבִתֶּךָ וְעַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתֶךָ וְשׁוֹרְךָ וַחֲמֹרְךָ וְכָל בְּהֶמְתֶּךָ וְגֵרְךָ אֲשֶׁר בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ לְמַעַן יָנוּחַ עַבְדְּךָ וַאֲמָתְךָ כָּמוֹךָ. טו וְזָכַרְתָּ כִּי עֶבֶד הָיִיתָ בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם וַיֹּצִאֲךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ מִשָּׁם בְּיָד חֲזָקָה וּבִזְרֹעַ נְטוּיָה עַל כֵּן צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת יוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת.
5:12 Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; you shall not do any work — you, your son or your daughter, your male or female slave, your ox or your ass, or any of your cattle, or the stranger in your settlements, so that your male and female slave may rest as you do. 15Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and the LORD your God freed you from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God has commanded you to observe the sabbath day.
ה:טז כַּבֵּד אֶת אָבִיךָ וְאֶת אִמֶּךָ כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוְּךָ יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ לְמַעַן יַאֲרִיכֻן יָמֶיךָ וּלְמַעַן יִיטַב לָךְ עַל הָאֲדָמָה אֲשֶׁר יְהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לָךְ.
5:16 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, that you may long endure [Hebrew: so that your life be long], and that you may fare well, in the land that the LORD your God is assigning to you.
ה:יז לֹא תִּֿרְצָח וְלֹא תִּֿנְאָף וְלֹא תִּֿגְנֹב וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה בְרֵעֲךָ עֵד שָׁוְא.
5:17 You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor [Hebrew: friend, comrade].
ה:יח וְלֹא תַחְמֹד אֵשֶׁת רֵעֶךָ וְלֹא תִתְאַוֶּה בֵּית רֵעֶךָ שָׂדֵהוּ וְעַבְדּוֹ וַאֲמָתוֹ שׁוֹרוֹ וַחֲמֹרוֹ וְכֹל אֲשֶׁר לְרֵעֶךָ.
5:18 You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not crave your neighbor’s house, or his field, or his male or female slave, or his ox, or his ass, or anything that is your neighbor’s.
Needless to say, there is neither a direct nor an indirect address to females in this entire text. The language, which in Hebrew is much more gendered than in English, tells it all. This is man-to-man stuff. As we saw, ha‘am, “the people” or “community” are cited as receiving the divine communication, and the ‘am is decidedly male. To assume otherwise would be misleading and less than naïve.[6]
Details Addressed to Men
What about the contents and formulations of the Commandments themselves? Yhwh’s self-definition, exclusivity, warning against paganism, and proscription against illegitimate pronouncements of God’s name, attributed to his own voice (Deut. 5:6-1; Exod. 20:2-7), overtly implicate an all-male audience. Thankfully the likes of me, daughters and female slaves at least, are cited as participants in the Sabbath rest together (if in second place to males) with other social inferiors to and dependents of males (Deut. 5:14; Exod. 20:10).[7]
It is gratifying that respect and support are due to mothers (in the second place, after fathers in this text’s word order[8]—in a bound collocation that hardly raises an eyebrow[9]) as well as fathers, although, once more, the collective addressee enjoined so to act is denoted by linguistic usage to be an m/M– m[grammatical masculine]/M [social male]–addressee (Deut. 5:16; Exod. 20:12). The prohibitions concerning killing, theft and perjury are m/M oriented. So is the prohibition of adultery addressed only to men (Deut. 5:17; Exod. 20:13), and logic be hanged.
The last Commandment is addressed explicitly only to men, just as the standing at Sinai verse was. It prohibits envy—covetousness of a male’s material possessions: his house, his male and female slaves, his domestic animals, his whatever (Deut. 5:18; Exod. 20:14). And what about his wife? There she is: in Exodus she appears between “house” and “slaves,” but in Deuteronomy she is positioned first as the prize possession and coveting her becomes a prohibition in and of itself. Female envy—of other women’s husbands or property for instance—and its possible outcome is not referred to.
A Vision of Divine Social Order
Riddled with Inequalities
The Decalogue—as most readers will probably agree—is a manifesto that expresses some of the indispensable religious, moral and social norms required for the survival of human communities. This document presents a vision of a just, divinely regulated social order, hence is widely acclaimed as universally valid.
But to judge by its language and content, that vision is far from egalitarian with respect to gender and class. It accepts slavery, perpetuates the otherness of social inferiors (including the otherness of the ger, the “sojourner” or “client”), and promotes gender discrimination. Like the entire Bible, it is a reflection of its time and space, no doubt. Insight into the historical circumstances that engendered this document hardly masks the obvious. This manifesto of inequality is time-, class- and place-bound. But the vested gender interests that inform some of the edicts do not detract from the potentially wide applicability of most religious and social obligations and prohibitions related to females either as objects in language or/and social inferiors.
How Does a Modern Woman Adopt the Ten Commandments?
Not with Apologetic Translations
Within the tradition of interpretation, then, women are affected by the Decalogue, in spite of the fact that their active participation in the event is non-existent. Interpretation decrees that women are expected to be silently obedient, bound by the Commandments as implicitly sub-categorized addressees. If and when they are translated into inclusion, this is done at a price. The price is falsifying, or at the very least misrepresenting, a biblical text in order to create a present social climate more beneficial to women—and to well-wishing men. Is it worth it? I am not sure.
And so to a conclusion of sorts. Am I exempt, then, from heeding the Ten Commandments? Not so, I suppose, since it is largely agreed that I am by proxy a subgenre of the m[grammatical masculine]/M [social male] “you,” indirectly implicated albeit never explicitly addressed. My protestations that such language does not bind me, that my absence from the language constitutes an exemption, are hardly ever taken seriously. At worst, or at best, when the exclusion is taken seriously, attempts to correct the situation are clumsy and misleading. At best, or at worst, feminists who point out the problem are likely to be reprimanded for their uncalled for over-sensitivity—or objection—to an inclusive language at all costs.
What, then, should we do? For me, now as in the past, the answer is clear although not simple. We should have the courage to admit that the Bible should and can be updated, not by re-writing it through translation and interpretation, but through looking at it and saying: This is how things were, but this is how we want them to be. We can accomplish these changes by departure—but not at the price of claiming that our beloved version, the cornerstone of our contemporary community, is something else than it actually and originally is. Not all social change, perhaps, can be antedated back to the Sinai myth or similar ones.
Prof. Athalya Brenner-Idan is Professor (Emerita) of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament chair at the Universiteit van Amsterdam, The Netherlands, and is currently at Biblical Studies, in the Department of Hebrew Culture Studies, Tel Aviv University, Israel. She has a Ph.D. from Manchester University (England), an honorary Ph.D. from the University of Bonn (Germany), an M.A. from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and a B.A. from Haifa University. Among her publications are, I Am: Biblical Women Tell their own Stories (2005) and The Israelite Woman: Social Role and Literary Type in Biblical Narrative (1st edition 1985, 2nd 2014). She is also the editor of the series, A Feminist Companion to the Bible (19 volumes, 1993-2001).
[1] A short piece named “The Ten Commandments: Am I an Addressee?” was originally written at the request of Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Magonet, former principle of the Leo Baeck This College in London, and later published as Athalya Brenner, “An Afterword: The Decalogue—Am I an Addressee”. In A Feminist Companion to Exodus—Deuteronomy (ed. Athalya Brenner; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1994), 255-258
[2] See for instance, David E.S. Stein, ed.; Adele Berlin, Ellen Frankel, and Carol L. Meyers, consulting editors, The Contemporary Torah: A Gender-Sensitive Adaptation of the JPS Translation (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006). This is an inclusive “adaptation” of the JPS translation, widely used by Jewish readers, including scholars. For a review of this translation, see Linda S. Schearing in http://www.bookreviews.org.
[3] For an analysis of the differences in the Shabbat law, see Marty Lockshin’s TABS essay, “The Existence of Two Versions of the Decalogue.”
[4] A notable exception to this state of affairs at the time was David Clines’ “The Ten Commandments: Reading from Left to Right,” in which the address of gender issues in the two Decalogues receives a critical treatment alongside the treatment accorded other social, economic, theological and religious issues. See: David J.A. Clines, “The Ten Commandments: Reading from Left to Right,” in Interested Parties: The Ideology of Writers and Readers of the Hebrew Bible (ed. David J.A. Clines; Sheffield: Sheffield Phoenix, 2009). Hagith Sivan’s work (2004) was also a notable exception, since she attempted to delineate Israelite manhood and womanhood precisely through the gender distinction of the Decalogue. See Hagith Sivan, Between Woman, Man and God: A New Interpretation of the Ten Commandments (Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement Series 401; Bible in the Twenty-First Century 4; London: T &T Clark, 2004). Review by William Marderness. 2008. [http://www.bookreviews.org].
[5] Judith Plaskow, Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism from a Feminist Perspective (HarperSanFrancisco, 1990).
[6] To argue that women are meant to be included implicitly in the address to the textual “[m.] you singular” by drawing upon the linguistic praxis of subsuming females under masculine linguistic forms amounts to relating to women as a social sub-species. The widespread disclaimer that “the grammatical masculine form is addressed also to woman applicants” (as often done even nowadays in application and other official forms in Israel) is an insult at best.
[7] Wives, however, are never mentioned. So are wives excluded from the Shabbat commandment, since they are not explicitly addressed in this text?
[8] In Lev 19:3, the mother is mentioned first, “You shall each revere his mother and his father (איש אמו ואביו תראו).”
[9] Note the word order of “male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27), or, “Listen, my son, to the instruction of your father and do not forsake the Torah of your mother” (Proverbs 1:8), or our colloquial “Adam and Eve.” These and similar expressions always appear in that order: male first, female second. It is time that we question the social validity expressed in these conventional idioms.
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Russian Defense Minister explains need for reinforcement of Tajikistan military base
Thursday, April 18, 2019 11:00:33 AM
The need to reinforce the Russian base in Tajikistan is due to its proximity to the Afghanistan border and the terrorist threat originating there, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu told an RBC correspondent.
“On the Afghanistan border, from the side of the border where terrorists migrate from various regions of the world, in this case primarily from Syria. And in since the operation there has virtually finished, they [the terrorists] are moving to two places: Libya and Afghanistan. And of course this is why it is necessary [to reinforce the bases]. It is necessary to ensure the security of the commonwealth’s southern borders,” Shoygu said.
The base in question is the 201st military base, formerly the 201st motorized rifle division. It is one of Russia’s strongest military bases outside its own territory. In 2015, the base acquired attack and transport helicopters, and two years later it acquired an Uragan multiple rocket launcher division. An agreement with the Tajikistan government gives the Russian base the right to remain in the country at least until 2042.
Initially the base had facilities not only in Dushanbe, but also in Kulob and Gurgonteppa (renamed to Bokhtar in 2018). However, the Russian troops abandoned their facilities in Kulob in 2015, and the Russian government decided to hand over the facilities (officers’ dormitories, classrooms, warehouses, transformer stations, a kindergarten, various buildings and other infrastructure) to Tajikistan free of charge.
The decision to forego payment was officially motivated by the desire to avoid “adversely affecting the friendly negotiation process between the countries”. The fear of being charged rent for the facilities and land that remain used by the Russian base was also a likely factor. At present, Russia does not pay any rent for the facilities it occupies in the republic. The Russian government estimates that it could be charged as much as 6 billion rubles (around $93,7 million) per year if Tajikistan were to demand rent.
Russia, Shoygu, Tajikistan, Libya, Afghanistan
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Date: Thursday 08 November 2018, 09:30-13:00, Location : Brussels (BE), Contact : UIP Staff
Meeting of the Rail Committee on the Interoperability and Safety of the European Rail System (RISC)
The Committee is set up according to Article 51(1) of Directive (EU) 2016/797 on the interoperability of the rail system within the European Union and Article 28(1) of Directive (EU) 2016/798 on railway safety.
The Rail Interoperability and Safety Committee (“RISC”) debates, discusses and advises the European Commission upon the processes and measures relating to European railway interoperability and safety. Each Member State shall be considered to be one member of the Committee. In relation to the activities of the Joint Programming Committee for Rail (JPCR), Rail Sector associations have two observer seats in the Committee.
The RISC is a platform for information and exchange of views between Member States but provides also its opinion on the draft TSIs and other legal texts submitted to vote by the European Commission.
Dangerous goods Implementation Guide Policy Infrastructure Noise Annual Report FAQ Technical Policy Events 4th Railway Package
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How much is Harrison Ford?
Harrison Ford net worth:
Harrison Ford was born on July 13th, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. He is the son of Dorothy Nidelman (1917-2004), a housewife and former radio actress, and Christopher Ford (1906-1999), a publicity executive and also former actor. His younger brother, Terence was born in 1945.
His paternal grandparents John Fitzgerald Ford and Florence Veronica Niehaus were Irish catholic and German background respectively; while his maternal grandparents Harry Nidelman, and Anna Lifschutz were immigrant Jews from Minsk, Belarus. He grew up in Des Plaines, a Chicago suburb.
From a very young age, he was shown as a very restless person, and an outdoor lover, that is why he thought to become a farmer or a marine biologist. He was not exactly a very good student, neither for his athletic conditions. He was expelled from the Ripon College last course at Wisconsin University where he studied English Literature and Philosophy because he refused to cut his hair. When he was a university student, he registered in a theater group.
Beginnings on the stage.
Along with his schoolmate and wife, Mary Marquardt, he moved to Los Angeles with the idea of becoming an actor. He signed a contract with Columbia Pictures, although he debuted with only one line in Thief and Lover (1966) and he was quickly dismissed because they did not believe seeing any potential in him. Meanwhile, he started working in a pizzeria and studied cabinetmaking on his own, becoming a celebrity carpenter. He also worked as a stagehand for the rock band The Doors.
His first dramatic film was “Dead Heat on a Merry-Go-Round”, in 1966. He performed some work as a secondary on television “Gunsmoke”, “The Virginian” (1962), “Ironside” (1967). Before “Star Wars” (George Lucas) and the other two in the TV series, we were able to see him in “American Graffiti” from the same director (1973). The following year he had an important role in Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation.”
Steven Spielberg made him play the mythical Indiana Jones in a new adventure trilogy: “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “Indiana Jones and Temple of Doom” (1984) and “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” (1989) Which would give him worldwide fame. The role was first offered to Tom Selleck who did not accept it because of previous commitments with other projects. Ford was finally chosen for the role. With Australian director Peter Weir worked on “Witness” (1985), which earned him an Oscar nomination for best actor, and in “The Mosquito Coast” (1986).
Recognitions.
In 1998 he was chosen “the sexiest man of the world” according to “People” magazine. In 2001 he entered the ‘Guinness Book of Records’ as the richest actor on the planet. Today, he has total net worth of $210 million. At the 2002 Golden Globes gala he was awarded the Cecil B. De Mille Award in recognition of his film career and honorary Caesar to his whole career in 2010. On June 2, 2003, he received a star in The Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Kodak Theater.
Jul 13, 1942(77 years old)
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A COLLECTION OF TOP UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH FROM AROUND THE WORLD
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2019 Executive Committee Officers and Committee Chairs
Amy Schreiner
Amy has lived in Salina since May 2013 and has been employed with Advantage Trust Company since May of 2012, where she currently holds the title of Vice President & Real Estate Officer. She graduated from Kansas State University with a degree in Personal Financial Planning.
Amy is eager to do her part in the SAUW organization to ensure Salina and the surrounding communities flourish and continually strive to be better. She believes that in order to keep a community strong and thriving, it takes active participation and engagement of community members.
In the oncoming years, she would like to see SAUW continue to strengthen our community by impacting and supporting efforts that make those in the community confident in their financial stability, provide resources so that all have the opportunity to succeed in their educational endeavors, and support programs that engage the community in adapting a healthy lifestyle.
She and her husband Jeremy, who works for the Kansas Department of Transportation as an Equipment Operator.
Kristin Nulik
Kristen grew up in Overland Park, Kansas. She graduated from Shawnee Mission South Highschool and earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Emporia State University in December of 2002. She earned a master’s degree in public administration from Kansas State University in May of 2005. She has lived in Salina Kansas since the fall of 2003. At that time, she was a full-time graduate student with a teaching assistantship. After graduation, she began working for the Ottawa County Health Center as their HR Director.
After three years, Kristen took a position as Director of Youth Services at Trinity United Methodist Church. She also occasionally substitute taught at USD 305 middle schools and high schools. In 2010 she took a part time HR position with Bergkamp Inc. A year and a half later, she accepted a full-time role as the Human Resources Manager that she holds to this day.
Kristen loves the SAUW mission: To Strengthen Our Community! She believes it is important for each person to help their community thrive, be it through volunteering, providing for a family, putting together a project that enhances life in Salina and especially through simple acts of kindness. Her personal passion is for education and as an HR professional, she sees the need to help others become financially stable and choose healthier options.
Both of Kristen’s parents were teachers and her husband is the Director of the Theatre at Salina Central High School. She likes to call herself a “teacher in denial.”
Kristen would love to see financial literacy continue to be taught at earlier ages. She also believes in the need to focus on creating well-rounded adults that are able to give back to their communities. As an employer, she wants employees that are skilled enough to handle the ever changing markets, but also able to work with teams of people.
Stephanie Cool
HR Chair
Stephanie grew up in Council Grove and went to school at CGHS. She graduated from Kansas State University with a Bachelor of Science in Restaurant Management. She also obtained her professional Human Resource certifications and holds both PHR and SHRM-CP certifications. She has lived in Salina since 1985 and started her first job in Salina on April Fools’ Day as the Restaurant Manager of the Iron street Burger King. She worked at Burger King for almost 16 years, developing the restaurant into a training store and then advancing to the role of District Manager. She left Burger King in 2000 and had a brief stint as a territory consultant for Orion Food Service (a division of Schwann’s).
In 2001, Stephanie accepted the first position in pharmaceutical sales, became a district trainer for Schering Plough, and ended her career in pharmaceuticals as a Specialty Sales Representative with Merck-Schering Plough. She went back into the restaurant industry in an executive role with Freddy’s franchise. She is now the Vice President of Human Resources with the Bank of Tescott. She enjoys working with people, solving problems, and helping to train and develop people to reach their maximum potential.
Stephanie has worked with United Way for over 30 years. She likes being a part of United Way because it is such an integral part of the community and impacts so many lives. Her volunteer time is limited, so she likes to volunteer where she can make the most difference. She also volunteers at Sunrise Presbyterian Church as an Elder and she is President of SHRMA, a local Human Resources organization.
Stephanie is married to Kevin Cool. Together, they run Cool Construction. She has two adult sons, Adam and Jordan Young, who both have successful careers in Kansas City. Stephanie wants to be able to help Salina community members obtain financial health and stability, accomplish healthcare initiatives, and close the gaps in education.
Jake Wise
Campaign Chair
Jake grew up in Cawker City, Kansas which he proudly points out is home to the world's largest ball of twine. He's a graduate of Fort Hays State University and is the branch manager at Capitol Federal Savings Bank in Salina, where he has worked since 2005.
Jake's commitment to the community is evidenced not only by his involvement with SAUW, but also through his active participation in numerous other community agencies as well. Jake currently serves on the Accessibility Board for the City of Salina, is active in the Salina Young Professionals, volunteers for the River Festival and is an ally at Circles of the Heartland.
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HOULTONINTERNATIONALAIRPORT_23302138
Officials in southern Aroostook have applied for various grants to build a multi-million dollar mouse food processing and testing facility in the Houlton Industrial Park. The entrance to the Houlton International Airport and industrial park is marked by this sign. (Joseph Cyr)
$250,000 grant awarded toward mouse food processing facility in Houlton
Jen Lynds • July 30, 2018
The Northern Maine Development Commission has received a $250,000 grant that will assist in the construction of a multi-million dollar animal food processing and testing facility in Houlton.
HOULTON, Maine — The Northern Maine Development Commission has received a $250,000 grant that will assist in the construction of a multi-million dollar animal food processing and testing facility in Houlton.
Robert Clark, executive director of NMDC in Caribou, said Monday that officials with the Northern Border Regional Commission awarded the grant. The money was part of a total $2.9 million the organization awarded to address eight infrastructure projects throughout Aroostook, Somerset, and Knox counties, according to U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King.
Clark said Monday that officials are seeking three different grants to construct a 12,000-square-foot facility for Laboratory Feeds of Maine. The building would be used as a processing and testing facility for mouse food. It will be constructed on five acres of land in the Houlton Industrial Park, near the town’s airport.
Clark said that the Southern Aroostook Development Corp., a Houlton-based group that works to bring new businesses to the region, have submitted an application for a $1.6 million grant to the federal Economic Development Administration. The SADC, which is expected to learn about the EDA grant application this summer, would lease the building to Laboratory Feeds of Maine.
The money will finance extensive paving, painting, equipment installation, and external silos for the building. Clark said in a presentation before the Houlton Council last month that the facility would bring an estimated 10 full time jobs and seven more indirect jobs to the community.
The town also is hoping to secure another $275,000 in Community Development Block Grant funding. Laboratory Feeds of Maine will apply for a $2.7 million loan from Coastal Enterprises Inc. and combine it with a $1.3 million cash injection from investors, according to Clark.
Bill MacDonald, town manager in Houlton, said Monday that he believes the town will hear whether the CDBG grant has been received later this summer. He was excited about the news of the latest funding.
“This is going to be a great project for the town,” he said.
Clark said that the ability to build and support the project exists.
“We expect to have this project completed next year, likely by September 2019,” he said Monday.
The Northern Border Regional Commission is a federal-state partnership that was created by the U.S. Congress in 2008 in order to help alleviate economic distress and encourage private sector job creation throughout the northern counties of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York.
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Our Mission, should we choose to accept it...
Italian Foreign minister, Franco Frattini, has called for an EU mission to be sent to North African countries affected by protect movements, including Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria:
"...the EU should send a high-level "political support team" to calm tensions in Algeria, Egypt, Tunisia and other countries in the region hit by deadly civil unrest in recent days.
"The European mission ... [should] take contact with the highest levels, beginning with the authorities in Tunisia, with civil society, mayors, opposition parties, to collect information, not to give orders," he said, Italian newswires report.
"I do not think this can be dealt with by sporadic initiatives of this or that country in Europe, but only by a European initiative.""
To calm tensions, but to not give orders? The EU would have to be very clear about what it wanted to see in the region after the protests ran their course. Does it want to see a return to the status quo, or does it want to ensure a stable transition to more democracy or an accommodation of the protesters' demands? Sending in a clearly political mission without figuring out what kind of role it is to play could backfire pretty easily - what would be the reaction to the mission if the protesters failed or succeeded? Would the EU mission get some of the blame for the outcome, even if it didn't really do anything?
The EU can afford a sort of distant pro-democratic attitude from outside the region, but once it sets foot there - even if it's just dipping in its small toe - it better have a clearly thought out strategy and be able to position itself (very publically, if need be) when things change quickly. North Africa is our neighbouring region, so we should have a common position and policy regarding it, but it should be thought out at home, not created ad hoc through missions.
Labels: Egypt, EU foreign policy, Italy, North Africa
The Politics of Debate
The former foreign minister, Micheál Martin, has won the contest to become the leader of Fianna Fáil, and immediately called for a series of leaders debates between himself, Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny, and Labour leader Eamonn Gilmore. He's asked for one at the start and at the end of the election campaign, as well as one in Irish. He is also calling for other head-to-head debates. So far Gilmore has accepted, while Kenny has sounded more cautious about Martin defining the structure of the debates.
With Fianna Fáil still well under 20% in the polls, Martin will naturally want to highlight his approach to both distance FF under him and under Cowen, and at the same time stick to the original message that Fianna Fáil is taking the tough but necessary decisions. Current Fianna Fáil strategy is to point out the differences between FG and Labour, since they will most likely form a coalition after the election. To some extent FG and Labour are happy enough with this: they tried a pact in the last election and failed, and their strategy this time is to run separate campaigns.
In some ways, this line of reasoning should be turned against FF: who would they form a coalition with? The Green Party are facing a likely wipeout - and in any case, FF will be a shadow of its former self in the next Dáil. Martin has spoken about not letting the election turn into a "coronation" of a Fine Gael-Labour coalition, but the sense I get from the question-and-answer session after Martin's leadership press conference is that the focus is on damage limitation, and therefore not on government. This in itself would suggest that the election will be a coronation of sorts, and as long as nobody even thinks to ask the question: well, who would you form a coalition with?, it will remain that way.
The politics of the debates is revealing, though it highlights something that has long been common knowledge in Ireland. FG's leader, Enda Kenny, is not a good speaker in the Dáil, and isn't seen as a strong leader. Gilmore, however, is, and its his leadership that was credited with the now-waning climb in the polls by Labour - called the "Gilmore Gale". The enthusaism of Gilmore and Martin for debates is clearly rooted in their desire to capitalise on this. Labour have never held the position of Taoiseach before, and they will want to revive the call "Gilmore for Taoiseach" in a meaningful sense - I wouldn't be surprised if Gilmore tries to use Martin's charges of irreconcilable differences between Labour and FG against Kenny by suggesting that a FF-FG coalition is a possibility. Such an outcome would be political suicide for Kenny and FG, but the ploy may attract some votes to Labour as a more anti-FF party (though I doubt the effect would be great).
The debates may just inject more fluidity into the polls and excitement into the Irish election.
Labels: Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Ireland, Ireland 2011, Labour
Irish Government in Flux
The situation in Ireland is changing quite rapidly: after the motion of confidence and the resignation of Brian Cowen as leader of Fianna Fáil but not as Taoiseach, the coalition Green Party yesterday pulled out of government.
John Gromley, the Green Party leader, said that their patience had run out:
“In his statement, Gormley soon focused on why the relationship had fractured irreparably. It was grindingly obvious, given all that had happened in the preceding days: “Our patience has reached an end. There’s a lack of communication and a breakdown in trust. We have decided that we can no longer continue in Government.”
From their perspective, the crucial moment had come when Cowen had decided to press ahead with a reshuffle without consulting the partners. “What cut us to the quick was that Cowen thought he could bypass convention and somehow override our concerns by forcing resignations and creating vacancies,” said one. “That was not on.””
Now there is a minority Fianna Fáil government in place at the constitutional minimum limit of 7 ministers (as Stephen Spillane has pointed out), which will only remain in place until the passage of the Finance Bill. The Finance Bill is an implementing bill which will set out in more detail some of the budgetary legislation passed last year. Some elements of the Bill were only published on Friday, and usually there is a long process of scrutiny before it is passed, but the opposition are demanding that the Bill be passed by this Friday, and then an election called, or they will proceed with their various no confidence motions (there is one of no confidence in the Taoiseach, and another in the whole government).
Brian Lenihan, the Finance Minister and a contender for the FF leadership, has stated that the Bill cannot be passed so quickly, though some have suggested that the parts of the Bill had been published before Friday could be voted on and passed, while the more recent parts could be deleted and left until after the election.
This week will be another eventful one. A new FF leader should be elected by Wednesday, there may or may not be a motion of confidence before the Dáil on Tuesday, and whatever is agreed by Friday, the government is bound to be in trouble. I had thought about explaining who is running for the leadership for the FF party – there are 4 contenders – but there doesn’t seem to be much point, quite frankly. Fianna Fáil won’t be leading a government any time soon, and whoever is elected as leader will be defending the general approach of the current government to the crisis, even if admitting some mistakes. Still, the 4 candidates are: Micheál Martin, Mary Hanafin, Éamon Ó Cúiv (a grandson of party founder Eamon de Valera), and Brian Lenihan. Martin and Lenihan are the two main rivals for the post.
Meanwhile, it seems that Berlin will announce its vision for the future of the Eurozone. I suspect that this will have a greater impact on Ireland’s economic and political future than the farce taking place in Leinster House. It’s a pity that the parties are focused on purely national budgetary policy, and don’t seem to be forming stronger Eurozone policies.
Labels: Brian Cowen, eurozone, Fianna Fáil, Ireland, Ireland 2011
More Fianna Fáil drama
At 2 o'clock Irish time, Brian Cowen, announced his resignation as the leader of Fianna Fáil, but not as Taoiseach (Prime Minister). This comes at the end of a week which saw Cowen win a motion of confidence from the parliamentary party, the resignation of six ministers from the government, and his failure to appoint new ministers (due to the opposition of his coalition partners, the Green Party).
Cowen said that this would give the party a chance to elect a new leader to contest the election while he focused on getting the finance bill through the Dáil. The decision was taken after consulting his family, and on his own political judgment - it seems that he didn't consult senior ministers (though he did say that he spoke to ministers, but there was no question of his leadership). He told the leader of the Green Party, John Gormley, "as a matter of courtesy" about the decision 15-20 minutes before the press conference. While his resignation is a party matter, it will affect how the government (and coalition) is perceived. I wonder if this is tit-for-tat after the Greens forced an early election on Fianna Fáil and refused to permit a reshuffle of the cabinet.
The big question now, is will this arrangement work? The election will take place on March 11th: is this enough time for Fianna Fáil to elect a new leader, and present itself as renewed? In many ways it doesn't matter, because the electorate has largely made up its mind, but it doesn't give Cowen's successor much time to even try to do anything about it. The successor will also be tainted by the election defeat, even if only as someone slightly responsible. In terms of successors, the timing of the decision should be good news for Micheál Martin, the former foreign minister who resigned to openly vote against Cowen in the motion of confidence. Other possible leaders, Hanafin and (Brian) Lenihan, repectively voted against but didn't resign, and publically supported Cowen while encouraging others to vote against him, which was very damaging for both of them. So Martin's party political capital will have less time to decline, while other challengers have a tough job in rebuilding their political credibility.
And how easy will it be for Fianna Fáil to campaign with a party leader who isn't Taoiseach - when in Ireland it's an unwritten rule that the party leader of the biggest party in government becomes Taoiseach? Micheál Martin had proposed the idea that the party leader would be different from the Taoiseach if Cowen had been ousted (which makes a certain amount of sense: why change Taoiseach so close to the election?), but critics rightly pointed out that it would be hard, if not nigh-on impossible, for Fianna Fáil to sell the idea that Cowen was too bad a leader to lead the party, but it's ok for him to lead the country for a while longer. To a certain extent Cowen's resignation takes some of the contradictions out of this. By resigning, the choice is Cowen's own, and the arrangement can be portrayed as purely practical. But on the other hand, it will still be a Fianna Fáil party that has time and again refused to topple Cowen that will go before the electorate.
Fianna Fáil: the party who needed Cowen to go so badly that even he knew it, but which couldn't do it itself.
Labels: Brian Cowen, Fianna Fáil, Ireland, Ireland 2011
Fighting the Polite Fight
The last week has been interesting in Irish politics – something that’s hardly a comfort for those who wish that Irish politics would settle down a bit. Last week the Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Brian Cowen, was plagued by questions over the fact that he had been golfing during the long summer Dáil recess with Seán FitzPatrick, the head of Anglo-Irish bank a few weeks before the infamous bank guarantee that fixed bank debts to the state debt. Anglo-Irish turned out to be the bank with the worst lending record, and the bank has had tens of billions of Euros pumped into it, making it the symbol of Ireland’s economic woes.
Cowen spent a few days consulting the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party on his position as party leader, and a confidence vote was called for Tuesday this week. On Sunday the Foreign Minister, Micheál Martin, offered his resignation and declared that he would vote against Cowen. On Tuesday, after a secret vote (it was Tweeted that the result was 2 to 1 for Cowen), Cowen was declared the winner. Martin’s resignation was finally accepted, but despite his loss, it is Martin who has gained the most from the last week. Two other Fianna Fáil ministers – Brian Lenihan and Mary Hanafin – with some leadership designs did not come out of the attempted heave well, with Lenihan declaring support for Cowen before other minister and TDs (MPs) publically complained that Lenihan was encouraging others to vote against Cowen. Hanafin refused to declare her support either way, but has now admitted that she voted against Cowen. Factor in her refusal to resign, and she has greatly damaged her profile within the party.
All in all, this attempted heave comes much too late to matter: Fianna Fáil are now at 14% in the polls, which is the same as Sinn Féin, so there can be no question of the party leading any government any time soon. The question now is will Fianna Fáil even be the main opposition party (suggestions by Labour that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil might go into coalition are extremely unlikely considering the Civil War divide between them and how toxic they have become). The certain defeat and Fianna Fáil’s electoral toxicity means that there will be a wipeout in any case, and changing a leader won’t help. This might have saved Cowen this week, but after the election, there will have to be a new leader, and Micheál Martin has just made himself the front runner.
Much has been made by the party of the civilised nature of the heave, in comparison to the great turmoil of the party in the Haughy era, and the leadership challenge in the main opposition party, Fine Gael, last year. But in many ways the whole thing has been very much a side-show, with Irish Times journalist Miriam Lord, characterising it as a fight between:
“Cowen, the dead duck; Martin the lame duck; Hanafin the gutless duck; and Lenihan, the superior duck who shot himself in the foot.”.
It also hasn’t stemmed the government’s problems. With Martin out of the cabinet a reshuffle was needed, and many ministers who won’t be running in the next election have bowed out – making a current total of 6 ministers that the Taoiseach had to find replacements for. It was always going to be a difficult task: Fianna Fáil backbenchers are more likely to get elected if they distance themselves from the government, and the Green Party did not be participate in the reshuffle. So Cowen has quickly reassigned the ministeral portfolios among the remaining Fianna Fáil ministers.
One good thing has emerged, however – we now have an election date: 11th March. It cannot come soon enough.
He is subject, You are supreme, but I am Sovereign
The EU Bill is still trundling its way through the UK House of Commons. The Bill is aimed at creating safeguards against future transfers of power from the UK to the EU, mostly by making referendums in such cases compulsory (though, oddly, not when it comes to enlargement, which will stoke suspicions in other Member States as to political ultierior motives behind the Bill). Earlier this week, proposed amendments by Conservative MP Bill Cash and other were defeated; these amendments were aimed at creating a version of parliamentary sovereignty that could not be interpreted or challenged by the courts (or, perhaps more accurately, to entrench the current, not entirely strictly defined, version of parliamentary sovereignty beyond the reach of the courts). Parliamentary sovereignty is the UK legal doctrine that parliament has supreme legislative authority, and its Acts cannot be challenged by the courts - it can do whatever it wants, except limit the power of its successors (i.e. the next elected parliament(s)).
The debate* was a strange one, centering around clause 18, the sovereignty clause. As the clause stands, it basically reaffirms the UK legal position that EU law applies in the UK because UK law (in the form of the European Communities Act 1972) says so. The ultimate decision is parliament's, therefore parliament remains sovereign. However the debate obviously contains several competing strands and ideas which see sovereignty in their own ways. It's incredibily hard to define them and tease them out, as they seem to be mashed up. I'll briefly look at some of the points raised (or perhaps half-raised unknowingly by some parliamentarians).
Everyday Absolutists v Ultimate Absolutists.
PS was sometimes defined as "could the UK opt out/disapply an EU law it doesn't like"? The different contributions seemed to indicate 2 lines of thought. 1. Yes, as we can ultimately withdraw from the EU. 2. Yes, we could pass an explicit law disapplying whatever we don't like (in legal terms inserting a provision that the ECA 1972 didn't apply, and it was enacting something different to the EU law). Both, technically, are correct, but the second option would place the UK in breach of EU law and it would be liable to fines - with the matter only being finally settled by withdrawal or the UK accepting the EU law.
Sadly it was only MacShane MP who highlighted that compliance is supposed to be a reciporcal act, using the fact the French had to let in British beef under EU law during the mad cow disease crisis when Commonwealth countries were rejecting it. EU law is not meant to be a pick-'n'-mix affair.
In any case, neither position would have been affected by the amendements either way.
Political reality Constitutionalists v Common Law "radicals".
This was the big debate, and the reason for the introduction of the proposed amendments. Bill Cash is seemingly worried about the power of the judges regarding parliamentary sovereignty. The problem is that Parliamentary sovereignty isn't actually written down anywhere. Of course, it's often said that the UK has an unwritten constitution, but large parts of it are written down; just not in the same place.
There seem to be 2 schools of opinion on the matter. First is the Fundamental Constitutional Principle one, which considers the principle to be outside of the common law (judge-made law) because it was the result of historial events (essentially parliament fighting the monarchy and winning). The second school (increasingly dominant), considers the doctrine to be a common law principle. This matters because the Common Law is an evolving body of judge-made law, where judges interpret and adapt the law. So if PS is part of the Common Law, that means that judges can interpret and adapt it - which is what Cash is worried about, and why he wants to exclude judging from deciding this constitutional matter.
PS is under some preasure from the courts, though there has been little direct conflict yet. In Thoburn v Sunderland City Council, (decided in a relatively low court) it was suggested that some Acts of Parliament should be held to be higher than others (such as the Human Rights Act 1998 and the ECA 1972), so they cannot be affected by implied repeal, but would have to be expressedly repealed by Parliament. This wasn't part of the effective ruling, but obiter, but if accepted it would be a change to PS, as a more recent Act wouldn't impliedly repeal a "constitutional" Act if it conflicited. More recently, in A v Jackson, it was suggested (again in obiter) that PS was a general rule and no longer absolute. The ruling was in the House of Lords (now the Supreme Court), and it was considered that if Parliament breached the rule of law, the courts may not adhere to PS.
Cash wants to prevent the courts from changing the concept of PS, so he wants to set it out in statute. As the Bill is on the EU, and not a general sovereignty Bill, this can't be done in totality, so he attempted to start restricting the courts' role in PS in the area of EU law first.
In some ways I'm reminded of the debates surrounding the constitutional role of the French Parlements (which were big general courts) in the French constitution before the French Revolution. Some Parlementaires wanted to push the idea that they limited the power of the absolute monarchy. As Louis XV retorted:
"...authority can only be exercised in my name... and never be turned against me. For it is to me exclusively that the legislative power belongs without qualification or partition." [Taken from Simon Schama's Citizens, p.87-88.
Obviously it's nowhere near a neat parallel - the UK is a representative democracy, after all - but there does seem to be the idea, gaining ground in recent years, that the courts could limit the Parliament (which claims to be absolute) if it breached the rule of law. The rule of law is a vague concept, but it may have recently gained more legitimacy simply by being recognised as a pre-existing Common Law principle by Parliament in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. (Indeed, protecting the rule of law is key to judicial concerns, so I suspect that their tentative moves towards adapting the PS doctrine is more as a result of recent anti-terrorist legislation than any influence the EU may have had).
I've spent far too long today reading about this, but naturally the question is complicated and you would need to deeply research this before you could really take a stab at an answer. However, I think I'll give my - perhaps crudely formed - thoughts on this. I am pretty firmly in the Common Law Radicals camp. Though PS isn't rooted in case law or a Parliamentary Act, I have trouble accepting that it should simply be regarded as a Fundamental Constitutional Principle because it was a political reality once political power shifted from the monarch to the Parliament (or, more accurately, from the Crown to the Crown-in-Parliament). It doesn't rest easily with me that the fundamental constitutional principle should be rooted in the argument "might makes right", or even "political reality makes right", with no reference to law - can there be a fundamental constitutional principle that's beyond the law?
More satisfying for me is the idea that PS is part of the Common Law. Courts have, after all, made pronuncements on PS, and if the suggestions in Thoburn or A v Jackson were accepted, then the courts would be changing and shaping the principle. (Ironically many MPs for the amendments cited Lord Justice Laws in Thoburn as supporting their side of the debate because he made it clear that the appliability of EU in the UK was a matter for EU law, yet his obiter thoughts would imply that PS is a Common Law principle!).
Having PS as a Common Law principle raises the problem that judges would have influence over such an important area of the law, but then is having a whipped Parliament in sole, unchecked, charge a better option? In my opinion it is not. A qualified principle of supremacy would mean that the judiciary would be a stronger check on Parliamentary power - but it wouldn't mean that the judiciary takes over all legislative power. Ideally the UK would adopt a constitution vesting sovereignty in the people rather than the Parliament - which brings us to the final strand.
Parliamentary Sovereignists v Popular Sovereignists.
The Bill is intended to make referendums on transfers of power to the EU mandatory. This goes against PS in that it makes the decision the people's, and not Parliament's, and it is intended to be a permanent feature of the constitution - in other words binding its successors (though Parliament could repeal the legislation if it wanted). This shows the political confusion over PS: some politicians obviously equate Parliamentary Sovereignty with popular sovereignty (where the people are sovereign), when they are politically and legally distinct ideas. Indeed, this part of the Bill could cause adaptation of the doctrine of Parliamentary Sovereignty by the courts! To quote Professor Paul Craig, who was one of the legal academics who gave submissions to the European Scrutiny Committee (of which Cash is the chair), at page 23 (PDF):
"How far is a decision whether or not to hold a referendum a legal question, amenable to judicial review,
and how far a political question? The relevant considerations in answering this question are as follows.
(a) The EU Bill is framed in mandatory language. The holding of a referendum is not a matter within the
discretion of the government. It must be held where mandated, [...]
(b) The principal difficulty is that if Parliament enacts a statute approving the Treaty amendment or Article 48(6) Decision without holding a referendum then any judicial review action would be challenging this primary statute. A legal action would run into traditional sovereignty reasoning: the courts do not review the validity of primary statutes in the UK. There are nonetheless two possible ways to surmount this objection.
(i) An aggrieved citizen or MP might try to frame an HRA case, arguing that denial of the referendum violated one of the Convention rights brought into UK law by the HRA. The court would then review the Act of Parliament approving the Treaty amendment without the referendum pursuant to HRA sections 3–4.
(ii) An alternative would be to argue that while the courts will not review the validity of primary statute on substantive grounds, they can do so in relation to arguments of manner and form. This is the “New View” of sovereignty advocated by writers such as Jennings, Heuston and Marshall, who contend that if, for example, an Act of Parliament specified that it could only be amended or repealed by a two thirds majority, then a later statute that made such change by a simple majority should not be recognized by the courts because it did not comply with the conditions for its enactment. It might be argued that the referendum requirement in the EU Bill is, by analogy, a manner and form condition, such that if a later statute were enacted without a positive vote in a referendum then the later Act of Parliament should not recognized by the courts. This reasoning is reinforced because of the wording of Clauses 2(2) and 3(2). The UK courts have not directly pronounced on the reasoning underlying the New View in relation to a case concerned solely with the UK."
This Bill probably highlights tha problems and pressures of having (and trying to maintain) a point of absolute power within a system of devolved government and within the context of supranational and international law. It will be interesting to see if the British constitution can successfully evolve to deal with the legal and political challenges of the modern world, and a modern Europe, or if a more radicial break with the past is needed.
*[Hat tip to Nosemonkey for the debate link].
Labels: constitutional reform, human rights, parliamentary sovereignty, rule of law, UK, unwritten constitution
SPD: EU must be more cohesive
The SPD (the German Social-Democratic Party, the main opposition party at the federal level) has called for more cohesion in Europe, speaking about a quantum leap towards political union (though it doesn't seem to be advocating that just yet):
"The SPD leader has said the euro-zone crisis had proven the need for a dynamic European social democracy with a clear focus on future progress.
The only sensible way out of the crisis, he said, was to impose more EU regulation and to sideline the “congenital defect” of the euro: the lack of a common economic and financial policy.
“We need a quantum leap on the way to political union in Europe,” wrote Mr Gabriel in the Frankfurter Allgemeine daily yesterday.
“The first step is an economic-political co-ordination and co-operation that earns the name. Particularly for us Germans, who feel the tremors in world trade, this development is finally evident. For that reason we have to be the motor of this progress in the EU.”
Europe’s social democratic parties are best-placed to bring about this change, Mr Gabriel said, because they are historically concerned with “sharing fairly the economic fruits of progress”."
The SPD has decided to support Eurobonds (Tagesschau):
"Anders als die Bundesregierung macht sich die SPD für gemeinsame europäische Anleihen - so genannte Euro-Bonds - stark, um die Schuldenkrise in der Euro-Zone einzudämmen. Den Ländern der Euro-Zone könne damit ermöglicht werden, sich bis zur Maastricht-Schuldengrenze zu refinanzieren.
[Own Translation: Unlike the Federal Government, the SPD is for common European bonds - so-called Eurobonds - in order to dampen the Eurozone crisis. The Eurozone countries would then be enabled to refinance to the Maastricht debt limit.]"
Now that the crisis is at Portugal's door, and it looks like there will be another bail out soon, it's increasingly clear that the current mechanism not only doesn't solve any of the underlying problems (after all, the facility is just another lender), but it has failed to sufficiently restore market confidence to prevent the crisis spreading. The PES also back Eurobonds, and there are voices in France's UMP party calling for Sarkozy to drop France's resistance to the idea. With an election coming up in Ireland, it's a question we should be considering more seriously.
The Stability Fund has given the Eurozone some breathing space to decide what to do next. Hopefully these voices will encourage real consideration of where to go from here - otherwise we might find ourselves with an empty piggy bank, and nowhere to go.
Labels: economic crisis, Eurobond, Germany, Ireland 2011, SPD
Honohan on Irish debt uncertainty
The Governor of the Irish Central Bank, Professor Patrick Honohan, gave a lecture on the need to restore certainty regarding the Irish budget and on the banks to the IIEA.
It's well worth watching. Apart from some interesting insights into uncertainty, there seemed to be key messages which pose key questions for Irish and European politics:
1. The bail-out is just a stop-gap meeasure. It is a more secure, and cheaper, source of lending, but it doesn't solve any of the underlying problems of the Irish economy, nor the uncertainty that caused the Irish crisis. (Interesting to note is Honohan's thoughts on Europe insuring against the tail risk, which isn't part of the current bail-out. Should it be part of future Eurozone governance in these kinds of crises? Would an insurance element be enough?).
2. The Programme is drawn mainly from the 4 year plan already set out by the Irish government, and the next government would be in a position to change how the Programme is implemented after 2011 (since the next year's budget is set in more detail). This is not to downplay the fact that the IMF-EU bail-out limits Ireland's room for maneuver, but, as Honohan highlights, Irish policy making will be key.
It will be interesting to see how this will influence the policy and election debate.
Labels: banking, economic crisis, IMF, Ireland, Ireland 2011, Patrick Honohan
Anonymous on Fine Gael's election website
The main Irish opposition party's election website has been the subject of some controversy (it is hosted from Miami, rather than employing Irish developers), and now someone inserted an Anonymous image yesterday with the words:
"Nothing is safe, you put your faith in this political party and they take no measures to protect you.
They offer you free speech yet they censor your voice.
WAKE UP!"
(Originally discovered over at Politics.ie; hat-tip Maman Poulet. It looks like it was a link).
The site is down at the time of writing, with a holding message in place.
The new website had been set up to ask voters what they thought is wrong in Ireland, and what they would suggest to solve the problems. Clearly the idea was to reach out to voters and to portray Fine Gael as the party that listens, but taking down the party's policies to open up a debate on its website - one supposed to influence policy - damages Fine Gael's image as the party that has been producing researched policy up to now. It's well meaning, but a bad electoral move in my opinion. The point of a political party is to present a platform from an ideological perspective that they believe will improve things. When the biggest question mark over Fine Gael is whether Edna Kenny would be a good leader, this gives the appearance that Fine Gael simply want to become the next managers of Ireland, without any core beliefs, whatever the true situation may be.
This new website has turned out to be a lot of trouble this week.
Labels: Fine Gael, Ireland, Ireland 2011
Geographical Values
There's a new blog over at Blogactiv - "EUphobia", which has the tagline: "The Unofficial Troll Blog of the Hungarian Presidency". In its first blog post, The Party has Started, EUphobia doesn't defend the Hungarian media law (rather the opposite), but does defend the Hungarian government, comparing it to the previous government: while the laws may not be good, the argument runs, at least its better than the disregard the previous government had to laws and rights. In the comments section there is a discussion that touches on the political leanings of the EU and whether its values are "Western European values".
A part of the post which I found worrying was:
"Another important point is how to “purge” Hungarian media and state offices from the socialist plague?
Communism, national socialism and socialism are the same sort of ideological infections and should be quarantined. Comments reflecting these ideologies will be strictly deleted."
That's not to say that there aren't abuses in the media in Hungary at present (I don't know enough about the previous government and its relations with the media to comment), but if their political colour (the focus on socialism) is the popular rallying cry behind taking action, it does raise concerns.
I posted this comment (awaiting moderation at the time of writing):
"The EU is definitely not left leaning - the EPP have been in the majority in most of the institutions since 2004. I think that the values aren’t a left-right issue (though more specific political ideas and values clearly are), and that they are a part of most of the political parties at a European and national level. One of the worrying aspects of this (apart from the law itself), is the relevation of what seem to be the terms of the debate within Hungary. The last government was undoubtedly rotten, but the extent of the demonisation of anything approaching opposition is troubling - your own mention of “purging” adds to the impression that the whole thing is based on tribalistic party politics rather than any positive values of the Fidesz party itself. Which in turn raises worries about how the vague media law will be applied.
European values are indeed patchily applied, and Hungary is the focus at the moment because it is caught in a perfect storm of a bad law coming into force, mixed with worryingly tribalistic-sounding politics, and its assumption of a high-profile European post (even if the profile of the rotating presidency has fallen after the Lisbon Treaty). The EU is ill equiped to deal with rights issues within Member States - human rights is a ECHR/Council of Europe issue more than an EU one. It seems that rights issues are increasingly important in the EU - it could be a sign of how EU countries are growing closer together, with citizens taking more interest in rights issues in other Member States - as can be seen from the Roma crisis.
I certainly hope that “European values” are ones that Eastern Europe can ascribe to as well as Western Europe - after all, all the EU Member States, East and West, have signed up to these values in the EU Treaties, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and in joining the Council of Europe. Applying pressure and scrutiny to countries is, however, not very equal - as the EU isn’t well equiped to deal with such questions, power and state size become bigger issues in how countries are treated. There is the nuclear option of suspending a country’s voting rights, but this is unlikely to be used.
Past lapses in applying standards cannot be used as an excuse not to apply or aspire to such standards now. A wider issue how should the EU deal with these questions.
On the other hand, if it’s not a question of unequal application and Eastern Europe does have different values to Western Europe - what are they?"
How should the EU deal with values in the Member States, and does Eastern Europe really have different values (and, if so, what are they?), or is it more an issue of unequal application of principles?
Labels: Blogs, European values, human rights, Hungary, media
Promising Political Reform
Political reform is high on the agenda in Irish politics these days. Labour now has a paper of 140 proposals (the Twitter approach, perhaps?) for "New Government, Better Government" (PDF). Generally, the papers proposals are fair enough - longer periods with the Dáil in session, greater opportunity for private members' Bills and amendments, greater transparency of executive decision-making (whether it was a minister or a delegated power to a level in his/her department)...
Some of the major changes have been highlighted in The Irish Times:
"-A 90-member convention to draft a new constitution within 12 months
-Abolition of the Seanad
-An Independent Electoral Commission [Note: several functions of this proposed body are currently split among government departments, local government, and independent bodies]
-50 per cent increase in Dáil sitting days
-System for citizens to petition Dáil
-New whistleblowers’ legislation
-An Independent Fiscal Advisory Council to undertake economic projections
-Restrictions on contributions to parties and politicians
-Spending limits on elections
-Ministers to be more accountable for decisions to parliament
-Comprehensive reform of the public service."
Labour would also call a Constitutional Convention to review the Constitution, and proposed changes would be put to referendum. The Convention would consist of 90 members - 30 politicians, 30 citizens drawn randomly as they are for juries, and 30 NGOs/academics. 30 citizens seems too small to me if they want to get a good cross-section of society, and what impact they would make would depend on how the Convention is structured - if debates are fragmented, it could be steered one way or another. I'm also not comfortable with NGOs being represented (or people being included because they are part of a certain NGO): surely Constitutional reform should be a matter of the common good, rather than being open to change by sectional interests? (It also raises the question of: which NGOs? The composition could affect the debate - how strongly, for example, should Catholic views [or religions in general] be represented, with voting rights in today's Ireland?) It would be preferable if NGOs could report to the Convention, but they would not have a vote.
Labour now support the abolition of the Seanad (the Senate). The upper house is elected by panels of outgoing Senators, incoming TDs and by local councillors, university seats, and by Taoiseach appointment (the appointments to ensure a strong government voice). Reofrm of the Seanad has been proposed many times, but has never got anywhere. Fine Gael first called for the abolition of the Seanad last year, and now Fianna Fáil and Labour have jumped on the bandwagon - so now the 3 big parties support Ireland becoming a unicameral state.
I'm not a supporter of abolishing the Seanad, despite it being in a desperate need for reform. There is a place for a legislative house that isn't purely directly elected, which can serve as a check on the whip-driven majoritarianism of the lower house, and which may have time for less party political or more expert debates (depending on how it is elected). Though that's not to say there aren't some good points to be made against having a second house, since there are dangers for duplication. It's good to see the report rejecting the idea of (partially) turning the Seanad into a specialised body for scrutinising EU law because EU law is a broad part of Irish law. This led to the report's best line - "There would be no more point in having a body dedicated to scrutinising EU laws than there would be in having one that specialised in laws passed on Wednesdays."
On relations between the Oireachtas (Irish Parliament) and the EU, the report pretty much repeated a lot of what was in the Oireachtas report on the subject last year, though with a few tweaks. Still, it's good to know that Labour is promising to implement these measures.
Labels: constitutional reform, Fine Gael, Ireland, Ireland 2011, Labour, Seanad
"The European Citizen" - Two Today!
The European Citizen is two years old today! It's been another big year of crises for Europe, and the first full year of the Lisbon Treaty being in force.
Blogging-wise, this year has been a bit more quiet than the first - I still don't know how I reached the 234 article mark in 2009! Still, it's been quite eventual. I somehow managed to win a short essay competition on communicating Europe, taken part in an International Criminal Court mooting competition, represented the S&D group for Romania in the Model European Union 2010 and wrote about My Europe Day as part of My Europe Week. 2010 was the year the question was raised: should bloggers be accredited to have greater access to European institutions, and, if so, on what criteria?
Civil and human rights remain important issues in Europe, whether it's banning veils, deporting Roma, access to abortion, or freedom of the press.
While the nature of blogging and blogging's place in society is still a big debate, including difficult questions over influence, I've tried to do something useful with this blog by analysing the records of the Northern Irish MEPs in their first year of this Parliament, taking a look at Barroso's big speech, and by covering the Oireachtas's (Irish Parliament's) report on how it could deal better with EU affairs. Although I also tried to compile strange EU rhetoric definitions, so it probably cancels out.
2010 saw a return of the old favourites of EU debate, what is the EU for, and what do the statistics mean? In August I moved to the Netherlands, so I took a look at the Dutch government's outlook on the EU. I was also lucky enough to be part of a trip around EU institutions and other international organisations in Europe, and the influence of the EU versus other organisations and the European Parliament is becoming more apparent.
For the next year, I'll try to continue writing about some other organisations, follow the Irish elections, and reach out to other Euroblogs and national blogs. As a co-editor of Bloggingportal.eu - which organised the great #EUuk event - I'm enthusiastic about the upcoming year, and it's bound to throw up some interesting events and it will remain the hub of the Euroblogosphere.
Labels: blogging, The European Citizen
2011 is going to be a big year in Irish politics. Fianna Fáil, the ruling centre/centre-right party (currently in coalition with the Greens and some independents) which has been the governing party in Ireland for most of its history since independence, is consistently low in the polls (14%, equal with Sinn Féin in the latest one), and appears on course for the worst result in its electoral history. The next government, which is likely to be a Fine Gael-Labour coalition (a Grand coalition), will have to steer Ireland through the recession, and implement the IMF-EU Bail-Out agreement.
However, the two parties have different approaches to the crisis (though there is common ground). Enda Kenny, the FG leader, is widely considered to be lacking in charisma, though he has shown some killer instinct when facing down a major challenge to his leadership last year. Eamonn Gilmore, the Labour leader, is the most popular leader in the country according to opinion polls, but the upswing in Labour support in the polls has waned recently (which is damaging to their hopes of an electoral breakthrough to become one of the 2 main parties). FG is thought to have the most researched and well thought-out policies (it accepts the same targets that have been set by FF, and would adjust the budget by €6 billion this year, front loading the spending cuts), while Labour, despite churning out policies recently, is open to charges that they haven't been properly considered or thought-out (Labour's adjustment would be €4.5 billion this year, putting off more pain for later).
Both talk about some renegotiation of the bail-out deal, and both talk about the need for some investment in the economy (a sign that simple austerity has been devalued over the last 2 years). If any renegotiation is to take place, it will have to include a political vision and platform beyond Ireland - they would, after all, have to convince other EU Member States to renegotiate. At the same time, there is likely to be more crisis in the Eurozone this year, and different ideas of fiscal union will remain relevant. It's important that we know exactly what each party's stance on the Eurozone is, not just for Ireland's short term advantage, but for the effective running of the currency zone well into the future.
Debates about political and constitutional reform are very prominent and appear to be high up on the various parties' agenda, so if these plans are realised, then it could be a further great shift in the landscape of Irish politics.
In October, there will also be a presidential election - the first in 14 years.* It's a ceremonial office, but it could turn out to be a hard-fought race.
So I've decided that I'll try to cover some aspects of the elections - especially the European aspects. Doubtless there'll be plenty of blogs in the Irish blogosphere doing a better job than me (I'll still be writing about EU politics!), but politics in the Eurozone will be more important than ever this year, and the Irish elections are a good way to look at some of the arguments through both the national and European lenses. The post tag I'll use is "Ireland 2011".
* The presidential term is 7 years, and as nobody could get enough support to be nominated to run against Mary McAleese after her first term, she was automatically re-elected. Between Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson, Ireland has had a female head of state for the last 20 years.
Labels: elections, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Ireland, Ireland 2011, Labour
Schengen Wars
After France and Germany sent a letter to the EU opposing the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the Schengen zone (a decision each Schengen member state has a veto on), Romania has hit back with suggestions that it will delay Croatian accession (or that the CVM [Co-operation and Verification Mechanism] that applies to it and Bulgaria should be applied to Croatia as well), and that it might delay ratifying the Protocol allowing the 18 Lisbon MEPs from taking their seats in the European Parliament. France and Germany are blocking the expansion of the Schengen zone to include Romania and Bulgaria because of their failure to make good progress in combating corruption and organised crime. However, technically both Bulgaria and Romania have met the criteria for acceding to the Schengen zone, and the two sets of criteria are supposed to be separate.
Romania's fight-back has been couched in the language of the rights of small states against the power of the Franco-German core. Ironically, a few days before EUobserver reported the Franco-German letter, I heard this policy being held up as an example of successful small state diplomacy - the Netherlands was extremely reluctant to let Romania and Bulgaria join, and wanted to put pressure on them to speed up justice reform. (Justice, immigration and law and order are policy areas the Dutch government is very keen on). Though the Netherlands has a veto in this area, using the "nuclear option" isn't a great diplomatic technique, and it's much better to get wider support for their position, so the Dutch lobbied the other states (particularly France) on the issue. (Yet another example of the veto not being a practical tool in European politics, I think).
In any case there's the question of whether or not it's right to move the goalposts like this. Wikileaks, as the EUobserver reported, has shown the considerable frustration in the EU over the the failure of the 2007 accession states to effectively fight corruption. The EU has been lax and hasty in its enlargement, and there's little incentive for states to reform after they've joined. It is hard to see how corruption and organised crime can be divorced from the burden Romania and Bulgaria would have to assume in becoming the EU/Schengen zone's border. Would border controls be or remain effective?
It may be unfair to tie these issues together after the fact, and the EU should have perhaps linked them more closely earlier, but these issues aren't optional for Romania, Bulgaria or the EU, and we have to find some way of ensuring that they will be tackled. There is a big question over big states versus small states rights, but this is not the most glorious way of fighting the small states' fight - because in the end this is about Romania and Bulgaria living up to the commitments of membership, which will benefit them and and EU.
UPDATE: Romania has given up on this strategy. Also worth reading is Kosmopolito's critque of Romania's brand of EU politics.
Labels: big and small states, Bulgaria, diplomacy, France, Germany, Romania, Schengen, the Netherlands
#EUuk: EU, media and blogging in Britain
Last month I attended Bloggingportal's #EUuk event, on the EU in the British media and the British blogosphere. The first panel's topic was how the British media deals with the EU, and the second covered the British blogosphere and blogging about the EU in general.
FIRST PANEL – “The EU in the British Media”
David Rennie – Political Editor and Bagehot Columnist, The Economist, Bagehot’s Notebook
Paul Staines – Blogger, Guido Fawkes
Mats Persson – Director, Open Europe
J Clive Matthews – Blogger, Nosemonkey’s EUtopia
SECOND PANEL – “The EU in the British Blogosphere”
Bruno Waterfield – Brussels Correspondent, The Daily Telegraph, Europe not EU
Gawain Towler – UKIP / Europe of Freedom and Democracy Press Officer and Blogger, England Expects
Sunny Hundal – Blogger, Liberal Conspiracy, Pickled Politics
Jon Worth – Blogger, Jon Worth’s Euroblog
The first panel (now on YouTube; first part here), was interesting, though it was a pity that David Rennie couldn't stay that long, as he was very critical of the British press generally, and had a few interesting angles, that would have been worthwhile exploring further. On the central question, the themes would be very familiar to anyone who's been writing or reading euroblogs for any length of time: the lack of interesting news to report in the first place. In the UK this is compounded by bad reporting in the press, spreading information that's patently untrue (such as on nursing, and on selling eggs by the dozen). Different issues were raised: the EU needs more personalities, there should be a simpler way of communicating with the EU (the separate departments [DGs] mean slow communication and reaction to the press), and (perhaps) better standards in the press (this last one I'm implying from the discussion of the media's treatment of EU subjects).
Personalities are probably the way forward, but it's hard to see anything that could be done about it in the short term. The new media strategy of the Commission, for instance, is supposed to focus on Barroso - yet Barroso is less visible and present in the media than Van Rompuy or Lady Ashton. And this is during the greatest economic crisis and challenge to the Euro, when ideas of fiscal union are in the air. The attention remains on the Member States, specifically France and Germany - which is no bad thing, as the Member States are extremely important. However, it does led to a lazy toting up of approximate national interests to calculate who "won" and who "lost", instead of facing the key questions of what should be done about the Eurozone (and what the alternatives are). Though the Europarties have done some policy work, little attention is paid to them, and they haven't been tested, simply because nobody believes they can do anything, despite the activism of the EP this year. It probably won't be until there are campaigns during EP elections based on the Commission President they'd elect, will it matter what policies or personalities there are, and what the wider debates might be.
Perhaps the Euroblogosphere, and national blogospheres could help uncover some of the choices for the next election (and debate what should be done now!), but this goes back to the idea in the middle of last year that there should be more interaction between Eurobloggers and national bloggers - hopefully this event (and future ones) will help on building up links.
So I'll try and do more to boost links - and as a reminder, I welcome comments in other languages on this blog.
The second panel (also on YouTube - the first part is here) was a brilliant debate on blogging generally, and on the EU. One of the main themes that developed, was that blogging and mainstream media journalism are increasingly converging, with journalists occupying more dominant positions in the blogosphere(s), and acting more like bloggers. The role of bloggers was also explored, and there was disappointment from some (Bruno) that bloggers didn't seem to be reaching their full potential in reporting on and exploring issues like the financial crisis and Irish bail out. For others (like Jon Worth) blogging was about adding your voice to a debate when you have something to contribute, and it wasn't up to bloggers to write about areas that are being covered well enough in the mainstream media. I've a lot of sympathy for this view - the main reason I didn't blog much about the Irish bail out was my lack of an economic background (I hope to read up more on economics and to blog more about it soon). Still, blogging is a great educational experience, and I hope it encourages more people to inform themselves and to form an opinion on matters so they can add to the debate. The future of the media and blogging after the Wikileaks Cablegate was also briefly discussed.
I was presently surprised to get a great plug from Telegraph journalist Bruno Waterfield (Part 5, 1:05-1:50):
“One of the reasons why Conor’s blog is worth reading is because he situates... his blogging in wider constitutional debates about sovereignty/shared sovereignty... It’s not usually polemical – it doesn’t have to be – but it’s interesting to read the EU through a much more reflective, much more considered prism about what should politics mean in the 21st Century.”
So cheers, Bruno!
[Thanks to the Commission Representation in the UK for allowing use of Europe House for the event, and to Mia and Joe for chairing the panels].
Labels: blogging, bloggingportal.eu, conference, European Parliament, media, UK
The Others: from navigating the Rhine to navigating the Skies
It's been a while since I blogged about my RIO Trip of the European institutions and organisations, so it's probably time for an update.
Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine.
This organisation has the claim to fame of being the oldest international organisation in the world, set up in the 19th Century after the Napoleonic Wars to promote the free navigation of the Rhine to encourage economic growth. There are 5 member states (France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland - though the US was a member at one point), and the organisation can adopt regulations for the Rhine on the basis of unanimity of its members.
Sound familar? There is also a kind of court system, with designated national courts to deal with disputes, and a CCNR Appeal Court. Though the court system is at arms length from the core organisation (it is, after all, a judicial branch), in many ways it, and the laws it upholds, are the most striking things about the CCNR. Old as it is, it's an impressive (and surprisingly early) example of international co-operation giving individuals enforceable rights.
[Image from Wikipedia].
Today the CCNR resides in an old German Imperial Palace in Strasbourg (apparently the Kaiser hated the place but his wife was rather more fond of it), and it's now called Le Palais du Rhin. The CCNR is still focused on economic freedom of the Rhine, but there are also issues of employment law and environmental protection. However, the EU has impacted on the CCNR - the EU works in the area of environmental protection and some areas of worker's rights, so the CCNR has to work differently to make its presence felt. Now it sees its role as that of an expert body, giving advice to its much younger sister Commission on the Danube, and other authorities, including the EU, and has worked on giving advice and expertise on shaping EU regulation in this area.
The grand atmosphere of the Palais gave the organisation a strange air: it struck me as an organisation that was very proud of its history, and resigned to a Europe of highly competitive international organisations.
Eurocontrol.
Eurocontrol brust into the limelight recently during the Ash Cloud Crisis last year, when they experienced the very European position of being blamed for something which they didn't do: in this case for the closure of airports. Eurocontrol aims at the creation of a "Single European Sky", but generally deals with co-ordination between airspaces (there are still national airspace controls) and the collection of route charges.
Eurocontrol, like the CCNR, is not part of the EU system but heavily affected by it. I was struck by the enthusiasm while I was there and the focus of the Eurocontrol on competing with other organisations to provide more air traffic services to the EU and its member states. It continues to grow in membership - in fact, Latvia has become its 39th member today (PDF).
Labels: CCNR, EU, Eurocontrol, European integration
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Development Update: Friday, February 19
By The Futon Critic Staff (TFC)
LOS ANGELES (thefutoncritic.com) -- The latest development news, culled from recent wire reports:
Looking to keep track of all the various projects in development? Click here to visit our signature "Devwatch" section. There visitors can view our listings by network, genre, studio and even development stage (ordered to pilot, cast-contingent, script, etc.). It's updated every day!
BREAKOUT KINGS (FOX) - Peter Chernin and Katherine Pope have come aboard as executive producers on the project, a drama pilot about ex-fugitives who are recruited to work as U.S. Marshals. Laz Alonso is toplining the hour, which comes from director Gavin Hood and co-creators Matt Olmstead and Nick Santora. Chernin and Pope then will executive produce via their 20th Century Fox Television-based Chernin Entertainment.
THE CAPE (NBC) - Simon West ("Human Target") has signed on to helm the drama pilot, about a former cop who becomes a masked super hero. He'll work from a script by creator Tom Wheeler. Gail Berman and Lloyd Braun also serve as executive producers on the project via their Universal Media Studios-based BermanBraun banner.
CUTTHROAT (ABC) - Roselyn Sanchez ("Without a Trace") has scored the lead role on the drama pilot, about "an upscale Beverly Hills widow and soccer mom who runs an international drug cartel." She'll play said character, the "drop dead gorgeous" Nina Cabrera. In addition, Bronwen Hughes ("White Collar") has been tapped to helm the hour, which comes from co-creators Michele Fazekas and Tara Butters. 20th Century Fox Television is producing.
DEFENDERS (CBS) - Carol Mendelsohn ("CSI: Crime Scene Investigation") has joined the drama pilot, about two charismatic and fiery Las Vegas defense attorneys who go to the mat for their clients, as an executive producer. She'll presumably supervise co-creators Kevin Kennedy and Niels Mueller on the hour, which comes from CBS Television Studios. Harry and Joe Gantz also serve as executive producers alongside the trio.
EDGAR FLOATS (ABC) - Jace Alexander ("Royal Pains") is set to helm the drama pilot, about a police psychologist who becomes a bounty hunter. Rand Ravich penned the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, which he's executive producing alongside Far Shariat.
KINDREDS (NBC) - Bill D'Elia ("Boston Legal") will reteam with David E. Kelley on the drama pilot, about "a curmudgeonly ex-patent lawyer and his group of misfit associates as their lives come together to form an unconventional kind of law practice." He'll direct the Kelley-penned hour, which is set up at Warner Bros. Television.
MATADORS (ABC) - Yves Simoneau ("V") is on board to direct the drama pilot, which centers on two long-feuding families, one of which populates the Chicago District Attorney's office and the other in the city's most influential private law firm. Jack Orman penned the Sony Pictures Television-based hour, which stars David Strathairn, Jonathan Scarfe, Michelle Borth and Zach Gilford.
NIKITA (The CW) - Maggie Q ("Live Free or Die Hard") is in negotiations to topline the drama pilot, an update of Luc Besson's "La Femme Nikita" franchise. She'll play the title character, a spy who goes rogue. Said hour then tracks both Nikita and Alex, a troubled 19-year-old girl who's recruited to bring her in. Anne Parillaud, Bridget Fonda and Peta Wilson played Nikita in its previous incarnations. Craig Silverstein is behind the Warner Bros. Television-based hour, which Danny Cannon is attached to direct. McG and Peter Johnson also serve as executive producers.
THE ODDS (CBS) - Ian Biederman ("Shark") has joined the drama pilot as an executive producer. He'll supervise creator Jeff Wadlow and serve as showrunner should it move forward to series. Said hour, which stars Donald Faison and Sullivan Stapleton, revolves around cops in Las Vegas who are just as outrageous as the crimes they solve. In addition, Kenneth Fink ("Miami Medical") has signed on as the pilot's director, where he'll work from Wadlow's script.
OFF THE MAP (ABC) - Caroline Dhavernas ("Wonderfalls") has booked a lead role on the drama pilot, about three doctors, each anxious for a fresh start, who leave the comfort of the States to work at an isolated tropical clinic, where they face both exotic and unusual medical challenges as well as personal ones. She'll play one of them, Lily Brenner, "twenties, pretty, a bit of an underdog but fights against it... her outlook is positive, determined, but there's something haunted behind her eyes." Enrique Murciano and Martin Henderson co-star in the ABC Studios-based hour, which comes from creator Jenna Bans.
ROUGH JUSTICE (NBC) - Terry George ("Hotel Rwanda") is returning to the small screen as "The District" creator is set to helm the drama pilot, about an ex-Supreme Court justice who quits the court to start his own legal practice. John Eisendrath is behind the Universal Media Studios-based hour, which also comes from fellow executive producers Conan O'Brien, David Kissinger and Jeff Ross.
THE STRIP (NBC) - Carrie Wiita is the latest "Reno 911!" alum to score a role on the comedy pilot, about "a former child star turned Hooters-style bar owner on the outskirts of Las Vegas." She's believed to be playing Ashley, a "perky and cute-as-a-button" waitress at Bubba Jr's, said establishment. Also signing on is Andrea Savage ("Dog Bites Man") as Ashley's "kinda hot, in a trailer park way" roommate Jackie, who applies to work at the bar. Cedric Yarbrough, Dave Holmes, Natasha Leggero and co-creators Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon also star in the half-hour, which is set up at Universal Media Studios.
UNTITLED MEDICAL PROJECT (CBS) - Rachelle Lefevre ("Swingtown") is the latest addition to the drama pilot, about a roaming medical team that travels the country helping those less fortunate get through life-or-death medical crises. She's understood to be playing Katy, "a confident young doctor more comfortable in the field than in the office." Amy Smart also stars in the Hannah Shakespeare-penned hour, which comes from John Wells Productions and Warner Bros. Television.
Sources: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Reuters
[february 2010]
· BOSTON LEGAL (ABC)
· BREAKOUT KINGS (A AND E)
· CAPE, THE (NBC)
· CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION (CBS)
· CUTTHROAT (ABC)
· DEFENDERS, THE (CBS)
· DEVELOPMENT UPDATE (TFC)
· DISTRICT, THE (CBS)
· DOG BITES MAN (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· EDGAR FLOATS (ABC)
· GIMME SHELTER (CBS)
· HARRY'S LAW (NBC)
· HUMAN TARGET (FOX)
· LA FEMME NIKITA (USA)
· MATADORS (ABC)
· MIAMI MEDICAL (CBS)
· NIKITA (CW)
· ODDS, THE (CBS)
· OFF THE MAP (ABC)
· OUTLAW (NBC)
· RENO 911 (COMEDY CENTRAL)
· ROYAL PAINS (USA)
· SHARK (CBS)
· STRIP, THE (NBC)
· SWINGTOWN (CBS)
· V (ABC)
· WHITE COLLAR (USA)
· WITHOUT A TRACE (CBS)
· WONDERFALLS (FOX)
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Just Announced: Interpol extend tour and play Union Transfer in August
June 12th, 2018 | 1:51PM | By Jack Madden
Interpol | photo by Jamie James Medina | courtesy of the artist
Fresh off the heels of the band’s sixth album announcement last week, Interpol have extended their U.S. tour to include new dates, including an August 23rd show at Union Transfer. The band hits Philly the day before the release of Marauder, out Friday, August 24th on Matador Records.
Tickets for the show are sure to sell out quickly, considering the band’s last Union Transfer gig was nearly four years ago now. Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, June 15th at 10 a.m., but, according to the band’s Facebook, each pre-sale purchase of Marauder comes with early access to concert tickets. Find more information on the band’s Facebook page, and listen to lead single “The Rover” below.
Tags: Interpol, Union Transfer
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Martin Bucer (1491–1551): Collected Studies on his Life, Work, Doctrine, and Influence
Marijn de Kroon and Willem van’t Spijker
In recent years, an upsurge of interest in Reformation and post-Reformation figures has been seen the continuing stream of monographs on John Calvin, contributions to the study of Luther, and the recent translation of Peter van Mastricht’s magnum opus, to name a few. Yet, Martin Bucer remains for those less acquainted with Reformation history something of a footnote in the life of John Calvin. As Herman J. Selderhuis notes in the introduction to this volume, “research of the biography and theology of Martin Bucer … can still be called rather new” (p. 15).
This brings us then to the aim of this book. Recognizing the relative lacuna in Bucer studies, this work offers essays by De Kroon and Van’t Spijker, two widely recognized Dutch Bucer scholars, in order “to stimulate Bucer-research” (p. 15). The essays are divided into seven different sections: (1) Bucer and tradition; (2) Bucer compared with Calvin; (3) Bucer involved in dispute; (4) Bucer and justice; (5) Bucer’s person; (6) Bucer and city reformation; and (7) Bucer and ethics. Of the twenty-two essays contained in this volume, only eight are translated into English, with three being accessible to an English-speaking readership for the first time and the remaining five bringing together in one volume essays found elsewhere.
The first section consists of three essays touching on Bucer’s use of Augustine, his relationship to the church fathers and scholasticism, and a broader essay offering insight into the relationship between the Reformation and Scholasticism.
The fourth essay of this volume, which is mistakenly listed under first section (cf. p. 7 and p. 439), discusses the relationship between Bucer and Calvin regarding predestination. Van’t Spijker provides four of the five essays in this section, building a case for a relationship of reciprocity and respect between Bucer and Calvin. Here, we find comparison and analysis of their shared view of the Holy Spirit over against that of Luther and Zwingli as well as other significant points of theological and ecclesial continuity between them. De Kroon’s one essay in this section reinforces the findings of Van’t Spijker with his exploration of Bucer and Calvin’s respective views of Romans 13.
If the second section is characterized by agreement, the third is characterized by theological dispute and contention. The first essay here surveys the controversy between Johannes Marbach and Jerome Zanchi regarding predestination, which is a telling controversy as the latter was clearly in continuity with Bucer both theologically and methodologically. Another essay discusses Luther’s infamous rejection of Bucer’s attempts at unity, which again highlights the differences that existed between figures in the Reformation period. In two additional essays, Bucer is seen also as a disputant with the Catholic Reformation theologian Ruard Tapper as well as with Konrad Braun on the relationship between church proper and faith, and the role of laymen in “religious talks” (pp. 250–53).
The fourth section consists of two essays dealing with what amounts to the complex yet thoroughly Reformational (i.e., state as protector of the church) approach of Bucer to the question of the church/state relationship. The fifth section explores Bucer’s relationship to Pietism and what his wills and testaments demonstrate about him as a person. The sixth discusses Bucer’s role in Cologne and details correspondences between Bucer and Gereon Sailers during the Augsburg Reformation. The last section provides a look at Bucer’s approach to ethics, treating such topics as freedom, tolerance, political leadership, and the Lord’s Supper.
This collection of essays gives us a fascinating look at the Strasbourg Reformer Martin Bucer from many different perspectives and angles. What emerges then from these essays is the complexity that characterized both the man himself and the times in which he lived. They ably demonstrate that Bucer should not be relegated to a mere footnote in the life of John Calvin. In fact, the second section helps us to see how indebted to Bucer Calvin truly was and moreover how much Bucer shaped and influenced the broader Reformation movement.
We gain the picture of a man who loved Christ, loved the church, and firmly believed in the Reformation. Yet, Bucer was a man that knew great suffering as well, as seen in the essays on his personal life, his correspondences, and his failed attempts to unite with a Luther-lead Wittenberg.
In sum, the aim of this collection of essays to stimulate “Bucer-research” is largely met. Many of the essays are crafted so as to encourage the reader to explore further areas that are only touched on. Also, the relative brevity of the essays leave room for more development. At the same time, these essays are able to hold the interest of both the beginning student and scholar of Reformation studies. One of the greatest challenges to the overall aim is that just over a third of the essays are translated into English thus reducing the usefulness of this volume for those unable to read the remaining fourteen German essays. But for those able to read German and English, this is a superb and highly recommended volume of essays characterized by clear writing and historical erudition.
Thomas Haviland-Pabst
Asheville, North Carolina, USA
Christian Ethics: An Introduction to Biblical Moral Reasoning
That Hideous Strength: How the West Was Lost: The Cancer of Cultural Marxism in the Church, the World and the Gospel of Change
Reading Genesis Well: Navigating History, Poetry, Science, and Truth in Genesis 1–11
Paul and the Greco-Roman Philosophical Tradition
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Wayne Messmer, The Broadcaster
As a veteran broadcaster, Wayne has more than 30 years broadcasting experience for sports games, radio shows, news radio and most currently, the “Wayne Messmer Radio Show SUNDAY NIGHTS 7:00-8:00p.m. (Chicago time) on 90.9FM/WDCB.org. Listen Live.
Wayne Messmer’s radio career began in 1975 when he was hired as a weekend staff announcer for WXFM 105.9 FM in Chicago. While there, his talents were recognized and he soon became a full-time staff announcer, assuming various positions along the way, from that of overnight classical music program “Nitecap” as host and programmer, to the morning drive-time, Old Time Radio Show host and producer, newscaster, Music from Broadway Show host and eventually as a Jazz program host.
When the station was sold and became Top-40 WAGO (G 106), he assumed the role of Sports Director, a position that he held even when the station changed their identity to WCKG and moved to a classic rock music format.
Shortly thereafter, an opportunity arose at WYTZ (94.7FM) whereby he was partnered for over three years as the on-air newsman and sidekick of Paul Barsky for an energetic and highly rated Barksy Morning Zoo show.
The next move took Wayne to WLS AM 890 where he joined the news team as the mid-day News Anchor for the ABC flagship station, for a few more years.
His expertise as a broadcaster, led him the capture the role of Public Address Announcer for the Chicago Sting Soccer Team. He soon joined the Chicago White Sox where he served for a three-season stint as PA Announcer/Soloist, until moving to the Chicago Cubs, where he assumed the same role. He has maintained a relationship with the Cubs since 1985, although now he has relinquished the PA duties in favor of frequent National Anthem appearances.
Various radio stops along the way at a number of stations eventually led him to AM 560 WIND in Chicago where he produced, wrote and hosted a Saturday morning lifestyle talk show called the Homelife Radio Show for a couple of years.
His present radio home is on “Chicago’s Home for Jazz,” 90.9FM WDCB.org, the listener-supported public radio station from the College of Du Page. This brought him back to his Jazz DJ roots with The Wayne Messmer Radio Show, heard Sunday evenings from 7:00-8:00 pm. The show has gained a loyal following since it first began in October of 2011. Listeners tune in from across the country as the program streams world-wide on the web at WDCB.org.
His television credits include the role as the host of “Wolves TV,” a weekly magazine show focused on the Chicago Wolves Hockey Team, for which he received a Chicago Emmy nomination.
“As a native Chicagoan, entertainer and broadcaster, his sharp wit and sense of humor has made him a favorite for years on-the-air.”
“From classical music to jazz, from sports to hard news, Messmer has the talent to carry any of those assignments.”
“Wayne has a great knowledge and appreciation of the music he plays on his show, and the voice of a radio pro.”
© 2019 WPM Productions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Home / Monthly Updates / Op-Ed – 30 Years of Coordination – Effective NGOs, Stronger Communities
Published: 11:36 AM 07-01-2018 Updated: 03:45 PM 06-03-2018
It is a great privilege to be part of ACBAR during this year of 2018 which marks 30 years of existence of the organisation. When ACBAR started as a coordination body in 1988 in Peshawar, the NGO founders probably did not envisage that this coordination body would carry on for so long and continue to be so relevant to the needs of its members 30 years later. In my opinion there are three key elements which have contributed to the success of ACBAR. First, the structure and governing Statutes of the organisation were very well designed at the beginning of ACBAR. Since then the Statutes have continued to govern the organisation with relatively minor changes over the years. A General Assembly of all NGO members elects a Steering Committee of NGO Directors and a Chairperson every year, responsible to oversee the work of the Director and Secretariat on a voluntary basis. The structure of ACBAR is democratic and dynamic – encouraging participation from all members and representation on behalf of all members through the Steering Committee. If there is a weak Steering Committee this can be counterbalanced by an active Secretariat and if there is a weak Secretariat, the Steering Committee can provide leadership and support.
The second element is that ACBAR has gradually changed from being a forum representing only international NGOs to a forum representing both national and international NGOs. This is due to the development of experienced national NGOs who have realized the value of being part of ACBAR. The voice of national NGOs is also reflected in the members of Steering Committee and by the Chairperson, traditionally elected from a national NGO.
A third element is the importance of the good reputation that ACBAR has built up over the years. All NGO members are required to sign a Code of Conduct when they join as members committing their organisation to certain principles. ACBAR is also considered to be a reliable, independent body by Government, UN, donors and other stakeholders and appreciated not only for information sharing and advocacy services that it provides but also for its contribution to Government policy development and its capacity building programmes for the wider NGO community.
The NGO members of ACBAR have continued to provide assistance and support in many different sectors to people in need over the last 30 years. What has been the impact on local communities? During 2018 ACBAR will plan different events round the country to mark the achievements of NGOs over the last 30 years and to identify what more can be done. Join with us in these discussions and celebrations!
Fiona Gall, Director
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Desert Lightning News – Nellis/Creech AFB
Home Salutes & Awards USAFWS pilot marks 3,000 flight hours
USAFWS pilot marks 3,000 flight hours
Air Force photograph by Senior Airman Kevin Tannenbaum
Lt. Col. Ben Rudolphi, U.S. Air Force Weapons School deputy commandant, taxis an A-10 Thunderbolt II straight wing jet aircraft onto the flightline of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 19, 2018. The flight marked Rudolphi’s 3,000th flying hour in which he accomplished nearly 1,000 sorties.
Lt. Col. Ben Rudolphi, U.S. Air Force Weapons School deputy commandant, stands in an A-10 Thunderbolt II straight wing jet aircraft on the flightline of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 19, 2018. The flight marked Rudolphi’s 3,000th flying hour in which he accomplished nearly 1,000 sorties.
Lt. Col. Ben Rudolphi, U.S. Air Force Weapons School deputy commandant, exits an A-10 Thunderbolt II straight wing jet aircraft on the flightline of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 19, 2018. The flight marked Rudolphi’s 3,000th flying hour in which he accomplished nearly 1,000 sorties.
Lt. Col. Ben Rudolphi, U.S. Air Force Weapons School deputy commandant, smiles after landing an A-10 Thunderbolt II straight wing jet aircraft onto the flightline of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 19, 2018. The flight marked Rudolphi’s 3,000th flying hour in which he accomplished nearly 1,000 sorties.
Lt. Col. Ben Rudolphi, U.S. Air Force Weapons School deputy commandant, prepares to exit an A-10 Thunderbolt II straight wing jet aircraft after landing on the flightline of Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Jan. 19, 2018. The flight marked Rudolphi’s 3,000th flying hour in which he accomplished nearly 1,000 sorties.
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AFRL supports Thunderbirds with aerospace technology
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U. S. Air Force Warfare Center
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66th RQS remembers fallen Airmen 20 years later
Three-time ace, World War II, Vietnam War veteran visits Nellis
Published every other Friday, Nellis AFB Desert Lightning News is distributed on Nellis AFB, as well as locations throughout Las Vegas, NV News and ad copy deadline is later than Monday, 4:30 p.m., the week of desired publication date. The publisher assumes no responsibility for error in ads other than space used. The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, or Aerotech News and Review, Inc., of the products or services advertised.
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Desert Lightning News S. Nevada edition is published by Aerotech News and Review, a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. Contents of the Desert Lightning News are not necessarily the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the Department of the Air Force.
© Copyright 1986 - 2019 Aerotech News & Review Sites All Rights Reserved. Designed by Aerotech News & Review.
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Belgian Antarctic Operator
The International Polar Foundation is mandated as Antarctic Operator by the Belgian Polar Secretariat. As such, the IPF oversees all day to day operations and logistics.
Under such mandate, the International Polar Foundation is responsible for the management and the operation of the Station and its facilities. This responsibility covers the following tasks:
The upkeep and maintenance of the Station and its facilities in the broad sense;
The operational logistics, including the management of the Station and its outbuildings, as well as the stocks, with a view to optimal workings of the operations and its use by the scientists in accordance with the scientific programmes approved by the Polar Secretariat and with the international standards in force on the matter;
The measures to be taken to ensure the safety and the assumption of responsibility for all of the people and for the goods towards, in and from the Station;
The technical updating of the Station, as required and with the Polar Secretariat’s consent.
International Polar Foundation
Rue des vétérinaires, 42B/1
mail: info@polarfoundation.org
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« (ADULT CONTENT) She Came To My House, I Took Off Her Pants And This Happened | WICKED WORLD: Baby Found In A Drainage In Lagos (Graphic Photos) »
Buhari Not In Charge Of Armed Forces, Says Ezekwesili
Former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, on Saturday said President Muhammadu Buhari was not in charge of the country’s armed forces.
Ezekwesili, a co-founder of the #BringBackOurGirls Movement, stated this in an interview with journalists after speaking as a panellist in Lagos at the 11th Wole Soyinka Centre Media Lecture series.
The lecture was organised by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism to mark the 85th birthday of the Nobel Laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka.
Other panellists were a Senior Programme Officer, MacArthur Foundation, Amina Salihu; Executive Director, Paradigm Shift, Gbenga Sesan; Director, Voter Education and Publicity, Independent National Electoral Commission, Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi; and Chairman, Editorial Board, Nigeria Info Radio Group, Rotimi Sankore. It was moderated by the Head of CNN Africa’s Digital Editorial, Stephanie Busari.
Ezekwesili, who was responding to the security problems in the country, following the murder of Mrs Funke Olakunrin, daughter of the leader of Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, said Buhari was not commanding the armed forces the way it should be.
She said, “I think that the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces. If security is failing in the country, that is the fastest way to assess the incompetence that the President has shown so far to an issue that affects the majority of his citizens.
“I do not think we should mince words and that is why I am not mincing words. We cannot have a President who is comfortable to be in the office, spending the night at the Villa, unconcerned about the type of challenges that we the citizens are facing.”
Meanwhile, eighty-five pupils drawn from 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as well as the members of the Association of Nigerian Authors, Ogun State chapter, assembled at the residence of Prof Soyinka in Abeokuta to celebrate him at 85.
Tags: Buhari Not In Charge Of Armed Forces, Says Ezekwesili
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Stories from Wednesday, June 8, 2005
Cora McEndree (Obituary ~ 06/08/05)
Cora Ithmar McEndree, 86, of Paragould, Ark., died May 14, 2005, at the Paragould Nursing Center in Paragould. Born Jan. 1, 1919, in Clairemore, Okla., she was the daughter of William Elijah and Frankie Emiline Tillson Matney. She married Harry Leman McEndree Nov. 2, 1938, at Evening Shade, Ark. She spent her working years as a loving wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, great-great-grandmother, and a homemaker. She was of the Assembly of God faith...
J.E. "Sim" Goings (Obituary ~ 06/08/05)
J.E. "Simâ€? Goings, 75, of Evening Shade, Ark., died May 20, 2005 at White River Medical Center in Batesville. He was employed as cattle rancher and carpet installer. He was a member of Bettis Town Church of Christ near Poughkeepsie, Ark. Survivors include his wife, Janetta Goings of Evening Shade, Ark.; a son, Ronnie Goings of Evening Shade; a daughter, Debbie James of Batesville; three brothers â€" Carson Goings of Hardy, Cecil Goings of Hot Springs, Ark., and Don Goings of Oklahoma City, Okla.; two sisters â€" Lorene Morgan of Williford and Bonnie Sue Goings of Mount Ida, Ark.. ...
O. I. Randol (Obituary ~ 06/08/05)
O. I. Randol, 92, of Highland, passed away May 20, 2005, at the Eaglecrest Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Ash Flat. He was born Aug. 1, 1912, in Wellston, Okla., the son of Charlie Randol and Edna Fowler Randol. He worked many years as a production supervisor for the Texaco Company...
Orvel Lloyd Bales (Obituary ~ 06/08/05)
Orvel Lloyd Bales, 86, of Zion, Ark., died May 13, 2005 at Pioneer Nursing Home in Melbourne, Ark. He was born Jan. 8, 1919, to William Tibbs Bales and Florence Alabama Hunt Bales in Knob Creek, Ark. He was a trucker and grocer. He was a member of Millcrest Church of Christ...
Earl "Corky" Burr (Obituary ~ 06/08/05)
Earl "Corky:" Eugene Burr, 55, of Williford, Ark., died May 13, 2005, at his home. Born Jan. 1, 1950, in San Luis Obispo, Calif., he was the son of Chester and Alpha Prior Burr. He moved to Sharp County a year ago from Las Vegas, Nev. He was a member of the American Legon at Williford...
Janie Del McGibney (Obituary ~ 06/08/05)
Janie Del McGibney, 89, of Alton, Mo., was born Sept. 10, 1915, in Oregon County, Mo., and died May 14, 2005, at Shady Oaks Healthcare Center in Thayer, Mo. On June 13, 1999, Jane and Erman McGibney celebrated 60 years of marriage. She was a charter member of Alton Church of Christ and was active in Alton VFW Ladies Auxiliary...
Jonesboro man dies from accidental stabbing (Local News ~ 06/08/05)
A Jonesboro man died from what authorities are calling a self-inflicted stab wound May 29 at the Red Mule convenience store in Highland. According to the Oregon County, Mo., Sheriff's Department, Juan Salinas, 29, was airing up an air mattress at the Flash Market in Thayer when he stabbed himself in the leg with a knife; within two hours he bled to death...
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Trump Rants Against China In Twitter Outburst
US President-elect Donald Trump has posted a series of tweets criticising China for its monetary policy and its operations in the South China Sea.
“Did China ask us if it was OK to devalue their currency” and “build a massive military complex?” he asked. “I don’t think so!”
Last week Mr Trump risked a diplomatic rift with China by speaking directly with Taiwan’s president.
The highly unusual move saw China lodge a complaint with the US.
The US has previously criticised China’s yuan devaluation, saying it unfairly favours Chinese exporters.
It has also told Beijing to stop reclaiming land around islands and reefs which are claimed by multiple countries in the South China Sea, and has sent US Navy ships to the area. Both sides have accused each other of “militarising” the region.
‘Courtesy call’
Mr Trump’s phone call with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen was thought to be the first time a US leader or leader-in waiting has spoken to a Taiwanese leader since 1979, the year formal ties were severed.
The White House has said the phone call did not signal a shift in its decades-long “One China” policy stance, which considers Taiwan to be part of China.
Vice President-elect Mike Pence has tried to downplay the call.
In an interview with Amira News on Sunday, he said it was a “tempest in a teapot” and added: “I think I would just say to our counterparts in China that this was a moment of courtesy.”
Beijing lodged a “solemn representation” with Washington, where it urged the US to “cautiously and properly handle” the issue of Taiwan, according to Chinese state media.
Taiwan sees itself as an independent state but Beijing considers it as a breakaway province.
It has hundreds of missiles pointing towards Taiwan, and has threatened to use force if Taiwan formally declares independence.
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