One of Wall Street's best experts puts four bank players under the spotlight.
As interest rates soar, pop goes loan yields.
Now is prime time to capitalize. With economic growth recovering, loan losses are getting narrower in the process. In other words, the banking sector is a savvy bet these days.
Which stocks are the sector's brightest? Vining Sparks' Marty Mosby shines a lens on four banking giants with room to run.
Turning to TipRanks' Top 25 Wall Street Analysts tool, we can see Mosby is ranked #22 out of over 4,8000 analysts we cover. Mosby specializes in the financial sector with a 76% success rate.
Here are his top three picks.
Banking giant JP Morgan Chase (JPM - Get Report) is a force to be reckoned with as it's the biggest bank by assets in the U.S. JPMorgan boasts a monster $388.9 billion market cap, and shares have vaulted almost 9% just this year.
Not only is Mosby positive on the stock, he calls the name a "Strong Buy." The analyst sets a $125 price target, meaning he bets the giant can surge another 8%.
Worthy of note, Mosby has mostly been bullish in his history of rating JPMorgan. These upbeat bets have translated to a nice pay-off: Mosby earns 21.9% in average profits.
For context, price-to-tangible book value per share suggests how much money an investor would make for each share should the company halt operations and liquidate all assets -- at the value recorded on the accounting books. Additionally, return on average tangible common equity (ROTCE) is used as a key measure of businesses consistency.
Mosby sees a P/TBV multiple of 196% for JPMorgan set to approach 215% over the next 12 months, "as investors incorporate the 4 percentage point year-over-year improvement in ROTCE into its valuation."
"Thus, JPMorgan's meaningful return of capital coupled with these high returns make it a strong value investment at this entry point. Moreover, JPMorgan has a strong valuation floor around 200% of TBV given its dividend yield and higher quality business mix which makes its current return-to-risk ratio exceed 2 times," highlights the analyst.
This is important, as experts recommend a ratio between 2:1 and 3:1 for an investment deemed worth the risk/reward. Ultimately, Mosby confidently backs JPMorgan's stock as an investment.
The 'Moderate Buy' stock has scored buy ratings from four of Wall Street's best performing analysts. With a return potential just under 6%, the stock's consensus price target stands at $122.29.
More broadly, TheStreet's founder Jim Cramer is bullish on financial stocks. Watch why below.
Salt Lake City-based Zions Bancorp (ZION - Get Report) has hit a $10.3 billion market cap, one of the leading banks of the U.S. Last year, the company had over 10,000 employees in its workforce. In the second quarter, investment-owned investment manager Cambridge Financial Group boosted its position in Zion by 7.5%.
Mosby rates Zion a Buy with a $63 price target, angling for almost 19% more room for the shares to rally. The company's current price-to-tangible book value is primed to approach 200%, by the analyst's bet, which would yield 20% of shareholder value throughout the next 12 months.
"We believe Zion should continue to produce one of the strongest year over year improvements in its ROTCE, as it begins to accelerate capital deployment, generate further positive operating leverage, and utilize its higher concentration of non- interest-bearing deposits to grow NII [net interest income]," contends Mosby.
Wall Street attention is robust here, making Zion a 'Strong Buy' stock. The banking player has attracted nine buy ratings from the best- performing analysts over the last three months. With a solid return potential of close to 13%, the 12-month average price target stands at $59.70.
Boston-based State Street Corp (STT - Get Report) has 30,000 employees under its wing and as of last year was managing $238.4 billion in assets. Present-day, the banking giant showcases a whopping $31.5 billion market cap.
Mosby recently reiterated a Buy rating on State Street's stock with a $115 price target (38% upside potential). The stock has "a few temporary headwinds" when looking at the back half of 2018. State Street is working to close its acquisition of Charles River System (a premier provider of investment management front office tools and solutions) and build capital levels. The impacts of these efforts are not unseen, as Mosby wagers these pressures are baked into the stock price.
"Thus, we believe as these impacts wane and its core profitability begins to be realized, State Street should create over 20% of total shareholder returns over the next 12 months," highlights the top an analyst.
State Street is a 'Moderate Buy' stock with the two best-performing analysts in its corner, over the last three months. Yet, consensus expectations point to robust upside potential ahead. The 12-month average price target of $104.20 reflects 20% more room for the shares to soar.
Rhode Island-based bank holding company Citizens Financial (CFG - Get Report) has had an amazing start to 2018. In the opening half of the year, the stock has rocked almost 16%.
As far as Mosby is concerned, there's a lot more growth spring-loaded and ready to run. The analyst recently maintained a Buy rating on the banking giant with a $53 price target (31% upside potential).
Mosby says, "We believe that over the next 12 to 18 months Citizens should be able to improve its profitability by another 2 full percentage points, as it is able to continue leveraging the current operating environment and accelerate its deployment of excess capital. Therefore, we believe Citizens should be able to generate total shareholder return of over 20%..."
Overall, the 'Strong Buy' stock has received six buy ratings in three months, with consensus expectations circling high. The 12-month average price target of $47.57 reflects healthy optimism in expectations and 18% in return potential ahead.
Watch what KBW's CEO told TheStreet's Executive Editor @BrianSozzi about banking stocks.


Buncombe County is one step closer to recouping the money it claims was misappropriated by former County Manager Wanda Greene and her son, Michael Greene, who served as a county employee until August 2017.
County commissioners approved a more than $2 million settlement from Guardian Life Insurance Co. during a special meeting on July 17. Greene allegedly purchased whole-life insurance policies from Guardian for herself, her son, and eight other county employees using about $2.3 million of county funds. An annuity was purchased for an additional employee.
Board Chair Brownie Newman says Buncombe County did not file a lawsuit against the company and its brokers as it did against Wanda and Michael Greene. But because the company sold the policies to Wanda Greene, the county reached a negotiated settlement through its attorney, Ron Payne.
The exact settlement offered by the company is $2,081,686.37. The Board of Commissioners said in early June that two policies worth $143,000 are still outstanding in Michael Greene’s name. Payne said the company is paying the county for those policies, but as part of the settlement, if the county does receive the policies from Michael Greene, the county agreed to surrender those to the insurance company without any further payment. Newman says the county will also make it clear that the county doesn’t have any other claims against the insurance company or any of its agents or brokers.
The total amount the insurance company received from Buncombe County at Wanda Greene’s direction was $2,310,000.
“I wholeheartedly endorse this because it is a good settlement,” Payne told commissioners on July 17. “The net difference being $228,313.63 is less than what Ms. Greene paid for her own policy. It is about half. I think the insurance company and its broker have done the right thing.” Payne said Greene paid $458,000 for her policies. According to an indictment released June 5, Greene cashed in two whole-life policies issued in her name shortly after retiring June 30, 2017, obtaining about $396,000.
The settlement from the insurance company doesn’t, however, mark the end of the county’s civil lawsuit against the Greenes.
Newman says the county is also seeking to recoup money from the alleged misuse of county funds through purchase cards, illegitimate vacation days and retention bonuses that were not legally permissible.
Answers submitted by State Employees’ Credit Union in response to a June 25 summons to garnish Wanda Greene’s five accounts on deposit there reveal that the value of those accounts was $119,806.84.
In early June, according to court documents, FBI Special Agent Andrew Romagnuolo requested a warrant to seize $29,479.47 held in one of Greene’s SECU accounts. Romagnuolo said in an affidavit that the $396,000 Greene received by cashing out her life insurance policies was deposited in the account in late July.
According to the affidavit, about $155,000 was transferred from the account to a Tennessee law firm in early August 2017, and about $100,000 was transferred in mid-August 2017 to another SECU account held by Greene and ultimately provided to Michael Greene and another individual who is not named in the affidavit. According to court filings, the $155,000 wired on Aug. 7, which was sent to the Tennessee law firm’s account at F&M bank in Clarksville, Tenn., was wired for the purposes of a real estate transaction.
I’m glad they got most of the money back, but that amount of money represents about $8 for every person living in Buncombe county. How can that amount of money go unnoticed because of the actions of supposedly one person? I’ve said it here before; there’s absolutely no way Wanda Greene did all of that misdealing by herself. Brownie Newman lied about “no other county employees benefitting”, and it still feels like he’s lying and hiding stuff now.
How long before we can vote these idiots out? Does Buncombe County have a recall option? If not, I propose a special election where the County holds a vote of no confidence. If it’s the voters will, we have a special election.
Newman lied? Where have you been? The guy is the very definition of what’s wrong with government.


Zolani and Tumi's wedding on The River looked so real.
No matter what drama lurks in the background, weddings are always beautiful to watch and the viewers of The River were treated to one of the most beautiful weddings on TV. Ever!
Tumi and Zolani's wedding had all the frills and trimmings and tweeps couldn't help but feel like they were part of the wedding, which many said was one of the best productions they had ever seen in soapie.
More than the beautiful outfits, celebrity cameos and drunk uncles, the wedding displayed two worlds coming together.
Tumi, a humble girl who grew up in a shack and Zolani ,a rough boy from a rich family, brought their families together in a heart warming way.
Of course, what's a wedding without drama? Zolani slept with a random girl a day before his wedding and Zolani's aunt killed Tumi's father for a diamond he found at the river. Oh, and there's a high possibility that Tumi and Zolani are cousins.
The wedding was just too beautiful and Twitter had to throw in some memes.


Christmas season is "supposed to take us through any of the lean months," says Science, Art and More owner Doug Livingston, of the store he's closing after 12 years.
To his dismay, Seattle shop owner Doug Livingston saw his busiest shopping day in months last Tuesday -- the day after he announced that his store was liquidating. His business, Science, Art and More, did not make enough money over the holiday season to cover rent and the light bill for 2009.
"Christmas for us was 50 percent down, and for a retail store that's huge," Livingston said. "Usually the Christmas season is where we make what profit we do. It's supposed to take us through any of the lean months."
Retailers in December encountered a "perfect storm" of housing woes, rising unemployment, declining wealth and bad weather, retail analyst Amy Noblin said. "Even the best bargains we have seen in decades did little to stimulate conversion," she said.
The effects of the just-passed holiday shopping season will resonate throughout the first six months of 2009. As many as 73,000 retail outlets could close nationwide in the first half of this year, according to an estimate from The International Council of Shopping Centers. The trade group said that the holiday season was the weakest on record, according to data going back to 1970.
Livingston, 60, opened Science, Art and More in 1996 to combine his talents in teaching, business, science and art. Since then, teachers and parents have come to the store on Roosevelt Way Northeast in search of unique items such as real microscopes, science supplies and rock tumblers. After running it for 12 years, Livingston decided to put the three-employee business up for sale in early 2008.
But the credit crunch made it difficult to find a buyer. Meanwhile, the shop's customers stopped coming, or came and spent less.
"If I knew then what I know now, I probably would've moved on earlier, but basically the economic thing has hit everybody and has hit my customers very hard," Livingston said. "It's taken 12 years to build this, to put all this stuff together, so its going to take a little while to take it apart and find homes for everything."
Added retail vacancies are not solely the fault of the recession, says Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and author of "Big-Box Swindle," published in 2006.
"The recession may have triggered the avalanche, but the underlying culprit here is something that has been going on for some time," she said. "Every retailer, every developer, every new project had an opportunity to be profitable by cannibalizing existing sales at shopping centers or downtown."
American shoppers like what's new and big, and so independent retailers and downtowns have suffered because of overdevelopment, she said.
"What you see is these sort of successive waves of new retail formats," Mitchell said. "Retailers themselves lease, so they're fairly footloose."
The retailers with the best chance of survival are ones that are near a grocery anchor, have a good location, ease of access and ample parking, said Doug Clerget, an associate vice president at GVA Kidder Mathews who specializes in retail commercial real estate.
"We're really fortunate in the central business district of Seattle and Bellevue and even the Pacific Northwest," Clerget said. "We are a lot more insulated from a lot of the woes that are affecting the rest of this country."
The Seattle economy is going to suffer, he said, but not to the same degree as places without strong regional employers.
Retail vacancy rates in the region were 4.1 percent in 2008, and are expected to grow to between 5 percent and 6 percent in 2009, he said.
"A lot of people feel that we're heading into doom and gloom but we're really not," he said. "There is going to be some retail fallout, there are some stores that are going to go dark."
Location and previous management are probably what did in the Newport Hills Red Apple Market in Bellevue, said owner Lenny Rose, who remodeled the market after buying it six years ago, he said.
The store was "severely underused," said Rose, who owns parent company Rose and Associates LLC.
"We attribute lack of use up here to previous history," he said. "We're very good store operators."
The other two Red Apple Markets, both in Seattle, are doing fine, he said.
"We're trying to leave as graciously as possible," said Rose, 57. "Some people are very disappointed, but 99.9 percent understand why."


When sheets of rain descended on Deltona and DeBary last week, it was a prophetic reminder that the area isn't out of the water yet when it comes to flooding problems.
It's true that a drive around southwest Volusia County now might lead the cynic to question the wisdom of DeBary and Deltona officials, who are considering spending millions of dollars to combat flooding.
As of now, lakes and other waterways appear to the casual observer to be at low-to-moderate levels.
That, however, is largely a function of the dry year we have had prior to last week's deluge.
St. Johns River Water Management District rainfall data - gathered at gauges from Daytona Beach to Sanford - show the year-to-date amounts through May 31 at roughly 2 to 3 inches below normal, depending on the location.
That wasn't the case a year ago, however, when DeBary and Deltona officials separately began examining their community flooding problems.
Rainfall through May 31, 1996, was 7 to 8 inches above the 30-year normal for the five-month period.
Who can forget the results?
Residents in one area of Deltona had their backyard picnic tables underwater.
Septic tanks were too drenched to function properly.
Some property owners saw their trees and bushes rot from waterlog.
What a miserable lifestyle some in southwest Volusia had to endure a year ago.
Preventing a recurrence must remain in the forefront for Deltona and DeBary elected officials concerned with making the area an attractive place to live.
That's why local homeowners and businesses must support efforts by Deltona and DeBary officials as they move ahead with drainage improvement projects - even when the area appears largely high and dry.
Deltona commissioners wisely remained focused Monday night when they chose Orlando-based Professional Engineering Consultants to design the city's drainage system.
An initial drainage program was projected to cost $3 million for a system that would be phased in over 10 years.
It would be paid for with the current drainage fees of $30 on developed and $17 on undeveloped lots.
Likewise, DeBary City Manager Robert Mauney should be commended for continuing with negotiations on a stormwater drainage system for that city.
Private developers and landholders in DeBary who still haven't agreed to share the project's cost should get involved now in active discussions, lest the city's drainage improvement plan be delayed.
A year ago, local officials were criticized in some circles for waiting until there was a flooding crisis to act.
Now, they are working toward getting a solution in place before the area becomes saturated again - as it could with one unfortunate landfall from a hurricane or another wet year like 1996.
Government officials trying to address this problem now deserve the community's full support and cooperation.


If last night was any guide, New York Magazine got it right when it reported yesterday that Fox is “finished with Rubio."
Host Sean Hannity seemed to be trying to thread the needle by suggesting that Rubio has been brainwashed or bribed by the Republican establishment.
HANNITY: I went on radio and I said that this is not the Marco Rubio I have known all these years. You know, how many times in his interview with Bret Baier last night and Megyn Kelly last night can he say "con artist" and "fraud" and “won't denounce the KKK” and “hired illegal immigrants” and misspelled words and the size of his hands?
And that's not Marco. To me, it seems like the establishment is putting all this in his head. He's regurgitating it and being somebody that he's not! That's my take on it.
But Rivera – who first bragged about his big hands – went right after Rubio.
RIVERA: I'm not a shrink. I don't care. I only know what I see. Marco Rubio tried to take down Trump. And indeed, if you analyze the results last night, I think Donald Trump underperformed.
Now, Marco Rubio was effective in some of these attacks, but at the same time, Marco Rubio destroyed his own character. He made himself smaller than he is, than he could be. He, I think, eliminated any chance that he'll be the nominee.
HANNITY: I think there's influence coming from outside. I think he's being fed this, probably promised a lot of money. I don't think this is the Marco that we have known, and you know, except for comprehensive immigration, a lot of people respected. And to me, it's almost like a Kamikaze mission.
Rivera disagreed. “I don't know why you're giving Marco Rubio the benefit of the doubt. He was such a little snotnose in this attack on Trump.” The two went on to argue about Trump’s refusal to disavow David Duke and the KKK (which, of course, Hannity excused).
Tonight’s Fox News debate should be a doozy. I’ll be starting an open thread shortly before it begins, which is at 9PM ET.
Meanwhile, watch the Rubio bashing below, from the March 2 Hannity.
It's getting nastier and nastier in the GOP.


(Newser) – The Euro zone officially launched its 500 billion euro bailout fund today, but finance ministers said that its first intended beneficiary, Spain, didn't need help just now after all. "Spain needs no aid program," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told reporters. "Spain is doing everything necessary, in fiscal policy, in structural reforms." For now, the ministers are worried about Greece, which is still in intense negotiations with the European Commission, Central Bank, and IMF over budget cuts, Reuters reports.
$500 billion. LOL. Obama laughs at that and raises you a few trillion.
A failing system, making one last gasp with a petty attempt at trying to stay alive, the inevitable is here. Governments are much better ran within communities, not corrupt bureaucrats in distant lands.


A man was arrested after police say he hid a surveillance camera in the bathroom of a dentist office in Phoenix. ABC15's Zach Crenshaw has the story.
PHOENIX — A man was arrested after police say he hid a surveillance camera in the bathroom of a dentist office in Phoenix.
According to court documents, on December 6 the Phoenix Police Department was contacted by a representative for a west Phoenix based dental office in regards to a hidden surveillance camera that was found in the public bathroom of the facility used by both employees and patients.
The weeks-long investigation determined that 27-year-old Innocent Bradley, who became a patient in October, had planted the camera in a pipe sleeve under the sink.
Court documents show that an office employee told police on October 30 Bradley had a scheduled appointment, and after his arrival at the office, was unable to be found to be treated. About an hour after Bradley's scheduled appointment, staff discovered that someone had been in the bathroom for 45 minutes.
When staff knocked on the door, Bradley opened the door and said he needed a few more minutes and then closed the door. Bradley left the bathroom several minutes later with a gray backpack on and went to his vehicle and put the backpack inside. Bradley then went back inside for his appointment.
Office staff told police that patients generally schedule for a return to the office six to eight weeks after the initial service, but Bradley was returning to the office on a regular unscheduled basis after October 30.
Over the course of several weeks, court documents state that Bradley would visit the office without an appointment, would ask office staff a random question about dental services and then ask to use the bathroom. Staff noted that when Bradley was granted access, he would spend up to an hour in the bathroom. Staff also noted that Bradley would take his gray backpack into the bathroom with him.
On December 6, Bradley showed up one day after a scheduled appointment and asked a member of the office a question he had asked before. Office management had decided that because of Bradley's suspicious behavior, he would be told the bathroom was occupied whenever he asked to use it, and a staff member would lock themselves inside. Bradley waited in the lobby for 20 minutes to use the bathroom before eventually leaving to use the bathroom of a facility next door.
After Bradley left, a search was conducted of the bathroom and a surveillance camera was found hidden in a pipe sleeve under the sink. The camera was reportedly facing the toilet, located directly next to the sink.
Phoenix police arrived and collected the camera as evidence.
On December 7, Bradley returned to the office and asked a question about mouthwash before requesting to use the bathroom, but was told the bathroom was out of order.
Bradley returned again on the 10th, and while he waited to use the bathroom, police were called to the office. Once on scene, officers detained Bradley and asked him about his visits.
When asked about the camera found in the dental office's bathroom, Bradley initially denied any knowledge of it, but then admitted he was aware of it placed under the sink and told officers he was afraid to report it to anyone because he was scared. After the interview, police released Bradley until additional information could be gathered.
An SD card was removed from the camera and analyzed by detectives who discovered the camera was motion activated and had captured images of 17 different victims over the span of nine hours, three of whom were minors. An office manager was able to help police determine that that footage was captured on December 5, the last time Bradley had a scheduled appointment and was granted access to the bathroom.
On December 19, police contacted and arrested Bradley. Police have identified 13 of the 17 victims, who were recorded in 20 instances using the bathroom on December 5.
Bradley faces 20 counts of voyeurism.
If you have any information regarding this case, you are asked to contact the Phoenix Police Department or Silent Witness at (480) WIT-NESS.


A California hospital sent a warning to 200 people who may have been exposed to measles in the waiting room of its emergency department.
Add Measles as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Measles news, video, and analysis from ABC News.
A patient who was diagnosed with measles was treated at UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, California, on March 17, according to a statement from Dean A. Blumberg, the chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
Blumberg said the hospital “took appropriate precautions in the areas the patient had visited” and that the patient was the only measles case the hospital had.
“In an abundance of caution, we’ve notified the 200 or so patients who we know may have been in the vicinity” of the patient, Blumberg said, adding that no other measles cases have emerged so far.
The patient diagnosed with measles was an unvaccinated child from Calaveras County, California, who developed the disease after returning from international travel, according to the Calaveras Health and Human Services Agency, Public Health Division.
A medical assistant holds a box of measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine vials at the International Community Health Services clinic in Seattle, March 20, 2019.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes measles as a disease that lives in the nose and throat and spread by coughing or sneezing. Measles can live in the air for two hours after someone with the disease coughs or sneezes. Outbreaks of the disease often begin when people become infected outside of the U.S. and then return but it is also easily spread in areas with people who haven't received the MMR vaccine.
The disease generally appears seven to 14 days after someone is infected, according to the CDC, with symptoms including high fever, cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes and rash with red spots. The CDC recommends two doses of the MMR vaccine for children aged 12 to 15 months and then another dose between 4 to 6 years old. Adults who haven't been vaccinated should also speak to their doctor about getting the MMR vaccine.
According to the CDC, there have been 387 measles cases confirmed across 15 U.S. states from Jan. 1 to March 28, 2019, surpassing the number of cases in the U.S. for all of 2018. According to the CDC, 387 cases is also the second highest number of measles cases to be confirmed in the U.S. since 2000, when the disease was considered eliminated.
The CDC has identified six ongoing measles outbreaks throughout the U.S., including in Washington, New York, and California.


“I was extremely terrified. I was afraid if I didn’t comply, something was going to happen to me," Glen Grays said.
A postal worker who was arrested by NYPD officers while on duty two weeks ago is breaking his silence after video of his detainment was widely distributed on the internet.
Glen Grays told CBS This Morning that the camera footage of his disturbing arrest is what saved him.
“The only thing that I think saved me was that it was on videotape,” Grays said.
The use of cell phone cameras has arguably changed how police interact with citizens. In many cases of police abuse or brutality, camera footage often corroborates the witnesses’ story.
WATCH Roland Martin and NewsOne Now’s coverage of the controversial arrest in the video clip below.
The encounter began when an unmarked police car sideswiped Grays as he walked across President Street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Grays, who was attempting to deliver a package on his route, told officers they almost hit him, prompting the plainclothes cops to surround the 27-year-old. While cuffing him, the officers can be heard yelling, “stop resisting.” Grays insists he’s not resisting, allowing the cops to cuff him and place him in the unmarked car.
“I was extremely terrified. I was afraid if I didn’t comply, something was going to happen to me,” he told CBS.
Police Commissioner Bill Bratton on Monday said he was “not pleased” with what the video showed, adding that the participating officers were supposed to be in uniform.
While video cameras captured the controversial arrest and Grays’ compliance, what they didn’t capture was what happened in the vehicle after officers pulled off.
Eventually, Grays — whose wife is a police officer — was issued a disorderly conduct summons. And although many viewers on the internet deemed the arrest an abuse of power, Grays said he hopes the officers will not be terminated.
The incident is currently under review.


We know that Bruce Springsteen was “Born in the USA.” But the rocker apparently needs to brush up on his geography.
His shout-out received a less than enthusiastic reception.
The 60-year-old singer referred to Ohio several times during the concert.
Finally, E Street Band guitarist Steve Van Zandt whispered the location of the concert into Springsteen’s ear.
Maybe his band mates can chip in and buy the Boss a GPS smart phone.
Republicans are taking advantage of a scandal that involves the former and future Democratic candidate for governor of California, Jerry Brown.
A former aide of current Attorney General Brown admitted that he illegally secretly recorded phone calls with journalists. The aide in question, Scott Gerber, recorded six interviews before he was forced to resign.
In damage control mode following the resignation of the staffer, Brown pledged to fully investigate the matter.
One problem, though, is that the highest-ranking law enforcement officer in the Golden State is investigating himself as he gears up for a run for gov.
Dane Gillette, Brown's chief assistant attorney general, wrote a report that found the taping didn't require a criminal investigation because the conversations were “on the record” with a journalist.
State law prohibits the recording of telephone conversations without the consent of all parties.
Carlin's act led to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation that affirmed the government's power to regulate indecent material on the public airwaves.
In Spring 2009 the Supreme Court dealt with its first broadcast indecency case in more than 30 years. The High Court ruled that the FCC may regulate even one-time uses of profanity on live broadcast television when children are likely to be watching.
The case stemmed from a 2006 FCC ruling that News Corp's Fox television network was in violation when Cher and Nicole Richie blurted expletives during the Billboard Music Awards. Cher let a profane word slip out in 2002 and Richie used two expletives during the 2003 awards. No fines were imposed but Fox challenged the decision.
The FCC was prompted to become more aggressive in overseeing indecent content on the airwaves when pop star Janet Jackson briefly exposed her breast area during the 2004 broadcast of the Super Bowl halftime show.
It is not simply profane language that is presenting problems for family audiences, but that profanity, sexual activity, and explicit violence that used to be restricted to the 10 p.m. hour has leaked into earlier time slots, eroding what was left of the family hour.
At a 2009 summer symposium sponsored by the Alliance for Family Entertainment (a consortium of 40 national advertisers) major network execs declared the family hour obsolete.
They claimed that the idea of a family hour did not fit the manner in which families consume television today.
A study conducted in 2005 by Barbara K. Kaye of the University of Tennessee and Barry S. Sapolsky of Florida State University determined that television viewers were more likely to hear offensive language during the 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. hours than during the 10 p.m. hour.
Profane words in the study were defined as including sexual, excretory words and extremely impolite terms such as “hell.” Kaye and Sapolsky found that the use of profanity on broadcast prime-time television increased from a rate of 5.5 times an hour in 1990 to 7.6 in 2001, and 9.8 in 2005.
The fastest growth was in the use of the same strong four-letter words Carlin listed in his now-famous routine.
Perhaps this explains why words that were rarely heard on TV are suddenly polluting our home atmosphere and, even worse, emanating from our children’s mouths.
After leaks by members of the McCain campaign, which suggested Sarah Palin wasn’t up to the job she was nominated for, it looks like the former veep nominee is fighting back.
In released excerpts from her new book, “Going Rogue,” part of the blame for sending her into the clutches of a ratings-hungry Katie Couric is laid at the feet of the McCain folks.
Palin fingers the McCain campaign for scheduling the interview in the first place and ignoring her own suggestions to put her on Fox News. She also reveals that she covertly contacted Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly.
With the mainstream media gunning for her at the time, Palin would certainly have benefited from a friendlier venue.
The former Alaska governor recounts that the Couric interview was set up at the suggestion of Nicolle Wallace, a McCain campaign staffer. Wallace advised Palin that she had worked at CBS News and knew Couric, and that the CBS anchor liked her and would love the interview to help ratings.
“Nicolle went on to explain that Katie really needed a career boost. ‘She just has such low self-esteem,’ Nicolle said. She added that Katie was going through a tough time. ‘She just feels she can't trust anybody,’” Palin wrote.
“If it doesn't go well, if there's no chemistry, we won't do any others,” Nicolle said.
Palin agreed to one interview with Katie and the rest is history.
McCain adviser John Weaver is snapping back at Palin.
Palin also indicated in her book that the McCain folks wouldn’t take any steps to counter the “Saturday Night Live”-Tina Fey attacks, not even the suggestion that Sarah be a guest on the show.
Hollywood is consumed with the subject of piracy  not the high seas kind but the Internet type, i.e., the digital plundering of music, films, software, etc.
Internet piracy is rampant, particularly in the music industry, and efforts to persuade music lovers to pay for downloaded music has been met with little success.
Zach Horowitz, president and CEO of the Universal Music Group, testified at a House committee that only 1 out of 20 music downloads are legit, and only 1 in 3 music CDs are not pirated versions.
In 2008 some 40 billion music files were illegally shared on the Web, a piracy rate of 95 percent, according to industry estimates.
An irony of the plunging music business is that the very same companies that have promoted and sold sludge laden gangsta rap and heavy metal records are feverishly trying to convince the youthful looters they influenced that stealing is wrong.
Even a U.N. agency head is speaking out on the subject.
Francis Gurry, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization, said music copyright protection was “under the most severe stress” and the problem will likely spread to films as Web connections speed up.
Another global player, the European Parliament, dropped its opposition to France’s “three-strikes” policy on Web piracy.
France, of all places, has created an aggressive crackdown on Internet piracy that includes barring defendants from accessing the Web. The French plan compels Internet service providers (ISP) to take consecutive actions against those who are accused of piracy. After three warnings, an ISP could suspend an individual’s Internet access for up to a year.
Initially, the French Parliament voted down the piracy law, resistance to it having been spearheaded by the Socialist Party.
It is significant that the Socialists would block anti-piracy laws since a firm grasp on property rights is a precondition to understanding the moral dimensions of illegal downloading.
Meanwhile the gaming world is reeling after Microsoft barred as many as a million people from using Xbox Live in an attempt to clamp down on piracy.
About 20 million gamers are signed up to compete with each other on Xbox via the Web. Microsoft says it blocked consoles because owners altered the hardware to play games they had not paid for.
Those affected will have to buy new machines if they want to connect to Xbox Live, which allows them to compete with other gamers online.
For those of you who are interested in more in-depth coverage on the topic, I will be moderating a panel discussion on Internet piracy at the Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills on Nov. 19. The panel will feature top entertainment executives, lawyers and technology experts.
You can send me a note via the Newsmax contacts page to obtain further details on the event.


At first, Tracy Kennedy thought it was a hoax.
Kennedy, a single mother of two children, one of whom is enrolled in the Alexandria City Public Schools district,was livid after the district announced the planned closure on Monday.
The single-day protest, staged by the organizers of the January Women’s March on Washington, coincided with International Women’s Day, an annual celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women,” according to the group’s website.
Participants were encouraged to stay home from work, patronize women and minority-owned businesses, or wear red to show solidarity with the movement if they could not afford to take a day off.
The Alexandria school district announced that its schools would be closed Wednesday after more than 300 staff members asked to take the day off.
“The decision was not made lightly,” Helen Lloyd, a spokesperson for the school district, wrote in an email. Lloyd added that it was “not based on a political stance or position.” Free breakfast and lunch was also offered for all students at six different locations regardless of which school they attended.
Prince George’s County Public Schools, a Maryland county that borders Washington, D.C., also closed its school district for the day.
The school district’s CEO, Kevin Maxwell, said in a statement Tuesday that roughly 1,700 teachers and 30 percent of the district’s transportation staff had requested leave.
Katie Morgan, a mother of five who has two children enrolled in Prince George’s County, said she received the news late Tuesday night while she was at a PTA meeting. Morgan said she was surprised but believed the county made the right call, adding that she could empathize with the teachers.
“They are so underpaid and undervalued and, coincidentally, have a high female to male ratio,” Morgan said.
The median annual salary for kindergarten and elementary school teachers in the U.S. is approximately $55,000, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Wednesday’s protest placed a fresh spotlight on gender equality, feminist writer Maureen Shaw told the NewsHour.
“There’s no denying [women] are severely underpaid and undervalued, and the strike is calling attention to this,” Shaw said.
But Shaw said it also raised questions about income inequality within the women’s rights movement, given that many women were not able to afford a day off.
“[This] may alienate a large swath of women, as well as the tens of millions of women who make minimum wage and have neither the financial security or flexibility to strike from paid work without risk of penalty,” Shaw said.
The organizers of “A Day Without a Woman” addressed this and other issues on the “Women’s March on Washington” website, the group’s main platform. The goal of the strike, they wrote, was to work to “end the hiring discrimination” that women continue to face in the workplace.
The organizers acknowledged that “it is possible that some women may be fired,” noting that a dozen people were reportedly fired for staying home from work during the “Day Without Immigrants” strike that took place last month.
Kennedy, the single mother of two from Alexandria, said the argument didn’t resonate with her.
Sandy Marks, who also has a child enrolled in Alexandria’s public school district, said the debate was drawing attention away from the point of the protest.


Resistance from environmentalists, and death threats against them, puts spotlight on El Dorado mine.
Canada's Pacific Rim mining company owns all the land around El Dorado in El Salvador - one of the most coveted gold mines in Central America.
But the company has been unable to dig in because of resistance from local environmentalists who say that cyanide used in gold mining will contaminate their rivers.
The mine is currently shut down because of protests. Recent murders and death threats against activists in the region have put the spotlight on the gold mining project there.
Al Jazeera's Lucia Newman reports from Cabanas, El Salvador.


I just read your column on the three things a CEO should do to be successful (What a Good CEO Does: Three Things). Would you agree that, in most cases, the company could fire the CEO and hire someone young, smart, and hungry at 1/10 the salary/perks/bonuses who would achieve the same performance?
Now, I do try to respond to reader emails - even the really disturbing ones - so I gave it some thought and replied, "No." I mean, he didn't ask what I thought, just if I agreed with him. And, well, I didn't.
In case you're wondering what led to that answer, it was a simple calculation. Using my salary and bonus as CEO of a venture-backed company some years back, the reader was asking if I thought the board could have hired someone of my caliber for around $30K a year. Sort of a no-brainer.
That said, I think "Are CEOs Worth It?" is a very intriguing question. And since most people don't have a clue what a CEO actually does or how much the average CEO actually makes, it certainly deserves and answer.
Is Steve Jobs "worth it" to Apple's shareholders, customers, and employees? I think you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who would say "no." Likewise, was Bill Gates worth it to Microsoft's stakeholders? How about Richard Branson and the Virgin Group? Sure, they're founders / entrepreneurs. So how about John Chambers at Cisco, Eric Schmidt at Google, Meg Whitman at eBay, or Andy Grove at Intel. Are they worth it? Of course they are.
Was Lou Gerstner worth it to IBM? When everyone else thought the only way to save the company was to break it apart, Gerstner alone realized that "IBM had a unique and unequaled capability to apply complex technologies to solve business challenges." By restructuring IBM around that new value proposition, Gerstner brought "IBM back from near extinction." He was worth it.
How about Howard Schultz? Without him, there would be no Starbucks. Is he worth it? How about Fred Smith of FedEx, Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines, or John Mackey of Whole Foods? Do I need to tell you what kind of return on investment all these CEOs I've named so far made for their stakeholders? How many jobs they created? They were all worth it.
Folks love to throw around big numbers from CEOs of the S&P 500, but there are about 9,000 public companies in the U.S. and at least an order of magnitude more private companies. The vast majority of CEOs don't make anywhere near the kind of dough you read about all the time in the media. Typical small business and startup CEOs probably don't make a whole lot more than their highest paid employees.
CEO pay example: Harold Hughes, CEO of Rambus - a $300 million company valued at $2 billion - last year total comp, not including stock, was $633,000. Sure, his stock and option grants were valued at $1.1M, but only because the stock went up. CEOs of most private companies, which are much smaller, probably make about half that.
Just so you know, I certainly don't think every CEO is worth it. Just look at a few recent failed or failing turnaround attempts: Jonathan Schwartz at Sun, Dan Hesse at Sprint, Michael Dell at Dell, Jerry Yang at Yahoo, Mike Zafirovski at Nortel. Are they worth it? Probably not.
These days everybody's talking about Wall Street versus Main Street, whatever that means. The truth is that Wall Street is a narrow sliver of corporate America. It's also part of a dysfunctional system that includes the Treasury, the Fed, Congress, and federal regulators, i.e. the foxes are guarding the hen house. So no, I'm not going to sit here and defend what top executives on Wall Street make. It's obscene, it's corrupt, and it stinks to high heaven.
As the pinnacle of the business world, people tend to either glamorize or trash CEOs. While that's understandable, it's not logical. After all, it's just a job. And like any job we've never had, most of us know very little about what it entails. We only know what we read, and that's pretty hyperbolic, if you ask me.
Bottom line. Some CEOs are worth it and some aren't. Indeed, in some cases, CEO pay is out of control and corporate governance is dysfunctional at best. Moreover, I generally think that companies get what they pay for. And, if you did a quantitative analysis of CEO compensation versus stakeholder satisfaction, I suspect you'd find a bell curve similar to that of any other job or profession.


Super Bowl I, Jan. 15, 1967. Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10.
Max McGee might have started off life in football as a punter, but he’ll forever be remembered as the man who scored the first-ever touchdown in a Super Bowl. His spectacular one-handed grab of a 37-yard pass from Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr gave the Packers the early lead in their eventual 35-10 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. McGee had caught only four passes all season but snared seven for 138 yards and two TDs in the Super Bowl. Funnily enough, because McGee didn’t expect to start the game, he violated the team’s curfew policy and spent the previous night out on the town. The next morning, he told starting receiver Boyd Dowler, “I hope you don’t get hurt. I’m not in very good shape,” which pretty much screamed hangover to anyone paying attention. Dowler went down with a separated shoulder on the Packers’ second drive, and McGee, who then had to borrow a teammate’s helmet because he hadn’t brought his own from the locker room, was put in the game. A few plays later, history was made.


Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created and led by August Darnell. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin American, South American, Caribbean, Trinidadian, and Calloway styles and conceptually inspired by the big band era. The Coconuts are a trio of female backing vocalists/dancers whose lineup has changed throughout the years.


Celebrate the festive season on the shore of glistening Lake Como, in a comfortable hotel situated across the water from beautiful Bellagio. Enjoy all-inclusive full-board accommodation, with music each evening and a splendid six-course Christmas Day feast, and discover one of Europe's most scenic corners on some wonderful included and optional excursions.
Fly to Milan, and transfer by coach to your hotel.
Your first unforgettable full day begins with a boat trip across the water to Como's most sparkling settlement, stunning Bellagio, often described as Italy's most beautiful town. Step ashore for a short walking tour and time to explore, before returning across the water for lunch at the hotel.
Later, we'll journey by coach to Como Town, where the lakeside Piazza Cavour and nearby Via Plinio, beneath the majestic cathedral, are home to a colourful Christmas Market selling local produce and wares. After dark, a dazzling Magic Light Festival illuminates the historic buildings. Soak up the festive atmosphere before returning to the hotel in time for dinner.
Spend Christmas Eve relaxing in your hotel and in the nearby resort of Cadenabbia-Griante, or join our half-day optional excursion to Switzerland's stylish Lugano, delightfully set on the shore of the smaller lake of the same name. After a chance to explore, return to the hotel to begin your festive celebrations.
Your memorable Christmas Day includes a relaxing cruise on the lake, taking in the sight of the historic villas that dot the wooded shore, and culminates with a splendid six-course Christmas meal of antipasto, pasta, a fish course, turkey, mince pies, traditional Italian panettone, crackers and even English Christmas pudding. With a small gift for all, musical entertainment and the wine flowing, an unforgettable evening is guaranteed.
Join this morning's optional full-day excursion to Milan, one of Europe's most exciting cities. See Sforzesco Castle, the famous Galleria shopping mall, La Scala (one of the world's greatest opera houses) and the great cathedral, Il Duomo (which is Italy's largest Gothic church). Enjoy a tour in the company of a local guide, before returning to Cadenabbia in time for dinner and a relaxing last evening at the hotel.
Bid "arrividerci" to your hosts, and transfer back to the airport to board your flight home.


Justin Timberlake is to guest on a song on the Black Eyed Peas' new album 'Monkey Business'.
MTV News reports that the track is called 'My Style', with the Black Eyed Peas' Will I Am explaining that on the collaboration the band and Timberlake built the song from the beat up.
Other guests on the album include John Legend, Jack Johnson and Sting, who appears on 'Union', a reworking of his own song 'Englishman in New York'.
'Monkey Business' is released on 7 June.


TWO care homes in Clacton have been praised for their food hygiene standards.
Corner House, in Wash Lane, and Corner Lodge, in Meadow Way, Jaywick, have both achieved the top rating – five stars – as part of the new Food Hygiene Rating scheme, which Tendring Council signed up to earlier this year.
This rating reflects the findings of the council’s food safety officer’s inspection of the kitchens, other food preparation areas, dining rooms, food handling practices of the staff, and food storage practices of the care homes.


March 16, 2019 — The Lady Vikings opened the softball season with a pair of home stands, beginning Wednesday with a match-up against Harrisburg originally scheduled as a road game in the Eagles’ nest.
A combination of a fiery Harrisburg offense and a series of Siuslaw errors that resulted in the Lady Eagles picking up their second win of the week after slamming 12 hits and 13 runs against Siuslaw.
In the meantime, the Vikings battled, led at the plate by freshman Bailey Overton, who had two RBIs, 2 runs scored and a double. Senior catcher Lexi Smith also crossed the plate for the Viks after stealing a base.
From the pitcher’s circle, junior Nina Aaron struck out 6 Eagles batters and gave up only 5 earned runs — with Siuslaw’s 7 team errors contributing to Harrisburg’s scoring run.
“We have to work at not beating ourselves and staying present with the play that’s in front of us,” said coach Sean O’Mara. “But I feel we played well for our first game of the season, especially considering the number of underclassmen we had starting — including at shortstop.
Thursday, Siuslaw was back on the diamond for a doubleheader against visiting Sutherlin.
In the first game, the Vikings led 8-4 through the first four innings as the Lady Bulldogs chalked up 2 runs in the fifth and 2 more in the sixth before taking the lead in the top of the seventh inning for the eventual win, 9-8.
Senior infielder Hayley Meier led Siuslaw offensively with a double and 1 run scored.
In the nightcap, both teams pounded the softball, combining for a total of 26 runs in the game.
For Siuslaw, Overton scored twice and went 2-for-2 at the plate, knocking in 3 RBIs and connecting for a double, triple and a pair of stolen bases.
Smith had an RBI, 2 runs scored and a double against the Bulldogs.
The Vikings had a total of 10 errors in the two-game series, with 7 of those errors committed in the second game.
Despite that, the Vikings rallied from a 14-4 deficit in the bottom of the fifth as dusk was setting in, combining for 8 runs — with six of those scores on a two-out rally with five walks and four hits.
Three singles and a bases-clearing triple later by Overton, and the Viks had closed the gap to two runs, 14-12.
However, the Bulldogs managed to hold that score and secure the two-run win.
“The Vikings showed a lot of grit in that inning,” O’Mara said.
Siuslaw will be back on the field this Tuesday, on the road at Pleasant Hill.
First pitch is set for 4:30 p.m.


With the air balmy and the skies sunny, it's time to take an art stroll. Here's a look at three galleries all in the 100 block of East Sixth Street, between Sixth and Seventh avenues.
Rosanna Marmont traded the green rural landscapes of her New Zealand childhood for the dry vistas of the American Southwest.
After spending her teenage years in Canada and studying art at Concordia University in Montreal, Marmont decamped to Tucson, where she's been painting Arizona landscapes.
Her big oils on wood, now on view at the year-old Gallery 2 Sun, seem at first to check off all the boxes in conventional Western landscapes.
In "Looking North," for example, a brand new oil on maple, she paints big skies, vast spaces and brilliant sun. Her wooden "canvas"—a long horizontal almost 7 feet long—seems as sweeping as the land itself.
But Marmont more often subverts the landscape genre, adding in the real-life encroachments that we prefer to "edit out" of our wilderness, as she puts in in an artist's statement.
"Navajo Power Plant," from 2018, an oil on birch, drops a generating station right in the middle of a vast stretch of desert. Marmon lets the plant sneak up on you. First you admire the big view of Navajo Nation land, with skies opening up over a distant horizon, subtly rendered in earth-toned beiges, browns and ochres. But eventually you spot the towers of the power plant. Dwarfed by the immense landscape, the towers belch out smoke, despoiling the once-pure wilderness.
"Navajo," also big at 4 feet wide by 7 feet tall, featuring a dazzling sunset, with clouds lit by the dwindling sun, and earth below, zeroes in on the contradiction between the Southwest's natural beauty and its human struggles. It takes a minute to see the banged-up old trailer hugging this lovely land, and the power lines in the distance. There's poverty amidst the richness of the terrain.
Marmont also tunes into poverty closer to home, painting sun-drenched trailer parks in Tucson. Delicately colored in whites and pastels, these captivating works emphasize the blocky geometry of the mobile homes. Some of these parks, with names like "Adobe Manor Mobile Lodge," are inhabited by footloose seniors, but many are the tumbledown homes of the Old Pueblo's poorest.
Marmont's imaginative technique also deserves attention. She layers the oils in her paintings so thin that the wavy grains of the wood underneath are visible. Part stained wood, part painting, the dual-identity works mirror the contradictions in the lands they depict.
Manifest Destiny: Rosanna Marmont continues through April 27 at Gallery 2 Sun, 100 E. Sixth St. Open 1 to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Free. 360-8074; gallery2sun.com.
Davis Dominguez Gallery, painter Jenny Day has a major exhibition of large-scale paintings and small collages. An MFA graduate of the UA, Day has been rising rapidly in the art world on the strength of her fractured landscape paintings.
I first saw Day's work at a show at the Tucson Botanical Gardens six years ago, and called it an "exhilarating solo show of energetic paintings by an ambitious young painter." That's still true.
Her new acrylic and mixed media paintings are filled with discordant objects. In "Bifurcated Translation," a powder blue pick-up is atop a swimming pool in what looks like a wintry landscape. A golden arch that seems half McDonald's, half church architecture, presides over a junk yard overflowing with chopped-up computer screens and record albums in "Miscalibration: Sacred Profane."
But these pieces are more kaleidoscopic than these descriptions make them sound. The elements are topsy-turvy, cut-off, stretched out, floating here and there, like images in a dream, or a nightmare. As the exhibition's notes suggest, these are broken, cubist-inspired landscapes.
The colors are intoxicating: fuchsia red atop the truck's pale blue, brilliant green leaves against white. And in a strange homage to an upside-down white horse (the painting "Startup Prometheus, horse horse unicorn"), hot pink flowers lie against blood red.
An array of small collages clues us in a bit to the artist's process. They're made of cut paper, with found images clipped from magazines or advertisements, perhaps, alongside drawings and painting scraps of her own. Day takes these fragments and assembles them into compositions that may defy physics and logic, but hold the power to excavate memory and dreams.
On Our Watch: Environmental Group Show, featuring Day's paintings and collages, lithographs by Andy Polk and sculpture by John Davis, continues through April 20 at Davis Dominguez, 154 E. Sixth St. Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Free. 629-9759; davisdominguez.com.
and Davis Dominguez, the Contreras Gallery is in the last days of a popular show by watercolorist Frank S. Rose. Now 91 years old, the long-time Tucson painter and retired preacher regularly hikes the Catalina Mountains and occasionally leads trail hikes for groups.
But he devotes plenty of time to painting the many delights of the Catalinas. The 31 watercolors in this show catalogue the mountains in snow and in summer, in the vivid oranges of fall and the delicate greens of spring.
Sometimes Rose paints the mountain peaks, others times he zeroes in on the intricacies of rock formations. Elsewhere he concentrates on the sheltering forests, where Tucsonans flee to escape the summer heat. In "Deep in the Forest," Rose's wife wanders in the tree's cool shadows; a tiny figure far ahead on the trail, she's overshadowed by the massive pines. "Ski Run Snow" is a charming small painting of the big tree trunks casting shadows on the snow, diagonal landscape.
Rose takes on the skies as well, capturing mist over Thimble Peak and painting the mountaintop where the red lookout station is perched on a mountaintop. And let's not forget water. Rose paints a stream tumbling down the rocky hillside at Seven Falls. His pièce-de-résistance is a grand panorama of the entire south face of the Catalinas, seen from afar, its long outlines sketching the view Tucsonans cherish every single day.
The paintings in the gallery are reproduced in Rose's book Catalina Mountains: A Guide Book with Original Paintings. Available at Antigone Books.
The Art of Frank Rose: Watercolor Landscapes of the Catalina Mountains closes this Saturday, March 30, at Contreras Gallery, 110 E. Sixth St. Regular gallery hours 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Wednesday to Saturday. Free. 398-6557; contrerashousefineart.com.


Amnesty International is calling on UK ministers to urge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to lift the blockade on Gaza when the Israeli leader makes a state visit to Britain this week.
Mr Netanyahu, who is set to meet David Cameron, other senior politicians and diplomats during his two-day visit beginning today, has defended the eight-year-long blockade of Gaza on the grounds that it prevents weapons being smuggled into the Palestinian territory. However, the crippling blockade includes bans - or severe restrictions - on the import and export of fuel, food, building materials and other essential goods into Gaza.
It also prevents the vast majority of Gaza’s 1.8 million population from travelling to the occupied West Bank or abroad, including those requiring urgent medical treatment. Such restrictions amount to collective punishment and Amnesty is calling for the blockade to be lifted permanently, Last week the United Nations warned that Gaza could become uninhabitable within five years because of “de-development” through the blockade as well as repeated military conflicts.
During last year’s 50-day Israel/Gaza conflict, some 1,500 civilians in Gaza were killed - including more than 500 children - as well as six civilians in Israel, and Israeli forces inflicted massive destruction and damage to civilian objects, including homes, businesses and vital infrastructure in Gaza. All parties to the conflict committed serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes, and Amnesty is pressing for justice, truth and reparation for the victims.
Earlier this year the State of Palestine joined the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, despite efforts from Israel to prevent this. Amnesty wishes to see UK ministers publicly supporting the Palestinian move, while also pressing Israel itself to join the Court.
“Mr Cameron should tell the Israeli PM that Israel’s security concerns shouldn’t be used as an excuse to collectively punish, impoverish and humiliate 1.8 million people in Gaza.
“David Cameron should be direct with Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him that Gaza’s suffering is unacceptable and must end now. Israel has an obligation to end its collective punishment of Gaza’s civilian population, and completely lifting the blockade is the right thing to do.
“The UK should be unequivocal about Israel’s settlement policy in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, which is a war crime. The UK must press for an immediate halt to Israel’s construction and expansion of illegal settlements, as a first step towards removing civilians living in them. All those suspected of criminal responsibility for Israel’s settlement policy must be brought to trial.
On 12 August 2014, after considerable pressure for it to stop exporting arms to Israel, the UK government announced that it had identified 12 export licences for arms and other military equipment to Israel that it said it would suspend if “significant hostilities” resumed. This represented a significant weakening of the UK’s own rules, which stipulate that arms should not be supplied where there is a clear risk they might be used for serious violations of international law. Subsequently it was announced that no licences were ever suspended. Amnesty was strongly critical of the UK’s stance then and is now calling for it to suspend all arms exports to Israel while there remains a substantial risk of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by Israel and armed groups in Gaza.
Benjamin Netanyahu has continued a policy of settling Israeli civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, in violation of international law. He has continued to authorise new construction in existing settlements, as well as the expropriation of Palestinian land to build a new settlement near Bethlehem. This is illegal under the Fourth Geneva Convention, Additional Protocol I, and the Rome Statute. The presence of settlements has led to mass violations of human rights of the local Palestinian population, including restriction of movement and the destruction of homes. Unlawful transfer of Palestinians and wanton destruction of property not justified by military necessity both constitute grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Such a breach carries specific third-state obligations, as well as individual criminal liability, and is codified as a war crime.


In an event called “Car Week,” it shouldn’t come as surprise to anyone that there’s a lot to see. There were so many incredible cars around, driving around the town of Carmel and checking the posh hotels nearby made for a whole car show in itself. You don’t even need to fork over a few hundred dollars for tickets to some fancy shows to see some interesting stuff.
During quieter days of Car Week, i.e. when there weren’t any big shows going on, I spent some time going to Carmel-by-the-sea and various hotels scattered around the area in search for some random cars around. As this was my first visit to Car Week I had no idea what to expect.
I do wonder if the residents of Carmel miss seeing all the crazy and interesting cars this week brings for the other 51 weeks of the year. When else do you see a Porsche 911 GT2 RS parked casually on a residential street?
Down the road was a white and black Bugatti combo with an EB110 SS and a Veyron Supersport. On another day there was a Volcano Yellow McLaren P1 just sitting stationary in Race Mode. Another random hypercar sighting in Carmel yielded a black carbon body Koenigsegg CCXRS outside a Starbucks.
I guess driving with a convoy of other Koenigseggs under the Monterey sun can build up a thirst.
While most of Car Week occurs during the actual week, some of crazier stuff comes out during the weekend as events wrap up. I found one matte black and gold Lamborghini Murcielago SV was parked outside a restaurant just a block away from the factory-painted mint Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
On Ocean Avenue, the main high street in Carmel, a random BMW M1 drove past us. And the Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 that was at the RM Auctions driving around on Monday morning. There were also a couple of Lamborghini Centenarios out. One was refueling and the other sitting nicely at the valet of the Marriott.
The valet lots are always worth checking out because with a week full of supercars trying to out-do each other, only the best are kept in front while the “lesser” cars are moved to another parking lot.
The Inn at Spanish Bay was a prime example of this. On the first day there was a Ferrari Daytona and F12tdf combo parked outside. But as the week went by and more cars showed up the Ferrari GTs disappeared to make way for cars such as a LaFerrari Aperta and Coupe, a one-off pink McLaren 720S, a Swiss-registered Mercedes-Benz 300SL, a Ferrari F40, one of the new Ford GT Heritage Edition cars, a Jaguar XJ220, and a Mazda Porter Cab imported from Japan, driven by Autodromo watches founder and friend of Jalopnik Bradley Price.
The Hilton houses the car from the Fuel Run rally, which included a pair of Ferrari F50s. The Hyatt Regency were where the two white and black Bugattis were staying as well as a silver and yellow Ferrari F12tdf, and a Porsche 993 Carrera RS.
The Fairway One at Pebble Beach became known as the “Ferrari House” during the week, as it became a base for Ferrari’s 70th Anniversary celebrations in Monterey. The lineup outside was a jaw-dropping selection of some of Ferrari’s best modern cars including the 1 of 6 Ferrari Sergio, a few more Ferrari F12tdf, and around half a doze LaFerraris. I did try to go into the Ferrari Store inside one of the buildings, but apparently I needed an invite or a ticket to get in. How very typical of Ferrari—you can’t even buy swag without buying some other stuff first.
Parking lots at events such as The Quail were also a great place to check for some random wonderful finds. It’s quite difficult to get into the car lot unless you already have tickets to the show, but if you do you might see it’s worth checking out.
I only did a quick walkabout, I didn’t want to be too far away from the free food and drinks for too long, but I did see a Porsche 993 GT, a very green Porsche 918 Spyder, a Nissan EXA (quite random), a one of 50 Lamborghini Murcielago LP650, a Gulf livery McLaren 675LT, another new Ford GT, several 911s remade by Singer, and remnants of the Pagani convoy.
Not to be outdone, Pebble Beach had some interesting cars scattered around as well. The highlight was the Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR sitting outside the AMG house randomly one afternoon.
This was the car that made me want to go to Car Week as I’d never seen one properly in Japan. The Mercedes 300SEL 6.3 in front of it was a decent bonus too.
Elsewhere, there was a RUF CTR2 and a Jaguar XJR-15 parked outside The Lodge. We also stumbled across the Volkswagen iD Buzz Concept doing a photo shoot on the beach at 17 Mile Road. It was pretty cool to see a concept driving around on public roads. Then to wrap it all off once the Concours was done on Sunday and all the cars had packed up, the Pagani Zonda HP was moved to a car park and sat by itself for a few hours until the sunset.
If that wasn’t enough just driving around randomly and visiting various places you’d see some special cars. McLaren had the XP4 F1 on display at their house in celebration of the F1’s 25th Anniversary. Koenigsegg had a rally around Monterey for their owners and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Bugatti Veyron.
Among one of the coolest cars around Car Week was the Porsche 911 Sport Classic, though the owner doesn’t like calling it a Sport Classic, just yet. Owned by a SoCal resident, the ‘911SC’ is an ongoing project that began six months ago after he decided to “make” his own Sport Classic using a manual Carrera S as a base since they were never sold in North America. All the parts came from Porsche including the bumpers, Fuchs alloys, and the ducktail.
There were so many more other cars dotted around, it was impossible to see them all in a week. For many, shows like The Quail and the Pebble Beach Concours are the main attractions for Car Week, but there’s so much to it than that.
You could equally enjoy it without having to pay ridiculous sums of money just to see cars parked on a golf course lawn.
Unlike other events I’ve been to most of the cars on show can also be seen driving around town or the roads within Pebble Beach. For me it’s more enjoyable seeing these cars actually being driven and that’s what made Car Week great for me, that and the awesome people coming together for cars.
Car Week is a whole experience in itself and I’d recommend going at least once. I’ll definitely be back next year.


President Trump is “open” to the idea of visiting Moscow, but only if he receives a formal invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin, the White House has said.
"He is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Friday, adding that the President also looks forward to hosting Putin in the US next year.
Putin said on Friday that he has already invited Trump to Moscow, and that he is "ready to come to Washington" to meet with Trump.
Earlier this week, Trump postponed a Washington meeting between the two leaders until next year, citing political fallout over Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing and still fruitless ‘Russiagate’ investigation.
The Kremlin had not formally agreed to a meeting, which had been slated to take place this fall. Aide Yuri Ushakov said that while a meeting should take place, “it would be wise to let the dust settle” first.
Trump was heavily criticized by Democrats, Republicans, and the US media for meeting with Putin in Helsinki, Finland, earlier this month. They argued that Trump should have pressed his Russian counterpart harder on allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, and should have warned Putin against interfering with the upcoming 2018 midterm elections.
While Trump was eviscerated in the media for his handling of the Helsinki summit, a recent poll conducted by The Hill found that 54 percent of Americans support a second summit between the two leaders in Washington, and 61 percent say that better relations with Russia are in the best interests of the United States.


ROUND OF THANKS: Handing over the money at last years golf tournament, from left, Kevin Porter (former GP), Richard Maltby, Professor Giles Toogood, Simon Ambrose (retired bowel surgeon).
Cancer survivor Richard Maltby – who has raised £114,000 for charity over the past 14 years – is aiming to boost funds with his 15th annual golf challenge in July.
Richard, 67, a retired manager at BT, who lives in Aberford, was diagnosed with bowel and colorectal liver cancer in 2002.
At the time he was given a 40 per cent chance of surviving five years but after surgery and a six-month course of chemotherapy at Spire Leeds Hospital, followed by further treatment due to recurrence in 2004, he has now been clear of the disease for 13 years.
He was so grateful to the doctors for saving his life, that the golf fan challenged his surgeons to a tournament to raise funds for Rays of Hope Charity – the Yorkshire Liver Research Fund.
Together with his family and friends he set up the annual event at Wetherby Golf Club. The appeal helps fund research into combined liver and bowel cancer, led by Professor Giles Toogood, who treated Richard at Spire together with Professor David Sebag-Montefiore and Simon Ambrose.
Richard, who is married with two children and one grandchild, said: “I was so grateful to the doctors for saving my life I wanted to say thank you in some way.
Professor Giles Toogood, consultant hepatobiliary and liver transplant surgeon at Spire Leeds Hospital, said: “We are extremely grateful for Richard’s efforts and monies raised will help fund key developments in research for hepatobiliary surgery and oncology.
“Its support is invaluable in finding new ways to treat the disease; including research into the effects of using Omega-3 fatty acids on liver cancer, as well as working towards developing a new vaccine.” Richard’s next golf day will be held at Wetherby Golf Club on Thursday July 20.
He is expecting 20 teams of four from around the county and beyond to take part.


To Host or To Travel for Thanksgiving?
This year, for the first time in my adult life, my husband and I are hosting a family Thanksgiving at our Austin, Texas home. In the past, we’ve usually gone to my mother’s house in New Jersey, meeting up with my siblings and extended family. But this Thanksgiving, with two very young children and a lot of cross-country travel already this year, we opted to stay home and invited my in-laws from Miami and Berkeley, Calif., to celebrate with us.
This year’s change-of-plans got me thinking about what is more stressful and what I prefer: to host or to travel?
Previous Holiday Travel: Dealing With New Security Measures Next Will Parents Return to Children's Tylenol?


Central Bank governor Philip Lane said that it is essential that, even if firms with significant exposure to Brexit are hoping for a “soft type” of UK exit from the EU, they are prepared for downside risks.
“While many firms are moving forward with Brexit preparation plans, the final impact on Ireland as a host for international trade in financial services will depend on the outcome of the EU27-UK negotiations, with the nature of the duration of the transition arrangements an important factor in determining the speed of adjustment,” Prof Lane told the European Financial Forum conference in Dublin on Wednesday.
He said that, as the negotiations move forward in the coming months, the Central Bank and wider European financial supervisory system will be “agile” in responding to the regulatory implications of a new trading relationship between the UK and EU.
The Central Bank governor reiterated that his institution’s view that Brexit will have a long-term negative effect on the Irish economy as it leads to “trading frictions” between the UK and remaining EU states as well as affects the UK’s long-term economic performance.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the third annual such gathering in Dublin of international and Irish bankers and insurance and asset management executives that the Government “is very keen to do whatever we can” to win more financial services as a result of Brexit.
While banks such as JP Morgan and Bank of America, insurers like Beazley and asset managers including Legal & General have announced plans to move activities to Dublin, there is a view in financial circles that Ireland is trailing cities like Frankfurt and Paris in the race head of the UK departing the EU in March next year.
Gerry Cross, director of policy and risk at the Central Bank, told the conference that while there was “significant concern” that supervisory arbitrage would “break out” among European countries competed for Brexit-related activities.
Addressing concerns that European regulators’ insistence that firms moving activities from London to maintain access to the single market would have to duplicate systems and operations to ensure that they placed substantive operations in the new units, Mr Cross said it’s about getting the right balance.
He said authorities such as the Central Bank of Ireland need to make sure there is “appropriate substance” in regulated business for supervisors to do their work. “Having said that it is very important that we don’t go further than that,” he said.


Tor Project speculates on how law enforcement agencies managed to locate black market websites using the Tor network in "Operation Onymous."
By now, virtually anyone on the Internet should have heard that law enforcement agencies around the world in a concerted effort have taken down over 400 website pages belonging to around 27 services suspected of providing illicit services on November 5 and 6. What everyone knows is that "Operation Onymous" succeeded in arresting 17 suspects believed to be operating these illicit websites providing services ranging from selling drugs to hiring hit men.
These agencies also managed to seize drugs, gold, silver, and approximately $1 million worth of bitcoins. What no one seems to be able to confirm is how these agencies gained control of these Tor hidden services. There is now rampant speculation of FBI's new Tor-breaking technology and widespread compromise of the Tor network.
One popular theory is that rather than developing new, cutting-edge technology, agencies were able to locate these hidden services and perpetrators due to mistakes committed by the suspects themselves. It may just simply have been good, old-fashioned detective work. The feds may have been able to identify Blake Benthall as the administrator of infamous online black market Silk Road 2.0 due to one amateur mistake: he registered the site's server to blake@benthall.net. A blog post on Tor also posits that security errors such as an insufficient processor power or memory may have made these websites vulnerable to attacks.
Executive Director of the Tor Project Andrew Lewman speculated that police may have simply followed Bitcoin transactions to identify the arrested suspects. Bitcoin, the popular peer-to-peer digital currency system, is often used in transactions for black market sites due to its encryption and difficult traceability. In May, Ivan Pustogarov and his colleagues presented a viable method to deanonymize Bitcoin users, even when using Tor services. CERT researcher Alexander Volynkin previously suggested that there were even more vulnerabilities in the Tor network and was set to expose these flaws in a Black Hat presentation in August. However, the presentation was abruptly pulled due to the content not being approved for public release by both Carnegie Mellon University and Software Engineer Institute.
Another popular rumor is that agencies use malware like SQL injections to locate these sites. A SQL injection exploits database query software to either steal data or insert malicious code. Direct attacks on Tor relays are another strong possibility that has concerned Tor developers and users. Tor is frequently updated to shore up its defenses against deanonymization attacks like the Guard Discovery attack, which allowed hackers to identify the guard node of hidden services. Because the guard node is the only relay to contain the IP address of the hidden websites, hackers can compromise it to obtain access to the location of the hidden services.
Despite the best efforts by law enforcement agencies to land a heavy blow on the dark Web, another website on the Tor network by the name of Silk Road 3.0 sprouted up this Friday. Cutting one black market site only leads to the creation of another and for law enforcement agencies, anonymity will remain their biggest obstacle to stemming global trafficking and prostitution services on the web.
The continued creation and usage of black market sites may signal an unwavering trust in the anonymity that the Tor network still provides. What operators of the black market should realize however, is that people will always make human mistakes and those very mistakes may lead to their own demise (or arrest).


PLYMOUTH To learn more about the history of Plymouth, you can explore exhibits in a museum and search the archives and books at a library. To learn about Plymouth's future however, ask your neighbors, the business owners and the people who come to visit. Plymouth residents, businesses and visitors are all encouraged to get on board and participate in the Wheel of Progress to set the course and direction for the overall image and message of Plymouth. Mayor Mark Senter together with Dan Tyree, superintendent of the Plymouth Public School Corp., and Mark Gidley, president of PIDCO, have spearheaded the beginning of what is being called the Wheel of Progress: 2010. Each group is committed to the economic growth and development of Plymouth and members all agree in the need to have a cohesive, unified vision of the city to properly represent the strengths of Plymouth online. The Wheel of Progress: 2010 is designed to reach out to the community and uncover the value points of what Plymouth as a whole is all about and what exactly attracts and retains its residents, businesses and visitors to the city. The Wheel of Progress will start with a survey that will be open to the public and available in mid-October. This one page survey is in printed format or online. Printed surveys may be picked up in person from the mayor's office and throughout a variety of locations and businesses, or the survey is online at http://www.iheartplymouth.com. There will be incentives to encourage the public to participate but the true reward can be found in each person owning the reputation of the town and investing in the overall vision and direction of growth. Senter urges the public to share their ideas, vision and thoughts through this survey. The results of the survey will represent the community's opinions on its strengths and will be a guide to an overall strong message and image for Plymouth. Once the results are collected from the community, a Wheel of Progress Report will be presented in a public forum in early December. Details will be announced.


A 157-acre plot of land known as "The Mountain" is touted as the finest undeveloped plot of land in Los Angeles. It offers stunning 360-degree views of Southern California, including the distant Santa Catalina Island and well beyond downtown Los Angeles.
It hit the market in the summer of 2018 with a staggering list price of $1 billion. In February 2019, the sprawling patch of land at 1652 Tower Grove is listed at $650 million. The land has been owned by trusts, entities and celebrities, including talk show host and game show producer Merv Griffin, since the 1970s, according to Forbes. It was purchased in the 1970s by the sister of the shah of Iran before being sold to Griffin, according to CNBC. The property was never developed until recently, when Secured Capital Partners provided the needed infrastructure. It's expected to attract a buyer seeking to build a sprawling private compound.
Scroll down for images of "The Mountain."


Something known as "his package."
Perhaps it was the constant strain from working out so hard for the meaningless Olympics that forced the heart problem to the surface.
Did u read his obit? The wife was the LAST one shown as a survivor....... Guess the obit was written by parents?
Athletes, no matter how so-called healthy they are, die just like the rest of us.....Whats the point of working out? We all die...so be it.
"Lenzi is the last American to win an Olympic gold medal in diving" – A very unfortunate loss, but, this needs to state that he is the last male diver to win Olympic Gold. Laura Wilkinson won in 2000.
The photo caption indicates the pic was taken in 1991 so NO, that was not the year before he won the gold medal in 1996. Check your math, CNN! Does anyone proof this stuff?
It's sad when anyone this young passes. What a terrible loss for his family and friends.
He was his gold medal in 1992 – 1996! Maybe you should take your time to read the article!
Watching him during Olympic '96 coverage, I couldn't help but remark that he had a sweet upper body. Lovely pecs. Damn shame about his passing.


Which Random Skill Should You Gain Before Summer Is Over?
Why not learn something while you still have a little free time?
Ideally, how active would you want to be?
I wish I had more time to spend at the gym!
I wish I had more time to sleep!
I like to work out a few times a week, and that's enough!
I get all of my exercise from Pokemon Go. And I'm very okay with that.
What could you spend the most time doing?
What do you want to do Friday night?
Go to a concert with my friends.
I don't care as long as I'm not at work!
Spend time with my family.
Watch Netflix and go to bed when I want.
You're at a party and someone across the room seems interested in you. What do you do?
Break out your go-to party trick. Hopefully it will impress them.
Play hard to get and start talking to someone else, but you still glance at them every once in a while.
Just go over and talk to them!


You will overcome suffering and disappointment in your love life and with friends. You will begin to see the world with the eyes of a child and you will once again marvel at the beauties of divine creation. Your social life expands and will offer you opportunities to be happy with someone who shares your interests. Lucky numbers: 28, 15, 33.
Take your time to do your own thing without anyone rushing you. Do not focus on disagreements with your family or partner. Keep in mind that in every relationship there are ups and downs. Follow your intuition in everything related to finance and love. Apply what has been learned in past experiences. Lucky numbers: 4, 32, 18.
You will begin to know yourself better. Take care of your spirit by feeding it with books of inspiration or mysticism, as well as practicing meditation and yoga. You will change your skin and begin a period of resurgence, resurrection and recycling. You will rise with new energy to overcome everything. Lucky numbers: 17, 22, 38.
Partnerships with foreigners or people of different ages will be of great help in your personal development. An excellent period has arrived for self improvement, studies and intellectual pursuits. Let the forces of love flow in your life. Love everything you do and apply passion. Lucky numbers: 18, 10, 2.


MEDFORD — Traditionally, the Halloween season is a busy one for the city and this year is no different with many activities for children of all ages and their families joining in the celebration.
On Friday and Saturday, several popular events will kick off the festivities.
The annual Medford Chamber of Commerce Business Trick or Treat takes place in three major Medford squares: Medford Square, Haines Square and West on Friday from 3-5 p.m. All children are welcome to get an extra day of trick or treating by visiting the many Medford businesses participating in the event.
Haines Square: School of Oom Yung Doe, Fitness Together, Vicks Vape Shop, Brookline Bank, Century 21 Advance, Dunkin Donuts, Kelly’s Unique Kids and LaBella Hair.
Medford Square: Lonergan Insurance, Chamber of Commerce, Roland’s, Medford Public Library, CVS, Play Academy, Somerville Dental Associates, Medford Center for Orthodontics (Forest Street), Middlesex Federal Savings, Century Bank, Salvatore’s, Brookline Bank, Members Plus Credit Union, Maietta Insurance, Mystic Valley Travel, ABCD, SmashBurger and Riverside Chiropractics.
West Medford: West Side Preschool, Kenco Printing, Brookline Bank, Sanctuary UCC and Pompeo Insurance.
— Carroll’s Halloween party is from 8:30 p.m. to midnight. The Medford Square restaurant will have live music and prizes for the best costumes. Carroll’s Restaurant is located at 21 Main St. in the heart of Medford Square.
— St. Francis of Assisi Church is having a Halloween Bash from 5-9 p.m. The $5 per child price includes a goodie bag and six games. St. Francis Church is located at 441 Fellsway West, Medford.
— The third annual West Medford Square Halloween Block party is for the whole family and will include drinks, dancing, trick or treating, and more.
— Tufts University invites Medford children from Grades K-2 to its annual “Halloween on the Hill” event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parents wishing to register their children for this event may do so at https://sites.tufts.edu/tuftslcsnewzsf/halloween-on-the-hill/.
The event is free and children are asked to dress up in costume. Children are dropped off by parents at the Leonard Carmichael Lounge (the event is sponsored by the Leonard Carmichael Society-LCS) before 10 a.m. They are then led around the Tufts campus where they will visit a haunted house, view other Halloween shows and take part in other fun games and activities. Parents are asked to provide the kids with a bag lunch. The LCS is an umbrella organization featuring 30 unique community service groups.


As a writer, it’s fair to say that I traffic in telling stories. The world is of infinite interest to me because at any given moment there are hundreds of dramas unfolding all around. The way my brain is wired, I like to home in on these dramas, interpret them and recycle and reinvent them for use in stories that I will tell in the future. This requires, first and foremost, the ability to understand human nature, which comes from not only years of living but also a natural curiosity about people and really strong observational skills.
My friend and mentor, the late Trinidadian scholar Wayne Brown, was crucial in helping me hone those skills. He believed, as did I, that my writing reflected a truly visual component that would accommodate film format. He encouraged me, before he passed, to consider turning some of my stories into films. My spirit bore witness and ever since, I began looking out for opportunities to do so. Who could I get to develop screenplays for me? I kept racking my brain.
The answer came, as it so often does, in an unexpected form.
In March 2015, that little human dynamo of the Calabash International Literary Festival, Justine Henzell, invited me to an advanced screenwriters’ workshop the organisation would be hosting in May for writers and film-makers. The organisers, she explained, were committed to the development of Jamaica’s film industry and had arranged to fly in international screenwriter and studio executive Laurie Parker to conduct it. Would I participate?
At first, I had what I now think of a Hattie McDaniel moment, you know. Total freak-out mode, full-blown panic attack. Who me? I don’t know nothing ‘bout birthing no scripts!
But Then it hit me. This was the answer I’d been looking for. Instead of someone else writing screenplays, this was the perfect opportunity to control my own narratives. Screenwriting was simply another platform from which to do what I love most in this world: telling stories.
Sugar, about a young maid at a North Coast hotel who dreams of a better life for herself and her family.
Sugar would be made and continued to work with me by Skype every morning after she returned home to Washington. Soon, I had an outline, a treatment and the tentative beginnings of a film script.
Fast-forward to a year later.
Sugar and another short film, so I’m running ideas by her.
Then one day, I get an e-mail from Justine. Again. Almost a year to the day she’d emailed about the workshop. This time, it’s to tell me about a competition the Jamaica Film and Television Association (JAFTA) in association with JAMPRO, called the JAFTA Propella film project. This pilot initiative is an open call for five Jamaican screenwriters to submit treatments for short films for a chance to get a grant of J$500,000 to complete the films and have them screened at the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival (TTFF) in September.
Do I dare? I ask Laurie, who is fired up and brimming with good old yes-we-can American optimism.
Sugar, from which I extract a section that can work as a standalone short, and build on it. I can write the script, but I’d need a director, which, I’m adamant, must also be a woman. But, I caution myself, no need to stress about that: it won’t get to that.
Imagine the supreme shock when I’m contacted by JAFTA Propella, advising that my film has been selected as one of five to represent Jamaica at TTFF.
Missed, I’d seen in the New Caribbean Cinema collective anthology production Ring Di Alarm. Michelle’s directorial eye is what I know I absolutely need for this project, and wouldn’t you know, she’s not only available but eager to come on board.
Laurie invites me to her home on Lopez Island in Washington, and I spend the month of June hammering out a script. After copious, copious, rewrites — Michelle and Laurie, my patient collaborators who prod me to the point of tearful frustration until the script is where they deemed it to be at its polished best — we are ready to roll.
Movie-goers have absolutely no idea the amount of work that goes into making a film, even a short one. The stress level is unimaginable. Interference must be run with cast and crew, locations need to be locked down, wardrobe mistresses procured, and the list goes frighteningly on. Fortunately, as I get to find out, there are people who actually sign up for these challenges. Thank God, Team Sugar gets the best in the person of Sarah Manley, whose immediate commitment is phenomenal. Talk about the little engine that could. She works wonders with the budget, and where there’s a shortfall, she goes into her own pocket. In no time, everything’s in place.
Very soon the weekend shoot arrives. Of course, a shoot wouldn’t be a shoot without a few glitches, and the original two-day shoot blooms into three days. But no matter. The film finally gets done!
Sugar has been brought to life and the experience has been simply incredible!
I am immensely grateful to JAFTA in partnership with CHASE and JAMPRO, under the supervision of the new film commissioner Renee Robinson, for the opportunity they afforded me, not only by way of the grant, but also by technical support. They provided script-to-screen workshops, boot camps and international script consultation with the indefatigable director and NYU Film School instructor Alrick Brown for all five film-makers, whose works were simply stunning. I am also unbelievably grateful to Michelle Serieux, who, when she shared her vision of filming Sugar in a long, continuous shot, I knew would be a co-collaborator and creative partner for a long time.
We did it, and now Sugar is out in the universe, making the rounds at film festivals. It’s now been shown at TTFF and the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival, with scheduled stops for Jo’burg, Pretoria and Belize in the new year. My thanks to the vibesiest cast and crew for helping to make my dream come true!
"We are living in very serious times. As a woman from the Caribbean, identifying as Afro- Caribbean, it is important for me to articulate my perspective and world view. Sugar was for me an opportunity to do that, as the film’s story represents a broader narrative and tells a larger story that speaks to our history as a previously colonised space, our history as enslaved people and our currently-beingwritten history as participants in a new type of servitude masquerading as a tourism industry. Sugar is a layered postcolonial narrative that forces the audience to really consider the ways in which black working class women in our plantation society have had to weave and bob and sacrifice and compromise in order to survive. Sugar is a document of a specific time in the growth of our civilisation.
The film comes at a time when it is critical that we as Caribbean citizens represent our realities authentically, at a time when we can finally, as a mass of people recognise the totality of the injustices committed against our ancestors and against us, crimes whose effects persist today in policies that stifle our economies, that allow a former coloniser to take liberties on our collective dignity by offering to build us a new jail as opposed to formally and officially acknowledging the crimes against our humanity during the African holocaust. Sugar was for me, a shout-out to the resilience of our people, to us always finding a way not just to survive but to thrive, all this in the face of unrelenting pressure.
Sugar is a shout-out to the black women who are the pillars of our society, it is a shout-out to the working class who toil and labour incessantly, the ones whose hard work and sacrifices push us forward. Sugar is an affirmation of our collective sacrifice and exploitation as Caribbean people by societies that continue to extract and demand and impose. But in the end, the film is ultimately an articulation of the hope that after we’ve lain with lions, we emerge stronger, wiser, better and more prepared to take the next step in charting our own destiny. When Sharon Leach asked me to direct this film, I said yes because all of these themes lay within her text and it was an honour and privilege to be able to interpret and communicate this in a visual work."