apartments are oversized but not as big, maybe around 100 sqm. Probably the 150 sqm figure refers to high-end apartment complex built for political elite. The apartments are quite spartan inside, compared with South Korean ones full of electronics. I would like to know what heating system they have!

Ryugyong Hotel was planned to be tallest hotel in the world, having 330 meters and 105 floors, construction began in 1987 and was scheduled to be opened for the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students in June 1989, but it failed to meet schedule and abandoned in 1992. Construction resumed in 2008 and was scheduled to be opened in 2013, but as 2017 it is still unfinished.

Mansudae Apartment built at Changjon Street is the most famous residential development. Severalold buildings were demolished in 2011 and 15 glass-facade buildings in various heights up to 44 floors were built in just 9 months, according successive Google Earth historical satellite imagery. Opened in April 2012 at celebration 100 years from birth of Kim Il Sung. Every night buildings are lit up by blinking lights making me questioning if people are actually living there. Video of proposed development.

Kim Cheak Apartment, even taller, 46 floors, was built in 2014. Source: Emporis, no photos available yet.

A 23-storey block collapsed in May 2014. (map location). A bit unusual for North Korea to report such accidents, but this was too big to be hidden. Supposedly it was still under construction but already housed 92 families, but number of victims was not disclosed, but the


spartan.

Transportation in North Korea

North Korea self praise for having over 6000 km of railways, 80% of it being electrified, compared with only 3250 km in South Korea (according Wikipedia), but the north infrastructure is in danger state that slow down the trains while southern trains are running at 350 kmph in full safety.
Roads in North Korea are estimated to be about 30000 km of which only 5% paved.

The BIG highway to Nampo city

Kaesong city, notice the lack of street lighting, hundreds of bicycles, and only 1 car on entire street!

It is unknown if the cars are sold for money or given for free to privileged citizens. Some sources say that any citizen is allowed to own cars (but why the roads are almost empty?), other sources say thatraising local production?).

Media in North Korea

Only government is allowed to operate radio and television. To prevent people access to information about outside world, all radio and television sets should be registered at state department, where are sealed to receive only government stations, any manipulation to receive foreign broadcast leads to jail.

Connection to the Internet (abbreviation from International Network) is available only for high ranked officials and some hotels. Normal people use Kwangmyong instead, North Korea’s own internet-like network, accessible for free via dial-up, usually in schools and factories and rarely in private homes. Filtered content from the Internet are placed on Kwangmyong, primarily from science fields. However, some people smuggled satellite internet terminals, which are confiscated and often resold to population by corrupt officers. According StatCounter, the websites


are getting significant internet traffic from North Korea starting from 2010. Probably they just granted internet access privilege to more people.

IT industry is developing and make North Korea an IT outsourcing destination, thanks to skilled and cheap workforce. Probably they saw how successful is outsourcing to India so decided to join, despite of conservative communication. How outsourcing does work without allowing people to access the internet remains a mystery.

Mobile phones were introduced in 2002, banned in 2004, reintroduced in 2008, and cannot dial out of country (read more on Wikipedia). Foreigners are not allowed to use mobile phone in North Korea, so they need to leave them at airports.

Moranbong Band is the first music band from North Korea reaching international popularity. Is rumored that the girls forming theband are selected by, and the lyrics of their songs are written by Kim Jong-un.

Korean Central News Agency does have a website kcna.kp and provide to World positive news from North Korea including fake praises to the leader by foreign people. Tourists are the only other source of info of about what happens in North Korea.

Tourism in North Korea

Any person is allowed to visit North Korea as tourist, but few people are willing to do, however most of them returned with great memories. Probably I will visit myself to visit when I will be richer. Most tourists are housed in Yanggakdo Hotel located on an island in middle of Taedong River, or Koryo Hotel located in city centre near railway station, far away from poor areas.

During night you


North Korea popped the internet. Example: Eric Lafforgue photos on dailymail.co.uk.

Concentration camps

A lot of offences lead to prison, where you will be a slave forced to work and eventually die by starvation, hard work or torture. North Korea have the biggest ratio of imprisoned citizens in the world, by the far more than United States which is officially the country with most prisoners, because the government deny the existence of prisons so nobody knows exactly how many were imprisoned and how many died in prisons. Read more on Wikipedia: Prisons in North Korea.

Propaganda lies & war against United States

For those who do not know: Korean peninsula was divided in 1945 between communist and capitalists governments, American troops withdrew from south in 1949, none of countries liked the divisionand both dream a reunification of Korea but under their own regime. In 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea, starting the Korean war. The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed three years later, creating a four-kilometer wide buffer zone where nobody would enter, known as the Demilitarized Zone.

But…North Koreans call their country Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK, the only Korea, while the south is not a country but a land devastated by United States, and they can conquer the south lands by destroying United States.

DPRK is in a state of war, citiens talk about war all time, schools teach children to be hostile with the fucking United States, in libraries you can find books titled “Americans of the South that started Korean war”. In Pyongyang, most billboards do


not advertise products but anti-US propaganda, paintings with Koreans beating US soldiers, ripping American flag, etc.

Government spend a lot of money on military programmes to prepare against an imminent attack from United States, developing nuclear bombs and testing rockets, which other countries see as a threat. In my opinion they just want to scary other countries from invading North Korea.

The fucking United States together with United Nations impose economic sanctions on North Korea hoping that they will end their nuclear program, but this makes it to threat even more. United States do not want to bomb North Korea, because China will join North Korea if United States strike first, but will remain neutral if North Korea strike first.

What is possible, will be an anti-government uprising like in Romaniato be clarified

The population is brainwashed and do not know that there is a better life outside their country, that on the earth exist more advanced countries, that humans reached the moon, etc. People thinks that their Kwangmyong is the only (or at least the first) computer network in the world, or that their Kwangmyŏngsŏng program makes Korea the only (or the first) country in the world that reached the space.

KCNA TV occasionally broadcast news from other countries, selected for propaganda to give impression that capitalist system turned the world into poverty and violence while the DPRK, the only remaining socialist state, is the “people paradise on the earth”. Example: this video saying that ordinary americans live in tents, eat birds and snow, and they (North Koreans) are


talk with north workers, giving info about life in South Korea, especially as the language is not a barrier.

North Korea participated in Olympics, probably the sport teams are one of the few people allowed by government to leave country, and are not allowed to tell to their families what they see overseas.

The government, when speaking to foreign media, deny the existence of prison camps, but the citizens do know their existence? These camps employ a lot of people to take care of inmates, their family relatives do know where they are working?

I am confused how does the (lack of) freedom of speak is working there. Probably they are taught from young to not talk each other about problems and not even tell about job to their relatives, andalways listen to government media?

About me

I am from Romania, and interested in North Korea due to similarities with the former communist government of my country. I wrote this page from my personal research in 2012, as an article of 500 words, expanded over time with additional rows, photos and links, as soon I found new interesting things, reaching 3000+ words in 2015.

Since 2015 this North Korea page became most visited page among all pages about Housing around the World, getting traffic especially from American school-age kids, a bunch of idiots, who do not read my website carefully and thinks that I am North Korean. North Koreans do not have internet access. ALL articles about North Korea available on internet are written by foreigners. Some of these kids send


1990s, one of the most equilibrated income of the world. South Korea overtook Japan in some ways. I love South Korea more than Japan mostly because of architecture and apartment complexes, the Japanese cities having too many landed houses.

Despite of capitalist government, South Korea share many similarities with the communist North Korea, for example economic isolation and little free trade with rest of world. They use mostly locally-made products and foreign companies hardly get market share there. You rarely see foreign cars driving around. Less than 2% use Google, they use Daum.net and Naver.com instead. Another similarity with communism is the massiveness of apartment blocks, private developers built distinct complexes but with identical buildings arranged in grid all around the city.

Very few websites do have english versions, youof maximizing their own profits. Apartment blocks are usually 15 to 30 floors and large open spaces between them, not crowded by developers hungry for profit like in other countries. All units come with floor heating and high-tech fittings (details below). People hate the appearance of the apartment complex, but love to live in an apartment unit in that complex.

South Korea is one of the few countries in the world which had a residential building as tallest building: Mok-dong Hyperion (2003, 69 floors) and Samsung Tower Palace G (2004, 73 floors). Many skyscrapers were built in recent years, Lotte World Tower (554 meters, 123 floors) was completed in 2017.

I also love extensive Seoul Metro system which extends to outside of Seoul city limits (10 million people) or metropolitan


area (24 million people), 314 km of lines built for metro, plus the Korail lines used by metro trains, totalize 755 km of metro network, longest in the world. Then high-speed KTX trains which runs with speed up to 300 km/h, link Busan to the capital in 2 hours. Even if only 2 lines are yet. Incheon International Airport won the best airport award in 2012.

Apartment complexes that changed the country

Traditional Korean houses are single-storey and have floor heating. 1945 multi-storey buildings were still a rare sight in Seoul. The Korean war (1950-1953) destroyed 20% of housing stock. Most people were living in crowded conditions without sewage and running water.

The first apartment complex was built in 1958 but did not attracted much attention. Mapo apartment complex built from1961 to 1964 began the revolution. Consisted of 10 six-story buildings and housed 642 families. The flats were 9-15 pyeong (30 to 50 square meters). Very few Koreans were ready to live at height of the 5th and 6th floor. Apart from height, people did not like other features. The early apartment complexes lacked the traditional floor heating and were warmed by radiators. Mapo apartment was demolished in 1991.

The real boom of apartment complex began in the early 1970s. In 1971 the Banpo apartments became the first complex with traditional heated floors rather than Western-style radiators, in the first complexes the the heated floors were only in bedrooms but later the entire living space became heated in this traditional way. This made apartments even more appealing to Koreans.

Jamsil


apartments built in 1970s was the first large-scale complex that included schools, parks and commercial centers, 19180 apartments spread on 1.5 sq km. Was completely demolished in 2005 and redeveloped.
The 1980s and 1990s had a construction boom of unprecedented proportions. 80% of the housing stock of Korea was built since 1980.

In 1990, only 22.9 percent of Korean families lived in apartments. By 2005 this share more than doubled, 52.5 percent of families were apartment dwellers. Preference for apartments is growing. In a 1992 poll, 41 percent of respondents said they would choose to live in apartments, in 2000, 77 percent gave the same answer.

In 2005, the average Korean apartment was 32 pyeong, more than double the size of the largest flat in the Mapo complex. Korea have onelooking only as tourist point of view and they do not know the living conditions. Even some singaporeans think that living in Hong Kong is better, while some (more) hongkongers think that living in Singapore is better. Is Hong Kong richer than Singapore? See HERE!

Personally I appreciate Hong Kong for their efforts to build a city on improper, non-flat terrain, and also for several of the biggest engineering projects in the world history, but… I do not want to live in Hong Kong! Singapore is overall better at living conditions.

Hong Kong is the city of contrasts and gigantic proportions, it also holds numerous world records. Examples: Hong Kong International Airport built on a 12 sq km artificial island, 4 enormous suspension and cable-stayed bridges, 5 underwater tunnels, biggest


apartment buildings with smallest apartments, most expensive real estate, etc. The tunnel of Lei Yue Mun road under Sceneway Garden may be the largest tunnel of the world (~35 meters wide, no pillars). Hong Kong hold multiple times the record of most expensive apartment in the world, example from June 2008 and from October 2009.

Hong Kong population dropped from an estimated 1,600,000 to an estimated 500,000-750,000 during Japanese occupation during World War II, according Wikipedia. Apartment sizes were much bigger than today. After war, population rose quickly to 4,000,000 in 1970, mostly due to immigration from China. As 2011 census, Hong Kong land measure 1,104 sq km and its population is 7,071,576 people at 2011 census. Density about 6,400 people per sq km (similar with Singapore), but becauseof mountains, only 1/5 of land is developed, so the city itself is much more dense.

Macau land measure 30 sq km (half of it reclaimed from sea) and its population is 552,503 people at 2011 census. Density about 18,000 people per sq km.

Housing: due to rising population in 1950s and 1960s, most of pre-war shophouses were demolished and many high-rise tenements and apartment blocks were built, 10-30 floors in Island, while in Kowloon the height was limited to 12 floors due to nearby Kai Tak Airport. Blocks covering almost whole plot of land, often featuring balconies hanging over street, transforming the streets into urban canyons, sunlight rarely reach the street level, you hardly find a piece of grass between buildings. The deficit of housing was huge, thus smaller


and smaller apartments were built. Residents did everything to use every feet of space. Old apartments were subdivided, balconies were enclosed and turned into additional rooms, caged balconies were added on building facades, huts were built on rooftops, etc. In Hong Kong the caged balconies were removed during 1990s due to risk of falling, but in Macau they are still present.

The parts of Hong Kong built up to 1980 looks ugly and dirty, due to lack of management, lack of aesthetic maintenance, balconies walled and enclosed according each owner wish, air conditioners hanging randomly on walls, rooftop additions, plus a lot of pipes, wires, cages, clothing racks, and other ugly objects hanged on external walls.

Urban Renewal Authority takes care of redevelopment of the old buildings, but most 1950s-1970shousing, as 2012 the percentage dropped to 46%.

My suggestions: better planning for roads, develop more flat land of New Territories, also demolish some of the hundreds of ugly villages and build high-rises.

Newer buildings (2000s)

Hong Kong rural villages

Hong Kong villages exists mostly in New Territories as well in remote parts of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Most of the “village houses” are composed by apartments too, probably 2-4 per floor. The government limit the height of villages to 3 floors, but due to space desperation, numerous buildings have the roof terrace covered and converted in 4th floor, some even a 5th floor. The village streets can be narrow as 1.5 meters (5-foot walkway). A common car park does exist in each village.

The single-family homes are called Villas and are


storeys due to nearby Kai Tak Airport, so technically, the Walled City was a slum. New houses were built on top of existing houses, balconies were converted in rooms and caged balconies were installed. The streets were 1-2 meters width and were illuminated by fluorescent lights all day long, as the sunlight never reached the ground. A network of alleys and staircases connected the buildings also on upper levels.

Official estimations says that in Kowloon Walled City were living 33.000 people in 1987. Unofficial estimations says that due to overcrowding 50.000 people lived in it in its final days, resulting a population density of 1.924.000 people per square kilometer, and a ratio of 4 sq m per person. For comparison, Mong Kok District, densest area of normal Hong Kong,public housing. I did not found much info about Macao public housing, floor plans seems to not be available online, but by measuring blocks in Google Earth, it’s obvious that the flat sizes are larger, probably with 25-50% compared with Hong Kong.

One of the most beautiful things of Hong Kong

Is the symphony of lights! Running every day at 8 PM, it takes 14 minutes. It is completed by fireworks in certain occasions (new year, christmas, etc).

Singapore is one of best places to live, it is known worldwide as the best planned city of the world, with the most successful public housing of the world, one of the highest standards of living, but also most expensive places to live!

Singapore area was 581.5 sq km in 1960, but due to


home ownership ratio in the world: 91%, but the home ownership is actually a 99 years lease to “owners”.

There are about 10,000 HDB blocks in Singapore, most of them ranging from 10 to 40 storeys, plus a small number of walk-up (2-4-storey) blocks, plus a special project Pinnacle@Duxton built in 2009, having 50 floors it is the tallest public housing in the world and having longest sky gardens in the world.

Typical, 100 sq m HDB apartments, are sold on resale market at prices from 400,000 SGD (320,000 USD) at island outskirts to 700,000 SGD (560,000 USD) in Queenstown, as 2013 bubble peak, doubled since 2007 due to undersupply (source: HDB InfoWEB – Median Resale Prices). New HDB apartments are subsided at 20-30% less than market prices, with additionalin which Electronic Road Pricing was implemented), this reflects in smooth traffic and reduced pollution.
Singapore Changi airport was awarded as best airport in the world in 2010.

Singapore is also one of the most visited cities of the world by international tourists, ranking in 3rd place after Paris and London, according Wikipedia. Conservation programmes protects architectural heritage, unlike Hong Kong where lot of historical buildings were demolished. Singapore is also one of the safest countries of the world, thanks to very (too) strict laws.

The bad side of Singapore may be exactly the government with its harsh laws. People’s Action Party (PAP) rule the country since 1959 and is criticized for limited democracy. The single TV channels are the ones operated by government (reminding me of communist countries). Until 2008,


were no casinos. National Service is mandatory for all men, adult magazines and chewing gum are banned.

Another thing that I love at Singapore is that the government websites shows a lot of information about the country and housing. The city-state system, and the big percentage of population living in public housing help me to make great studies and detailed statistics.

Public housing

Singapore Improvement Trust was formed in 1927 and started building public housing in 1932. The SIT estates were very similar with UK council housing, walk-up apartment blocks and terraced housing, high-rise blocks were introduced in 1952. In the same year SIT started building Queenstown, first satellite town built away from the city.

In 1960 Housing and Development Board took over SIT, and switched to high-rise blocks, most of themall HDB and private housing should include a household shelter, another thing unique in the world. But useless idea in my opinion, household shelter sometimes placed in middle of flat, reducing the layout versatility. HDB flat size was standardized: 4-Room (100 sqm), 5-Room (120 sqm), Executive (140 sqm).

Taller blocks appeared since late 1990s (where the height restrictions allows). 30-storey blocks appeared since 1990s, first 40-storey HDB were completed in 2004 and first 50-storey HDB, the Pinnacle@Duxton was completed in 2009, being the tallest public housing in the world and having longest sky gardens in the world.

Since 2000 the standard HDB flat sizes were reduced: 4-Room (90 sqm), 5-Room (110 sqm), Executive (130 sqm), Maisonettes being dropped. But because of building more and more 5-Room (which in fact have


and dining room plus a study room along with bedrooms, plus a massive balcony, while the internal bedroom size may be smaller than 110 sqm “5-Room” HDB apartments.

Due to unknown reasons, HDB flats use square meters while condos apartments use square feet.

The first:
First condo: The Beverly Mai, Thomson Road, built 1974
First condo with private lifts: Futura, 14 Leonie Hill Road, built 1976
First condo with parking on each floor, living room parking bay: Hammilton Scotts, 37 Scotts Road, built 2012. See video how the parking works.

Private landed housing

Singapore landed houses are the most beautiful in the world. Since only few people, the rich class, can afford a landed property, their houses are beautifully built and well maintained. Terraced houses are most common, followed by semi-detached and bungalows. Most terracedventilation. Windows are louvre type, again for ventilation.

Smaller houses can be found in kampung, but pretty big considering the poverty of people living there.

Small towns, like the following video, have a mix of kampung-styled houses and modern houses.

Malaysia also have slums, houses built over water, probably with little or no running water or proper sanitation, but even they are large, around 50-100 sqm, not like the 5-10 sqm slums of India or Philippines.

However, most houses are built with longer setbacks around 9 meters from street, thus you can park 2 small cars one behind other. Does anyone know when the current building code was issued and what were the earlier laws about setback?

Crazy stuff found during my study of housing in Malaysia

Crazy urban planning: if in United States


the city further away from coast and stop deforesting the areas around Singapore. From where Singapore will get fresh air when it will be fully urbanized?

Can anyone tell me what is better in Japan compared with nearby Asian countries? I love Korea much more than Japan, especially for housing.

Japan economy boomed after World War II but since 1990s the rising was very slow, is still one of the most advanced economies in the world, highest standard of living, where everything run as it should, BUT… Japan is also one of the ugliest of all developed countries. They simply suck at architecture and urban planning. Tokyo city landscape is dominated by ugly buildings, lack of colors, and lots of cables in the sky. Most Japanese live in dense detachedfreakonomics.com.

Automotive industry

Japan is the world leader in car manufacturing, overtaking United States since 1973, if the light trucks are included, United States overtook back Japan for short periods during 2000s. But in 2010 Japan lost the title in favor of by China. Since 1990s, japanese cars are recognized as most reliable in the world.

Japan car market is most regulated in the world, it is the single country where cars are taxed by dimensions (and I appreciate this!). Since 1951 or 1955 (contradictory sources), there are 3 classes for car tax in Japan:

So most cars manufactured in Japan for domestic market stick under these limits, while cars exported are bigger even if they wear same name. These rules allow two cars to pass along each other since the most


residential roads are 4 meters wide. However, since 2000s numerous cars were launched that exceed the limit of compact cars especially in width, to compete with rising imports.

Brazil is rich or poor country? YES it is… both!
Point mouse cursor on photos to see city / place name.

Latin american cities are more denser and the life is cheaper compared with North American cities, but due to rapid and unplanned urbanization, infrastructure is worse, parks and green spaces are scarce. Same problems like in US, lack of public transport, pollution, crimes, corruption and gang life (especially in Mexico). GDP per capita comparison.

Although certain countries in Latin America have high human development index, the income inequality is huge, leading to high crime rate. Large part of population is living in slums,have a large population living in apartment buildings up to 6 floors and much green space.

Construction started in 1956, and the city was inaugurated on 21 April 1960, after 41 months, some people are saying that was built in 3 years, this is not true, the building process continued after inauguration and continues even today. It became the biggest city of 20th century which do not existed at beginning of century. Originally planned for 400.000 people, today houses about 2 million people, but I am not sure if this is the city itself or includes satellite cities too.

Brasilia is also infamous for the way it was planned, a “city of cars”, with free flow of traffic and traffic lights would not be necessary, which served only for a


small part of population who owned cars. There are too few pedestrian areas and crosswalks, people had to risk their lives crossing the north-south highway.

Especially in Brazil, a lot of impressive apartment buildings appeared in recent years in central area of cities on near beaches. I love the buildings individually but I hate the cities as whole. It is an urbanization disaster, apparently there’s no laws to regulate building density, plot ratio and distance between buildings. Apartment towers are mixed with landed houses, new towers were built in front of existing towers, blocking views each other, 20+ storey towers with only 6 meters between main facades, parks are scarce, pollution is common. Rio de Janeiro’s beautiful landscape is destroyed because all hills are covered in Favelas (slums).

Santos cityhigh ranks in terms of quality of life and Human Development Index, because their favelas are outside city limits so do not drag down the ratings.

Architecture

Brazil has been building skyscrapers since 1930s, Martinelli Building (built 1934, 130 meters), then Altino Arantes Building (built 1947, 161 meters), being also the tallest building outside United States. But the evolution was slow and not much taller buildings were built over years. Presently Brazil does have few hundred buildings over 100 meters, mostly residential, but the tallest, Mirante do Vale (built 1960), is only 170 meters.

Sao Paulo is considered one of most vertical cities in the world, having hundreds of residential in 20-30 floors range but very few over 30 floors, such 30 floors buildings appeared since 1950s.

Apartment sizes in Brazil increased


plans. For years it was a ghost city with slow selling apartments due to high prices and difficult loans.

Ugliest city in Africa is Cairo, being dominated by apartment buildings with high land coverage, adjoining each other, no space between buildings, many rooms ventilated through small airwells, built individually and not by major developers, they vary in heights and are often gray and not painted, damaging city skyline. The suburbs of Cairo feature regulated street network and spaced-apart buildings, but there is just few meters between buildings, which are same gray and colorless. Parks are scarce, together with having one of the worst traffic jams in the world, Cairo is among most polluted cities in the world.

There may be worse cities, especially small cities, with no paved roads atwas launched in Lagos state on 27 June 2017, showing how this country actually looks like. There are some nice houses on Lekki owned by Nigerian millionaires, while the rest of Lagos city is dominated by poverty. Many roads are unpaved and the sewage a channel is on roadside, in front of houses. Trash exist everywhere. I cannot imagine the smell for those living there.

Eko Atlantic, one of biggest developments in the world, is built on 10 km of reclaimed land. A bit unrealistic and too opulent project for such a poor country. Few kilometers away, there is Makoko, a slum built over water. Water is the only way to travel around.

Nigeria moved its capital to Abuja in 1991, a well-planned city built starting from 1980s.

Study to be


government officials as venerated experts without informing the public of their industry ties – the personal financial interests that may be shaping their opinions of what is in the national interest.

This report details these ties, in addition to documenting the industry backing of think tanks that played a prominent role in the Syria debate. It reveals the extent to which the public discourse around Syria was corrupted by the pervasive influence of the defense industry, to the point where many of the so-called experts appearing on American television screens were actually representatives of companies that profit from heightened US military activity abroad. The threat of war with Syria may or may not have passed, but the threat that these conflicts of interest pose to our public discourse –as Robert Scales, opposed military intervention outright. (see correction)

The following is a selection of commentators, profiled at greater length below, who have multiple undisclosed ties to the defense industry and have expressed strong support for military intervention in Syria in multiple appearances:

Jack Keane has strongly supported striking Syria on PBS, the BBC, and Fox News. Though Keane is currently a director of General Dynamics, one of the world’s largest military services companies, and a venture partner of SCP Partners, a defense-focused investment firm, only his military and think tank affiliations were identified in all sixteen appearances.

General Anthony Zinni has expressed support for military action in Syria during three appearances on CNN and one on CBS This Morning, and has been quoted in the Washington Post. Though a director


with major defense contractor BAE Systems and an advisor to defense-focused private equity firm DC Capital Partners, only Zinni’s military experience was considered relevant by the media outlets interviewing him all five times.

Stephen Hadley has voiced strong support for a strike on Syria in appearances on Bloomberg TV, Fox News, and CNN, as well as in a Washington Post op-ed. Though he has a financial stake in a Syria strike as a current Raytheon board member, and is also a principal at consulting firm RiceHadleyGates, he was identified all four times only as a former National Security Advisor to George W. Bush.

Frances Townsend has appeared on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 six times strongly favoring action in Syria. Though Townsend holds positions in two investment firms with defense companyholdings, MacAndrews & Forbes and Monument Capital Group, and serves as an advisor to defense contractor Decision Sciences, only her roles as a CNN national security analyst and member of the CIA and DHS advisory committees were revealed in all six appearances.

Think Tanks

The report also includes profiles on the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Enterprise Institute, the Atlantic Council, and the Center for American Progress. Each profile includes a selection of commentary from analysts associated with the think tank and a selection of defense industry ties. These ties are both organizational (corporate sponsorships and donations) and individual (ties through their directors, advisors, trustees, fellows, and analysts).

Methodology

Commentators were identified in articles, videos and transcripts gathered from Factiva and Google News searches, for the period August 20, 2013 to


of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Undisclosed industry ties: Cartwright has served on the board of Raytheon since January 2012. He served on the Public Affairs Committee and the Special Activities committees (described above, under Stephen Hadley) until recently. Cartwright owns 5,374 shares of stock and earned $124,000 in cash compensation from Raytheon last year.11

Cartwright has a number of other defense industry affiliations, as well. He is currently an advisor to defense and intelligence contractor TASC, consulting firm Accenture, and Enlightenment Capital, a private equity firm with defense investments. He is also a director of the Atlantic Council (see below).12

Cartwright is currently the target of a federal investigation into leaks regarding the Stuxnet virus.13

Media commentary: Cartwright appeared on ABC’s This Week Syria experts panel on September 1, 2013, thewe have to pay close attention to.14

Frances Townsend

Identified as: CNN national security analyst; member of the CIA and DHS advisory committees

Undisclosed industry ties: Townsend, former assistant for homeland security to George W. Bush, is a senior vice president at MacAndrews & Forbes, an investment firm. MacAndrews & Forbes owns AM General, which manufactures military vehicles. Townsend also serves as an operating advisor to Monument Capital Group, an investment firm with a global security and defense sector investment focus, and on the advisory board of Decision Sciences, a cargo screening company with defense contracts.

Townsend was the chair of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance, a private intelligence contractor association, until 2012.15

Media commentary: As CNN’s national security analyst, Townsend has made multiple appearances on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 to discuss


of what chemical weapons they have, the use of Hezbollah, you know, asymmetric attacks not only inside Syria but are in the region and around the world against Western targets.18

She has also commented on the quality of the intelligence on Syria, calling it a “pretty compelling narrative” and questioned the trustworthiness of Russia’s plan to deal with Syria’s chemical weapons.19

General Anthony Zinni

Identified as: Retired U.S. Marine Corps General and Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Central Command

Undisclosed industry ties: Zinni is an outside director at BAE Systems, which was the third largest military services company in the world in 201120 and received $6.1 billion in federal contracts in 2012.21 He was previously chairman of the board and acting CEO between 2009 and 2012. He is a member of the Advisory Boardwas one of the consequences.30

Disclosure: CNN’s Jake Tapper noted that Bash founded Beacon Global Strategies and called it “a consulting firm.” CNN and MSNBC failed to disclose the connection in Bash’s five other appearances.

Nicholas Burns

Identified as: Former Under Secretary of State; professor at Kennedy School of Government, former U.S. ambassador to NATO

Undisclosed industry ties: Burns is a Senior Counselor to the Cohen Group, a global consulting firm with Aerospace & Defense and Homeland Security among its practice groups. The Cohen Group has previously been registered as a lobbyist to the U.S. government on behalf of defense contractors Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, United Technologies and others. James Loy, senior counselor to the Cohen Group, and Joseph Ralston, Cohen Group vice chairman, are both directors at Lockheed Martin.

Burns is also


counselor to the Cohen Group, and Joseph Ralston, Cohen Group vice chairman, are both directors for Lockheed Martin. Cohen is also a trustee at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.36

Media commentary: Cohen has made multiple appearances on CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and Bloomberg TV to discuss Syria in recent weeks. He has expressed confidence in the US intelligence on Syria, but advised consulting with the UN and Congress and determining more clear objectives before taking action.37 From CNN Newsroom (9/11/2013):

COHEN: Nonetheless, the president is where he is right now and if he is forced to take action because the Russians are stalling and Assad is not complying, then he should use the Desert Fox operation that President Clinton initiated against Saddam Hussein with a four-day campaign that didand the world together to make a statement. This is not going to be permitted in the 21st Century.44

Roger Cressey

Identified as: former National Security Council staff/White House counterterrorism official; NBC News counterterrorism consultant

Undisclosed industry ties: Cressey was until recently a senior vice president with Booz Allen Hamilton, “supporting the firm’s cybersecurity business and international government clients,” according to its website.45 His profile is no longer available on the Booz Allen Hamilton website, but was as of September 21, 2013. He is currently listed as a partner with Arlington-based risk and crisis management firm, Liberty Group Ventures LLC.46

Media commentary: Cressey has appeared on MSNBC and was quoted in NBC News commenting on the nature of Syrian rebels and whether regime change may be a consequence of the US strike.47

From


on the quality of intelligence in Syria and the plan to find and destroy their supply of chemical weapons.51

From PBS NewsHour (September 16, 2013):

IFILL: You mentioned Iraq. How does this compare to Syria, another place where the leader came out and said I’m going to give up my weapons and then someone had to enforce that?DUELFER: Well, I think implicitly or explicitly, the threat of force is there. Certainly, Bashar al-Assad will have noticed that the president gave a speech basically saying he was going to conduct a military strike. In the book of Obama, I think he is guilty, but he suspended the sentence. So whether or not the Security Council agrees to the use of force, the United States will.52

Adam Ereli

Identified as: Former State Department deputywill be a disaster for the United States, a disaster for Syria and a disaster for the whole region.”56

Disclosure: Of all the media outlets that interviewed Ereli, only The National noted that he is “now a diplomatic consultant.” It is unclear if Ereli was already under contract with Mercury when he made appearances on Fox and other quotes in the international press.

Michèle Flournoy

Identified as: Former Undersecretary of Defense

Industry ties: Flournoy has been a senior advisor at the Boston Consulting Group since mid-2012 in the firm’s worldwide public sector practice, to “provide advice on driving change in the government arena to BCG teams and the government they are supporting around the world.”57 According to Wikileaks State Department cables, past Boston Consulting Group clients have included the government of the


United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan.58 The firm has also opened a major office in Dubai, which plays a “strategic role in serving clients throughout the fast-growing Gulf and MENA (Middle East North Africa) regions.”59

Flournoy is also a cofounder and president of the Center for a New American Security, a director at the Atlantic Council and a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (see below).60

Media commentary: Flournoy appeared on MSNBC expressing support for a strike on Syria:

FLOURNOY: Look, I think there are very important stakes involved here: first, the issue of upholding the international norm against the use of chemical weapons; second, U.S. credibility and leadership in the world and third, knowing that the rest of the world is watching. What messages does Iran takelot of red lines.”67

Brian Katulis

Identified as: Senior fellow/national security specialist at the Center for American Progress (see below)

Undisclosed industry ties: Katulis is a senior advisor at the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy firm. According to his bio on its website, Katulis “assists clients with issues related to the Middle East and South Asia. He has consulted numerous U.S. government agencies, private corporations, and non-governmental organizations on projects in more than two dozen countries, including Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Egypt, and Colombia.”68 Albright Stonebridge does not disclose its clients.

Media commentary: Katulis has appeared on MSNBC’s Politics Nation with Al Sharpton and Bloomberg TV, published a piece on Syria in the New York Daily News, and has been quoted in the Christian Science Monitor, Bloomberg and the LA Times.


On MSNBC, Katulis said that Obama and Kerry had done a “very good job” making the case for airstrikes, though raised doubts about the efficacy of a limited strike.69 He has also commented on the role of international “silent partners,” countries who may not support the strike militarily, but in other ways.70

Jack M Keane

Identified as: Retired Army General; vice chief of staff of the Army from 1999 to 2003; Board Chairman for the Institute for the Study of War (see below); Fox News military analyst. He has also been described as “an influential advocate for the surge of troops in Iraq” and “serving in an advisory role in the U.S. occupation of Iraq.”

Undisclosed industry ties: Keane has been a director with major defense contractor General Dynamics since 2004.71General Dynamics was the fourth largest military services company in the world in 201172 and received $15 billion in federal contracts in 2012, making it the fourth largest federal contractor.73 Keane is a venture partner with SCP Partners, a private equity firm targeting defense and security investments.74

Media commentary: Keane has appeared on PBS News Hour, BBC Radio 4, NPR-affiliated Utah Public Radio, and Fox News on thirteen occasions as a military analyst. In every appearance he has expressed strong support for striking Syria. He has expressed some of the earliest support for military action in Syria, following initial reports of the chemical attacks, and emphasized the importance of “degrading” the Syrian military.75 Most recently, Keane has been a strong critic of the deal with Russia on Fox, calling


CNN military analyst

Undisclosed industry ties: Marks serves as a venture partner and advisory board member at the Stony Lonesome Group, an investment firm with a defense and national security focus.85 He is also a co-founder of Willowdale Services, a consulting firm that lists “global strategic risk management,” “defense operations,” and “intelligence support operations” among its areas of expertise, and “geographic and operational risk assessments” among its service offerings.86

Media commentary: Marks is a military analyst on CNN and has made ten appearances to discuss Syria. He has expressed support for striking Syria and commented on a range of military options, suggesting that regime change and use of ground forces should be on the table. He has also commented on the plan to find and destroy chemical weapons in Syria.87process with his rhetoric, and now the United States and our reputation abroad is really swinging in the balance.91

Disclosure: Nash’s Fox News bio indicates his affiliation with Emerging Technologies,92 but neither that nor his affiliation with Applied Visual Sciences are noted during his appearances.

John D Negroponte

Identified as: Former Director of National Intelligence (during the Bush administration); former Ambassador to Iraq and the UN; former Deputy Secretary of State

Undisclosed industry ties: Negroponte is vice chairman of McLarty Associates, a global strategic consulting firm that lists defense among its sectors of focus. He is also an advisor to Aamina, a global investment company with private investing “currently focused on ventures in the Middle East and North Africa,”93 and Oxford Analytica, a global analysis and advisory firm. Negroponte became Chairman of


expressing concern that it might lead to a larger conflict.99

Disclosure: Scales’ Fox News bio online notes his affiliation with Colgen, but it is not noted during his appearances.

II. Think Tanks

Brookings Institution

Industry Ties: Brookings is an influential research and policy think tank that works in many major policy areas, including defense and foreign policy. In its most recent annual report Brooking’s corporate donors include some prominent names in the defense industry.100 The bulleted points below give the donation level and each defense industry contractor that gave at that level.

In addition to organizational funding, Brookings has several industry-connected individuals in its ranks. David Rubenstein, co-founder and co-CEO at the Carlyle Group, the majority shareholder of Booz Allen Hamilton and the company responsible for taking the firm public in 2010, isfrom a US intervention, are extremists and argued in favor of immediate strikes over waiting for Congress.

Christopher Harmer, a senior naval analyst with the Middle East Security Project at the Institute for the Study of War, released a widely circulated study on the use of Tomahawk missiles for a “surgical” strike against Assad. The study was touted by Sen. John McCain as proof that limited strikes were a viable intervention strategy. From Foreign Policy:

In July, Harmer authored a widely-circulated study showing how the U.S. could degrade key Syrian military installations on the cheap with virtually no risk to U.S. personnel. “It could be done quickly, easily, with no risk whatsoever to American personnel, and a relatively minor cost,” said Harmer. One of the study’s proposals was cruise missile


positive for the U.S. and negative for the Assad regime,” Harmer said in an e-mail.126

Prior to her dismissal from ISW for lying about holding a Ph.D. from Georgetown University, Elizabeth O’Bagy, who also worked for the Syrian Emergency Task Force, was quoted in several articles supporting intervention and arguing that opposition forces were not linked to extremists groups as feared. Her articles were influential enough to be quoted by Secretary Kerry. From Reuters:

Kerry cited an article by Elizabeth O’Bagy, an analyst with the Institute for the Study of War think tank, in which she wrote that Islamic extremist factions are not “spearheading the fight against the Syrian government,” but rather that the struggle is being led by “moderate opposition forces.”127

Council on Foreign Relations

Industry ties: The Council on Foreignprovide not only a credible response to his recent use of chemical weapons but also make him believe that response is part of a larger strategy to compel him to stop slaughtering his own people — by any means. Such an approach would require a U.S. commitment to doing more than limited strikes against facilities related to chemical weapons. But it is the only message Assad will understand.132

American Enterprise Institute

Industry ties: The American Enterprise Institute does not disclose its corporate donor base but its trustees and fellows have significant ties to the defense industry.

Trustee Daniel D’Aniello is co-founder and Chairman of the Carlyle Group, the majority shareholder of Booz Allen Hamilton. 133

Trustee John Faraci sits on the board of directors of United Technologies Corporation, an aerospace and aviation


manufacturing company. 134

Trustee Dick Cheney is the former Vice President of the United States, former CEO of Halliburton, and a famed Washington, DC hawk. 135

Senior Fellow Thomas Donnelly was the director of strategic communications and initiatives for Lockheed Martin. 136

Fred Kagan, director of the Critical Threats Project137, is the husband of ISW director Kim Kagan. Both were criticized in the Washington Post for “pro bono” senior advisory work to General Petraeus.138

Syria commentary: Individuals associated with the American Enterprise Institute were cited in 15 articles on intervention in Syria.

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed former Senators Lieberman and Kyl, co-chairmen of the American Enterprise Institute’s American Internationalism Project, derided inaction in Syria as detrimental to national security, a betrayal of US allies in the region, and an ominous “green-light”Hadley, profiled above, is a director for the Atlantic Council and a director at Raytheon. 142

Director James Cartwright, also profiled above, is also a director for Raytheon and an advisor for TASC. 143

Advisor Robert J Stevens is the former CEO and currently serving as chairman of Lockheed Martin. 144

Advisor General John Jumper was the CEO and Chairman of SAIC until September 27, 2013, when the company split off its national security, health, and engineering businesses as a new public company called Leidos. Jumper now serves as the CEO and Chairman of Leidos. 145 146

Director Thomas M Culligan is senior vice president for Raytheon. 147

Director Admiral Edmund Giambastiani Jr serves as a director for Boeing. 148

Atlantic Council Chairman James L Jones was formerly a director for Boeing and General


Middle East who previously served as the Obama administration’s liaison with the Syrian opposition.“It would only confirm Assad’s view that it is safe to walk up to the president of the United States and slap him in the face, as appears to have been the case in this most recent incident,” he adds, in reference to last week’s chemical attack, believed to be the deadliest single poison gas attack in quarter of a century.150

Center for American Progress

Industry ties: Although considered dovish by defense policy standards, the Center for American Progress’ business alliance and analysts have ties to large defense contractors.

CAP’s business alliance was revealed in a Nation article that exposed its undisclosed corporate donors. Among these donors were two of the biggest names in the defense industry, LockheedMartin and Boeing.151

These ties extend into their roster of experts. CAP’s senior vice president for national security and international policy, Rudy de Leon, was senior vice president of Boeing; CAP senior fellow Scott Lilly was a lobbyist for Lockheed Martin. Several senior staff at the Albright Stonebridge Group, a commercial diplomacy firm, have ties to CAP, including Madeleine Albright and Carol Browner, both board members, and Brian Katulis and Richard Verma, both senior fellows with a national security focus. Former Raytheon and SAIC director John Deutch is a CAP trustee.

Syria commentary: The Center for American Progress was the least cited of the think tanks profiled, appearing in 13 articles on intervention in Syria.

Larry Korb, a former Pentagon official and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress,


includes a first transverse connecting portion 211 connecting the base 20, a first vertical connecting portion 212 extending from the first transverse connecting portion 211, and a first contacting portion 213 formed at a free end of the first vertical connecting portion 212. The second arm 22 is symmetrical to the first arm 21 with respect to a central line of the base 20 and correspondingly includes a second transverse connecting portion 221, a second vertical connecting portion 222 and a second contacting portion 223. The first contacting portion 213 and the second contacting portion 223 are disposed face to face in a close position. When an IC (not shown) is loaded on the IC socket, a pin (not shown) of the IC extends between the first contactingAtmosphere during Olivia Newton-John's visit the Broadway cast of Grease to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on Oct. 7, 2008 in New York City. View Full Caption Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

NORWOOD PARK — The Northwest Side's newest summer festival promises food, beer, music, amusement park rides — and a chance to party like the T-Birds and Pink Ladies Aug. 21-24.

The Grease Lightning Carnival — hosted by the Norwood Park Chamber of Commerce for the first time this year — will raise money for the Taft High School Foundation, which funds academic enrichment, arts and athletic programs at the Northwest Side school.

Taft, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary, is perhaps best-known as the school that inspired the movie "Grease," which chronicled the adventures of the


Georgia Peach neared the height of his baseball prowess.

It was damn disconcerting. Cobb, who had no acting experience and who, despite being the son of a renowned orator, always felt ill at ease when required to speak in public, was nevertheless spending his early off-season touring the country, or at least a large swath east of the Mississippi, in The College Widow, a well-known comedy in three acts by the celebrated Hoosier humorist George Ade. He played Billy Bolton, a handsome halfback tempted to transfer from Bingham to Atwater College by the latter’s coach’s conniving blond girlfriend. Although Cobb surprised some people with his almost adequate acting skills, especially those who had expected him to hook-slide in from the wings, snarling, and spike his fellow thespians where theystood, and though tickets were selling briskly in venues North and South, the venture was turning out to be not as enjoyable as George M. Cohan, the famous “Yankee Doodle Boy,” had assured him it would be over a long, boozy dinner one very complicated (and eventually bloody) night in Cleveland two years earlier. Touring, instead, was strenuous and stressful work performed at a season when he would rather have been tramping through the north Georgia hills with his hunting dogs and his friends—say, George Stallings, the former New York Highlanders manager, and Honus Wagner, the star shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, companions on previous bird-shooting trips.

But Cobb had made a commitment and because he wanted desperately to avoid disappointing both his audience and his promoters, he devoted


only maximized Cobb’s misery.

On the field, he was an extraordinary improviser, and off it, in small groups, a raconteur of the first rank (the veteran catcher Moe Berg, a New Yorker who graduated from Princeton and Columbia Law school and was a frequent houseguest of Cobb’s in Augusta, would call him “an intellectual giant”). Yet at the podium—or beneath a proscenium, sans script—he lost his composure, and could sound like a typical tongue-tied jock. To avoid the nightmare of extemporaneous curtain-call oratory, Cobb would gesture extravagantly toward his heaving chest, the result of a 105-yard touchdown Billy Bolton had supposedly scored (offstage) in the play’s climactic moments, and mime a hero all too willing but alas far too winded to speak. His lame joke always worked, yet thegroundlings’ groans of disappointment wore on him and made him envy the other ballplayer in the original cast, Joe Jackson of the Philadelphia A’s, who, despite being a raw rookie, had realized during rehearsals that he was not exactly born to tread the boards and had put on his walking shoes just before the Widow had opened in Trenton.

Cobb, who was making $500 a week, or more than twice as much as the relatively large sum he got to play baseball, had kept going, though, and by dint of strenuous concentration and dumb luck avoided disaster—until the players reached Pittsburgh, and in the upper right balcony, at the moment of the star’s opening night entrance, his twenty-two-month-old son, Ty Jr., had stood up and squealed “Daddy! Daddy!” The


a young man wrestling with the question of what it meant to be this new thing called a celebrity—that is, when he was not down under the grandstand, postgame, wrestling with an umpire, teammate, or rival. If he was in fact the greatest player in the history of baseball, as no one less than Charles Comiskey, the president of the Chicago White Sox and one of the founding fathers of the modern game, had declared recently in a syndicated newspaper essay that was the talk of the sports world, then how did that status translate to his day-to-day existence? Cobb could not figure out whether, in real life, he should play the ultrasensitive Southern cavalier or the courtly, gregarious Georgia gent, and he wavered between the two rolesCobb for a moment) a-calling.

In his prime Tyrus Raymond Cobb was a good-looking man—six feet tall and 190 pounds—who believed something fairly revolutionary for his time: that success in baseball went to the smart. He held the bat with a split-hands grip—unusual but not unique—that allowed him to make a last-second decision, to choke up and poke the ball over an infielder’s head—or slide his top hand down and swing for the fences (which, in the deadball era, were roughly a million miles away). Employed over the course of nearly two dozen major league seasons, this technique allowed Cobb to achieve a lifetime batting average of .366, amazing in his day and still the highest ever. But it was his philosophy of the game, not the bat-grip he


more than a bit of a diva—Jimmy Lanier, said, “Cobb would lay awake in bed engrossed in plots to out-smart opposing members of other American League clubs.” “Some of my best ideas,” Cobb himself said in a syndicated newspaper series that appeared in 1914, “have come to me at night just before I fall asleep, when, they say, great poems often come to their authors. I get up and write them down.”

He was intrigued by the unpredictability of baseball, he often said, but it was perfecting ways to influence the proceedings and control the outcomes of various game situations that gave him the most satisfaction. He loved, for example, to find himself on third against the Highlanders (who were just starting to be known also as the Yankeessack and wait for something to turn up [the Times continued]. But Cobb, observing that third base was unguarded, trotted amiably up there. No one saw him. So he tiptoed gingerly along toward the group at the plate. He did not come under the observation of the public until he was about ten feet from the goal all base runners seek, where for a few seconds he stood practically still, peering into the cluster of disputants before him, looking for an opening to slide through. He found one and skated across the plate with the winning run under the noses of almost the entire New York team, Sweeney touching him with the ball when it was too late.

It has been said by many that Cobb lacked a sense


days in the direction in which he was headed, trying to gain every possible advantage. Two months later, on July 12 in Detroit, Cobb would steal second, third, and home on three consecutive pitches by the A’s Harry Krause. “He was like compressed steam,” said his fellow American League star Eddie Collins, later a manager and team executive. “Cobb was always exerting pressure, always searching out a weak spot here and there to display his seemingly inexhaustible and tireless energy.” Casey Stengel said that Cobb was the only player he ever saw who could score from third on a weak infield pop-up—he would tag up, then break for home as soon as the fielder began to lob the ball back to the pitcher. “His constant chiding, deriding, tantalizingPontchartrain Hotel, a man cranking up the black Chalmers 30 sedan that he had won for leading the league with a .383 batting average in 1910. As the thief, a nineteen-year-old named John Miles, hopped in and took off, Cobb pursued him on foot, caught the car, vaulted into the topless tonneau, and, according to the Atlanta Constitution, turned off the engine and “hurled the youth into the street.” The next morning, after hearing out Miles’s sniffling bride of eight months, Cobb told a judge that “things had not been breaking well for the couple” and added, “I would be in favor of letting him go”—but the magistrate gaveled down his mercy plea, and ordered Miles to be arraigned.

Cobb—as surprising as it may sound to those who base


behave affably.” Cobb sometimes engaged with them, but on other occasions appeared aloof, as part of his nonstop psychological warfare. (“Baseball is 50 percent brain, 25 percent eye and 25 percent arm and leg,” Cobb said in 1912.) As a consequence of such behavior, some of his colleagues considered him a jerk. Heywood Broun, writing in the New York Morning Telegraph, said Cobb was “perhaps . . . the least popular player who ever lived” because “pistareen ball players whom he has shown up dislike him, third basemen with bum arms, second basemen with tender skins, catchers who cannot throw out a talented slider—all despise Cobb. And their attitude has infected the stands.”

And yet to many average fans, who did not feel competitive with him or threatened (orhumbled) by his talent, he was simply an idol. They may have booed or feared him for the havoc he could wreak on their team. But they also sent him bushels of letters asking how they or their children might break into the game, or posed questions about hitting, fielding, or base running, And he almost always wrote back (eventually) in his trademark green ink with advice, and sometimes a pamphlet full of pointers he’d worked up for a sporting goods company, and sometimes a picture. Occasionally he would apologize for sending two pictures when the writer had only requested one, and he never failed to mention how flattered he was when someone asked for his autograph. The recipients of these letters would treasure them for the rest


of their lives, and pass them along as family heirlooms. Ty Cobb was a deep pool of brackish water. The son of a bitch had many partisans.

• • •

That Cobb fans would come to number in the millions was made certain by an accident of timing. He wasn’t just the most super of the sports superstars; he was also, chronologically, the first. Cobb became the biggest draw in baseball—surpassing Honus Wagner, Tris Speaker, Nap Lajoie, and Christy Mathewson—just as the game was becoming, as Steven A. Riess tells us in his important book Touching Base: Professional Baseball and American Culture in the Progressive Era, “an integral part of American life and not just a frivolous misuse of valuable time better spent in more gainful pursuits.” According to themyths fashioned by the magnates who owned the teams in the early 1900s, passed along by the journalists eager to justify their existence and slurped up by an increasingly sports-mad public, baseball built character by stressing team play, fast thinking, and acceptance of authority in the form of the fallible but ultimate ump. It also supposedly encouraged civic pride, discouraged juvenile delinquency, and helped the immigrants of the Great Wave to assimilate. In the popular imagination, or at least in the mind of newspaper editorial writers, it functioned, somehow, as a safeguard of democracy. In 1907 the New York Evening World’s Allen Sangree wrote, “As a tonic, an exercise, a safety valve, baseball is second only to death as a leveler. So long as it remains our national


Cobb would conquer the stage the way he had conquered baseball and move on from there to God knows what—maybe medicine, the field his father had wanted him to pursue, or driving in auto races, which was something he frequently talked about doing—before finally deciding to settle down and perhaps even be president. Baseball was the bee’s knees, people felt, but baseball couldn’t hold him. It was to check out the rumor that he might soon “desert the dusty diamond to join the high-brow contingent and tread the Thespian boards” that the Atlanta Constitution sent Howell Foreman to interview Cobb backstage on a Saturday night in November of 1911.

Cobb found Foreman sitting in his dressing room when he rushed back during the first act to make a quickcostume change—and he was too polite to turn the eager young reporter away. “He greeted me,” Foreman wrote, “with a broad beaming smile showing that he was trying to say ‘Glad to see you.’?” (Note the “trying.”) When Harry Matthews, the big Albany (Georgia) Baby, appeared moments later, Cobb shook his hand and told him to have a seat, then, Foreman wrote, “he hooked on a ‘ready-made’ white bow, and ran out of the door. He went on stage, had a few dances with ‘the widow’ at the faculty reception, and in five minutes came back in the room.” Surveying the scene warily, Cobb said, “Well, I won’t have anything to do for a while yet . . .” and indicated he could chat some. But when the


of the time. To protect his surprisingly finicky eyes, he avoided coffee, milk, chewing gum, and movies. The off-season was no vacation for Cobb. On winter days he wore heavy boots and tried to stand and walk as much as possible; when spring training started he put lead weights in his shoes—all in the name of building up his legs for the championship season. Many of his contemporaries agreed that he was never very fast on his feet, just always in shape and brilliantly opportunistic.

The strategizing alone was exhausting, “I must have been in about 30,000 plays and I tried to think about every play and how it should be made,” he told Rice. “I believed in putting up a mental hazard for the other fellow. Every playwith rage,” wrote Timothy M. Gay in his biography of Tris Speaker, “that on several occasions he brutally pistol-whipped African American men whose only offense was to share a sidewalk with him.” In the 1994 Ken Burns series Baseball, the respected writer and historian Dan Okrent called Cobb “an embarrassment to the game” because of his racism, and Burns treats Cobb as a dangerous miscreant: the anti–Jackie Robinson. Indeed, to the authors of the 2004 book American Monsters, Cobb fits squarely alongside Charles Manson, John Wilkes Booth, and the owners of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory (considered responsible for the deaths of 146 garment workers in 1911) in the pantheon of America’s most despicable villains.

American Monsters is not by any definition an important or influential work, yet it accurately


The Rock's 'Hercules' Release Date Bumped In Wake Of 'Guardians Of The Galaxy'

Editor-at-large here at Movie Pilot. Nerd out with me on Twitter, comrades: @alishagrauso

It's an old studio technique to bump movies competing against other films guaranteed to make a killing at the box office to new release dates that will match them against "weaker" movies they have a better shot at faring well with. Studios have been using this trick often lately, trying hard to reschedule and get out of the way of the Marvel juggernaut the past few years. But with no less than four Marvel movies being all up on our screens in 2014, films are hard-pressed to find a release date that won't see them going head-to-head or riding in the wake of yetanother Marvel blockbuster.

Still, that's not stopping Paramount from bumping the -directed Hercules (starring in the titular role) up from its original release date of August 8th, 2014 to July 25th, 2014. The move is designed so that the movie doesn't have to compete directly against Marvel Studio's little-known (yet) but much-hyped Guardians of the Galaxy.

Ironically enough, this puts Hercules in the wake of another Marvel franchise blockbuster, as X-Men: Days Of Future Past will have been released just a week prior. It will also face stiff competition in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Still, Paramount seems to want to take its chances riding the coattails of those two films rather than square off directly against what's sure to be another box office-smashing success with Guardians.

Hercules


is adapted from Radical Studio's graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars: A thousand years ago, a tortured being walked the earth that was neither man nor god. He was Hercules, the son of the powerful god-king, Zeus - but for this, he had received nothing but suffering his entire life. After twelve arduous tasks and the death of his family, this tortured soul finally turned his back on the gods to find his solace in battle. Over time, he finds six equally tormented souls who are bonded by the fever of battle and the shadow of death. These mercenaries don't question their actions or their assignments, as long as they are paid. Soon, word of their prowess reaches the King of Thrace, who hires these wayward souls toMy home is on the south end of Whidbey Island in Washington. About 30 miles north of Seattle. The view from my bedroom is to the east across Puget Sound to Everett, a distance of about 7 miles. I am up the hill from the water about ½ mile.

On October 7 2010 at 12:30 am I was in bed. Looked at the door going out onto the deck and saw a very bright light in the sky. It appeared to be between my house and the water at about 500 feet. It was shaped kind of like the nose of an airplane. This object was facing north and not moving. Looked closer and at the south end of object was a vertical line also lit. As I looked


New Delhi, India - The Indian government has announced the end of a decades-long policy of giving subsidy to thousands of Muslims heading to the holy city of Mecca to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, India's minister for minority affairs, said on Tuesday that the move was part of "a policy to empower minorities with dignity and without appeasement".

"Hajj subsidy funds will be used for the educational empowerment of girls and women from minority communities," he told reporters in Delhi.

The decision followed a 2012 ruling by the country's Supreme Court, which had directed the government to gradually reduce the subsidy and abolish it by 2022.

The move was welcomed by many Muslim groups in the country.

"This has been a long-standing demand of the Muslim community in India,"Navaid Hamid, president of the All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat, an umbrella organisation of several Muslim groups, told Al Jazeera

"This subsidy was used for a long time to denounce the Muslim community, to spread lies that Muslims were being appeased for vote-bank," added Hamid.

'Air India was getting the subsidy'

Starting in 1954, the Indian government has for decades offered subsidies amounting to billions of rupees to poor Muslims wanting to perform Hajj. In 2016, the sum was about $75m, down from about $100m in 2013, according to official data.

Muslim pilgrims were given the subsidy through concessionary airline fares.

Hajj subsidy was "a major earner for the national airline, Air India", said Faizan Mustafa, a Muslim scholar and vice-chancellor of the Nalsar University of Law.

"It is Air India that was getting the


Description

Translated by Google Translate
Show original version.
Fantastic villa with private pool in Bonaire, on the northern coast of Mallorca.

This cosy and light-filled villa for 8 people has a private pool, natural grass gardens, terraces and a barbecue. It is located in the quiet area of Bonaire, very close to the sea.

The house is divided into two levels. On the ground floor there are two fully- furnished terraces, a fully-equipped kitchen, a dining room with views and access to one terrace, and a spacious living room with access to another terrace. It has two double bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a toilet. The first floor consists of a full bathroom and two double bedrooms, one with balcony and one with access to a small terrace. All rooms have outdoor accessand overlook the garden and its surroundings.

This beautiful villa is located in one of the most sought-after areas on the northern coast of Mallorca, known for its tranquillity, its proximity to the sea and its beautiful setting. There are spectacular views from the cliffs of its beautiful sandy and rocky beaches as well as of the coves of Mal Pas, La Victòria and Manresa. The area is ideal for water sports such as diving, canoeing, paddle surfing or fishing.

The property is situated near the town of Alcúdia, an ancient Roman city, where you will find supermarkets and enjoy a wide range of both traditional and international cuisine. You can walk along the city walls or shop at the weekly market every Tuesday and Sunday. The house also lies


Share This Story!

Little League signups underway

DEMING - Coming off a banner season in 2016, Deming Little League is registering boys and girls for youth baseball and softball this week. Sign-ups are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, Feb. 21, through Friday at Peppers Supermarket, 812 E. Florida St.

Join the Conversation

Little League signups underway

Registration for boys and girls at Peppers Supermarket

Buy Photo

Deming Little League closed out a banner season in 2016, sending five teams to the state tournaments scattered throughout the state. Registration for the 2017 summer season is currently underway from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Peppers Supermarket, 812 E. Florida St.(Photo: Headlight File Photo)Buy Photo

DEMING - Coming off a banner season in 2016, Deming Little League is registering boys and girls for youth baseball and softball this week.Sign-ups are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. today, Tuesday, Feb. 21, through Friday at Peppers Supermarket, 812 E. Florida St.

Deming Little League had five New Mexico District 7 championship teams that attended the state tournaments scattered throughout the state. The Deming Junior Division All-Stars (ages 13-14) won the state championship and competed at regionals in Waco, TX.

New Mexico District 7 includes teams from Hidalgo, Sierra, Grant and Luna counties.

Newly-appointed league president Jason Carbajal hopes the winning tradition continues, as the summer league usually generate close to 400 ball players. ":We had over 340 players sign up last year and we are hoping to get those kind of numbers this year," Carbajal said.

Registration was held last week at Red Mountain Middle School and only 16 players actually signed up.


international sanctions over his crackdown on an uprising that began in March 2011. Moscow has rejected Western sanctions against Assad’s regime and said it would honor earlier signed weapons contracts with Syria for the delivery of anti-shipping and air defense missiles. The Kremlin has insisted that the Russian arms sales don’t violate any international agreements and scoffed at Western demands to halt the trade.

Russia normally sends weapons for Syria by sea. In June, a Russian-operated ship carrying helicopter gunships and air defense missiles was forced to turn back to Russia after its British insurer removed coverage for the vessel.

The Syrian Airbus A320 was intercepted by Turkish fighter jets on its way from Moscow to Damascus on Wednesday and forced to land in Ankara amid heightened tensions between Turkeygames and it was a great way to begin my professional career.”

Selected in the 36th round of the 2013 MLB draft, Harris has nothing but good things to say about his draft experience which he was able to share with his family.

“My draft experience was cool,” Harris said with a smile. “It was exciting having my family there. Everybody showed up at the same time when my name got called. My cousin was the first to hear the news and he went nuts. It was a really cool and memorable experience.”

Prior to playing professional baseball, Harris played college baseball at Southern Arkansas University. An experience he claims was great due to excellent coaching and advice.

“My time at Southern Arkansas was amazing,” said Harris. “Playing for Coach Browning was


reservist who left his insurance card at home while in Iraq had it “borrowed” by his uninsured brother, who used it to pay for thousands of dollars in coverage after a car accident. An elderly man who lost his insurance card discovered it had been stolen after care at an emergency room where he learned that someone else’s allergy to penicillin was on his chart.

The out-of-pocket costs incurred by victims of medical identity theft average more than $18,000, according to the Ponemon report. HIMSS security survey showed that 12 percent of health care organizations have had at least one case of medical identity theft reported by a patient. Many thefts go unreported and even undiscovered.

Since the Department of Health and Human Services began tracking the numbers in 2009,About

Children are precious gifts to us from God. We love their creative and challenging lives. Children are a high priority at Fairfield First Baptist Church, just as they are to Jesus Christ. Our church's Children's ministry views each child as important and a contributing member of the congregation.

The mission of the Children's Ministry of Fairfield First Baptist Church is to partner with parents to cultivate the spiritual growth of their family. We provide opportunities for faith development through worship, Bible studies, games and crafts. As we consider each child, issues they face in these changing times, and realities they must conquer, we believe it is our responsibility to offer them the building blocks that form their faith.

Our goal is for children to learn about God's love in a


John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE's promise to make religious freedom a "key priority" of his foreign policy.

"The Potomac Declaration is a formal affirmation that says right up front that the United States takes religious freedom seriously, that we will work with others around the world to help those under attack for their beliefs, and that we expect leaders around the world to make it their priority as well," Pompeo said.

Trump has elevated the topic of religious freedom since taking office last year. But critics have expressed concern about whether his administration has sought to helpcertain religious groups over others.

The issue of religious freedom is also a key political issue for Trump, who won overwhelmingly among evangelical voters in the 2016 presidential election and relies on those voters as an important part of his base.

But Trump's travel ban, which bars people from several Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S., has faced criticism from some who have accused it of being a thinly veiled effort to keep Muslims out of the country. The Supreme Court upheld that ban last month.

The Trump administration has also sought to provide more aid to religious minorities in northern Iraq, particularly Christians and Yazidis. Just last month, the U.S. Agency for International Development, facing pressure from Vice President Pence, fast-tracked million of dollars in aid to persecuted groups in


TVNZ reporter Matt Chisholm hosts Survivor NZ, which went to Thailand for its second season.

Contestants on the second season of Survivor NZ had to survive in an isolated part of Thailand.

TVNZ, the network broadcasting Survivor, has revealed the 18 Survivor hopefuls were transported to a "remote Thai jungle" for the series.

The contestants had to survive on islands in Lake Vajiralongkorn, in Khao Laem National Park western Thailand.

The series was filmed earlier this year and is due to hit screens in April. Survivor NZ season one, which aired last year, was filmed in Nicaragua in Central America.

READ MORE:

* Survivor NZ: Against the odds, a rehashed reality show made an impact

* Survivor NZ: Dejected super fan Dee says she was ripped off

* Survivor NZ was just a camping trip withoutfood for contestant Mike

The 18 contestants were selected from over 5000 applicants. They were tasked with surviving for up to 40 days without basic comforts, while completing physical and mental challenges and attempting to outmanoeuvre their fellow contestants at Tribal Council, where contestants are voted off the show by their peers.

This season's winner takes home $250,000 – a big increase on season one's $100,000 prize, which was won by Avi Duckor-Jones.


Overnight, US data showed housing starts rose far less than expected in March and factory activity in the mid-Atlantic region grew modestly, suggesting the economic momentum will probably not be strong enough for the Federal Reserve to decide to start raising interest rates as early as June.

"The report marks more of the same slow and dull picture of health investors have recently become accustomed to for the domestic economy," Andrew Wilkinson, chief market analyst at US electronic broker Interactive Brokers LLC, wrote in a note to clients.

US unlikely to hike interest rates in June

Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank president Dennis Lockhart, a voting member of the Fed's rate-setting committee this year, said the recent "murky" run of US data means he is currenrtly opposed to a June interest ratean amendment to the pretrial order to include an item of $106 for work said to have been performed by the plaintiff in August, 1948. The complaint filed in the cause limited the period for which recovery was sought to the months of May, June and July. At the trial, however, the plaintiff's witness, Hosey, was asked the amount of the bill for August. Objection was made on the ground of surprise but after a colloquy between counsel and the defendant's attorney, the latter requested and was granted a recess to discuss the matter with his client and then reported that certain records had been sent for and expressed the hope that *171 the court would bear with him if there was delay in their arriving at court.


the Co-op in Devon, Montana; (2) on reaching Devon a highway patrolman observed the pickup defendant was later driving when arrested; (3) this pickup had left the vicinity by the time the deputies reached the Devon Co-op; (4) at the Co-op the phone lines were cut, a window broken, and a door left open; (5) the deputies observed footprints leading from the Co-op to and across a creek in the direction where the pickup had been parked. The footprints were similar to those found at the Sunburst Co-op the previous evening. The tire tracks observed at both Co-ops were similar; and (6) the deputies had information the pickup defendant was driving was equipped with a radio scanner tuned to police frequencies.
On July 13, 1975 upon stopping the Brinervehicle, the deputies examined the pickup tires and determined they were similar in design to the tracks found at the Devon and Sunburst Co-ops. Deputies also observed defendant's and Cain's pant legs were wet; that a pair of wet waffle stomper boots was on the pickup's floorboard; and that a radio scanner was present. Arrest was made without a warrant, the pickup was seized.
On the same day a search warrant was issued to search the vehicle defendant was driving. This warrant was returned on the same day, together with the waffle stompers and gloves. Later, on July 25, 1975, deputies removed the vehicle's radio scanner and on July 26, 1975, the vehicle's tires.
The defendant was charged by Information on September 4, 1975 with the burglary of the Farmers


Co-op Oil Company of Sunburst, Montana, "on or about July 12, 1975".
Evidence presented to the jury showed:
1). Footprints from waffle stompers were found inside and outside the Co-op after the burglary; defendant owned a pair of waffle stompers which was in his pickup at the time of his arrest; expert opinion found the prints to be made by boots with a similar tread design and wear pattern as those of defendant.
*37 2). The vehicle defendant was driving was seen parked on the Interstate highway ramp overlooking the Co-op during the early morning hours after the night of the burglary; fresh tire tracks were found at the Co-op; expert opinion found the tire tracks and the tires from the pickup defendant was driving to be of similar tire designsubmission of the case to the jury: (a) waffle stomper footprints were discovered inside and outside the Co-op after the burglary; (b) defendant owned a pair of waffle stomper boots seized on the same day as his arrest; (c) expert comparison of defendant's boots to footprints found at the Co-op demonstrated the prints were made by boots similar to defendant's; (d) the pickup defendant was driving was seen parked on the Sunburst Interstate 15 exit ramp overlooking *39 the Co-op in the early morning hours following the night of the burglary; (e) fresh tire tracks were found at the Co-op after the burglary; (f) expert comparison of the tire tracks found at the Co-op and the tires on the pickup defendant was driving determined the tracks were made


by tires with similar tread design and wear as those of the pickup; (g) eyewitnesses who saw the pickup defendant was driving on the Sunburst exit ramp, observed the pickup proceed down the ramp and repark at the Texaco station across the street from the Co-op; (h) waffle stomper footprints led from the ramp towards the Co-op; and (i) the pickup defendant was driving was equipped with a radio scanner tuned to Montana law enforcement channels.
Defendant's third issue claims the time alleged in the Information was not sufficiently definite to inform defendant of the nature of the charge against him. This Court finds this issue without merit. Defendant's motion to dismiss, which challenged the sufficiency of the Information, was properly denied as untimely filed.
Defendant's fourth issue contends theand seizures, I feel this Court is paying too much attention to the United States Supreme Court in interpreting the 4th Amendment to the United States Constitution, and not paying enough attention to Art. II, Section 11, of Montana's 1972 Constitution which provides:
"The people shall be secure in their persons, papers, homes and effects from unreasonable searches and seizures. No warrant to search any place, or seize any person or thing shall issue without describing *40 the place to be searched or the person or thing to be seized, or without probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation reduced to writing."
Undoubtedly we are bound by the United States Supreme Court in its interpretations of the United States Constitution but we are not bound by it when we implement


(Reuters) - The U.S. government has joined a lawsuit from college and professional sports leagues seeking to stop New Jersey from implementing a law that would allow gambling on sports in the state.

In papers filed in a New Jersey federal court on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said it wants to defend the constitutionality of a federal law that restricts sports gambling.

New Jersey's law, signed last year by Governor Chris Christie, would allow sports betting at the state's racetracks and at Atlantic City casinos. It would allow the racetracks and casinos to apply for licenses and open gambling operations for amateur and professional sports.

A slew of leagues, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the National Football League, Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the Nationaltab to discover my story and what lead me to here.

It is a great place to go for a romantic weekend, Before kids we use to spend many weekend getaways in the region and back in the day it was the honeymoon location for Perth people with many including my parents staying at the picturesque colonial Caves House Hotel in Yallingup just down the road fro Ngilgi Cave.

There are also several more caves to explore in the region (Jewel and Mamoth Caves), the rugged coastline is stunning with the Geographe Bay national park sitting at the tip of the coastline jutting out to sea. Apart from the wineries the ocean is the other famous draw card of this region. It offers fantastic surfing and there are several world


level of need and understanding.

Alyssa (Schroeder) has become a troubled 14-year-old girl. She smokes pot at school and has been suspended several times. She really doesn’t seem to care about this or anything for that matter. The reason for this is that within the last year, her mother died. Her mom was an excellent swimmer and practically lived in the water. Alyssa was a big part of this life, until they were in a boating accident and Alyssa couldn’t do anything but watch her mother drown to death. Since then she has been living with her grandmother (Ross). At this point though, her grandma feels she has done everything she can. Alyssa thinks that her father died, since she never knew him. Her Grandmother finally tells her thetruth; her father is alive. He never knew that Alyssa was born. Her mother kept this from him, because he didn’t want children and wasn’t ready for a family.Alyssa and her grandmother head to the Bahamas, where Alyssa’s dad, James (Dunbar,) lives as a dolphin researcher. The relationship between father and daughter has a slow and rough start. James is completely thrown off guard. He wasn’t sure he ever wanted children, and here he has had one for 14 years. As Alyssa, is still in a rebellious stage, she distances herself somewhat as well. James is also in the middle of a crisis with his research. He feels that he is very close to proving the level of dolphins intelligence and that they can transmit images through talking,


to finding this fondness of dolphins, Alyssa could be considered very wild herself.

In the film it is said that dolphins talk, but it is up to humans whether they really want to listen. Alyssa takes the time to do this and really just needs someone to listen and relate to her in turn. In some ways she needs the dolphins as much as they need her. They really matter to her like nothing else has since her mother died. She finds a passion and joy through them, which fills an empty void that was in her life before. This common ground of interest is really what gives her a real relationship with her father. Without that she might have just left and never seen him again.In Ningxia, the \>60 group had one subject. In Qinghai, seven subjects were included in the ≤5 group, and the \>60 group had no subjects. In Sichuan 930 subjects were in the ≤5 group, which was significantly more than the number in the same age groups in other regions. With regard to the age groupings for HBV epidemiology, the distribution of subjects in the ≤5 group was the same as that mentioned above. Deficiencies in other age groups included only one subject in the ≤15 group and four in the \>65 group. In Ningxia and Qinghai, no subjects were included in the \>65 group.

Laboratory Testing {#s4d}
------------------

All serum specimens were tested in the National Hepatitis Laboratory, Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention at the China CDC. A detailed


One of the biggest boosters of electric vehicles in Congress is a Republican representing a rural stretch of east Kentucky. The Congressman is also a legit Tesla hacker with a YouTube channel, two MIT engineering degrees, and serves on the US House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. So what does he think about the Tesla Cybertruck, and what new projects can we look forward to on his farm?

Congressman Thomas Massie started young with electric vehicles. He joined the MIT solar car team in 1989, helping build and race the solar car from Florida to Michigan in GM Sunrayce USA 1990. He was a Tesla early adopter, putting down a $5,000 deposit in 2010 on a Model S, sight unseen. He picked it up in January 2013, VIN #3347,Kanade Suzutsuki, has every reason to keep this secret from leaking out, and makes it her life's work to torment Kinjiro, while attempting to cure his gynophobia.

HAJIME ASANO is an author of light novels whose best known work, Mayo Chiki!, has been adapted into a hit manga series and an anime.


DMCC unveils UAE’s first gold coin

GMT
17:50 2011
Tuesday ,16
August

Dubai - Arabstoday

In recognition of the visionary leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates and his His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and following the success of its ‘Visions of Dubai’ gold coins initiative, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority (‘DMCC’) has unveiled the prototype of the first gold bullion coin in the UAE.
Designed by DMCC, the “Khalifa” coin features a portrait of Sheikh Khalifa on one side, and on the other, Burj Khalifa. DMCC is also in discussions with the UAE Central Bank to designate the gold bullion coin as the first legal tender in the UAE and ME.
A national legaltender gold coin will stand as an internationally recognised symbol of pride and recognition of the UAE’s achievements much like the Canadian Maple Leaf, Australian Nugget, South African Krugerrand and others. Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman of DMCC, said:
“This innovative gold bullion coin was conceived to satisfy the demands from investors seeking access to gold as protection against the ongoing global economic uncertainty.
The gold bullion coin pays homage to our President, His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, his vision, guidance and leadership.“The Burj Khalifa is a symbol of the UAE as a progressive, innovative nation that whilst rich in heritage and traditions continually works to build a modern developed society.
In this way the gold bullion coin stands as a national emblem which reflects the determination and


competition on the MotoGP grid later and the RC16 was part of the 2018 Valencia Grand Prix podium celebration.

Included in the very rare sale of this milestone of engineering are a number of other items. For the sum of 250,000 euros the bike is accompanied by: a full set of Pol Espargaro’s race gear, a signed Pol Espargaro helmet and the chance to become a member of the Red Bull KTM Factory Team for the weekend with a paddock tour, pitbox tour, a meet and greet with Pol and Johann Zarco, a set of Red Bull KTM team wear and Red Bull Energy Station access all weekend at a Grand Prix of your choice.

KTM take pride in their motorcycles having the READYTORACE DNA but it doesn’t come moresather.JPG

New York Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault, left, and team president and general manager Glen Sather should have an interesting off-season.

(Associated Press)

After falling short in the Stanley Cup finals, New York Rangers fans now have to prepare for an off-season where a multitude of changes could be in the mix.

The Rangers, currently with a projected $71 million cap space, have eight starting-roster spaces open, and while there are many players that can be expected to return, there are just as many quality free-agent players available to replace them. Many Rangers fans are looking forward to a new offensive force to help the inconsistent offensive showing the team had in the playoffs.

With Brad Richards likely being bought-out, the 27-year-old Colorado center, Paul Stastny, is a prime target for Rangers


but I had never seen the play staged.Over the decades that have raced by, I never forgot Arthur Miller's compelling dramaof Willy Loman and his family.Willy Loman is the protagonist of the play,a 63-year-old traveling salesman,who strove for the American Dreamand failed in his attempt.

Throughout its many productions since then,on broadway, on television, and in the movies,the drama has received critical acclaim and many awards,including the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama,and an unprecedented four Tonys forBest Broadway Production.

I first studied this play in 1967,at a time when anything seemed possible.Yes, there were many difficult and troubling thingshappening in the world then,but we Baby Boomers believedthat we would change the world for the better.The play resonated with me then because Willy and Linda Loman made me thinkof my parentsand their struggle to provide a good education and a better future for my four siblings and myself.At that time I was bubbling over with optimism and a sense of my world opening up and expanding.I truly did not understand thenwhat it meant to work long and hard and to have unrealized dreams.In Willy Loman's character, I glimpsed my father's darknessand his lifelong battle to overcomemental and physical illnesses.In Linda, Willy's supportive wife,I sensed my mother's deep love for her husband and childrenand her determination to hold our family together.I waited in the theater with such anticipation!I wanted to see how the play would impact memore than four decades and a lifetime later.

It seemed to take forever for the 450 seats in the Space Theatre to fill up


~but fill up it did.This cozy theatre-in-the-round with its center stageand simple set provides its audience with an intimate experience of Death of a Salesman.During the productionit feels like you can reach outand touch the actors as they move about the almost bare stage.

The lights go down, the spotlight comes up,and an exhausted Willy trudges in with two suitcases.He is beaten down, and returning from a canceled business trip to New England.For thirty-four years,Willy has worked as a salesmanfor the same companypursuing the American Dream.

Throughout his long career, Willy has relied ondressing right,being well-liked,and working hard to be successful.However, Willy's careeris on a downhill slide.He vacillatesbetweenrecognizing his harsh realityand hiding from the truth in delusions about his successas a husband, a father, and a salesman.

Neither he nor hissons have succeeded socially or in business.In fact, Biff steals, and Happy chases chippies.Linda, wife and mother, loves her familydespite the weaknesses of her husband and sons.She worries about what will happen to them all.She worries about Willy committing suicide.This tragedy of the common manbuildsto a gritty and climatic family argument and Willy's suicide in a car accident.

shared stories of how they had survived the Great Depression.It's effects lingered in my Great Aunt Nan's drying and reusing paper towelsand in the sugar-rationed recipes she still baked with.Today, five years out from the near collapseof the financial system and the housing market, Death of a Salesman resonates ~it has a relevance today that it didn't have when I first read it.For so many the American Dream is slipping away.And