Name Lars Jaeger
Address Rosenweg 10a, 6340 Baar
Email mail@larsjaeger.ch
Lars Jaeger (born 1969 in Heidelberg, Germany) is a Swiss-German entrepreneur, scientist, writer, financial theorist, alternative investment manager. He studied physics and philosophy at the University of Bonn in Germany and ÉcolePolytechnique in Paris and holds a doctorate degree in theoretical physics from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden, where he also performed post-doctoral studies.
His writing has focused on two areas: finance and science. Un his scientific writing Lars’ focus is on the history of science, the interplay of science and spiritual traditions, how science shaped and continues to shape our modern society, and how the ongoing technological revolution unfolds itself. In finance, Lars has published books on hedge funds, quantitative investing, and risk management. With his books he has been an influential voice in the hedge fund industry fostering developments towards more transparency, liquidity, and cost efficiency. He was the founder and CEO of Alternative Beta Partners in Zug, Switzerland, that targets the extraction of alternative beta as a cost efficient way of accessing hedge return sources. Lars has taught at several universities over the years (European Business School, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, ETH Zurich, etc.)
Prior to founding Alternative Beta Partners in early 2010 Lars had served Partners Group as a partner for eight years, responsible for hedge fund and alternative beta investments, risk management and managed accounts. He is a co-founder of saisGroup, a hedge funds asset management firm, which merged into Partners Group in 2001. Jaeger started his finance career in 1997 at the quantitative research firm Olsen & Associates in Zurich. Since 2014 Lars Jaeger has worked with GAM as “Head of Alternative Risk Premia”. Lars lives in Baar, Zug, and greatly enjoys the growing up of his three daughters.
See also: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Jaeger


Everything on Kong: Skull Island is bigger in first official pic
Tag: Kong: Skull Island
Tag: Tom Hiddleston
Tag: Brie Larson
Tag: SDCC 2016
Everyone’s favorite giant teddy bear ape, King Kong, is returning for a cinematic encore when Kong: Skull Island will beat its massive chest on the big screen in early 2017. The man helming the blockbuster movie, Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer), promises everything will be bigger in the movie reboot.
Skull Island -- which won’t feature the beauty-and-the-beast storyline that was a staple of the previous movies (aww) -- takes place in the 1970s and stars Tom Hiddleston as an ex-British SAS tracker and Oscar winner Brie Larson as a war photographer. You can get an idea of just how massive the scale will be in this first official image of Larson and Hiddleston in what looks like a boneyard. So, just how big can we expect Kong to be in the movie?
Here’s what Vogt-Roberts told Entertainment Weekly:
“From the size of the skull, you can tell that things on this island are much bigger than audiences are used to with traditional Kong lore. Our Kong is by far the biggest Kong that you’ve seen on screen, and that translates to a lot of different things on the island. In terms of actual size, our Kong is by far the biggest Kong. Peter Jackson’s Kong was around 25 feet. The ‘33 Kong ranged between 25 feet and 50 feet, I want to say he was 50-plus feet when he was on the Empire State Building. He varied in size dramatically! The ’70s Kong was somewhere between them. The thing that most interested me was, how big do you need to make [Kong], so that when someone lands on this island and doesn’t believe in the idea of myth, the idea of wonder – when we live in a world of social and civil unrest, and everything is crumbling around us, and technology and facts are taking over – how big does this creature need to be, so that when you stand on the ground and you look up at it, the only thing that can go through your mind is: ‘That’s a god.’”
Until the first trailer finally comes out (crossing my fingers for it to be released during next week's SDCC), the picture below can give us an impressive idea of the scale of the giant ape.
Also starring Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Tobby Kebbell and John C. Reilly, Kong: Skull Island opens in movie theaters on March 10, 2017.
(via EW)


Education & Science›
Students in higher education in Mexico in 2017/2018, by degree and gender
Number of students in higher education in Mexico in the academic year 2017/18, by degree and gender
by Marina Pasquali, last edited Jul 10, 2019
At the beginning of the 2017/2018 academic year, approximately 3.9 million people were enrolled in a formal higher education program in Mexico. As it can be seen in the graph, the majority of them - almost 170 thousand men and 167 thousand women - were enrolled in an undergraduate course at a Mexican university.
University/technological bachelor 1,697,511 1,668,354
Postgraduate 115,228 124,720
Higher technician 102,075 68,400
Normal education* 22,795 65,912
As of August/September 2017
Enrolled for the 2017/2018 academic year; Only formal education
* Under this category are grouped all the teaching academic courses to form teachers for the different education levels.
College enrollment in public and private institutions in the U.S. 1965-2028
The 20 richest colleges in the U.S. 2018
Educational attainment in the U.S. from 1960 to 2018
Number of higher education institutions in the U.S. from 1980-2016
Statistics on "Colleges and universities in the U.S."
Enrollment Figures
Attendance Costs
Number of higher education degrees earned in the United States from 1950 to 2029 (in 1,000s)Degrees in higher education in the U.S. 1950-2029
Number of higher education institutions in the United States in the academic year of 2017/18, by stateU.S. - higher education institutions, by state 2017/2018
Educational attainment distribution in the United States from 1960 to 2018Educational attainment in the U.S. from 1960 to 2018
Number of higher education institutions in the United States from 1980 to 2016Number of higher education institutions in the U.S. from 1980-2016
Share of all degrees granted by public, private nonprofit and for profit colleges in the United States 2013/14, by degree typeDistribution of degrees granted in the U.S., by institution and degree type 2013/14
Number of U.S. population in 2018, by educational attainment (population in thousands)Educational attainment in the U.S. as of 2018
Forbes ranking of the best colleges in the United States in 2018Forbes ranking of the best U.S. colleges in 2018, by overall payoff
Undergraduate enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities from 2007/08 to 2017/18 (in millions)Undergraduate enrollment in U.S. Universities, 2007 to 2018
Undergraduate enrollment numbers in the United States from 1970 to 2028, by gender (in 1,000s)Undergraduate enrollment in the U.S., by gender 1970-2028
Number of undergraduate students enrolled in the United States from 1976 to 2017, by ethnicity (in 1,000s)Undergraduate enrollment numbers in the U.S., by ethnicity 1976-2017
Undergraduate enrollment numbers in the United States from 1970 to 2028, by full/part-time attendance (in 1,000s)Undergraduate enrollment in the U.S., by attendance 1970-2028
College enrollment in the United States from 1965 to 2017 and projections up to 2028 for public and private colleges (in millions)College enrollment in public and private institutions in the U.S. 1965-2028
Number of post-baccalaureate students enrolled in the United States from 1976 to 2028, by gender (in 1,000s)Post-baccalaureate enrollment numbers in the U.S., by gender 1976-2028
Number of post-baccalaureate students enrolled in the United States from 1976 to 2017, by ethnicity (in 1,000s)Post-baccalaureate enrollment numbers in the U.S., by ethnicity 1976-2017
Number of post-baccalaureate students enrolled in the United States from 1976 to 2028, by full/part-time attendance (in 1,000s)Post-baccalaureate enrollment numbers in the U.S., by attendance type 1976-2028
Revenue of public degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States in 2016/17, by source (in billion U.S. dollars)Revenue of public degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the U.S. 2016/17
Federal funds for postsecondary education programs in the United States in 2017, by government department (in million U.S. dollars)Federal funds for postsecondary education in the U.S., by department 2017
Federal funds for research programs at universities and related institutions in the United States in 2017, by government department (in million U.S. dollars)Federal funds for research at U.S. universities, by department 2017
The 20 richest colleges in the United States in FY 2018, by endowment funds market value (in billion U.S. dollars)The 20 richest colleges in the U.S. 2018
Average revenue generated per FTE* student in public community colleges in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)Average revenue per student in a public community college in the U.S. 2003-2013
Average revenue generated per FTE* student in private bachelor's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)Average revenue per student in private bachelor's institutions in the U.S. 2003-2013
Average revenue generated per FTE* student in public master's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)Average revenue per student in U.S. public master's institutions 2003-2013
Average revenue generated per FTE* student in private master's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)Average revenue per student in a private master's institution in the U.S. 2003-2013
Forecast for higher education outlays in the United States from 2018 to 2029 (in billion U.S. dollars)U.S. - forecast for higher education outlays 2018-2029
Expenditure of public and private colleges and universities in the U.S. from 1970 to 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)Expenditure of public and private colleges and universities in the U.S. 1970-2017
Average expenditure per FTE* student in public community colleges in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars) Average expenditure per student in U.S. public community colleges 2003-2013
Average expenditure per FTE* student in private bachelor's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)Average expenditure per student in U.S. private bachelor's institutions 2003-2013
Average expenditure per FTE* student in public master's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)Average expenditure per student in U.S. public master's institutions 2003-2013
Average expenditure per FTE* student in private master's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)Average expenditure per student in U.S. private master's institutions 2003-2013
Average annual charges per student for higher education in public and private institutions in the U.S. from 1970 to 2018 (in U.S. dollars)Average annual charges for higher education in the U.S. 1970-2018
Average attendance cost* when living on-campus and studying in-state at U.S. universities 2016/17, by state (in U.S. dollars)Attendance costs when studying in-state at U.S. universities, by state 2016/17
Average cost for tuition and other fees at universities in the United States from 2000/01 to 2016/17 (in U.S. dollars)*University tuition costs and fees in the U.S. 2000-2017
Annual tuition and fees for full-time students at leading universities in the United States in 2018/19 (in U.S. dollars)Annual tuition and fees at leading universities in the U.S. 2018/19
Average cost to attend university per year in the United States from the academic year 2000/01 to 2016/17 (in U.S. dollars)*Cost to attend university per year in the U.S. from 2000-2017
Average annual cost to attend university in the United States, by institution type 2013-2019 (in U.S. dollars)Average cost to attend a U.S. university, by institution type 2013/14 - 2018/19
Average cost for room and board at U.S. universities per year from the academic year of 2000/01 to 2016/17 (in U.S. dollars)Room and board cost per year at U.S. universities 2000-2017
Mexico: students in higher education in 2017/2018, by degree
Mexico: students in higher education 2017/2018, by gender
Chile: foreign student enrollment in higher education in 2016, by country
Number of international students in higher education India 2015 by region and program
Number of European students in higher education India 2015 by region and gender
Number of Asian students in higher education India 2015 by region and gender
Number of American students in higher education India 2015 by region and gender
Chile: foreign student enrollment in higher education in 2016, by region
Number of African students in higher education India 2015 by region and gender
Number of female international students in higher education in India 2015 by country
Number of international students in higher education in India 2015 by region
Leading public universities across India 2015 by number of international students
Number of international students in higher education in India 2015 by leading country
Number of international students in higher education in India 2005-2015
Chile: LatAm foreign student enrollment in higher education 2016, by country
Number of pharmacy students by course of study in France 2014
Postgraduate enrollment in Chile in 2009-2015
Mexico: number of students in higher education 2018, by state
Mexico: number of students in higher education 2018, by state & gender
Mexico: female students in higher education 2018, by federal entities
Tertiary education in South Korea
Cosmetics and personal care in South Korea
Inter-Korean relations and issues
Game industry in South Korea
Cafe industry and coffee drinkers in South Korea
Saving for college in the United States
Attending university in the U.S.: employment prospects and earning potential
Higher education in the United Kingdom (UK)
Beginning Subbaccalaureate Students' Labor Market Experiences: Six Years Later in 2009
2016 Workforce Readiness Survey
2017 Future Workforce Survey
Number of higher education degrees earned in the United States from 1950 to 2029 (in 1,000s)
Number of higher education institutions in the United States in the academic year of 2017/18, by state
Educational attainment distribution in the United States from 1960 to 2018
Number of higher education institutions in the United States from 1980 to 2016
Share of all degrees granted by public, private nonprofit and for profit colleges in the United States 2013/14, by degree type
Number of U.S. population in 2018, by educational attainment (population in thousands)
Forbes ranking of the best colleges in the United States in 2018
Undergraduate enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities from 2007/08 to 2017/18 (in millions)
Undergraduate enrollment numbers in the United States from 1970 to 2028, by gender (in 1,000s)
Number of undergraduate students enrolled in the United States from 1976 to 2017, by ethnicity (in 1,000s)
Undergraduate enrollment numbers in the United States from 1970 to 2028, by full/part-time attendance (in 1,000s)
College enrollment in the United States from 1965 to 2017 and projections up to 2028 for public and private colleges (in millions)
Number of post-baccalaureate students enrolled in the United States from 1976 to 2028, by gender (in 1,000s)
Number of post-baccalaureate students enrolled in the United States from 1976 to 2017, by ethnicity (in 1,000s)
Number of post-baccalaureate students enrolled in the United States from 1976 to 2028, by full/part-time attendance (in 1,000s)
Enrollment at leading universities in the United States in 2018*
Change in full-time equivalent student enrollment in public higher education institutions in the United States from 2006 to 2016, by state
Revenue of public degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the United States in 2016/17, by source (in billion U.S. dollars)
Federal funds for postsecondary education programs in the United States in 2017, by government department (in million U.S. dollars)
Federal funds for research programs at universities and related institutions in the United States in 2017, by government department (in million U.S. dollars)
The 20 richest colleges in the United States in FY 2018, by endowment funds market value (in billion U.S. dollars)
Average revenue generated per FTE* student in public community colleges in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)
Average revenue generated per FTE* student in private bachelor's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)
Average revenue generated per FTE* student in public master's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)
Average revenue generated per FTE* student in private master's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)
Forecast for higher education outlays in the United States from 2018 to 2029 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Expenditure of public and private colleges and universities in the U.S. from 1970 to 2017 (in billion U.S. dollars)
Average expenditure per FTE* student in public community colleges in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)
Average expenditure per FTE* student in private bachelor's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)
Average expenditure per FTE* student in public master's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)
Average expenditure per FTE* student in private master's institutions in the United States, from 2003 to 2013 (in 2013 U.S. dollars)
Average annual charges per student for higher education in public and private institutions in the U.S. from 1970 to 2018 (in U.S. dollars)
Average attendance cost* when living on-campus and studying in-state at U.S. universities 2016/17, by state (in U.S. dollars)
Average cost for tuition and other fees at universities in the United States from 2000/01 to 2016/17 (in U.S. dollars)*
Annual tuition and fees for full-time students at leading universities in the United States in 2018/19 (in U.S. dollars)
Average cost to attend university per year in the United States from the academic year 2000/01 to 2016/17 (in U.S. dollars)*
Average annual cost to attend university in the United States, by institution type 2013-2019 (in U.S. dollars)
Average cost for room and board at U.S. universities per year from the academic year of 2000/01 to 2016/17 (in U.S. dollars)
Number of students enrolled in higher education in Mexico in the academic year 2017/18, by type of degree
Number of students in higher education in Mexico in the academic year 2017/18, by gender
Number of foreign students regularly enrolled in higher education institutions in Chile in 2016, by country of origin
Number of international students in higher education across India in 2015, by region and program
Number of European students in higher education across India in 2015, by region and gender
Number of Asian students in higher education across India in 2015, by region and gender
Number of American students in higher education across India in 2015, by region and gender
Number of foreign students regularly enrolled in higher education institutions in Chile in 2016, by region of origin
Number of African students in higher education across India in 2015, by region and gender
Number of female international students in higher education across India in 2015, by leading country
Number of international students in higher education across India in 2015, by region
Leading public universities across India in 2015, by number of international students
Number of international students in higher education across India in 2015, by leading country
Number of international students in higher education across India from 2005 to 2015 (in 1,000s)
Number of Latin American foreign students regularly enrolled in higher education institutions in Chile in 2016, by country
Number of students enrolled in pharmacy at university in France in 2014, by course of study
Number of students enrolled in postgraduate programs in Chile from 2009 to 2015
Number of students in higher education in Mexico in the academic year 2017/18, by state
Number of students in higher education in Mexico in the academic year 2017/18, by state and gender
Number of female students in higher education in Mexico in the school year 2017/18, by federal entity


click on images to enlarge
Bors was an Englishman living in Essex in the 12th century. When the Twelfth Doctor saved him from a splinter, Bors pledged himself to the Time Lord as a debt for the Doctor “saving his life.”
Bors was with the Doctor while he was trying to meditate in a castle. Bors and his men began to dig a well on the Doctor’s orders when he claimed the water they had wasn’t good enough. It took them nearly a week to find water, and the Doctor suggested they build a visitor’s centre once the well was complete, annoying Bors.
Bors was also able to solve the Doctor’s magic trick, but admitted he still thought of himself as an idiot. He also noted that The Doctor was unable to meditate due to the fact he couldn’t remain silent, but then listened intently as the Doctor told him about a battle field he had found which would be his last. (The Doctor’s Meditation)
Bors later challenged the Doctor to an axe fight, to which he arrived playing an electric guitar and riding a tank. Distracted the Doctor’s presence with the crowd, Bors was strangled by one of Colony Sarff’s snakes, and converted into a Dalek puppet.
After Colony Sarff took the Doctor prisoner on his ship, Bors, with his free will lost, located the Doctor’s TARDIS for the Daleks. (The Magician’s Apprentice)
In DWM 492, a fan asked showrunner Steven Moffat how Bors became a Dalek puppet. Moffat revealed the snake which wrapped itself around Bors’s neck also bit him, and Colony Sarff’s venom contained the Dalek conversion nanogenes seen in Asylum of the Daleks.


“The Pedestrian Crush” on 34th & 7th Avenue
by on September 11, 2009 | 5,180 Plays
Although there is undoubtedly an amazing streets renaissance going on in NYC, there still remain places in dire need of improvement. Heavily-used areas like the blocks surrounding Penn Station area from 4 to 7 PM on weekdays are overwhelmed with pedestrians making their way home to via a network of subways, NJ Transit, the Long Island Railroad, Amtrak and catching myriad buses. The sidewalks are so clogged by this "crush of humanity" that people are forced to walk in the streets. If you've never seen it or fear claustrophobia, get ready.
Our Executive Director Mark Gorton recently went out to the sample the atmosphere on a typical weekday commuter night and posits that we can do much better in our choice of allocation of street space. His words sum it up nicely:
The reason it's so crowded here is not because there's not enough space, it's because we give all of our space to the least spatially-efficient form of transportation available.
Of course he is referring to the automobile, especially the single-occupant vehicle. Oddly enough, I did a PSA over three years ago which aired during our initial NYCSR campaign launch. I filmed most of it in the same location. And it still looks much the same, perhaps worse.

 Mark Gorton: [0:01] The automobile is a space hog, and the rest of us pay the price. Look at it. There is a demonstrated need for much wider sidewalks. Why? Because it's 10 people wide having to walk in the street! [0:14] I'm standing here at West 34th and Seventh Ave, and it is just an unpleasant place to be. We had a hard time finding a place to stand to just even talk. And just think about it. There are people, every day, just have to go through this crush of humanity. And you say, "OK, New York's a big city. It's got a lot of people." But the reason it's so crowded here is not because there's not enough space. It's because we give all of our space to the least spatially efficient form of transportation available.

[musical interlude]

Mark Gorton: [0:54] The people that are here, most all of them got here on mass transit. This is a mass-transit crowd. It's a mass-transit place. It's a mass-transit city. We're here near Penn Station. We're here near the subway. There's great accessibility to this location.

[1:09] Right now, the explicit policy of the city, that has accumulated over 100 years of policy making decisions, is to consciously try and promote automobile usage and suppress human activity, because there is a fight for space. You've got little kids. Think about what it's like being a little kid. It's not just the cars. It's the people. You're going to get stepped on. As a parent, it's not even safe to bring your kids here, just because it's so crowded. We've made our streets hostile, toxic places for people.

[musical interlude]

Mark Gorton: [1:47] Do you think anyone likes walking in the middle of Seventh Avenue, with all this nasty traffic and the honking and the buses and the danger? People don't want to do it. They're doing it because they're forced to do it. As a society, we tolerate this. We tolerate incredibly crowded, dangerous conditions.

[musical interlude]

Mark Gorton: [2:12] What we have here can be fixed in a day with action from the DOT, like we saw over in Herald Square. These sidewalks can be wider. You could just put out some temporary cones as a start. Paint the ground, a few barrels, a few planters. Bam. It doesn't have to be like this, because we have made a decision, as a society, to try and cram as many cars onto our streets as possible. It is very easy to make policy decisions that get rid of the cars.

[2:38] However much space we will give to cars, they will take. People will selfishly take it because we give it to them. Right here in the middle of New York City, if you had 16 lanes, you'd have 16 lanes of cars. If you have two lanes, you have two lanes of cars. It is that simple.

Posted in Pedestrians. Tagged as Manhattan, Mark Gorton, Pedestrian Safety, Quality of Life.
http://meadonmanhattan.wordpress.com/ Howard Freeman
I'm sympathetic, having been born and raised here (96th and Madison) and now raising three boys on the UWS. That said, the argument is 100% correct for 34th and Seventh and perhaps a small radius around it, but not for most other neighborhoods. My office is at 36th and Bway and even before the pedestrian mall, there was very little traffic in front of us. Commuters coming in from Long Island and New Jersey account for just as much of the congestion problem at that intersection as "too many cars." But we wouldn't of course think about cutting down on commuting workers, who are just as much of NYC's vitality as anything else. I think the solution is a local one - to that neighborhood - not a universal one to the borough of Manhattan. Stats in this video are provocative but do not gyve with my decades of living in different neighborhoods in Manhattan. Also, it's not a horrible place for kids b/c of traffic. I'd rather put a ban on soft porn ads on bus shelters.
http://guerrillagiving.org Guerrilla Giving
"Space Hog"--Absolutely correct, esp. considering that most of the behemoths have but one occupant. Crazy. Thanks for this.
I get what the narrator is saying and agree, but his strident tone and repeats don't make me want to. A bit hysterical with the crushed kid bit.
10 Years Later the Pedestrian Crush on NYC’s 34th Street is Still Chaos
PSA-Pedestrian Density
UWS Streets Renaissance: Amsterdam Avenue
Psychic Space


James Turk – This Is Why The Price Of Silver Is About To Soar
WARNING: A Shocking Story About How One Man Lost $83 Million, Plus China, Gold And U.S. Dollar
With continued uncertainty around the globe, here is a tragic tale about how one man lost $83 million, which was his entire fortune. Plus, a look at China’s massive stockpiling, catastrophe for the dollar and a major warning for the West.
How One Mast Lost Everything
(King World News) Stephen Leeb: “In 2002, Andrew “Jack” Whittaker, 55, seemed the epitome of the American dream. The self-made head of a successful construction company that had made him a millionaire, married with a family, he seemed to have it all. Then he won the Powerball lottery, a record $315 million, which he took in a lump sum of around $83 million after taxes…
Continue reading the Stephen Leeb interview below…
Stephen Leeb continues: “His work ethic gave way to reckless spending and dissolute living, and within a decade he was a broken man, divorced, accused of bouncing checks to cover gambling losses, his daughter and granddaughter dead from drug overdoses.
What does this woeful tale have to do with gold? Almost exactly 45 years ago, in August 1971, President Nixon took the U.S. off the gold standard. The U.S. no longer would redeem dollars for gold at a fixed rate of $35 per ounce, as it had committed to doing following World War II. And that turned out to be akin to hitting the biggest jackpot in history – with all the euphoria along with the unintended devastating consequences.
Once the dollar and gold were delinked, the U.S. had no restraints on printing all the money it wanted. It was like having a credit card where the sky was the limit. That’s because, even absent the gold link, the dollar remained the world’s de facto reserve currency thanks to U.S. economic and military dominance. It was the one currency people everywhere felt comfortable using, not only for international transactions but sometimes even within countries themselves.
But like Whittaker and many other lottery winners, we lost our identity. After 1971, our culture of savings gave way to a culture of spending and a search for instant gratification, with long-term planning out the window.
Our health care system is one example. Instead of the kind of careful planning that characterized European and Japanese health care systems, we assumed the more money we spent the better. Today U.S. per capita health care spending is still far higher than in both Switzerland’s private-consumer-oriented system and the government-oriented systems in Britain and Japan – while life expectancies here are notably lower than for any other developed country.
One thing our health care system does have more of is complexity of management and regulation – from PBMs to insurance companies to hospitals to distributors to insanely complicated payment schedules. There are layers upon layers, and at each one there are managers, regulators, and executives – which means costs and salaries that dwarf those of any other country. We created such a complex system simply because we could: we had the money to waste, and it’s easier to waste money than think things through. One particularly shocking statistic is that according to the World Health Organization, so-called “healthy life expectancy” is about the same in China as in the U.S.
When money is there for the taking, it’s no surprise that money’s originators end up with the most. Our finance industry – banks, credit card companies, private equity firms, insurance companies, hedge funds, wealth management companies, etc. – accounts for about 25 percent of U.S. corporate profits. This compares to an estimated less than 10 percent globally. Even more striking, the money taken home by participants in the financial industry here amounts to nearly 10 percent of GDP.
What does the country as a whole gain from all the money lavished on its financial sector? Little if anything. Nano trading, in which computers make countless trades every second, is an egregious example. It benefits the well-paid traders carrying it out, leaving everyone else as bag holders. As for all those fancy complex financial product offerings – well, you saw the results in 2008.
The vast amount of money funneled to money’s originators explains why income inequality is greater here than in any other developed country. Such inequality feeds right back into the failings of our health system: life expectancies and one’s place on the income ladder are directly correlated throughout the world.
Today, some 45 years after we ditched what some have termed a “barbarous relic,” we could be on the verge of becoming a barbarous civilization. The dollar’s days as the world’s reserve currency are numbered.
Catastrophic For The Dollar
Either anger stemming from middle-class poverty will boil over, conceivably making it politically expedient to dissolve debt and leading to massive deflation. Or, more likely, resource scarcities will set off a major scramble that will lead to high inflation. Both could be catastrophic for the dollar.
We have our work cut out for us. Going right along with the ability to create instant money has been an abdication of any long-term perspective. This shows up alarmingly in how increasingly dependent the U.S. is becoming on other countries for essential resources. Every year for at least the past 20, more and more resources show up on the USGS list of those for which we import more than 50 percent of our needs. These are the resources, ranging from rare earths to silver to copper, needed for our computers, for electric cars, and for a future. And we don’t have nearly enough of them.
The RoadIn the U.S., computers have gone mainly to indulging our growing appetite for instant gratification. China, by contrast, uses computers – and it’s now building faster ones than ours – to secure its long-term future. They’re long-term planners. We used to be – and our only hope is that we will find our way back to being so again.
A vivid example of the difference between instant gratification and saving for the future can be found in the commodity trading pits. When the Chinese trade gold, they are trading physical gold, which is withdrawn from vaults. When we trade gold, we are trading “IOUs” and “You owe me’s.” Taking delivery of the real stuff almost never happens. Indeed, as much physical gold is delivered in a single week in China as is delivered during an entire year in the U.S.
In other words, with us, trading gold is a form of gambling. We want the immediate rush of winning. In China, the idea is to accumulate a long-term asset at a reasonable price.
China Is Stockpiling
Whatever China’s near-term growth rate today, which we are so fixated on, their imports of oil, iron ore, copper, and virtually all other minerals they don’t produce, continue to grow rapidly and beyond their current needs. They are stockpiling for the future.
Yet how many news stories have you seen on those massive imports? It’s a good bet that this article is the first one you’ve seen. Going along with this, China is hoarding everything of value that it produces, from gold to silver to rare earths.
The only way to allocate scarce goods is with another scarce good that is trusted. Gold fits that bill above all.
I can’t change our immediate fate but I can tell you this country risks going the way of Jack Whittaker. The only way to avoid such a fate is to make sure you have what so few Americans have – that metal that made the era between 1946 and 1971 so great, gold.”
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Whistleblower Andrew Maguire Exposed 14 Days Ago ‘Vampire Squid’ Goldman Sachs Was Moving In For The Kill. Maguire Now Says Admission By Goldman’s Currie Is A Big Deal
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Global Stock Market Crash Just Getting Started As Fears Of Deflation Spread
Fear & Panic Beginning To Engulf Global Markets


Politics interferes with chess for Cuban chess players
Nigel Hanrahan
Wednesday, 15th May, 2019, 12:05 AM
This one is somewhat chess-related: the Government of Canada, among other things, has eliminated visa processing at the Canadian Embassy in Havana. So Cubans now have to fly to another country to get a visa to come to Canada - say, to play in a chess tournament.
There has been a systematic reduction of Canadian (and US) staff at the embassies in Havana over the last year or so. The reason? A mysterious illness - which, at one point, was identified as caused by ... the noise of crickets! - and Canada and the US have used this as an excuse to reduce staff and services.
It seems very much as if cause and effect have been reversed; first cut the staff and services, then find a reason to justify the actions.
I guess that is effectively saying goodbye to all Cuban chess-players in Canadian tournaments - who can afford to travel to another country in the hope that a visa might be granted ?
ugh. Not very friendly by Canada I would say.
See Canada Reduces Services for Cubans at its Embassy in Havana
Last edited by Nigel Hanrahan; Wednesday, 15th May, 2019, 12:08 AM. Reason: link re crickets
Dogs will bark, but the caravan of chess moves on.
Tags: cuba, politics
Vlad Drkulec
Thursday, 16th May, 2019, 01:58 PM
These phenomena have severe impacts on the embassy staff. Whether they are a sonic attack or mutant crickets it is prudent to reduce exposure of staff to possible permanent and irreversible disabilities which have occurred in some people. I find it implausible that cricket noises could lead to the observed symptoms.
It's disappointing to read such blithe indifference to fair play in sport from the CFC President based on lurid, unproven tales of sonic weapons and such. The whole thing is far more likely some sort of covert US gov operation the purpose of which is to create yet more problems for the heroic people of Cuba by spiteful actions against those who want to visit Canada - for chess or any other purpose.
Originally posted by Nigel Hanrahan View Post
People have gone deaf as a result of these situations. It is not a small thing to go deaf and the Canadian government should protect its employees until it establishes exactly what is going on. Presumably, there is a mechanism in place to allow Cuban players to continue to come to Canada. Dealing with governments is always a pain when it comes to individuals who do not come from approved countries being invited to tournaments. I recall that I had to send a photocopy of my birth certificate to allow a Russian GM to attend the Canadian Open in 2016. That same GM had to attend two sessions at a distant Canadian embassy or consulate in a subsequent year for another Canadian Open.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome
Impact on Canadian Diplomats
In March of 2018, MRI scans and other tests taken by a chief neurologist in Pittsburgh, on an unspecified number of Canadian diplomats showed evidence of brain damage that mirrored the injuries some of their United States counterparts had faced. In spring of 2018, Global Affairs Canada ended family postings to Cuba and withdrew all staff with families. Several of the Canadians who were impacted in 2017 were reported to still be unable to resume their work due to the severity of their ailments. The fact that there is presently no knowledge of the cause of the “havana syndrome” has made it challenging for RCMP to investigate. [26]
In 2019, the government of Canada announced that it was reducing its embassy staff in Havana after a 14th Canadian diplomat reported symptoms of Havana syndrome in late December 2018.[27] On February 6th, 2019 the federal government of Canada was served with a $28 million dollar lawsuit by five diplomats, on the alleged basis that Ottawa did not promptly address the serious health concerns the Canadian diplomats and their families had faced in Havana over two years ago. The origin of these health concerns are unknown but these ailments manifest as symptoms that are similar to that of a concussion. Presently, none of these allegations have been proven in court. [28]
https://www.thestar.com/politics/fed...deau-says.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nat...225293195.html
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...n-cuba-deepens
https://www.scmp.com/news/china/dipl...ms-case-echoes


Isis Nyong’o
Media & Technology Entrepreneur
Technology, Moderators and MC's, Culture, Business,
Isis Nyong’o is a Kenyan American media and technology leader in Africa. She is the founder and CEO of Mums Village- an online community that seeks to provide a safe space for Mothers to seek out advice, support and inspire each other as they embark on this wonderful journey.
She is a principal at strategic advisory firm Asphalt & Ink and was previously with InMobi, Google and MTV in Africa. She is a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group.
She holds degrees from Stanford University and Harvard Business School.
She has been named as one of the top 40 women under 40 in Kenya for several years as well as shortlisted on the Forbes Top 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa, on IT News Africa’s Top 10 Women in ICT and Africa’s most powerful women in tech 2013. She serves on the board of the Mango Tree Orphan Trust in Kenya. She was selected as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2012.


The Patriot Post® · The Cultivated Ignorance of Millennials
By Arnold Ahlert · Nov. 16, 2017 · https://patriotpost.us/articles/52456-the-cultivated-ignorance-of-millennials
“It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” —economist Thomas Sowell.
A poll taken last year by Harvard University revealed that 51% of 18-to-29 year-old Americans opposed capitalism, compared to 42% who supported it. Another poll taken by YouGov and the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation revealed 44% of Millennials would rather live in a socialist country, versus 42% who would rather live in a capitalist one.
Yet those same Millennials rejected government control of the economy by a 2-1 margin.
In other words, many Millennials have no idea what they’re talking about.
Adam J. MacLeod, associate professor at the Jones School of Law at Faulkner University, believes he knows why such ignorance resonates among younger Americans. “Before I can teach you how to reason, I must first teach you how to rid yourself of unreason,” he explains in a speech given to first-year law students. “For many of you have not yet been educated. You have been dis-educated. To put it bluntly, you have been indoctrinated. Before you learn how to think you must first learn how to stop unthinking.”
MacLeod was dismayed by the reality that many of his students reflexively labeled the foundational knowledge contained in texts such as Plato’s Crito and the Code of Hammurabi “classist” and “racist,” because they have been taught “to label things with various ‘isms’ which prevent you from understanding claims you find uncomfortable or difficult.”
Sowell puts the blame for this Snowflakery precisely where it belongs. “If our so-called educators cannot be bothered to teach our children knowledge and logic,” he writes, “they can at least refrain from undermining the importance of knowledge and logic by leading students to believe that how you feel and express yourself are what matter.”
It’s not going to happen, because undermining knowledge and logic — in pursuit of unassailable power — is the centerpiece of the progressive agenda. And nothing enables that agenda better than legions of younger Americans who remain perpetually offended, because, MacLeod insists, they have “learned to associate truth with your subjective feelings, which are neither true nor false but only yours.”
Thus, while 71% of those same Millennials profess to be champions of free speech, 48% would limit it on social media, and 45% want it limited on college campuses — so no one is offended.
College campuses are the epicenter of the progressive assault on reason and logic, and the University of Texas at San Antonio reveals how organized and dedicated the assaulters have become. The Federalist’s Robert Tracinski chronicles an exchange between bisexual graduate student Alfred MacDonald and UTSA Philosophy Dept. Chairwoman Eve Browning, following MacDonald’s post-class discussion where he noted his sexual identity could get him “killed in ten Muslim countries.”
Given that homosexuality is punishable by death in some Muslim nations, the statement is accurate. Nonetheless, he was summoned to a meeting by Browning. Suspicious of her motives, McDonald recorded the conversation and produced a transcript.
Smart move. Despite his insistence that he was making an observation about religious practices in certain Islamic countries, Browning warned him “that kind of thing is not going to be tolerated in our department.” And if it happened again, he would be referred to a “Behavior Intervention Team,” which could ultimately recommend “that you be academically dismissed.”
Browning then said something that makes a complete mockery of anything resembling a course in philosophy: “I would add to that that confrontational interaction with other graduate students is objectionable and unprofessional.”
No doubt the Behavior Intervention Team would heartily agree. They have specific guidelines for dealing with “disruptive” students, giving faculty members sole discretion for defining the term. That colleges actually have something called a Behavior Intervention Team, or philosophy departments that insist confrontational interaction is objectionable and unprofessional?
“There you have it, the predominant culture of the contemporary university: don’t think, don’t argue, don’t try to understand, don’t seek to defend or justify yourself. Just conform,” Tracinski explains.
Nothing breeds ignorance more effectively than conformity.
Thus for example, when Millennial champion Bernie Sanders promotes the notion of a free college education, it resonates among those so economically ignorant that they have no idea the word “free” represents an abject lie specifically tailored to exploit that ignorance.
They also remain vulnerable to nonsensical diatribes about class warfare. An article by The Guardian cites a report entitled the “Billionaire Bonanza” that reveals “the three richest people in the US — Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett — own as much wealth as the bottom half of the US population, or 160 million people.” Adding a dollop of racialist arson to the mix, the report further notes the top 25 wealthiest people are Caucasian.
What the report omits? That the accumulation of wealth by one person has no relationship to another person’s lack of wealth. Despite what progressives believe, there is no finite amount of wealth. Nor is there a limit on the amount of envy and class warfare progressives will cultivate in the pursuit of power administered by “enlightened” progressives, whose socialist-inspired “benevolence” will transcend the capitalist instincts of their “deplorable” subjects.
“I’ve seen the failings of modern-day capitalism,” declared Grayson SussmanSquires, an 18-year-old Wesleyan University student who came to New York City last week for a forum called “Capitalism: A Debate.” It was a discussion about whether capitalism should be overthrown. “To him and many of his peers, he said, the notion of well-functioning capitalist order is something recounted only by older people,” Bloomberg News explains. “He was 10 when the financial crisis hit, old to enough to watch his older siblings struggle to get jobs out of college.”
What else were SussmanSquires and his peers old enough to watch during the same timeframe? The disintegration of the Venezuela and the “21st-Century Socialism” championed by the late Hugo Chávez. Socialism that has devolved into an outright dictatorship under current President Nicolas Maduro.
Thus, a nation of 32 million citizens that was once the richest in Latin America, in possession of the largest proven oil reserves in the entire world, now endures life-threatening shortages of food, medicine and other essentials, while the value of its currency, the bolivar, has been so decimated, the International Monetary Fund predicts inflation will hit 650% this year — and a mind-numbing 2,300% in 2018.
On Monday, Venezuela also defaulted on its debt payment, which will further exacerbate its humanitarian crisis.
“Glib demagogues have been the curse of the 20th century and tens of millions of human beings have paid with their lives for the heady visions and clever talk of political egotists,” Sowell warned us 19 years ago. “Yet the danger is not that a particular child will follow in the footsteps of Lenin, Hitler or Mao. The danger is that great numbers of people will never know what it is to know, as distinguished from sounding off.”
Millennials are sounding off on the glories of socialism, even as a 2016 CBS/New York Times survey found that only 16% of them could accurately define what socialism is.
The danger is here.
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I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them. Scripture Images
"You shall make two cherubim of gold, make them of hammered work at the two ends of the mercy seat. "Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end; you shall make the cherubim of one piece with the mercy seat at its two ends. "The cherubim shall have their wings spread upward, covering the mercy seat with their wings and facing one another; the faces of the cherubim are to be turned toward the mercy seat.read more.
Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ... Scripture Images
“Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for glory and for beauty. You shall speak to all the skillful, whom I have filled with a spirit of skill, that they make Aaron's garments to consecrate him for my priesthood. These are the garments that they shall make: a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash. They shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons to serve me as priests. They shall receive gold, blue and purple and scarlet yarns, and fine twined linen. ... Scripture Images
Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. They are the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; their clothing is violet and purple; they are all the work of skilled men. But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his indignation. Thus shall you say to them: “The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth shall perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” Scripture Images
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. ... Share Your Faith Products Gifts
Yes! We have a heart for busy teachers and those in poor regions of the world. All pictures are free for use in teaching. We provide the pictures and you tell the story, with the Bible as your reference source. Conditions about the reuse of the images in new projects vary with each contributor. Those who donate to this project help share these resources around the world as a gift.
Jacob lived in the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. These are the generations of Jacob. Joseph, being seventeen years old, was pasturing the flock with his brothers. He was a boy with the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah, his father's wives. And Joseph brought a bad report of them to their father. Now Israel loved Joseph more than any other of his sons, because he was the son of his old age. And he made him a robe of many colors. But when his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they hated him and could not speak peacefully to him. Now Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers they hated him even more. ... Scripture Image
Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him). - 1 Peter 4:9 (AMPC) Scripture Images
And it will come about in that day, that every place where there used to be a thousand vines, valued at a thousand shekels of silver, will become briars and thorns. People will come there with bows and arrows because all the land will be briars and thorns. As for all the hills which used to be cultivated with the hoe, you will not go there for fear of briars and thorns; but they will become a place for pasturing oxen and for sheep to trample. Christian Art and Gifts
The porch which was in front of the house was as long as the width of the house, twenty cubits, and the height 120; and inside he overlaid it with pure gold. He overlaid the main room with cypress wood and overlaid it with fine gold, and ornamented it with palm trees and chains. Further, he adorned the house with precious stones; and the gold was gold from Parvaim.read more. Scripture Images
It was carved with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces, a man's face toward the palm tree on one side and a young lion's face toward the palm tree on the other side; they were carved on all the house all around. From the ground to above the entrance cherubim and palm trees were carved, as well as on the wall of the nave. The doorposts of the nave were square; as for the front of the sanctuary, the appearance of one doorpost was like that of the other. The altar was of wood, three cubits high and its length two cubits; its corners, its base and its sides were of wood And he said to me, "This is the table that is before the LORD." The nave and the sanctuary each had a double door. Each of the doors had two leaves, two swinging leaves; two leaves for one door and two leaves for the other. Also there were carved on them, on the doors of the nave, cherubim and palm trees like those carved on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the front of the porch outside. There were latticed windows and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the porch; thus were the side chambers of the house and the thresholds.
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that her warfare is ended, that her iniquity is pardoned, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins. A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” ... Share Your Faith Products Gifts
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains of prey. The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands. ... Scripture Images
Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. ...
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To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel. His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion. There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains of prey. The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands. ...
Now there were four supports at the four corners of each stand; its supports were part of the stand itself. On the top of the stand there was a circular form half a cubit high, and on the top of the stand its stays and its borders were part of it. He engraved on the plates of its stays and on its borders, cherubim, lions and palm trees, according to the clear space on each, with wreaths all around.read more. Share Your Faith Products Gifts
Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, ... Scripture Image


Van Gogh and Japan
Posted on April 9, 2018 by Alexander Adams
For Vincent Van Gogh, Japan was an ideal – a place of light, pleasure and a productive society framed by awe-inspiring nature. Van Gogh had a typically Western view of the Orient, with Japan being a fantasy composition of familiarity with some cultural objects, travellers’ tales and assumptions. So, in many ways, the exhibition Van Gogh and Japan is an examination of the artist’s conceptions about a distant land he never visited and his deep involvement in the art of Japan, as it was understood in France of 1880-90. This review is of the catalogue for the current exhibition at the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (23 March-24 June 2018; previously Hokkaidō Museum of Modern Art (Sapporo), Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, National Museum of Art (Kyoto)).
Although Van Gogh’s knowledge of Japan and its culture was fragmentary, the relationship was important to Van Gogh and influenced the artistic production of his last years. The influence is apparent in the art but there is a degree of uncertainty about how much the artist knew of Japanese art and culture. He perused the stock Parisian print dealers (including Siegfried Bing), bought as much as he could and discussed the art with others. His brother Theo was in the art trade and they frequently discussed the qualities of Japanese prints and tried to build a collection of the art that appealed to them. This was an easy task as Paris was still in the grip of japonisme, the craze for all things Japanese, especially art, clothing and furnishings, so there was much to see in museums, shops and new publications. This was the effect of Japan being opened up to the West in the 1860s. Japan, it seemed to Westerners, was a blend of the primitive and sophisticated – an exotic paradise that was culturally, linguistically and geographically inaccessible.
Van Gogh wrote to his brother Theo in September 1888, “We wouldn’t be able to study Japanese art, it seems to me, without becoming much happier and more cheerful.” In the West there is the frequent longing for a return to simplicity to combat the effects of industrial production, complex social systems and political sophistication in a participatory democracy. The exotic non-Western society is a fantastic release from the demands and complexities of life. Such views tell us about escapism and discontent in the West, but not anything meaningful about the actual lives of those in the East.
Often idioms of non-Western cultures are used by to inject a dose of invigorating “primitivism” into Western art (Tahitian culture for Gauguin, West African masks for Picasso, Oceanic art for Surrealism, and so on). While such incorporations are often based on misapprehensions, they sometimes successfully introduce new elements or ideas into Western art. One of the most prominent examples of this is the art of Japan, as viewed by Vincent Van Gogh.
Van Gogh’s attitudes towards Japanese culture essentially matched the prevailing European view of Japan. In that respect he was conventional. What is distinctive about Van Gogh was how he found a way to express his admiration for an alien culture by incorporating elements of that into the Western art tradition. Certain elements of Japanese woodblock prints appeared in his art: emphatic contours; clearly delineated areas of strong unmixed colour; increased planar flatness as opposed pictorial depth; horizons placed high in compositions; aerial perspective; strong diagonals; cropping and enlargement of foreground elements; absence of chiaroscuro; emphasis on the decorative over the naturalistic description. Van Gogh’s success is not in how noticeable these elements are but in how well – generally – they mesh with the Western tradition within which he worked. The uninformed viewer comparing a late Van Gogh landscape to a traditional Nineteenth Century Dutch landscape will feel the former is powerful and dynamic but – apart from noticing the strong colour and visible brushwork – will not sense how Van Gogh’s art differs. Likewise, it is not clear to the average viewer that the influence is non-Western.
Included in the exhibition are two oval paintings made on wooden panels. The panels are Japanese in manufacture. Photographs show the reverse of the panels, complete with manufacturer’s name.
[Image: Vincent van Gogh, Three Novels (1887), oil on panel, 31.1 × 48.5 cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)]
[Image: Back of Three Novels, with mention of the firm Kiryū Kōshō Kaisha, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)]
One aspect that seems to have passed unremarked is how the two still-life paintings are set on tables and the oval format evokes the shape of a round table viewed obliquely. Van Gogh, who was familiar with classic Dutch painting including illusionistic and trompe l’oeil painting, may possibly have used the unusual format to evoke perspectival distortion. It seems relatively unlikely. There is little in the way of visual wit in Van Gogh’s art. It was not in his outlook.
[Image: Katsushika Hokusai, Bullfinch and Weeping Cherry, from an untitled series known as Small Flowers and Birds (c. 1834), from an untitled series known as Small Flowers and Birds (c. 1834), colour woodcut, 25.5 × 17.1 cm, The Art Institute of Chicago, Clarence Buckingham Collection, 1925, Photo credit: The Art Institute of Chicago / Art Resource, NY/ Scala, Florence, © 2017]
In two double-page spreads, two versions of Portrait of Père Tanguy (both 1887) – which show a supporter of Van Gogh seated beside an array of Japanese woodblock prints – are juxtaposed with illustrations of the prints, allowing us to compare the sources with the transcriptions. The painter made substantial changes to the images but the spirit is carried over. For the artist, his positive feelings regarding his patron were expressed visually in a montage of Japanese art, which he associated with pleasure and exuberance.
On three occasions the artist transcribed Japanese prints as oil paintings, tracing the originals for accuracy. (The tracings still exist.)
[Image: Utagawa Hiroshige, Sudden Evening Shower on the Great Bridge near Atake, from the series One Hundred Views of Famous Places in Edo (1857), colour woodcut, 33.8 × 22.6 cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)]
[Image: Vincent van Gogh, Bridge in the Rain (after Hiroshige) (1887), oil on canvas, 73.3 × 53.8 cm, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)]
Inspired by the slightly wrinkled surface of prints on thin Japanese paper – called crépons by the French, after the uneven surfaces of pancakes – Van Gogh began to produce paintings with textured surfaces. The regular impasto brushstrokes formed a crinkled appearance. He adapted his drawing technique to imitate Japanese masters, by using blends of blue and black ink and working with reed pens. He adopted a stenographic style of drawing: creating areas of pattern by making rapid repeated (simple) marks. Thus with dashes, dots, circles and so forth, he could describe discrete areas of grass, foliage, roadway or sky in ways that had distinct vibrancy and density. These marks are clear enough to be legible but small enough to generate an overall impression. One could almost describe the vibrancy of the areas as “colour”. (Compare to Bonnard’s style of drawing, which took Van Gogh’s approach one step further by using differing weights of touch.)
The catalogue includes fascinating glimpses of Van Gogh’s enchantment – and possible late disenchantment – with Japanese art, including contact with two Western artists (Louis Dumoulin and Edmund Walpole Brooke) who had visited Japan. It seems Van Gogh was interested to hear first-hand testimony about life in the Far East or was assessing the practicality of actually visiting Japan. One essay examines the Van Gogh brothers’ collection of Japanese prints. The number of Japanese prints that entered the Van Gogh Museum in 1973 was 482. Originally there were at least 660 prints but some were disposed of by the brothers. Vincent bought 660 prints by early 1888, though apparently he never paid the full price due. The artist had initially thought of exhibiting and selling on the prints but had little success in the one display he arranged. His admiration was genuine and daily acquaintance with his stock influenced his art. His collection included a wide range of subjects – except for warrior and war scenes and erotic prints – and items varied in quality and condition. It notably excludes Hokusai, whose prints were more highly priced than those by other by other printmakers. Chris Uhlenbeck concludes that “Van Gogh quickly formed the collection, within his own limited means, based on aesthetic considerations such as outspoken colour, striking compositional elements in landscapes or sumptuously clad beauties in kimonos. The collection, together with other Japanese art that the artist may have encountered in Paris, provided a new, exotic aesthetic that profoundly influenced Van Gogh’s own artistic voice.”
The catalogue includes a chronology covering Van Gogh’s links to Japanese art and covers some works only tangential to the subject, which gives the publication a satisfying breadth of scope. The reproductions are crisp and largely accurate. For anyone interested in understanding key stylistic aspects of Van Gogh’s art, this catalogue will become essential.
Louis van Tiborgh, Nienke Bakker, Cornelia Homburg, Tsukasa Kōdera & Chris Uhlenbeck, Van Gogh and Japan, Van Gogh Museum, 2018, paperback, 240pp, 200 col. illus., €29.95, French & Dutch versions available, ISBN 978 9 462 302204
Posted in exhibition catalogue, fine art, painting, post-impressionism, UncategorizedTagged art culture Dutch Hiroshige Hokusai Japanese woodblock prints japonisme primitivism transcription van gogh museum amsterdam Vincent Van Gogh
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Heather Small
Known to many as The Voice of M People, Heather Small is a quintessentially British institution. With hits such as 'Moving On Up', 'One Night In Heaven' and 'Search For The Hero', M People achieved major worldwide success, with Heather becoming one of the seminal British voices of the 1990s. The band went on to win the Best British Dance Act Award at the Brits in 1994 and 1995.
Since M People, Heather has had further successes with two solo albums – the title track of her 'Proud' album has gone on to become the soundtrack to a whole host of very special events including London's 2012 Olympic bid, the 60th anniversary of VE Day in Trafalgar Square, the 2005 Tsunami Relief Concert and England's victory at the Rugby World Cup celebrations. Heather's infectious personality and her trademark sense of humour has always earned her respect and public affection. She has appeared on a number of TV news and chat shows including Paul O'Grady, GMTV, BBC Breakfast, and Newsnight, as well as special appearances on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Strictly Come Dancing.
Most recently, she has completed several highly successful full tours of the UK to sell-out crowds – twice in 2009, and again 2016. This is also not to forget her critically acclaimed side-project 'Here Come The Girls' tour, teaming up with singing sensations Anastacia and Lulu and touring arenas across the UK and Ireland in winter 2010.
So what gives Heather the impetus to keep moving forward, to keep challenging herself, to keep trying new things and not resting on her laurels? 'If you got the feeling I do when I sing' she smiles, 'you'd understand'.


About	zeusfilms	2017-02-21T11:40:36+00:00
“I consider myself a ’boutique’ service provider. By only filming one event per day, I pride myself in offering a personalised service to each and every client.
I’ve been a full time cameraman for the last 20 years. Having started a career in broadcast television, working for the BBC and independent networks, I embarked on my own career in covering private functions.
With my experience in covering weddings from all cultures and faiths, I’m able to adapt to the event and capture the most intricate details of the day.
Quality and attention to details are second nature to me. I believe in discretion and quiet professionalism on the day and pride myself in capturing natural images to give a true representation of your wedding day.”
Andy Louca
Cameraman / editor


Looking ahead for WhatsApp
Today, we’re updating WhatsApp’s terms and privacy policy for the first time in four years, as part of our plans to test ways for people to communicate with businesses in the months ahead. The updated documents also reflect that we’ve joined Facebook and that we've recently rolled out many new features, like end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp Calling, and messaging tools like WhatsApp for web and desktop. You can read the full documents here. We’re notifying everyone on the latest supported versions of our app about these updates, and you’ll be asked to tap ‘Agree’ to accept the updated terms.
People use our app every day to keep in touch with the friends and loved ones who matter to them, and this isn't changing. But as we announced earlier this year, we want to explore ways for you to communicate with businesses that matter to you too, while still giving you an experience without third-party banner ads and spam. Whether it's hearing from your bank about a potentially fraudulent transaction, or getting notified by an airline about a delayed flight, many of us get this information elsewhere, including in text messages and phone calls. We want to test these features in the next several months, but need to update our terms and privacy policy to do so.
We're also updating these documents to make clear that we've rolled out end-to-end encryption. When you and the people you message are using the latest version of WhatsApp, your messages are encrypted by default, which means you're the only people who can read them. Even as we coordinate more with Facebook in the months ahead, your encrypted messages stay private and no one else can read them. Not WhatsApp, not Facebook, nor anyone else. We won’t post or share your WhatsApp number with others, including on Facebook, and we still won't sell, share, or give your phone number to advertisers.
But by coordinating more with Facebook, we'll be able to do things like track basic metrics about how often people use our services and better fight spam on WhatsApp. And by connecting your phone number with Facebook's systems, Facebook can offer better friend suggestions and show you more relevant ads if you have an account with them. For example, you might see an ad from a company you already work with, rather than one from someone you've never heard of. You can learn more, including how to control the use of your data, here.
Our belief in the value of private communications is unshakeable, and we remain committed to giving you the fastest, simplest, and most reliable experience on WhatsApp. As always, we look forward to your feedback and thank you for using WhatsApp.


Ferries to Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island sits immediately off Canada’s Pacific coast with Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, nestling in the southern tip.
It is a haven for exciting wildlife and is the nation’s culture and arts hub. It also has the mildest climate in Canada, boasting warm summers and winter temperatures usually above 0°C.
Whilst in Victoria, be sure to visit the Robert Bateman Centre, which features around 160 stunning pieces by the country’s most popular nature painter.
Walk through Point Ellis House and Gardens for a taste of what 1860s Canada was like for the social elite. It houses over 5,000 fascinating artefacts and a range of family photos of those who once lived there. On a sunny day, you can relax in the colourful gardens with tea and fresh-baked scones.
Children will love the Victoria Bug Zoo. They’ll learn all about various Canadian critters and can take pictures with remarkable insects such as the dragon-headed cricket and three-horned scarab beetle.
The capital has excellent cycling routes too. Rent a bike and visit as many of the English-style quirky shops and independent coffee bars as you can. Or stop off at Bastion Square, which was once a Victorian fort but is now a centre for excellent restaurants and boutiques.
The Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park, just off Vancouver Island's southeast coast, offers 22km of well-developed hiking trails and is an ideal destination for families. Here you can sit around a campfire whilst cooking the salmon you caught just hours before. Or you can spend your afternoon spotting the local wildlife, which includes grey whales, orcas, the Vancouver Island black bear as well as over 200 bird species.
The fastest and most frequent ferry route to Vancouver Island is from Seattle in the United States to Victoria, which usually takes under three hours.
There are also less frequent crossings from Campbell Island, Swindle Island and Prince Rupert, further up the coast. These routes all dock in Port Hardy on the north coast.
7 Sailings Weekly 3 hr 30 min
Routes and Ports in Vancouver Island
Canada to Vancouver Island
Vancouver to Victoria Ferry
7 Sailings Weekly
For more information, please visit our Ferries from Canada to Vancouver Island page.