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In the poetic form, the sonnet, how many lines are there? | Basic Sonnet Forms
Basic Sonnet Forms
Return to Sonnet Central home .
A sonnet is fundamentally a dialectical construct which allows the poet to examine the nature and ramifications of two usually contrastive ideas,emotions, states of mind, beliefs, actions, events, images, etc., byjuxtaposing the two against each other, and possibly resolving or justrevealing the tensions created and operative between the two.
O. K., so much for the fancy language. Basically, in a sonnet, youshow two related but differing things to the reader in order to communicatesomething about them. Each of the three major types of sonnets accomplishesthis in a somewhat different way. There are, of course, other types of sonnets,as well, but I'll stick for now to just the basic three (Italian, Spenserian, English), with a brief look at some non-standard sonnets.
I. The Italian (or Petrarchan) Sonnet:
The basic meter of all sonnets in English is iambic pentameter ( basic information on iambic pentameter),although there have been a few tetrameter and even hexametersonnets, as well.
The Italian sonnet is divided into two sections by two differentgroups of rhyming sounds. The first 8 lines is called the octaveand rhymes:
a b b a a b b a
The remaining 6 lines is called the sestet and can haveeither two or three rhyming sounds, arranged in a variety ofways:
c d c d c d
c d d c d c
c d e c d e
c d e c e d
c d c e d c
The exact pattern of sestet rhymes (unlike the octave pattern)is flexible. In strict practice, the one thing that is to be avoidedin the sestet is ending with a couplet (dd or ee), as this wasnever permitted in Italy, and Petrarch himself (supposedly) never used a couplet ending; in actual practice, sestets aresometimes ended with couplets (Sidney's "Sonnet LXXI givenbelow is an example of such a terminal couplet in an Italiansonnet).
The point here is that the poem is divided into two sections bythe two differing rhyme groups. In accordance with the principle(which supposedly applies to all rhymed poetry but oftendoesn't), a change from one rhyme group to another signifiesa change in subject matter. This change occurs at thebeginning of L9 in the Italian sonnet and is called the volta,or "turn"; the turn is an essential element of the sonnet form, perhaps the essential element. It is at the volta thatthe second idea is introduced, as in this sonnet by Wordsworth:
"London, 1802"
Milton! thou shouldst be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart;
Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:
Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,
So didst thou travel on life's common way,
In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart
The lowliest duties on herself did lay.
Here, the octave develops the idea of the decline and corruption of the English race, while the sestet opposes to that loss the qualities Milton possessed which the race now desperately needs.
A very skillful poet can manipulate the placement of the volta for dramatic effect, although this is difficult to do well. An extremeexample is this sonnet by Sir Philip Sidney, which delays the voltaall the way to L 14:
"Sonnet LXXI"
Who will in fairest book of Nature know
How Virtue may best lodged in Beauty be,
Let him but learn of Love to read in thee,
Stella, those fair lines, which true goodness show.
There shall he find all vices' overthrow,
Not by rude force, but sweetest sovereignty
Of reason, from whose light those night-birds fly;
That inward sun in thine eyes shineth so.
And not content to be Perfection's heir
Thyself, dost strive all minds that way to move,
Who mark in thee what is in thee most fair.
So while thy beauty draws the heart to love,
As fast thy Virtue bends that love to good.
"But, ah," Desire still cries, "give me some food."
Here, in giving 13 lines to arguing why Reason makes clearto him that following Virtue is the course he should take, he seems to be heavily biassing the argument in Virtue'sfavor. But the volta powerfully undercuts the arguments of Reason in favor of Virtue by revealing that Desire isn't amenableto Reason.
There are a number of variations which evolved over time to make iteasier to write Italian sonnets in English. Most common is a changein the octave rhyming pattern from a b b a a b b a to a b b a a c c a,eliminating the need for two groups of 4 rhymes, something not alwayseasy to come up with in English which is a rhyme-poor language.Wordsworth uses that pattern in the following sonnet, along with aterminal couplet:
"Scorn Not the Sonnet"
Scorn not the Sonnet; Critic, you have frowned,
Mindless of its just honours; with this key
Shakespeare unlocked his heart; the melody
Of this small lute gave ease to Petrarch's wound;
A thousand times this pipe did Tasso sound;
With it Camoens soothed an exile's grief;
The Sonnet glittered a gay myrtle leaf
Amid the cypress wtih which Dante crowned
His visionary brow: a glow-worm lamp,
It cheered mild Spenser, called from Faery-land
To struggle through dark ways; and when a damp
Fell round the path of Milton, in his hand
The Thing became a trumpet; whence he blew
Soul-animating strains--alas, too few!
Another variation on the Italian form is this one, byTennyson's older brother Charles Tennyson-Turner,who wrote 342 sonnets, many in variant forms.Here, Turner uses an a b b a c d c d e f f e f epattern, with the volta delayed until the middleof L9:
"Missing the Meteors"
A hint of rain--a touch of lazy doubt--
Sent me to bedward on that prime of nights,
When the air met and burst the aerolites,
Making the men stare and the children shout:
Why did no beam from all that rout and rush
Of darting meteors, pierce my drowsed head?
Strike on the portals of my sleep? and flush
My spirit through mine eyelids, in the stead
Of that poor vapid dream? My soul was pained,
My very soul, to have slept while others woke,
While little children their delight outspoke,
And in their eyes' small chambers entertained
Far notions of the Kosmos! I mistook
The purpose of that night--it had not rained.
II. The Spenserian Sonnet:
The Spenserian sonnet, invented by Edmund Spenseras an outgrowth of the stanza pattern he used in TheFaerie Queene (a b a b b c b c c), has the pattern:
a b a b b c b c c d c d e e
Here, the "abab" pattern sets up distinct four-linegroups, each of which develops a specific idea;however, the overlapping a, b, c, and d rhymes form thefirst 12 lines into a single unit with a separated finalcouplet. The three quatrains then develop threedistinct but closely related ideas, with a differentidea (or commentary) in the couplet. Interestingly,Spenser often begins L9 ofhis sonnets with "But" or "Yet," indicating a voltaexactly where it would occur in the Italian sonnet;however, if one looks closely, one often finds that the "turn" here really isn't one at all, that the actualturn occurs where the rhyme pattern changes, withthe couplet, thus giving a 12 and 2 line pattern very different from the Italian 8 and 6 line pattern (actualvolta marked by italics):
"Sonnet LIV"
Of this World's theatre in which we stay,
My love like the Spectator idly sits,
Beholding me, that all the pageants play,
Disguising diversely my troubled wits.
Sometimes I joy when glad occasion fits,
And mask in mirth like to a Comedy;
Soon after when my joy to sorrow flits,
I wail and make my woes a Tragedy.
Yet she, beholding me with constant eye,
Delights not in my mirth nor rues my smart;
But when I laugh, she mocks: and when I cry
She laughs and hardens evermore her heart.
What then can move her? If nor mirth nor moan,
She is no woman, but a senseless stone.
III. The English (or Shakespearian) Sonnet:
The English sonnet has the simplest and most flexiblepattern of all sonnets, consisting of 3 quatrains of alternating rhyme and a couplet:
a b a b
e f e f
g g
As in the Spenserian, each quatrain develops aspecific idea, but one closely related to the ideasin the other quatrains.
Not only is the English sonnet the easiest in termsof its rhyme scheme, calling for only pairs ofrhyming words rather than groups of 4, but it isthe most flexible in terms of the placement of thevolta. Shakespeare often places the "turn,"as in the Italian, at L9:
"Sonnet XXIX"
When in disgrace with Fortune and men's eyes,
I all alone beweep my outcast state,
And trouble deaf heaven with my bootless cries,
And look upon myself and curse my fate,
Wishing me like to one more rich in hope,
Featured like him, like him with friends possessed,
Desiring this man's art and that man's scope,
With what I most enjoy contented least,
Yet in these thoughts my self almost despising,
Haply I think on thee, and then my state,
(Like to the lark at break of day arising
From sullen earth) sings hymns at heaven's gate,
For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings,
That then I scorn to change my state with kings.
Equally, Shakespeare can delay the volta tothe final couplet, as in this sonnet where eachquatrain develops a metaphor describing theaging of the speaker, while the couplet thenstates the consequence--"You better love menow because soon I won't be here":
"Sonnet LXXIII"
That time of year thou mayst in me behold,
When yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou seest the twilight of such day,
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self that seals up all in rest.
In me thou seest the glowing of such fire,
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the deathbed, whereon it must expire,
Consumed by that which it was nourished by.
This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well, which thou must leave ere long.
IV. The Indefinables
There are, of course, some sonnets that don't fit any clear recognizablepattern but still certainly function as sonnets. Shelley's "Ozymandias"belongs to this category. It's rhyming pattern of a b a b a c d c e d e f e fis unique; clearly, however, there is a volta in L9 exactly as in anItalian sonnet:
"Ozymandias"
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, (stamped on these lifeless things,)
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Frederick Goddard Tuckerman wrote sonnets with free abandonand with virtually no regard for any kind of pattern at all, his rhymesafter the first few lines falling seemingly at random, as in this sonnetfrom his "Sonnets, First Series," which rhymes a b b a b c a b a d e c e d,with a volta at L10:
"Sonnet XXVIII"
Not the round natural world, not the deep mind,
The reconcilement holds: the blue abyss
Collects it not; our arrows sink amiss
And but in Him may we our import find.
The agony to know, the grief, the bliss
Of toil, is vain and vain: clots of the sod
Gathered in heat and haste and flung behind
To blind ourselves and others, what but this
Still grasping dust and sowing toward the wind?
No more thy meaning seek, thine anguish plead,
But leave straining thought and stammering word,
Across the barren azure pass to God:
Shooting the void in silence like a bird,
A bird that shuts his wings for better speed.
One wonders if the "sod"/"God" rhyme, being six lines apart,actually works, if the reader's ear can pick it up across thatdistance. Still, the poem has the dialectical structure thata sonnet is supposed to have, so there is justification for infact considering it one.
V. Links to Various Sonnet Sequences
In addition to the sonnets and sequences available at Sonnet Central, there are several included in the Poets' Corner archive, listed below. www.geocities.com/Athens/...2012/poems
Edmund Spenser, Amoretti: www.geocities.com/~spanou...nser1.html
Sir Philip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella: www.geocities.com/~spanou...ney01.html
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"For what television series was the theme tune ""I could be so good for you""?" | SparkNotes: Shakespeare’s Sonnets: The Sonnet Form
The Sonnet Form
Context
Themes, Motifs & Symbols
A sonnet is a fourteen-line lyric poem, traditionally written in iambic pentameter—that is, in lines ten syllables long, with accents falling on every second syllable, as in: “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?” The sonnet form first became popular during the Italian Renaissance, when the poet Petrarch published a sequence of love sonnets addressed to an idealized woman named Laura. Taking firm hold among Italian poets, the sonnet spread throughout Europe to England, where, after its initial Renaissance, “Petrarchan” incarnation faded, the form enjoyed a number of revivals and periods of renewed interest. In Elizabethan England—the era during which Shakespeare’s sonnets were written—the sonnet was the form of choice for lyric poets, particularly lyric poets seeking to engage with traditional themes of love and romance. (In addition to Shakespeare’s monumental sequence, the Astrophel and Stella sequence by Sir Philip Sydney stands as one of the most important sonnet sequences of this period.) Sonnets were also written during the height of classical English verse, by Dryden and Pope, among others, and written again during the heyday of English Romanticism, when Wordsworth, Shelley, and particularly John Keats created wonderful sonnets. Today, the sonnet remains the most influential and important verse form in the history of English poetry.
Two kinds of sonnets have been most common in English poetry, and they take their names from the greatest poets to utilize them: the Petrarchan sonnet and the Shakespearean sonnet. The Petrarchan sonnet is divided into two main parts, called the octave and the sestet. The octave is eight lines long, and typically follows a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA, or ABBACDDC. The sestet occupies the remaining six lines of the poem, and typically follows a rhyme scheme of CDCDCD, or CDECDE. The octave and the sestet are usually contrasted in some key way: for example, the octave may ask a question to which the sestet offers an answer. In the following Petrarchan sonnet, John Keats’s “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer,” the octave describes past events—the speaker’s previous, unsatisfying examinations of the “realms of gold,” Homer’s poems—while the sestet describes the present—the speaker’s sense of discovery upon finding Chapman’s translations:
Much have I travell’d in the realms of gold,
And many goodly states and kingdoms seen;
Round many western islands have I been
Which bards in fealty to Apollo hold.
Oft of one wide expanse have I been told
That deep-brow’d Homer ruled as his demesne;
Yet did I never breathe its pure serene
Till I heard Chapman speak out loud and bold:
Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star’d at the Pacific—and all his men
Look’d at each other with a wild surmise—
Silent, upon a peak in Darien.
The Shakespearean sonnet, the form of sonnet utilized throughout Shakespeare’s sequence, is divided into four parts. The first three parts are each four lines long, and are known as quatrains, rhymed ABAB; the fourth part is called the couplet, and is rhymed CC. The Shakespearean sonnet is often used to develop a sequence of metaphors or ideas, one in each quatrain, while the couplet offers either a summary or a new take on the preceding images or ideas. In Shakespeare’s Sonnet 147, for instance, the speaker’s love is compared to a disease. In the first quatrain, the speaker characterizes the disease; in the second, he describes the relationship of his love-disease to its “physician,” his reason; in the third, he describes the consequences of his abandonment of reason; and in the couplet, he explains the source of his mad, diseased love—his lover’s betrayal of his faith:
My love is as a fever, longing still
For that which longer nurseth the disease,
Feeding on that which doth preserve the ill,
The uncertain sickly appetite to please.
My reason, the physician to my love,
Angry that his prescriptions are not kept,
Hath left me, and I desp’rate now approve
Desire is death, which physic did except.
Past cure am I, now reason is past care,
And frantic mad with evermore unrest,
My thoughts and my discourse as madmen’s are,
At random from the truth vainly expressed;
For I have sworn thee fair and thought thee bright,
Who art as black as hell, as dark as night.
In many ways, Shakespeare’s use of the sonnet form is richer and more complex than this relatively simple division into parts might imply. Not only is his sequence largely occupied with subverting the traditional themes of love sonnets—the traditional love poems in praise of beauty and worth, for instance, are written to a man, while the love poems to a woman are almost all as bitter and negative as Sonnet 147—he also combines formal patterns with daring and innovation. Many of his sonnets in the sequence, for instance, impose the thematic pattern of a Petrarchan sonnet onto the formal pattern of a Shakespearean sonnet, so that while there are still three quatrains and a couplet, the first two quatrains might ask a single question, which the third quatrain and the couplet will answer. As you read through Shakespeare’s sequence, think about the ways Shakespeare’s themes are affected by and tailored to the sonnet form. Be especially alert to complexities such as the juxtaposition of Petrarchan and Shakespearean patterns. How might such a juxtaposition combination deepen and enrich Shakespeare’s use of a traditional form?
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A Bandicoot belongs to which order or class of animals? | Bandicoot golden (Isoodon auratus) Endangered Animals -
Bandicoot golden (Isoodon auratus) Endangered Animals -
Bandicoot golden (Isoodon auratus) Endangered Animals
Endangered Animals > Mammals A-F
The golden bandicoot belongs to the order of mammals known as marsupials, whose young continue to develop after birth in a pouch on the outside of the mother’s body.
BANDICOOT, GOLDEN
RANGE: Australia
The animal’s coarse fur is a mixture of yellow-
orange and dark brown hairs, giving it a golden appearance. It has a long, tapering snout and short, rounded ears. An average golden bandicoot measures 9 to 19 inches (23 to 48 centimeters) from the top of its head to the end of its body and weighs about 3 pounds (1.4 kilograms). Its tail is 3 to 8 inches (8 to 20 centimeters) long.
Golden bandicoot are nocturnal (active at night). During the day, they remain in their nests built on the ground, in a hollow, or in a rock pile. At night, the very quick, agile, and aggressive animals search for their diet of insects and worms. Golden bandicoot are solitary animals, so males and females come together only to mate. The female usually gives birth to a litter of four after a gestation (pregnancy) period of almost two weeks. The young golden bandicoot remain in their mother’s pouch for up to eight weeks.
Habitat and current distribution
Golden bandicoot once ranged across one–third of Australia, mainly in grassland habitats. They are now found in a small part of the Kimberleys, a plateau region in northeastern Western Australia, and on a few islands off Australia’s coast.
History and conservation measures
Scientists and conservationists (people protecting the natural world)
are not quite sure why the number of golden bandicoot has decreased. They believe foxes and cats recently allowed into golden bandicoot territory have become predators of the animals. In addition, fires deliberately set by humans to manage grasslands may have destroyed the animals’ natural habitat.
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"Which American president is credited with the quote:- ""Let us never negotiate out of fear but let us never fear to negotiate?" | ADW: Peramelidae: INFORMATION
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This marsupial family includes 4 genera and 10 species of bandicoots and bilbies. One genus, Chaeropus (pig-footed bandicoot), is probably now extinct, but it was fairly widely distributed when Europeans first entered Australia. Bandicoots (genera Isoodon and Perameles) are classified together in the subfamily Peramelinae; bilbies ( Macrotis) are placed in a separate subfamily, Thylacomyinae. The pig-footed bandicoot may belong with the Peramelinae, or it perhaps should be classified by itself.
Members of the family Peramelidae range in body size from a few hundred grams to about 2 kilograms. Their hind limbs are long and adapted for hopping or running (but curiously, also maintain some traits such as an enlarged fibula that are probably related to digging). The feet are syndactylous and usually digitigrade , the fourth digit is large and the other digits are usually reduced. Their dental formula is 4-5/3, 1/1, 3/3, 4/4 = 46 or 48. Their molars are either tribosphenic or quadrate .
Peramelids can be distinguished from the other living family in the order Peramelemorphia ( Peroryctinae ) by their relatively flattened crania (vs. conical in peroryctids), and by molecular characteristics. Peramelids tend to inhabit relatively dry habitats, in contrast to peroryctids, which are usually found in rainforest.
Peramelids are unusual among marsupials in that their embryos form a placenta (seen in no other marsupials except the koala and wombats). Gestation, however, is very brief, lasting as little 12.5 days from conception to birth in some species. Peramelids have a well developed pouch.
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Rugby Union - Franklins Gardens is the home of which club? | Homepage - Northampton Saints
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Pop music - which one hit wonder group had a number one hit with 'Something in the Air' in 1969? | Northampton & District Alliance
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From which animal do we get catgut? | SuperKids Humor pages. The world's easiest quiz.
humor > > >
Subject: the world's easiest quiz
----- Begin Included Message ----- THE WORLD'S EASIEST QUIZ Worlds' Easiest Quiz?? This just takes 1/2 minute... (Passing requires 8 correct answers) 1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 2) Which country makes Panama hats? 3) From which animal do we get catgut? 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? 6) The Canary Islands in the Atlantic are named after what animal? 7) What was King George VI's first name? 8) What color is a purple finch? 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? 10) How long did the Thirty Years War last? All done? Before you dash off with a big smile on your face, better check your answers below! %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ 1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? ........116 years 2) Which country makes Panama hats?........................Ecuador 3) From which animal do we get catgut?........ Sheep or Horses 4) In which month do Russians celebrate their October Revolution? ......November 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? ..........Squirrel fur 6) The Canary Islands in the Atlantic are named after what animal?......Dogs 7) What was King George VI's first name?...............Albert 8) What color is a purple finch?............Crimson 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?.......... New Zealand 10) How long did the Thirty Years War last?......Thirty years. What do you mean you flunked??? ----- End Included Message -----
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With what biblical location would you associate Shadrach, Meschak and Abednego? | SuperKids Humor pages. The world's easiest quiz.
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Subject: the world's easiest quiz
----- Begin Included Message ----- THE WORLD'S EASIEST QUIZ Worlds' Easiest Quiz?? This just takes 1/2 minute... (Passing requires 8 correct answers) 1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 2) Which country makes Panama hats? 3) From which animal do we get catgut? 4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? 6) The Canary Islands in the Atlantic are named after what animal? 7) What was King George VI's first name? 8) What color is a purple finch? 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? 10) How long did the Thirty Years War last? All done? Before you dash off with a big smile on your face, better check your answers below! %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ 1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? ........116 years 2) Which country makes Panama hats?........................Ecuador 3) From which animal do we get catgut?........ Sheep or Horses 4) In which month do Russians celebrate their October Revolution? ......November 5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? ..........Squirrel fur 6) The Canary Islands in the Atlantic are named after what animal?......Dogs 7) What was King George VI's first name?...............Albert 8) What color is a purple finch?............Crimson 9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?.......... New Zealand 10) How long did the Thirty Years War last?......Thirty years. What do you mean you flunked??? ----- End Included Message -----
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From the fur of which animal is a camel's hair brush made? | World's Easiest Quiz
How long did the Hundred Years War last?
116 years
Which country makes Panama hats?
Ecuador
From which animal do we get cat gut?
Sheep and Horses
In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?
November
What is a camel's hair brush made of?
Squirrel fur
The Canary Islands are named after what animal?
Dogs
What was King George VI's first name?
Albert
What color is a purple finch?
Crimson
Where are Chinese gooseberries from?
New Zealand
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A Capybara belongs to which order or class of animals? | What is a camel hair brush? | Reference.com
What is a camel hair brush?
A:
Quick Answer
A camel hair brush is a paintbrush used in artwork and, despite its name, is not made of camel hair. These brushes are created with the hair of various other animals, including goat, pony, ox and squirrel. Camel hair brushes may also be a combination of other animal hairs.
Full Answer
Camel hair brushes range in quality and price. They are also used for different purposes, depending on their hair type. Brushes made of squirrel hair are often used for lettering, to paint china and for watercolors. The least expensive brushes are typically made from the back or mane hair of a pony. Because the mane is long, it is cut in numerous pieces to make multiple brushes. While this is cost effective, it limits the number of brushes that include the tip of the hair. These tips promote good brush performance. Camel hair brushes are soft and are often mixed with synthetic fiber brushes to increase their softness and absorbency.
Natural artist paint brushes are also made of weasel, fitch, badger and mongoose hair. Bristle brushes are made from the stiff hair of boars, pigs or hogs. They work especially well with oils on a canvas. Synthetic brushes are best for stenciling and fabric applications.
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Rugby Union - Kingsholm is the home of which club? | Rugby union: Boom may spark end for Kingsholm | Sport | The Guardian
Boom may spark end for Kingsholm
Monday 22 December 2003 20.58 EST
First published on Monday 22 December 2003 20.58 EST
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Gloucester are considering leaving Kingsholm, their home for 112 years, to cash in on rugby union's new popularity following England's World Cup success.
It would mean an end to the Shed, the most renowned terrace in British rugby, although the club said yesterday that no decision would be made before their supporters had been consulted.
Gloucester were due to complete the first phase of a three-part development of Kingsholm next summer by building a new grandstand, but the plan has been shelved because of fears that the increase in capacity from 11,000 to 15,000 would not be large enough.
Club officials are looking at greenfield sites in and around the city which would be suitable for relocation. City council planners and architects, meanwhile, will spend the next six weeks at Kingsholm working out whether there is enough space on the site for a 20,000 capacity.
A survey published yesterday showed that rugby union is now the second most popular participatory sport in Britain behind football and alongside swimming, having started the year in eighth place. Mori's latest SportsTracker showed that interest had risen by 50% since January.
Gloucester's next three home matches have already sold out, prompting the rethink about the redevelopment of Kingsholm. "We are taking a time-out to assess whether Kingsholm would have a big enough capacity should we, in future years, convert more terracing area into seats," said the club's managing director Ken Nottage.
"If we increased the capacity at Kingsholm to 15,000 and in time went for more seated accommodation, we would end up with a maximum spectator figure of 12,000 and that would clearly not be enough.
"We are well aware of Kingsholm's historical significance, with the Shed renowned throughout the world, and I have to stress that all we have done at this time is delay the first phase of the redevelopment, not cancel it. Rugby is booming after the World Cup and as a club we have to look at the best way of expanding our business.
"We only have seven acres at Kingsholm. Ideally we need 10, and we have called in the planners and architects to see if there is any way that we can, within the regulations, get a capacity closer to 20,000. If the answer is no, we will start searching for alternative sites in the city area."
Gloucester had planned a share issue to coincide with the redevelopment, but that has been postponed. The Kingsholm Supporters Mutual, an independent body set up this year to help raise funds for the new grandstand, and which cost £20 to join, is anxious that the club remains at the home it has occupied since 1891.
"We will endure as a strong, independent voice for our members and we intend to continue to raise funds to support the potential redevelopment of Kingsholm despite this very disappointing setback," said the KSM chairman Bob Rumble.
Gloucester's chairman Tom Walkinshaw said: "The club has been overwhelmed by the demand for tickets and we have to make sure that we go for the right development, meaning we will not make a share issue until we are ready to spend the money. Kingsholm remains our first choice and we will know in February whether we will be able to redevelop the ground in a way which will properly allow us to cater for our supporters."
| Gloucester |
What is the name given to the chicken dish in which the boned and flattened chicken breast, flavoured with garlic butter and chives, is dipped in egg and breadcrumbs and is fried or baked? | Gloucester RFC: Kingsholm's volatile brew - Telegraph
Gloucester RFC: Kingsholm's volatile brew
By Mick Cleary
6:12PM BST 31 Aug 2001
NEVER mind previewing the season for Gloucester; previewing the weekend would provide enough material to fill a three-volume novel. What are we to make of director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre - hero or villain? How will the fans react to the surprise departure in midweek of coach Andy Keast?
How, for that matter, will the players respond this afternoon as they take on Northampton in the opening match of the Premiership? How will the massed ranks of foreigners bed down alongside each other? How will the two French coaches project their ideas? Questions and intrigue dominate the agenda.
The Kingsholm passport control office used to be sited at Cheltenham. Anyone straying into Gloucester territory from those effete parts used to have their credentials checked from top to bottom to make sure they were made of the right cherry-and-white stuff.
The border interrogation has long gone. In the mid-Nineties the Gloucester pack had only one player not born within walking distance of the ground. In the last few months Gloucester have signed 17 new players, six of them alone hailing from France.
There is a fair smattering of nationalities on offer: Italian centre Alessandro Stoica and prop Federico Pucciarello, Argentinian wing Diego Albanese, Fijian fly-half, Kolino Sewabu and, for good measure, Bradford Bulls rugby league star, Henry Paul . It is an exotic mix, but will the cocktail please the Kingsholm palate or blow up in their faces?
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Keast victim of Saint-Andre feud
29 Aug 2001
The fall-out may already have started, with Keast leaving in midweek "by mutual consent". Keast's exit has triggered anxiety attacks among supporters . The independent Gloucester website has been swamped by e-mails from fans looking for explanations and reassurance. There was little comfort in the air.
"Just as I was looking forward to Saturday someone had to come along and piddle on my picnic," read one anguished notice. Some tried to look on the bright side, albeit the view was none too encouraging. "Let's hope that this is a storm in a teacup and not the beginnings of a tsunami of discontent and upheaval at Castle Grim."
Altogether 90 per cent of those who logged on to a poll on the site in midweek said that they were "gutted" by the decision.
Perhaps we were all too romantic about the old Gloucester mix; smitten in a Neanderthal way by those flinty, raw-boned, no-nonsense West Country bruisers. The backdrop, in one of the few cities where rugby has a higher profile than football, was as blunt and unforgiving as the players.
The professional era swept away so many of the old boundaries and loyalties. Many of the Kingsholm trimmings and traditions went in the clear-out. The bottom line on the contract was the only currency that mattered.
Gloucester have been an itinerant army these past couple of years, struggling to find harmony and a sense of identity. At times it has worked. Gloucester briefly topped the table the season before last, eventually finishing third. Last season, although they made it through to the Heineken Cup semi-final, was more troubled, with the club in seventh position.
Two well-travelled former international players, Wallaby centre Jason Little and All Black lock Ian Jones, both packed their bags, Little heading for Bristol and Jones going into retirement back in New Zealand. It takes a lot to upset such men.
So, therein lies the challenge for Saint-Andre - to make sense of all the goings and comings, to forge a team who can not just hold their own but can do some damage. Gloucester owner Tom Walkinshaw has backed his man, siding with the former France wing over the dispute with Keast. Fair enough. But Walkinshaw does not trade in sentiment and false loyalty.
His grounding in the ruthless world of Formula One means that if Saint-Andre's chosen way does not work then he will be on his way, just as Richard Hill was before him. Results are everything.
The men who Saint-Andre has brought in are, by and large, talented individuals. But are they a team? Last season Saint-Andre, a self-contained individual, admitted that he had lost sleep, hair and even his wife as the marriage dissolved under the pressure of trying to make it all come together at Kingsholm.
Saint-Andre has gone out on a limb with the departure of Keast. The players were already unsettled by the arrival of the former Brive coach, Laurent Seigne, if only on the simple level of language. Keast, who arrived towards the end of last season, was seen as a straightforward, down-to-earth backs coach - well organised and perceptive. There was talk of a power struggle between the two men. There was talk, too, of deputations of players urging Saint-Andre to sort it all out.
Well, he has, and not to the liking of too many. This tale is far from run. The next instalment will be on its way when the first whistle sounds at Kingsholm this afternoon. Each victory will buy Saint-Andre time. Each defeat will send more grains of sand tumbling. The old ground has given us many a raw-blooded scrap on the field down the years. Now behind-the-scenes events promise to be every bit as bloody and engaging.
| i don't know |
What is the name given to the Italian fried chicken dish in which a sauce of garlic, tomatoes and white wine is used? Named supposedly after an inn-keeper was forced to make a dish with any food available by Napoleonic French forces? | Napoleon Archives - BOOK OF DAYS TALES
BOOK OF DAYS TALES
Sep 172016
On this date in 1716 Jean Thurel, or Jean Theurel (6 September 1698 – 10 March 1807) enlisted as a fusilier in the French Army (Touraine Regiment) at the age of 18. He remained on active duty for 75 years, refusing all promotions, and died at the age of 108, still registered as a soldier in the army. Technically, therefore, he was a soldier for 90 years. Longtime readers of this blog know that I am averse to writing about war and soldiery, but I’ll make an exception for Thurel because of his extraordinary life. He was born in the reign of Louis XIV and died when Napoleon I was emperor; Thurel lived in three different centuries, experiencing extraordinary changes in France and Europe.
Thurel was born in Orain, Burgundy in 1698. As a soldier Thurel was severely wounded in battle on two occasions. In 1733, during the siege of Kehl, he was shot in the chest with a musket, and at the battle of Minden in 1759, he received seven sword slashes, including six to the head. Three of his brothers were killed in the battle of Fontenoy in 1745. One of Thurel’s sons was a corporal and a veteran in the same company. He died at the Battle of the Saintes, a naval battle that was fought off the coast of Dominica, West Indies during the American Revolutionary War, on 12 April 1782. Thurel was a survivor!
Thurel was a notably well-disciplined infantry soldier of the line infantry and was admonished only once during his entire career. During the 1747 Siege of Bergen as the French troops occupied the citadel he was disciplined because, the doors of the fortress were locked, so he had to scale its walls to get in so that he would not miss muster. Another example of Thurel’s discipline and physical fitness occurred in 1787. When his regiment was ordered to march to the coast to embark on ships of the French Navy he was given the opportunity to travel in a carriage due to his advanced age – he was 88 at the time. Thurel refused the offer and marched the entire distance on foot, saying that he had never before traveled by carriage and had no intention of doing so at that time. His humility is evident in his steadfast refusal to accept any promotions. He remained a common fusilier for his entire military career.
In hopes of improving re-enlistment rates, Louis XV established the Médaillon Des Deux Épées (Medal of the Two Swords) by a royal decree in 1771. This was the first military decoration in France for which an enlisted man could be eligible. This medal was initially awarded to soldiers who had served in the French Army, as a reward for their longevity of service. The decree was extended in 1774 so that sailors of the French Navy were also eligible to receive the medal. A soldier or sailor would have to serve for 24 years to be eligible for the Médaillon Des Deux Épées. Thurel was awarded two Médaillon Des Deux Épées in 1771, the year the medal was established, in recognition of the two 24-year periods of time (1716–1740 and 1740–1764) he had served up until then.
On 8 November 1787, Thurel was presented to the royal court at the Palace of Versailles. The 33-year-old king of France, Louis XVI, addressed the 88-year-old Army private in a respectful manner as “père” (“father”), and asked whether Thurel would prefer to be awarded the Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis (Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis) or a third Médaillon Des Deux Épées medal, in recognition of the period from 1764–1788. This was a highly unusual request—not only because enlisted men and non-commissioned officers were not normally eligible to receive the Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis, which was reserved for commissioned officers of the Army or the Navy—but also because Thurel still had four more months of military service to complete before being eligible for a third Médaillon Des Deux Épées medal. Thurel opted to receive a third Médaillon Des Deux Épées, on the condition that the king himself attach the medal to his uniform. Louis agreed. The Comte d’Artois offered Thurel his sword, and the ladies of the court put a carriage at his disposal during his stay in the Paris area. The king also granted Thurel an annual pension of 300 livres. Very few men ever completed the 48 years of military service required to receive a second medal. Thurel was the only one to have received it three times. In 1788 the officers of his regiment jointly paid for a portrait of Thurel to be painted by Antoine Vestier (lead image).
On 26 October 1804, at the age of 106, Thurel became one of the first recipients of the newly established Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honor), the highest decoration in France. Napoleon also rewarded him with a pension of 1,200 francs. He was later appointed as the “oldest soldier of Europe.” He remained healthy in body and spirit throughout his remarkably long life. He died in Tours on 10 March 1807, at the age of 108, after a brief illness.
In researching Thurel’s life I came across a brief discussion about his date of birth. Was he actually born in 1699 and not 1698? Apparently a baptismal record was discovered at some point listing 1699 as his date of birth, but some people believe that this is a forgery. I’d file this under “who cares?” I’m sometimes given to wonder about the sanity of people who get all bent out of shape by insisting that he was 107, not 108, when he died. Our whole view of French history is hardly going to crumble because of this. Either way he lived a remarkable life.
Inasmuch as one can know anything about people of past centuries I’d have to say that I’d likely have found Thurel a bit hard to stomach in large doses if I’d ever met him. On the one hand, his dedication to service is admirable. I take my hat off to anyone who devotes his entire life, with energy and passion, to a single pursuit. On the other hand, Thurel reminds me of old men and women that I have met over the years who have an unwavering devotion to a fixed concept of duty that won’t bend under any circumstances. It’s not the devotion itself that I have any quarrel with, it’s the underlying inflexibility of mind that often goes with it that can be a tad annoying.
Given that Thurel was on active duty for 75 years, he would have had one main meal per day throughout the 18th century, as was the custom for rich and poor. That works out to over 27,000 meals. I would imagine that an awful lot of them were the same, and I don’t imagine that Thurel was a gourmet nor used to fine dining. So let’s start with the basics. Standing armies did not develop much in Europe until the 18th century. Before that, militias were raised as needed. With the development of standing armies, budgets and rations had to be codified. They were more or less the same for France and Britain, for navies as well as armies. That is, in theory, each soldier (or sailor) was assigned something like 1 lb salt beef, 1 lb bread, and 1 pint legumes or rice. Whether they actually got this is another matter. Of course, individual circumstances would have varied enormously. Campaigning soldiers could ransack farms and farmhouses for provisions (and did), and when at home were encouraged to raise chickens and livestock, and tend gardens (usually turnips, carrots, and cabbage). What soldiers actually ate routinely would depend on both what was available and the abilities of the camp cooks. My surmise is that Thurel ate a lot of boiled beef and beans with bread. The common habit on campaign was for soldiers to eat in “messes” of 5 to 6 men, that is, the occupants of a single tent. Each mess would build a fire and cook their meals using an issued pot and kettle. The quality of cooking is anyone’s guess. Bread was supplied by local bakers or they ate hard tack.
I’ve covered military (naval) recipes, including salt beef, dried peas, and hard tack, in the past quite fully. You can search for them easily enough. Whilst I can’t imagine that Thurel ate omelets terribly often, he must have had them once in a while. So I’ll stretch things a bit by giving an 18th century omelet recipe from Les Soupers de la Cour, Menon (1755). I gave his recipe for Omelette à la Gendarme (Military Omelette) here http://www.bookofdaystales.com/thomas-paine/ . This name does not imply that the omelet was made for the military, but that it looks like soldiers on guard (sort of). Close enough.
What intrigues me about this new recipe, omelette au jambon (ham omelet), is that it calls for “coulis” with ham as a sauce for the omelet. A coulis (the term used also in English by chefs) is a form of thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. In this case the recipe specifies that the coulis be very sweet:
Mettez dans des oeufs une petite cuillerée coulis avec du jambon cuit haché; battez & faites l’omelette; dressez sur le plat; servez dessus une sauce faites avec coulis bien doux & jambon haché.
Roughly translated: Put a small spoonful of coulis with chopped ham into some eggs. Beat (the eggs), and make an omelet. Put it on a plate. Serve with a sauce of sweet coulis and chopped ham.
Your only issue is going to be how to make the coulis (I’m assuming you know how to cook an omelet). Well, technically that’s not a problem. Blend some fruit to a fine purée. The question is what fruit to use. First off, I’d say that you need to add some stock to the coulis to give it more character whatever fruit you use. Beef stock would be all right, but ham stock or broth would be better. Still, if you are going to be true to this recipe it needs to be a sweet coulis. That means using a properly sweet, ripe fruit. Pineapple would serve, but would not be very 18th century. Plums would fit the bill better. But it’s your choice.
Jun 142016
Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Marengo fought in 1800, a decisive and momentous battle in what are now known as the Napoleonic Wars. I rarely “celebrate” battles in this blog because I am fundamentally opposed to war, and I am not going to dwell on the actual details of the battle. But Marengo had widespread consequences throughout Europe. Furthermore, the battle spawned the name of a much celebrated dish – Chicken Marengo – although the history of the recipe and its precise form is disputed to this day.
The battle of Marengo was fought between French and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont in northern Italy (roughly midway between Milan and Genoa). The French overcame General Michael von Melas’ surprise attack near the end of the day, driving the Austrians out of Italy, and enhancing Napoleon’s political position in Paris as First Consul of France in the wake of his coup d’état the previous November.
Surprised by the Austrian advance toward Genoa in mid-April 1800, Bonaparte had hastily led his army over the Alps in mid-May and reached Milan on 2 June. After cutting Melas’ line of communications by crossing the river Po and defeating Feldmarschallleutnant Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz at Montebello on 9 June, the French closed in on the Austrian army, which had massed in Alessandria. Deceived by a local double agent, Bonaparte dispatched large forces to the north and south, but the Austrians launched a surprise attack on 14 June against the main French army under General Louis Alexandre Berthier.
Initially, their two assaults across the Fontanone stream near Marengo village were repelled, and General Jean Lannes reinforced the French right. Bonaparte realized the true position and issued orders at 11:00 am to recall the detachment under Général de Division Louis Desaix, while moving his reserve forward. On the Austrian left, Ott’s column had taken Castel Ceriolo, and its advance guard moved south to attack Lannes’ flank. Melas renewed the main assault and the Austrians broke the central French position. By 2:30 pm the French were withdrawing and Austrian dragoons seized the Marengo farm. Bonaparte had by then arrived with the reserve, but Berthier’s troops began to fall back on the main vine belts. Knowing Desaix was approaching, Bonaparte was anxious about a column of Ott’s soldiers marching from the north, so he deployed his Consular Guard infantry to delay it. The French then withdrew steadily eastward toward San Giuliano Vecchio as the Austrians formed a column to follow them in line with Ott’s advance in the northern sector.
Desaix’s arrival around 5:30 pm stabilized the French position as the 9th Light Infantry Regiment delayed the Austrian advance down the main road and the rest of the army re-formed north of Cascina Grossa. As the pursuing Austrian troops arrived, a mix of musketry and artillery fire concealed the surprise attack of Général de Brigade François Étienne de Kellermann’s cavalry, which threw the Austrian pursuit into disordered flight back into Alessandria, with about 14,000 killed, wounded, or captured. The French casualties were considerably fewer, but included Desaix. The whole French line chased after the Austrians to seal a victory of major political consequences because it secured Bonaparte’s grip on power after the coup. It would be followed by a propaganda campaign, which sought to rewrite the story of the battle three times during Napoleon’s rule. As a small aside, “propaganda” is an English loan word from Italian (ultimately from Latin), with an original meaning of to “propagate” or “spread around” (and not pejorative originally). It was a huge victory for Napoleon, but he sought to make it into a triumph of brilliant strategy – enhancing his status as a general and leader – instead of a series of lucky mistakes and potential blunders that ended up in his favor. Napoleon came close to losing earlier in the day.
Napoleon sought to ensure that his victory would not be forgotten, so, besides the propaganda campaign, he entrusted General Chasseloup with the construction of a pyramid on the site of the battle. On 5 May 1805, a ceremony took place on the field of Marengo. Napoleon, dressed in the uniform he wore on 14 June 1800, together with Empress Joséphine seated on a throne placed under a tent, oversaw a military parade. Then, Chasseloup gave Napoleon the founding stone, on which was inscribed: “Napoleon, Emperor of the French and King of Italy, to the manes of the defenders of the fatherland who perished on the day of Marengo.” This pyramid was actually part of a very ambitious project meant to glorify Bonaparte’s conquests in Italy. The field of Marengo was supposed to become the site of a “city of Victories” whose boulevards, named after Italian battles, would converge to the pyramid. In the event, the project was abandoned in 1815 and the stones recovered by local farmers. The column erected in 1801 was also removed, but restored in 1922.
There is now a museum dedicated to the battle on the outskirts of Alessandria. Re-enactments are organized there every year on the second Sunday in June to commemorate the event. I was quite surprised when I first taught the history of the French Revolution in Italian schools to discover that Napoleon is considered a hero by many Italians because he drove the Austrians out of northern Italy and, in a sense, paved the way for the unification of Italy, half a century later. Marengo was the name of a greyish-brown color used for fabric produced in the vicinity before the battle, and a coat of that color became Napoleon’s signature color in common battle portrayals. He also named his battle horse and several warships in honor of the victory. The power of propaganda.
The battle of Marengo also gave its name to the classic dish, Chicken Marengo, whose origins are encapsulated in an entirely fictitious legend. According to the legend, the dish was first made after Napoleon defeated the Austrian army at Marengo when his personal chef Dunand foraged in the town for ingredients (because the supply wagons were too distant) and created the dish from what he could gather. According to this legend, Napoleon enjoyed the dish so much he had it served to him after every battle, and when Durand was later better-supplied and substituted mushrooms for crayfish and added wine to the recipe, Napoleon refused to accept it, believing that a change would bring him bad luck.
Nice story, but with no merit whatsoever – even though, like so much of the folklore of “origins,” it is endlessly retold as fact. Dunand (or Dunan) did not become Napoleon’s chef until several years later, and tomatoes would not have been available at that time of year in that region, never mind crayfish. It’s much more likely that the dish was created by a French restaurant chef to honor the victory.
The recipe for Chicken Marengo varies considerably. The most distinctive, and possibly historically accurate, consists of chicken sautéed in oil with garlic and tomato, finished with wine, and served on toast garnished with fried eggs and crayfish. Without the toast, egg, and crayfish, the dish resembles chicken à la Provençale, and that is how it is often presented nowadays.
Baron Brisse gives this recipe in 1868 in his classic cookbook:
Chicken à la Marengo.
Cut up a chicken into joints, and cook in olive oil and a little salt, put in the legs before the other pieces, as they take longer to cook. When a good colour and nearly done, add a bouquet of mixed herbs, pepper, mushrooms, and some slices of truffles; place the chicken on a dish, and add the oil drip by drop to some Italian sauce; stir the whole time. When warm, pour over the chicken, and garnish with fried eggs and sippets of fried bread. If preferred, clarified butter may be used instead of oil.
Italian Sauce.
Simmer a lump of butter as big as two eggs in a saucepan, with two tablespoonsful of chopped parsley, one tablespoonful of chopped eschalots, and the same quantity of minced mushrooms, add a bottle of white wine; reduce the sauce, and moisten with a tumblerful of velouté sauce and half a tumblerful of stock; boil over a quick fire, skim off all grease, and as soon as the sauce is thick enough, take off the fire, and keep warm in a bain-marie.
Isabella Beeton gives this recipe in 1861, suggesting that the dish had spread to England by this time but we must remember that she copied most of her recipes from other sources. Nonetheless, some form of the dish appears to have been popular by mid century.
POULET A LA MARENGO.
INGREDIENTS.—1 large fowl, 4 tablespoonfuls of salad oil, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 pint of stock No. 105, or water, about 20 mushroom-buttons, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of powdered sugar, a very small piece of garlic.
Mode.—Cut the fowl into 8 or 10 pieces; put them with the oil into a stewpan, and brown them over a moderate fire; dredge in the above proportion of flour; when that is browned, pour in the stock or water; let it simmer very slowly for rather more than 1/2 hour, and skim off the fat as it rises to the top; add the mushrooms; season with salt, pepper, garlic, and sugar; take out the fowl, which arrange pyramidically on the dish, with the inferior joints at the bottom. Reduce the sauce by boiling it quickly over the fire, keeping it stirred until sufficiently thick to adhere to the back of a spoon; pour over the fowl, and serve.
Time.—Altogether 50 minutes. Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
Mrs Beeton concludes with the much-repeated fable:
A FOWL À LA MARENGO.—The following is the origin of the well-known dish Poulet à la Marengo:—On the evening of the battle the first consul was very hungry after the agitation of the day, and a fowl was ordered with all expedition. The fowl was procured, but there was no butter at hand, and unluckily none could be found in the neighbourhood. There was oil in abundance, however; and the cook having poured a certain quantity into his skillet, put in the fowl, with a clove of garlic and other seasoning, with a little white wine, the best the country afforded; he then garnished it with mushrooms, and served it up hot. This dish proved the second conquest of the day, as the first consul found it most agreeable to his palate, and expressed his satisfaction. Ever since, a fowl à la Marengo is a favourite dish with all lovers of good cheer.
Pellegrino Artusi’s Italian recipe in his legendary Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well (1891) is as follows:
Take a young chicken, remove the neck and legs, and cut into large pieces at the joints. Sauté in 30 grams (about 1 ounce) of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. When the pieces have browned on both sides, skim the fat and add a level tablespoon of flour and a deciliter (about 7 fluid ounces) of wine. Add broth and cover, cooking over low heat until done. Before removing from the fire, garnish with a pinch of chopped parsley; arrange on a serving dish and squeeze half a lemon over it. The result is an appetizing dish.
What are we to make of all of this? Not much, I’m afraid, except to say that there is no canonical recipe. The idea of chicken with crayfish and wine served with an egg on fried bread appeals to me though, so here’s my version. I make no claim to this being an “authentic” recipe: there’s no such thing. Some people make something similar today using small shrimp instead of crayfish. You can use bone-in chicken pieces, but boneless breasts are easier to eat.
© Chicken Marengo
Aug 142015
Today is the birthday of BOTH Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714) and his son Carle Vernet (1758). Both were well respected French painters. Such coincidences intrigue me. In my own family, my sister’s son was born on my birthday, and my son was born on her daughter’s birthday. Can create a bond.
Claude-Joseph Vernet was born in Avignon. At fourteen years of age he aided his father, Antoine Vernet (1689–1753), a skilled decorative painter, in the most important parts of his work. The panels of sedan chairs, however, could not satisfy his ambition, and Cluade set out for Rome to study there. The sight of the sea at Marseilles and his voyage thence to Civitavecchia (Papal States’ main port on the Tyrrhenian Sea) made a deep impression on him, and immediately after his arrival he entered the studio of a marine painter, Bernardino Fergioni.
Slowly Vernet attracted notice in the artistic milieu of Rome. With a certain conventionality in design, proper to his day, he allied the results of constant observation of natural effects of atmosphere, which he rendered with unusual skill. Perhaps no painter of landscapes or seascapes has ever made the human figure so completely a part of the scene depicted or so important a factor in his design. In this respect he was heavily influenced by Giovanni Paolo Panini, whom he probably met and worked with in Rome. The overall effect of his style is wholly decorative. “Others may know better,” he said, “how to paint the sky, the earth, the ocean; no one knows better than I how to paint a picture”. His style remained relatively static throughout his life. His works’ attentiveness to atmospheric effects is combined with a sense of harmony that is reminiscent of Claude Lorrain.
For twenty years Vernet lived in Rome, producing views of seaports, storms, calms, moonlights, becoming especially popular with English aristocrats, many of whom were on the Grand Tour. In 1745 he married an Englishwoman whom he met in the city. In 1753 he was recalled to Paris: there, by royal command, he executed the series of the seaports of France (now in the Louvre and the Musée national de la Marine) by which he is best known. In 1757, he painted a series of four paintings titled “Four Times of the Day” depicting morning, noon, evening and night.
Apr 302015
On this date in 1803 France and the U.S. signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty. The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles) by the United States from France at a cost of fifty million francs ($11,250,000 USD) plus a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million francs ($3,750,000 USD), for a total of sixty-eight million francs ($15,000,000 USD), which averages to approximately four cents per acre. Adjusting for inflation, the modern financial equivalent spent for the Purchase is approximately $236 million in 2014 U.S. dollars which averages to less than forty-two cents per acre).
The Louisiana territory included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The territory contained land that forms Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; the area of Minnesota that is west of the Mississippi River; a large portion of North Dakota; a large portion of South Dakota; the northeastern section of New Mexico; the northern portion of Texas; the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Continental Divide; Louisiana west of the Mississippi River (plus New Orleans); and small portions of land that form the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
France controlled the Louisiana territory from 1699 until it was ceded to Spain in 1762. In the hope of re-establishing an empire in North America, France regained control of the Louisiana territory in 1800 under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. A slave revolt in Haiti and an impending war with Great Britain led French officials to sell the Louisiana territory to the United States, who originally sought to purchase only the city of New Orleans and its adjacent lands.
The Louisiana Purchase occurred during the term of United States President Thomas Jefferson. Before the purchase was finalized, the decision faced domestic opposition as some argued that it was unconstitutional for President Jefferson to acquire the territory. Jefferson agreed that the U.S. Constitution did not contain provisions for acquiring territory, but decided to proceed with the acquisition, being advised that the Louisiana Purchase was within the strictest interpretation of the Constitution, which allowed the President to negotiate treaties. The purchase included an agreement to remove France’s presence in the territory and protect U.S. trade access to the port of New Orleans and the Mississippi River.
Throughout the second half of the 18th century, Louisiana was a pawn on the chessboard of European politics. It was originally claimed by Spain but subsequently settled by the French, who established the colony as part of New France. Following French defeat in the Seven Years’ War, Spain regained control of the territory. As the lands were being gradually settled by United States immigrants, many Americans, including Jefferson, assumed that the territory would be acquired “piece by piece.” The risk of another power taking it from a weakened Spain made a “profound reconsideration” of this policy necessary.
The city of New Orleans controlled the mouth of the Mississippi River; other ports were established, but only New Orleans had direct access from the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans was already important for shipping agricultural goods to and from the parts of the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains. Pinckney’s Treaty, signed with Spain on October 27, 1795, gave American merchants “right of deposit” in New Orleans, granting them use of the port to store goods for export. Americans used this right to transport products such as flour, tobacco, pork, bacon, lard, feathers, cider, butter, and cheese. The treaty also recognized American rights to navigate the entire Mississippi, which had become vital to the growing trade of the western territories.
In 1798 Spain revoked this treaty, prohibiting American use of New Orleans, and greatly upsetting the Americans. In 1801, Spanish Governor Don Juan Manuel de Salcedo took over from the Marquess of Casa Calvo, and restored the U.S. right to deposit goods. Napoleon Bonaparte had gained Louisiana for French ownership from Spain in 1800 under the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. But the treaty was kept secret.
Louisiana remained nominally under Spanish control, until a transfer of power to France on November 30, 1803, just three weeks before the formal transfer to the United States on December 20, 1803. Another ceremony was held in St. Louis a few months later, in part because during winter conditions the news of the New Orleans formalities did not reach Upper Louisiana. The March 9–10, 1804, event is remembered as Three Flags Day.
James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston had traveled to Paris to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans in 1802. Their interest was only in gaining control of New Orleans and its environs; they did not anticipate the much larger acquisition which would follow. The Louisiana Purchase was by far the largest territorial gain in U.S. history. Stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, the purchase doubled the size of the United States. Before 1803, Louisiana had been under Spanish control for forty years. Although Spain aided the rebels in the American Revolutionary War, the Spanish didn’t want the Americans to settle in their territory.
While the sale of the territory by Spain back to France in 1800 went largely unnoticed, fear of an eventual French invasion spread nationwide when, in 1801, Napoleon sent a military force to secure New Orleans. Southerners feared that Napoleon would free all the slaves in Louisiana, which could trigger slave uprisings elsewhere. Though Jefferson urged moderation, Federalists sought to use this against Jefferson and called for hostilities against France. Undercutting them, Jefferson took up the banner and threatened an alliance with Britain, although relations were uneasy in that direction. In 1801 Jefferson supported France in its plan to take back Saint-Domingue, then under control of Toussaint Louverture after a slave rebellion. Jefferson sent Livingston as an envoy to Paris in 1801 after discovering the transfer of Louisiana from Spain to France under the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. He was authorized to purchase New Orleans.
In January 1802, France sent General Leclerc to Saint-Domingue to re-establish slavery, which had been abolished in law and in the constitution of the French Republic of 1795—both in France and its colonies—to reduce the rights of free people of color and take back control of the island from Toussaint Louverture, who had maintained St. Domingue as French against invasion by the Spanish and British empires. Before the Revolution, France had derived enormous wealth from St. Domingue at the cost of the lives and freedom of the slaves. Napoleon wanted its revenues and productivity for France restored. Alarmed over the French actions and its intention to re-establish an empire in North America, Jefferson declared neutrality in relation to the Caribbean, refusing credit and other assistance to the French, but allowing war contraband to get through to the rebels to prevent France from regaining a foothold.
In 1803, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, a French nobleman, began to help negotiate with France at the request of Jefferson. Du Pont was living in the United States at the time and had close ties to Jefferson as well as the prominent politicians in France. He engaged in back-channel diplomacy with Napoleon on Jefferson’s behalf during a visit to France and originated the idea of the much larger Louisiana Purchase as a way to defuse potential conflict between the United States and Napoleon over North America.
Jefferson disliked the idea of purchasing Louisiana from France, as that could imply that France had a right to be in Louisiana. Jefferson had concerns that a U.S. President did not have the constitutional authority to make such a deal. He also thought that to do so would erode states’ rights by increasing federal executive power. On the other hand, he was aware of the potential threat that France could be in that region and was prepared to go to war to prevent a strong French presence there.
Throughout this time, Jefferson had up-to-date intelligence on Napoleon’s military activities and intentions in North America. Part of his evolving strategy involved giving du Pont some information that was withheld from Livingston. He also gave intentionally conflicting instructions to the two. Desperate to avoid possible war with France, Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris in 1802 to negotiate a settlement, with instructions to go to London to negotiate an alliance if the talks in Paris failed. Spain procrastinated until late 1802 in executing the treaty to transfer Louisiana to France, which allowed American hostility to build. Also, Spain’s refusal to cede Florida to France meant that Louisiana would be indefensible. Monroe had been formally expelled from France on his last diplomatic mission, and the choice to send him again conveyed a sense of seriousness.
Napoleon needed peace with Great Britain to implement the Treaty of San Ildefonso and take possession of Louisiana. Otherwise, Louisiana would be an easy prey for Britain or even for the United States. But in early 1803, continuing war between France and Britain seemed unavoidable. On March 11, 1803, Napoleon began preparing to invade Britain.
A slave revolt in Saint-Domingue (present-day Republic of Haiti) had been followed by the first French general emancipation of slaves in 1793-94. This led to years of war against the Spanish and British empires, which sought to conquer St. Domingue and re-enslave the emancipated population. An expeditionary force under Napoleon’s brother-in-law Charles Leclerc in January 1802, supplemented by 20,000 troops over the next 21 months, had tried to reconquer the territory and re-establish slavery. But yellow fever and the fierce resistance of black, mulatto, and white revolutionaries destroyed the French army. This was the culmination of the only successful slave revolt in history, and Napoleon withdrew the surviving French troops in November 1803. In 1804 Haiti became the first independent black-majority state in the New World.
As Napoleon had failed to re-enslave the emancipated population of Haiti, he abandoned his plans to rebuild France’s New World empire. Without sufficient revenues from sugar colonies in the Caribbean, Louisiana had little value to him. Spain had not yet completed the transfer of Louisiana to France, and war between France and Britain was imminent. Out of anger against Spain and the unique opportunity to sell something that was useless and not truly his yet, Napoleon decided to sell the entire territory.
Although the foreign minister Talleyrand opposed the plan, on April 10, 1803, Napoleon told the Treasury Minister François de Barbé-Marbois that he was considering selling the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States. On April 11, 1803, just days before Monroe’s arrival, Barbé-Marbois offered Livingston all of Louisiana for $15 million, equivalent to about $233 million in current dollars. The American representatives were prepared to pay up to $10 million for New Orleans and its environs, but were dumbfounded when the vastly larger territory was offered for $15 million. Jefferson had authorized Livingston only to purchase New Orleans. However, Livingston was certain that the United States would accept the offer.
The Americans thought that Napoleon might withdraw the offer at any time, preventing the United States from acquiring New Orleans, so they agreed and On Saturday, April 30, 1803, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed by Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Barbé Marbois in Paris. President Jefferson announced the treaty to the American people on July 4. After the signing of the Louisiana Purchase agreement Livingston made this famous statement, “We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives…From this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank.” The Louisiana Territory was vast, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to Rupert’s Land in the north, and from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. Acquiring the territory would double the size of the United States, at a sum of less than 3 cents per acre.
The United States Senate ratified the treaty with a vote of twenty-four to seven on October 20. On the following day, October 21, 1803, the Senate authorized President Jefferson to take possession of the territory and establish a temporary military government. In legislation enacted on October 31, Congress made temporary provisions for local civil government to continue as it had under French and Spanish rule and authorized the President to use military forces to maintain order. Plans were also set forth for several missions to explore and chart the territory, the most famous being the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The United States claimed Louisiana included the entire western portion of the Mississippi River drainage basin to the crest of the Rocky Mountains and land extending southeast to the Rio Grande and West Florida. Spain insisted that Louisiana comprised no more than the western bank of the Mississippi River and the cities of New Orleans and St. Louis. The dispute was ultimately resolved by the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, with the United States gaining most of what it had claimed in the west.
Because the western boundary was contested at the time of the Purchase, President Jefferson immediately began to organize three missions to explore and map the new territory. All three started from the Mississippi River. The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804) traveled up the Missouri River; the Red River Expedition (1806) explored the Red River basin; the Pike Expedition (1806) also started up the Missouri, but turned south to explore the Arkansas River watershed. The maps and journals of the explorers helped to define the boundaries during the negotiations leading to the Adams–Onís Treaty, which set the western boundary as follows: north up the Sabine River from the Gulf of Mexico to its intersection with the 32nd parallel, due north to the Red River, up the Red River to the 100th meridian, north to the Arkansas River, up the Arkansas River to its headwaters, due north to the 42nd parallel and due west to its previous boundary.
Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana, United States. It blends French, West African, Amerindian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian influences, as well as general Southern cuisine. The Cajuns (descendants of French immigrants originally from Canada) largely assimilated and adopted Creole cuisine for their own. Although the Creole cuisine is closely identified with New Orleans culture today, much of it evolved in the country plantation estates of southern Louisiana. Despite its aristocratic French roots, Creole cuisine does not include Garde Manger or other extremely lavish styles of the Classical Paris cuisine.
There are two types of Creole cuisine: Urban Creole and Rural Creole. Urban Creole is prepared mainly for New Orleans tourists. Rural Creole cuisine is often hidden in the bayous and swamps of the Old Creole Parishes although you can get it in New Orleans if you know what you are looking for. Since the 1980s, Rural Creole cuisine has largely been mistakenly labeled as Cajun cuisine.
The African influences, which are extensive, came about because many of the plantation cooks were African or Creole of African descent. They brought with them the use of hot peppers and okra, which is called “gombo” in some West African languages. The importance of rice with many creole dishes was also influenced by African cooks as well as the layers of flavors in Creole cooking techniques. The indigenous people of Louisiana introduced powdered sassafras leaves, also known as filé, a thickening agent used in gumbo, along with corn dishes like maque choux. The Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian influences on Creole cuisine were the wide usage of citrus juice marinades. The Portuguese, Spaniards and the Italians also used tomatoes extensively, which had not been a frequent ingredient in the earlier French era. Pasta and tomato sauces arrived during the period when New Orleans was a popular destination for Italian settlers (roughly, 1815 to 1925). Many of them became grocers, bakers, cheese makers and orchard farmers, and so influenced the Creole cuisine in New Orleans and its suburbs.
The first French, Spanish and Portuguese Creole cookbooks date back to the era before the Louisiana Purchase. The first Creole cookbook in English was La Cuisine Creole: A Collection of Culinary Recipes, From Leading Chefs and Noted Creole Housewives, Who Have Made New Orleans Famous For Its Cuisine, written by Lafcadio Hearn and published in 1885. By that time Creole was already an identifiable regional cuisine recognized outside Louisiana: for example, an 1882 Florida hotel menu now in the New York Public Library’s collection offered “Chicken Saute, á la Creole.”
Starting in the 1980s, Creole cuisine began to be relabeled Cajun cuisine. An example of this relabeling is by Chef Paul Prudhomme. A national interest in Creole cooking developed, and many tourists went to New Orleans expecting to find “true” Creole food there (being unaware that the city was culturally and geographically separate from the Old Creole Parishes/Acadiana). The “New New Orleans Cooking” of celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse includes Creole dishes, both rural and urban. In his writings and TV shows, Lagasse draws the distinction between the misnomer “Cajun” for rural Creole and urban Creole – not bad for a chef from Massachusetts of Portuguese origin.
I visited New Orleans and southern Louisiana quite often for several years some years ago. First stop was always for a dozen (or two) oysters on the half shell, fresh shucked at the bar at a local oyster joint; then on to somewhere for jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice, crawfish and crab boil, or what have you. One relatively modern (i.e urban creole) dish I liked for breakfast/brunch was Eggs Sardou. Eggs Sardou is poached eggs, artichoke bottoms, creamed spinach and Hollandaise sauce. It is on the menu of many Creole restaurants in New Orleans, including Antoine’s, where Eggs Sardou was invented. Eggs Sardou is named for Victorien Sardou, a famous French dramatist of the 19th century, who was a guest in New Orleans when the dish was invented. The Eggs Sardou served at Antoine’s Restaurant nowadays include truffles, ham, and anchovies topping the hollandaise. The dish requires both béchamel and hollandaise sauces, recipes for which you can find in the HINTS section here (tab top left).
Eggs Sardou
Place a layer of chopped poached spinach creamed with béchamel on a warmed plate. Place two heated artichoke hearts (use a slow oven) on the spinach, and place a poached egg in each (runny yolk). Smother with hollandaise and garnish with what you will – truffles, diced ham, crawfish. These eggs must be made to order, piping hot. Antoine’s usually serves the eggs with grits for a full meal. As an appetizer you can omit them. Some buttered toast is all I need.
Jun 092014
On this date in 1815 the delegates at the Congress of Vienna signed the final treaty setting the stage for European political history for 100 years and more. It is, without question, one of the most significant international political summits in European history. The Congress of Vienna reconciled the multiple conflicts of interest between the European powers and created a period of almost 40 years without major European conflicts. Peace came at a price, though. All the egalitarian, democratic, and liberal ideals of the French revolution were cast aside, and Europe stepped back to a political landscape much like that before 1789, setting the stage for revolutionary upheaval in 1848 – the year of revolutions.
On a more mundane note, the Congress was a cultural event without peer before or since. For ten months, Vienna entertained more than 200 delegates from all over Europe with a marathon cultural calendar. It consisted of daily balls and society events to cater to the vanities and emotional well being of its top guests. The Congress of Vienna played a pivotal role in anchoring Vienna’s image as a society of waltz dancing, cake eating bohemians who love life, and who use their culture to outshine their European rivals. In Prince Charles de Ligne’s famous words:
“Le Congrès danse, mais il ne marche pas.” (The Congress dances but it does not move forward)
After years of raging war, Napoleon Bonaparte had left Europe in tatters. While he was in exile on the Italian island of Elba, the European state system needed re-structuring. The First Treaty of Paris established a congress in Vienna where all participants of the war would decide on a substantial political re-order in post-war Europe. Vienna as the epicenter of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire with its vast territories and regional interests, seemed an obvious choice. In September 1814, about six months after the fall of Napoleon, Habsburg Emperor Francis I invited the European rulers and their key diplomats to the Congress of Vienna.
The Congress of Vienna was essentially concerned with:
re-installing the absolutist monarchies in Europe before the French Revolution of 1789, also known as the Restoration
legitimizing the ruling monarchies and fiefdoms
re-structuring Germany’s internal affairs
weakening France’s political power
creating rules for mediating and managing conflicts among European rulers in a peaceful way.
It was not about the various peoples and their needs for freedom and prosperity, but of restoring the interests of the old European dynasties.
The five European super powers Russia, Great Britain, Prussia, Austria, and France were represented through their heads of state and senior diplomats at the Congress of Vienna. In addition, the other German courts, previously sovereign cities, Switzerland, and other European states sent delegates to Vienna. All in all, approximately 200 rulers and their diplomats flocked to the Austrian capital. The major players were:
Metternich
Austrian Empire
Emperor Francis I was the Congress’ official host. Although he detested Napoleon Bonaparte he agreed to the marriage between Napoleon and his own daughter Marie Louise in 1810. His subsequent alliance with Napoleon against Russia ended in defeat. However, the Treaty of Paris of 1814 boosted Francis’ territorial powers. He came to rule the largest territory the Habsburgs and their predecessors had ever possessed. Prince Metternich, called the “coachman of Europe,” presided and played a key role in the difficult negotiations among the Great Powers, especially with France. Metternich said: “The first and foremost objective of our Government’s endeavors, and that of all allied Governments since the restoration of Europe’s independence, is to maintain the existing order, which is the fortunate result of this restoration.” His repressive politics worked for more than 30 years. However, for Metternich, 1848 (the year of the revolution) finally put an end to them. Metternich was also interested in strengthening France’s role in Europe and using it to counterbalance Russia’s power.
Alexander I
Russia
Tsar Alexander I was educated based on Rousseau’s liberal ideas, but was a weak and inconsistent ruler. At the Congress of Vienna, he promoted peaceful collaboration and order, obtained the neutral status of Switzerland and provided his new Polish territory with a liberal constitution. He invented the idea of the Holy Alliance (Russian, Austria, and Prussia), for mutual aid. Karl Robert (Vassilievich), Count Nesselrode, was the leader of the Russian delegation at the Congress. He turned into one of the most fervent promoters and defenders of the Holy Alliance.
Wellington
Great Britain
Lord Henry Robert Stewart Castlereagh was, like Metternich, a strong conservative who detested Napoleon’s liberal ideas. Together with Metternich and Prince Talleyrand, he formed an alliance against Russia and Prussia. As a result, Russia won large parts of Poland. Prussia lost significant territories of Saxony. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was a British diplomat in France of British-Irish origin. He took over the negotiations at the Vienna Congress from Lord Castlereagh on 1st February 1815. He later led the coalition army in the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon’s final defeat, which ended nine days after the official end of the Congress.
Hardenberg
Prussia
Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg was State Chancellor of Prussia and one of the leading state reformers of the 19th century – liberal minded and a promoter of democratic principles with the monarchy. At the Congress of Vienna, he managed to achieve equal status for Prussia and re-position it among the leading European Powers. Wilhelm von Humboldt was a famous German philosopher and liberal reformer of the German educational system. At the Congress of Vienna, he successfully promoted Jewish civil rights but was defeated in his objectives to create a liberal constitution for the German Bund. King Frederick William III of Prussia was also in Vienna, playing his role behind the scenes.
Talleyrand
France
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord: was the leader of the French delegation. He almost managed to position the defeated France as an equal negotiation partner at the Congress of Vienna. Napoleon Bonaparte’s escape from Elba and France’s defeat in the battle of Waterloo, however, thwarted his efforts.
On 9 June 1815, the five signatory states signed the Treaty of Vienna. You can see the newly created territories and their boundaries in the historic map below (click to enlarge). The battle of Waterloo was still raging on, ending in Napoleon’s defeat nine days later.
The vast majority of territories was re-distributed to the Great Powers as before the Napoleonic Wars. The big winner, however, was Russia, which obtained large parts of the Duchy of Warsaw (Poland). Germany was not successful in pushing through its aim to create a united German state. Austria received large territories in Italy, including Dalmatia, Friulia, Istria, Lombardy, and Venice; and re-obtained regions such as Croatia, Upper Carinthia, Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Galicia (Poland). On the other hand, it had to resign from its territories in Brisgau and the Austrian Netherlands. Switzerland was structured into 22 cantons and obtained neutral status. Sweden lost Finland and Swedish-Pommern but retained its Norwegian territories.
At the time, the Congress of Vienna was considered a big success by the signatories. It had achieved its main aim, to re-create a balance of power in Europe pre-Napoleon. Friedrich von Gentz, Prince Metternich’s secretary of state, summarized: “The task of this Congress was difficult and complicated. It was about restoring everything that 20 years of disorder had destroyed, re-constructing the political system from the large ruins with which a terrible tremor had covered Europe’s soil. This big task is accomplished. As they part today, the Sovereigns have committed themselves to one single, simple and holy obligation: that of deferring all other considerations in relation to peace keeping, and of nipping in the bud every plan of destroying the existing order, with all available means.”
Following the battle of Waterloo, France ended up losing key territories and was forced to pay 700 million Francs of indemnity and return the European art treasures stolen by Napoleon. The Ottoman Empire (later known as the “Sick Man of Europe”) was excluded from the Congress and, therefore, continued on a path of stagnation and disintegration through the 19th century. Other key achievements of the Congress included the proscription of slave trade, and free international stream navigation.
There is no doubt that in terms of its stated aims the Congress of Vienna was an enormous success. Its goal was to create stability and prevent Europe-wide war by creating a finely tuned balance of power among the key states, and by creating neutral states, such as the Low Countries and Switzerland, to act as buffers between the major powers. But there was a big price to pay. Ethnic groups in gigantic empires such as Austria and Russia were lumped together under one polity with no chance at autonomy, nationhood, and self governance. Likewise the egalitarian and democratic ideals of the French Revolution were squashed as states returned to monarchic rule. Thus, while continent-wide conflict was eliminated, the impulse towards internal revolution and reform throughout Europe increased in intensity. In consequence, in 1848 all Europe erupted in revolution, following a domino effect, with only Great Britain escaping violent revolt.
The Viennese cooking tradition (not to be confused with Austrian cooking), developed from many different sources. Italian influence has been strong since roughly the early 17th century. In the 18th century, French cuisine became influential in Vienna, along with French etiquette and diplomatic language. The term “Wiener Küche” (Viennese cuisine) first appeared in German language cookbooks around the end of the 18th century. In the second half of the 19th century, cookbooks started to include Bohemian, Hungarian (particularly with Gulaschsuppe, originally a Hungarian stew), Italian, Jewish, Polish, and Southern Slavic features in Viennese cuisine. The croissant is also thought to have originated in Vienna after the defeat of the Turks in the Siege of Vienna (1529).
Classic Viennese dishes, many of which are well known outside Austria, include apfelstrudel, palatschinken (Viennese crêpes), sachertorte, and germknödel (sweet yeast dumpling). The Danish pastry is said to originate from Vienna, and in Denmark is called wienerbrød (Viennese bread), probably because it uses a certain kind of dough consisting of butter and flour in the classic cuisine referred to as “Viennese Dough.” This pastry is called “Kolatsche” (from the Czech kolá? from kolo for wheel) in Viennese.
But the great iconic dish is wiener schnitzel, thin cutlets of veal breaded and fried. Sadly for us, wiener schnitzel did not appear in Vienna until the mid 19th century, long after the Congress, so it cannot be considered symbolic of the times. There is hope though. Wiener schnitzel likely started out life as a variant of backhendl, breaded fried chicken, and this was a favored aristocratic dish at the time of the Congress. Backhendl is like versions of fried chicken found in many parts of the world, with the difference being that all the meat was boned. Nowadays the bones are usually left in. Lard was the common frying medium, and is still the best for truly crispy chicken. Vegetable oil is healthier, though. Your choice.
Weiner Backhendl
Jun 062014
On this date in 1808 Joseph-Napoleon Bonaparte (7 January 1768 – 28 July 1844), the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, was crowned King of Spain (1808–1813, as José I). Joseph somewhat reluctantly left Naples where he had been king of Naples and Sicily and where he was popular, and arrived in Spain where he was very unpopular indeed. Joseph came under heavy fire from his opponents in Spain, who tried to smear his reputation by calling him Pepe Botella for his alleged heavy drinking, an accusation echoed by later Spanish historiography, despite the fact that Joseph was abstemious. His arrival sparked the Spanish revolt against French rule, and the beginning of the Peninsular War. The revolt was about both nationalism and ideology, “a reaction against new institutions and ideas, a movement for loyalty to the old order: to the hereditary crown of the Most Catholic kings, which Napoleon, an excommunicated enemy of the Pope, had put on the head of a Frenchman; to the Catholic Church persecuted by republicans who had desecrated churches, murdered priests, and enforced a “loi des cultes” (separation of church and state); and to local and provincial rights and privileges threatened by an efficiently centralized government.
King Joseph’s Spanish supporters were called josefinos or afrancesados (the frenchified). During his reign, he ended the Spanish Inquisition, partly because Napoleon was at odds with Pope Pius VII at the time. Despite such efforts to win popularity, Joseph’s foreign birth and support, plus his membership in a Masonic lodge, virtually guaranteed he would never be accepted as legitimate by the bulk of the Spanish people. During Joseph’s rule of Spain, Venezuela declared independence (1810) from Spain, the first nation to do so. The king had virtually no influence over the course of the ongoing Peninsular War: Joseph’s nominal command of French forces in Spain was mostly illusory, as the French commanders theoretically subordinate to King Joseph insisted on checking with Napoleon before carrying out Joseph’s instructions. Joseph was a classic puppet ruler, a token of Bonaparte’s desire to rule Spain by proxy. King Joseph abdicated and returned to France after defeat of the main French forces to the British at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. He was seen by Bonapartists as the rightful Emperor of the French after the death of Napoleon’s own son Napoleon II in 1832, although he did little to advance his claim.
Spain had been allied with France against the United Kingdom since the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1796. However, after the defeat of the combined Spanish and French fleets by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, cracks began to appear in the alliance, with Spain preparing to invade France from the south after the outbreak of the War of the Fourth Coalition. In 1806 Napoleon was fighting in Prussia, so the Spanish readied the army for an invasion should the Prussians defeat him. Napoleon, however, routed the Prussian army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstaedt and Spain backed down. Yet Spain continued to resent the loss of their fleet at Trafalgar and the fact that they were forced to join Napoleon’s Continental System. Nevertheless, the two allies agreed to partition Portugal, a long-standing British trading partner and ally, and which refused to join the Continental System. Napoleon was fully aware of the disastrous state of Spain’s economy and administration, and its political fragility, and came to believe that it had little value as an ally. He insisted on positioning French troops in Spain to prepare for a French invasion of Portugal, but once this was done, he continued to move additional French troops into Spain without any sign of an advance into Portugal. The presence of French troops on Spanish soil was extremely unpopular in Spain, resulting in the Mutiny of Aranjuez and the abdication of Charles IV of Spain in March, 1808.
Charles IV hoped that Napoleon, who by this time had 100,000 troops stationed in Spain, would help him regain the throne. However, Napoleon refused to help Charles, and also refused to recognize his son, Ferdinand VII, as the new king. Instead, he succeeded in pressuring both Charles and Ferdinand to cede the crown to his brother, Joseph. The head of the French forces in Spain, Marshal Joachim Murat, meanwhile pressed for the former Prime Minister of Spain, Manuel de Godoy, whose role in inviting the French forces into Spain had led to the mutiny of Aranjuez, to be set free. The failure of the remaining Spanish government to stand up to Murat caused popular anger. On 2 May 1808, Murat ordered the younger son of Charles IV, the Infante Francisco de Paula, into exile in France, leading to a widespread rebellion in the streets of Madrid.
The Council of Castile, the main organ of central government in Spain under Charles IV, was now in Napoleon’s control. However, due to the popular anger at French rule, it quickly lost authority outside the population centers which were directly French-occupied. To oppose this occupation, former regional governing institutions, such as the Parliament of Aragon and the Board of the Principality of Asturias, resurfaced in parts of Spain; elsewhere, juntas (councils) were created to fill the power vacuum and lead the struggle against French imperial forces. Provincial juntas began to coordinate their actions; regional juntas were formed to oversee the provincial ones. Finally, on 25 September 1808, a single Supreme Junta was established in Aranjuez to serve as the acting resistance government for all of Spain.
Murat established a plan of conquest, sending two large armies to attack pockets of pro-Ferdinand resistance. One army secured the route between Madrid and Vitoria and besieged Zaragoza, Girona, and Valencia. The other, sent south to Andalusia, sacked Córdoba. Instead of proceeding to Cádiz as planned, General Dupont was ordered to march back to Madrid, but was defeated by General Castaños at Bailén on 22 July 1808. This victory encouraged the resistance against the French in several countries elsewhere in Europe. After the battle, King Joseph left Madrid to take refuge in Vitoria. In the autumn of 1808, Napoleon himself entered Spain, entering Madrid on 2 December and returning Joseph to the capital. Meanwhile, a British army entered Spain from Portugal but was forced to retreat to Galicia. In early 1810, the Napoleonic offensive reached the vicinity of Lisbon, but were unable to penetrate the fortified Lines of Torres Vedras.
When Fernando VII left Bayonne, in May 1808, he asked that all institutions co-operate with the French authorities. Accordingly, the Council of Castile assembled in Bayonne, though only 65 of the total 150 members attended. The Assembly ratified the transfer of the Crown to Joseph Bonaparte and adopted with little change a constitutional text drafted by Napoleon. Most of those assembled did not perceive any contradiction between patriotism and collaboration with the new king. Moreover, it was not the first time a foreign dynasty had assumed the Spanish Crown: at the start of the eighteenth century, the House of Bourbon came to Spain from France after the last member of the House of Habsburg, Charles II, died without offspring.
Joseph Bonaparte promulgated the Statute of Bayonne on July 7, 1808. As a constitutional text, it is a royal charter, because it was not the result of a sovereign act of the nation assembled in Parliament, but a royal edict. The text was imbued with a spirit of reform, in line with the Bonaparte ideals, but adapted to the Spanish culture so as to win the support of the elites of the old regime. It recognized the Catholic religion as the official religion and forbade the exercise of other religions. It did not contain an explicit statement about the separation of powers, but asserted the independence of the judiciary. Executive power lay with the king and his ministers. The courts, in the manner of the old regime, were constituted of the estates of the clergy, the nobility and the people. Except with regard to the budget, its ability to make laws was limiteded by the power of the monarch. In fact, the king was only forced to call Parliament every three years. It contained no explicit references to legal equality of citizens, although it was implicit in the equality in taxation, the abolition of privileges, and equal rights between Spanish and American citizens. The Constitution also recognized the freedom of industry and trade, the abolition of trade privileges and the elimination of internal customs.
The Constitution established the Cortes Generales, an advisory body composed of the Senate which was formed by the male members of the royal family and 24 members appointed by the king from the nobles and the clergy, and a legislative assembly, with representatives from the estates of the nobility and the clergy. The Constitution established an authoritarian regime that included some enlightened projects, such as the abolition of torture, but preserving the Inquisition.
During his stay in Vitoria, Joseph Bonaparte had taken important steps to organize the state institutions, including creating an advisory Council of State. The king appointed a government, whose leaders formed an enlightened group which adopted a reform program. The Inquisition was abolished, as was the Council of Castile which was accused of anti-French policy. He decreed the end of feudal rights, the reduction of religious communities and the abolition of internal customs charges. This period saw measures to liberalize trade and agriculture and the creation of a stock exchange in Madrid. The State Council undertook the division of land into 38 provinces.
As the popular revolt against Joseph Bonaparte spread, many who had initially co-operated with Bonaparte dynasty left their ranks. But there remained numerous Spanish, known as afrancesados, who nurtured his administration and whose very existence gives the Spanish war of independence a civil war character. The afrancesados saw themselves as heirs of enlightened absolutism and saw the arrival of Bonaparte as an opportunity to modernize the country. Many had been a part of government in the reign of Charles IV, for example, François Cabarrus, former head of finance and Mariano Luis de Urquijo, Secretary of State. But there were also writers like playwright Leandro Fernández de Moratín, scholars like Juan Antonio Llorente, the mathematician Alberto Lista, and musicians such as Fernando Sor.
Throughout the war, Joseph Bonaparte tried to exercise full authority as the King of Spain, preserving some autonomy against the designs of his brother Napoleon. In this regard, many afrancesados believed that the only way to maintain national independence was to collaborate with the new dynasty, as the greater the resistance to the French, the greater would be the subordination of Spain to the French imperial army and its war requirements. In fact, the opposite was the case: although in the territory controlled by King Joseph I modern rational administration and institutions replaced the Old Regime, the permanent state of war reinforced the power of the French marshals, barely allowing the civil authorities to act.
The military defeats suffered by the French army forced Joseph I to leave Madrid on two occasions. The king finally left Spain in June 1813, ending the failed stage of enlightened absolutism. Most of Joseph’s supporters (about 10,000 and 12,000) fled to France into exile, along with the retreating French troops after the war. Their property was confiscated. The Allied offensive intensified and culminated in the Battle of Vitoria, which marked the beginning of the end of French occupation and, in December 1813, in the Treaty of Valençay, which provided for the restoration of Ferdinand VII.
The burden of war destroyed the social and economic fabric of Portugal and Spain, and ushered in an era of social turbulence, political instability and economic stagnation. Devastating civil wars between liberal and absolutist factions led by officers trained in the Peninsular War persisted in Iberia until 1850. The cumulative crises and disruptions of invasion, revolution, and restoration led to the independence of most of Spain’s American colonies and the independence of Brazil from Portugal. During Joseph’s rule in Spain, Venezuela declared independence (1810) from Spain, the first nation to do so. Many others followed suit soon after. There is also an ironic twist in that Argentine General José de San Martín fought for Spain in the Peninsular War but then in 1812 sailed to Buenos Aires and began long campaigns to liberate colonies in South America from Spain.
Since Joseph and Napoleon Bonaparte were from Corsica I though a Corsican recipe would be appropriate. The cuisine of the island is essentially Mediterranean with its own twists. One of these is the heavy use of chestnuts for both savory and sweet dishes. For example chestnut flour is used to make the local version of polenta, and the local flan incorporates chestnuts and brandy (locally produced). The signature cheese of the island is brocciu, a young whey cheese made from ewe’s milk. It too is found in savory and sweet dishes. It can be rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried or used to make the local cheesecake, fiadone. Beignets, combine the two tastes: chestnut flour doughnuts stuffed with cheese.
The signature dish of the island is civet de sanglier, braised wild boar. It uses local red wine as the base of the sauce. It is really hard to get wild boar so you’d probably best not try it at home. Substituting beef is all right, but you lose the gamey taste. It does need long slow cooking because the boar meat is very tough. When simmered slowly for hours and hours it eventually yields.
Civet de Sanglier
May 212013
Today is a double threat. It is the feast day of St Helena of Constantinople, and, not by coincidence, a public holiday on St Helena Island.
St Helena (the saint) has two main claims to fame. She was the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and she is credited in legend with finding the true cross on which Jesus was crucified. Constantine converted to Christianity and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. In 326-28, when Constantine was emperor, Helena undertook a trip to the Holy Places in Palestine. Jerusalem was still being rebuilt following the destruction caused by Emperor Hadrian. He had built a temple over the site of Jesus’ tomb near Calvary, and renamed the city Aelia Capitolina. Accounts differ concerning whether the Temple was dedicated to Venus or Jupiter. According to tradition, Helena ordered the temple torn down and on excavating the site found three crosses. There was a feeling among the discoverers that these were the three crosses from Calvary but Helena needed proof. So she had a woman who was near death brought from the city. When the woman touched the first and second crosses, her condition did not change, but when she touched the third and final cross she suddenly recovered and Helena declared that cross to be the True Cross. On the site of discovery, Constantine ordered the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Helena left Jerusalem and the eastern provinces in 327 to return to Rome, bringing with her large parts of the True Cross and other relics, which were then stored in her palace’s private chapel, where they can still be seen today. Her palace was later converted into the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. This has been maintained by Cistercian monks in the monastery which has been attached to the church for centuries. Tradition says that the site of the Vatican Gardens was spread with earth brought from Golgotha by Helena to symbolically unite the blood of Christ with that shed by thousands of early Christians, who died in the persecutions of earlier Roman emperors.
The Island of St Helena, located in the south Atlantic 1,200 miles west of the coast of Africa, is one of the most remote islands in the world. Most historical accounts state that the island was discovered on 21 May 1502 by the Galician navigator João da Nova sailing at the service of the Portuguese Crown, and because of the date he named it Santa Helena after Helena of Constantinople. Henceforth, control of the island went back and forth between the Spanish, Portuguese, British, and Dutch, although the Spanish and Portuguese dropped out of the picture quite early on leaving the British and Dutch to fight it out. It was an important stop for their ships going to and from the Cape of Good Hope and beyond so they could take on fresh water and supplies.
Although St Helena was under the control of the Dutch East India Company at the time, the British government selected St Helena in 1815 as Napoleon Bonaparte’s place of exile following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. He was eventually built a permanent home on the island where he died on 5 May 1821. During this period, Saint Helena remained in the East India Company’s possession, but the British government met additional costs arising from guarding Napoleon. The island was strongly garrisoned with British troops, and naval ships circled the island. In 1834 Britain gained control of the island, and it is now one of the last vestiges of the British Empire.
With the advent of steam ships and the opening of the Suez Canal, St Helena was no longer needed as a port of call for ships heading for the Pacific, and became increasingly isolated. Nowadays there is one main way to get to the island, which is to fly to Cape Town and then take the RMS St Helena to the island. It calls about once every 12 days. Otherwise you need to sail your own boat. Tourism is almost entirely centered on visits to Napoleon’s home and grave promoted by the French government. Because of the difficulty getting to the island, tourism represents a very small part of the economy (3% of GDP). There are plans in the works to build an airport on the island although no airlines have expressed interest in the route. The hope is to build sport fishing tourism because of the plentiful fish in surrounding waters.
Fish cakes with distinctive flavorings are a signature dish on St Helena. The recipe below is adapted from the one used on board RMS St Helena. Local fish, such as tuna and wahoo, are usual, but any firm white fish will work. The recipe uses a blend of mixed spices available only on the island. I give a substitute here which is close.
St Helena Fish Cakes
| Chicken Marengo |
Eric Arthur Blair was the real name of which famous novelist? | Napoleon Archives - BOOK OF DAYS TALES
BOOK OF DAYS TALES
Sep 172016
On this date in 1716 Jean Thurel, or Jean Theurel (6 September 1698 – 10 March 1807) enlisted as a fusilier in the French Army (Touraine Regiment) at the age of 18. He remained on active duty for 75 years, refusing all promotions, and died at the age of 108, still registered as a soldier in the army. Technically, therefore, he was a soldier for 90 years. Longtime readers of this blog know that I am averse to writing about war and soldiery, but I’ll make an exception for Thurel because of his extraordinary life. He was born in the reign of Louis XIV and died when Napoleon I was emperor; Thurel lived in three different centuries, experiencing extraordinary changes in France and Europe.
Thurel was born in Orain, Burgundy in 1698. As a soldier Thurel was severely wounded in battle on two occasions. In 1733, during the siege of Kehl, he was shot in the chest with a musket, and at the battle of Minden in 1759, he received seven sword slashes, including six to the head. Three of his brothers were killed in the battle of Fontenoy in 1745. One of Thurel’s sons was a corporal and a veteran in the same company. He died at the Battle of the Saintes, a naval battle that was fought off the coast of Dominica, West Indies during the American Revolutionary War, on 12 April 1782. Thurel was a survivor!
Thurel was a notably well-disciplined infantry soldier of the line infantry and was admonished only once during his entire career. During the 1747 Siege of Bergen as the French troops occupied the citadel he was disciplined because, the doors of the fortress were locked, so he had to scale its walls to get in so that he would not miss muster. Another example of Thurel’s discipline and physical fitness occurred in 1787. When his regiment was ordered to march to the coast to embark on ships of the French Navy he was given the opportunity to travel in a carriage due to his advanced age – he was 88 at the time. Thurel refused the offer and marched the entire distance on foot, saying that he had never before traveled by carriage and had no intention of doing so at that time. His humility is evident in his steadfast refusal to accept any promotions. He remained a common fusilier for his entire military career.
In hopes of improving re-enlistment rates, Louis XV established the Médaillon Des Deux Épées (Medal of the Two Swords) by a royal decree in 1771. This was the first military decoration in France for which an enlisted man could be eligible. This medal was initially awarded to soldiers who had served in the French Army, as a reward for their longevity of service. The decree was extended in 1774 so that sailors of the French Navy were also eligible to receive the medal. A soldier or sailor would have to serve for 24 years to be eligible for the Médaillon Des Deux Épées. Thurel was awarded two Médaillon Des Deux Épées in 1771, the year the medal was established, in recognition of the two 24-year periods of time (1716–1740 and 1740–1764) he had served up until then.
On 8 November 1787, Thurel was presented to the royal court at the Palace of Versailles. The 33-year-old king of France, Louis XVI, addressed the 88-year-old Army private in a respectful manner as “père” (“father”), and asked whether Thurel would prefer to be awarded the Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis (Royal and Military Order of Saint Louis) or a third Médaillon Des Deux Épées medal, in recognition of the period from 1764–1788. This was a highly unusual request—not only because enlisted men and non-commissioned officers were not normally eligible to receive the Ordre Royal et Militaire de Saint-Louis, which was reserved for commissioned officers of the Army or the Navy—but also because Thurel still had four more months of military service to complete before being eligible for a third Médaillon Des Deux Épées medal. Thurel opted to receive a third Médaillon Des Deux Épées, on the condition that the king himself attach the medal to his uniform. Louis agreed. The Comte d’Artois offered Thurel his sword, and the ladies of the court put a carriage at his disposal during his stay in the Paris area. The king also granted Thurel an annual pension of 300 livres. Very few men ever completed the 48 years of military service required to receive a second medal. Thurel was the only one to have received it three times. In 1788 the officers of his regiment jointly paid for a portrait of Thurel to be painted by Antoine Vestier (lead image).
On 26 October 1804, at the age of 106, Thurel became one of the first recipients of the newly established Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur (Legion of Honor), the highest decoration in France. Napoleon also rewarded him with a pension of 1,200 francs. He was later appointed as the “oldest soldier of Europe.” He remained healthy in body and spirit throughout his remarkably long life. He died in Tours on 10 March 1807, at the age of 108, after a brief illness.
In researching Thurel’s life I came across a brief discussion about his date of birth. Was he actually born in 1699 and not 1698? Apparently a baptismal record was discovered at some point listing 1699 as his date of birth, but some people believe that this is a forgery. I’d file this under “who cares?” I’m sometimes given to wonder about the sanity of people who get all bent out of shape by insisting that he was 107, not 108, when he died. Our whole view of French history is hardly going to crumble because of this. Either way he lived a remarkable life.
Inasmuch as one can know anything about people of past centuries I’d have to say that I’d likely have found Thurel a bit hard to stomach in large doses if I’d ever met him. On the one hand, his dedication to service is admirable. I take my hat off to anyone who devotes his entire life, with energy and passion, to a single pursuit. On the other hand, Thurel reminds me of old men and women that I have met over the years who have an unwavering devotion to a fixed concept of duty that won’t bend under any circumstances. It’s not the devotion itself that I have any quarrel with, it’s the underlying inflexibility of mind that often goes with it that can be a tad annoying.
Given that Thurel was on active duty for 75 years, he would have had one main meal per day throughout the 18th century, as was the custom for rich and poor. That works out to over 27,000 meals. I would imagine that an awful lot of them were the same, and I don’t imagine that Thurel was a gourmet nor used to fine dining. So let’s start with the basics. Standing armies did not develop much in Europe until the 18th century. Before that, militias were raised as needed. With the development of standing armies, budgets and rations had to be codified. They were more or less the same for France and Britain, for navies as well as armies. That is, in theory, each soldier (or sailor) was assigned something like 1 lb salt beef, 1 lb bread, and 1 pint legumes or rice. Whether they actually got this is another matter. Of course, individual circumstances would have varied enormously. Campaigning soldiers could ransack farms and farmhouses for provisions (and did), and when at home were encouraged to raise chickens and livestock, and tend gardens (usually turnips, carrots, and cabbage). What soldiers actually ate routinely would depend on both what was available and the abilities of the camp cooks. My surmise is that Thurel ate a lot of boiled beef and beans with bread. The common habit on campaign was for soldiers to eat in “messes” of 5 to 6 men, that is, the occupants of a single tent. Each mess would build a fire and cook their meals using an issued pot and kettle. The quality of cooking is anyone’s guess. Bread was supplied by local bakers or they ate hard tack.
I’ve covered military (naval) recipes, including salt beef, dried peas, and hard tack, in the past quite fully. You can search for them easily enough. Whilst I can’t imagine that Thurel ate omelets terribly often, he must have had them once in a while. So I’ll stretch things a bit by giving an 18th century omelet recipe from Les Soupers de la Cour, Menon (1755). I gave his recipe for Omelette à la Gendarme (Military Omelette) here http://www.bookofdaystales.com/thomas-paine/ . This name does not imply that the omelet was made for the military, but that it looks like soldiers on guard (sort of). Close enough.
What intrigues me about this new recipe, omelette au jambon (ham omelet), is that it calls for “coulis” with ham as a sauce for the omelet. A coulis (the term used also in English by chefs) is a form of thick sauce made from puréed and strained vegetables or fruits. In this case the recipe specifies that the coulis be very sweet:
Mettez dans des oeufs une petite cuillerée coulis avec du jambon cuit haché; battez & faites l’omelette; dressez sur le plat; servez dessus une sauce faites avec coulis bien doux & jambon haché.
Roughly translated: Put a small spoonful of coulis with chopped ham into some eggs. Beat (the eggs), and make an omelet. Put it on a plate. Serve with a sauce of sweet coulis and chopped ham.
Your only issue is going to be how to make the coulis (I’m assuming you know how to cook an omelet). Well, technically that’s not a problem. Blend some fruit to a fine purée. The question is what fruit to use. First off, I’d say that you need to add some stock to the coulis to give it more character whatever fruit you use. Beef stock would be all right, but ham stock or broth would be better. Still, if you are going to be true to this recipe it needs to be a sweet coulis. That means using a properly sweet, ripe fruit. Pineapple would serve, but would not be very 18th century. Plums would fit the bill better. But it’s your choice.
Jun 142016
Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Marengo fought in 1800, a decisive and momentous battle in what are now known as the Napoleonic Wars. I rarely “celebrate” battles in this blog because I am fundamentally opposed to war, and I am not going to dwell on the actual details of the battle. But Marengo had widespread consequences throughout Europe. Furthermore, the battle spawned the name of a much celebrated dish – Chicken Marengo – although the history of the recipe and its precise form is disputed to this day.
The battle of Marengo was fought between French and Austrian forces near the city of Alessandria, in Piedmont in northern Italy (roughly midway between Milan and Genoa). The French overcame General Michael von Melas’ surprise attack near the end of the day, driving the Austrians out of Italy, and enhancing Napoleon’s political position in Paris as First Consul of France in the wake of his coup d’état the previous November.
Surprised by the Austrian advance toward Genoa in mid-April 1800, Bonaparte had hastily led his army over the Alps in mid-May and reached Milan on 2 June. After cutting Melas’ line of communications by crossing the river Po and defeating Feldmarschallleutnant Peter Karl Ott von Bátorkéz at Montebello on 9 June, the French closed in on the Austrian army, which had massed in Alessandria. Deceived by a local double agent, Bonaparte dispatched large forces to the north and south, but the Austrians launched a surprise attack on 14 June against the main French army under General Louis Alexandre Berthier.
Initially, their two assaults across the Fontanone stream near Marengo village were repelled, and General Jean Lannes reinforced the French right. Bonaparte realized the true position and issued orders at 11:00 am to recall the detachment under Général de Division Louis Desaix, while moving his reserve forward. On the Austrian left, Ott’s column had taken Castel Ceriolo, and its advance guard moved south to attack Lannes’ flank. Melas renewed the main assault and the Austrians broke the central French position. By 2:30 pm the French were withdrawing and Austrian dragoons seized the Marengo farm. Bonaparte had by then arrived with the reserve, but Berthier’s troops began to fall back on the main vine belts. Knowing Desaix was approaching, Bonaparte was anxious about a column of Ott’s soldiers marching from the north, so he deployed his Consular Guard infantry to delay it. The French then withdrew steadily eastward toward San Giuliano Vecchio as the Austrians formed a column to follow them in line with Ott’s advance in the northern sector.
Desaix’s arrival around 5:30 pm stabilized the French position as the 9th Light Infantry Regiment delayed the Austrian advance down the main road and the rest of the army re-formed north of Cascina Grossa. As the pursuing Austrian troops arrived, a mix of musketry and artillery fire concealed the surprise attack of Général de Brigade François Étienne de Kellermann’s cavalry, which threw the Austrian pursuit into disordered flight back into Alessandria, with about 14,000 killed, wounded, or captured. The French casualties were considerably fewer, but included Desaix. The whole French line chased after the Austrians to seal a victory of major political consequences because it secured Bonaparte’s grip on power after the coup. It would be followed by a propaganda campaign, which sought to rewrite the story of the battle three times during Napoleon’s rule. As a small aside, “propaganda” is an English loan word from Italian (ultimately from Latin), with an original meaning of to “propagate” or “spread around” (and not pejorative originally). It was a huge victory for Napoleon, but he sought to make it into a triumph of brilliant strategy – enhancing his status as a general and leader – instead of a series of lucky mistakes and potential blunders that ended up in his favor. Napoleon came close to losing earlier in the day.
Napoleon sought to ensure that his victory would not be forgotten, so, besides the propaganda campaign, he entrusted General Chasseloup with the construction of a pyramid on the site of the battle. On 5 May 1805, a ceremony took place on the field of Marengo. Napoleon, dressed in the uniform he wore on 14 June 1800, together with Empress Joséphine seated on a throne placed under a tent, oversaw a military parade. Then, Chasseloup gave Napoleon the founding stone, on which was inscribed: “Napoleon, Emperor of the French and King of Italy, to the manes of the defenders of the fatherland who perished on the day of Marengo.” This pyramid was actually part of a very ambitious project meant to glorify Bonaparte’s conquests in Italy. The field of Marengo was supposed to become the site of a “city of Victories” whose boulevards, named after Italian battles, would converge to the pyramid. In the event, the project was abandoned in 1815 and the stones recovered by local farmers. The column erected in 1801 was also removed, but restored in 1922.
There is now a museum dedicated to the battle on the outskirts of Alessandria. Re-enactments are organized there every year on the second Sunday in June to commemorate the event. I was quite surprised when I first taught the history of the French Revolution in Italian schools to discover that Napoleon is considered a hero by many Italians because he drove the Austrians out of northern Italy and, in a sense, paved the way for the unification of Italy, half a century later. Marengo was the name of a greyish-brown color used for fabric produced in the vicinity before the battle, and a coat of that color became Napoleon’s signature color in common battle portrayals. He also named his battle horse and several warships in honor of the victory. The power of propaganda.
The battle of Marengo also gave its name to the classic dish, Chicken Marengo, whose origins are encapsulated in an entirely fictitious legend. According to the legend, the dish was first made after Napoleon defeated the Austrian army at Marengo when his personal chef Dunand foraged in the town for ingredients (because the supply wagons were too distant) and created the dish from what he could gather. According to this legend, Napoleon enjoyed the dish so much he had it served to him after every battle, and when Durand was later better-supplied and substituted mushrooms for crayfish and added wine to the recipe, Napoleon refused to accept it, believing that a change would bring him bad luck.
Nice story, but with no merit whatsoever – even though, like so much of the folklore of “origins,” it is endlessly retold as fact. Dunand (or Dunan) did not become Napoleon’s chef until several years later, and tomatoes would not have been available at that time of year in that region, never mind crayfish. It’s much more likely that the dish was created by a French restaurant chef to honor the victory.
The recipe for Chicken Marengo varies considerably. The most distinctive, and possibly historically accurate, consists of chicken sautéed in oil with garlic and tomato, finished with wine, and served on toast garnished with fried eggs and crayfish. Without the toast, egg, and crayfish, the dish resembles chicken à la Provençale, and that is how it is often presented nowadays.
Baron Brisse gives this recipe in 1868 in his classic cookbook:
Chicken à la Marengo.
Cut up a chicken into joints, and cook in olive oil and a little salt, put in the legs before the other pieces, as they take longer to cook. When a good colour and nearly done, add a bouquet of mixed herbs, pepper, mushrooms, and some slices of truffles; place the chicken on a dish, and add the oil drip by drop to some Italian sauce; stir the whole time. When warm, pour over the chicken, and garnish with fried eggs and sippets of fried bread. If preferred, clarified butter may be used instead of oil.
Italian Sauce.
Simmer a lump of butter as big as two eggs in a saucepan, with two tablespoonsful of chopped parsley, one tablespoonful of chopped eschalots, and the same quantity of minced mushrooms, add a bottle of white wine; reduce the sauce, and moisten with a tumblerful of velouté sauce and half a tumblerful of stock; boil over a quick fire, skim off all grease, and as soon as the sauce is thick enough, take off the fire, and keep warm in a bain-marie.
Isabella Beeton gives this recipe in 1861, suggesting that the dish had spread to England by this time but we must remember that she copied most of her recipes from other sources. Nonetheless, some form of the dish appears to have been popular by mid century.
POULET A LA MARENGO.
INGREDIENTS.—1 large fowl, 4 tablespoonfuls of salad oil, 1 tablespoonful of flour, 1 pint of stock No. 105, or water, about 20 mushroom-buttons, salt and pepper to taste, 1 teaspoonful of powdered sugar, a very small piece of garlic.
Mode.—Cut the fowl into 8 or 10 pieces; put them with the oil into a stewpan, and brown them over a moderate fire; dredge in the above proportion of flour; when that is browned, pour in the stock or water; let it simmer very slowly for rather more than 1/2 hour, and skim off the fat as it rises to the top; add the mushrooms; season with salt, pepper, garlic, and sugar; take out the fowl, which arrange pyramidically on the dish, with the inferior joints at the bottom. Reduce the sauce by boiling it quickly over the fire, keeping it stirred until sufficiently thick to adhere to the back of a spoon; pour over the fowl, and serve.
Time.—Altogether 50 minutes. Average cost, 3s. 6d.
Sufficient for 3 or 4 persons.
Seasonable at any time.
Mrs Beeton concludes with the much-repeated fable:
A FOWL À LA MARENGO.—The following is the origin of the well-known dish Poulet à la Marengo:—On the evening of the battle the first consul was very hungry after the agitation of the day, and a fowl was ordered with all expedition. The fowl was procured, but there was no butter at hand, and unluckily none could be found in the neighbourhood. There was oil in abundance, however; and the cook having poured a certain quantity into his skillet, put in the fowl, with a clove of garlic and other seasoning, with a little white wine, the best the country afforded; he then garnished it with mushrooms, and served it up hot. This dish proved the second conquest of the day, as the first consul found it most agreeable to his palate, and expressed his satisfaction. Ever since, a fowl à la Marengo is a favourite dish with all lovers of good cheer.
Pellegrino Artusi’s Italian recipe in his legendary Science of Cooking and the Art of Eating Well (1891) is as follows:
Take a young chicken, remove the neck and legs, and cut into large pieces at the joints. Sauté in 30 grams (about 1 ounce) of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil, seasoning with salt, pepper, and a dash of nutmeg. When the pieces have browned on both sides, skim the fat and add a level tablespoon of flour and a deciliter (about 7 fluid ounces) of wine. Add broth and cover, cooking over low heat until done. Before removing from the fire, garnish with a pinch of chopped parsley; arrange on a serving dish and squeeze half a lemon over it. The result is an appetizing dish.
What are we to make of all of this? Not much, I’m afraid, except to say that there is no canonical recipe. The idea of chicken with crayfish and wine served with an egg on fried bread appeals to me though, so here’s my version. I make no claim to this being an “authentic” recipe: there’s no such thing. Some people make something similar today using small shrimp instead of crayfish. You can use bone-in chicken pieces, but boneless breasts are easier to eat.
© Chicken Marengo
Aug 142015
Today is the birthday of BOTH Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714) and his son Carle Vernet (1758). Both were well respected French painters. Such coincidences intrigue me. In my own family, my sister’s son was born on my birthday, and my son was born on her daughter’s birthday. Can create a bond.
Claude-Joseph Vernet was born in Avignon. At fourteen years of age he aided his father, Antoine Vernet (1689–1753), a skilled decorative painter, in the most important parts of his work. The panels of sedan chairs, however, could not satisfy his ambition, and Cluade set out for Rome to study there. The sight of the sea at Marseilles and his voyage thence to Civitavecchia (Papal States’ main port on the Tyrrhenian Sea) made a deep impression on him, and immediately after his arrival he entered the studio of a marine painter, Bernardino Fergioni.
Slowly Vernet attracted notice in the artistic milieu of Rome. With a certain conventionality in design, proper to his day, he allied the results of constant observation of natural effects of atmosphere, which he rendered with unusual skill. Perhaps no painter of landscapes or seascapes has ever made the human figure so completely a part of the scene depicted or so important a factor in his design. In this respect he was heavily influenced by Giovanni Paolo Panini, whom he probably met and worked with in Rome. The overall effect of his style is wholly decorative. “Others may know better,” he said, “how to paint the sky, the earth, the ocean; no one knows better than I how to paint a picture”. His style remained relatively static throughout his life. His works’ attentiveness to atmospheric effects is combined with a sense of harmony that is reminiscent of Claude Lorrain.
For twenty years Vernet lived in Rome, producing views of seaports, storms, calms, moonlights, becoming especially popular with English aristocrats, many of whom were on the Grand Tour. In 1745 he married an Englishwoman whom he met in the city. In 1753 he was recalled to Paris: there, by royal command, he executed the series of the seaports of France (now in the Louvre and the Musée national de la Marine) by which he is best known. In 1757, he painted a series of four paintings titled “Four Times of the Day” depicting morning, noon, evening and night.
Apr 302015
On this date in 1803 France and the U.S. signed the Louisiana Purchase Treaty. The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles) by the United States from France at a cost of fifty million francs ($11,250,000 USD) plus a cancellation of debts worth eighteen million francs ($3,750,000 USD), for a total of sixty-eight million francs ($15,000,000 USD), which averages to approximately four cents per acre. Adjusting for inflation, the modern financial equivalent spent for the Purchase is approximately $236 million in 2014 U.S. dollars which averages to less than forty-two cents per acre).
The Louisiana territory included land from fifteen present U.S. states and two Canadian provinces. The territory contained land that forms Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska; the area of Minnesota that is west of the Mississippi River; a large portion of North Dakota; a large portion of South Dakota; the northeastern section of New Mexico; the northern portion of Texas; the area of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado east of the Continental Divide; Louisiana west of the Mississippi River (plus New Orleans); and small portions of land that form the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
France controlled the Louisiana territory from 1699 until it was ceded to Spain in 1762. In the hope of re-establishing an empire in North America, France regained control of the Louisiana territory in 1800 under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte. A slave revolt in Haiti and an impending war with Great Britain led French officials to sell the Louisiana territory to the United States, who originally sought to purchase only the city of New Orleans and its adjacent lands.
The Louisiana Purchase occurred during the term of United States President Thomas Jefferson. Before the purchase was finalized, the decision faced domestic opposition as some argued that it was unconstitutional for President Jefferson to acquire the territory. Jefferson agreed that the U.S. Constitution did not contain provisions for acquiring territory, but decided to proceed with the acquisition, being advised that the Louisiana Purchase was within the strictest interpretation of the Constitution, which allowed the President to negotiate treaties. The purchase included an agreement to remove France’s presence in the territory and protect U.S. trade access to the port of New Orleans and the Mississippi River.
Throughout the second half of the 18th century, Louisiana was a pawn on the chessboard of European politics. It was originally claimed by Spain but subsequently settled by the French, who established the colony as part of New France. Following French defeat in the Seven Years’ War, Spain regained control of the territory. As the lands were being gradually settled by United States immigrants, many Americans, including Jefferson, assumed that the territory would be acquired “piece by piece.” The risk of another power taking it from a weakened Spain made a “profound reconsideration” of this policy necessary.
The city of New Orleans controlled the mouth of the Mississippi River; other ports were established, but only New Orleans had direct access from the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. New Orleans was already important for shipping agricultural goods to and from the parts of the United States west of the Appalachian Mountains. Pinckney’s Treaty, signed with Spain on October 27, 1795, gave American merchants “right of deposit” in New Orleans, granting them use of the port to store goods for export. Americans used this right to transport products such as flour, tobacco, pork, bacon, lard, feathers, cider, butter, and cheese. The treaty also recognized American rights to navigate the entire Mississippi, which had become vital to the growing trade of the western territories.
In 1798 Spain revoked this treaty, prohibiting American use of New Orleans, and greatly upsetting the Americans. In 1801, Spanish Governor Don Juan Manuel de Salcedo took over from the Marquess of Casa Calvo, and restored the U.S. right to deposit goods. Napoleon Bonaparte had gained Louisiana for French ownership from Spain in 1800 under the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. But the treaty was kept secret.
Louisiana remained nominally under Spanish control, until a transfer of power to France on November 30, 1803, just three weeks before the formal transfer to the United States on December 20, 1803. Another ceremony was held in St. Louis a few months later, in part because during winter conditions the news of the New Orleans formalities did not reach Upper Louisiana. The March 9–10, 1804, event is remembered as Three Flags Day.
James Monroe and Robert R. Livingston had traveled to Paris to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans in 1802. Their interest was only in gaining control of New Orleans and its environs; they did not anticipate the much larger acquisition which would follow. The Louisiana Purchase was by far the largest territorial gain in U.S. history. Stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains, the purchase doubled the size of the United States. Before 1803, Louisiana had been under Spanish control for forty years. Although Spain aided the rebels in the American Revolutionary War, the Spanish didn’t want the Americans to settle in their territory.
While the sale of the territory by Spain back to France in 1800 went largely unnoticed, fear of an eventual French invasion spread nationwide when, in 1801, Napoleon sent a military force to secure New Orleans. Southerners feared that Napoleon would free all the slaves in Louisiana, which could trigger slave uprisings elsewhere. Though Jefferson urged moderation, Federalists sought to use this against Jefferson and called for hostilities against France. Undercutting them, Jefferson took up the banner and threatened an alliance with Britain, although relations were uneasy in that direction. In 1801 Jefferson supported France in its plan to take back Saint-Domingue, then under control of Toussaint Louverture after a slave rebellion. Jefferson sent Livingston as an envoy to Paris in 1801 after discovering the transfer of Louisiana from Spain to France under the Third Treaty of San Ildefonso. He was authorized to purchase New Orleans.
In January 1802, France sent General Leclerc to Saint-Domingue to re-establish slavery, which had been abolished in law and in the constitution of the French Republic of 1795—both in France and its colonies—to reduce the rights of free people of color and take back control of the island from Toussaint Louverture, who had maintained St. Domingue as French against invasion by the Spanish and British empires. Before the Revolution, France had derived enormous wealth from St. Domingue at the cost of the lives and freedom of the slaves. Napoleon wanted its revenues and productivity for France restored. Alarmed over the French actions and its intention to re-establish an empire in North America, Jefferson declared neutrality in relation to the Caribbean, refusing credit and other assistance to the French, but allowing war contraband to get through to the rebels to prevent France from regaining a foothold.
In 1803, Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours, a French nobleman, began to help negotiate with France at the request of Jefferson. Du Pont was living in the United States at the time and had close ties to Jefferson as well as the prominent politicians in France. He engaged in back-channel diplomacy with Napoleon on Jefferson’s behalf during a visit to France and originated the idea of the much larger Louisiana Purchase as a way to defuse potential conflict between the United States and Napoleon over North America.
Jefferson disliked the idea of purchasing Louisiana from France, as that could imply that France had a right to be in Louisiana. Jefferson had concerns that a U.S. President did not have the constitutional authority to make such a deal. He also thought that to do so would erode states’ rights by increasing federal executive power. On the other hand, he was aware of the potential threat that France could be in that region and was prepared to go to war to prevent a strong French presence there.
Throughout this time, Jefferson had up-to-date intelligence on Napoleon’s military activities and intentions in North America. Part of his evolving strategy involved giving du Pont some information that was withheld from Livingston. He also gave intentionally conflicting instructions to the two. Desperate to avoid possible war with France, Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris in 1802 to negotiate a settlement, with instructions to go to London to negotiate an alliance if the talks in Paris failed. Spain procrastinated until late 1802 in executing the treaty to transfer Louisiana to France, which allowed American hostility to build. Also, Spain’s refusal to cede Florida to France meant that Louisiana would be indefensible. Monroe had been formally expelled from France on his last diplomatic mission, and the choice to send him again conveyed a sense of seriousness.
Napoleon needed peace with Great Britain to implement the Treaty of San Ildefonso and take possession of Louisiana. Otherwise, Louisiana would be an easy prey for Britain or even for the United States. But in early 1803, continuing war between France and Britain seemed unavoidable. On March 11, 1803, Napoleon began preparing to invade Britain.
A slave revolt in Saint-Domingue (present-day Republic of Haiti) had been followed by the first French general emancipation of slaves in 1793-94. This led to years of war against the Spanish and British empires, which sought to conquer St. Domingue and re-enslave the emancipated population. An expeditionary force under Napoleon’s brother-in-law Charles Leclerc in January 1802, supplemented by 20,000 troops over the next 21 months, had tried to reconquer the territory and re-establish slavery. But yellow fever and the fierce resistance of black, mulatto, and white revolutionaries destroyed the French army. This was the culmination of the only successful slave revolt in history, and Napoleon withdrew the surviving French troops in November 1803. In 1804 Haiti became the first independent black-majority state in the New World.
As Napoleon had failed to re-enslave the emancipated population of Haiti, he abandoned his plans to rebuild France’s New World empire. Without sufficient revenues from sugar colonies in the Caribbean, Louisiana had little value to him. Spain had not yet completed the transfer of Louisiana to France, and war between France and Britain was imminent. Out of anger against Spain and the unique opportunity to sell something that was useless and not truly his yet, Napoleon decided to sell the entire territory.
Although the foreign minister Talleyrand opposed the plan, on April 10, 1803, Napoleon told the Treasury Minister François de Barbé-Marbois that he was considering selling the entire Louisiana Territory to the United States. On April 11, 1803, just days before Monroe’s arrival, Barbé-Marbois offered Livingston all of Louisiana for $15 million, equivalent to about $233 million in current dollars. The American representatives were prepared to pay up to $10 million for New Orleans and its environs, but were dumbfounded when the vastly larger territory was offered for $15 million. Jefferson had authorized Livingston only to purchase New Orleans. However, Livingston was certain that the United States would accept the offer.
The Americans thought that Napoleon might withdraw the offer at any time, preventing the United States from acquiring New Orleans, so they agreed and On Saturday, April 30, 1803, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed by Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Barbé Marbois in Paris. President Jefferson announced the treaty to the American people on July 4. After the signing of the Louisiana Purchase agreement Livingston made this famous statement, “We have lived long, but this is the noblest work of our whole lives…From this day the United States take their place among the powers of the first rank.” The Louisiana Territory was vast, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to Rupert’s Land in the north, and from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west. Acquiring the territory would double the size of the United States, at a sum of less than 3 cents per acre.
The United States Senate ratified the treaty with a vote of twenty-four to seven on October 20. On the following day, October 21, 1803, the Senate authorized President Jefferson to take possession of the territory and establish a temporary military government. In legislation enacted on October 31, Congress made temporary provisions for local civil government to continue as it had under French and Spanish rule and authorized the President to use military forces to maintain order. Plans were also set forth for several missions to explore and chart the territory, the most famous being the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
The United States claimed Louisiana included the entire western portion of the Mississippi River drainage basin to the crest of the Rocky Mountains and land extending southeast to the Rio Grande and West Florida. Spain insisted that Louisiana comprised no more than the western bank of the Mississippi River and the cities of New Orleans and St. Louis. The dispute was ultimately resolved by the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, with the United States gaining most of what it had claimed in the west.
Because the western boundary was contested at the time of the Purchase, President Jefferson immediately began to organize three missions to explore and map the new territory. All three started from the Mississippi River. The Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804) traveled up the Missouri River; the Red River Expedition (1806) explored the Red River basin; the Pike Expedition (1806) also started up the Missouri, but turned south to explore the Arkansas River watershed. The maps and journals of the explorers helped to define the boundaries during the negotiations leading to the Adams–Onís Treaty, which set the western boundary as follows: north up the Sabine River from the Gulf of Mexico to its intersection with the 32nd parallel, due north to the Red River, up the Red River to the 100th meridian, north to the Arkansas River, up the Arkansas River to its headwaters, due north to the 42nd parallel and due west to its previous boundary.
Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana, United States. It blends French, West African, Amerindian, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian influences, as well as general Southern cuisine. The Cajuns (descendants of French immigrants originally from Canada) largely assimilated and adopted Creole cuisine for their own. Although the Creole cuisine is closely identified with New Orleans culture today, much of it evolved in the country plantation estates of southern Louisiana. Despite its aristocratic French roots, Creole cuisine does not include Garde Manger or other extremely lavish styles of the Classical Paris cuisine.
There are two types of Creole cuisine: Urban Creole and Rural Creole. Urban Creole is prepared mainly for New Orleans tourists. Rural Creole cuisine is often hidden in the bayous and swamps of the Old Creole Parishes although you can get it in New Orleans if you know what you are looking for. Since the 1980s, Rural Creole cuisine has largely been mistakenly labeled as Cajun cuisine.
The African influences, which are extensive, came about because many of the plantation cooks were African or Creole of African descent. They brought with them the use of hot peppers and okra, which is called “gombo” in some West African languages. The importance of rice with many creole dishes was also influenced by African cooks as well as the layers of flavors in Creole cooking techniques. The indigenous people of Louisiana introduced powdered sassafras leaves, also known as filé, a thickening agent used in gumbo, along with corn dishes like maque choux. The Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian influences on Creole cuisine were the wide usage of citrus juice marinades. The Portuguese, Spaniards and the Italians also used tomatoes extensively, which had not been a frequent ingredient in the earlier French era. Pasta and tomato sauces arrived during the period when New Orleans was a popular destination for Italian settlers (roughly, 1815 to 1925). Many of them became grocers, bakers, cheese makers and orchard farmers, and so influenced the Creole cuisine in New Orleans and its suburbs.
The first French, Spanish and Portuguese Creole cookbooks date back to the era before the Louisiana Purchase. The first Creole cookbook in English was La Cuisine Creole: A Collection of Culinary Recipes, From Leading Chefs and Noted Creole Housewives, Who Have Made New Orleans Famous For Its Cuisine, written by Lafcadio Hearn and published in 1885. By that time Creole was already an identifiable regional cuisine recognized outside Louisiana: for example, an 1882 Florida hotel menu now in the New York Public Library’s collection offered “Chicken Saute, á la Creole.”
Starting in the 1980s, Creole cuisine began to be relabeled Cajun cuisine. An example of this relabeling is by Chef Paul Prudhomme. A national interest in Creole cooking developed, and many tourists went to New Orleans expecting to find “true” Creole food there (being unaware that the city was culturally and geographically separate from the Old Creole Parishes/Acadiana). The “New New Orleans Cooking” of celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse includes Creole dishes, both rural and urban. In his writings and TV shows, Lagasse draws the distinction between the misnomer “Cajun” for rural Creole and urban Creole – not bad for a chef from Massachusetts of Portuguese origin.
I visited New Orleans and southern Louisiana quite often for several years some years ago. First stop was always for a dozen (or two) oysters on the half shell, fresh shucked at the bar at a local oyster joint; then on to somewhere for jambalaya, gumbo, red beans and rice, crawfish and crab boil, or what have you. One relatively modern (i.e urban creole) dish I liked for breakfast/brunch was Eggs Sardou. Eggs Sardou is poached eggs, artichoke bottoms, creamed spinach and Hollandaise sauce. It is on the menu of many Creole restaurants in New Orleans, including Antoine’s, where Eggs Sardou was invented. Eggs Sardou is named for Victorien Sardou, a famous French dramatist of the 19th century, who was a guest in New Orleans when the dish was invented. The Eggs Sardou served at Antoine’s Restaurant nowadays include truffles, ham, and anchovies topping the hollandaise. The dish requires both béchamel and hollandaise sauces, recipes for which you can find in the HINTS section here (tab top left).
Eggs Sardou
Place a layer of chopped poached spinach creamed with béchamel on a warmed plate. Place two heated artichoke hearts (use a slow oven) on the spinach, and place a poached egg in each (runny yolk). Smother with hollandaise and garnish with what you will – truffles, diced ham, crawfish. These eggs must be made to order, piping hot. Antoine’s usually serves the eggs with grits for a full meal. As an appetizer you can omit them. Some buttered toast is all I need.
Jun 092014
On this date in 1815 the delegates at the Congress of Vienna signed the final treaty setting the stage for European political history for 100 years and more. It is, without question, one of the most significant international political summits in European history. The Congress of Vienna reconciled the multiple conflicts of interest between the European powers and created a period of almost 40 years without major European conflicts. Peace came at a price, though. All the egalitarian, democratic, and liberal ideals of the French revolution were cast aside, and Europe stepped back to a political landscape much like that before 1789, setting the stage for revolutionary upheaval in 1848 – the year of revolutions.
On a more mundane note, the Congress was a cultural event without peer before or since. For ten months, Vienna entertained more than 200 delegates from all over Europe with a marathon cultural calendar. It consisted of daily balls and society events to cater to the vanities and emotional well being of its top guests. The Congress of Vienna played a pivotal role in anchoring Vienna’s image as a society of waltz dancing, cake eating bohemians who love life, and who use their culture to outshine their European rivals. In Prince Charles de Ligne’s famous words:
“Le Congrès danse, mais il ne marche pas.” (The Congress dances but it does not move forward)
After years of raging war, Napoleon Bonaparte had left Europe in tatters. While he was in exile on the Italian island of Elba, the European state system needed re-structuring. The First Treaty of Paris established a congress in Vienna where all participants of the war would decide on a substantial political re-order in post-war Europe. Vienna as the epicenter of the Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire with its vast territories and regional interests, seemed an obvious choice. In September 1814, about six months after the fall of Napoleon, Habsburg Emperor Francis I invited the European rulers and their key diplomats to the Congress of Vienna.
The Congress of Vienna was essentially concerned with:
re-installing the absolutist monarchies in Europe before the French Revolution of 1789, also known as the Restoration
legitimizing the ruling monarchies and fiefdoms
re-structuring Germany’s internal affairs
weakening France’s political power
creating rules for mediating and managing conflicts among European rulers in a peaceful way.
It was not about the various peoples and their needs for freedom and prosperity, but of restoring the interests of the old European dynasties.
The five European super powers Russia, Great Britain, Prussia, Austria, and France were represented through their heads of state and senior diplomats at the Congress of Vienna. In addition, the other German courts, previously sovereign cities, Switzerland, and other European states sent delegates to Vienna. All in all, approximately 200 rulers and their diplomats flocked to the Austrian capital. The major players were:
Metternich
Austrian Empire
Emperor Francis I was the Congress’ official host. Although he detested Napoleon Bonaparte he agreed to the marriage between Napoleon and his own daughter Marie Louise in 1810. His subsequent alliance with Napoleon against Russia ended in defeat. However, the Treaty of Paris of 1814 boosted Francis’ territorial powers. He came to rule the largest territory the Habsburgs and their predecessors had ever possessed. Prince Metternich, called the “coachman of Europe,” presided and played a key role in the difficult negotiations among the Great Powers, especially with France. Metternich said: “The first and foremost objective of our Government’s endeavors, and that of all allied Governments since the restoration of Europe’s independence, is to maintain the existing order, which is the fortunate result of this restoration.” His repressive politics worked for more than 30 years. However, for Metternich, 1848 (the year of the revolution) finally put an end to them. Metternich was also interested in strengthening France’s role in Europe and using it to counterbalance Russia’s power.
Alexander I
Russia
Tsar Alexander I was educated based on Rousseau’s liberal ideas, but was a weak and inconsistent ruler. At the Congress of Vienna, he promoted peaceful collaboration and order, obtained the neutral status of Switzerland and provided his new Polish territory with a liberal constitution. He invented the idea of the Holy Alliance (Russian, Austria, and Prussia), for mutual aid. Karl Robert (Vassilievich), Count Nesselrode, was the leader of the Russian delegation at the Congress. He turned into one of the most fervent promoters and defenders of the Holy Alliance.
Wellington
Great Britain
Lord Henry Robert Stewart Castlereagh was, like Metternich, a strong conservative who detested Napoleon’s liberal ideas. Together with Metternich and Prince Talleyrand, he formed an alliance against Russia and Prussia. As a result, Russia won large parts of Poland. Prussia lost significant territories of Saxony. Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was a British diplomat in France of British-Irish origin. He took over the negotiations at the Vienna Congress from Lord Castlereagh on 1st February 1815. He later led the coalition army in the battle of Waterloo, Napoleon’s final defeat, which ended nine days after the official end of the Congress.
Hardenberg
Prussia
Karl August Fürst von Hardenberg was State Chancellor of Prussia and one of the leading state reformers of the 19th century – liberal minded and a promoter of democratic principles with the monarchy. At the Congress of Vienna, he managed to achieve equal status for Prussia and re-position it among the leading European Powers. Wilhelm von Humboldt was a famous German philosopher and liberal reformer of the German educational system. At the Congress of Vienna, he successfully promoted Jewish civil rights but was defeated in his objectives to create a liberal constitution for the German Bund. King Frederick William III of Prussia was also in Vienna, playing his role behind the scenes.
Talleyrand
France
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord: was the leader of the French delegation. He almost managed to position the defeated France as an equal negotiation partner at the Congress of Vienna. Napoleon Bonaparte’s escape from Elba and France’s defeat in the battle of Waterloo, however, thwarted his efforts.
On 9 June 1815, the five signatory states signed the Treaty of Vienna. You can see the newly created territories and their boundaries in the historic map below (click to enlarge). The battle of Waterloo was still raging on, ending in Napoleon’s defeat nine days later.
The vast majority of territories was re-distributed to the Great Powers as before the Napoleonic Wars. The big winner, however, was Russia, which obtained large parts of the Duchy of Warsaw (Poland). Germany was not successful in pushing through its aim to create a united German state. Austria received large territories in Italy, including Dalmatia, Friulia, Istria, Lombardy, and Venice; and re-obtained regions such as Croatia, Upper Carinthia, Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, and Galicia (Poland). On the other hand, it had to resign from its territories in Brisgau and the Austrian Netherlands. Switzerland was structured into 22 cantons and obtained neutral status. Sweden lost Finland and Swedish-Pommern but retained its Norwegian territories.
At the time, the Congress of Vienna was considered a big success by the signatories. It had achieved its main aim, to re-create a balance of power in Europe pre-Napoleon. Friedrich von Gentz, Prince Metternich’s secretary of state, summarized: “The task of this Congress was difficult and complicated. It was about restoring everything that 20 years of disorder had destroyed, re-constructing the political system from the large ruins with which a terrible tremor had covered Europe’s soil. This big task is accomplished. As they part today, the Sovereigns have committed themselves to one single, simple and holy obligation: that of deferring all other considerations in relation to peace keeping, and of nipping in the bud every plan of destroying the existing order, with all available means.”
Following the battle of Waterloo, France ended up losing key territories and was forced to pay 700 million Francs of indemnity and return the European art treasures stolen by Napoleon. The Ottoman Empire (later known as the “Sick Man of Europe”) was excluded from the Congress and, therefore, continued on a path of stagnation and disintegration through the 19th century. Other key achievements of the Congress included the proscription of slave trade, and free international stream navigation.
There is no doubt that in terms of its stated aims the Congress of Vienna was an enormous success. Its goal was to create stability and prevent Europe-wide war by creating a finely tuned balance of power among the key states, and by creating neutral states, such as the Low Countries and Switzerland, to act as buffers between the major powers. But there was a big price to pay. Ethnic groups in gigantic empires such as Austria and Russia were lumped together under one polity with no chance at autonomy, nationhood, and self governance. Likewise the egalitarian and democratic ideals of the French Revolution were squashed as states returned to monarchic rule. Thus, while continent-wide conflict was eliminated, the impulse towards internal revolution and reform throughout Europe increased in intensity. In consequence, in 1848 all Europe erupted in revolution, following a domino effect, with only Great Britain escaping violent revolt.
The Viennese cooking tradition (not to be confused with Austrian cooking), developed from many different sources. Italian influence has been strong since roughly the early 17th century. In the 18th century, French cuisine became influential in Vienna, along with French etiquette and diplomatic language. The term “Wiener Küche” (Viennese cuisine) first appeared in German language cookbooks around the end of the 18th century. In the second half of the 19th century, cookbooks started to include Bohemian, Hungarian (particularly with Gulaschsuppe, originally a Hungarian stew), Italian, Jewish, Polish, and Southern Slavic features in Viennese cuisine. The croissant is also thought to have originated in Vienna after the defeat of the Turks in the Siege of Vienna (1529).
Classic Viennese dishes, many of which are well known outside Austria, include apfelstrudel, palatschinken (Viennese crêpes), sachertorte, and germknödel (sweet yeast dumpling). The Danish pastry is said to originate from Vienna, and in Denmark is called wienerbrød (Viennese bread), probably because it uses a certain kind of dough consisting of butter and flour in the classic cuisine referred to as “Viennese Dough.” This pastry is called “Kolatsche” (from the Czech kolá? from kolo for wheel) in Viennese.
But the great iconic dish is wiener schnitzel, thin cutlets of veal breaded and fried. Sadly for us, wiener schnitzel did not appear in Vienna until the mid 19th century, long after the Congress, so it cannot be considered symbolic of the times. There is hope though. Wiener schnitzel likely started out life as a variant of backhendl, breaded fried chicken, and this was a favored aristocratic dish at the time of the Congress. Backhendl is like versions of fried chicken found in many parts of the world, with the difference being that all the meat was boned. Nowadays the bones are usually left in. Lard was the common frying medium, and is still the best for truly crispy chicken. Vegetable oil is healthier, though. Your choice.
Weiner Backhendl
Jun 062014
On this date in 1808 Joseph-Napoleon Bonaparte (7 January 1768 – 28 July 1844), the elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, was crowned King of Spain (1808–1813, as José I). Joseph somewhat reluctantly left Naples where he had been king of Naples and Sicily and where he was popular, and arrived in Spain where he was very unpopular indeed. Joseph came under heavy fire from his opponents in Spain, who tried to smear his reputation by calling him Pepe Botella for his alleged heavy drinking, an accusation echoed by later Spanish historiography, despite the fact that Joseph was abstemious. His arrival sparked the Spanish revolt against French rule, and the beginning of the Peninsular War. The revolt was about both nationalism and ideology, “a reaction against new institutions and ideas, a movement for loyalty to the old order: to the hereditary crown of the Most Catholic kings, which Napoleon, an excommunicated enemy of the Pope, had put on the head of a Frenchman; to the Catholic Church persecuted by republicans who had desecrated churches, murdered priests, and enforced a “loi des cultes” (separation of church and state); and to local and provincial rights and privileges threatened by an efficiently centralized government.
King Joseph’s Spanish supporters were called josefinos or afrancesados (the frenchified). During his reign, he ended the Spanish Inquisition, partly because Napoleon was at odds with Pope Pius VII at the time. Despite such efforts to win popularity, Joseph’s foreign birth and support, plus his membership in a Masonic lodge, virtually guaranteed he would never be accepted as legitimate by the bulk of the Spanish people. During Joseph’s rule of Spain, Venezuela declared independence (1810) from Spain, the first nation to do so. The king had virtually no influence over the course of the ongoing Peninsular War: Joseph’s nominal command of French forces in Spain was mostly illusory, as the French commanders theoretically subordinate to King Joseph insisted on checking with Napoleon before carrying out Joseph’s instructions. Joseph was a classic puppet ruler, a token of Bonaparte’s desire to rule Spain by proxy. King Joseph abdicated and returned to France after defeat of the main French forces to the British at the Battle of Vitoria in 1813. He was seen by Bonapartists as the rightful Emperor of the French after the death of Napoleon’s own son Napoleon II in 1832, although he did little to advance his claim.
Spain had been allied with France against the United Kingdom since the Second Treaty of San Ildefonso in 1796. However, after the defeat of the combined Spanish and French fleets by the British at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, cracks began to appear in the alliance, with Spain preparing to invade France from the south after the outbreak of the War of the Fourth Coalition. In 1806 Napoleon was fighting in Prussia, so the Spanish readied the army for an invasion should the Prussians defeat him. Napoleon, however, routed the Prussian army at the Battle of Jena-Auerstaedt and Spain backed down. Yet Spain continued to resent the loss of their fleet at Trafalgar and the fact that they were forced to join Napoleon’s Continental System. Nevertheless, the two allies agreed to partition Portugal, a long-standing British trading partner and ally, and which refused to join the Continental System. Napoleon was fully aware of the disastrous state of Spain’s economy and administration, and its political fragility, and came to believe that it had little value as an ally. He insisted on positioning French troops in Spain to prepare for a French invasion of Portugal, but once this was done, he continued to move additional French troops into Spain without any sign of an advance into Portugal. The presence of French troops on Spanish soil was extremely unpopular in Spain, resulting in the Mutiny of Aranjuez and the abdication of Charles IV of Spain in March, 1808.
Charles IV hoped that Napoleon, who by this time had 100,000 troops stationed in Spain, would help him regain the throne. However, Napoleon refused to help Charles, and also refused to recognize his son, Ferdinand VII, as the new king. Instead, he succeeded in pressuring both Charles and Ferdinand to cede the crown to his brother, Joseph. The head of the French forces in Spain, Marshal Joachim Murat, meanwhile pressed for the former Prime Minister of Spain, Manuel de Godoy, whose role in inviting the French forces into Spain had led to the mutiny of Aranjuez, to be set free. The failure of the remaining Spanish government to stand up to Murat caused popular anger. On 2 May 1808, Murat ordered the younger son of Charles IV, the Infante Francisco de Paula, into exile in France, leading to a widespread rebellion in the streets of Madrid.
The Council of Castile, the main organ of central government in Spain under Charles IV, was now in Napoleon’s control. However, due to the popular anger at French rule, it quickly lost authority outside the population centers which were directly French-occupied. To oppose this occupation, former regional governing institutions, such as the Parliament of Aragon and the Board of the Principality of Asturias, resurfaced in parts of Spain; elsewhere, juntas (councils) were created to fill the power vacuum and lead the struggle against French imperial forces. Provincial juntas began to coordinate their actions; regional juntas were formed to oversee the provincial ones. Finally, on 25 September 1808, a single Supreme Junta was established in Aranjuez to serve as the acting resistance government for all of Spain.
Murat established a plan of conquest, sending two large armies to attack pockets of pro-Ferdinand resistance. One army secured the route between Madrid and Vitoria and besieged Zaragoza, Girona, and Valencia. The other, sent south to Andalusia, sacked Córdoba. Instead of proceeding to Cádiz as planned, General Dupont was ordered to march back to Madrid, but was defeated by General Castaños at Bailén on 22 July 1808. This victory encouraged the resistance against the French in several countries elsewhere in Europe. After the battle, King Joseph left Madrid to take refuge in Vitoria. In the autumn of 1808, Napoleon himself entered Spain, entering Madrid on 2 December and returning Joseph to the capital. Meanwhile, a British army entered Spain from Portugal but was forced to retreat to Galicia. In early 1810, the Napoleonic offensive reached the vicinity of Lisbon, but were unable to penetrate the fortified Lines of Torres Vedras.
When Fernando VII left Bayonne, in May 1808, he asked that all institutions co-operate with the French authorities. Accordingly, the Council of Castile assembled in Bayonne, though only 65 of the total 150 members attended. The Assembly ratified the transfer of the Crown to Joseph Bonaparte and adopted with little change a constitutional text drafted by Napoleon. Most of those assembled did not perceive any contradiction between patriotism and collaboration with the new king. Moreover, it was not the first time a foreign dynasty had assumed the Spanish Crown: at the start of the eighteenth century, the House of Bourbon came to Spain from France after the last member of the House of Habsburg, Charles II, died without offspring.
Joseph Bonaparte promulgated the Statute of Bayonne on July 7, 1808. As a constitutional text, it is a royal charter, because it was not the result of a sovereign act of the nation assembled in Parliament, but a royal edict. The text was imbued with a spirit of reform, in line with the Bonaparte ideals, but adapted to the Spanish culture so as to win the support of the elites of the old regime. It recognized the Catholic religion as the official religion and forbade the exercise of other religions. It did not contain an explicit statement about the separation of powers, but asserted the independence of the judiciary. Executive power lay with the king and his ministers. The courts, in the manner of the old regime, were constituted of the estates of the clergy, the nobility and the people. Except with regard to the budget, its ability to make laws was limiteded by the power of the monarch. In fact, the king was only forced to call Parliament every three years. It contained no explicit references to legal equality of citizens, although it was implicit in the equality in taxation, the abolition of privileges, and equal rights between Spanish and American citizens. The Constitution also recognized the freedom of industry and trade, the abolition of trade privileges and the elimination of internal customs.
The Constitution established the Cortes Generales, an advisory body composed of the Senate which was formed by the male members of the royal family and 24 members appointed by the king from the nobles and the clergy, and a legislative assembly, with representatives from the estates of the nobility and the clergy. The Constitution established an authoritarian regime that included some enlightened projects, such as the abolition of torture, but preserving the Inquisition.
During his stay in Vitoria, Joseph Bonaparte had taken important steps to organize the state institutions, including creating an advisory Council of State. The king appointed a government, whose leaders formed an enlightened group which adopted a reform program. The Inquisition was abolished, as was the Council of Castile which was accused of anti-French policy. He decreed the end of feudal rights, the reduction of religious communities and the abolition of internal customs charges. This period saw measures to liberalize trade and agriculture and the creation of a stock exchange in Madrid. The State Council undertook the division of land into 38 provinces.
As the popular revolt against Joseph Bonaparte spread, many who had initially co-operated with Bonaparte dynasty left their ranks. But there remained numerous Spanish, known as afrancesados, who nurtured his administration and whose very existence gives the Spanish war of independence a civil war character. The afrancesados saw themselves as heirs of enlightened absolutism and saw the arrival of Bonaparte as an opportunity to modernize the country. Many had been a part of government in the reign of Charles IV, for example, François Cabarrus, former head of finance and Mariano Luis de Urquijo, Secretary of State. But there were also writers like playwright Leandro Fernández de Moratín, scholars like Juan Antonio Llorente, the mathematician Alberto Lista, and musicians such as Fernando Sor.
Throughout the war, Joseph Bonaparte tried to exercise full authority as the King of Spain, preserving some autonomy against the designs of his brother Napoleon. In this regard, many afrancesados believed that the only way to maintain national independence was to collaborate with the new dynasty, as the greater the resistance to the French, the greater would be the subordination of Spain to the French imperial army and its war requirements. In fact, the opposite was the case: although in the territory controlled by King Joseph I modern rational administration and institutions replaced the Old Regime, the permanent state of war reinforced the power of the French marshals, barely allowing the civil authorities to act.
The military defeats suffered by the French army forced Joseph I to leave Madrid on two occasions. The king finally left Spain in June 1813, ending the failed stage of enlightened absolutism. Most of Joseph’s supporters (about 10,000 and 12,000) fled to France into exile, along with the retreating French troops after the war. Their property was confiscated. The Allied offensive intensified and culminated in the Battle of Vitoria, which marked the beginning of the end of French occupation and, in December 1813, in the Treaty of Valençay, which provided for the restoration of Ferdinand VII.
The burden of war destroyed the social and economic fabric of Portugal and Spain, and ushered in an era of social turbulence, political instability and economic stagnation. Devastating civil wars between liberal and absolutist factions led by officers trained in the Peninsular War persisted in Iberia until 1850. The cumulative crises and disruptions of invasion, revolution, and restoration led to the independence of most of Spain’s American colonies and the independence of Brazil from Portugal. During Joseph’s rule in Spain, Venezuela declared independence (1810) from Spain, the first nation to do so. Many others followed suit soon after. There is also an ironic twist in that Argentine General José de San Martín fought for Spain in the Peninsular War but then in 1812 sailed to Buenos Aires and began long campaigns to liberate colonies in South America from Spain.
Since Joseph and Napoleon Bonaparte were from Corsica I though a Corsican recipe would be appropriate. The cuisine of the island is essentially Mediterranean with its own twists. One of these is the heavy use of chestnuts for both savory and sweet dishes. For example chestnut flour is used to make the local version of polenta, and the local flan incorporates chestnuts and brandy (locally produced). The signature cheese of the island is brocciu, a young whey cheese made from ewe’s milk. It too is found in savory and sweet dishes. It can be rolled in breadcrumbs and deep fried or used to make the local cheesecake, fiadone. Beignets, combine the two tastes: chestnut flour doughnuts stuffed with cheese.
The signature dish of the island is civet de sanglier, braised wild boar. It uses local red wine as the base of the sauce. It is really hard to get wild boar so you’d probably best not try it at home. Substituting beef is all right, but you lose the gamey taste. It does need long slow cooking because the boar meat is very tough. When simmered slowly for hours and hours it eventually yields.
Civet de Sanglier
May 212013
Today is a double threat. It is the feast day of St Helena of Constantinople, and, not by coincidence, a public holiday on St Helena Island.
St Helena (the saint) has two main claims to fame. She was the mother of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and she is credited in legend with finding the true cross on which Jesus was crucified. Constantine converted to Christianity and made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. In 326-28, when Constantine was emperor, Helena undertook a trip to the Holy Places in Palestine. Jerusalem was still being rebuilt following the destruction caused by Emperor Hadrian. He had built a temple over the site of Jesus’ tomb near Calvary, and renamed the city Aelia Capitolina. Accounts differ concerning whether the Temple was dedicated to Venus or Jupiter. According to tradition, Helena ordered the temple torn down and on excavating the site found three crosses. There was a feeling among the discoverers that these were the three crosses from Calvary but Helena needed proof. So she had a woman who was near death brought from the city. When the woman touched the first and second crosses, her condition did not change, but when she touched the third and final cross she suddenly recovered and Helena declared that cross to be the True Cross. On the site of discovery, Constantine ordered the building of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Helena left Jerusalem and the eastern provinces in 327 to return to Rome, bringing with her large parts of the True Cross and other relics, which were then stored in her palace’s private chapel, where they can still be seen today. Her palace was later converted into the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. This has been maintained by Cistercian monks in the monastery which has been attached to the church for centuries. Tradition says that the site of the Vatican Gardens was spread with earth brought from Golgotha by Helena to symbolically unite the blood of Christ with that shed by thousands of early Christians, who died in the persecutions of earlier Roman emperors.
The Island of St Helena, located in the south Atlantic 1,200 miles west of the coast of Africa, is one of the most remote islands in the world. Most historical accounts state that the island was discovered on 21 May 1502 by the Galician navigator João da Nova sailing at the service of the Portuguese Crown, and because of the date he named it Santa Helena after Helena of Constantinople. Henceforth, control of the island went back and forth between the Spanish, Portuguese, British, and Dutch, although the Spanish and Portuguese dropped out of the picture quite early on leaving the British and Dutch to fight it out. It was an important stop for their ships going to and from the Cape of Good Hope and beyond so they could take on fresh water and supplies.
Although St Helena was under the control of the Dutch East India Company at the time, the British government selected St Helena in 1815 as Napoleon Bonaparte’s place of exile following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo. He was eventually built a permanent home on the island where he died on 5 May 1821. During this period, Saint Helena remained in the East India Company’s possession, but the British government met additional costs arising from guarding Napoleon. The island was strongly garrisoned with British troops, and naval ships circled the island. In 1834 Britain gained control of the island, and it is now one of the last vestiges of the British Empire.
With the advent of steam ships and the opening of the Suez Canal, St Helena was no longer needed as a port of call for ships heading for the Pacific, and became increasingly isolated. Nowadays there is one main way to get to the island, which is to fly to Cape Town and then take the RMS St Helena to the island. It calls about once every 12 days. Otherwise you need to sail your own boat. Tourism is almost entirely centered on visits to Napoleon’s home and grave promoted by the French government. Because of the difficulty getting to the island, tourism represents a very small part of the economy (3% of GDP). There are plans in the works to build an airport on the island although no airlines have expressed interest in the route. The hope is to build sport fishing tourism because of the plentiful fish in surrounding waters.
Fish cakes with distinctive flavorings are a signature dish on St Helena. The recipe below is adapted from the one used on board RMS St Helena. Local fish, such as tuna and wahoo, are usual, but any firm white fish will work. The recipe uses a blend of mixed spices available only on the island. I give a substitute here which is close.
St Helena Fish Cakes
| i don't know |
At the 2012 Cheltenham Festival of National Hunt racing who was the top winning jockey, with 5 winners? | Winners At Cheltenham 2012 | ParadeRing Horse Sales
Winners At Cheltenham 2012
Submitted by ParadeRing on Wed, 21/03/2012 - 15:44
in
winners
Cheltenham Festival 2012
After four days of championship racing the Cheltenham Festival is over for another year. On the face of it 5 Irish trained winners might herald a disappointing year for Ireland but if you delve a little deeper you will uncover a highly successful festival from an Irish perspective.
Perhaps the most pleasing aspect was the fact that 12 of the 27 races were won by Irish bred horses and the winners of the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase were all bred in Ireland.
Irish bred horses won six Grade 1 races and Irish born jockeys won an amazing 22 of the 27 races with Barry Geraghty finishing up top jockey for the festival.
Gold Cup
The success of Synchronised (IRE) in the Gold Cup was a fantastic result for JP McManus and his family. McManus puts so much into national hunt racing and his commitment was well and truly rewarded last Friday as AP McCoy drove his homebred son of Sadler’s Wells to a famous victory over The Giant Bolster. It was a great training performance from Jonjo O’Neill to produce Synchronised in top form on his first run since winning the Lexus Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas. In fact Jonjo deserves immense credit for not only winning also with Alfie Sherrin and Sunnyhill Boy but also producing the heroic Albertas’s Run to narrowly miss out on a fourth consecutive Festival success in the Ryanair Chase.
There is a lot of history to the breeding of Synchronised that must also give great satisfaction to the McManus family. His dam Mayasta (by Bob Back) was bred in north county Dublin by John McLoughlin and was trained for McManus by his current racing manager Frank Berry to win nine races. Mayasta was also the first winner McCoy rode for McManus when winning on the mare at Punchestown in 1996. She has also produced the promising recent winner Cross The Flags and a 2yo filly by Oscar. Despite winning a Grade 1 chase in Ireland on his previous run Synchronised had been slightly underestimated before the race. He may not be everyone’s idea of the ideal mould for a top class staying chaser but his heart and lung capacity coupled with his will to win make him a very special racehorse and one that has nothing left to prove.
Champion Hurdle
The opening day highlight the Champion Hurdle was widely expected to produce an Irish winner in Hurricane Fly but it was another Irish bred Rock On Ruby (IRE) that was the strongest on the day to give Paul Nicholls his first Champion Hurdle. Narrowly beaten by First Lieutenant in last years Neptune Hurdle Rock On Ruby has been progressive this season and posted a career best performance to beat Overturn (IRE) and a slightly below par Hurricane Fly (IRE) in third to make it an Irish bred 1-2-3. It was a much deserved success for jockey Noel Fehily who has always been top class but has been plagued by injuries and bad luck in recent seasons.
A lot of credit must also go to Harry Fry and Richard Barber who oversee the training of the winner at a satellite yard of Paul Nicholls in Dorset. It was a great achievement and one that will be remembered by them and the Festival Goers Syndicate for years to come. Rock On Ruby was bred by John O’Dwyer who sold him as a foal for €23,000 to Whitehorse Stud. He is by Oscar out of the Tirol mare Stony View who has also bred useful racers Alpine Glade and Bluebyyou.
Queen Mother Champion Chase
The success of Finian’s Rainbow (IRE) in the Queen Mother Champion was slightly overshadowed by the awkward passage reigning champion Sizing Europe (IRE) had to chart but nothing should be taken away from the winner who undoubtedly is a top class chaser. A last fence faller when looking likely to win his only point to point start at Inch in 2008 when with Adrian Maguire, Finian’s Rainbow has since only finished out of the frame once in 12 starts for owner Michael Buckley and trainer Nicky Henderson. He is a first Cheltenham winner for his sire Tiraaz who unfortunately died in 2004 leaving only a very small crop of horses on the ground.
Bred by James O’Keefe, Finian’s Rainbow was sold by his breeder for €8,000 to Tom Mahony. The runner up Sizing Europe lost nothing in defeat and former champion Big Zeb also ran an honourable race in third and it would be a great spectacle of all three renewed rivalry at Punchestown in April.
Neptune Investments Novice Hurdle
Wednesday at Cheltenham was a magic day for the Barry Geraghty / Nicky Henderson partnership and they combined with another former Irish point to pointer Simonsig to win the Grade 1 Neptune Investments Novice Hurdle. Ian Ferguson trained the Simon Tindall bred exciting grey in his formative years and his talent was evident from day one. He won twice between the flags before trouncing his rivals in the Gigginstown House Stud sponsored point to point bumper at Fairyhouse a year ago. There was added excitement following that race as Michael O’Leary as sponsor offered the winning owner €100,000 live on air for the winner with an immediate decision being the caveat, in a deal or no deal scenario. Fair play to Ronnie Bartlett for turning him down and taking his chances with Simonsig. It would take a lot more than €100,000 to buy him now.
Champion Bumper
Another stallion to register his first Cheltenham Festival success was Stowaway, when his son Champagne Fever (IRE) made all the running to win the Grade 1 Champion Bumper for Willie and Patrick Mullins. Champagne Fever also became the third Grade 1 winning former Irish point to pointer to win that day. The winner, bred by John Cahill showed great determination to see off the strong travelling New Years Eve up the hill to give the trainer his seventh win in the race. Champagne Fever was bought by Michael O’Mara for €17,500. He won a 4yo Maiden at Quakerstown when trained by Roisin Hickey before being sold to Rich and Susanna Ricci and he has the size and engine to be a formidable chaser. Stowaway’s stock are making giant strides on the racecourse in recent seasons with Hidden Cyclone and Western Leader among his early flagbearers. He covered more mares than any other stallion in Europe in 2011 and is sure to be popular again this year thanks to Champagne Fever. He stands at Ronnie O’Neill’s Whytemount Stud in Kilkenny.
Albert Bartlett Hurdle
The loss of Kings Theatre to both Ballylinch Stud and Irish breeders was further emphasised with the fact that he was responsible for three winners at Cheltenham; Riverside Theatre, Balthazar King (IRE) and Brindisi Breeze (IRE). The latter’s brave win in the Grade 1 Albert Bartlett Hurdle on Friday marked him as an exceptional talent and a great success for Lucinda Russell and her partner Peter Scudamore. Brindisi Breeze won a point to point for Pat Doyle at Loughrea only five months ago and thus became the fourth Grade 1 winner at Cheltenham 2012 that began his education in the Irish point to point arena. Brindisi Breeze was bred in Limerick by Annette McMahon and was sold as a foal to the Wade family’s Gatterstown Stud. He didn’t reach his reserve at Goffs Land Rover sale four years later but bloodstock agent Tom Malone saw great potential at Loughrea and quickly did the deal much to the subsequent delight of owner Sandy Seymour.
Ballylinch Stud had extra cause for celebration after the very first race of Cheltenham as their rookie stallion Beat Hollow is the sire of Donald McCain’s Grade 1 Supreme Novice Hurdle winner Cinders And Ashes. They could not have expected a better start and the son of Sadlers Wells looks an excellent replacement for Kings Theatre. Beat Hollow’s full brother Court Cave came close to getting a winner when his son Champion Court (IRE) only found Sir Des Champs too good in the Grade 2 Jewson Chase. Sir Des Champs himself was the second winner at the Festival for his sire Robin Des Champs following Quevega in the Mares Hurdle on the Day one. Robin Des Champs stands at Rathbarry Stud’s national hunt division Glenview Stud and his first Irish crop are now two years old.
| Barry Geraghty |
"The song ""Nobody Does it Better"" by Carly Simon provided the theme for which James Bond film?" | Cheltenham 2012 | ParadeRing Horse Sales
ParadeRing Horse Sales
Submitted by ParadeRing on Wed, 21/03/2012 - 15:44
in
winners
Cheltenham Festival 2012
After four days of championship racing the Cheltenham Festival is over for another year. On the face of it 5 Irish trained winners might herald a disappointing year for Ireland but if you delve a little deeper you will uncover a highly successful festival from an Irish perspective.
Perhaps the most pleasing aspect was the fact that 12 of the 27 races were won by Irish bred horses and the winners of the Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase were all bred in Ireland.
Irish bred horses won six Grade 1 races and Irish born jockeys won an amazing 22 of the 27 races with Barry Geraghty finishing up top jockey for the festival.
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"In the animated film classic ""Toy Story"", which film star voiced the character of Woody?" | Toy Story Reviews & Ratings - IMDb
IMDb
113 out of 126 people found the following review useful:
Created a decade ago, but still stunning
from Tessenderlo, Belgium
25 December 2004
I am a big fan of the animated movies coming from the Pixar Studios. They are always looking for the newest technological possibilities to use in their movies, creating movies that are more than just worth a watch, even when they were made a decade ago.
The movie is about toys that come to life when their owner is asleep or not in the same room. When the young boy's birthday is coming up, all the toys are nervous. They don't want to be ignored when the new one arrives. Woody the cowboy is their "leader" because he's the most popular one of them all. He's the only one that hasn't got to be afraid, but than a new favorite arrives ... Buzz Lightyear. He hates him and tries everything possible to get rid of him, but as the time passes by they learn to appreciate each other...
When you see Toy Story, you may think that the different human like characters (Woody the cowboy for instance) aren't always as perfect as we are used to see in todays animated movies. Perhaps that's true, but if you keep in mind that all this was done in 1995, when computers weren't yet as strong and the technology for creating such movies was almost unknown, than you can only have a lot of respect for what the creators did. I loved the story and liked the animations a lot. I give it an 8.5/10.
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116 out of 149 people found the following review useful:
Best Disney film. Ever.
from Luoyang, China
20 April 2001
Toy Story is not only the best Disney film because it has the best story and the best animation, but also because of the excellent actors chosen to provide the voices of the animals. The casting was perfect from top to bottom, and the movie provides an excellent adventure story about friendship and loyalty that keeps you engrossed until the nail-biting climax.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen provided excellent voices for Woody and Buzz Lightyear -their performances alone are one of the biggest things that made this such a spectacular movie. Besides that, though, you have the excellent story that is not only noteworthy because it has never really been told from this perspective before, but also because it was just told so well. All of the characters in the film are very well developed and all have appropriate and effective actors chosen to provide their voices.
And of course, who could forget the revolutionary animation! The computer animation used for this movie not only made it startlingly realistic but also opened up tons of possibilities, and thankfully the filmmakers chose to explore these possibilities. There are dozens of things that are hidden in the woodwork throughout the film, as well as in the songs note, for example, the subtle playing of the Indiana Jones theme song in the scene where Woody knocks Buzz out the window with the desk lamp.
Toy Story is by far the best Disney film ever made, it's pretty much perfect. It's adventurous, it's exciting, it's entertaining, it's good for the whole family, it's got great characters, story, and plot, and above all, it's fun.
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70 out of 75 people found the following review useful:
Technically impressive with great script and sharp wit
from United Kingdom
22 April 2003
Andy's toys live a reasonable life of fun and peace, their only worries are birthdays and Christmases, when new toys could easily replace those already there. One such birthday Andy's top toy, Woody the cowboy, finds himself in direct competition with Andy's new Buzz Lightyear doll. When rivalries boil over Woody tries to hide Buzz down the side of the bed but accidentally pushes him out the window, the other tops expel Woody, and he leaves with no choice but to find Buzz and return him to the house. But with only two days before Andy moves house, time is of the essence.
Given how often the same mix of animation, wit, jokes and kids humour has been used since Toy Story (Ice Age, Monsters Inc, Bugs Life) it is easy to forget how refreshing it was when it first came out. I have just watched it again and it is dating a little in comparison to more recent twists on the formula. It seems each one has to be sharper and have more references etc in the background. However it is still very funny and deserves praise for being the first of a successful formula.
The plot is simple but effective and actually has genuine drama and excitement to it. The main story is fun but the degree of character development is what really shores it up. The conflict between Buzz and Woody is taken deeper than this and, when confronted by the truth of his status as a toy, Buzz's turmoil is very real as opposed to him being a cartoon character and nothing more. Despite the two strong leads there is a real depth in the support cast. They may not actually have that many lines, but they have all the funniest lines. Most of the `adult' wit comes from the Potato Head, dinosaur, the pig and slinky dog. They are funny and are very well used. In fact the majority of this humour and plot will go right over kids heads.
Looking back on it, I do feel a cynical edge on it in so much as this film must really have helped sales of the toy companies in the film. It's hard not to see the marketing department standing behind this film rubbing their hands. However the actual product is so wonderfully fun that I forgot this quickly. The voice work is excellent and the characters match the actors. Hanks is good as Woody and Allen has a good B-movie type voice for Buzz. Varney, Ratzenberger, Ermey (doing his usual), Rickles and others are all really good in the support roles and, probably, come out as the favourite characters for adults.
Overall this is a classic film that will appeal to adults as much as to kids (if not more). A good plot and a really sharp script make the already short running time fly by. The only downside is that your kids will want you to go out and buy the damn things!
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63 out of 72 people found the following review useful:
Excellent Viewing, Every Time!
from United States
18 February 2007
This is a very clever animated story that was a big hit, and justifiably so. It had a terrific sequel and if a third film came out, that would probably be a hit, too.
When this came out, computer technology just was beginning to strut its stuff. Man, this looked awesome. Now, it's routine because animation, which took a giant leap with this movie, has made a lot more giant strides.
The humor in here, however, is what made this so popular. There are tons of funny lines, issued by characters voiced by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jim Varney, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn and John Ratzenberger, among others. As good as Hanks is as "Woody" and Allen as "Buzz Armstrong," I think the supporting characters just about stole the show: Mr. Potato Head, Slinky, Rex the dinosaur, etc.
Multiple viewings don't diminish the entertainment, either. There are so many things to catch, audibly and visually, that you always seem to discover something new. The colors in here are beautiful, too. This is a guaranteed "winner" as is the sequel.
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59 out of 69 people found the following review useful:
"I can safely say that I have not enjoyed animated films quite so much over the years as I have enjoyed Pixar films."
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Toy Story 5/5 stars
Children play with toys. It is a known fact. At one time or another, we all played with toys, whether they were action figures, dolls, little green soldiers, etc
But what if toys were real? What if they could talk?
Pixar and Disney serve us this theory in what was the first full-length computer-animated film ever, 'Toy Story,' chronicling the events in the life of a cowboy doll, Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks).
Woody is the favorite toy of his owner, a small child named Andy. Andy brings Woody everywhere, and cherishes him, as we see in the beginning of the film. However, this all changes on Andy's birthday when Andy gets a new toy: a Buzz Lightyear doll (voiced by Tim Allen). Woody is suddenly forgotten, left with the rest of his friends: Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney, better known as Ernest) and Ham (see if you can guess the voice of this one? I'll give you a hint: 'Cheers').
But after Buzz accidentally gets knocked out an upstairs window, Woody is the prime suspect. Now, after Woody and Buzz end up next door, in toy killer Sid's house, Woody must prove his innocence by getting both Buzz and him back to Andy's house safely.
'Toy Story' builds on an element we all shrug off carelessly and thoughtlessly. Much like they did last year with monsters under the bed, Pixar took the theory of live toys to a new level in 'Toy Story,' filling our minds with endless possibilities.
What Pixar does is a strange thing. It doesn't just try to expand our mind, but also out world. I respect and enjoy that. In 'Monsters, Inc.,' Pixar managed to preach to us 'What if monsters under the bed are real, and what if they have a world much like ours, and have feelings like humans,' while never forgetting the equally important formula of humor. Much is the same with their earlier film 'Toy Story.' What if those wooden and plastic toys we all played with as kids are real? What if they have feelings, emotions, voices, and human qualities? An interesting idea by itself, but when mixed with a wicked sense of humor and reality, you've got yourself one of the best films ever.
Tom Hanks is perfect as Woody. Pixar must have modeled the doll's expressions and movements after Hanks, because after a while, I feel like I AM watching Hanks on screen, and NOT a computer-generated image. When you get to the point of not being able to tell animation from reality, you know that the voices are good.
The same goes for Tim Allen, though the body gestures were most likely not modeled after Allen's physical expressions (Buzz is a short, pot-bellied toy).
The rest of the cast is excellent, all very believable and entertaining. You begin to love each character for their distinguishing traits, and that is always refreshing.
I can safely say that I have not enjoyed animated films quite so much over the years as I have enjoyed Pixar films. The only film they made that I named forgettable was 'A Bug's Life,' which was in and of it not horrible, but lacking the sense of humor the other Pixar films have and had.
Pixar makes very refreshing films. In an era of cheap, made-for-video Disney sequels, rip-off cartoons and television babysitters (i.e. 'The Jungle Book 2), Pixar holds true to the values that made Disney films so entertaining back in the 30's-60's: Respect for the audience's intelligence, humor, provocative ideas to base the film upon, and respect for the audience (not the exact same thing as the first element), all of which are forgotten in this day and age of money-makers. I respect Pixar very much, and after hearing how little Disney does in helping with their films, I feel that Disney is just trying to cash in on their ideas by having their name branded on the posters for Pixar films. Shame on you, Disney. Proof that Disney has no respect for audiences is the fact that they will not let another sequel be made something that fans like me would rather have than something like 'Finding Nemo.'
'Toy Story' 1 & 2 are both on my 'favorite films' list. It may sound stupid, but if I made up a top 250 list like IMDb.com, both of those films would be on there; so would 'Monsters Inc.' After an unpromising trailer for Pixar's upcoming film 'Finding Nemo,' I think that after their licensing deal with Disney is disputed (they have to cough up five more ORIGINAL films not sequels by 2005), they should definitely try to make a 'Toy Story 3.' I'll be first in line for it, anyway.
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42 out of 50 people found the following review useful:
Every Kid's Fantasy
from Queens, New York
3 February 2009
Toy Story is the film that started Pixar Animated Studios into its long string of never ending success. What Pixar does is not just absorb the younger demographic and keep the older ones mildly entertained. It completely absorbs everyone watching no matter the age or the level of maturity, films of Pixar, starting from Toy Story, have kept a certain magical touch around it with an unexpected amount of depth. Everyone as a child imagines their toys will come alive and go on their own adventures. One of the great things Pixar does is that it does not attract audiences with its overloaded superstar casts but rather with its material. The only superstar here is Tom Hanks and Tim Allen is the next most aforementioned voice over. Unlike what most people think their is an actually a method to casting for animated films as there is to a live-action one. As a result of this Pixar stays faithful to its material and creates a great genuine and warm feeling around the film and its characters.
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46 out of 58 people found the following review useful:
Proof that Pixar not only cares about the quality of their work,they care about our kids.
from United States
30 December 2005
Though I am not a big fan of computer animation,I have to give the folks at Pixar credit.This brand of animation is nothing short of brilliant.The attention to detail,such as eye and body movement is quite remarkable.Computers allow them to make their characters as close to human like as possible,something we have never seen in traditional hand drawn animation,though the latter will always be the closest to my heart.Combine this excellence with a genuinely good story idea and a top notch voice cast and the result is good family entertainment.It's obvious that the people at Pixar are not only caring perfectionists when it comes to film making,but they care about our kids,something rarely seen today.Highly recommended for any home library.
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50 out of 69 people found the following review useful:
The World Of Andy's Room
from Greenwich, CT United States
10 May 2004
Just in case you were also wondering what happened to all the toys that went missing when you were a kid, the answer is clear: They escaped.
"Toy Story" is the kind of children's movie adults can enjoy just as much, because it very cleverly mines deep deposits of nostalgia from the memory banks. That may be the reason the 1990s bedroom of young Andy is populated by playthings of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. If Andy was a real boy of his time, there would be a computer and a TV/Nintendo, and not much else.
The voicings of the various toys add to the enjoyability. Tom Hanks was the biggest star of the moment when "Toy Story" came out, and he works with that likeability by creating a stable center as Woody the cowboy doll. Don Rickles has the screen role of his career (not that "Kelly's Heroes" was Oscar material) as a prickly Mr. Potato Head, while Jim Varney and R. Lee Ermey are standouts in the supporting cast.
Tim Allen gives the movie's best performance, as a newfangled toy that takes Woody's place in Andy's heart but can't bring himself to accept that he's just a plastic plaything. It's the role of the story that gives him the best lines ("I don't believe that man has ever been to medical school"), but Allen delivers them with real panache. He more than holds his own, and you kind of see where he took off with that note-perfect William Shatner parody he perfected on screen in the underrated "Galaxy Quest."
While this movie's use of computer animation makes it a milestone, it neither represents the most innovative use of the technology or the cleverest Pixar-ated treatment of a story. "A Bug's Life" seems a more worthy apex; that story was funnier, worked better on its own merits, and used the animation to better effect. But given how novel all of this was in 1995, "Toy Story" could have been a lot less thought-through than it was, and still made gobs of money. The fact it is instead invested with real heart, and can be watched and enjoyed today just as easily as when it debuted nearly 10 years ago, is a tribute to the people behind it.
I like Randy Newman's music, just not here, and while the animation textures are surprisingly lifelike, there are places, especially with Scud the dog but also with the baby's drool, where it falls short. The story itself gets kind of rote with repeat viewings, though the transition to Sid's bedroom and its sad mutilated toys is a genius moment. So too are the vending machine aliens, who gape in rapt wonder at the judgment of "the claw." If it reached for pathos a little less often, "Toy Story" would be an undeniable classic.
As it is, it is very, very good, the kind of film that's only good for children, even (especially?) the inner ones.
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One of the Best Animated Films Ever!
from United States
13 February 2000
Toy Story is a sheer delight to view on the screen. The characters are well done, the plot is exceptional, and the best thing of all, the film is entirely produced on the computer. The animation is extraordinary in it's ability to bring such great entertainment to the screen. The film also teaches some good lessons for the kids like friendship (mainly between Woody and Buzz Light-year). Spectacular entertainment all around and one of the best films Disney has come with.
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35 out of 42 people found the following review useful:
Plastic Fantastic.
26 May 2006
Y'know, I always suspected that my toys were coming to life when I wasn't looking!
In Andy's Room, his toys lead lives of noisy desperation come every birthday and Christmas - no one wants to be one-upped by a new addition to the toy box. Nominally led by Cowboy Woody (there's a Brokeback joke in there just waiting to happen), Mr. Potato Head, Rex the Dinosaur, Ham the piggybank, Bo Peep, Slinky the dog and a smattering of other playthings go about their toy business of playing checkers, hanging with the hometoys and "plastic corrosion awareness meetings," until Andy's birthday party, when they gather expectantly around a transistor radio, listening to the reports of their toy soldier troops "in the field" (downstairs watching Andy's gift-opening), hoping that no gift will be exciting enough to cause Andy to neglect *them.* There is. His name is Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger.
Directed by Pixar mainstay John Lasseter, with the voice talents of Tom Hanks (as Woody), Don Rickles, John Ratzenberger (forever Cliff from *Cheers*), R. Lee Ermey, Annie Potts, Jim Varney and Tim Allen (as Buzz), *Toy Story* is that *rara avis* that succeeds on all levels in its animation, storyline, character development, its messages of friendship and self-realization and, most importantly, its entertainment value. The fact that this is a cartoon (or animated feature just what DO we call this new wave of computer-generated movies?) is incidental. Which makes the slightly dodgy animation (of the "real people") irrelevant - it gets the point across with or without the technological finesse.
The "Disney Movie" has become synonymous with maudlin messages, redneck fundamentalism, anachronistic family values, boneheaded parents, smart-mouthing youngsters, too-hip-to-be-smart teens and insufferable pets. Though Disney's tyrannical umbrella overarches this film's production studio, Pixar Animation, *Toy Story* somehow avoided all trace of Disney's craven hand, which is doubly surprising, considering this is Pixar's first feature length film, after years of experimentation. Right outa the gate and right outa the field.
Sure, there are "messages," but they are heartfelt, rather than maudlin (Woody tells Buzz during Buzz's greatest depression that it matters not what Buzz thinks of himself, what makes him important is what his owner, Andy, thinks of him); there are emotional segments, which are truly heartbreaking, rather than cheesy (when Buzz's escape attempt lands him with a broken arm, proving he is Not A Flying Toy, the lyric, "Clearly I will go sailing no more," launches a thousand hankies); and the portrayal of Andy's family was Pixar's triumphal achievement. Boldly contravening Disney's *idée fixe* of the 1950's nuclear family and Norman Rockwell fantasies, one of the many incarnations of a modern-day family is presented: a single mother with two kids, who are neither geniuses nor monsters, just normal children; happy to visit Pizza Planet and disappointed when favorite toys are lost.
Buzz who believes he is a real life space ranger on a mission to save the universe - become Andy's favorite toy over Woody. The funny thing is: though Buzz believes he is real, he still adheres to toy protocol of "playing inert" when humans are in the area. (Maybe it's instinct?) When he mentions saving a toy from Sid, the vicious boy next door, how does he propose to do it if he is to adhere to the inert protocol? Buzz's ingenuousness regarding his role as a toy infuriates Woody to the point of attempted toy-assassination. Through a concatenation of accidents, both he and Buzz become lost and must use teamwork, trust and ingenuity to beat their path back to Andy, which finds them ensconced in scorchingly funny vignettes (Buzz fastening himself in an over-sized seatbelt; both falling in with green, three-eyed aliens; Buzz hyperventilating as "Mrs. Nesbitt"). During a climactic rocket ride, the callback line, "This is not flying - this is falling with style," simply seals this movie's greatness.
At least I now have a plausible explanation as to why my toys always got lost: after going about their toy business, they would just go inert anywhere they happened to be, instead of paying attention to their master's infallible toy filing system
.
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Religous reformers - which 14th century Oxford scholar, initially famous for translating the Bible from Latin into English, later criticised the wealth and power of the church, questioning the scriptural basis of the papacy? His followers were known as Lollards. | Amazon.com: Toy Story (10th Anniversary Edition): Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, John Morris, Erik von Detten, Laurie Metcalf, R. Lee Ermey, Sarah Freeman, John Lasseter, Alec Sokolow, Andrew Stanton, Joe Ranft, Joel Cohen, Joss Whedon, Pete Docter: Movies & TV
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Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Experience a hilarious fantasy about the lives toys lead when they're left alone. Woody (Tom Hanks), an old-fashioned cowboy doll, is Andy's favorite. But when Andy gets Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) for his birthday, the flashy new space hero takes Andy's room by storm! Their rivalry leaves them lost with a toy's worst nightmare -- Sid, the toy-torturing boy next door. Woody and Buzz must work together to escape, realizing along the way that they've got a friend ... in each other! Now, in a magnificent special edition, TOY STORY shines even brighter. With an all-new enhanced picture and a spectacular home theater mix as well as exclusive bonus features, including deleted scenes and a retrospective special with director John Lasseter, this modern classic is one you'll enjoy to infinity and beyond.
Amazon.com
There is greatness in film that can be discussed, dissected, and talked about late into the night. Then there is genius that is right in front of our faces--we smile at the spell it puts us into and are refreshed, and nary a word needs to be spoken. This kind of entertainment is what they used to call "movie magic," and there is loads of it in this irresistible computer animation feature. Just a picture of these bright toys reawaken the kid in us. Filmmaker John Lasseter thinks of himself as a storyteller first and an animator second, much like another film innovator, Walt Disney.
The 10th anniversary edition of the landmark film repackages most of the extras found in the original Ultimate Toy Box set plus a few more. Two keen retrospectives are new, one with an assortment of talents including Roy Disney and Peter Jackson chiming in on the film's impact. The other is a roundtable with Lasseter and three of the creators simply talking about the experiences without--thankfully--any cutaways to noisy film clips. There's a load of other extras since the Ultimate Toy Box was one of the first and best DVD sets. Missing (besides the second film, which will be released separately) is the effects- and music-only tracks. Added is a whopping DTS soundtrack along with a remixed Dolby 5.1 track. The DVD has a higher transfer bit rate for a better picture, but only high-end enthusiasts will notice it. Since the film is a digital-to-digital transfer, both versions are eye-popping. A must-have set unless you have the Ultimate Toy Box.
Lasseter's story is universal and magical: what do toys do when they're not played with? Cowboy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Andy's favorite bedroom toy, tries to calm the other toys (some original, some classic) during a wrenching time of year--the birthday party, when newer toys may replace them. Sure enough, Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) is the new toy that takes over the throne. Buzz has a crucial flaw, though--he believes he's the real Buzz Lightyear, not a toy. Lasseter further scores with perfect voice casting, including Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Wallace Shawn as a meek dinosaur. The director-animator won a special Oscar for "the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film." In other words, the movie is great. --Doug Thomas
The Pixar Feature Films
Remastered picture and sound including High Digital "Bit Rate" and DTS Audio
All-New "Legacy Of TOY STORY"
All-New "Filmmakers Reflect" Featuring Academy Award-Winning Creator John Lasseter
Exclusive Sneak Peek At Pixar's Next Animated Feature CARS
All-New Game -- "The Claw!"
All New - The Making of Toy Story
Introductions By The Filmmakers
Deleted Scenes
Behind the Scenes: a six-part feature looking at the aspects of design, story, character, production, sound, & publicty
Animation Production Progression Demos
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On which date in 1945 was VE Day (victory in Europe), the day on which Germany surrendered in World War II ? | V-J Day - World War II - HISTORY.com
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From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Japan’s devastating surprise aerial attack on the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii , on December 7, 1941, capped a decade of deteriorating relations between Japan and the United States and led to an immediate U.S. declaration of war the following day. Japan’s ally Germany, led by Adolf Hitler , then declared war on the United States, turning the war raging in Europe into a truly global conflict. Over the next three years, superior technology and productivity allowed the Allies to wage an increasingly one-sided war against Japan in the Pacific, inflicting enormous casualties while suffering relatively few. By 1945, in an attempt to break Japanese resistance before a land invasion became necessary, the Allies were consistently bombarding Japan from air and sea, dropping some 100,000 tons of explosives on more than 60 Japanese cities and towns between March and July 1945 alone.
Did You Know?
Rhode Island is the only state with a holiday dedicated to V-J Day (its official name is Victory Day); it is celebrated on the second Monday in August. V-J Day parades are held in several other locations across the United States, including Seymour, Indiana; Moosup, Connecticut; and Arma, Kansas.
The Potsdam Declaration, issued by Allied leaders on July 26, 1945, called on Japan to surrender; if it did, it was promised a peaceful government according to “the freely expressed will of the Japanese people.” If it did not, it would face “prompt and utter destruction.” The embattled Japanese government in Tokyo refused to surrender, and on August 6 the American B-29 plane Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima, killing more than 70,000 people and destroying a 5-square-mile expanse of the city. Three days later, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb on Nagasaki, killing another 40,000. The following day, the Japanese government issued a statement accepting the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. In a radio address in the early afternoon of August 15 (August 14 in the United States), Emperor Hirohito urged his people to accept the surrender, blaming the use of the “new and most cruel bomb” on Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the country’s defeat. “Should we continue to fight,” Hirohito declared, “it would not only result in the ultimate collapse and obliteration of the Japanese nation but would also lead to the total extinction of human civilization.”
Reaction to Japanese Surrender
In Washington on August 14, President Harry S. Truman announced news of Japan’s surrender in a press conference at the White House : “This is the day we have been waiting for since Pearl Harbor. This is the day when Fascism finally dies, as we always knew it would.” Jubilant Americans declared August 14 “Victory over Japan Day,” or “V-J Day.” (May 8, 1945–when the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s official surrender–had previously been dubbed “Victory in Europe Day,” or “V-E Day.”)
Images from V-J Day celebrations around the United States and the world reflected the overwhelming sense of relief and exhilaration felt by citizens of Allied nations at the end of the long and bloody conflict. In one particularly iconic photo taken by Alfred Eisenstaedt for Life magazine, a uniformed sailor passionately kisses a nurse in the midst of a crowd of people celebrating in New York City’s Times Square. On September 2, Allied supreme commander General Douglas MacArthur , along with the Japanese foreign minister, Mamoru Shigemitsu, and the chief of staff of the Japanese army, Yoshijiro Umezu, signed the official Japanese surrender aboard the U.S. Navy battleship Missouri , effectively ending World War II .
V-J Day over the Years
Many V-J Day celebrations fell out of favor over the years due to concerns about their being offensive to Japan, now one of America’s closest allies, and to Japanese Americans, as well as ambivalent feelings toward the nuclear devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of World War II, the administration of President Bill Clinton referred not to V-J Day but to the “End of the Pacific War” in its official remembrance ceremonies. The controversial decision sparked complaints that Clinton was being overly deferential to Japan and that the euphemism displayed insensitivity to U.S. veterans who as prisoners of war suffered greatly at the hands of Japanese forces.
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| May 8 |
On which day in 1945 was VJ Day (victory over Japan), the day on which Japan surrendered in World War II ? | VE Day
VE Day
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VE day (Victory in Europe day) is held on May 8th.
It commemorates the end of the Second World War in Europe, when the forces of Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allied forces.
The Japanese continued to fight the Americans until August 15, 1945. This date is known as VJ day (Victory in Japan day).
The Second World War lasted 6 years from 1939 to 1945. Sixty million people in Europe, Africa and Asia were killed. On May 7, 1945, the German High Command signed an unconditional surrender document. To give time for the news to spread to the fighting soldiers, it was agreed that the ceasefire should be at 00.01 on the May 9th. However, enthusiastic journalists broke the news early and spontaneous celebrations began almost immediately.
Revelers celebrate the end of the Second World War in Europe. It is thought more than one million people in the UK celebrated on that night – many of whom flocked to Trafalgar Square
Church bells rang out across the land and churches were packed as people went to give thanks [to God] that, after 6 long years of suffering, victory had finally arrived. …
VE Day in Britain
In Britain people gathered on the streets, many dressed in red, white and blue, to sing and dance, hugging each other, relieved that the war was finally over. Britain and Western Europe decided to celebrate VE day on the 8th May with street parties and fancy dress parades for the children. In Russia VE day is celebrated on May the 9th, the official date the war ended.
Food was rationed, so people had to pool together their coupons to have enough to provide party food. Many of the street party decorations were handmade. Decorations could not be easily bought in war-weary England. Russia and the rest of Eastern Europe stuck to the original agreement and still celebrate on May 9.
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth waved to cheering crowds from the balcony of Buckingham Palace. Their daughter, Princess Elizabeth (who became the present Queen Elizabeth II) and her sister Princess Margaret mingled anonymously with the huge crowds in the Mall and Trafalgar Square.
Official announcement by Winston Churchill
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill officially announced the surrender of Nazi Germany which was broadcast around the world to British soldiers. He gave thanks to God and then went to join the Royal family on the balcony of Buckingham palace and told the crowds. “This is your victory… Advance Britannia”.
The celebrations continued all night with fireworks and bonfires where images of Hitler were burnt and many pubs ran out of alcohol. (from BBC News)
Americans celebrate the Nazi surrender on VE Day in New York City.
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Religous reformers - which 16th century Oxford scholar was the first to translate the Bible into English from the original Greek texts? He was charged with heresy, strangled and burned at the stake in 1535 by the Roman Catholic Church. | William Tyndale
English Bible History
William Tyndale
William Tyndale was the Captain of the Army of Reformers, and was their spiritual leader. Tyndale holds the distinction of being the first man to ever print the New Testament in the English language. Tyndale was a true scholar and a genius, so fluent in eight languages that it was said one would think any one of them to be his native tongue. He is frequently referred to as the “Architect of the English Language”, (even more so than William Shakespeare) as so many of the phrases Tyndale coined are still in our language today.
William Tyndale (1494-1536) Biblical translator and martyr; born most probably at North Nibley (15 miles south-west of Gloucester), England, in 1494; died at Vilvoorden (6 miles north-east of Brussels), Belgium, Oct. 6, 1536. Tyndale was descended from an ancient Northumbrian family, went to school at Oxford, and afterward to Magdalen Hall and Cambridge.
William Tyndale Overview
Tyndale was a theologian and scholar who translated the Bible into an early form of Modern English. He was the first person to take advantage of Gutenberg’s movable-type press for the purpose of printing the scriptures in the English language. Besides translating the Bible, Tyndale also held and published views which were considered heretical, first by the Catholic Church, and later by the Church of England which was established by Henry VIII. His Bible translation also included notes and commentary promoting these views. Tyndale's translation was banned by the authorities, and Tyndale himself was burned at the stake in 1536, at the instigation of agents of Henry VIII and the Anglican Church.
The Early Years of William Tyndale
Tyndale enrolled at Oxford in 1505, and grew up at the University. He received his Master’s Degree in 1515 at the age of twenty-one! He proved to be a gifted linguist. One of Tyndale’s associates commented that Tyndale was “so skilled in eight languages – Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, English, and German, that whichever he speaks, you might think it his native tongue!” This gift undoubtedly aided him in his successful evasion of the authorities during his years of exile from England.
Early Controversy Surrounding Tyndale
Around 1520, William Tyndale became a tutor in the family of Sir John Walsh, at Little Sodbury in Gloucestershire. Having become attached to the doctrines of the Reformation, and devoted himself to the study of the Scriptures, the open avowal of his sentiments in the house of Walsh, his disputes with Roman Catholic dignitaries there, and especially his preaching, excited much opposition, and led to his removal to London (about Oct., 1523), where he began to preach, and made many friends among the laity, but none among church leaders.
A clergyman hopelessly entrenched in Roman Catholic dogma once taunted Tyndale with the statement, “We are better to be without God’s laws than the Pope’s”. Tyndale was infuriated by such Roman Catholic heresies, and he replied, “I defy the Pope and all his laws. If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause the boy that drives the plow to know more of the scriptures than you!”
William Tyndale First Prints The Scripture in English
He was hospitably entertained at the house of Sir Humphrey Monmouth, and also financially aided by him and others in the accomplishment of his purpose to translate the Scriptures into the commonly spoken English of the day. Unable to do so in England, he set out for the continent (about May, 1524), and appears to have visited Hamburg and Wittenberg. The place where he translated the New Testament, is thought to have been Wittenberg, under the aid of Martin Luther . The printing of this English New Testament in quarto was begun at Cologne in the summer of 1525, and completed at Worms, and that there was likewise printed an octavo edition, both before the end of that year. William Tyndale’s Biblical translations appeared in the following order: New Testament, 1525-26; Pentateuch, 1530; Jonah, 1531.
His literary activity during that interval was extraordinary. When he left England, his knowledge of Hebrew, if he had any, was of the most rudimentary nature; and yet he mastered that difficult tongue so as to produce from the original an admirable translation of the entire Pentateuch, the Books of Joshua, Judges, Ruth, First and Second Samuel, First and Second Kings, First Chronicles, contained in Matthew's Bible of 1537, and of the Book of Jonah, so excellent, indeed, that his work is not only the basis of those portions of the Authorized King James Version of 1611, but constitutes nine-tenths of that translation, and very largely that of the English Revised Version of 1885.
In addition to these he produced the following works. His first original composition, A Pathway into the Holy Scripture, is really a reprint, slightly altered, of his Prologue to the quarto edition of his New Testament, and had appeared in separate form before 1532; The Parable of the Wicked Mammon (1527); and The Obedience of a Christian Man (1527-28). These several works drew out in 1529 Sir Thomas More's Dialogue, etc. In 1530 appeared Tyndale's Practyse of Prelates, and in 1531 his Answer to the Dialogue, his Exposition of the First Epistle of St. John, and the famous Prologue to Jonah; in 1532, An Exposition upon the V. VI. VII. Chapters of Matthew; and in 1536, A Brief Declaration of the Sacraments, etc., which seems to be a posthumous publication. Joshua-Second Chronicles also was published after his death.
All these works were written during those mysterious years, in places of concealment so secure and well chosen, that neither the ecclesiastical nor diplomatic emissaries of Wolsey and Henry VIII., charged to track, hunt down, and seize the fugitive, were able to reach them, and they are even yet unknown. Under the idea that the progress of the Reformation in England rendered it safe for him to leave his concealment, he settled at Antwerp in 1534, and combined the work of an evangelist with that of a translator of the Bible.
The Betrayal and Death of William Tyndale
Tyndale was betrayed by a friend, Philips, the agent either of Henry or of English ecclesiastics, or possibly of both. Tyndale was arrested and imprisoned in the castle of Vilvoorden for over 500 days of horrible conditions. He was tried for heresy and treason in a ridiculously unfair trial, and convicted. Tyndale was then strangled and burnt at the stake in the prison yard, Oct. 6, 1536. His last words were, "Lord, open the king of England's eyes." This prayer was answered three years later, in the publication of King Henry VIII’s 1539 English “Great Bible”.
Tyndale's place in history has not yet been sufficiently recognized as a translator of the Scriptures, as an apostle of liberty, and as a chief promoter of the Reformation in England. In all these respects his influence has been singularly under-valued. The sweeping statement found in almost all histories, that Tyndale translated from the Vulgate and Luther, is most damaging to the reputation of the writers who make it; for, as a matter of fact, it is contrary to truth, since his translations are made directly from the originals, with the aid of the Erasmus 1516 Greek-Latin New Testament, and the best available Hebrew texts. The Prolegomena in Mombert's William Tyndale's Five Books of Moses show conclusively that Tyndale's Pentateuch is a translation of the Hebrew original.
| William Tyndale |
Mary Anne Evans was the real name of which famous novelist? | William Tyndale : definition of William Tyndale and synonyms of William Tyndale (English)
Tyndale Bible
William Tyndale (sometimes spelled Tynsdale, Tindall, Tindill, Tyndall; c. 1492 – 1536) was an English scholar who became a leading figure in Protestant reform in the years leading up to his execution. He is remembered for his translation of the Bible into English. He was influenced by the work of Desiderius Erasmus , who made the Greek New Testament available in Europe, and by Martin Luther . [1]
While a number of partial and complete translations had been made from the seventh century onward, the popularity of Wycliffe's Bible in the 14th century resulted in a ban on the unlicensed ownership or copying of the Bible in English. Tyndale's illegal translation was the first of the new English Bibles of the Reformation, and the first to draw directly from Hebrew and Greek texts, and the first to take advantage of the new medium of the print , which allowed for wide distribution. This was taken to be a direct challenge to the hegemony of both the Roman Catholic Church and the English church and state. Tyndale also wrote, in 1530, The Practyse of Prelates, opposing Henry VIII 's divorce on the grounds that it contravened scriptural law.
In 1535, Tyndale was arrested and jailed in the castle of Vilvoorde outside Brussels for over a year. In 1536 he was convicted of heresy and executed by strangulation, after which his body was burnt at the stake. The Tyndale Bible , as it was known, continued to play a key role in spreading Reformation ideas across the English-speaking world. The fifty-four independent scholars who created the King James Version of the Bible in 1611 drew significantly on Tyndale's translations. One estimate suggests the New Testament in the King James Version is 83% Tyndale's, and the Old Testament 76%. [2]
Contents
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Biography
Tyndale was born at some time in the period 1484–1496, possibly in one of the villages near Dursley , Gloucestershire. The Tyndale family also went by the name Hychyns (Hitchins), and it was as William Hychyns that Tyndale was enrolled at Magdalen College School, Oxford . Tyndale's family had migrated to Gloucestershire at some point in the fifteenth century – probably as a result of the Wars of the Roses . The family derived from Northumberland via East Anglia . Tyndale's uncle, Edward, was receiver to the lands of Lord Berkeley. Edward Smith is recorded in two genealogies [3] as having been the brother of Sir William Tyndale, of Deane, Northumberland, and Hockwald, Norfolk , who was knighted at the marriage of Arthur, Prince of Wales to Katherine of Aragon . Tyndale's family was therefore derived from Baron Adam de Tyndale, a tenant-in-chief of Henry I (see Tyndall ). William Tyndale's niece was Margaret Tyndale who married Rowland Taylor "The Martyr".
At Oxford
Tyndale began a Bachelor of Arts degree at Magdalen Hall (later Hertford College ) of Oxford University in 1506 and received his B.A. in 1512; the same year becoming a subdeacon . He was made Master of Arts in July 1515 and was held to be a man of virtuous disposition, leading an unblemished life. [4] The M.A. allowed him to start studying theology , but the official course did not include the systematic study of Scripture. As Tyndale later complained:
"They have ordained that no man shall look on the Scripture, until he be noselled in heathen learning eight or nine years and armed with false principles, with which he is clean shut out of the understanding of the Scripture."
He was a gifted linguist, over the years becoming fluent in French, Greek , Hebrew , German, Italian, Latin , and Spanish, in addition to his native English. [5] Between 1517 and 1521, he went to the University of Cambridge. Erasmus had been the leading teacher of Greek there from August 1511 to January 1512, but not during Tyndale's time at the university. [6] Tyndale may have met Thomas Bilney and John Frith whilst there. [7]
Sculpted Head Of William Tyndale from St Dunstan-in-the-West Church London
Tyndale became chaplain to the house of Sir John Walsh at Little Sodbury and tutor to his children in about 1521. His opinions proved controversial to fellow clergymen, and around 1522 he was called before John Bell, the Chancellor of the Diocese of Worcester , though no formal charges were laid. [8]
Soon afterwards, Tyndale determined to translate the Bible into English, convinced that the way to God was through His word and that scripture should be available even to common people. John Foxe describes an argument with a "learned" but "blasphemous" clergyman, who had asserted to Tyndale that, "We had better be without God's laws than the Pope's." Tyndale had responded: "I defy the Pope, and all his laws; and if God spares my life, ere many years, I will cause the boy that driveth the plow to know more of the Scriptures than thou dost!" [9] [10]
Tyndale left for London in 1523 to seek permission to translate the Bible into English. He requested help from Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall , a well-known classicist who had praised Erasmus after working together with him on a Greek New Testament. The bishop, however, declined to extend his patronage, telling Tyndale he had no room for him in his household. [11] Tyndale preached and studied "at his book" in London for some time, relying on the help of a cloth merchant, Humphrey Monmouth. During this time he lectured widely, including at St Dunstan-in-the-West .
In Europe
He then left England and landed on the continent, perhaps at Hamburg , in the spring of the year 1524, possibly travelling on to Wittenberg . The entry of the name "Guillelmus Daltici ex Anglia“ in the matriculation registers of the University Wittenberg has been taken to be a Latinization of "William Tyndale from England". [12] At this time, possibly in Wittenberg, he began translating the New Testament , completing it in 1525, with assistance from Observant friar William Roy.
The beginning of the Gospel of John , from Tyndale's 1525 translation of the New Testament.
In 1525, publication of the work by Peter Quentell, in Cologne , was interrupted by the impact of anti-Lutheranism. It was not until 1526 that a full edition of the New Testament was produced by the printer Peter Schoeffer in Worms , a free imperial city then in the process of adopting Lutheranism. [13] More copies were soon printed in Antwerp . The book was smuggled into England and Scotland , and was condemned in October 1526 by Tunstall, who issued warnings to booksellers and had copies burned in public. [14] Marius notes that the "spectacle of the scriptures being put to the torch" "provoked controversy even amongst the faithful." [14] Cardinal Wolsey condemned Tyndale as a heretic, his first mention in open court as a heretic being in January 1529. [15]
From an entry in George Spalatin 's Diary, on 11 August 1526, it seems that Tyndale remained at Worms about a year. It is not clear exactly when he left Worms and moved to Antwerp . The colophon to Tyndale's translation of Genesis and the title pages of several pamphlets from this time are purported to have been printed by Hans Luft at Marburg , but this is a false address. Hans Luft , the printer of Luther's books, never had a printing press at Marburg .[ citation needed ]
William Tyndale, before being strangled and burned at the stake, cries out, "Lord, open the King of England's eyes". woodcut from Foxe's Book of Martyrs (1563).
Around 1529, it is possible that Tyndale intended to move to Hamburg, carrying on his work. He revised his New Testament and began translating the Old Testament and writing various treatises.
Opposition to Henry VIII's divorce
In 1530, he wrote The Practyse of Prelates, opposing Henry VIII 's planned divorce from Catherine of Aragon , in favour of Anne Boleyn , on the grounds that it was unscriptural and was a plot by Cardinal Wolsey to get Henry entangled in the papal courts of Pope Clement VII . [16] The king's wrath was aimed at Tyndale: Henry asked the Emperor Charles V to have the writer apprehended and returned to England under the terms of the Treaty of Cambrai , however, the Emperor responded that formal evidence was required before extradition. [17] Tyndale developed his case in An Answer unto Sir Thomas More's Dialogue.
Betrayal and death
Eventually, Tyndale was betrayed by Henry Phillips to the imperial authorities, [18] seized in Antwerp in 1535 and held in the castle of Vilvoorde near Brussels . [19] He was tried on a charge of heresy in 1536 and condemned to death, despite Thomas Cromwell 's intercession on his behalf. Tyndale "was strangled to death while tied at the stake, and then his dead body was burned". [20] Tyndale's final words, spoken "at the stake with a fervent zeal, and a loud voice", were reported as "Lord! Open the King of England's eyes." [21] The traditional date of commemoration is 6 October, but records of Tyndale's imprisonment suggest the actual date of his execution might have been some weeks earlier. [22] Foxe gives 6 October as the date of commemoration (left-hand date column), but gives no date of death (right-hand date column). [19]
Within four years, at the same king's behest, four English translations of the Bible were published in England, [23] including Henry's official Great Bible . All were based on Tyndale's work.
Theological views
Tyndale denounced the practice of prayer to saints . [24] He taught justification by faith , believer's baptism , the return of Christ , and mortality of the soul . [25]
Printed works
Most well known for his translation of the Bible, Tyndale was an active writer and translator. Not only did Tyndale's works focus on the way in which religion should be carried out, but were also greatly keyed towards the political arena.
Year Printed
These works were reprints of Tyndale's earlier translations revised for modern spelling.
Legacy
Impact on the English language
In translating the Bible, Tyndale introduced new words into the English language, and many were subsequently used in the King James Bible :
Jehovah (from a transliterated Hebrew construction in the Old Testament ; composed from the Tetragrammaton YHWH)
Passover (as the name for the Jewish holiday, Pesach or Pesah)
scapegoat (the goat that bears the sins and iniquities of the people in Leviticus , Chapter 16)
Coinage of the word atonement (a concatenation of the words 'At One' to describe Christ's work of restoring a good relationship—a reconciliation—between God and people) [27] is also sometimes ascribed to Tyndale. [28] [29] However, the word was probably in use by at least 1513, before Tyndale's translation. [30] [31] Similarly, sometimes Tyndale is said to have coined the term mercy seat . [32] While it is true that Tyndale introduced the word into English, mercy seat is more accurately a translation of Martin Luther 's German Gnadenstuhl. [33]
As well as individual words, Tyndale also coined such familiar phrases as:
lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil
knock and it shall be opened unto you
twinkling of an eye (another translation from Luther) [32]
a moment in time
gave up the ghost
the signs of the times
the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak (which is like Luther's translation of Mathew 26,41: der Geist ist willig, aber das Fleisch ist schwach; Wyclif for example translated it with: for the spirit is ready, but the flesh is sick.)
live and move and have our being
fight the good fight
Controversy over new words and phrases
The hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church did not approve of some of the words and phrases introduced by Tyndale, such as "overseer", where the it would have understood as "bishop," "elder" for "priest," and "love" rather than "charity." Tyndale, citing Erasmus , contended that the Greek New Testament did not support the traditional Roman Catholic readings. More controversially, Tyndale translated the Greek "ekklesia," (literally "called out ones" [34] ) as "congregation" rather than "Church." [35] It has been asserted this translation choice "was a direct threat to the Church's ancient—but so Tyndale here made clear, non-scriptural—claim to be the body of Christ on earth. To change these words was to strip the Church hierarchy of its pretensions to be Christ's terrestrial representative, and to award this honour to individual worshipers who made up each congregation." [35]
Contention from Roman Catholics came not only from real or perceived errors in translation but also a fear of the erosion of their social power if Christians could read the bible in their own language. "The Pope's dogma is bloody," Tyndale wrote in his Obedience of a Christian Man . [36] Thomas More commented that searching for errors in the Tyndale Bible was similar to searching for water in the sea, and charged Tyndale's translation of Obedience of a Christian Man with having about a thousand falsely translated errors. Bishop Cuthbert Tunstall of London declared that there were upwards of 2,000 errors in Tyndale's Bible. Tunstall in 1523 had denied Tyndale the permission required under the Constitutions of Oxford (1409), which were still in force, to translate the Bible into English.
In response to allegations of inaccuracies in his translation in the New Testament, Tyndale in the Prologue to his 1525 translation wrote that he never intentionally altered or misrepresented any of the Bible in his translation, but that he had sought to "interpret the sense of the scripture and the meaning of the spirit." [35]
While translating, Tyndale followed Erasmus ' (1522) Greek edition of the New Testament. In his Preface to his 1534 New Testament ("WT unto the Reader"), he not only goes into some detail about the Greek tenses but also points out that there is often a Hebrew idiom underlying the Greek. The Tyndale Society adduces much further evidence to show that his translations were made directly from the original Hebrew and Greek sources he had at his disposal. For example, the Prolegomena in Mombert's William Tyndale's Five Books of Moses show that Tyndale's Pentateuch is a translation of the Hebrew original. His translation also drew on Latin Vulgate and Luther's 1521 September Testament. [35]
Of the first (1526) edition of Tyndale's New Testament, only three copies survive. The only complete copy is part of the Bible Collection of Württembergische Landesbibliothek , Stuttgart. The copy of the British Library is almost complete, lacking only the title page and list of contents. Another rarity of Tyndale's is the Pentateuch of which only nine remain.
Impact on the English Bible
Miscellaneous
The translators of the Revised Standard Version in the 1940s noted that Tyndale's translation inspired the great translations that followed, including the Great Bible of 1539, the Geneva Bible of 1560, the Bishops' Bible of 1568, the Douay-Rheims Bible of 1582–1609, and the King James Version of 1611, of which the RSV translators noted: "It [the KJV] kept felicitous phrases and apt expressions, from whatever source, which had stood the test of public usage. It owed most, especially in the New Testament, to Tyndale". Many scholars today believe that such is the case. Moynahan writes: "A complete analysis of the Authorised Version, known down the generations as "the AV" or "the King James" was made in 1998. It shows that Tyndale's words account for 84% of the New Testament and for 75.8% of the Old Testament books that he translated. [37] Joan Bridgman makes the comment in the Contemporary Review that, "He [Tyndale] is the mainly unrecognised translator of the most influential book in the world. Although the Authorised King James Version is ostensibly the production of a learned committee of churchmen, it is mostly cribbed from Tyndale with some reworking of his translation." [38]
Many of the great English versions since then have drawn inspiration from Tyndale, such as the Revised Standard Version, the New American Standard Bible , and the English Standard Version . Even the paraphrases like the Living Bible have been inspired by the same desire to make the Bible understandable to Tyndale's proverbial ploughboy. [39] [40]
George Steiner in his book on translation After Babel refers to "the influence of the genius of Tyndale, the greatest of English Bible translators..." [After Babel p. 366]. He has also appeared as a character in two plays dealing with the King James Bible , Howard Brenton's Anne Boleyn (2010) and David Edgar's Written on the Heart (2011).
Memorials
A memorial to Tyndale stands in Vilvoorde , where he was executed. It was erected in 1913 by Friends of the Trinitarian Bible Society of London and the Belgian Bible Society [41] There is also a small William Tyndale Museum in the town, attached to the Protestant church. [42]
A bronze statue by Sir Joseph Boehm commemorating the life and work of Tyndale was erected in Victoria Embankment Gardens on the Thames Embankment , London in 1884. It shows his right hand on an open Bible, which is itself resting on an early printing press.
The Tyndale Monument was built in 1866 on a hill above his supposed birthplace, North Nibley , Gloucestershire.
A number of colleges, schools and study centres have been named in his honour, including Tyndale House (Cambridge) , Tyndale University College and Seminary (Toronto), the Tyndale-Carey Graduate School affiliated to the Bible College of New Zealand , William Tyndale College (Farmington Hills, Michigan), and Tyndale Theological Seminary (Shreveport, Louisiana, and Fort Worth, Texas), as well as the independent Tyndale Theological Seminary [43] in Badhoevedorp, near Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
An American Christian publishing house, also called Tyndale House , was named after Tyndale.
Liturgical commemoration
By tradition Tyndale's death is commemorated on 6 October. [44] There are commemorations on this date in the church calendars of members of the Anglican Communion , initially as one of the "days of optional devotion" in the American Book of Common Prayer (1979), [45] and a "black-letter day" in the Church of England 's Alternative Service Book. [46] The Common Worship that came into use in the Church of England in 2000 provides a collect proper to 6 October, beginning with the words:
"Lord, give your people grace to hear and keep your word that, after the example of your servant William Tyndale, we may not only profess your gospel but also be ready to suffer and die for it, to the honour of your name; …"
Tyndale is also honoured in the Calendar of Saints of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as a translator and martyr the same day.
Films about Tyndale
In 1937 the first film about the life of William Tindale was made. [47] The second film God's Outlaw: The Story of William Tyndale was released in 1986. A cartoon film about his life with the title Torchlighters: The William Tyndale Story was released ca. 2005. In the film Stephen's Test of Faith (1998) is a long scene with Tyndale, how he translated the Bible and how he is put to death. [48]
Around 2006, a documentary film William Tyndale: Man with a Mission was published. This documentary included an interview with David Daniell . Another known documentary is the film William Tyndale: His Life, His Legacy. The U.S. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) broadcast in the Secrets of the Dead documentary series the 2007 documentary "Battle for the Bible" (55 minutes) that features Tyndale's story and legacy and includes historical context. This is an abbreviated and revised version of the 2-hour Channel 4 documentary "The Bible Revolution", presented by Rod Liddle . It details the roles of historically significant English Reformers John Wycliffe , William Tyndale, and Thomas Cranmer . The PBS version uses Liev Schreiber as narrator, and replaces some British footage with that more relevant to American audiences.
In 2011, BYUtv produced a miniseries on the creation of the King James Bible that focused heavily on Tyndale's life. [49] [50]
See also
^ "Fires of Faith: The Coming Forth of the King James Bible" , byutv.org ( BYU Television ), http://byutv.org/show/123d4a82-3d47-488e-beda-2496a5a1ff2c
References
Adapted from J.I. Mombert, " Tyndale, William ," in Philip Schaff, Johann Jakob Herzog, et al., eds., The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1904, reprinted online by the Christian Classics Ethereal Library . Additional references are available there.
David Daniell , William Tyndale, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography , Oxford University Press, 2004
David Daniell , William Tyndale: A Biography, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001, ISBN 978-0-300-06880-1
William Tyndale, An Answer Unto Sir Thomas Mores Dialoge, edited by Anne M. O'Donnell, S.N.D. and Jared Wicks S.J., Washington D.C. Catholic University of America Press , 2000, ISBN 0-8132-0820-3
William Tyndale, The New Testament, (Worms, 1526; Reprinted in original spelling by The British Library , 2000 ISBN 0-7123-4664-3 )
William Tyndale, The New Testament, (Antwerp, 1534; Reprinted in modern English spelling, complete with Prologues to the books and marginal notes, with the original Greek paragraphs, by Yale University Press, 1989 ISBN 0-300-04419-4 )
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Jackson, Samuel Macauley, ed. (1914). " article name needed ". New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (third ed.). London and New York: Funk and Wagnalls.
Paul Arblaster, Gergely Juhász, Guido Latré (eds) Tyndale's Testament hardback ISBN 2-503-51411-1 Brepols 2002
Day, John T. "Sixteenth-Century British Nondramatic Writers" Dictionary of Literary Biography 1.132 1993 :296–311
Foxe, Acts and Monuments
Cahill, Elizabeth Kirkl "A bible for the plowboy", Commonweal 124.7: 1997
The Norton Anthology: English Literature. Ed. Julia Reidhead. New York: New York, Eighth Edition, 2006. 621.
Brian Moynahan, God's Bestseller: William Tyndale, Thomas More, and the Writing of the English Bible—A Story of Martyrdom and Betrayal St. Martin's Press, 2003
John Piper, Desiring God Ministries, "Why William Tyndale Lived and Died" [1]
William Tyndale: A hero for the information age," The Economist, 2008 December 20, pp. 101–103. [2] The online version corrects the name of Tyndale's Antwerp landlord as "Thomas Pointz" vice the "Henry Pointz" indicated in the print edition.
Ralph S. Werrell, "The Theology of William Tyndale." ISBN 0-227-67985-7 . With a Foreword by Dr. Rowan Williams. Published by James Clarke & Co.
External links
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Who was the Iranian religous leader who returned to Iran from exile in 1979 to establish a fundamentalist Islamic republic? He supported the seizing of the US embassy and the Iran-Iraq war. | Iranian Revolution - 必应
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Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution (also known as the Islamic Revolution or the 1979 Revolution; Persian: انقلاب اسلامی, Enghelābe Eslāmi or انقلاب بیست و دو بهمن) refers to events involving the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the United States and its eventual replacement with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, supported by various leftist and Islamic organizations and Iranian student movements. Demonstrations against the Shah commenced in October 1977, developing into a campaign of civil resist ... (展开) ance that included both secular and religious elements. and which intensified in January 1978. Between August and December 1978 strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country. The Shah left Iran for exile on January 16, 1979, as the last Persian monarch, leaving his duties to a regency council and an opposition-based prime minister. Ayatollah Khomeini was invited back to Iran by the government, and returned to Tehran to a greeting by several million Iranians. The royal reign collapsed shortly after on February 11 when guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting, bringing Khomeini to official power. Iran voted by national referendum to become an Islamic Republic on April 1, 1979, and to approve a new theocratic-republican constitution whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country, in December 1979. The revolution was unusual for the surprise it created throughout the world: it lacked many of the customary causes of revolution (defeat at war, a financial crisis, peasant rebellion, or disgruntled military), occurred in a nation that was enjoying relatively good material wealth and prosperity, produced profound change at great speed, was massively popular, resulted in the exile of many Iranians, and replaced a pro-Western semi-absolute monarchy with an anti-Western authoritarian theocracy based on the concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (or velayat-e faqih). It was a relatively non-violent revolution, and helped to redefine the meaning and practice of modern revolutions (although there was violence in its aftermath). Its outcome – an Islamic Republic "under the guidance of a religious scholar from Qom" – was, as one scholar put it, "clearly an occurrence that had to be explained".
Iranian Revolution Causes
Main article: Background and causes of the Iranian Revolution
Reasons advanced for the occurrence of the revolution and its populist, nationalist and, later, Shi'a Islamic character include a conservative backlash against the Westernizing and secularizing efforts of the Western-backed Shah, a liberal backlash to social injustice, a rise in expectations created by the 1973 oil revenue windfall and an overly ambitious economic program, anger over a short, sharp economic contraction in 1977–78, and other shortcomings of the previous regime.
The Shah's regime became increasingly oppressive, brutal, corrupt, and extravagant. It also suffered from basic functional failures that brought economic bottlenecks, shortages, and inflation. The Shah was perceived by many as beholden to — if not a puppet of — a non-Muslim Western power (the United States) whose culture was affecting that of Iran. At the same time, support for the Shah may have waned among Western politicians and media – especially under the administration of U.S. President Jimmy Carter – as a result of the Shah's support for OPEC petroleum price increases earlier in the decade. When President Carter enacted a human-rights policy which said countries guilty of human-rights violations would be deprived of American arms or aid, this helped give some Iranians the courage to post open letters and petitions in the hope that the repression by the government might subside.
That the revolution replaced the monarchy of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi with Islamism and Khomeini, rather than with another leader and ideology, is credited in part to the spread of the Shia version of the Islamic revival that opposed Westernization and saw Ayatollah Khomeini as following in the footsteps of the Shi'a Imam Husayn ibn Ali and the Shah in the role of Husayn's foe, the hated tyrant Yazid I. Other factors include the underestimation of Khomeini's Islamist movement by both the Shah's reign – who considered them a minor threat compared to the Marxists and Islamic socialists – and by the secularist, opponents of the government – who thought the Khomeinists could be sidelined.
Tobacco Protest
Main article: Tobacco Protest
The Shi'a clergy (Ulema) had a significant influence on Iranian society. The clergy first showed itself to be a powerful political force in opposition to the monarchy with the 1891 Tobacco Protest. On March 20, 1890, Nasir al-Din Shah granted a concession to Major G. F. Talbot for a full monopoly over the production, sale, and export of tobacco for fifty years. At the time the Persian tobacco industry employed over 200,000 people and therefore the concession represented a major blow to Persian farmers and bazaaris whose livelihoods were largely dependent on the lucrative tobacco business. The boycotts and protests against it were widespread and extensive because of Mirza Hasan Shirazi’s fatwa (judicial decree). Finally Nasir al-Din Shah found himself powerless to stop the popular movement and cancelled the concession. The Tobacco Protest was the first significant Iranians resistance against the Shah and foreign interests, and revealed the power of the people and the Ulema influence among them.
Persian Constitutional Revolution
Main article: Persian Constitutional Revolution
The growing discontent continued until the Constitutional Revolution. The revolution led to the establishment of a Parliament and approval of the first constitution. Although the constitutional revolution was successful in weakening the autocracy of the Qajar regime, it failed to provide a powerful alternative government. Consequently, within the decades following the establishment of the new parliament, a number of critical events took place. Many of these events can be viewed as a continuation of the struggle between the constitutionalists and the Shahs of Persia, many of whom were backed by foreign powers against the parliament.
Reza Shah
Main article: Rezā Shāh
Insecurity and chaos created after the Constitutional Revolution lead to the rise of the Reza Khan. He established a constitutional monarchy, and introduced many social, economic, and political reforms during his reign. A number of these reforms led to public discontent which provides circumstances for an Iranian revolution. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's father, Reza Shah, replaced Islamic laws with Western ones, which forbade traditional Islamic clothing, separation of the sexes and veiling of women's faces with the niqab. Police forcibly removed and tore chadors off women who resisted his ban on the public hijab. In 1935, dozens were killed and hundreds injured in the Goharshad Mosque rebellion. On the other hand, in the early rise of Reza Shah, Abdul-Karim Ha'eri Yazdi founded the Qom Seminary and created important changes in seminaries. However, he would avoid entering into political issues, as did other religious leaders who followed him. Hence, no widespread anti-government attempts were organized by clergy during the Reza Shah Rule. However, the future Ayatollah Khomeini was a student of Sheikh Abdul Karim Ha’eri.
Outbreak
By 1977, the Shah's policy of political liberalization was underway. Secular opponents of the Shah began to meet together in secret to denounce the government.
Led by the leftist intellectual Saeed Soltanpour, the Iranian Writers Association met at the Goethe Institute in Tehran to read anti-government poetry. Ali Shariati's death in the United Kingdom shortly after led to another public demonstration, with the opposition accusing the Shah of "murdering" him (although it was later ruled he died naturally of a heart attack).
The chain of events began with the death of Mostafa Khomeini, chief aide and eldest son of Ruhollah Khomeini. He mysteriously died at midnight of October 23, 1977. SAVAK and Iraqi government declared heart attack as the cause of demise, though many believed his death was attributed to SAVAK. Khomeini remained silent after the incident, but in Iran with the spread of the news there was a wave of protest in several cities and mourning ceremonies in major cities were held. The mourning of Mostafa was given a political cast by the Khomeini’s political credentials, their enduring opposition to the monarchy and their exile. Thus dimension of the ceremonies went beyond the religious credentials of the family.
Beginning of protests[edit]
On January 7, 1978, an article ("Iran and the Red and Black Colonialism") appeared in the national daily Ettela'at newspaper. Written under a pseudonym by a government agent, it denounced Khomeini as a "British agent" and a "mad Indian poet" conspiring to sell out Iran to neo-colonialists and communists.
Upon the publishing of the article, religious seminary students in the city of Qom, angered over the insult to Khomeini, clashed with police. According to the government, two were killed in the clash; according to the opposition, seventy were killed and over five hundred were injured. However, the casualty figures are different in different sources.
Consolidation of the opposition[edit]
According to the Shi'ite customs, memorial services (called Arba'een) are held forty days after a person's death. Encouraged by Khomeini (who declared that the blood of martyrs must water the "tree of Islam"), radicals pressured the mosques and moderate clergy to commemorate the deaths of the students, and used the occasion to generate protests. The informal network of mosques and bazaars, which for years had been used to carry out religious events, increasingly became consolidated as a coordinated protest organization.
On February 18, forty days after Qom clashes, demonstrations broke out in various different cities. The largest was in Tabriz, which descended into a full-scale riot. "Western" and government symbols such as cinemas, bars, state-owned banks, and police stations were set ablaze. Units of Imperial Iranian Army were deployed to the city to restore order, and the final death toll was 6 (while Khomeini claimed hundreds were "martyred").
Forty days later (March 29), demonstrations were organized in at least 55 cities, including Tehran. In an increasingly predictable pattern, deadly riots broke out in major cities, and again forty days later on May 10. It led to an incident in which army commandos opened fire on Ayatollah Shariatmadari's house, killing one of his students. Shariatmadari immediately made a public announcement declaring his support for a "constitutional government", and a return to the policies of the 1906 Constitution.
Government reaction[edit]
The Shah was taken completely by surprise by the protests; to make matters worse he often became indecisive during times of crisis. Virtually every major decision he would make would backfire on his government, instead inflaming the revolutionaries.
The Shah decided to continue on his plan of liberalization, and decided to negotiate rather than to use force against the still nascent protest movement. He promised that fully democratic elections for the Majlis would be held in 1979. Censorship was relaxed, and a resolution was drafted to help reduce corruption within the royal family and the government. Protesters were tried in civilian courts rather than by military court-martials, and were quickly released.
Iran's security forces had not received any riot control training nor equipment since 1963. Police forces were unable to control demonstrations and the army frequently was deployed in that role. Soldiers were instructed not to use deadly force, yet there were instances of inexperienced soldiers reacting excessively, inflaming the violence without cowing the opposition, and receiving official condemnation from the Shah.(The Carter Administration also refused to sell non-lethal tear gas and rubber bullets to Iran).
As early as the Tabriz riots in February, the Shah fired all the SAVAK officials in the city in a concession to the opposition, and soon began to dismiss civil servants and government officials whom he felt the public blamed. In the first national concession, he replaced the hardline SAVAK chief General Nematollah Nassiri with the more moderate General Nasser Moghaddam. The government also negotiated to moderate religious leaders such as Shariatmadari (apologizing to the latter for the raid on his house).
Early summer[edit]
By summer, the protests had stagnated. They remained at a steady state for four months – about ten thousand participants in each major city (with the exception of Isfahan where protests were larger and Tehran where they were smaller), protesting every 40 days. This amounted to a small minority of the more than 15 million adults in Iran.
Against the wishes of Khomeini, Shariatmadari called for the June 17 mourning protests were carried out as a one-day stay at home strike. Although tensions remained in the air, the Shah's policy appeared to have worked, leading Amuzegar to declare that "the crisis is over". A CIA analysis concluded that Iran "is not in a revolutionary or even a pre-revolutionary situation." Indeed, these and later events in Iran are frequently cited as one of the most consequential strategic surprises that the United States has experienced since the CIA was established in 1947.
As a sign of easing of government restrictions, three prominent opposition leaders from the secular National Front: Karim Sanjabi, Shahpour Bakhtiar, and Dariush Forouhar were allowed to write an open letter to the Shah demanding that he reign according to the constitution of Iran.
Renewed protests
Cinema Rex Fire[edit]
On August 19, in the southwestern city of Abadan, four arsonists barred the door of the Cinema Rex movie theater and set it on fire. In what was the largest terrorist attack in history prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks, 422 people inside the theater were burned to death. Khomeini immediately blamed the Shah and SAVAK for setting the fire. Due to the pervasive revolutionary atmosphere, the public also blamed the Shah for starting the fire, despite the government's insistence that they were uninvolved. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets shouting "Burn the Shah!" and "The Shah is the guilty one!".
After the revolution, it was disclosed that Islamist militants started the fire. After the Islamic Republic government wrongfully executed a police officer for the act, the lone surviving arsonist, angered that somebody else was receiving credit for his act, admitted to starting the fire. After forcing the resignation of the presiding judges in an attempt to hamper the investigation, the new government finally executed Hossein Talakhzadeh for "setting the fire on the Shah's orders" (despite his insistence he did it on his own accord as an ultimate sacrifice for the revolutionary cause).
Appointment of Jafar Sharif-Emami as prime minister[edit]
By August, the protests had “kick[ed] ... into high gear,” and the number of demonstrators mushroomed to hundreds of thousands. In an attempt to dampen inflation the Amuzegar administration cut spending and reduced business, but the cutbacks led to a sharp rise in layoffs – particularly among young, unskilled, male workers living in the working class districts. By summer 1978, the working class joined the street protests in massive numbers. In addition, it was the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, bringing a sense of increased religiosity among many people.
A series of escalating protests broke out in major cities, and deadly riots broke out in Isfahan where protesters fought for the release of Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri. Martial law was declared in the city on August 11 as symbols of Western culture and government buildings were burned, and a bus full of American workers was bombed. Due to his failure to stop the protests, Prime Minister Amuzegar offered his resignation.
The Shah increasingly felt that he was losing control of the situation and hoped to regain it through complete appeasement. He decided to appoint Jafar Sharif-Emami to the post of prime minister, himself a veteran prime minister. Emami was chosen due to his family ties to the clergy, but had a reputation of corruption during his previous premiership.
Under the Shah's guidance, Sharif-Emami effectively began a policy of "appeasing the opposition's demands before they even made them". The government abolished the Rastakhiz Party, legalized all political parties and released political prisoners, increased freedom of expression, curtailed SAVAK's authority and dismissed 34 of its commanders, closed down casinos and nightclubs, and abolished the imperial calendar. The government also began to prosecute corrupt government and royal family members. Sharif-Emami entered into negotiations with Ayatollah Shariatmadari and National Front leader Karim Sanjabi in order to help organize future elections. Censorship was effectively terminated, and the newspapers began reporting heavily on demonstrations, often highly critically and negatively of the Shah. The Majlis (Parliament) also began issuing resolutions against the government.
Declaration of martial law and Black Friday[edit]
September 4 was Eid-e-Fitr, the holiday celebrating the end of the month of Ramadan. A permit for an open air prayer was granted, in which 200,000–500,000 people attended. Instead, the clergy directed the crowd on a large march through the center of Tehran (the Shah reportedly watched the march from his helicopter, unnerved and confused). A few days later even larger protests took place, and for the first time protesters called for Khomeini's return and the establishment of an Islamic republic.
At midnight on September 8, the Shah declared martial law in Tehran and 11 other major cities throughout the country. All street demonstrations were banned, and a night-time curfew was established. Tehran's martial law commander was General Gholam-Ali Oveissi, who was known for his severity against opponents. However, the Shah made clear that once martial law was lifted he intended to continue with the liberalization, he retained Sharif-Emami's civilian government, hoping that protesters would avoid taking the streets.
However, 5,000 protesters took to the streets, either in defiance or because they had missed hearing the declaration, and faced off with soldiers at Jaleh Square. After the firing warning shots failed to disperse the crowd, troops fired directly into the mob, killing 64, while General Oveissi claimed that 30 soldiers were killed by armed snipers in surrounding buildings. Additional clashes throughout the day (which would be called Black Friday by the opposition) brought the opposition death toll to 89.
Reactions to Black Friday[edit]
The deaths shocked the country, and damaged any attempt at reconciliation between the Shah and the opposition. Khomeini immediately declared that "4,000 innocent protesters were massacred by Zionists", and gave him a pretext to reject any further compromise with the government.
The Shah himself was horrified by the events of Black Friday, and harshly criticized the events, though this did little to sway public perception of him as being responsible for the shooting. While martial law officially remained in effect, the government decided not to break up any more demonstrations or strikes (in effect "martial law without there exactly being martial law", according to Sharif-Emami), instead continuing to negotiate with protest leaders. Consequently, protest gatherings often took place without any serious intervention by soldiers.
General strike, increasing opposition, and military government
Nationwide strikes[edit]
On September 9, 700 workers at Tehran's main oil refinery went on strike, and on September 11 the same occurred at refineries in 5 other cities. On September 13, central government workers in Tehran simultaneously went on strike.
By late October, a nationwide general strike was declared, with workers in virtually all major industries walking off their jobs, most damagingly in the oil industry and the print media. Special "strike committees" were set up throughout major industries to organize and coordinate the activities.
The Shah did not attempt to crack down on strikers, but instead gave them generous wage increases, and allowed strikers who lived in government housing to remain in their homes. By the beginning of November, many important officials in the Shah's government were demanding from the Shah forceful measures to bring the strikers back to work.
Khomeini moves to the West[edit]
Hoping to break Khomeini's contacts with the opposition, the Shah pressured the Iraqi government to expel him from Najaf. Khomeini left Iraq, instead moving to a house bought by Iranian exiles in Neauphle-le-Château, a village near Paris, France. The Shah hoped that Khomeini would be cut off from the mosques of Najaf and be cut off from the protest movement. Instead, the plan backfired badly. With superior French telephone and postal connections (compared to Iraqi ones), his supporters flooded Iran with tapes and recordings of his sermons.
Worse for the Shah, the Western media, especially the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), immediately put Khomeini into the spotlight. Khomeini rapidly became a household name in the west, portraying himself as an "Eastern mystic" who did not seek power, but instead sought to "free" his people from "oppression". The normally critical western media rapidly became a docile tool in Khomeini's hands.
In addition, the media coverage eroded the influence of other, more moderate clergy such as Ayatollah Shariatmadari and Ayatollah Taleghani. The BBC itself later issued a statement admitting to having a "critical" disposition to the Shah, saying that its broadcasts helped to "change the collective perception of the population."
In November, secular National Front leader Karim Sanjabi flew to Paris to meet Khomeini. There the two signed an agreement for a draft constitution that would be "Islamic and democratic". It signaled the now official alliance between the clergy and the secular opposition. In order to help create a democratic facade, Khomeini placed Westernized figures (such as Sadegh Qotbzadeh and Ebrahim Yazdi) as the public spokesmen of the opposition, and never spoke to the media of his intentions to create a theocracy.
Continued conflict[edit]
Street demonstrations continued at full force with little response from the military; by late October, government officials effectively even ceded the University of Tehran to student protesters. Worse, the opposition was increasingly becoming armed with weapons, firing at soldiers and attacking banks and government buildings in an attempt to destabilize the country.
On November 5, demonstrations at University of Tehran became deadly after a fight broke out with armed soldiers. Within hours, Tehran broke out into a full-scale riot. Block after block of Western symbols such as movie theaters and department stores, as well as government and police buildings, were seized, looted, and burned. The British embassy in Tehran was partially burned and vandalized as well, and the American embassy nearly suffered the same fate (the event became known to foreign observers as "The Day Tehran Burned").
Many of the rioters were young teenage boys, often organized by the mosques in southern Tehran, and encouraged by their mullahs to attack and destroy western and secular symbols. The army and police, confused about their orders and under pressure from the Shah not to risk initiating violence, effectively gave up and did not intervene.
Appointment of a military government[edit]
As the situation on the streets spiraled out of control, many well known and reputable figures within the country began to approach the Shah, begging him to stop the chaos.
On November 6, the Shah dismissed Sharif-Emami from the post of prime minister, and chose to appoint a military government in its place. General Gholam-Reza Azhari was chosen to be prime minister. Azhari was chosen by the Shah because of his mild-mannered approach to the situation. The cabinet he would choose was a military cabinet in name only, and consisted primarily of civilian leaders.
The same day, the Shah made a speech on Iranian television. He referred to himself as Padeshah (king), instead of the more grandiose Shahanshah (king of kings), which he insisted on being called previously. In his speech he stated "I have heard the voice of your revolution"..."this revolution cannot but be supported by me, the king of Iran". He apologized for mistakes that were committed during his reign, and promised to ensure that corruption would no longer exist. He stated he would begin to work with the opposition to bring democracy, and would form a coalition government. In effect, the Shah intended to restrain the military government (which he described as a temporary caretaker government) from carrying out a full crackdown.
The speech backfired when the revolutionaries sensed weakness from the Shah and "smelled blood". Khomeini announced that there would be no reconciliation with the Shah and called on all Iranians to overthrow him.
Military authorities declared martial law in Khuzestan province (Iran's main oil producing province), and deployed troops to its oil facilities. Navy personnel were also used as strikebreakers in the oil industry. Street marches declined and oil production began increasing once again, nearly reaching pre-revolutionary levels. In a symbolic blow to the opposition, Karim Sanjabi, who had visited Khomeini in Paris, was arrested upon Khomeini's return to Iran.
However, the government still continued the policy of appeasement and negotiation. The Shah ordered the arrest of 100 officials from his own government for charges of corruption, including former prime minister Amir Abbas-Hoveyda and former SAVAK head Nematollah Nassiri.
Consolidation of power by Khomeini
Main article: Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution
From early 1979 to either 1982 or 1983 Iran was in a "revolutionary crisis mode". After the system of despotic monarchy had been overthrown, the economy and the apparatus of government had collapsed, military and security forces were in disarray. Yet, by 1982 Khomeini and his supporters had crushed the rival factions, defeated local rebellions and consolidated power. Events that made up both the crisis and its resolution were the Iran Hostage Crisis, the invasion of Iran by Saddam Hussein's Iraq, and the presidency of Abolhassan Banisadr.
Conflicts among revolutionaries[edit]
Some observers believe "what began as an authentic and anti-dictatorial popular revolution based on a broad coalition of all anti-Shah forces was soon transformed into an Islamic fundamentalist power-grab," that except for his core supporters, the members of the coalition thought Khomeini intended to be more a spiritual guide than a ruler – Khomeini being in his mid-70s, having never held public office, been out of Iran for more than a decade, and having told questioners things like "the religious dignitaries do not want to rule."
Another view is Khomeini had "overwhelming ideological, political and organizational hegemony," and non-theocratic groups never seriously challenged Khomeini's movement in popular support. Supporters of the new rule themselves have claimed that Iranians who opposed Khomeini were "fifth columnists" led by foreign countries attempting to overthrow the Iranian government.
Khomeini and his loyalists in the revolutionary organizations implemented Khomeini's velayat-e faqih design for an Islamic Republic led by himself as Supreme Leader by exploiting temporary allies such as Mehdi Bazargan's Provisional Government of Iran, whom they later eliminated from Iran's political stage one by one.
Organizations of the revolution[edit]
Main article: Organizations of the Iranian Revolution
The most important bodies of the revolution were the Revolutionary Council, the Revolutionary Guards, Revolutionary Tribunals, Islamic Republican Party, and Revolutionary Committees (komitehs).
While the moderate Bazargan and his government (temporarily) reassured the middle class, it became apparent they did not have power over the "Khomeinist" revolutionary bodies, particularly the Revolutionary Council (the "real power" in the revolutionary state), and later the Islamic Republican Party. Inevitably, the overlapping authority of the Revolutionary Council (which had the power to pass laws) and Bazargan's government was a source of conflict, despite the fact that both had been approved by and/or put in place by Khomeini.
This conflict lasted only a few months however. The provisional government fell shortly after American Embassy officials were taken hostage on 4 November 1979. Bazargan's resignation was received by Khomeini without complaint, saying "Mr. Bazargan ... was a little tired and preferred to stay on the sidelines for a while." Khomeini later described his appointment of Bazargan as a "mistake."
The Revolutionary Guard, or Pasdaran-e Enqelab, was established by Khomeini on May 5, 1979, as a counterweight both to the armed groups of the left, and to the Shah's military. The guard eventually grew into "a full-scale" military force, becoming "the strongest institution of the revolution."
Serving under the Pasdaran were/are the Baseej-e Mostaz'afin, ("Oppressed Mobilization") volunteers in everything from earthquake emergency management to attacking opposition demonstrators and newspaper offices. The Islamic Republican Party then fought to establish a theocratic government by velayat-e faqih.
Thousands of komiteh or Revolutionary Committees served as "the eyes and ears" of the new rule and are credited by critics with "many arbitrary arrests, executions and confiscations of property".
Also enforcing the will of the government were the Hezbollahi (the Party of God), "strong-arm thugs" who attacked demonstrators and offices of newspapers critical of Khomeini.
Two major political groups that formed after the fall of the shah that clashed with and were eventually suppressed by pro-Khomeini groups, were the moderate religious Muslim People's Republican Party (MPRP) which was associated with Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari, and the secular leftist National Democratic Front (NDF).
1979 uprisings[edit]
Further information: 1979 Khuzestan uprising and 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran
Following the events of the revolution, Marxist guerrillas and federalist parties revolted in some regions comprising Khuzistan, Kurdistan and Gonbad-e Qabus, which resulted in fighting between them and revolutionary forces. These revolts began in April 1979 and lasted between several months to over a year, depending on the region.
Establishment of Islamic republic government[edit]
Referendum of 12 Farvardin[edit]
On March 30 and 31 (Farvardin 10, 11) a referendum was held over whether to replace the monarchy with an "Islamic Republic" – a term not defined on the ballot. Khomeini called for a massive turnout and only the National Democratic Front, Fadayan, and several Kurdish parties opposed the vote. It was announced that 98.2% had voted in favor.
Writing of the constitution[edit]
Main article: Assembly of Experts for Constitution
In June 1979 the Freedom Movement released its draft constitution for the Islamic Republic that it had been working on since Khomeini was in exile. It included a Guardian Council to veto un-Islamic legislation, but had no guardian jurist ruler. Leftists found the draft too conservative and in need of major changes but Khomeini declared it `correct`. To approve the new constitution and prevent leftist alterations, a relatively small seventy-three-member Assembly of Experts for Constitution was elected that summer. Critics complained that "vote-rigging, violence against undesirable candidates and the dissemination of false information" was used to "produce an assembly overwhelmingly dominated by clergy loyal to Khomeini."
Khomeini (and the assembly) now rejected the constitution – its correctness notwithstanding – and Khomeini declared that the new government should be based "100% on Islam."
In addition to the president, the new constitution included a more powerful post of guardian jurist ruler intended for Khomeini, with control of the military and security services, and power to appoint several top government and judicial officials. It increased the power and number of clerics on the Council of Guardians and gave it control over elections as well as laws passed by the legislature.
The new constitution was also reportedly approved overwhelmingly by referendum, but with more opposition and smaller turnout.
Hostage Crisis[edit]
Main article: Iran hostage crisis
Helping to pass the constitution, suppress moderates and otherwise radicalize the revolution was the holding of 52 American diplomats hostage for 444 days. In late October 1979, the exiled and dying Shah was admitted into the United States for cancer treatment. In Iran there was an immediate outcry and both Khomeini and leftist groups demanding the Shah's return to Iran for trial and execution. On November 4, 1979 youthful Islamists, calling themselves Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, invaded the embassy compound and seized its staff. Revolutionaries were reminded of how 26 years earlier the Shah had fled abroad while the Embassy-based American CIA and British intelligence organized a coup d'état to overthrow his nationalist opponent.
The holding of hostages was very popular and continued for months even after the death of the Shah. As Khomeini explained to his future President Banisadr,
This action has many benefits. ... This has united our people. Our opponents do not dare act against us. We can put the constitution to the people's vote without difficulty ...
With great publicity the students released documents from the American embassy or "nest of spies," showing moderate Iranian leaders had met with U.S. officials (similar evidence of high-ranking Islamists having done so did not see the light of day). Among the casualties of the hostage crisis was Prime Minister Bazargan and his government who resigned in November unable to enforce the government's order to release the hostages.
The prestige of Khomeini and the hostage taking was further enhanced with the failure of a hostage rescue attempt, widely credited to divine intervention.
It ended with the signing of the Algiers Accords in Algeria on January 19, 1981. The hostages were formally released into United States custody the following day, just minutes after the new American president Ronald Reagan was sworn in. The hostages had been held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran for 444 days.
Suppression of opposition[edit]
In early March Khomeini announced, "do not use this term, ‘democratic.’ That is the Western style," giving pro-democracy liberals (and later leftists) a taste of disappointments to come.
In succession the National Democratic Front was banned in August 1979, the provisional government was disempowered in November, the Muslim People's Republican Party banned in January 1980, the People's Mujahedin of Iran guerrillas came under attack in February 1980, a purge of universities was begun in March 1980, and leftist Islamist Abolhassan Banisadr was impeached in June 1981.
After the revolution, human rights groups estimated the number of casualties suffered by protesters and prisoners of the new system to be several thousand. The first to be executed were members of the old system – senior generals, followed by over 200 senior civilian officials, as punishment and to eliminate the danger of a coup d’État. Brief trials lacking defense attorneys, juries, transparency or opportunity for the accused to defend themselves, were held by revolutionary judges such as Sadegh Khalkhali, the Sharia judge. By January 1980 "at least 582 persons had been executed." Among those executed was Amir Abbas Hoveida, former Prime Minister of Iran.
Between January 1980 and June 1981, when Bani-Sadr was impeached, at least 900 executions took place, for everything from drug and sexual offenses to `corruption on earth, ` from plotting counter-revolution and spying for Israel to membership in opposition groups. In the 12 months following that Amnesty International documented 2,946 executions, with several thousand more killed in the next two years according to the anti-government guerillas People's Mujahedin of Iran.
Newspaper closings[edit]
In mid August, shortly after the election of the constitution-writing assembly, several dozen newspapers and magazines opposing Khomeini's idea of theocratic rule by jurists were shut down. When protests were organized by the National Democratic Front (NDF), Khomeini angrily denounced them saying, "we thought we were dealing with human beings. It is evident we are not."
... After each revolution several thousand of these corrupt elements are executed in public and burnt and the story is over. They are not allowed to publish newspapers.
Hundreds were injured by "rocks, clubs, chains and iron bars" when Hezbollahi attacked the protesters, and shortly after, a warrant was issued for the arrest of the NDF's leader.
Muslim People's Republican Party[edit]
In December the moderate Islamic party Muslim People's Republican Party (MPRP), and its spiritual leader Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari had become a rallying point for Iranians who wanted democracy not theocracy. Riots broke out in Shariatmadari's Azeri home region with members of the MPRP and Shariatmadari's followers seizing the Tabriz television station, and using it to "broadcast demands and grievances." The regime reacted quickly, sending Revolutionary Guards to retake the TV station, mediators to defuse complaints and activists to stage a massive pro-Khomeini counter-demonstration. The party was suppressed and in 1982 Shari'atmadari was "demoted" from the rank of Grand Ayatollah and many of his clerical followers purged.
Islamist left[edit]
In January 1980 Abolhassan Banisadr was elected president of Iran. Though an adviser to Khomeini, he was a leftist who clashed with another ally of Khomeini, the theocratic Islamic Republic Party (IRP) – the controlling power in the new parliament.
At the same time, erstwhile revolutionary allies of Khomeini – the Islamist modernist guerrilla group People's Mujahedin of Iran (or MEK) – were being suppressed by Khomeini's revolutionary organizations. Khomeini attacked the MEK as monafeqin (hypocrites) and kafer (unbelievers). Hezbollahi people attacked meeting places, bookstores, newsstands of Mujahideen and other leftists driving them underground. Universities were closed to purge them of opponents of theocratic rule as a part of the "Cultural Revolution", and 20,000 teachers and nearly 8,000 military officers deemed too westernized were dismissed.
By mid-1981 matters came to a head. An attempt by Khomeini to forge a reconciliation between Banisadr and IRP leaders had failed and now it was Banisadr who was the rallying point "for all doubters and dissidents" of the theocracy, including the MEK.
When leaders of the National Front called for a demonstration in June 1981 in favor of Banisadr, Khomeini threatened its leaders with the death penalty for apostasy "if they did not repent." Leaders of the Freedom Movement of Iran were compelled to make and publicly broadcast apologies for supporting the Front's appeal. Those attending the rally were menaced by Hezbollahi and Revolutionary Guards and intimidated into silence.
The MEK retaliated with a campaign of terror against the IRP. On the June 28, 1981, a bombing of the office of the IRP killed around 70 high-ranking officials, cabinet members and members of parliament, including Mohammad Beheshti, the secretary-general of the party and head of the Islamic Republic's judicial system. The government responded with thousands of arrests and hundreds of executions. Despite these and other assassinations the hoped-for mass uprising and armed struggle against the Khomeiniists was crushed.
The MEK bombings were not the only violent opposition to the Khomeinist rule. In May 1979, the Furqan Group (Guruh-i Furqan) assassinated an important lieutenant of Khomeini, Morteza Motahhari.
Impact
Further information: History of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Views differ on the impact of the revolution. For some it was "the most significant, hopeful and profound event in the entirety of contemporary Islamic history," while other Iranians believe that the revolution was a time when "for a few years we all lost our minds", and which "promised us heaven, but... created a hell on earth."
International[edit]
Further information: 1979 energy crisis
Internationally, the initial impact of the revolution was immense. In the non-Muslim world it changed the image of Islam, generating much interest in Islam – both sympathetic and hostile – and even speculation that the revolution might change "the world balance of power more than any political event since Hitler's conquest of Europe."
The Islamic Republic positioned itself as a revolutionary beacon under the slogan "neither East nor West" (i.e. neither Soviet nor American/West European models), and called for the overthrow of capitalism, American influence, and social injustice in the Middle East and the rest of the world. Revolutionary leaders in Iran gave and sought support from non-Muslim causes in the Third World – e.g. the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, IRA in Ireland and anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa – even to the point of favoring non-Muslim revolutionaries over Islamic causes such as the neighboring Afghan Mujahideen.
Persian Gulf and the Iran–Iraq War[edit]
Main article: Iran–Iraq War
In its region, Iranian Islamic revolutionaries called specifically for the overthrow of monarchies and their replacement with Islamic republics, much to the alarm of its smaller Sunni-run Arab neighbors Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the other Persian Gulf States – most of whom were monarchies and all of whom had sizable Shi'a populations. It was with one of these countries that the Iran–Iraq War, which killed hundreds of thousands and dominated life in the Islamic Republic for the next eight years, was fought. Although Iraq invaded Iran, most of the war was fought after Iran had regained most of its land back and after the Iraqi government had offered a truce. Khomeini rejected it, announcing the only condition for peace was that "the regime in Baghdad must fall and must be replaced by an Islamic Republic," but ultimately the war ended with no Islamic revolution in Iraq.
In September 1980 the Arab Nationalist and Sunni Muslim-dominated regime of Saddam Hussein of neighboring Iraq invaded Iran in an attempt to take advantage of revolutionary chaos and destroy the revolution in its infancy.[citation needed] Iran was "galvanized" and Iranians rallied behind their new government helping to stop and then reversing the Iraqi advance. By early 1982 Iran regained almost all the territory lost to the invasion.
Like the hostage crisis, the war served in part as an opportunity for the government to strengthen revolutionary ardour and revolutionary groups. such as the Revolutionary Guard and committees at the expense of its remaining allies-turned-opponents, such as the MEK. While enormously costly and destructive, the war "rejuvenate[d] the drive for national unity and Islamic revolution" and "inhibited fractious debate and dispute" in Iran.
Western/U.S.–Iranian relations[edit]
Main articles: Iran–United Kingdom relations and Iran–United States relations
Other countries[edit]
In the Mideast and Muslim world, particularly in its early years, it triggered enormous enthusiasm and redoubled opposition to western intervention and influence. Islamist insurgents rose in Saudi Arabia (1979), Egypt (1981), Syria (1982), and Lebanon (1983).
Although ultimately only the Lebanese Islamists succeeded, other activities have had more long-term impact. The Ayatollah Khomeini's 1989 fatwa calling for the killing of Indian-born British citizen Salman Rushdie had international impact. The Islamic revolutionary government itself is credited with helping establish Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
On the other side of the ledger, at least one observer argues that despite great effort and expense the only countries outside Iran the revolution had a "measure of lasting influence" on are Lebanon and Iraq. Others claim the devastating Iran–Iraq War "mortally wounded ... the ideal of spreading the Islamic revolution," or that the Islamic Republic's pursuit of an ideological rather than a "nationalist, pragmatic" foreign policy has weakened Iran's "place as a great regional power".
Domestic[edit]
Internally, the revolution has brought a broadening of education and health care for the poor, and particularly governmental promotion of Islam, and the elimination of secularism and American influence in government. Fewer changes have occurred in terms of political freedom, governmental honesty and efficiency, economic equality and self-sufficiency, or even popular religious devotion. Opinion polls and observers report widespread dissatisfaction, including a "rift" between the revolutionary generation and younger Iranians who find it "impossible to understand what their parents were so passionate about."
Human development[edit]
Literacy has continued to increase under the Islamic Republic which uses Islamic principles. By 2002, illiteracy rates dropped by more than half. Maternal and infant mortality rates have also been cut significantly. Population growth was first encouraged, but discouraged after 1988. Overall, Iran's Human development Index rating has climbed significantly from 0.569 in 1980 to 0.732 in 2002, on par with neighbour Turkey. Iran has since fallen 8 spots below Turkey in the latest HDI however.
Politics and government[edit]
Main article: Politics of Iran
Iran has elected governmental bodies at the national, provincial, and local levels. Although these bodies are subordinate to theocracy – which has veto power over who can run for parliament (or Islamic Consultative Assembly) and whether its bills can become law – they have more power than equivalent organs in the Shah's government.
Iran's Sunni minority (about 8%) has seen some unrest. Five of the 290 parliamentary seats are allocated to their communities.
The members of the Bahá'í Faith have been declared heretical and subversive. While persecution occurred before the Revolution since then more than 200 Bahá'ís have been executed or presumed killed, and many more have been imprisoned, deprived of jobs, pensions, businesses, and educational opportunities. Bahá'í holy places have been confiscated, vandalized, or destroyed. More recently, Bahá'ís in Iran have been deprived of education and work. Several thousand young Bahá'ís between the ages of 17 and 24 have been expelled from universities.
Whether the Islamic Republic has brought more or less severe political repression is disputed. Grumbling once done about the tyranny and corruption of the Shah and his court is now directed against "the Mullahs." Fear of SAVAK has been replaced by fear of Revolutionary Guards, and other religious revolutionary enforcers. Violations of human rights by the theocratic government is said to be worse than during the monarchy, and in any case extremely grave. Reports of torture, imprisonment of dissidents, and the murder of prominent critics have been made by human rights groups. Censorship is handled by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, without whose official permission, "no books or magazines are published, no audiotapes are distributed, no movies are shown and no cultural organization is established. All forms of popular music are banned. Men and women are not allowed to dance or swim with each other."
Women[edit]
See also: Women's rights in Iran and Women's rights movement in Iran
Women – especially those from traditional backgrounds – participated on a large scale in demonstrations leading up to the revolution. Since the revolution university enrollment and the number of women in the civil service and higher education has risen and several women have been elected to the Iranian parliament.
Economy[edit]
See also: Economy of Iran
Iran's post-revolutionary economy has a significant state-owned or parastatal sector, including businesses owned by the Revolutionary Guards and Bonyad foundations.
Since the revolution Iran's GDP has grown from $114 billion in 1980 to $858 billion in 2010. GDP per capita (PPP) has grown from $4295 in 1980 to $11,396 in 2010,.
The economy has become more diversified since the revolution, with 80% of Iranian GDP dependent on oil and gas as of 2010, comparing to above 90% at the end of the Pahlavi period.[citation needed] The Islamic Republic lags some countries in transparency and ease of doing business according to international surveys. Transparency International ranked Iran 136th out of 175 countries in transparency (i.e. lack of corruption) for its 2014 index; and the IRI was ranked 130th out of the 189 countries surveyed in the World Bank 2015 Doing Business Report.
Iranian Revolution References and notes
^ Kurzman, p. 109.
sources: "On martyrs of the revolution see Laleh'he-ye Enqelab; this volume, published by a religious institution, features photographs of `martyrs of the revolution, ` including name, age, date and place of death, and sometimes occupation; the method of selection is not described. I am indebted to Prof. James A. Bill for directing me to Laleh'ha-ye Enqelab, which he too has used as sampling of revolutionary fatalities (Bill, James, The Eagle and the Lion, p.487
^ a b c "A Question of Numbers" IranianVoice.org, August 8, 2003 Rouzegar-Now Cyrus Kadivar
^ a b c E. Baqi, `Figures for the Dead in the Revolution`, Emruz, July 30, 2003.
^ Islamic Revolution, Iran Chamber.
^ Islamic Revolution of Iran, MS Encarta. Archived October 31, 2009.
^ The Islamic Revolution, Internews.
^
^ Iran Profile, PDF.
^ The Shah and the Ayatollah: Iranian Mythology and Islamic Revolution (Hardcover), ISBN 0-275-97858-3, by Fereydoun Hoveyda, brother of Amir Abbas Hoveyda.
^ "Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi". Encyclopedia Britannica.
^ Jubin M. GOODARZİ (8 February 2013). "Syria and Iran: Alliance Cooperation in a Changing Regional Environment" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-10-18.
^ a b c d e f Abrahamian (1982), p. 515
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Afkhami, Gholam-Reza. The Life and Times of the Shah.
^ Abrahamian, Ervand (2009) "Mass Protests in the Islamic Revolution, 1977–79", in Adam Roberts and Timothy Garton Ash (eds.), Civil Resistance and Power Politics: The Experience of Non-violent Action from Gandhi to the Present. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, pp.162–78.
^ "The Iranian Revolution". fsmitha.com.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah Milani, Abbas (2012-05-22). The Shah. ISBN9780230340381.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Milani, Abbas (2008). Eminent Persians. ISBN9780815609070.
^ 1979: Exiled Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran| bbc.co.uk
^ Graham, p. 228.
^ Iran Islamic Republic, Encyclopædia Britannica.
^ a b c d e f g h Kurzman
^ a b c d e f g h i j Amuzegar, Jahangir (1991). Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution. p.253. ISBN9780791407318.
^ Amuzegar, The Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution, (1991), p.4, 9–12
^ Arjomand, p. 191.
^ Amuzegar, Jahangir, The Dynamics of the Iranian Revolution, SUNY Press, p. 10
^ a b Kurzman, p. 121
^ "Iran: A Brief Study of the Theocratic Regime" (PDF).
^ International Journal of Middle East Studies, 19, 1987, p. 261
^ a b c d e f g h i Ritter, Daniel. "Why the Iranian Revolution was Non-Violent".
^ Benard, Cheryl and Khalilzad, Zalmay (1984). "The Government of God" – Iran's Islamic Republic. Columbia University Press. p.18. ISBN0-231-05376-2.
^ Del Giudice, Marguerite (August 2008). "Persia: Ancient Soul of Iran". National Geographic.
^ Abrahamian (1982), pp. 534–5
^ According to Kurzman, scholars writing on the revolution who have mentioned this include:
Sick, All Fall Down, p. 187;
Fischer, Iran: From Religious Dispute to Revolution, Harvard University Press, 1980, p. 189;
Keddie, N. R. (1983). "Iranian Revolutions in Comparative Perspective". American Historical Review 88: 589. JSTOR1864588.
Bakhash, p. 13
^ a b Harney, pp. 37, 47, 67, 128, 155, 167.
^ Abrahamian (1982), p. 437
^ Brumberg, Reinventing Khomeini (2001).
^ Shirley, p. 207.
^ Andrew Scott Cooper. The Oil Kings: How the U.S., Iran, and Saudi Arabia Changed the Balance of Power in the Middle East. Simon & Schuster, 2011. ISBN 1439155178.
^ Keddie, p. 214.
^ Taheri, p. 238.
^ Moin, p. 178.
^ Hoveyda, Fereydoun (2003). The Shah and the Ayatollah: Iranian mythology and Islamic revolution. Praeger. p.22. ISBN0-275-97858-3.
^ Abrahamian (1982), pp. 533–4.
^ Schirazi, pp. 293–4.
^ a b Keddie, Nikki (1966). Religion and Rebellion in Iran: The Tobacco Protest of 1891–92. Frank Cass, p. 38.
^ Moaddel, Mansoor (1992). "Shi'i Political Discourse and Class Mobilization in the Tobacco Movement of 1890–1892". Sociological Forum 7 (3): 459. doi:10.1007/BF01117556. JSTOR684660.
^ Lambton, Ann (1987). Qajar Persia. University of Texas Press, p. 248
^ Mottahedeh, Roy (2000) The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran. Oneworld, p. 218
^ Mackey, p. 184
^ Bakhash, p. 22
^ Taheri, pp. 94–5
^ Rajaee, Farhang, Islamic Values and World View: Khomeyni on Man, the State and International Politics, Volume XIII (PDF), University Press of America. ISBN 0-8191-3578-X
^ Rajaee, Farhang (2010). Islamism and Modernism: The Changing Discourse in Iran. University of Texas Press. ISBN9780292774360.
^ "CIA admits role in 1953 Iranian coup | World news | The Guardian". theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
^ "THE BASES OF THE PERSIAN CONSTITUTION, NAMELY…". Retrieved 2014-10-18.
^ Nehzat by Ruhani vol. 1 p. 195, quoted in Moin, p. 75.
^ Islam and Revolution, p. 17.;
^ "Emad Baghi:: English". emadbaghi.com. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
^ Graham, p. 69.
^ a b Mackey, pp. 215, 264–5.
^ Keddie, pp. 201–7
^ Wright, Robin (2000) "The Last Great Revolution Turmoil and Transformation in Iran". The New York Times.
^ Dabashi, Theology of Discontent (1993), p.419, 443
^ See: Velayat-e faqih (book by Khomeini)#Importance of Islamic Government
^ Khomeini; Algar, Islam and Revolution, p.52, 54, 80
^ a b Taheri, p. 196.
^ Abrahamian (1982), pp. 502–3.
^ Kurzman, pp. 144–5
^ Marxist guerrillas groups were the Organization of Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (OIPFG) and the breakaway Iranian People's Fedai Guerrillas (IPFG), and some minor groups. see "Ideology, Culture, and Ambiguity: The Revolutionary Process in Iran", Theory and Society, Vol. 25, No. 3 (Jun., 1996), pp. 349–88.
^ Kurzman, pp. 145–6
^ a b Abrahamian (1982), p. 479
^ Mackey, p. 276.
^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1993), Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic, Berkeley: University of California Press. p.30
^ Abrahamian (1982), pp. 478–9
^ See: Hokumat-e Islami : Velayat-e faqih (book by Khomeini)#Why Islamic Government has not been established
^ Khomeini and Algar, Islam and Revolution (1981), p.34
^ Abrahamian, Ervand (1993) Khomeinism: Essays on the Islamic Republic. University of California Press, p. 30 [source: Liberation Movement, Velayat-e Motlaqah-e Faqih (The jurist's absolute guardianship) (Tehran: Liberation Movement Press, 1988)]
^ Keddie, p. 240
^ Wright, Robin (2000). The Last Great Revolution: Turmoil And Transformation In Iran. Alfred A. Knopf: Distributed by Random House. p.220. ISBN0-375-40639-5.
^ Abrahamian (1982), p. 444.
^ Gelvin, James L. (2008). The Modern Middle East Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Inc. p.285.
^ Moin, p. 163.
^ Graham, p. 96.
^ Abrahamian (1982), pp. 501–3.
^ Gölz, Olmo. „Dah Šab – Zehn Literaturabende in Teheran 1977: Der Kampf um das Monopol literarischer Legitimität.“ Die Welt des Islams 55, Nr. 1 (2015): 83–111.
^ Moin, pp. 184–5.
^ Taheri, pp. 182–3.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Pahlavi, Farah (2004). An Enduring Love: My Life With The Shah. New York, NY: Hyperion Books. ISBN140135209-X.
^ Siddiqui, edited by Abdar Rahman Koya with an introduction by Iqbal (2009). Imam Khomeini life, thought and legacy: essays from an Islamic movement perspective. Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust. p.41. ISBN9789675062254.
^ Harmon, Daniel E. (2004). Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. New York: Infobase Pub. p.47. ISBN9781438106564.
^ Brumberg, Daniel (2001). Reinventing Khomeini: the struggle for reform in Iran. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p.92. ISBN9780226077581.
^ Kurzman
^ Kurzman, Charles. "The Qum Protests" (PDF).
^ Abrahamian (1982), p. 505.
^ Kurzman, p.38
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Axworthy, Michael (2013). Revolutionary Iran: A History of the Islamic Republic. ISBN9780199322268.
^ a b c Rubin, Michael (2005-11-27). Eternal Iran. p.90. ISBN9781403977106.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t Kraft, Joseph. "Letter from Iran". The New Yorker.
^ a b Jervis, Robert (2011). Why Intelligence Fails: Lessons From the Iranian Revolution and the Iraq War. ISBN0801457610.
^ a b c d Abrahamian (1982)
^ a b c d e f g h Eisenstadt, Michael. "Iran's Islamic Revolution: Lessons for the Arab Spring of 2011?" (PDF).
^ a b c d Abrahamian (1982), pp. 510, 512, 513.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x Harney
^ a b Hayward, Stephen (2009-06-09). The Age of Reagan: The Fall of the Old Liberal Order. ISBN9780307453709.
^ a b Kurzman, p. 117
^ Carter, Jimmy, Keeping the Faith: Memoirs of a president, Bantam, 1982, p.438
^ See pages 80–101 in Jones, Milo L. and; Silberzahn, Philippe (2013). Constructing Cassandra, Reframing Intelligence Failure at the CIA, 1947–2001. Stanford University Press. ISBN978-0804793360.
^ a b c Byman, Daniel. "The Rise of Low-Tech Terrorism".
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^ a b Afkhami, R. Gholam (2009) The life and times of the Shah University of California Press, page 465 & 459, ISBN 0-520-25328-0
^ Ansari, M. Ali (2007) Modern Iran: the Pahlavis and after Pearson Education, page 259, ISBN 1-4058-4084-6
^ Federal Research Division (2004) Iran A Country Study Kessinger Publishing, page 78, ISBN 1-4191-2670-9
^ Bahl, Taru, Syed, M.H (2003) Encyclopaedia of the Muslim World Anmol Publications PVT. LTD., 2003, page 105, ISBN 81-261-1419-3
^ Glenn Eldon Curtis, Library of Congress (2008) Iran: a country study Government Printing Office, page 48, ISBN 0-8444-1187-6
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^ Kurzman, p. 61
^ "How the BBC helped bring the Ayatollah to power – Telegraph Blogs". London: blogs.telegraph.co.uk. June 22, 2009. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
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^ a b "Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini". Biography.com. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
^ Kurzman, p. 122
^ a b c d e Little, Douglas (2009-09-15). American Orientalism: The United States and the Middle East since 1945. ISBN9780807877616.
^ a b c d e f g Geist, Dan. "'A Darker Horizon': The Assassination of Shapour Bakhtiar".
^ a b c Huyser, Robert (1986). Mission to Tehran. ISBN9780060390532.
^ "The Prescott Courier – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved 2014-10-18.
^ "Demonstrations allowed", ABC Evening News for Monday, January 15, 1979.
^ "The Khomeini Era: Iran Becomes a Theocracy". TIME.com. February 12, 1979.
^ Abrahamian, Ervand (2008) History of Modern Iran, Cambridge University Press, p. 161
^ Taheri, p. 146.
^ What Are the Iranians Dreaming About? by Michel Foucault, Chicago: University Press.
^ Moin, p. 204.
^ Khomeini, Sahifeh-ye Nur, vol.5, p.31, translated in Moin, p. 204
^ چرا و چگونه بازرگان به نخست وزیری رسید؟ The commandment of Ayatollah Khomeini for Bazargan and his sermon on February 5.
^ Moin, p. 206.
^ Iran 20th, 1999-01-31, CNN World.
^
^ Iran Anniversary, 2004-02-11, CBC World.
^ Researcher Emad al-Din Baghi at the Martyrs Foundation (Bonyad Shahid) counted 2,781 protesters killed in 1978–79, a total of 3,164 killed between 1963 and 1979.
^ a b A Question of Numbers IranianVoice.org August 8, 2003 Rouzegar-Now Cyrus Kadivar
^ "Iran Chamber Society: The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran". iranchamber.com.
^ Mojahedin-e Khalq, but also "Fedayins and Kurds as well as Tudeh, National Front, and Shariatmadari supporters"
^ Abrahamian, Ervand (2008) History of Modern Iran, Columbia University Press, p. 181
^ Richard C. Martín (2004). Encyclopedia of Islam & the Muslim World. Granite Hill Publishers. p.357. ISBN978-0-02-865603-8.
^ Mansoor Moaddel (13 August 2013). Class, Politics, and Ideology in the Iranian Revolution. Columbia University Press. p.206. ISBN978-0-231-51607-5. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
^ Encyclopedia of Islam and Muslim World, Thomson Gale, 2004, p.357 (article by Stockdale, Nancy, L.)
^ Keddie, p. 241
^ Democracy? I meant theocracy, by Dr. Jalal Matini, translation & introduction by Farhad Mafie, August 5, 2003, The Iranian.
^ Zabih, Sepehr (1982). Iran Since the Revolution. Johns Hopkins Press. p.2. ISBN0-8018-2888-0.
^ Schirazi, pp. 93–4
^ "Democracy? I meant theocracy", by Dr. Jalal Matini, translation & introduction by Farhad Mafie, August 5, 2003, The Iranian.
^ a b Islamic Clerics, Khomeini Promises Kept, Gems of Islamism.
^ Azar Tabari, ‘Mystifications of the Past and Illusions of the Future,’ in The Islamic Revolution and the Islamic Republic: Proceedings of a Conference, ed. Nikki R. Keddie and Eric Hooglund (Washington DC: Middle East Institute, 1982) pp. 101–24.
^ For example, Islamic Republic Party and allied forces controlled approximately 80% of the seats on the Assembly of Experts of Constitution. (see: Bakhash, pp. 78–82) An impressive margin even allowing for electoral manipulation
^ Ansari, Hamid, Narrative of Awakening: A Look at Imam Khomeini's Ideal, Scientific and Political Biography from Birth to Ascension by Hamid Ansari, Institute for Compilation and Publication of the Works of Imam Khomeini, International Affairs Division, [no publication date, preface dated 1994] translated by Seyed Manoochehr Moosavi, p.165-7
^ Schirazi, pp. 24–32.
^ Moin, pp. 241–2.
^ Mahmood Davari. "The Political Thought of Ayatollah Murtaza Mutahhari".
^ example: "Secular Iranian writers of the early 1980s, most of whom supported the revolution, lamented the course it eventually took." from: The soul of Iran: a nation's journey to freedom By Afshin Molavi p.225
^ Professor Hamid Algar, the Distinguished Shia Muslim Scholar in USA, imamreza.net (assessed 1/6/2010)
^ Shirley, pp. 98, 104, 195.
^ Akhbar Ganji talking to Afshin Molavi. Molavi, Afshin (2005), The Soul of Iran, Norton paperback, p. 156.
^ Shawcross, William, The Shah's Last Ride (1988), p. 110.
^ Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival, Norton, (2006), p.138
^ "Man Of The Year: The Mystic Who Lit The Fires of Hatred". TIME.com. January 7, 1980.
^ Roy, p. 175.
^ Wright, Robin (1989) In the Name of God. Simon & Schuster. p. 126. ISBN 0671672355.
^ The Iran–Iraq War, 1980–1988 by Efraim Karsh, Osprey Publishing 2002 p.72
^ Expansion of the Iranian Revolution and the War with Iraq, Gems of Islamism.
^ Keddie, pp. 241, 251
^ The Longest War by Dilip Hiro p.255
^ Fundamentalist Power, Martin Kramer.
^ Harik, Judith Palmer, Hezbollah, the Changing Face of Terrorism (2004), 40
^ Nasr, Vali, The Shia Revival Norton, (2006), p.141
^ Keddie, p. 241
^ "Iran's unsung rebellion By Syed Saleem Shahzad". atimes.com.
^ article 64. "Islamic Republic of Iran Constitution". Retrieved 26 September 2015.
^ Iran Human Rights Documentation Center (2007). "A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baha'is of Iran" (PDF). Iran Human Rights Documentation Center. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
^ Shirley
^ Taheri, Amir (July 25, 2005) "Ganji: Iran's Boris YELTSIN," Arab News
^
^ Zanganeh, Lila Azam, ed. (2006). My Sister, Guard Your Veil, My Brother, Guard Your Eyes: Uncensored Iranian Voices. Beacon Press. p.63. ISBN0-8070-0463-4.
^ a b "Iran – Literacy rate". indexmundi.com.
^ World Bank: Iran, Islamic Rep.: Student enrollment, tertiary, female
^ a b Statistical Centre of Iran (2011). Selected findings on 2011 Population and Housing Census. Teheran: Iranian ministry of the Interior, p. 35.
^ Statistical Centre of Iran (2011). Selected findings on 2011 Population and Housing Census. Teheran: Iranian ministry of the Interior, p. 32.
^ Graham, p. 227.
^ it reached 66% in 2003. (Keddie, p. 286)
^ a b "Fading hope". The Economist. 7 March 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
^ Yeganehshakib, Reza (November 2013). "Political Risk to Investment in Iran: Sanctions, Inflation, Protectionism, War, Bonyads, and the IRGC". Journal of Political Risk 1 (7). Retrieved 8 May 2015.
^ a b IMF (March 2010). "Iran: 5. Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". Washington D.C.: International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
^ IMF (October 2010). "Regional Economic Outlook – Middle East and Central Asia" (PDF). World Economic and Financial Survey. Washington D.C.: International Monetary Fund. p.15. Retrieved 2013-02-18.
^ "Doing Business 2015" (PDF). Retrieved 8 May 2015.
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In pictures and videos
Iran: Revolution and Beyond – slideshow by Life magazine
iranrevolution.com by Akbar Nazemi
Islamic Revolution, Photos by Kaveh Golestan
Photos from Kave Kazemi
The Islamic Revolution in Pictures
Islamic revolution in pictures, BBC World
Slideshow with audio commentary of the legacy of Islamic revolution after 30 years
Pictures of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini after the revolution, Shah and wife in Morocco
Video Archive of Islamic Revolution
Documentary: Anatomy of a Revolution
NIGHT AFTER THE REVOLUTION English Version
Videos
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At the 2012 Cheltenham Festival of National Hunt racing , who was the top trainer? His total of 7 winners this year enabled him to become the most winning trainer in Cheltenham history. | Iranian Culturebase : Event(Islamic Revolution/)
Massoud Rajavi
Casualties 532-2,781 killed in demonstrations during 1978–79
The Iranian Revolution (also known as the Islamic Revolution or the 1979 Revolution; Persian: انقلاب اسلامی, Enghelābe Eslāmi or انقلاب بیست و دو بهمن) refers to events involving the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the United States , and its eventual replacement with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini , the leader of the revolution, supported by various leftist and Islamic organizations and Iranian student movements.
Demonstrations against the Shah commenced in October 1977, developing into a campaign of civil resistance that was religious based (with secular elements). and intensified in January 1978. Between August and December 1978 strikes and demonstrations paralyzed the country. The Shah left Iran for exile on January 16, 1979 as the last Persian monarch, leaving his duties to a regency council and an opposition based prime minister. The Ayatollah Khomeini was invited back to Iran by the government, and returned to Tehran to a greeting by several million Iranians. The royal reign collapsed shortly after on February 11 when guerrillas and rebel troops overwhelmed troops loyal to the Shah in armed street fighting, bringing Khomeini to official power. Iran voted by national referendum to become an Islamic Republic on April 1, 1979, and to approve a new theocratic-republican constitution whereby Khomeini became Supreme Leader of the country, in December 1979.
The revolution was unusual for the surprise it created throughout the world: it lacked many of the customary causes of revolution (defeat at war, a financial crisis, peasant rebellion, or disgruntled military), occurred in a nation that was enjoying relatively good material wealth and prosperity, produced profound change at great speed, was massively popular, resulted in the exile of many Iranians, and replaced a pro-Western semi-absolute monarchy with an anti-Western authoritarian theocracy based on the concept of Guardianship of the Islamic Jurists (or velayat-e faqih). It was a relatively non-violent revolution, and helped to redefine the meaning and practice of modern revolutions (although there was violence in its aftermath).
Its outcome – an Islamic Republic "under the guidance of a religious scholar from Qom " – was, as one scholar put it, "clearly an occurrence that had to be explained".
Contents
18 External links
Causes Main article: Background and causes of the Iranian Revolution
Reasons advanced for the occurrence of the revolution and its populist, nationalist and, later, Shi''a Islamic character include a conservative backlash against the Westernizing and secularizing efforts of the Western-backed Shah, a liberal backlash to social injustice, a rise in expectations created by the 1973 oil revenue windfall and an overly ambitious economic program, anger over a short, sharp economic contraction in 1977–78, and other shortcomings of the ancien régime.
The Shah''s regime became increasingly oppressive, brutal, corrupt, and extravagant. It also suffered from basic functional failures that brought economic bottlenecks, shortages, and inflation. The Shah was perceived by many as beholden to — if not a puppet of — a non-Muslim Western power (the United States) whose culture was affecting that of Iran. At the same time, support for the Shah may have waned among Western politicians and media – especially under the administration of U.S. President Jimmy Carter – as a result of the Shah''s support for OPEC petroleum price increases earlier in the decade. When President Carter enacted a human-rights policy which said countries guilty of human-rights violations would be deprived American arms or aid, this helped give some Iranians the courage to post open letters and petitions in the hope that the repression by the government might subside.
That the revolution replaced the monarchy of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi with Islamism and Khomeini, rather than with another leader and ideology, is credited in part to the spread of the Shia version of the Islamic revival that opposed Westernization and saw Ayatollah Khomeini as following in the footsteps of the Shi''a Imam Husayn ibn Ali and the Shah in the role of Husayn''s foe, the hated tyrant Yazid I. Other factors include the underestimation of Khomeini''s Islamist movement by both the Shah''s reign – who considered them a minor threat compared to the Marxists and Islamic socialists – and by the secularist opponents of the government – who thought the Khomeinists could be sidelined.
Historical background
Shi''a clergy (Ulema) have had a significant influence on most Iranians, who have tended to be religious, traditional, and opposed to any process of Westernization. The clergy first showed themselves to be a powerful political force in opposition to Iran''s monarch with the 1891 Tobacco Protest boycott that effectively destroyed an unpopular concession granted by the Shah giving a British company a monopoly over buying and selling tobacco in Iran.
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi. Press conference on international oil policies. Niavaran Palace, Tehran, 1971.
Decades later, the monarchy and the clerics clashed again, this time monarchy holding the upper hand. Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi''s father, Reza Shah, replaced Islamic laws with western ones, and forbade traditional Islamic clothing, separation of the sexes and veiling of women (hijab). Police forcibly removed and tore chadors off women who resisted his ban on public hijab. In 1935 dozens were killed and hundreds injured when a rebellion by pious Shi''a at the most holy Shi''a shrine in Iran was crushed on his orders.
In 1941 Reza Shah was deposed and his son, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi , was installed by an invasion of allied British and Soviet troops. In 1953, foreign powers (American and British) again came to the Shah''s aid—after the Shah fled the country, the British MI6 aided an American CIA operative in organizing a military coup d''état to oust the nationalist and democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh.
Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was the son of Reza Shah, maintained a close relationship with the U.S. government, both regimes sharing an opposition to the expansion of the Soviet Union , Iran''s powerful northern neighbor. Like his father''s government, the Shah''s was known for its autocracy, its focus on modernization and Westernization and for its disregard for religious and democratic measures in Iran''s constitution. Leftist , nationalist and Islamist groups attacked his government (often from outside Iran as they were suppressed within) for violating the Iranian constitution, political corruption, and the political oppression by the SAVAK (secret police).
Rise of Ayatollah Khomeini Main article: Ruhollah Khomeini See also: Movement of 15 Khordad
The post-revolutionary leader – Shia cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini – first came to political prominence in 1963 when he led opposition to the Shah and his "White Revolution", a program of reforms to break up land holdings (including those owned by religious foundations) and allow religious minorities to hold government office.
Khomeini was arrested in 1963 after declaring the Shah a "wretched miserable man" who had "embarked on the destruction of Islam in Iran ." Three days of major riots throughout Iran followed, with Khomeini supporters claiming 15,000 dead from police fire. However, post-revolution estimates determined a much lower number of 32 killed. Khomeini was released after eight months of house arrest and continued his agitation, condemning Iran''s close cooperation with Israel and its capitulations, or extension of diplomatic immunity to American government personnel in Iran. In November 1964 Khomeini was re-arrested and sent into exile where he remained for 15 years, until the revolution.
Ideology of the Iranian Revolution Main article: Ideology of the Iranian Revolution
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In this interim period of "disaffected calm" the budding Iranian revival began to undermine the idea of Westernization as progress that was the basis of the Shah''s secular reign, and to form the ideology of the 1979 revolution. Jalal Al-e-Ahmad''s idea of Gharbzadegi – that Western culture was a plague or an intoxication to be eliminated; Ali Shariati ''s vision of Islam as the one true liberator of the Third World from oppressive colonialism, neo-colonialism, and capitalism; and Morteza Motahhari ''s popularized retellings of the Shia faith, all spread and gained listeners, readers and supporters.
Ruhollah Khomeini.
Most importantly, Khomeini preached that revolt, and especially martyrdom, against injustice and tyranny was part of Shia Islam , and that Muslims should reject the influence of both liberal capitalism and communism with the slogan "Neither East, nor West – Islamic Republic!"
Away from public view, Khomeini developed the ideology of velayat-e faqih (guardianship of the jurist) as government, that Muslims – in fact everyone – required "guardianship," in the form of rule or supervision by the leading Islamic jurist or jurists. Such rule was ultimately "more necessary even than prayer and fasting" in Islam, as it would protect Islam from deviation from traditional sharia law and in so doing eliminate poverty, injustice, and the "plundering" of Muslim land by foreign non-believers.
This idea of rule by Islamic jurists was spread through his book Islamic Government, mosque sermons, smuggled cassette speeches by Khomeini, among Khomeini''s opposition network of students (talabeh), ex-students (able clerics such as Morteza Motahhari, Mohammad Beheshti, Mohammad-Javad Bahonar , Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Mofatteh ), and traditional businessmen (bazaari) inside Iran.
Opposition groups and organizations Main article: Organizations of the Iranian Revolution
Other opposition groups included constitutionalist liberals – the democratic, reformist Islamic Freedom Movement of Iran , headed by Mehdi Bazargan , and the more secular National Front. They were based in the urban middle class, and wanted the Shah to adhere to the Iranian Constitution of 1906 rather than to replace him with a theocracy, but lacked the cohesion and organization of Khomeini''s forces.
Marxist groups – primarily the communist Tudeh Party of Iran and the Fedaian guerrillas – had been weakened considerably by government repression. Despite this the guerrillas did help play an important part in the final February 1979 overthrow delivering "the regime its coup de grace." The most powerful guerrilla group – the People''s Mujahedin – was leftist Islamist and opposed the influence of the clergy as reactionary.
Some important clergy did not follow Khomeini''s lead. Popular ayatollah Mahmoud Taleghani supported the left, while perhaps the most senior and influential ayatollah in Iran – Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari – first remained aloof from politics and then came out in support of a democratic revolution.
Khomeini worked to unite this opposition behind him (with the exception of the unwanted `atheistic Marxists`), focusing on the socio-economic problems of the Shah''s government (corruption and unequal income and development), while avoiding specifics among the general public that might divide the factions, – particularly his plan for clerical rule which he believed most Iranians had become prejudiced against as a result of propaganda campaign by Western imperialists.
In the post-Shah era, some revolutionaries who clashed with his theocracy and were suppressed by his movement complained of deception, but in the meantime anti-Shah unity was maintained.
1970–1977
Several events in the 1970s set the stage for the 1979 revolution.
The 1971 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the Persian Empire at Persepolis , organized by the government, was attacked for its extravagance. "As the foreigners reveled on drink forbidden by Islam, Iranians were not only excluded from the festivities, some were starving." Five years later the Shah angered pious Iranian Muslims by changing the first year of the Iranian solar calendar from the Islamic hijri to the ascension to the throne by Cyrus the Great . "Iran jumped overnight from the Muslim year 1355 to the royalist year 2535."
The oil boom of the 1970s produced "alarming" increase in inflation and waste and an "accelerating gap" between the rich and poor, the city and the country, along with the presence of tens of thousands of unpopular skilled foreign workers. Many Iranians were also angered by the fact that the shah''s family was the foremost beneficiary of the income generated by oil, and the line between state earnings and family earnings blurred. By 1976, the shah had accumulated upward of one billion dollars from oil revenue; his family—including sixty-three princes and princesses—had accumulated between five and twenty billion dollars; and the family foundation controlled approximately three billion dollars By mid-1977 economic austerity measures to fight inflation disproportionately affected the thousands of poor and unskilled male migrants to the cities working construction. Culturally and religiously conservative, many went on to form the core of the revolution''s demonstrators and "martyrs".
All Iranians were required to join and pay dues to a new political party, the Rastakhiz party – all other parties being banned. That party''s attempt to fight inflation with populist "anti-profiteering" campaigns – fining and jailing merchants for high prices – angered and politicized merchants while fueling black markets.
In 1977 the Shah responded to the "polite reminder" of the importance of political rights by the new American President, Jimmy Carter, by granting amnesty to some prisoners and allowing the Red Cross to visit prisons. Through 1977 liberal opposition formed organizations and issued open letters denouncing the government.
That year also saw the death of the popular and influential modernist Islamist leader Ali Shariati . This both angered his followers, who considered him a martyr at the hands of SAVAK, and removed a potential revolutionary rival to Khomeini. Finally, in October Khomeini''s son Mostafa died of a heart attack, his death also blamed on SAVAK. A subsequent memorial service for Mostafa in Tehran put Khomeini back in the spotlight.
Outbreak
e
Prelude
By 1977, the Shah''s policy of political liberalization was underway. Secular opponents of the Shah began to meet together in to denounce the government.
Led by the leftist intellectual Saeed Soltanpour (later executed by the Islamic Republic), the Iranian Writers Association met at the Goethe Institute in Tehran to read anti-government poetry. Ali Shariati''s death in the United Kingdom shortly after led to another public demonstration, with the opposition accusing the Shah of "murdering" him (although it was later ruled he died naturally of a heart attack).
In late 1977, the still relatively unknown Ayatollah Khomeini''s son Mostapha died in a car accident in Iraq. Khomeini declared him to be a "martyr", and small religious protests against the Shah began.
Beginning of Protests
On January 7, 1978, an article ("Red and Black Imperialism ") appeared in the national daily Ettela''at newspaper. Written under a pseudonym by a government agent, it denounced Khomeini as a "British agent" and a "mad Indian poet" conspiring to sell out Iran to neo-colonialists and communists.
Upon the publishing of the article, religious seminary students in the city of Qom, angered over the insult to Khomeini, clashed with police resulting in 4 student deaths according to the government, while Khomeini declared that 70 people had been "martyred". While much of the public believed the opposition''s casualty figures, post-revolution estimates mostly supported the royal government''s casualty figures.
Consolidation of the Opposition
According to the Shi''ite customs, memorial services (called Arba''een) are held forty days after a person''s death. Encouraged by Khomeini (who declared that the blood of martyrs must grow the "tree of Islam"), radicals pressured the mosques and moderate clergy to commemorate the deaths of the students, and used the occasion to generate protests. The informal network of mosques and bazaars, which for years had been used to carry out religious events, increasingly became consolidated as a coordinated protest organization.
On February 18, forty days after Qom clashes, demonstrations broke out in various different cities. The largest was in Tabriz , which descended into a full-scale riot. "Western" and government symbols such as cinemas, bars, state-owned banks, and police stations were set ablaze. Units of Imperial Iranian Army were deployed to the city to restore order, and the final death toll was 6 (while Khomeini claimed hundreds were "martyred").
Forty days later (March 29), demonstrations were organized in at least 55 cities, including Tehran. In an increasingly predictable pattern, deadly riots broke out in major cities, and again forty days later on May 10. It lead to an incident in which army commandos opened fire on Ayatollah Shariatmadari''s house, killing one of his students. Shariatmadari immediately made a public announcement declaring his support for a "constitutional government", and a return to the policies of the 1906 Constitution.
Government Reaction
The Shah was taken completely by surprise by the protests; to make matters worse he often became indecisive during times of crisis. Virtually every major decision he would make would backfire on his government, instead inflaming the revolutionaries.
The Shah decided to continue on his plan of liberalization, and decided to negotiate rather than to use force against the still nascent protest movement. He promised that fully democratic elections for the Majlis would be held in 1979. Censorship was relaxed, and a resolution was drafted to help reduce corruption within the royal family and the government. Protesters were tried in civilian courts rather than by military court-martials, and were quickly released.
Iran''s security forces had not received any riot control training nor equipment since 1963. Police forces were unable to control demonstrations and the army frequently was deployed in that role. Soldiers were instructed not to use deadly force, yet there were instances of inexperienced soldiers reacting excessively, inflaming the violence without cowing the opposition, and receiving official condemnation from the Shah.(The Carter Administration also refused to sell non-lethal tear gas and rubber bullets to Iran).
As early as the Tabriz riots in February, the Shah fired all of the SAVAK officials in the city in a concession to the opposition, and soon began to dismiss civil servants and government officials whom he felt the public blamed. In the first national concession, he replaced the hardline SAVAK chief General Nematollah Nassiri with the more moderate General Nasser Moghaddam. The government also neogitated to moderate religious leaders such as Shariatmadari (apologizing to the latter for the raid on his house).
The Shah of Iran (left) meeting with members of the U.S. government: Alfred Atherton, William Sullivan , Cyrus Vance , Jimmy Carter, and Zbigniew Brzezinski , 1977Early Summer
By summer, the protests had stagnated. They remained at a steady state for four months – about ten thousand participants in each major city (with the exception of Isfahan where protests were larger and Tehran where they were smaller), protesting every 40 days. This amounted to a small minority of the more than 15 million adults in Iran.
Against the wishes of Khomeini, Shariatmadari called for the June 17 mourning protests were carried out as a one day stay at home strike. Although tensions remained in the air, the Shah''s policy appeared to have worked, leading Amuzegar to declare that "the crisis is over". A CIA analysis concluded that Iran "is not in a revolutionary or even a pre-revolutionary situation." Indeed, these and later events events in Iran are frequently cited as one of the most consequential strategic surprises that the United States has experienced since the CIA was established in 1947.
As a sign of easing of government restrictions, three prominent opposition leaders from the secular National Front: Karim Sanjabi, Shahpour Bakhtiar, and Dariush Forouhar (two of whom would be assassinated by the Islamic Republic in the future) were allowed to write an open letter to the Shah demanding that he reign according to the constitution of Iran.
Renewed protests Cinema Rex Fire
On 19 August, in the southwestern city of Abadan , four arsonists barred the door of the Cinema Rex movie theater and set it on fire. In what was the largest terrorist attack in history prior to the September 11 , 2001 attacks, 422 people inside the theater were burned to death. Movie theaters had been a common target of Islamist demonstrators, and 180 out of the 436 theatres in the country would be burned down.
Khomeini immediately blamed the Shah and SAVAK for setting the fire. Due to the pervasive revolutionary atmosphere, the public also blamed the Shah for starting the fire, despite the government''s insistence that they were uninvolved. Tens of thousands of people took to the streets shouting "Burn the Shah!" and "The Shah is the guilty one!".
After the revolution, it was disclosed that Islamist militants started the fire. After the Islamic Republic government wrongfully executed a police officer for the act, the lone surviving arsonist, angered that somebody else was receiving credit for his act, admitted to starting the fire. After forcing the resignation of the presiding judges in an attempt to hamper the investigation, the new government finally executed Hossein Talakhzadeh for "setting the fire on the Shah''s orders" (despite his insistence he did as an ultimate sacrifice it for the revolutionary cause).
Appointment of Jafar Sharif-Emami as prime minister
By August, the protests had “kick ... into high gear,” and the number of demonstrators mushroomed to hundreds of thousands. In an attempt to dampen inflation the Amuzegar administration cut spending and reduced business, but the cutbacks led to a sharp rise in layoffs – particularly among young, unskilled, male workers living in the working class districts. By summer 1978, the working class joined the street protests in massive numbers. In addition, it was the Islamic holy month of Ramadan , bringing a sense of increased religiosity among many people.
A series of escalating protests broke out in major cities, and deadly riots broke out in Isfahan where protesters fought for the release of Ayatollah Jalaluddin Taheri. Martial law was declared in the city on August 11 as symbols of Western culture and government buildings were burned, and a bus full of American workers was bombed. Due to his failure to stop the protests, Prime Minister Amuzegar offered his resignation.
The Shah increasingly felt that he was losing control of the situation and hoped to regain it through complete appeasement. He decided to appoint Jafar Sharif-Emami to the post of prime minister, himself a veteran prime minister. Emami was chosen due to his family ties to the clergy, but had a reputation of corruption during his previous premiership.
Under the Shah''s guidance, Sharif-Emami effectively began a policy of "appeasing the opposition''s demands before they even made them". The government abolished the Rastakhiz Party, legalized all political parties and released political prisoners, increased freedom of expression, curtailed SAVAK''s authority and dismissed 34 of its commanders, closed down casinos and nightclubs, and abolished the imperial calendar. The government also began to prosecute corrupt government and royal family members. Sharif-Emami entered into negotiations with Ayatollah Shariatmadari and National Front leader Karim Sanjabi in order to help organize future elections. Censorship was effectively terminated, and the newspapers began reporting heavily on demonstrations, often highly critically and negatively of the Shah. The Majlis ( Parliament ) also began issuing resolutions against the government.
Declaration of martial law and Black FridayVictims of Black Friday
September 4 was Eid-e-Fitr, the holiday celebrating the end of the month of Ramadan. A permit for an open air prayer was granted, in which 200,000-500,000 people attended. Instead, the clergy directed the crowd on a large march through the center of Tehran (the Shah reportedly watched the march from his helicopter, unnerved and confused). A few days later even larger protests took place, and for the first time protesters called for Khomeini''s return and the establishment of an Islamic republic.
On midnight of September 8 the Shah declared martial law in Tehran and 11 other major cities throughout the country. All street demonstrations were banned, and a night-time curfew was established. Tehran''s martial law commander was General Gholam-Ali Oveissi, who was known for his severity against opponents. However, the Shah made clear that once martial law was lifted he intended to continue with the liberalization, he retained Sharif-Emami''s civilian government, hoping that protesters would avoid taking the streets.
However, 5,000 protesters took to the streets, either in defiance or because they had missed hearing the declaration, and faced off with soldiers at Jaleh Square . After firing warning shots, troops fired directly into the crowd, killing 64, while General Oveissi claimed that 30 soldiers were killed by armed snipers in surrounding buildings. Additional clashes throughout the day (which would be called Black Friday by the opposition) brought the opposition death toll to 89.
Reactions to Black Friday
The deaths shocked the country, and damaged any attempt at reconciliation between the Shah and the opposition. Khomeini immediately declared that "4,000 innocent protesters were massacred by Zionists", and gave him a pretext to reject any further compromise with the government.
The Shah himself was horrified by the events of Black Friday, and harshly criticized the events. While martial law officially remained in effect, the government decided not to break up any more demonstrations or strikes (in effect "martial law without there exactly being martial law", according to Sharif-Emami), instead continuing to negotiate with protest leaders. Consequently, protest gatherings often took place without any serious intervention by soldiers.
General strike, increasing opposition, and military government Nationwide strikes
On September 9, 700 workers at Tehran''s main oil refinery went on strike, and on September 11 the same occurred at refineries in 5 other cities. On September 13, central government workers in Tehran siltaneously went on strike.
By late October, a nationwide general strike was declared, with workers in virtually all major industries walking off their jobs, most damagingly in the oil industry and the print media. Special "strike committees" were set up throughout major industries to organize and coordinate the activities.
The Shah did not attempt to crack down on strikers, but instead gave them generous wage increases, and allowed strikers who lived in government housing to remain in their homes. By the beginning of November, many important officials in the Shah''s government were demanding that the Shah forceful measures to bring the strikers back to work.
Khomeini moves to the West
Hoping to break Khomeini''s contacts with the opposition, the Shah pressured the Iraqi government to expel him from Najaf . Khomeini left Iraq, instead moving to a house bought by Iranian exiles in Neauphle-le-Château, a village near Paris , France . The Shah hoped that Khomeini would be cut off from the mosques of Najaf and be cut off from the protest movement. Instead, the plan backfired badly. With superior French telephone and postal connections (compared to Iraqi ones), his supporters flooded Iran with tapes and recordings of his sermons.
Worse for the Shah, Khomeini immediately put himself into the spotlight of the Western media, especially in the broadcasts of the British Broadcasting Corporation ( BBC ). Khomeini rapidly became a household name in the west, portraying himself as an "Eastern mystic" who did not seek power, but instead sought to "free" his people from "oppression". The normally critical western media rapidly became a docile tool in Khomeini''s hands.
In addition, the media coverage eroded the influence of other, more moderate clergy such as Ayatollah Shariatmadari and Ayatollah Taleghani . The BBC itself later issued a statement admitting to having a "critical" disposition to the Shah, saying that its broadcasts helped to "change the collective perception of the population."
In November, secular National Front leader Karim Sanjabi flew to Paris to meet Khomeini. There the two signed an agreement for a draft constitution that would be "Islamic and democratic". It signaled the now official alliance between the clergy and the secular opposition. In order to help create a democratic facade, Khomeini placed Westernized figures (such as Sadegh Qotbzadeh and Ebrahim Yazdi ) as the public spokesmen of the opposition, and never spoke to the media of his intentions to create a theocracy.
Continued conflict
Street demonstrations continued at full force with little response from the military; by late October, government officials effectively even ceded the University of Tehran to student protesters. Worse, the opposition was increasingly becoming armed with weapons, firing at soldiers and attacking banks and government buildings in an attempt to destabilize the country.
On November 5, demonstrations at University of Tehran became deadly after a fight broke out with armed soldiers. Within hours, Tehran broke out into a full scale riot. Block after block of Western symbols such as movie theaters and department stores, as well as government and police buildings, were seized, looted,and burned. The British embassy in Tehran was partially burned and vandalized as well, and the American embassy nearly suffered the same fate (the event became known to foreign observers as "The Day Tehran Burned").
Many of the rioters were young teenage boys, often organized by the mosques in southern Tehran, and encouraged by their mullahs to attack and destroy western and secular symbols. The army and police, confused about their orders and under pressure from the Shah not to risk initiating violence, effectively gave up and did not intervene.
Appointment of a military government
As the situation on the streets spiraled out of control, many well known and reputable figures within the country began to approach the Shah, begging him to stop the chaos.
On December 6, the Shah dismissed Sharif-Emami from the post of prime minister, and chose to appoint a military government in its place. General Gholam-Reza Azhari was chosen to be prime minister. Azhari was chosen by the Shah because of his mild-mannered approach to the situation. The cabinet he would choose was a military cabinet in name only, and consisted primarily of civilian leaders.
The same day, the Shah made a speech on Iranian television. He referred to himself as Padeshah (king), instead of the more grandiose Shahanshah (king of kings), which he insisted on being called previously. In his speech he stated "I have heard the voice of your revolution"..."this revolution cannot but be supported by me, the king of Iran". He apologized for mistakes that were committed during his reign, and promised to ensure that corruption would no longer exist. He stated he would begin to work with the opposition to bring democracy, and would form a coalition government. In effect, the Shah intended to restrain the military government (which he described as a temporary caretaker government) from carrying out a full crackdown.
The speech backfired when the revolutionaries sensed weakness from the Shah and "smelled blood". Khomeini announced that there would be no reconciliation with the Shah and called on all Iranians to overthrow him.
Military authorities declared martial law in Khuzestan province (Iran''s main oil producing province), and deployed troops to its oil facilities. Navy personnel were also used as strikebreakers in the oil industry. Street marches declined and oil production began increasing once again, nearly reaching pre-revolutionary levels. In a symbolic blow to the opposition, Karim Sanjabi, who had visited Khomeini in Paris, was arrested upon his return to Iran.
However, the government still continued the policy of appeasement and negotiation. The Shah ordered the arrest 100 officials from his own government for charges of corruption, including former prime minister Amir Abbas-Hoveyda and former SAVAK head Nematollah Nassiri.
Ayatollah Khomeini at Neauphle-le Chateau surrounded by journalistsMuharram protests
Khomeini condemned the military government and called for continued protests (and for "rivers of blood" to be spilled). He and the protest organizers planned a series of escalating protests during the holy Islamic month of Muharram, to culminate with massive protests on the days of Tasu''a and Ashura (commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein ibn Ali, the third Shia Muslim imam).
While the military authorities banned street demonstrations and extended the curfew, the Shah faced deep misgivings about the potential violence.
On December 2, the Muharram protests began. Thousands of protesters (many of whom were teenagers organized by the mullahs from the mosques of southern Tehran) took to the streets, frequently at night in direct defiance of the curfew (often taking to rooftops and shouting "Allahu-Akbar" (God is Great). According to one witness, many of the clashes on the street had an air of playfulness rather than seriousness, with security forces using "kid gloves" against the opposition (nevertheless, the government reported at least 12 opposition deaths).
Tasu''a and Ashura marches
As the days of Tasu''a and Ashura (December 10 and 11) approached, in order to prevent a deadly showdown the Shah began to draw back. In negotiations with Ayatollah Shariatmadari, the Shah ordered the release of 120 political prisoners and Karim Sanjabi, and on December 8 revoked the ban on street demonstrations. Permits were issued for the marchers, and troops were removed from the procession''s path. In turn, Shariatmadari pledged that to make sure that there would be no violence during the demonstrations.
On December 10 and 11, the days of Tasu''a and Ashura, between six and nine million anti-shah demonstrators marched throughout Iran. According to one historian, "even discounting for exaggeration, these figures may represent the largest protest event in history." The marches were led by Ayatollah Taleghani and National Front leader Karim Sanjabi, thus symbolizing the "unity" of the secular and religious opposition. The mullahs and bazaar merchants effectively policed the gathering, and protesters who attempted to initiate violence were restrained.|
Mass demonstration in Tehran
More than 10% of the country marched in anti-shah demonstrations on December 10 and 11, 1978, possibly a higher percentage than any previous revolution. It is rare for a revolution to involve as much as 1 percent of a country''s population; the French, Russian , and Romanian revolutions may have passed the 1 percent mark.
The Shah''s exile and Khomeini''s return
Much of Iranian society was in euphoria about the coming revolution. Secular and leftist politicians piled onto the movement hoping to gain power in the aftermath, ignoring the fact that Khomeini was the very antithesis to all of the positions they supported (such as women''s rights). While it was increasingly clear to more secular Iranians that Khomeini was not a liberal, he was widely perceived as a figurehead, and that power would be eventually be handed to the secular groups.
Demomoralization of the Army
The military leadership was increasingly paralyzed by indecision, and rank-and-file soldiers were demoralized, having been forced to confront demonstrators while prohibited from using their own weapons (and being condemned by the Shah if they did). Increasingly, Khomeini called on the soldiers of the armed forces to defect to the opposition. Revolutionaries gave flowers and civilian clothes to deserters, while threatening retribution to those who stayed. On December 11, a dozen officers were shot dead by their own troops at Tehran''s Lavizan barracks. Fearing further mutinies, many soldiers were returned to their barracks. Mashhad (the second largest city in Iran) was abandoned to the protesters, and in many provincial towns demonstrators were effectively in control.
American and Internal Negotiations with the opposition
The Carter Administration increasingly became locked in a debate about continued support for the monarchy. As early as November, ambassador William Sullivan sent a telegram to Carter ( the "Thinking the Unthinkable" telegram). The telegram effectively declared his belief that the Shah would not survive the protests, and that the US should consider withdrawing its support for his government and persuading the monarch to abdicate. The United States would then help assemble a coalition of pro-Western military officers, middle class professionals, and moderate clergy, with Khomeini installed as a Gandhi-like spiritual leader.
The telegram touched off a vigorous debate in the American cabinet, with some (such as National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski ) rejecting it outright. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance rejected a military crackdown; he and his supporters believed in the "moderate and progressive" intentions of Khomeini and his circle.
Increasing contact was established with the pro-Khomeini camp. Based on the revolutionaries responses, some American officials (especially Ambassador Sullivan) felt that Khomeini was genuinely intent on creating a democracy. According to historian Abbas Milani, this resulted in the United States effectively helping to facilitate Khomeini''s rise to power.
The Shah began to search for a new prime minister, one who was a civilian and a member of the opposition. On December 28, he secured an agreement with another major National Front figure, Shahpour Bakhtiar. Bakhtiar would be appointed prime minister (a return to civilian rule), while the Shah and his family would leave the country for a "vacation". His royal duties would be carried out by a Regency Council, and three months after his departure a referendum would be submitted to the people deciding on whether Iran would remain a monarchy or become a republic. A former opponent of the Shah, Bakhtiar became motivated to join the government because he was increasingly aware of Khomeini''s intentions to implement hard-line religious rule rather than a democracy. Karim Sanjabi immediately expelled Bakhtiar from the National Front, and Bakhtiar was denounced by Khomeini (who declared that acceptance of his government was the equivalent of "obedience to false gods").
The Shah leaves
The Shah, hoping to see Bakhtiar established, kept delaying his departure. Consequently to the Iranian public, Bakhtiar was seen as the Shah''s last prime minister, undermining his support.
American General Robert Huyser , the Deputy Commander of NATO , entered Iran. While the option of a pro-Shah military coup still was a possibility, Huyser met with military leaders (but not the Shah), and established meetings between them and Khomeini allies, for the purpose of agreeing on Bakhtiar''s transitional government. Ambassador Sullivan disagreed, and attempted to pressure Huyser to ignore the military and work directly with Khomeini''s opposition. Nevertheless, Huyser won out and continued to work with the both the military and opposition. He left Iran on February 3. The Shah was privately embittered by Huyser''s mission, and felt that the United States wanted him to be no longer in power.
On the morning of January 16, 1979, Bakhtiar was officially appointed prime minister. The same day, a tearful Shah and his family left Iran for exile in Egypt , never to return.
Bakhtiar''s Premiership and Khomeini''s Return
When news of the Shah''s departure was announced, there were spontaneous scenes of joy throughout the country. Millions poured onto the streets, virtually every remaining sign of the monarchy was torn down by the crowds.
Bakhtiar dissolved SAVAK and freed all of the remaining political prisoners. He ordered the army to allow mass demonstrations, promised free elections and invited the revolutionaries into a government of "national unity". Bakhtiar invited Khomeini back to Iran, with the intention of creating a Vatican -like state in the holy city of Qom, declaring that "We will soon have the honor of welcoming home the Ayatollah Khomeini".
On February 1, 1979 Khomeini returned to Tehran in a chartered Air France Boeing 747 . The welcoming crowd of several million Iranians was so large he was forced to take a helicopter after the car he was being transported in from the airport was overwhelmed by an enthusiastic welcoming crowd. Khomeini was now not only the undisputed leader of the revolution, he had become what some called a "semi-divine" figure, greeted as he descended from his airplane with cries of ''Khomeini, O Imam, we salute you, peace be upon you.'' Crowds were now known to chant "Islam, Islam, Khomeini, We Will Follow You," and even "Khomeini for King." When asked by a reporter how he felt returning to his home country after a long exile, Khomeini replied "Nothing".
On the day of his arrival Khomeini made clear his fierce rejection of Bakhtiar''s government in a speech promising ''I shall kick their teeth in. I appoint the government, I appoint the government in support of this nation''. On February 5 at his headquarters in the Refah School in southern Tehran, he declared a provisional revolutionary government, and appointed opposition leader Mehdi Bazargan (from the religious-nationalist Freedom Movement, affiliated with the National Front), as his own prime minister.
Iranian prime minister Mehdi Bazargan was an advocate of democracy and civil rights. He also opposed the cultural revolution and US embassy takeover.
Khomeini appointed his own competing interim prime minister Mehdi Bazargan on February 4, ''with the support of the nation'' and commanded Iranians to obey Bazargan as a religious duty. He threatened to declare jihad on those who opposed his system.
hrough the guardianship that I have from the holy lawgiver , I hereby pronounce Bazargan as the Ruler, and since I have appointed him, he must be obeyed. The nation must obey him. This is not an ordinary government. It is a government based on the sharia. Opposing this government means opposing the sharia of Islam ... Revolt against God''s government is a revolt against God. Revolt against God is blasphemy.
Angered, Bakhtiar made a speech of his own. Reaffirming himself as the legitimate leader, he declared that:
Iran has one government. More than this is intolerable, either for me or for you or for any other Iranian. As a Muslim, I had not heard that jihad refers to one Muslim against other Muslims.... I will not give permission to Ayatollah Khomeini to form an interim government. In life there comes a time when one must stand firm and say no.... I have never seen a book about an Islamic Republic; neither has anyone else for that matter.... Some of the people surrounding the Ayatollah are like violent vultures.... The clergy should go to Qom and build a wall around themselves and create their own Vatican.
Armed battles and collapse of the monarchy
Tensions between the two rival governments increased rapidly. To demonstrate his support, Khomeini called for demonstrators to occupy the streets throughout the country. He also sent a letter to American officials warning them to withdraw support for Bakhtiar. Bakhtiar increasingly isolated, with members of the government (including the entire Regency Council) defecting to Khomeini. The military was crumbling, with its leadership was completely paralyzed, unsure of whether to support Bakhtiar or act on their own, and rank-and-file soldiers either demoralized or deserting.
On February 9, a rebellion of pro-Khomeini air force technicians broke out at the Doshan Tappeh air base. A unit of the pro-Shah Immortal Guards attempted to apprehend the rebels, and an armed battle broke out. Soon large crowds took to the streets, building barricades and supporting the rebels, while Islamic-Marxist guerillas with their weapons joined in support.
The armed rebels attacked weapons factory capturing nearly 50,000 machine guns, distributing them to civilians who joined in the fighting. The rebels began storming police stations and military bases throughout Tehran. The city''s martial law commander General Mehdi Rahimi decided not to use his 30,000 loyal Immortal Guards to crush the rebellion for fear of producing civilian casualties.
The final collapse of the provisional non-Islamist government came at 2 pm February 11 when the Supreme Military Council declared itself "neutral in the current political disputes… in order to prevent further disorder and bloodshed." All military personnel were ordered back to their bases, effectively yielding control of the entire country to Khomeini. Revolutionaries took over government buildings, TV and radio stations, and palaces of the Pahlavi dynasty, marking the end of the 2500 year old monarchy in Iran. Bakhtiar escaped the palace under a hail of bullets, fleeing Iran in disguise. He was later assassinated by an agent of the Islamic Republic in 1990.
This period, from February 1 to 11, is celebrated every year in Iran as the "Decade of Fajr ." February 11 is "Islamic Revolution''s Victory Day", a national holiday with state sponsored demonstrations in every city.
Casualties Further information: Casualties of the Iranian Revolution
Some 2,781 protesters and revolutionaries were killed in 1978–79 during the Revolution. Khomeini sought support by announcing a much larger number; he said that "60,000 men, women and children were martyred by the Shah''s regime." According to at least one source (historian Ervand Abrahamian), the number executed by revolutionary courts as the revolution was consolidated (8000 opponents between June 1981 and June 1985) exceeded those killed by the royalist government trying to stop the revolution.
Consolidation of power by Khomeini Main article: Consolidation of the Iranian Revolution
Part of a series of articles on
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From early 1979 to either 1982 or 1983 Iran was in a "revolutionary crisis mode". The economy and the apparatus of government had collapsed, military and security forces were in disarray. Yet, by 1982 Khomeini and his supporters had crushed the rival factions, defeated local rebellions and consolidated power. Events that made up both the crisis and its resolution were the Iran Hostage Crisis , the invasion of Iran by Saddam Hussein ''s Iraq, and the presidency of Abolhassan Banisadr .
Conflicts among revolutionariesKhomeini told questioners things like "the religious dignitaries do not want to rule."
Some observers believe "what began as an authentic and anti-dictatorial popular revolution based on a broad coalition of all anti-Shah forces was soon transformed into an Islamic fundamentalist power-grab," that except for his core supporters, the members of the coalition thought Khomeini intended to be more a spiritual guide than a ruler – Khomeini being in his mid-70s, having never held public office, been out of Iran for more than a decade, and having told questioners things like "the religious dignitaries do not want to rule."
Another view is Khomeini had "overwhelming ideological, political and organizational hegemony," and non-theocratic groups never seriously challenged Khomeini''s movement in popular support. Supporters of the new rule themselves have claimed that Iranians who opposed Khomeini were "fifth columnists" led by foreign countries attempting to overthrow the Iranian government.
Khomeini and his loyalists in the revolutionary organizations implemented Khomeini''s velayat-e faqih design for an Islamic Republic led by himself as Supreme Leader by exploiting temporary allies such as Mehdi Bazargan''s Provisional Government of Iran, whom they later eliminated from Iran''s political stage one by one.
Organizations of the revolution Main article: Organizations of the Iranian RevolutionThe Shah and his wife left the country on 16 January 1979
The most important bodies of the revolution were the Revolutionary Council, the Revolutionary Guards , Revolutionary Tribunals, Islamic Republican Party, and Revolutionary Committees (komitehs).
While the moderate Bazargan and his government (temporarily) reassured the middle class, it became apparent they did not have power over the "Khomeinist" revolutionary bodies, particularly the Revolutionary Council (the "real power" in the revolutionary state), and later the Islamic Republican Party. Inevitably, the overlapping authority of the Revolutionary Council (which had the power to pass laws) and Bazargan''s government was a source of conflict, despite the fact that both had been approved by and/or put in place by Khomeini.
This conflict lasted only a few months however. The provisional government fell shortly after American Embassy officials were taken hostage on 4 November 1979. Bazargan''s resignation was received by Khomeini without complaint, saying "Mr. Bazargan ... was a little tired and preferred to stay on the sidelines for a while." Khomeini later described his appointment of Bazargan as a "mistake."
The Revolutionary Guard, or Pasdaran -e Enqelab , was established by Khomeini on May 5, 1979 as a counterweight both to the armed groups of the left, and to the Shah''s military. The guard eventually grew into "a full-scale" military force, becoming "the strongest institution of the revolution."
Serving under the Pasdaran were/are the Baseej-e Mostaz''afin, ("Oppressed Mobilization") volunteers in everything from earthquake emergency management to attacking opposition demonstrators and newspaper offices. The Islamic Republican Party then fought to establish a theocratic government by velayat-e faqih.
Thousands of komiteh or Revolutionary Committees served as "the eyes and ears" of the new rule and are credited by critics with "many arbitrary arrests, executions and confiscations of property".
Also enforcing the will of the government were the Hezbollahi (the Party of God), "strong-arm thugs" who attacked demonstrators and offices of newspapers critical of Khomeini.
Two major political groups that formed after the fall of the shah that clashed with and were eventually suppressed by pro-Khomeini groups, were the moderate religious Muslim People''s Republican Party (MPRP) which was associated with Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari, and the secular leftist National Democratic Front (NDF).
1979 uprisings Further information: 1979 Khuzestan uprising and 1979 Kurdish rebellion in Iran
Following the events of the revolution, Marxist guerrillas and federalist parties revolted in some regions comprising Khuzistan, Kurdistan and Gonbad-e Qabus , which resulted in fighting between them and revolutionary forces. These revolts began in April 1979 and lasted between several months to over a year, depending on the region.
Establishment of Islamic republic government Referendum of 12 Farvardin
On March 30 and 31 (Farvardin 10, 11) a referendum was held over whether to replace the monarchy with an "Islamic Republic" – a term not defined on the ballot. Khomeini called for a massive turnout and only the National Democratic Front, Fadayan, and several Kurdish parties opposed the vote. It was announced that 98.2% had voted in favor.
Writing of the constitution Main article: Assembly of Experts for Constitution
In June 1979 the Freedom Movement released its draft constitution for the Islamic Republic that it had been working on since Khomeini was in exile. It included a Guardian Council to veto un-Islamic legislation, but had no guardian jurist ruler. Leftists found the draft too conservative and in need of major changes but Khomeini declared it `correct`. To approve the new constitution and prevent leftist alterations, a relatively small seventy-three-member Assembly of Experts for Constitution was elected that summer. Critics complained that "vote-rigging, violence against undesirable candidates and the dissemination of false information" was used to "produce an assembly overwhelmingly dominated by clergy loyal to Khomeini."
Khomeini (and the assembly) now rejected the constitution – its correctness notwithstanding – and Khomeini declared that the new government should be based "100% on Islam."
In addition to the president, the new constitution included a more powerful post of guardian jurist ruler intended for Khomeini, with control of the military and security services, and power to appoint several top government and judicial officials. It increased the power and number of clerics on the Council of Guardians and gave it control over elections as well as laws passed by the legislature.
The new constitution was also reportedly approved overwhelmingly by referendum, but with more opposition and smaller turnout.
Hostage Crisis Main article: Iran hostage crisis
Helping to pass the constitution, suppress moderates and otherwise radicalize the revolution was the holding of 52 American diplomats hostage for four hundred forty-four days. In late October 1979, the exiled and dying Shah was admitted into the United States for cancer treatment. In Iran there was an immediate outcry and both Khomeini and leftist groups demanding the Shah''s return to Iran for trial and execution. On November 4, 1979 youthful Islamists, calling themselves Muslim Student Followers of the Imam''s Line, invaded the embassy compound and seized its staff. Revolutionaries were reminded of how 26 years earlier the Shah had fled abroad while the Embassy-based American CIA and British intelligence organized a coup d''état to overthrow his nationalist opponent.
The holding of hostages was very popular and continued for months even after the death of the Shah. As Khomeini explained to his future President Banisadr,
This action has many benefits. ... This has united our people. Our opponents do not dare act against us. We can put the constitution to the people''s vote without difficulty ...
With great publicity the students released documents from the American embassy or "nest of spies," showing moderate Iranian leaders had met with U.S. officials (similar evidence of high-ranking Islamists having done so did not see the light of day). Among the casualties of the hostage crisis was Prime Minister Bazargan and his government who resigned in November unable to enforce the government''s order to release the hostages.
The prestige of Khomeini and the hostage taking was further enhanced with the failure of a hostage rescue attempt, widely credited to divine intervention.
It ended with the signing of the Algiers Accords in Algeria on January 19, 1981. The hostages were formally released into United States custody the following day, just minutes after the new American president Ronald Reagan was sworn in. The hostages had been held at the U.S. embassy in Tehran for 444 days.
Suppression of opposition
In early March Khomeini announced, "do not use this term, ‘democratic.’ That is the Western style," giving pro-democracy liberals (and later leftists) a taste of disappointments to come.
In succession the National Democratic Front was banned in August 1979, the provisional government was disempowered in November, the Muslim People''s Republican Party banned in January 1980, the People''s Mujahedin of Iran guerrillas came under attack in February 1980, a purge of universities was begun in March 1980, and leftist Islamist Abolhassan Banisadr was impeached in June 1981.
After the revolution, human rights groups estimated the number of casualties suffered by protesters and prisoners of the new system to be several thousand. The first to be executed were members of the old system – senior generals, followed by over 200 senior civilian officials, as punishment and to eliminate the danger of coup d’État. Brief trials lacking defense attorneys, juries, transparency or opportunity for the accused to defend themselves, were held by revolutionary judges such as Sadegh Khalkhali , the Sharia judge. By January 1980 "at least 582 persons had been executed." Among those executed was Amir Abbas Hoveida , former Prime Minister of Iran .
Between January 1980 and June 1981, when Bani-Sadr was impeached, at least 900 executions took place, for everything from drug and sexual offenses to `corruption on earth,` from plotting counter-revolution and spying for Israel to membership in opposition groups. In the 12 months following that Amnesty International documented 2,946 executions, with several thousand more killed in the next two years according to the anti-government guerillas People''s Mujahedin of Iran.
Newspaper closings
In mid August, shortly after the election of the constitution-writing assembly, several dozen newspapers and magazines opposing Khomeini''s idea of theocratic rule by jurists were shut down. When protests were organized by the National Democratic Front (NDF), Khomeini angrily denounced them saying, "we thought we were dealing with human beings. It is evident we are not."
... After each revolution several thousand of these corrupt elements are executed in public and burnt and the story is over. They are not allowed to publish newspapers.
Hundreds were injured by "rocks, clubs, chains and iron bars" when Hezbollahi attacked the protesters, and shortly after, a warrant was issued for the arrest of the NDF''s leader.
Muslim People''s Republican PartyKazem Shariatmadari
In December the moderate Islamic party Muslim People''s Republican Party (MPRP), and its spiritual leader Mohammad Kazem Shariatmadari had become a rallying point for Iranians who wanted democracy not theocracy. Riots broke out in Shariatmadari''s Azeri home region with members of the MPRP and Shariatmadari''s followers seizing the Tabriz television station, and using it to "broadcast demands and grievances." The regime reacted quickly, sending Revolutionary Guards to retake the TV station, mediators to defuse complaints and activists to stage a massive pro-Khomeini counter-demonstration. The party was suppressed and in 1982 Shari''atmadari was "demoted" from the rank of Grand Ayatollah and many of his clerical followers purged.
Islamist left
In January 1980 Abolhassan Banisadr was elected president of Iran. Though an adviser to Khomeini, he was a leftist who clashed with another ally of Khomeini, the theocratic Islamic Republic Party (IRP) – the controlling power in the new parliament.
Banisadr in 1958
At the same time, erstwhile revolutionary allies of Khomeini – the Islamist modernist guerrilla group People''s Mujahedin of Iran (or MEK) – were being suppressed by Khomeini''s revolutionary organizations. Khomeini attacked the MEK as monafeqin (hypocrites) and kafer (unbelievers). Hezbollahi people attacked meeting places, bookstores, newsstands of Mujahideen and other leftists driving them underground. Universities were closed to purge them of opponents of theocratic rule as a part of the "Cultural Revolution", and 20,000 teachers and nearly 8,000 military officers deemed too westernized were dismissed.
By mid-1981 matters came to a head. An attempt by Khomeini to forge a reconciliation between Banisadr and IRP leaders had failed and now it was Banisadr who was the rallying point "for all doubters and dissidents" of the theocracy, including the MEK.
When leaders of the National Front called for a demonstration in June 1981 in favor of Banisadr, Khomeini threatened its leaders with the death penalty for apostasy "if they did not repent." Leaders of the Freedom Movement of Iran were compelled to make and publicly broadcast apologies for supporting the Front''s appeal. Those attending the rally were menaced by Hezbollahi and Revolutionary Guards and intimidated into silence.
The MEK retaliated with a campaign of terror against the IRP. On the June 28, 1981, a bombing of the office of the IRP killed around 70 high-ranking officials, cabinet members and members of parliament, including Mohammad Beheshti, the secretary-general of the party and head of the Islamic Republic''s judicial system. The government responded with thousands of arrests and hundreds of executions. Despite these and other assassinations the hoped-for mass uprising and armed struggle against the Khomeiniists was crushed.
The MEK bombings were not the only violent opposition to the Khomeinist rule. In May 1979, the Furqan Group (Guruh-i Furqan) assassinated an important lieutenant of Khomeini, Morteza Motahhari.
Impact Further information: History of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Views differ on the impact of the revolution. For some it was "the most significant, hopeful and profound event in the entirety of contemporary Islamic history," while other Iranians believe that the revolution was a time when "for a few years we all lost our minds", and which "promised us heaven, but... created a hell on earth."
International
Internationally, the initial impact of the revolution was immense. In the non-Muslim world it changed the image of Islam, generating much interest in Islam – both sympathetic and hostile – and even speculation that the revolution might change "the world balance of power more than any political event since Hitler ''s conquest of Europe ."
The Islamic Republic positioned itself as a revolutionary beacon under the slogan "neither East nor West" (i.e. neither Soviet nor American/West European models), and called for the overthrow of capitalism, American influence, and social injustice in the Middle East and the rest of the world. Revolutionary leaders in Iran gave and sought support from non-Muslim causes in the Third World – e.g. the Sandinistas in Nicaragua , IRA in Ireland and anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa – even to the point of favoring non-Muslim revolutionaries over Islamic causes such as the neighboring Afghan Mujahideen.
Persian Gulf and the Iran–Iraq War Main article: Iran–Iraq War
In its region, Iranian Islamic revolutionaries called specifically for the overthrow of monarchies and their replacement with Islamic republics, much to the alarm of its smaller Sunni -run Arab neighbors Iraq, Saudi Arabia , Kuwait , and the other Persian Gulf States – most of whom were monarchies and all of whom had sizable Shi''a populations. It was with one of these countries that the Iran–Iraq War, which killed hundreds of thousands and dominated life in the Islamic Republic for the next eight years, was fought. Although Iraq invaded Iran, most of the war was fought after Iran had regained most of its land back and after the Iraqi government had offered a truce. Khomeini rejected it, announcing the only condition for peace was that "the regime in Baghdad must fall and must be replaced by an Islamic Republic," but ultimately the war ended with no Islamic revolution in Iraq.
In September 1980 the Arab Nationalist and Sunni Muslim-dominated regime of Saddam Hussein of neighboring Iraq invaded Iran in an attempt to take advantage of revolutionary chaos and destroy the revolution in its infancy. Iran was "galvanized" and Iranians rallied behind their new government helping to stop and then reversing the Iraqi advance. By early 1982 Iran regained almost all the territory lost to the invasion.
Like the hostage crisis, the war served in part as an opportunity for the government to strengthen revolutionary ardour and revolutionary groups. such as the Revolutionary Guard and committees at the expense of its remaining allies-turned-opponents, such as the MEK. While enormously costly and destructive, the war "rejuvenate the drive for national unity and Islamic revolution" and "inhibited fractious debate and dispute" in Iran.
Western/U.S.-Iranian relations Main articles: Iran–United Kingdom relations and Iran–United States relations
This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (June 2013)
Other countries
In the Mideast and Muslim world, particularly in its early years, it triggered enormous enthusiasm and redoubled opposition to western intervention and influence. Islamist insurgents rose in Saudi Arabia (1979), Egypt (1981), Syria (1982), and Lebanon (1983).
Although ultimately only the Lebanese Islamists succeeded, other activities have had more long-term impact. The Ayatollah Khomeini''s 1989 fatwa calling for the killing of Indian-born British citizen Salman Rushdie had international impact. The Islamic revolutionary government itself is credited with helping establish Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
On the other side of the ledger, at least one observer argues that despite great effort and expense the only countries outside Iran the revolution had a "measure of lasting influence" on are Lebanon and Iraq. Others claim the devastating Iran–Iraq War "mortally wounded ... the ideal of spreading the Islamic revolution," or that the Islamic Republic''s pursuit of an ideological rather than a "nationalist, pragmatic" foreign policy has weakened Iran''s "place as a great regional power".
Domestic
Internally, the revolution has brought a broadening of education and health care for the poor, and particularly governmental promotion of Islam, and the elimination of secularism and American influence in government. Fewer changes have occurred in terms of political freedom, governmental honesty and efficiency, economic equality and self-sufficiency, or even popular religious devotion. Opinion polls and observers report widespread dissatisfaction, including a "rift" between the revolutionary generation and younger Iranians who find it "impossible to understand what their parents were so passionate about."
Human development
Literacy has continued to increase under the Islamic Republic which uses Islamic principles. By 2002, illiteracy rates dropped by more than half. Maternal and infant mortality rates have also been cut significantly. Population growth was first encouraged, but discouraged after 1988. Overall, Iran''s Human development Index rating has climbed significantly from 0.569 in 1980 to 0.732 in 2002, on par with neighbour Turkey.
Politics and government Main article: Politics of Iran
Iran has elected governmental bodies at the national, provincial, and local levels. Although these bodies are subordinate to theocracy – which has veto power over who can run for parliament (or Islamic Consultative Assembly ) and whether its bills can become law – they have more power than equivalent organs in the Shah''s government. Iran''s Sunni minority (about 8%) has seen some unrest. While Iran''s small non-Muslim minorities do not have equal rights, five of the 290 parliamentary seats are allocated to their communities.
The members of the Bahá''í Faith have been declared heretical and subversive. While persecution occurred before the Revolution since then more than 200 Bahá''ís have been executed or presumed killed, and many more have been imprisoned, deprived of jobs, pensions, businesses, and educational opportunities. Bahá''í holy places have been confiscated, vandalized, or destroyed. More recently, Bahá''ís in Iran have been deprived of education and work. Several thousand young Bahá''ís between the ages of 17 and 24 have been expelled from universities.
Whether the Islamic Republic has brought more or less severe political repression is disputed. Grumbling once done about the tyranny and corruption of the Shah and his court is now directed against "the Mullahs." Fear of SAVAK has been replaced by fear of Revolutionary Guards, and other religious revolutionary enforcers. Violations of human rights by the theocratic government is said to be worse than during the monarchy, and in any case extremely grave. Reports of torture, imprisonment of dissidents, and the murder of prominent critics have been made by human rights groups. Censorship is handled by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, without whose official permission, "no books or magazines are published, no audiotapes are distributed, no movies are shown and no cultural organization is established. All forms of popular music are banned. Men and women are not allowed to dance or swim with each other. "
Women See also: Women''s rights in Iran and Women''s rights movement in Iran
Women – especially those from traditional backgrounds – participated on a large scale in demonstrations leading up to the revolution. Since the revolution university enrollment and the number of women in the civil service and higher education has risen and several women have been elected to the Iranian parliament.
Economy See also: Economy of Iran
Iran''s economy has increased rapidly since the revolution. GDP has increased from $114 billion in 1980 to $858 billion in 2010. Changes in GDP per capita has also improved significantly, from $2974 in 1980 to $11,396 in 2010. In 2010, less than 10% of Iranian GDP was dependent on oil and gas, comparing to above 90% in Pahlavi period.
Gallery
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"The song ""We have all the time in the World"" by Louis Armstrong provided the theme for which James Bond film?" | Louis Armstrong, 'We Have All the Time in the World' (1969) | The Top 10 James Bond Theme Songs | Rolling Stone
The Top 10 James Bond Theme Songs
Bruce Springsteen Cover Band Drops Out of Trump...
The Top 10 James Bond Theme Songs
With the arrival of Adele's new Bond theme, we look back at the best songs from the franchise
10
Tom Copi/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images9/10
October 5, 2012
All Stories
9. Louis Armstrong, 'We Have All the Time in the World' (1969)
James Bond title songs, as a rule, have the name of the movie in the chorus. That was a bit of a challenge with On Her Majesty's Secret Service, so producers opted to go with an instrumental in the opening sequence. Hal David and Burt Bacharach were brought on board to write another song for the movie, and they brought in Louis Armstrong to sing it. The 68-year-old jazz great was sick at the time, but he nailed the song in just a single take. He died less than two years later.
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service |
"In the animated film classic ""Shrek"" which film star voiced the character of Donkey?" | James Bond Songs
James Bond Songs
Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
1969
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
"We Have All The Time In The World"
Louis Armstrong
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Which American, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, proved that lightning is a form of electricity? | BBC - History - Benjamin Franklin
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Benjamin Franklin © Franklin was a statesman, diplomat, writer, scientist and inventor, one of the most versatile and talented men in colonial America and a leading figure in the American struggle for independence.
Benjamin Franklin was born in Boston on 17 January 1706. He attended school only briefly, and then helped his father, who was a candle and soap maker. He was apprenticed to his brother, a printer, and began writing anonymously for his brother's newspaper. Franklin and his brother quarrelled, and in 1723 Franklin ran away to Philadelphia. After 18 months in London, Franklin settled in Philadelphia, establishing himself as a printer. He bought the 'Pennsylvania Gazette', which he edited and which became one of the American colonies' major newspapers. He also wrote and published 'Poor Richard's Almanack', an astronomy journal.
By 1748, Franklin had made enough money to retire from business and concentrate on science and inventing. His inventions included the Franklin stove and the lightning rod. He demonstrated that lightning and electricity are identical with his famous kite experiment. Franklin also became more active in politics. He was clerk of the Pennsylvania Assembly (1736-1751), a member of the Assembly (1750-1764), and deputy postmaster for the Colonies (1753-1774), reorganising the postal service to make it efficient and profitable.
Franklin was also involved in many public projects, including founding the American Philosophical Society, a subscription library and, in 1751, an academy which later became the University of Pennsylvania.
From 1757 to 1774, Franklin lived mainly in London where he was the colonial representative for Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey and Massachusetts. His attempts to reconcile the British government with the colonies proved fruitless. On his return to America, the war of independence had already broken out and he threw himself into the struggle. In 1776, he helped to draft, and was then a signatory to, the Declaration of Independence. His illegitimate son William, royal governor of New Jersey between 1762 and 1776, remained loyal to Britain, causing a rift that lasted for the rest of Franklin's life.
Later that year, Franklin and two others were appointed to represent America in France. Franklin negotiated the Franco-American Alliance which provided for military cooperation between the two countries against Britain and ensured significant French subsidies to America. In 1783, as American ambassador to France, Franklin signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the American War of Independence. He was extremely popular and well known in France, but in 1785 returned to America. He continued to be deeply involved in politics, helping to draft the Constitution.
Franklin died in Philadelphia on 17 April 1790.
| Benjamin Franklin |
John of Gaunt, son of Edward III, became the effective ruler of England during the reign of Richard II in the 14th century. Later the father of Henry Bolingbroke, who became King Henry IV, what was John of Gaunt's official title? | The Way to Wealth Summary | Benjamin Franklin | PDF Download
Summary
About Taxes
A crowd gathers, awaiting the opening of the doors to an auction. An older man strolls by, and the crowd prevails upon him to share his views of the world. The old man is Father Abraham, and he has no shortage of opinions. He agrees to talk, but only briefly, since “a word ...
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About the Author
A Founding Father of the United States, Benjamin Franklin, born in 1706, was a statesman, revolutionary, author, inventor, scientist, firefighter and chess master. He performed breakthrough experiments on electricity, proved that lightning was an electrical phenomenon and invented the lightning rod. He also devised the Franklin Stove, a simple, effective device that captures the heat of a fireplace and reflects it back into a room; an odometer for horse-drawn carriages; and bifocal glasses. Franklin researched and named the Gulf Stream ocean current. A masterful chess player, he wrote the second known essay on chess published in the United States. He co-founded one of the earliest volunteer firefighting companies in America and served as governor of the state of Pennsylvania. Franklin became a fervent abolitionist, freeing his slaves and opposing slavery in the United States and elsewhere. A tireless public servant, Franklin risked his fortune and his life opposing England’s rule over the American colonies. He was a leader of the American Revolution and contributed to the writing of the Declaration of Independence. He was the first Postmaster General of the United States and helped establish its postal service. During the Revolutionary War, Franklin lived in Paris as the American ambassador to France. After the war, he attended the Philadelphia Convention, which produced America’s Constitution. Franklin is a signatory of the US Constitution as well as of the Declaration of Independence.
Chinyere Nwude 3 months ago
The act of living below one`s means depends on discipline.
Wenceslao Fernandez Jr. 1 year ago
unable to ready. dissappointing.
Julia Rodriguez 1 year ago
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"Who wrote the opera ""The Bartered Bride""?" | A Rearranged Marriage: 'The Bartered Bride' : NPR
Paris National Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Jiri Belohlavek, conductor
The Bartered Bride was Smetana's second opera. His first, a drama called The Brandenburgers in Bohemia, was an early success in Prague — but quickly disappeared. With The Bartered Bride, it was exactly the opposite. It got off to a slow start after its premiere in 1866. But by the mid-1870s, it was arguably the most popular Czech opera of all time — and many would say it still is.
The opera is in three acts, all set in a small Bohemian village, and it begins with a well-known overture — a piece that's often heard in the concert hall.
As ACT ONE begins, the village is preparing for a festival, but the young woman Marenka is hardly in a festive mood. She's in love with a young man called Jenik — but she's afraid of what's about to happen. Her father owes a debt to Micha, a wealthy, older man. Micha wants Marenka to marry his son, Vasek, and he's due in town any time now to seal the deal.
Marenka tells Jenik that she'll stay faithful to him — no matter what her father and Micha want. Jenik doesn't seem at all concerned about their future — a casual attitude that Marenka doesn't understand. She also wants to know more about Jenik's past. He says he was born into a wealthy family, but his mother died when he was just a child. Then, when his father remarried, Jenik's stepmother threw him out of the house, and he hasn't seen his family since.
In the next scene, Marenka's parents, Krusina and Ludmila, are talking with the Kecal, the local marriage broker. Kecal knows Micha's son Vasek, and says he'd be a fine husband for Marenka. But when Marenka joins the conversation, she tells them she's in love with someone else. Kecal goes off to find Jenik, hoping to work it all out, while the villagers join in a lively polka.
Act Two opens with a drinking song, and after that we finally meet Vasek, the prospective bridegroom. He comes into the village alone, and he's clearly nervous. Marenka approaches him, and she's got the upper hand. He doesn't realize that she's the woman he's supposed to marry — but she knows exactly who he is.
Without introducing herself, she tells him that if he's really the guy who's going to marry Marenka, he'd better watch his back. Marenka, she says, is in love with someone else, and has said she'll see Vasek dead before she marries him. She then flirts with him, and wins his promise that he'll refuse to marry the deadly Marenka, no matter what his father wants.
Meanwhile, Kecal has found Jenik, and wants to make a deal. He offers him 300 gulden to give up his claim on Marenka. Surprisingly, he agrees — but he has very specific conditions. Jenik says he'll take the money, and in return he'll only allow Marenka to marry "the son of Micha."
Satisfied, Kecal announces the deal he's made, and the villagers are angry to learn that Jenik has actually "sold" his bride to someone else.
As ACT THREE begins, Vasek is more than a little bit confused. His father had promised him a beautiful young wife. But now, it seems, his bride wants to kill him!
But for the moment, Vasek is distracted from his troubles when a circus comes to town. The star attraction is a great American "bear," who will dance with the seductive maiden Esmerelda. But there's a problem. It seems the bear is too drunk to perform. Always willing, Vasek agrees to take his place.
The circus people leave to prepare their show, and Vasek amazes his parents by refusing to marry Marenka. But when they introduce him to her for the first time — and he realizes she's the same woman who flirted with him when he first came to town — he promptly agrees to the wedding.
On top of that, Marenka is told about the deal that Jenik has made with Kecal, the marriage broker — that he's agreed to let Marenka marry "the son of Micha" in return for 300 gulden.
Marenka is furious, and when Jenik tries to explain she refuses to listen. After all, what does she really know about this guy? All he's told her about his past is that his mother died, his wealthy father remarried, and his stepmother threw him out of the house.
Kecal thinks his marriage deal is now good to go, and finally brings all the parties together. But everyone is amazed when Jenik announces that he is Marenka's rightful husband. The deal, he says, was that she could only marry "the son of Micha" — and that's exactly who he is. Jenik says he is the son that Micha's new wife drove out of their home. And when Micha sees Jenik, he immediately knows that it's true.
Then there's an uproar, and Micha and his wife get another surprise. The circus "bear" has broken free and is headed their way. When the bear arrives, it turns out to be Vasek. Seeing this, his mother agrees that Vasek is too young and silly to be a husband. At that, Micha blesses the marriage of Marenka and Jenik, and the entire village celebrates.
| Bedřich Smetana |
Simon de Montfort led the Barons Revolt against King Henry III and became the effective ruler of England in the 13th century. Later defeated and killed at the Battle of Evesham what was Simon de Montfort's official title? | “The Bartered Bride – Lawrence University News
Classic Czech Opera “The Bartered Bride” Comes to Stansbury Theatre
Four performances of Czech composer Bedrich Smetana’s classic opera “The Bartered Bride” will be staged Feb. 17-20 at Lawrence University. The comedic tale of match making and marriage will be performed Feb. 17-19 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 20 at 3 p.m. in Stansbury Theatre of the Music-Drama Center.
Tickets, at $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students, are available through the Lawrence University Box Office, 920-832-6749.
Set in a 19th-century Bohemian village, the opera follows the relationship between Mařenka and Jenik. The two are in love, but Mařenka’s father owes a debt to Micha, a wealthy, older man. Micha wants Mařenka to marry his son, Vašek, and he’s coming to town to seal the deal.
“Smetana and librettist Karel Sabina teamed together to craft a romantic comedy filled with plot twists and sibling rivalry,” said Timothy X. Troy, professor of theatre arts and J. Thomas and Julie Esch Hurvis Professor of Theatre and Drama, who is directing the production. “The story reveals that unflappable loyalty and cleverness can overcome even the most intractable adversity. Mařenka’s inner strength and patience prove the perfect complement to Jenik’s quiet but confident ability to trick his superiors into giving the young couple exactly what they want and deserve.”
The second opera written by Smetana, “The Bartered Bride” premiered in 1866. By the mid-1870s, it was arguably the most popular Czech opera of all time — and many would say it still is. Smetana’s operas established him as a founding father of Czech classical music and this brilliant comedy has become a standard in opera houses around the world.
Smetana’s music is rooted in the traditions of Czech folk music, though the appeal of his melodies is universal,” said Bonnie Koestner, associate professor of music and vocal coach for the production. “We will be performing ‘The Bartered Bride’ in an English translation, so that our audience can directly enjoy the wit and emotion of the opera.”
The production also features a lively dance section in each of its three acts. The dances are choreographed by Monica Rodero, a member of the Milwaukee-based Wild Space Dance Company, which has an artist-in-residency agreement with Lawrence.
“Monica’s setting of the polka in the first act and a furiant in the second act makes a delight for the eye as well as the ear,” said Troy.
The production features a double cast of 50 performers. Junior Julia Steiner (Thur./Sat.) and senior Cassie Glasser (Fri./Sun.) portray Mařenka while seniors Nik Ross (Thurs./Sat.) and Justin Berkowitz (Fri./Sun.) play Jeník. Vašek is portrayed by seniors Pat MacDevitt (Thurs./Sun.) and Alex Gmeinder (Fri./Sun.).
Professor of Music David Becker conducts the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra for the performances.
Posted on
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What is the biggest city by population in the US state of Wisconsin? | Wisconsin
Population
Wisconsin ranked 20th in population in the US (down from 16th in 1990) with an estimated total of 5,441,196 in 2002, an increase of 1.4% since 2000. Between 1990 and 2000, Wisconsin's population grew from 4,891,769 to 5,363,675, an increase of 9.6%. The population is projected to reach 5.9 million by 2025. The population density in 2000 was 98.8 persons per sq mi.
During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the area that is now Wisconsin was very sparsely settled by perhaps 20,000 Indians and a few hundred white settlers, most of them engaged in the fur trade. With the development of lead mining, the population began to expand, reaching a total of 30,945 (excluding Indians) by 1840. During the next two decades, the population increased rapidly to 775,881, as large numbers of settlers from the East and German, British, and Scandinavian immigrants arrived. Subsequent growth has been steady, if slower. In the late 19th century, industry expanded and, by 1930, the population became predominantly urban.
In 2000, the median age for Wisconsinites was 36. In the same year, 25.5% of the populace were under age 18 while 13.1% were age 65 or older.
The majority of Wisconsinites live in urban areas, most of them in the heavily urbanized southeastern region. Milwaukee, the largest city in Wisconsin and the 19th largest in the US, had a population of 590,895 in 2002. Other large cities, with their 2002 population estimates, were Madison, 215,211, and Green Bay, 101,515. Racine had 81,855 residents in 2000, and Kenosha had 90,352. The state's largest metropolitan area, Milwaukee-Racine, had an estimated 1,648,199 residents as of 1999.
| Milwaukee |
Which nut has a poisonous shell? | Milwaukee Population 2016 - World Population Review
World Population Review
594,833
Milwaukee Population 2016
Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin and the 30th most populous city in the country. It's also the center of the Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis Metropolitan Statistical Area with a population of 1.57 million. In 2016, Milwaukee has a population exceeding 600,000.
Milwaukee is a very slowly growing city with a population estimated at 600,155 in 2016. Despite very strong growth through the 1950s, Milwaukee has experienced negative growth since then, and it's only since the 2010 census that signs of growth have been evident, although growth has been small.
The Milwaukee metropolitan area is home to approximately 1.57 million people in 2016. 30% of the entire state's population lives in the 5-country metropolitan area, with 10% of Wisconsin's population within the Milwaukee city limits.
Milwaukee Demographics
At the 2010 US Census, the racial breakdown of Milwaukee was:
White: 44.8% (non-Hispanic: 37%)
American Indian and Alaska Native: 0.8%
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander: 0.1%
Two or more races: 3.4%
Hispanic or Latino of any race: 17.3%
38.3% of Milwaukee's population reports having African American ancestry, while 21% claim German ancestry. Other common ancestry groups in the city include Polish (8.8%), Irish (6.5%), Italian (3.6%) and English (2.8%).
The city of Milwaukee seems diverse, but the picture changes when you look at the county as a whole. Milwaukee County's population is 55% white, and the county's African American population is 27%. Only about 8% of the county's African American population lives outside the city limits.
Milwaukee is often seen as a very racially segregated city; some consider it the most segregated city in the country, along with Detroit, Michigan, including a 2002 issue of Jet Magazine.
Milwaukee History
The Milwaukee area was originally inhabited by several Native American tribes, with French traders and missionaries first passing though the region in the late 17th century. A trading post was established in 1785 by Alexis Laframboise. It's believed the word Milwaukee comes from either a Potawatomi or Ojibwe word meaning "gathering place by the water." For many years, the settlement's name was printed as "Milwaukie," until a newspaper changed it to its current spelling sometime in the 1830s.
In its early history, Milwaukee had a great rivalry with two neighboring towns, Juneautown, across the river, and Walker's Point. By the 1840s, the rivalry had grown and there were battles between the town, culminating in the Milwaukee Bridge War of 1845. Afterward, the towns were united and, in 1846, the City of Milwaukee was incorporated.
Milwaukee began to grow rapidly with an influx of immigrants, especially those from Germany who made their way here from Wisconsin. Milwaukee continued its rapid growth, reaching a height of 741,000 in 1960 before beginning a 5-decade decline.
Current State of Milwaukee
Milwaukee currently ranks 4th among major cities in the US in terms of children living in poverty at 43%. Milwaukee's unemployment rate is the same as the national average, and its jobs market does show signs of stability and even improvement. The city has also started to attract college graduates, 80% of whom moved to Milwaukee because they got a job. Revitalization efforts in the downtown area have been used to attract residents to the area and encourage growth and development.
Milwaukee Population Growth
Milwaukee is a very slowly growing city, with its modest growth mostly concentrated in the neighborhoods around downtown. From 2011 to 2013, Milwaukee added only 4,000 people . While this doesn't sound like a lot, and it isn't, it does show that Milwaukee's experiencing a turnaround after almost 5 decades of decline. The growth in the downtown areas have been largely attributed to new construction of condos and apartments, and most of the new residents are younger adults.
It's still too soon to tell if the population growth trend in Milwaukee will continue and the city will be able to post positive growth at the next census in 2020, but signs are good Milwaukee has at least partially overcome the slump of the last fifty years.
Year
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In what film did the character Vincent Vega played by John Travolta appear? | (Character) - Biography
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Vincent Vega is a character in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, portrayed by John Travolta in an Academy Award-nominated performance. He is the only character to appear in all story lines in the movie (aside from Marsellus Wallace and Mia Wallace). He is the brother of Sadistic Psychopath Vic Vega, a character from Reservoir Dogs remembered for Torturing a Cop for Fun.
Vincent is a hitman working for mob boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). He is usually partnered with Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) when he is ordered to kill someone.
Vincent is an "Elvis man": He wears a bola tie with his suit, he has long hair pulled back into a ponytail, and he orders his Douglas Sirk Steak "bloody as hell." Despite being a hitman, Vincent shows some signs of humanity, such as scrupulous loyalty and a general concern for the few people he cares about. He is also a heroin user. He resides in Redondo Beach, as he mentions to Winston Wolfe when Wolf offers him a ride home.
Does not Believe in God, Miracles, & is a Hit-Man. Killing a Person for no other Reason then He is the brother of Reservoir Dogs-character Vic Vega, played by Michael Madsen.
Page last updated by donniebaseball87871 , 2 years ago
| Pulp fiction |
In which year was the city of Rome founded? | Catching Up with Pulp Fiction’s Marvin, the Guy That John Travolta Shoots in the Head | Vanity Fair
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Few Quentinphiles can forget Pulp Fiction character Marvin, the man who Vincent Vega (John Travolta) accidentally shoots in the back of Jules Winnfield's (Samuel L. Jackson's) car. Though Marvin has three lines in Pulp Fiction, he is also the character Tarantino used to string together the movie’s idiomatic vignettes. Without Marvin, we would have never met the wolf (played by Harvey Keitel), we’d miss Jules asking Brett, “English motherfucker! Do you speak it?!,” and Tarantino would have never made a cameo. Phil LaMarr, who plays Marvin, has had a wildly busy career after filming Pulp Fiction, including five years on MADtv. He’s lent his voice to dozens of animated characters, including Hermes Conrad on *Futurama,*and worked alongside Paul Reubens as Cowboy Curtis in The Pee-wee Herman Stage Show. VF Daily caught up with LaMarr about Tarantino’s possible guest edits on It’s Pat, the racial controversy of Django Unchained, and last-minute changes in the Pulp Fiction script. Highlights from our chat:
__VF Daily:__How did you end up auditioning for the role?
*Phil LaMarr:Basically, “It’s Pat.” *I was friends with Julia Sweeney [who plays the Wolf’s junkyard paramour] from [L.A. sketch-comedy group] the Groundlings before she went on to do *S.N.L.*Harvey Keitel hosted S.N.L and he did a “Pat” sketch. It was during Reservoir Dogs time, so he brought along his buddy Quentin Tarantino. Quentin and Julia hit it off, so after she left S.N.L. and came back to L.A., she invited Quentin to come perform at the Groundlings. Quentin was the celebrity guest and I was in the cast, and that’s where I first met him—a few months, I think, before he started pre-production on Pulp Fiction.
What sketch did you do with Quentin Tarantino at Groundlings?
We just took suggestions from the audience. None of it was written or scripted or particularly well remembered, but we had a good time. Quentin was actually good. I knew Ronnie Yeskel, the woman who cast Pulp Fiction. She had cast me in an episode of *L.A. Law.*They were looking for someone to play Marvin. She goes to Quentin, “O.K., well, here’s someone on my list. He’s a great young actor named Phil LaMarr. He’s really somebody that you should look into.” [Impersonating Tarantino:] “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I hear he’s great. But there’s this black guy at the Groundlings who was just really funny. Try to find out who he is.” Somehow I managed to not screw that up. I got to audition with the Jules-and-Brett hamburger scene, which is just—I mean, come on, that’s like a fundamental point at the playground.
Reading the script, you knew it was a very small part. But I also knew they couldn’t cut me out. You cut me out, you lose a third of the script. It’s like, “Why are they covered in blood? No one knows.”
Was there a general consensus that Pulp Fictionwas going to be big?
You knew it was gonna be great. But there are a lot of great things that don’t wind up being commercially successful. But nobody cared. That’s why they were able to do it for $8 million. I’m sure everybody on that cast read that script and said, “What do I have to do to be a part of this?”
By the third time I read through my scene, I had it memorized. There’s no effort involved. The words flow. You don’t have to work to memorize it, because the thing you’re saying is the thing that comes naturally. It’s just so exquisitely written. And that’s the thing—Reservoir Dogs was successful, but it wasn’t earth shattering. I figured Pulp Fictionwould probably be along the same lines. I remember joking on set, “Well, I guess they could try to sell it like a big summer blockbuster—John Travolta! Bruce Willis! Uma Thurman!” You know, right up until the heroin overdose and the anal rape. But, you know what, $100 million later, you’re like, “O.K., I guess I do not know what sells.”
Can you remember anything being cut from the film?
Nothing was taken out. The Brady Bunch, Mary-Ann-and-Ginger bit with Uma Thurman and John Travolta was just trimmed out. That, and my character was originally supposed to get shot two times.
Shot first in the apartment?
No, in the car. The gun goes off, you know, mysteriously, and it’s supposed to hit me in the throat. And then there’s a little bit of banter back and forth. [As Samuel L. Jackson:] “Aw, man, what you do that for?” [As Travolta:] “Aw, man, I shot Marvin.” He’s like, “Well, why’d you shoot him?” “I didn’t do it on purpose. You hit a bump.” “I didn’t hit no goddamn bump.” You know. And they’re going back, “Well, what are we gonna do?” “Well, he can’t go to a doctor.” “Well, I don’t got no homies in . . . ” “Well, what are we gonna do?” “All right, we have to put him out of his misery.” And then it’s like, “All right, on three I’m gonna honk the horn.” And then he shoots me in the head. And then they get covered in blood and brain matter, and then everything goes on as written.
(Here’s Phil re-enacting the parts.)
Why do you think they pulled it?
I don’t know for certain, but I do know that we had a rehearsal a few weeks before shooting started, and it was just me, John Travolta, Sam Jackson, Quentin, and Sam, the A.D. And when I walked in, John Travolta goes [as Travolta], “Aw man, I gotta kill him? The audience is gonna hate me.” I believe he and Quentin decided that if he had to actively kill me, it would negatively effect the audience’s relation to his character. And I think he was right. It’s a really subtle difference, the fact that he does it accidentally. Travolta and Tarantino just had this sense that killing me intentionally was going to be over the line. I guess they decided it changed the way these hit men are portrayed. But it’s weird, because, yeah, honestly they really did just blaze through a bunch of kids for no reason.
And they changed another line?
When they’re talking about bacon. Travolta says, “So if a pig had a better personality, they would cease to be a filthy animal?” Sam’s like, “Well, we’d have to be talking about one charming motherfucking pig.” And he was originally supposed to say, “That’d have to be the Cary Grant of pigs.”__ __And Sam, from what I was told, didn’t think that Jules would think Cary Grant was that cool. So they changed it to: “They’d have to be 10 times more charming than that Arnold on Green Acres.”
During *Pulp Fiction,*was there any feeling on set that the language or violence in the film was so out of line that it would get Tarantino in trouble?
Political correctness was still very strong, but I don’t think it was as firmly ensconced as it is today. But yeah, I mean, he says “nigger” so many times in the scene with the coffee. But anybody who cannot tell the difference between Jimmie saying [as Tarantino], “Do you see a sign above my glasses, ‘Dead Nigger Storage’? No. Because that’s not what it is,” and a hate crime on a crowded street . . . Anybody who can’t tell the difference between the two is an idiot. And the stuff with Django—I mean, it’s obviously more loaded because his topic is slavery. Like I was saying, political correctness has become an industry unto itself. At the time, it was not an issue in any way, shape, or form. In fact, I think Sam added the line, as we’re leaving the apartment after they kill everybody, “Come on, nigger, get up,” because it felt real.
Is the gimp a friend of yours as well, because he was married to Julia Sweeney?
Yeah, that’s Steve Hibbert.
When did Julia and Steve split?
I don’t know when they split. I guess it was soon after the movie. ’Cause they were together before she went to S.N.L., and after, they co-wrote It’s Pattogether, and I believe that Quentin did a rewrite or helped out on that. ’Cause they were all hanging out together. That was the story that I heard, that Quentin did some uncredited rewrites on It’s Pat, which is just hilarious to me.
How did they film your death scene?
I was not actually there. I try never to be around when my brains are being blown out. Greg Nicotero’s company built a full-on dummy, which is the body that’s in the trunk, and it’s the body they’re holding when they have the flash-forward of [as Tarantino] “What if my wife comes home?” And the dummy was actually on set for a couple of months before I showed up, so it was really weird. My first day on set, I’m meeting people, I’m like, “Hi, I’m so-and-so,” and they’re looking at me with—you know how someone looks at you with recognition in their eyes? Like, “Oh, I’ve seen you before, I know you,” but it’s also creeped-out kind of recognition, because it’s like, “Ooh, I’ve seen you dead.” And he also built a sort of bust that was rigged to blow brain chunks out of the back of the head.
And what I was told at the time was, they were building this head that exploded—it’s like, “We’re never gonna use it.” Quentin said, “I don’t want to use—I don’t want to see your head explode. But we need something for the ratings people. We need something to give them.” So he shot this scene, always intending to cut it out.
There was some stuff that was potentially objectionable that he needed, and if you just give the ratings board the cut you want, they’re going to go, “No, you can’t have that, you can’t have that.” So he put in extra stuff to remove. It’s like, “Wait, you can’t have a black man fucked in the ass.” “O.K., O.K., O.K. How about we take the little black man’s head exploding, we cut that out?”
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What was the name of the Italian cruise liner which sank in January 2012 with substantial loss of life? | Costa Concordia embarks on last voyage to Genoa where it will be broken up for scrap | Daily Mail Online
Costa Concordia embarks on its last voyage: Italian cruise liner finally heads home to Genoa where it will be broken up for scrap
Four tugboats and several escort ships were lined up to tow the 114,000-tonne vessel
It is being taken to a port near Genoa in northern Italy where it is due to arrive on Sunday
The once-gleaming white luxury liner sank off the holiday island of Giglio in January 2012
32 people died in the disaster after the ship struck rocks and capsized
What followed was the most daunting - and expensive - salvage operation ever attempted
Environmental groups have grave concerns warning the operation could be a 'maritime Chernobyl'
Indian waiter Russel Rebello is still missing, but authorities are hopeful that his body may be found
| Costa Concordia |
"Which Irish comedian had the catchphrase ""It's the way I tell 'em""?" | Shipwrecks Since 1833
World and News > Disaster Digest > Accident Archive > Shipwrecks
Shipwrecks Since 1833
The Titanic isn't the only notable shipwreck (though it is famous for crashing into an iceberg on April 15, 1912, killing over 1,500 people). The Lusitania, a British luxury liner, was sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915, killing 1,195 people. Joola, a Senegalese ferry, sunk in 2002, drowning 1,863 people.
1833
May 11, Lady of the Lake: bound from England to Quebec, struck iceberg; 215 perished.
1853
Sept. 29, Annie Jane: emigrant vessel wrecked off coast of Scotland; 348 died.
1860
Sept. 8, Lady Elgin: steamer was hit by schooner Augusta , killing more than 300.
1865
April 27, Sultana : boiler explosion on Mississippi River steamboat, near Memphis; 1,547 killed. Most of the dead were Union POWs finally heading home at the end of the Civil War.
1873
April 1, Atlantic: sank near Halifax after hitting rocks, killing 562.
1878
Sept. 3, Princess Alice: collided with the steam collier Bywell Castle and sank in the Thames, killing at least 600, actual numbers unknown.
1898
Feb. 15, Maine: U.S. battleship destroyed in Havana harbor by an explosion that killed 260 men. The incident led to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in April 1898.
Nov. 26, City of Portland: 157 died near Cape Cod.
1904
June 15, General Slocum: excursion steamer burned in East River, N.Y.; 1,021 perished.
1912
March 5, Principe de Asturias: Spanish steamer struck rock off Sebastien Point; 500 drowned.
April 15, Titanic : supposedly unsinkable British ocean liner went down on maiden voyage after colliding with an iceberg. More than 1,500 people died.
Sept. 28, Kichemaru: Japanese steamer sunk off Japan; killing 1000.
1914
May 29, Empress of Ireland: sank after collision in St. Lawrence River; 1,014 perished.
1915
May 7, Lusitania : British luxury liner was sunk off Irish coast by a German submarine; 1195 died.
1915
July 24, Eastland: Great Lakes excursion steamer overturned in Chicago River; 812 died.
1916
Feb. 26, Provence: French cruiser sank in Mediterranean; 3,100 perished.
Nov. 21, Britannic: sister ship of the Titanic sank in the Aegean Sea after an explosion. The vessel, which had been converted to a hospital ship during World War I, probably collided with an underwater mine. Of the more than 1,100 people aboard, only 30 died.
Aug. 29, Hsin Yu: Chinese steamer sunk; 1,000 died.
1928
Nov. 12, Vestris: British steamer sank in gale off Va.; 110 died.
1934
Sept. 8, Morro Castle: 134 killed in fire off Asbury Park, N.J.
1939
May 23, Squalus: submarine with 59 men sank off Hampton Beach, N.H.; 33 saved.
June 1, Thetis: submarine sank in Liverpool Bay, England; 99 perished.
1945
Jan. 30, Wilhelm Gustloff: cruise ship carrying German refugees and soldiers sunk by Soviet submarine in Baltic. It is thought that as many as 10,000 people were aboard, of which only about 900 survived.
1949
Sept. 17, Noronic: Canadian Great Lakes cruise ship burned at Toronto dock; about 130 died.
1952
April 26, Hobson: minesweeper collided with aircraft carrier Wasp and sank during night maneuvers in mid-Atlantic; 176 people lost.
1953
Jan. 9, Chang Tyong-Ho: South Korean ferry foundered off Pusan; 249 reported dead.
Jan. 31, Princess Victoria: British ferry sank in Irish Sea; 133 lost.
1954
Sept. 26, Toya Maru: more than 1,000 killed when commercial ferry sank in Tsugaru Strait, Japan.
1956
July 25, Andrea Doria : Italian liner collided with Swedish liner Stockholm off Nantucket Island, Mass., and sank the next day. 51 people died.
1962
April 8, Dara: British liner exploded and sank in Persian Gulf; 236 dead. Caused by time bomb.
1963
April 10, Thresher: atomic-powered U.S. submarine sank in North Atlantic; 129 dead.
May 4: United Arab Republic ferry capsized and sank in upper Nile; over 200 died.
1966
Dec. 12, Heraklion: Greek passenger ferry foundered in heavy seas near Crete; 241 dead.
1968
Jan. 25, Dakar: Israeli submarine sank in eastern Mediterranean, probably after collision with large ship; 69 dead.
Late May, Scorpion: U.S. nuclear submarine sank in Atlantic 400 mi southwest of Azores; 99 dead.
1970
Dec. 15: ferry in Korean Strait capsized; 261 lost.
1975
Nov. 10, Edmund Fitzgerald: cargo vessel carrying 26,000 long tons of iron ore pellets sank in eastern Lake Superior; all 29 crew lost.
1976
Oct. 20, George Prince: Mississippi River ferry rammed by Norwegian tanker Frosta near Luling, La.; 77 dead.
1983
May 25, 10th of Ramadan: Nile steamer caught fire and sank in Lake Nasser, near Aswan, Egypt; 272 dead and 75 missing.
1987
March 6, Herald of Free Enterprise: British ferry capsized after leaving Belgian port of Zeebrugge with 500 aboard; 134 drowned. Water rushing through bow left open was the cause.
Dec. 20, Dona Paz: over 4,000 killed when passenger ferry collided with oil tanker Victor off Mindoro Is., south of Manila, Philippines.
1990
April 7, Scandinavian Star: suspected arson aboard Danish-owned North Sea ferry killed at least 110 passengers in Skagerrak Strait off Norway.
April 7: double-decker ferry sank in Gyaing River in Myanmar (Burma) during a storm and 215 people were believed drowned.
1991
Dec. 15, Salem Express: ferry carrying 569 passengers sank in Red Sea off coast of Safaga, Egypt, after hitting a coral reef. Over 460 people believed drowned.
1993
Feb. 17, Neptune: triple-deck ferry capsized off southern peninsula of Haiti during a squall. Over 1,000 passengers believed drowned. About 300 survived the sinking.
1994
Sept. 28, Estonia: passenger ferry capsized off coast of southwest Finland and sank in a stormy Baltic Sea. Only about 140 of the estimated 1,040 passengers aboard survived.
1996
Jan. 21, Gurita: overloaded ferry sank off the coast of northern Sumatra, killing 340.
1999
Feb., Harta Rimba: ship sank in the South China Sea, killing about 325 people. The ship had not been licensed for passenger use.
Nov. 24, Dashun: ferry carrying more than 300 passengers sank after catching fire. More than 150 confirmed dead, with another 140 missing.
2000
June 29, Cahaya Bahari: ferry carrying refugees sank about 40 mi off Sulawesi , killing the 492 people aboard.
Aug. 12, Kursk: Russian nuclear submarine sank to bottom of Barents Sea following an explosion; 118 dead.
2001
Feb. 9, Ehime Maru: U.S. submarine Greeneville collided with Japanese fishing boat near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. 26 people aboard the Ehime Maru were rescued; 9 others were presumed dead.
2002
Sept. 26, Joola: overloaded Senegalese ferry capsized off the coast of Gambia, drowning 1,863 people. Only 64 passengers were rescued.
2006
Feb. 3, Red Sea: a fire on the al-Salam Boccaccio 98, a Red Sea ferry, enroute from Saudi Arabia to Egypt, caused it to sink 60 miles off the Egyptian coast, killing more than 1,000.
2007
Jan. 28, California: computer scientist, Jim Gray, disappears off the coast of San Fransisco during a solo day trip on his 40-foot yacht, the Tenacious.
Aug. 3, Sierra Leone: the Amunafa ferry, traveling from Freetown to Kasire, sank off the coast of Sierra Leone, killing 158 passengers.
2008
Jan. 15, Taiwan: a Panamanian cargo ship transporting coal from Hong Kong was capsized by a wave near Taiwan, killing all eight crew members.
June 21, the Philippines: a ferry, the Princess of the Stars, is struck by Typhoon Fengshen, killing most of the 800 passengers and crew.
Nov. 9, the Sea of Japan: in the most deadly accident on a Russian submarine since 2000, 20 people die and 21 more are injured when two compartments of a new Russian nuclear submarine flood with Freon gas during tests in the Sea of Japan.
Dec. 5, Antarctic penninsula: more than 80 passengers and 30 crew members were evacuated from a luxury Antarctic cruise ship when the ship hit a rock and became stuck on the Antarctic Peninsula, over 150 miles southwest of Argentina.
2009
Jan. 11, Indonesia: a passenger ferry MV Teratai Prima carrying 267 capsizes during a cyclone off the coast of Sulawesi. About 40 people, including the captain, are rescued.
March 27, Libya: a boat designed to hold 75 sinks with more than 250 migrants headed to Europe on board. Twenty survivors are rescued.
Aug. 6, Tonga: a passenger ferry MV Princess Ashika sinks, killing 74. Four men are charged with manslaughter for knowingly sailing an unseaworthy vessel.
Sept. 9, Sierra Leone: the ferry Teh Teh sinks during a storm with more than 250 on board, many of them schoolchildren and their parents on their way to Freetown to start the new school year. Forty people are rescued.
2010
May 8, New York: the Staten Island ferry Andrew J. Barberi crashes into the terminal after losing brake power. Thirty six people are injured.
July 7, Philadelphia: an amphibious tourist boat, or duck boat, stalls in the Delaware River and is struck by a sludge-carrying barge. All 37 people on board are thrown into the water; 35 are recovered alive, while 2 Hungarian tourists are missing.
Dec. 13, Antarctica: Twenty survive and 20 die when the South Korean FV No. 1 Insung (or Number One In Sung) sinks in frigid waters. The 42-person fishing trawler crew consisted of 11 Indonesians, 11 Vietnamese, 8 Koreans, 8 Chinese, 3 Filipinos, and 1 Russian.
2011
March 6, China: the U.K. container ship Cosco Hong Kong collides with China's FV Zhe Ling Yu Yun 135 with the loss of all 11 crew.
March 11, Pacific Rim: an undetermined number of vessels sink following a magnitude-9 earthquake and tsunami off the northeast coast of Japan.
April 6, Italy: more than 250 Libyan migrants are missing after a boat carrying men, women, and children capsizes off the coast of Lampedusa.
2012
Jan. 13, Italy: the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia capsizes near the Tuscan coast. There are 4,200 passengers on board. At least 11 people are killed and dozens missing. The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, reportedly changed course to sail closer to shore to show off the luxury liner. In addition, he is accused of abandoning the ship after the crash.
2013
October 3, Mediterranean: at least 94 people are dead and another 250 are missing after a boat capsizes in the Mediterranean near the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. The boat, carrying African migrants to Europe, sinks after passengers light a blanket on fire to signal their position. The fire spreads from the blanket to gasoline, creating a panic that sinks the boat. It is the worst boating accident of its kind in the region.
2014
April 16, South Korea: a ferry carrying 459 people, mostly students from Danwon High School, sinks off the southern coast of South Korea. When the ship begins sinking, the ship's captain, Lee Jun-seok, is not at the helm. Instead, the third mate is steering the ship. Lee is taken into custody. There are 304 confirmed deaths in the tragedy.
2015
April 19, Mediterranean: a ship carrying 850 migrants sinks off the coast of Libya. Many are trapped in the ship at the bottom of the sea. According to a statement made by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the ship carried 850 people and only 28 are known to have survived. It is the deadliest incident in the Mediterranean involving refugees.
June 1, China: a cruise ship, the Oriental Star, carrying 458 passengers capsizes in the Yangtze River, in central China. Strong winds and heavy rain are believed to have contributed to the accident. Few are expected to survive.
See also:
| i don't know |
In which famous film love story did the lovers meet in a railway station? | Brief Encounter Reviews & Ratings - IMDb
IMDb
165 out of 185 people found the following review useful:
An excellent, charming, moving film.
from Newcastle, Blighty
22 November 2000
Have you really never seen Brief Encounter? What have you been doing all these years? You have a treat in store.
I have a great love for British films of the 1940s. There seems to have been a great flowering of creative talent then, and the films of the period look beautiful, and have such wonderful characters in them. David Lean is more famous for his huge Technicolor epics, like Lawrence of Arabia, or A Passage to India, but Brief Encounter is his most moving film. It is shot in atmospheric black and white, and tells the story of two people who fall in love, in mundane little England.
Celia Johnston plays Laura, a middle class woman who lives a happy but predictable life, who meets Dr. Alec Harvey, played by craggy Trevor Howard. There starts a doomed love affair, set to the sweeping romantic sounds of Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto. This single piece of music plays throughout the film, and stirs up exactly the right emotions. The film will make you want to own a recording of the music.
Such is the power and influence of this film, that it has been remade a few times, and spoofed on countless occasions. It created the archetype for the romantic farewell on a station platform, with steam hissing from trains, and an orchestra playing in the background. Though this has been copied often, it has never been bettered. The film involves a few scenes on railway platforms, and some of these are mundane, others joyous, or despairing, wretched. The director uses many deft tricks to heighten the emotion all along the way. A simple tilt of the camera, or contrasting mood of another character, serves to add tremendous power to the emotion of the scenes.
Times were different then. People were brasher, accents were stronger, and social attitudes to affairs quite different. The period of the film gives it much of its charm. It does not make it a cold study of a different culture, however. The film is very personal. The character of Laura's husband is hardly seen in the entire film, which means that we identify more with Laura's feelings. We see the affair and next to nothing else.
Celia Johnson brings a great deal to the film. She is so likeable, and so able to express the misery that her new love brings her. Her manner of speaking is quite alien to a modern ear. In the 1940s, it was quite normal to add a Y sound to many words. "Hat" became "hyat". The accents are not forced, though - they come across as quite natural, and very likeable.
This film would not be made this way today. The modern audience would demand younger stars, and nudity. See this film to witness how it was once possible to make films about love without bedroom scenes. Brief Encounter is very much stronger for lack of these. Stoicism and restraint are under-rated traits in modern cinema. Modern directors and writers would do well to remind themselves with this film, that a story can be given tremendous emotional power by techniques which seem to have been lost.
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153 out of 191 people found the following review useful:
Ignore That First Review. This Is A Classic
from Los Angeles
30 December 2003
The person who wrote the first review of this movie must be either a complete moron or has an acute lack of appreciation for what constitutes great moviemaking.
"Brief Encounter" is the perfect encapsulation of a very specific time in both women's and British history. The immediate post-WW 2 era in the UK was a period that saw Brits struggling with the disppearance of traditional social mores that had endured for over a century and the new world order that came about at the conclusion of the war. (For another, beautifully crafted cinematic example, see Neil Jordan's exquisite movie "The End of the Affair.")
Food rationing was still in place in postwar Britain. Women were having to deal with getting to know their menfolk again, after their years of absence at war. Like their American "Rosie the Riveter" counterparts, British women had enjoyed newfound and unfamiliar independence during wartime, working for the war effort. And, like their US "sisters", they were expected to relinquish those jobs to returning men.
"Brief Encounter" is, in many ways, a metaphor for the struggle that men and women were going through, stuck with having to conform to social expectations while bursting to escape to the greater independence glimpsed fleetingly and pleasurably during the war, when everything and everyone were turned upside down.
Being the work of Noel Coward, that master observer of and commentator on English manners, "Brief Encounter" frames this struggle as a torrid love story bubbling under the surface of British reserve, which demands maintaining appearances at all costs, regardless of the personal pain involved.
This passionate pair, who never even exchange a kiss, are constrained and ultimately kept apart by expectations--of their families, of their social positions, of Great Britain.
When Alec puts his hand on Laura's shoulder at their final, unexpectedly truncated meeting in the station snack bar/waiting room, it's as erotic and far more touching than just about every sex scene you'll see in movies.
The first reviewer completely missed the point and the relevance of this movie in film history and, especially, in British cinema history.
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106 out of 113 people found the following review useful:
Still life
from New York
18 January 2006
Certain songs, or melodies, associated with films one has seen, stay in our sub conscience forever. This is the case with the Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto for this viewer. Any time we hear it, or parts of the main themes are played, it immediately evokes this romantic film of 1945. It's a tribute to its director, David Lean, that after more than sixty years, it still is one of the most cherished movie experiences for a lot of people that saw it, or that are just getting acquainted with it.
"Brief Encounter" owes it all to one of the best talent in the English speaking world of the last century: Noel Coward. As part of his "Tonight at Eight" theater work, this one act play, "Still Life" was turned by its author and David Lean into what we know as "Brief Encounter", a bittersweet account of two lovers, doomed from the start.
The film works because the exquisite chemistry between its two stars, Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard. Both these actors make Laura Jesson and Alec Harvey come alive and stay with us every time we view this timeless film. The story is not far fetched and is made real by the two stars that elevate it to one of the best films of all times. The movie is done with an impeccable sense of decorum and style, yet it has such a sexy subtext. That was a time when a film didn't have to "bare it all" in order to catch the viewer's imagination. In fact, Laura and Alec let us know, without being specific, about the passion that both feel for one another.
Celia Johnson was not a great beauty. Neither was Trevor Howard the epitome of handsomeness, yet, their scenes together project such a heat, as the one that their characters are feeling at any given moment. The fact the two illicit lovers are played by people one could relate to, is what makes the film resonate the way it does every time we watch it. Of course, we realize this situation had no future from the start, yet, one keeps hoping their love will end well.
The supporting cast is excellent. Stanley Holloway is seen as the station master Albert. Joyce Carey is perfect as the woman in charge of the refreshment area of the station where Laura and Alec spend some of their time together. Cyril Raymond makes Fred Jesson, a man who perhaps understand much more than what he lets know. Everly Gregg is seen as the chattering Dolly Messiter.
"Brief Encounter" is one of the best films directed by David Lean, a man who was able to give the film the right tone and made it the classic that it is.
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102 out of 114 people found the following review useful:
Briefly, a great film
from Sydney, Australia
20 June 2002
There's not a lot to say. Like many classics this film is simply constructed with all the elements in balance so that none stands out. Everything in it contributes something essential; the lighting, the unromantic railway station sets, the minor characters and of course the music, the ultra-romantic Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no 2. The emotional rollercoaster of the illicit affair has seldom been better portrayed. Perhaps it is a little understated for transatlantic tastes but no-one viewing this movie would not appreciate that the English can be as passionate as the rest of us.
Celia Johnson as Laura and Trevor Howard as Alec are perfect together. It being 1945, they do not get to bed that would have ruined the audience's sympathy for them in those rather more censorious times. It's all in their minds but their faces give the game away to each other and to the bystanders. Nothing happens to drag anyone near the awful divorce courts, but you are left wondering whether Celia will ever feel quite the same about her dull, comfortable, patronising and boring husband. As for Alec, he professes he will love her forever but then, he's a man.
Noel Coward produced this film from a short play of his from 1935 (the war and post-war shortages are absent), and his dulcet tones may be recognised in the railway station announcements. David Lean directed, and it is a remarkable collaboration. The action is opened out a little a row on the lake, a drive in the country - but the scenes from the play set entirely in the railway refreshment rooms still remain the centre of the story. The parallel relationship between Albert the station guard (Stanley Holloway), and Myrtle the refreshment room attendant (Joyce Carey), is an interesting counterpoint to the angst-ridden middle class would-be adulterers. Surely Noel old boy you weren't suggesting that the working class handles this sort of thing better? We see things largely from Laura's point of view and perhaps Alec didn't feel quite so guilty, but their consciences are going to make them pay. A gem of a movie.
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59 out of 73 people found the following review useful:
Lean, spare & beautiful
from New Delhi, India
25 March 2000
I didn't think I'd write this comment till I saw the 2 previous ones criticizing 'BE'. I don't know how much this movie would appeal to camp-followers of an in-your-face go-getting culture. Some of the frequent adjectives describing this movie is 'civilised', 'restrained', 'noble'. To those who call this movie dated, I'll say that these are indeed qualities which are hardly followed & upheld today, especially in movies. However movies do reflect contemporary social mores, & maybe the story of two illicit lovers sacrificing their love for something as obvious as home & family does not find to many buyers today.
For those who think a movie can convey some of the most intimate emotions, conflicts & visions known to us, those who believe 2 art forms (Rachmaninoff's 2nd, Lean's 4th) can coexist brilliantly, & finally for those who believed David Lean got body-snatched in mid-career to make over-blown nonsense like 'Dr. Zhivago' this is one of the best ways to spend 86 minutes!
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51 out of 58 people found the following review useful:
A simple film with complex emotions
from Sydney, Australia
10 October 2000
Brief Encounter is probably one of the finest romances made by the English film industry. The story line is simple, of a married woman who meets a stranger and falls in love, belies the complexity of the emotions involved. It ends poignantly, as both parties realise that their feelings have been overshadowed by the social impossibility of their situation.
The film is particularly good at reflecting the post-war austerity and morality of England. It may change your view of railway stations forever.
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51 out of 62 people found the following review useful:
Yes, an affair, but really a tribute to committed married love
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
YOU CAN SAFELY READ MY INTRO - NO SPOILERS TO START
I adore this movie, more every time I watch it.
First, just a brief introductory summary to whet your appetite for this great picture (my all time favorite), a vintage black and white film set in Britain during the 1940's... During one of her weekly Thursday shopping excursions in a neighboring town, a rather plain (though earnest and engaging), contentedly married, middle aged housewife named Laura encounters an affable and kind (also married) doctor, Alec, at the train station refreshment counter. Circumstances force a brief interaction and thus begins a series of Thursday meetings between the pair, with casual chance acquaintance quickly replaced by growing and consuming attraction.
Most of the scenes revolve around the station tea shop which serves as a sort of "home base" to the affair. It is Laura's tale; thus the events and emotions are related totally from her point of view, all to the romantic strains of Rachmaninof's Piano Concerto. Read all the other rave reviews about the superb acting / character portrayals, the atmospheric enhancement of the whizzing and hissing trains, and so on. They're all true...plot, character, setting, and atmosphere are all done to perfection in this film.
BEWARE - SPOILERS AHEAD
However, if you want a little serious insight into this movie, consider my unique "take"....
Yes, it's dramatically moving and intense, that farewell touch of Alec's hand on Laura's shoulder. However, I'm probably one of the only viewers who regards this movie as a tribute to married love, as opposed to the middle aged affair between two ordinary people which is its obvious theme. True, the drama revolves around Laura and Alec, their encounters at the train station, their thwarted passions, and their guilt ridden emotions (especially Laura's). But, let's remember, Laura is narrating the tale as she wishes she could tell it to her husband, Fred, obviously her best friend and "the only one who would understand".
Well, isn't a new romance exciting, the more so if forbidden? Champagne lunches, boat excursions out in the countryside, daydreams of Paris and Venice, hanging on each other's every word. Don't we all sort of yearn for it every now and then? However, if Laura and Alec had remained together, before long they would have resembled...Laura and Fred! The Grand Romance seldom lasts, at least not in its original form; it takes on a more meaningful form. (Failure to realize this of course fills modern divorce courts.)
Poor dull Fred! He's my favorite character...I absolutely adore him! He often gets a bad rap from the other reviewers. Don't buy it! Really, there's nothing wrong with him. He probably reminds many a wife of her husband, engrossed with his crossword or whatever. Steady and predictable...the most desirable quality, longterm, in a spouse!
Everyone wonders why the movie shows Laura's husband but not Alec's wife, nor does it give us much information about her, other than the fact that she's "delicate". That's because Brief Encounter is really the story of Laura and FRED. Even though he's not present in that many scenes, his character is well drawn.
Fred may not currently be "sweeping Laura off her feet" but he's actually very kind to her. In the end, he realizes she's been having an affair and is grateful she's chosen him. I categorically disagree with those who claim that Laura returns to her husband only because of society's expectations, not out of love for him.
What happens after the movie closes? Well, maybe Fred pays her a tiny bit more attention and, hopefully, some spark of romance might be rekindled. As for Laura, I think she'll be extremely relieved that her affair WASN'T consummated, occasionally scold herself for her brief period of insanity, realize the depth of Fred's love, and try to make it up to him for her "emotional disloyalty". I doubt Laura will spend too much energy bemoaning what she might have had with Alec; the affair has made clearer to her what she DOES have with Fred.
It's "boring" (?), stable, committed love versus brief romance and passion. No movie portrays the contrast better than Brief Encounter. Pity more people today don't make the choice Laura and Alec did. The world might be a better place.
This movie puts to shame modern cinema where the main characters are generally in bed within the first five minutes. Don't miss it!
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47 out of 56 people found the following review useful:
Simple, Honest, and Unforgettable.
from United States
10 August 2004
It really pleases me to see the very positive responses here to this gem of a movie. I recently read Kevin Brownlow's epic, detailed biography of David Lean, and I'm less mystified as to how Lean went from intimate character dramas such as this one, and even GREAT EXPECTATIONS and OLIVER TWIST, to the big-screen epics which placed far more emphasis on scenery and very little on character. Lean had great problems with intimacy, and much preferred grandeur (he virtually abandoned his son, and didn't meet one of his grandchildren until she was about 30). I'm not knocking the epics, because I've enjoyed them as well, but at the end of LAWRENCE OF ARABIA one knows about as much about Lawrence as one did about 3-1/2 hours earlier. ..unlike Alec and Laura in this film, whom we know very well after 1-1/2 hours, or Pip and Miss Havisham in EXPECTATIONS, characters who leapt off the screen and endeared themselves to us (it also helped that some really gifted actors & actresses played these roles).
I never tire of BRIEF ENCOUNTER - it's one of the screen's great romances, perhaps because it doesn't quite end "happily ever after". It remains simple, honest, and unforgettable.
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48 out of 61 people found the following review useful:
"Huge Cloudy Symbols Of A High Romance"
from London, England
7 August 2000
Steam ... cut-glass accents ... Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto ... the refreshment room at Milford Junction ... "the shame of the whole thing - the guiltiness, the fear ..." - it all adds up to David Lean's famous film treatment of the Noel Coward tale of love blossoming and withering at a suburban railway station. Laura Jesson is a complacent middle-class housewife who gets a piece of grit in her eye one day and is helped by Doctor Alec Harvey, and the romance begins.
Coward's screenplay is characteristic of his oeuvre. There is the neat precision of the circular plot, beginning and ending with the brainless intrusion of Dolly Messiter, and the matching sub-plot of the Albert-Mrs. Bagot courtship. There are tongue-in-cheek self-references (on the cinema screen, "Flames Of Passion" coming shortly) and the trademark Cowardian grounding in exaggerated Englishness ("One has one's roots, after all"). Most typical of all is that overwrought cascade of middle-class vocabulary (" ...so utterly humiliated and defeated, and so dreadfully, dreadfully ashamed"). Coward patronises working-class people abominably. Albert and Mrs. Bagot amble effortlessly through their romance because, bless them, they are simple folk. Alec and Laura suffer torments, having so much more sensitivity, and, you see, they have reputations to lose ("the furtiveness and the lying outweigh the happiness").
Having made the transition from editor to director in 1942, Lean was at the helm for the fourth time for "Brief Encounter", all four films being Coward projects - and a highly creditable job he made of this one. The scene in which Alec explains coal-dust inhalation and Laura falls in love is a model of sensitive direction. Reflections of Laura's face in the train window and the make-up mirror suggest in visual terms the existence of her 'other self', the id to her ego. Thundering steam trains and Rachmaninov stand for the irrepressible sexual urge. Stephen Lynn's flat, with its bachelor urbanity, contrasts cleverly with Laura's safe, staid home and safe, staid husband Fred ("I don't understand!") Alec's silent hand on Laura's shoulder is wonderfully poignant, the suppressed emotion eclipsed by stupid Dolly Messiter, her face filling the screen and 'wiping out' the great moment.
Sex has to be dealt with obliquely, but it is very much the driving-force of the film. "If we control ourselves, and behave like sensible human beings ..." offers Laura hopefully but hollowly. Neither man nor woman is capable of restraint, at least until after the climax in Stephen's flat. The boathouse and the little bridge hint furtively at sexual union. Other reviewers have declared the liaison to be 'unrequited' or 'unconsummated', but I am not so sure. In the grammar of 1940's cinema, the return to the love-nest of tousle-haired, hatless Laura is the equivalent, I would suggest, of our modern bedroom scene. Isn't that why Alec suddenly decides to take the job offer?
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24 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
How Can I Describe Perfection.In Two words:Simply Sublime
from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
25 May 2003
For me,a film addicted"Brief Encounter" is a polished diamond.It's the most perfect romance:You don't see lovers climbing balconys or dying in each others hand.What you see in "Brief Encounter"is two ordinary people in love.Only two normal people who stumble on one another in a railroad station and discover that they have more things in common,then meets the eye.So they started to see each other once a week,but their love are doomed,because they are both married and have very good lives.Celia Johnson is a sparklling gem as a house wife repressed who finds a man so repressed as she.That leads us to Trevor Howard.I know the reason of Celia's anguish.A normal woman simply could not resist to those eyes and the perfect face of Trevor,who embodies every english man in a simple wave,or just laughing in the theater.David Lean's soberb direction and Noel Coward's perfect story give space to show that you don't need to be Romeo And Juliet to tell that love's a good cause to fight,even when the fight is lost
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| Brief Encounter |
"Which recording artist, originally a folk singer had top ten hits in the early 1970's with ""Amazing Grace"" and ""Send in the Clowns""?" | Top 10 romantic films of all time | Life and style | The Guardian
Top 10 romantic films of all time
Seán Clarke
Wednesday 30 January 2002 12.56 EST
First published on Wednesday 30 January 2002 12.56 EST
Boy meets girl. Girl dies. Inspired. Heartwrenching.
9: The English Patient
Of course Kristin Scott Thomas has to run off with the dashing Ralph Fiennes. She's married to that forgettable little man. What's his name again? Colin Firth, or something.
8: Lovers of the Arctic Circle
The sense of yearning and inevitability set up by the starcrossed lovers in this film, who sweetly believe that fate will bring them together, even at the ends of the earth, is unendurable. Weep, and weep freely.
7: William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet
Presumably to distinguish it from Alan Bennett's Romeo and Juliet. "A rose by any other name wouldn't do, says mother. She says roses are vulgar, any road."
6: Lady and the Tramp
How can you fail to have your heart strings plucked by a film in which a mongrel stray eats spaghetti from the mouth of another dog? Should I rephrase that?
5: Brief Encounter
Only an Englishman could come up with a love story in which two people meet at a railway station and then never meet again. But not every Englishman: the lead actor thought that the not-quite-lovers should have, well... been lovers. And said so, in venal terms, before the start of every shot.
4: L'Appartement
A film in which everyone seems to love everyone else so dippily it's astonishing it can all turn out so badly. But they do look exceeding fair as their emotional lives crumble around them.
3: Casablanca
Deserves a place in the list purely for the long lingering camera shots of the two leads, as though the camera were as besotted with them as they are with each other. Also for its underlying message about love: it's all well and good, but beating the Germans is more important. Hence the England football team doesn't take the wives to away matches.
2: Intersection
The kind of film you find yourself watching on Channel 4 on a Wednesday night and then wondering why people don't have Intersection parties. Best for the earthy nobility of the female characters in the face of wimpish indecision from the man.
1: Titanic
That's enough highbrow liberal sneering. You enjoyed it and you know you did. You probably cried too. Tears of helpless laughter, but tears all the same.
| i don't know |
What is the name of the leader of the British UKIP Party? | UKIP: The story of the UK Independence Party's rise - BBC News
BBC News
UKIP: The story of the UK Independence Party's rise
By Alex Hunt Politics editor, BBC News website
21 November 2014
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Image copyright Reuters
Image caption Nigel Farage was in jubilant mood as his party took its second Westminster seat
With its second elected MP at Westminster in as many months, the UK Independence Party has cemented its place as the new force in British politics. But its achievements are no overnight success.
The UK Independence Party has, as its name implies, one key policy - to leave the European Union.
It is a simple, understandable message, which has led to the party gaining bigger and bigger support in European elections, culminating in it topping the vote in May this year.
But it is also a message which meant people often dismissed it as a single-issue party, unlikely to transfer its success to Westminster politics.
It has spent considerable effort on broadening its appeal, spelling out how leaving the EU is the answer to a whole range of issues, notably controlling immigration, while also outlining plans to cut taxes for middle earners, speaking up for grammar schools and opposing gay marriage.
And the message from leader Nigel Farage - if any party has been associated with one man it is UKIP and Farage - seems to have struck a chord with disenchanted voters from the "big three".
Image copyright AFP
Image caption Nigel Farage enjoys an everyman image
It became clear in the 2013 Eastleigh by-election that UKIP, rather than Westminster's official Labour opposition, seemed to have become the party of choice for the anti-government vote and the anti-politics vote.
It has since proved capable of causing upsets in local elections in Tory and Lib Dem heartlands in the South of England and, as the South Shields and Heywood and Middleton by-elections demonstrated, Labour strongholds in the North. Its crowning moment came in October, when the party won its first Westminster seat, after the Conservative MP for Clacton, Douglas Carswell, defected to Mr Farage's team.
UKIP's share of the vote in Westminster by-elections:
November 2014: 42.1%
October 2014: Heywood and Middleton 38.7%
June 2014: Newark 25.9%
Feb 2014: Wythenshawe and Sale East 18%
May 2013: South Shields 24.2%
Feb 2013: Eastleigh 27.8%
Nov 2012: Croydon North 5.7%
Nov 2012: Manchester Central 4.5%
Nov 2012: Corby 14.3%
Nov 2012: Cardiff South and Penarth 6.1%
Mar 2012: Bradford West 3.3%
Dec 2011: Feltham and Heston 5.5%
July 2011: Inverclyde 1%
May 2011: Leicester South 2.9%
March 2011: Barnsley Central 12.2%
Jan 2011: Oldham East and Saddleworth 5.8%
UKIP has realised the hard way that it is not enough just to pitch up at a by-election with a loud hailer and some media-friendly stunts, it requires months, even years, of groundwork in the local area.
The party's campaigning effort has become far more professional and well-funded in the past three years as a result. It is learning the highly specialised discipline, once the domain of the Lib Dems, of winning elections.
But UKIP is no overnight success or, as it can sometimes seem from the ubiquity of Mr Farage on the airwaves, a one-man party.
It has had more twists and turns - and splits and schisms - in its 20-year history than many a soap opera, with an equally colourful cast of characters.
Image caption Nigel Farage, pictured at a party event in 1997
How UKIP became a political force
Small parties have a habit of disintegrating into internal warfare or being wiped out by the vagaries of the electoral system and political fashion - British politics has seen a few come and go over the years.
But UKIP managed to keep its show on the road and defy the predictions of those who were ready to write the party off as, in the often-quoted words of David Cameron, "fruitcakes and loonies".
The party was founded on 3 September 1993 at the London School of Economics by members of the Anti-Federalist League, which had been founded by Dr Alan Sked in November 1991 with the aim of running candidates opposed to the Maastricht Treaty in the 1992 general election.
UKIP's growing vote share in national elections:
1999 European elections 7%
2001 General election 1.5% (saved deposit in one seat)
2004 European elections 16%
2005 General election 2.3% (saved deposit in 38 seats)
2009 European elections 16.5%
2010 General election 3.2% (saved deposit in 100 seats)
2014 European elections 27.5%
Candidates must get 5% of votes cast to save their deposit
UKIP's early days were overshadowed by the higher-profile and well-financed Referendum Party, led by Sir James Goldsmith, which was wound up soon after the 1997 election.
The new party's initial successes were all in the proportional representation elections for the European Parliament - winning its first three seats in 1999 with 7% of the vote.
Media captionFrom 1997: Nigel Farage says UKIP's time has come
It built on that in 2004, winning 12 seats and pushing the Lib Dems into fourth place. The 2009 poll saw its total grow to 13 seats, pushing Labour into third place with 16% of the vote.
And in 2014's European election the party lived up to its confident promise to top the vote, getting 27.5% of all those cast.
General elections, however, with their first-past-the-post voting systems, have been a different story and the party has failed to make the breakthrough it has been hoping for.
In 2001 it saved its deposit (that is, got at least 5% of votes) in just one seat. In 2005 it saved its deposit in 38 seats but lost its deposits in 451 others - costing about £225,500. Even its then leader, former Conservative MP Roger Knapman, could only poll 7% of the votes in Totnes, Devon.
Recognition factor
In 2010 it was led into the general election by Lord Pearson of Rannoch but again lost out, with just 3% of the vote across the UK, although there were signs of progress as it saved its deposit in 100 seats.
The party had hoped to make headlines after Mr Farage stood down as leader so he could take on Speaker John Bercow in Buckingham at the 2010 election - he did make the headlines but it turned out they were about a plane crash that almost cost Mr Farage his life, rather than election success.
Image copyright AP
Image caption Robert Kilroy Silk was the public face of UKIP in 2004, before forming his own party
Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption A UKIP billboard from the European elections in 2009
He recovered from his injuries and returned to head the party later in the year, in the latest instalment of the colourful story of UKIP's leadership.
Original leader and UKIP founder Alan Sked quit before the 1999 European elections, after arguing the party should refuse seats in the "gravy train" of the Strasbourg Parliament.
Shortly after that, the national executive lost a no-confidence vote and leader Michael Holmes resigned, although he remained an MEP.
Mr Knapman took over the role of leader in 2002, but in 2004, a new pretender to the crown - former Labour MP and chat show host Robert Kilroy-Silk - arrived in a flurry of media publicity to shake things up once again.
Before long he was openly jockeying for the leadership and was the media face of the party for the 2004 European election success - but when Mr Knapman refused to stand aside for him, Mr Kilroy-Silk quit and formed his own short-lived rival party.
Some thought that without Mr Kilroy-Silk's recognition factor the party might struggle.
Farage returns
In 2006, the lower-key Mr Knapman retired, to be replaced by Nigel Farage, an eye-catching media performer who pledged to make UKIP a "truly representative party", ending its image as a single-issue pressure group.
He spearheaded its success at the 2009 European elections and raised UKIP's profile, but surprised his own party conference in September that year by standing down as leader.
Image copyright Reuters
Image caption Mr Farage says UKIP is not just a threat to the Conservatives, but is "parking our tanks on the Labour Party's lawn".
Mr Farage said he would instead run for a seat in the Commons - specifically the seat of Commons Speaker John Bercow, which, by convention, other major parties do not fight. Mr Farage said it was "very important that UKIP gets a voice in Westminster".
Eton-educated Lord Pearson was Mr Farage's choice to replace him - but the peer never seemed at home in the job - for instance, admitting at the 2010 general election manifesto launch that he was not quite across the party's policy detail.
Mr Farage continued to be the highest-profile UKIP member - making headlines, and a viral video success, after telling the in-coming president of the European Council, Herman van Rompuy, that he had "the charisma of a damp rag".
Following the 2010 election, when the party failed again to turn European into UK political success, Lord Pearson announced in August 2010 that he was stepping down, saying he did not enjoy party politics. Five hopefuls entered the race to succeed him, with Mr Farage triumphing.
'I'm a bit odd'
From that point onwards the party has seen its poll ratings rise, overtaking the Lib Dems and staying above them in most polls, and putting in increasingly stronger showings in by-elections.
David Cameron's historic pledge to hold and an in/out referendum on UK membership of the EU if the Conservatives won the next election was interpreted by some as an attempt to halt the rise of UKIP, which senior Tories feared could prevent them from winning an overall majority in 2015.
UKIP membership figures:
2013: 32,447
If that was Mr Cameron's plan, it does not appear to have worked.
Mr Farage criticised the decision to delay the vote by five years, and claimed the prime minister's promise showed "we have changed the political agenda in this country" calling it "our proudest achievement to date".
How UKIP became a political force
Asked what he would do if the British people voted to remain in the EU, Mr Farage joked that he would have to get a "proper job". But the party's success in local elections suggests it might have a future, even without the European issue, as a libertarian, right wing alternative to a centrist Conservative Party.
UKIP appears to have struck a chord with many voters on the issue of immigration, which was the focus of its European election campaign this year and an issue frequently raised by people saying they were going to vote for them ahead of the Rochester and Strood by-election.
It has rejected claims that it is simply "against" foreigners, arguing that it is in favour of a sensible "managed" migration policy, something Mr Farage argues is not possible while Britain remains in the EU. However, the party found itself in hot water over the issue a few days before its Rochester win, when is candidate, Mark Reckless, suggested EU migrants would only be allowed to stay in the UK for a fixed period if the UK left the European Union.
Those remarks were clarified later by UKIP, to reject the idea EU citizens faced deportation, and Mr Reckless later said he had been misquoted.
The party says leaving the EU is the only way to be able to control who moves the UK from Europe and says it would boost the UK's border force to crack down on illegal immigration. They would also change the law so that those without identifying documents can be sent back to the country they travelled from.
Although it is widely said to have gained support as a result of its tough talk on immigration - something pointed out by Nottingham University professor Matthew Goodwin in a book charting UKIP's rise - it has also been a key part of Nigel Farage's strategy to distance the party from the far right - its constitution bans former BNP members from joining.
Image caption Matthew Goodwin says UKIP's message has changed from one just about the EU to one with immigration and anti-Westminster establishment at its heart
Mr Farage's maverick style - his fondness for a pint of beer, disarming frankness and ability to laugh at himself - has given him a similar kind of appeal to voters as Boris Johnson, who has described the UKIP man as "a rather engaging geezer". But higher prominence has brought greater scrutiny, and earlier this month Mr Farage was forced to clarify his position on the NHS after a video of him appeared in which he suggested a publicly funded health service be replaced by a private insurance model.
Despite his background being, on paper, identical to many a politician, the message from focus groups and voters is that he is "different", not one of "them" at Westminster.
Image caption UKIP will hope to avoid the fate of the SDP in 1980s, which won by-elections, and soared in polls but in the end failed to translate that into a large chunk of Westminster seats
He told BBC Radio 4's Today in 2013 that he was "odd" but only in the sense that it was "odd" to be a politician "not doing this for a career... I'm here as a campaigner. I want to free this country from the European Union and then I want us to have a much smaller level of state interference in our lives in this country".
For much of its life UKIP has been seen as attracting Tories unhappy with the party, especially the Conservatives' move towards the centre under David Cameron and the current coalition government. Mr Farage says there are now "three social democratic parties".
There have also been more recent signs of gains from Labour, with UKIP seeming to get support from the same sort of anti-Westminster, anti-politics vote as Alex Salmond's Yes campaign in the recent Scottish referendum.
In that Today interview Nigel Farage said UKIP did not have any MPs because "the first-past-the-post system is brutal to a party like us".
That may have been so at past general elections - but winning in Clacton and now Rochester and Strood shows it is no longer just in European elections that UKIP is a force to be reckoned with.
| Nigel Farage |
"Which recording artist, originally a folk singer, had top ten hits in the early 1970's with ""There but for fortune"" and ""The night they drove old Dixie down""?" | Nigel Farage to quit as UKIP leader in wake of 'Brexit' vote - CNN.com
Who is Nigel Farage?
As the UKIP's leader, Nigel Farage has long campaigned against the European Union.
For years Farage has operated on the political fringes -- ironically as a member of the European Parliament -- campaigning against the EU and what he characterized as its looming shadow over British sovereignty.
He was a former Conservative who left the party in 1992 after Britain signed the Maastricht Treaty , which led to the creation of the EU and its shared currency, the euro.
Farage then became a founding member of the UKIP, which opposed Maastricht and had a mandate to move Britain away from Europe.
Results map tells a big story
In an interview with CNN following the June 23 "Brexit" vote, Farage said: "I was written off as being a lunatic, and politically the support for this was absolutely tiny.
"The little idea was considered a little kooky, and 17 million voted for it ... and I couldn't be happier."
Brexit: What does it mean for you?
Farage's comments have been controversial, with critics accusing him of peddling racist and xenophobic views.
He has long campaigned against Britain's open immigration policy with the EU, saying it has led to an influx of people who have damaged cohesion and created divisions within society.
Farage caused a stir when his party unveiled a poster before the referendum with the words "Breaking Point. The EU has failed us all," showing an image of migrants entering Europe last year. Opposition politicians dismissed it as "divisive" and "hate-filled."
New UKIP Poster launching today - Breaking Point pic.twitter.com/PjMWSLbBNZ
— UKIP (@UKIP) June 16, 2016
What's next for UKIP?
Farage's resignation means the UKIP will join the Conservatives, who are also searching for a new leader. Boris Johnson, considered the favorite to replace outgoing Prime Minister David Cameron as Conservative Party leader, delivered a bombshell last week when he announced he didn't want the job. Cameron had said he would resign after losing his campaign to persuade voters to remain in the EU.
Following Farage's announcement, Douglas Carswell, the first elected member of Parliament for the UKIP, posted a smiling emoji with sunglasses on Twitter.
😎
— Douglas Carswell MP (@DouglasCarswell) July 4, 2016
When asked about the tweet, Farage said: "Well, I'm pleased that he's smiling because that's not something I've seen very often from him, so it's obviously very good news."
Possible successors -- other than Carswell -- include the party's deputy leader Paul Nuttall, immigration spokesman Steven Woolfe, culture spokesman Peter Whittle, deputy chairman Diane James and suspended former deputy chairman Suzanne Evans.
Without Nigel Farage we wouldn't be where we are today. His drive and belief shook establishment politics to its core and gave us a voice.
| i don't know |
In which famous film love story did the lovers meet in a book shop? | Notting Hill (1999) - IMDb
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ON DISC
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Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 14 nominations. See more awards »
Videos
A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love.
Director: Garry Marshall
When a woman's long-time friend reveals he's engaged, she realizes she loves him herself and sets out to get him, with only days before the wedding.
Director: P.J. Hogan
Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.
Director: Mike Newell
A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.
Director: Sharon Maguire
Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
Director: Nancy Meyers
A cynical, immature young man is taught how to act like a grown-up by a little boy.
Directors: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Stars: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette
A smart but sensible new graduate lands a job as an assistant to Miranda Priestly, the demanding editor-in-chief of a high fashion magazine.
Director: David Frankel
A reporter is assigned to write a story about a woman who has left a string of fiances at the altar.
Director: Garry Marshall
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
Director: Richard Curtis
An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
After finding love, Bridget Jones questions if she really has everything she's dreamed of having.
Director: Beeban Kidron
Two business rivals who despise each other in real life unwittingly fall in love over the Internet.
Director: Nora Ephron
Edit
Storyline
Every man's dream comes true for William Thacker, an unsuccessful Notting Hill bookstore owner, when Anna Scott, the world's most beautiful woman and best-liked actress, enters his shop. A little later, he still can't believe it himself, William runs into her again - this time spilling orange juice over her. Anna accepts his offer to change in his nearby apartment, and thanks him with a kiss, which seems to surprise her even more than him. Eventually, Anna and William get to know each other better over the months, but being together with the world's most wanted woman is not easy - neither around your closest friends, nor in front of the all-devouring press. Written by Julian Reischl <[email protected]>
Can the most famous film star in the world fall for just an ordinary guy?
Genres:
Rated PG-13 for sexual content and brief strong language | See all certifications »
Parents Guide:
28 May 1999 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
Coup de foudre à Notting Hill See more »
Filming Locations:
£152,532 (UK) (21 May 1999)
Gross:
Did You Know?
Trivia
The blue door was auctioned at Christie's Film and Entertainment sale in London. Soon after, graffiti appeared on a wall close by saying something along the lines of "R.I.P. blue door" next to the new door. The original blue door is now on a property in Hope Cove, Devon. See more »
Goofs
After Anna and William collide in the street, the microphone shadow is visible on the left side of the screen (widescreen version). See more »
Quotes
Spike : There's something wrong with this yogurt.
William : Ah, that's not yogurt, that's mayonnaise...
Spike : Ah, right-o then.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The coloured dots and symbols pop up in time with the music (And when the word 'heart' is sung, a litte red heart appears) See more »
Connections
(Los Angeles) – See all my reviews
It may be a paradox to say that a film can sparkle slowly, yet that's the only way I can describe this charming romantic comedy. The star(dom)-crossed lovers don't know that they are Meant For Each Other ... yes, this is the standard RomCom setup. But the -way- they don't know? That is put across in a most British and deliberate pace and setting. And it makes the ending that we all know is coming gather color and charm.
"Notting Hill" takes over a third of its running time to show William (Hugh Grant) as he is immersed in his daily life, wanting to be supportive of his friends, yet searching for his own inner life. The five closest friends all show something he lacks: "happy" conformity, a loving marriage transcending obstacles, a sister who takes bold risks for finding love, and a roommate that sees through pretense and says so (and, yes, is delightfully vulgar).
That very British character-in-a-wry-setting pattern borrows from "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but the only friends there that I could consistently believe -mattered- to Grant's character were the gay couple, one comic, the other showing profound emotion. Here, all of the lead character's circle deeply cares about him, as he does about them. This makes all the difference.
Where it matters most is in giving him support when the American film beauty (Julia Roberts) comes into his life, then out, then in, then ... and all in ways that are believable for such dissimilar lovers. The romantic turns are more plausible because Grant's character has such support and a place for sharing his emotional roller-coaster ride. He isn't crushed by the down moments, but picks up his individuality and moves on. And his friends tell him, sometimes with only searching looks, just when he's picked up -too much- of being on his own. (Okay, the moment towards the end when Spike puts his exasperation into three pointed, even vulgar, words is a refreshing change. Sometimes, when a friend lets loose with the pithy truth, it hits the needed spot.)
All this backstory, character richness, and pointed use of the "right" words are British qualities that we don't get with the standard American RomCom setup.
Gina McKee's turn here as Grant's wheelchair-bound female friend is of someone with deeply felt individuality and unique perceptiveness, including her own tender perspective on loves past and present - especially her husband. It's a glimpse into a woman with distinctive qualities that -she- has chosen. This makes her both appealing to all her friends, and forceful by quiet understatement. She also ends up being much funnier, when you've rewound the tape and end up thinking about the story. (Listen for her spoken turn on "standing up." No, it's not a cheap play on her limitations. Not in context. And that's subtle comic acting.)
Richard Curtis's inventive screenplay is one of the best in years, and would reward a look in book form as well. He takes this backdrop of supportive friends, puts in the sparkle of Roberts invading and shaking up their world, and creates a skein of personal truths and imposed celebrity nonsense.
Grant and Roberts are both passionate and bemused observers of the absurdities of fame that end up surrounding them, but they act this out in comic byplay and inventive responses. This isn't an American breakneck-pace (or "screwball") comedy, and their subtle discovery of each other's -minds- and substance wouldn't work in such a setting.
Roberts has both the easy familiarity with and the hair-trigger of frustration from fame, both coming out to undermine her when she least expects it. But she shows that she can grow and learn from her mistakes. (Unlike her well-acted but overexplained realization at the end of "Runaway Bride.") She even has one scene -sans- makeup that is a genuine romantic turning point. I don't see many other actresses being willing to try that.
Grant shows an astonishing inner strength and self-awareness, not being willing to hide how -he- sees reality. (He did the same realistic turn in "Four Weddings," but didn't try nearly as effectively to figure himself out.)
The photography and settings show off London beautifully, and the story's interior scenes make highly imaginative use of a narrow, stacked-up Notting Hill mini-townhouse.
I do feel the director fails to take up some opportunities to build on the comic or dramatic moments in the screenplay. He coasts on the words. They're excellent words, but they need a twist at times.
My only take-off-a-point[*] quibble is with the music. It's mostly popular tunes that underscore the action. One of these is luminous, and frames the story perfectly - Elvis Costello's cover of "She." Others, though, use their lyrics to overstress plot points. Some are performed too high in volume, sometimes lapping against dialogue.
(The two original themes by Trevor Jones are beautiful, lushly written, and quite fitting to the main characters. We should have had more of his work, but they're less than a fourth of the film's music.)
The British often put more creativity below the narrative surface and into the setting than Americans do, and often get beyond formula. To discover this in a film is joyous. You'll feel this when you find yourself compelled to see this deeply felt, yet very funny, film twice, thrice, or more. For me, it's still delightful after nine months and nine viewings.
[* Edited on 21 April 2011: After another decade and another ten viewings, this love story has only become more resonant and beautiful. The pop-song choices feel notably less obtrusive. The acting of both Roberts and Grant has evinced more depth. And I see no reason to not give it a full 10 rating.]
101 of 121 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
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| Notting Hill |
"Which Irish comedian had the catchphrase ""and there's more""?" | Notting Hill (1999) - IMDb
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The life of a simple bookshop owner changes when he meets the most famous film star in the world.
Director:
From $2.99 (SD) on Amazon Video
ON DISC
a list of 22 titles
created 12 Dec 2010
a list of 33 titles
created 22 Feb 2012
a list of 32 titles
created 03 Nov 2013
a list of 43 titles
created 11 months ago
a list of 22 titles
created 2 months ago
Search for " Notting Hill " on Amazon.com
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Nominated for 3 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 14 nominations. See more awards »
Videos
A man in a legal but hurtful business needs an escort for some social events, and hires a beautiful prostitute he meets... only to fall in love.
Director: Garry Marshall
When a woman's long-time friend reveals he's engaged, she realizes she loves him herself and sets out to get him, with only days before the wedding.
Director: P.J. Hogan
Over the course of five social occasions, a committed bachelor must consider the notion that he may have discovered love.
Director: Mike Newell
A British woman is determined to improve herself while she looks for love in a year in which she keeps a personal diary.
Director: Sharon Maguire
Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.
Director: Nancy Meyers
A cynical, immature young man is taught how to act like a grown-up by a little boy.
Directors: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Stars: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette
A smart but sensible new graduate lands a job as an assistant to Miranda Priestly, the demanding editor-in-chief of a high fashion magazine.
Director: David Frankel
A reporter is assigned to write a story about a woman who has left a string of fiances at the altar.
Director: Garry Marshall
Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.
Director: Richard Curtis
An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city's water supply.
Director: Steven Soderbergh
After finding love, Bridget Jones questions if she really has everything she's dreamed of having.
Director: Beeban Kidron
Two business rivals who despise each other in real life unwittingly fall in love over the Internet.
Director: Nora Ephron
Edit
Storyline
Every man's dream comes true for William Thacker, an unsuccessful Notting Hill bookstore owner, when Anna Scott, the world's most beautiful woman and best-liked actress, enters his shop. A little later, he still can't believe it himself, William runs into her again - this time spilling orange juice over her. Anna accepts his offer to change in his nearby apartment, and thanks him with a kiss, which seems to surprise her even more than him. Eventually, Anna and William get to know each other better over the months, but being together with the world's most wanted woman is not easy - neither around your closest friends, nor in front of the all-devouring press. Written by Julian Reischl <[email protected]>
Can the most famous film star in the world fall for just an ordinary guy?
Genres:
Rated PG-13 for sexual content and brief strong language | See all certifications »
Parents Guide:
28 May 1999 (USA) See more »
Also Known As:
Coup de foudre à Notting Hill See more »
Filming Locations:
£152,532 (UK) (21 May 1999)
Gross:
Did You Know?
Trivia
The blue door was auctioned at Christie's Film and Entertainment sale in London. Soon after, graffiti appeared on a wall close by saying something along the lines of "R.I.P. blue door" next to the new door. The original blue door is now on a property in Hope Cove, Devon. See more »
Goofs
After Anna and William collide in the street, the microphone shadow is visible on the left side of the screen (widescreen version). See more »
Quotes
Spike : There's something wrong with this yogurt.
William : Ah, that's not yogurt, that's mayonnaise...
Spike : Ah, right-o then.
See more »
Crazy Credits
The coloured dots and symbols pop up in time with the music (And when the word 'heart' is sung, a litte red heart appears) See more »
Connections
(Los Angeles) – See all my reviews
It may be a paradox to say that a film can sparkle slowly, yet that's the only way I can describe this charming romantic comedy. The star(dom)-crossed lovers don't know that they are Meant For Each Other ... yes, this is the standard RomCom setup. But the -way- they don't know? That is put across in a most British and deliberate pace and setting. And it makes the ending that we all know is coming gather color and charm.
"Notting Hill" takes over a third of its running time to show William (Hugh Grant) as he is immersed in his daily life, wanting to be supportive of his friends, yet searching for his own inner life. The five closest friends all show something he lacks: "happy" conformity, a loving marriage transcending obstacles, a sister who takes bold risks for finding love, and a roommate that sees through pretense and says so (and, yes, is delightfully vulgar).
That very British character-in-a-wry-setting pattern borrows from "Four Weddings and a Funeral," but the only friends there that I could consistently believe -mattered- to Grant's character were the gay couple, one comic, the other showing profound emotion. Here, all of the lead character's circle deeply cares about him, as he does about them. This makes all the difference.
Where it matters most is in giving him support when the American film beauty (Julia Roberts) comes into his life, then out, then in, then ... and all in ways that are believable for such dissimilar lovers. The romantic turns are more plausible because Grant's character has such support and a place for sharing his emotional roller-coaster ride. He isn't crushed by the down moments, but picks up his individuality and moves on. And his friends tell him, sometimes with only searching looks, just when he's picked up -too much- of being on his own. (Okay, the moment towards the end when Spike puts his exasperation into three pointed, even vulgar, words is a refreshing change. Sometimes, when a friend lets loose with the pithy truth, it hits the needed spot.)
All this backstory, character richness, and pointed use of the "right" words are British qualities that we don't get with the standard American RomCom setup.
Gina McKee's turn here as Grant's wheelchair-bound female friend is of someone with deeply felt individuality and unique perceptiveness, including her own tender perspective on loves past and present - especially her husband. It's a glimpse into a woman with distinctive qualities that -she- has chosen. This makes her both appealing to all her friends, and forceful by quiet understatement. She also ends up being much funnier, when you've rewound the tape and end up thinking about the story. (Listen for her spoken turn on "standing up." No, it's not a cheap play on her limitations. Not in context. And that's subtle comic acting.)
Richard Curtis's inventive screenplay is one of the best in years, and would reward a look in book form as well. He takes this backdrop of supportive friends, puts in the sparkle of Roberts invading and shaking up their world, and creates a skein of personal truths and imposed celebrity nonsense.
Grant and Roberts are both passionate and bemused observers of the absurdities of fame that end up surrounding them, but they act this out in comic byplay and inventive responses. This isn't an American breakneck-pace (or "screwball") comedy, and their subtle discovery of each other's -minds- and substance wouldn't work in such a setting.
Roberts has both the easy familiarity with and the hair-trigger of frustration from fame, both coming out to undermine her when she least expects it. But she shows that she can grow and learn from her mistakes. (Unlike her well-acted but overexplained realization at the end of "Runaway Bride.") She even has one scene -sans- makeup that is a genuine romantic turning point. I don't see many other actresses being willing to try that.
Grant shows an astonishing inner strength and self-awareness, not being willing to hide how -he- sees reality. (He did the same realistic turn in "Four Weddings," but didn't try nearly as effectively to figure himself out.)
The photography and settings show off London beautifully, and the story's interior scenes make highly imaginative use of a narrow, stacked-up Notting Hill mini-townhouse.
I do feel the director fails to take up some opportunities to build on the comic or dramatic moments in the screenplay. He coasts on the words. They're excellent words, but they need a twist at times.
My only take-off-a-point[*] quibble is with the music. It's mostly popular tunes that underscore the action. One of these is luminous, and frames the story perfectly - Elvis Costello's cover of "She." Others, though, use their lyrics to overstress plot points. Some are performed too high in volume, sometimes lapping against dialogue.
(The two original themes by Trevor Jones are beautiful, lushly written, and quite fitting to the main characters. We should have had more of his work, but they're less than a fourth of the film's music.)
The British often put more creativity below the narrative surface and into the setting than Americans do, and often get beyond formula. To discover this in a film is joyous. You'll feel this when you find yourself compelled to see this deeply felt, yet very funny, film twice, thrice, or more. For me, it's still delightful after nine months and nine viewings.
[* Edited on 21 April 2011: After another decade and another ten viewings, this love story has only become more resonant and beautiful. The pop-song choices feel notably less obtrusive. The acting of both Roberts and Grant has evinced more depth. And I see no reason to not give it a full 10 rating.]
101 of 121 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
| i don't know |
"Which British artist painted ""The Light of the World"" and ""The Scapegoat""?" | Artwork details, Liverpool museums
See a larger version
About the artwork
In 1854 William Holman Hunt completed 'The Light of the World', which along with 'The Scapegoat' remains one of the best known religious images of the 19th century. His continuing interest in religious subjects for his paintings and a determination to paint directly from Nature culminated in his first trip to the Holy Land in 1854-6. Here he could pursue his desire to paint religious narratives in the landscape in which they took place.
He travelled to Jerusalem in June 1854 and then on to Oosdoom, on the southern shore of the Dead Sea, in October of that year. Here he started a smaller study for the Lady Lever painting, which is now in Manchester City Art Gallery. Before a second trip to the area in the November, he bought a rare, white goat in Jerusalem then spent about ten days working on the Lady Lever canvas at Oosdoom, painting the distant mountains and lake and making sketches of the goat. The goat proved a somewhat fidgety subject, refusing to stand still or hold a pose. When poor weather forced Hunt to return to Jerusalem for the winter, the goat died on the journey home.
By early 1855, Hunt had purchased another goat for use as a model and completed its image and the sky in his Jerusalem studio, having waited most of the winter for the right sort of clouds. In his diary he describes standing the long-suffering goat in a tray of salt and mud, collected in Oosdoom, to create the dried and cracked lake shore beneath his hoofs. In March he bought a camel skeleton and borrowed an ibex skull from a friend to add these grisly details to the painting.
The painting was not completed in time for the Royal Academy exhibition of 1855 but was submitted in 1856. People were puzzled by the subject of the painting and were generally uncomplimentary. A review in the Times commented, ‘Were it not for the title annexed it would be difficult to define the nature of the subject.’ Other criticisms were levelled at the composition and the artist’s concentration on his subject matter at the expense of draughtsmanship. Ruskin’s review was particularly harsh when he said,
‘This picture, regarded merely as a landscape, or as a composition, is a total failure. Mr Hunt …in his earnest desire to paint the Scapegoat has forgotten to ask himself first, whether he could paint a goat at all’.
Hunt took his subject from Leviticus XV1 and the Jewish ceremony of Atonement held in the Temple at Jerusalem. Two goats were used during the proceedings; one was sacrificed as a burnt offering to God, the second was led out of Jerusalem to carry the sins of the community. A crowd followed this goat, jeering and chasing it. Tied between its horns was a scarlet cloth which, if their offerings were accepted, would turn white. The whole episode was regarded as typological, a biblical Old Testament narrative prefiguring a New Testament event, in this case the sacrifice of Christ to carry away the sins of the world.
The frame was designed by Hunt in Jerusalem and was an integral part of the iconography of the image. He sent sketches and detailed letters to his frame maker, Joseph Green, in London. The carved design includes a dove with an olive branch, a heartsease set within a cross, a seven-branched candlestick and seven stars. Biblical inscriptions at top and bottom read as follows:
‘Surely he hath borne our Griefs and carried our Sorrows,
yet did we esteem him, stricken, smitten of GOD and afflicted’.
‘And the Goat shall bear upon him all their Iniquities unto a Land not inhabited’.
The original frame is currently being conserved and this replica was carved and gilded by National Museums Liverpool’s Frame Conservator.
William Holman Hunt was a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in 1848 with his close friends John Everett Millais and Dante Gabriel Rossetti . Their central concern was to work from nature wherever possible, using the pure, bright palettes of medieval and early renaissance painters whose works in the National Gallery they admired enormously. Their painting combined the use of translucent glazes over pure white grounds and small, perfectly blended brushstrokes to produce meticulously accurate detail. This style of painting was as far removed as one can imagine from the Academy school of painting, as typified by Sir Joshua Reynolds and his admirers.
The technique of The Scapegoat illustrates the principle characteristics of the Pre-Raphaelite school of painting. In August 1854, Hunt bought a length of extra-primed white canvas from the artists’ supplier Roberson which may well be that used for this painting. From his diaries of this period we know that he was using a copal varnish mixed with oil which gave a more brilliant colour and glossier finish to his paint. The use of pure transparent colour is illustrated in the purple mountains painted in madder, a transparent crimson pigment made from a plant root and a strong blue, either the newly discovered cobalt or the fabulously expensive natural ultramarine. This purple, painted in thin glazes over the reflective white ground, produces a colour with the intensity of stained glass.
Ford Madox Brown , a close friend of the Pre-Raphaelites, understood the powerful and dramatic nature of the painting better than most contemporaries. Although he disliked the harsh colour, he wrote that the picture ‘requires to be seen to be believed in and only then can it be understood how by the might of genius out of an old goat and some saline incrustations can be made one of the most tragic and impressive works in the annals of art.’
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What is the largest island in the Caribbean Sea? | 'The Awakening Conscience', William Holman Hunt, 1853 | Tate
The Awakening Conscience
Support: 762 x 559 mm
frame: 1060 x 857 x 97 mm
Collection
Presented by Sir Colin and Lady Anderson through the Friends of the Tate Gallery 1976
Reference
Catalogue entry
Summary
The Awakening Conscience was conceived as the material counterpart to Hunt's The Light of the World (1851-3, Warden and Fellows of Keble College, Oxford). Its inspiration was a verse from Proverbs: 'As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart'. With his typical thoroughness, Hunt hired a room at Woodbine Villa, 7 Alpha Place, St John's Wood, a 'maison de convenance', to use as the setting. A gentleman has installed his mistress (known to be such because of her absence of a wedding ring) in a house for their meetings. As they play and sing to Thomas Moore's Oft in the Stilly Night, she has a sudden spiritual revelation. Rising from her lover's lap, she gazes into the sunlit garden beyond, which is reflected in the mirror behind her. The mirror image represents the woman's lost innocence, but redemption, indicated by the ray of light in the foreground, is still possible. Intended to be 'read', the painting is full of such symbolic elements. The cat toying with the broken-winged bird under the table symbolises the woman's plight. A man's discarded glove warns that the likely fate of a cast-off mistress was prostitution. A tangled skein of yarn on the floor symbolises the web in which the girl is entrapped. Indeed, as Ruskin wrote to the Times on 25 May 1854, 'the very hem of the poor girl's dress, at which the painter has laboured so closely, thread by thread, has story in it, if we think how soon its pure whiteness may be soiled with dust and rain, her outcast feet failing in the street'. The frame, designed by Hunt, also contains various symbolic emblems; the bells and marigolds stand for warning and sorrow, the star is a sign of spiritual revelation.
The underlying spiritual message was generally ignored by most critics, who concentrated instead on the more sensational aspects of the composition . The model is Hunt's girlfriend Annie Miller, an uneducated barmaid whom he met in 1850 when she was fifteen.
Further reading:
Leslie Parris (ed.), The Pre-Raphaelites, exhibition catalogue, Tate Gallery, London 1984, reprinted 1994, pp.120-21, reproduced in colour
Terry Riggs
Read more
Display caption
Hunt’s modern life painting represents a wealthy man visiting his mistress in an apartment which he has provided for her. The tune that he idly plays on the piano has reminded her of her earlier life and she rises from his lap towards the bright outside world (made visible to the viewer in the mirror). The claustrophobic space is filled with intricate clues, such as the bird trying to escape from a cat and the female figure enclosed in a glass dome, which echoes the shape of the painting.
Gallery label, November 2016
T02075 THE AWAKENING CONSCIENCE 1853
Inscribed ‘Whh [in monogram] LON/1853’ b.l.
Oil on canvas, 30 × 22 (76.2 × 55.9)
Presented by Sir Colin and Lady Anderson through the Friends of the Tate Gallery 1976
Prov: Commissioned from the artist by Thomas Fairbairn 1853 and bought 1854 for 350 guineas; offered Christie's 7 May 1887 (141) bt. in £105; by descent to his son Sir Arthur Henderson Fairbairn; ... sold anonymously, Christie's 25 January 1946 (158) bt. Brown and Phillips £210; Colin Anderson by 1947.
Exh: RA 1854 (377); Exhibition of the Works of Modern Artists, Royal Manchester Institution 1854 (11); Birmingham Society of Artists 1856 (131); Art Treasures of the United Kingdom, Manchester 1857 (Modern Masters Section, 550); Liverpool Academy 1859 (72); ? 16 Hanover Street 1865; Pictures of Mr Holman Hunt, Fine Art Society 1886 (4); Glasgow International Exhibition, 1901 (Fine Art Section, 391); British Art Fifty years ago, Whitechapel Art Gallery 1905 (350); The Collected Works of W. Holman Hunt, City Art Gallery Manchester 1906 (17); Collected Exhibition of the Art of W. Holman Hunt, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool 1907; (70); The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, City Art Gallery, Birmingham 1947 (40); The Pre-Raphaelites, Whitechapel Art Gallery 1948 (38); Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces, 1848–1862, City Art Gallery, Manchester 1948 (11); Paintings and Drawings by the Pre-Raphaelites and their followers, Russell-Cotes Art Gallery, Bournemouth 1951 (8); Masters of British Painting 1800–1950, Museum of Modern Art, New York 1956 (46); Victorian Paintings, Agnew's 1961 (53); Bicentenary Exhibition, RA 1968–9 (374); William Holman Hunt, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool and Victoria and Albert Museum 1969 (27); La Peinture Romantique Anglaise et Les Préraphaélites, Petit Palais, Paris 1972 (144); The Pre-Raphaelites, Whitechapel Art Gallery 1972 (24).
Lit: Morning Chronicle, 29 April 1854; Athenaeum, 6 May 1854; The Times, 25 May 1854; Art Journal, 1854; pp.165–6; Athenaeum, 22 April 1865; W. Holman Hunt, ‘The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood: A Fight for Art. 111’, The Contemporary Review, XLIX, Jan–June 1886, pp.825, 829; W. M. Rossetti, Ruskin, Rossetti, Pre-Raphaelitism, 1889, pp.10–12; The Works of Ruskin, Library Edition, ed. E. T. Cook and Alexander Wedderburn, XII, 1904, pp.333–5 (Ruskin's 25 May 1854 letter to The Times); W. H. Hunt, Pre-Raphaelitism and the Pre-Raphaelite Brother-hood, 1905, 1, pp.347–8, 360, 405–6, 418–9, repr. facing p.448, 11, pp.428–33; ibid, 2nd ed. 1913, 1, pp.255, 259, 265, 267, 294–5, 300–4, 11, pp.2, 345–8, 403–5; Violet Hunt, The Wife of Rossetti: Her Life and Death, 1932, pp.49, 103; A. C. Gissing, William Holman Hunt, 1936, pp.84, 86 89, 97, 153, 208; William Gaunt, The Pre-Raphaelite Tragedy, 1942, pp.53–4; Robin Ironside and John Gere, Pre-Raphaelite Painters, 1948, pp.28, 31, repr. in colour p.29; Graham Reynolds, Painters of the Victorian Scene, 1953, p.74, repr. pl.42; The Arts, October 1956, p.32, repr.; T. S. R. Boase, English Art 1800–1870, 1959, pp.285–6, repr. pl.88a; Oswald Doughty, A Victorian Romantic: Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1960, p.194; Graham Reynolds, Victorian Painting, 1966, pp.62, 95, 109; Anne d'Harnoncourt, The Awakening Conscience, unpublished M.A. thesis, Courtauld Institute of Art, 1967; Mary Lutyens, Millais and the Ruskins, 1967, p.222; Mary Bennett, William Holman Hunt, exhibition catalogue, 1969, pp.35–7, repr. pl.40; Diana Holman Hunt, My Grandfather, His Wives and Loves 1969, pp.104, 107, 113, 115, 124, 133–4, 203, 248; Mary Bennett, ‘Footnotes to the Holman Hunt Exhibition’, The Liverpool Bulletin, XIII, Walker Art Gallery, 1968–70; Timothy Hilton, The Pre-Raphaelites, 1970, pp.92–3, repr.fig.56; G. H. Fleming, That Ne'er Shall Meet Again, 1971, p.2; Linda Nochlin, Realism, 1971, pp.201, 268, repr. fig.130; Ruari McLean, Victorian Book Design and Colour Printing, 2nd ed. 1972, p.210; A. I. Grieve, The Art of Dante Gabriel Rossetti. 2: The Pre-Raphaelite Modern-Life Subject, Norwich, 1976, pp.34–6; ‘The Awakening Conscience and the Still Small Voice’, 1976–8, T.G. Illustrated Biennial Report, 1978, pp.21–9.
Hunt conceived the idea for the painting while he was working on ‘The Light of the World’ (Keble College, Oxford) between 1851 and 1853. In the first edition of his memoirs, Hunt stated that he thought of ‘The Awakening Conscience’ in 1851, but in the second edition revised this date to 1853. The picture was certainly begun by February 1853, according to a letter from Millais to Thomas Combe (quoted by J. G. Millais, The Life and Letters of Sir John Everett Millais, 3rd ed. 1902, 1, p.191), and completed in January 1854, when Hunt departed for the Middle East. Hunt had shown his design to Augustus Egg, who seems to have obtained for him a commission for the painting from the Manchester businessman Thomas Fairbairn. It was intended as a ‘material counterpart’ to the ‘spiritual subject’ of ‘The Light of the World’, to represent ‘the manner in which the appeal of the spirit of heavenly love calls a soul to abandon a lower life’ (Hunt, 1913, II, p.346). Both paintings were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1854.
Letters of 1854 between Hunt, Egg and Combe (now in a private collection and the Bodleian Library, Oxford) show that Hunt's original title for the picture was ‘The still small voice’ and that it was Combe who suggested ‘The Awakening Conscience’. The painting caused controversy when it was exhibited, mainly because of the subject-matter, which was in any case misunderstood. Ruskin wrote a letter to The Times on 25 May 1854 explaining the subject and the symbolism of some of the details. Hunt's subject is that of a young gentleman visiting his mistress in the house or apartment in which he has installed her. As they play and sing a setting of Thomas Moore's Oft in the Stilly Night, the woman's conscience is awakened to memories of her childish innocence and she rises from her lover's lap, gazing past the spectator through the window to the sunlit garden we see reflected in the looking-glass behind her. The room, brightly lit and colourfully decorated, is full of details symbolic of her predicament: a cat has caught a bird under the table; the wallpaper depicts a cupid sleeping while birds eat the grapes and corn; the clock on the piano is encased in a glass dome; the music sheet of Edgar Lear's setting of Tennyson's Tears, idle tears lies on the floor, as does the man's glove and the tangled wools of an unfinished tapestry; on the table are books one of which has been identified by Ruari McLean as Henry Noel Humphrey's The Origin and Progress of the Art of Writing; on the wall is a print of a girl in an attitude of penitence (identified by Ruskin as the woman taken in adultery, by Fleming as Jane Shore, but most probably a penitent Magdalen); the flowers on the piano may be carnations and anemones (symbols of betrothal and rejected love). The frame bears a star above the head of the woman, and a frieze of alternating bells and marigolds, symbols of warning and sorrow.
In his memoirs, Hunt stated that his inspiration was old Peggotty's search for Emily in Dickens's David Copperfield (1850); Grieve has pointed out the relevance of Wilkie Collins's novel Basil (1852), and the description in chapter ten of the interior of a linen-draper's house is very close to that of Hunt's picture. Bulwer Lytton's Ernest Maltravers (1837) may also have inspired Hunt; the Athenaeum critic said of the painting that ‘the sentiment is of the Ernest Maltravers school’.
The model for the woman was Hunt's mistress Annie Miller, and for the man, either Thomas Seddon (whose contemporary photograph , repr. Hunt, 1913, I, p.265, the painting closely resembles) or Augustus Egg. The man's face bears the strongest resemblance to that of the central figure of Rossetti's ‘Mary Magdalene at the Door of Simon the Pharisee’ (1853–9; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge). The only known drawing connected with the picture is a slight sketch published by Mary Bennett (private collection; Bennett 1968–70, repr. facing p.27). This may be the ‘scribbles’ that Hunt showed Egg in 1853. Mary Bennett notes that the ‘basic concept of the woman springing up from her lover's lap by a piano together with the important motif of the window viewed through the mirror in the background, were planned from the first’.
In 1856 and 1857 Hunt worked again on the painting, apparently repainting the woman's face at the wish of the owner Fairbairn, because her original expression was too pained. In a letter to Edward Lear of 16 April 1857 (John Rylands Library, Manchester) Hunt wrote: ‘...lately I have had the Awakening Conscience on my easel for a month - in the Spring I had worked on the head of the girl before sending it to Birmingham [Society of Artists exhibition in 1856] - when I was suffering from fever - which defeated my attempt to improve it. I think that I have materially bettered it now - it is now at Manchester - in the Art Treasures [Exhibition] -’. It is hoped that photography in ultra-violet and infra-red light, and x-rays, undertaken by the Conservation Department, will reveal the more exact nature of Hunt's repainting. According to Gissing (p.90, n.1), with no supporting evidence, Hunt regretted that he had changed the girl's facial expression.
Inscriptions in the spandrels, usually covered by the frame, show that Hunt retouched the painting in 1864 and 1886. Hunt wrote, in the left spandrel: ‘Painted with Copal (oil) weak originally, diluted in use with R. [? for ‘rectified’] S[pirit] of Turps/for drawing out parts/E[merald] Green & Gamboge in transparent/part of foliage. picture retouched/with same Vehicle in 1864/W Holman Hunt/Please copy the above/Note before/obliterating it’. In the right spandrel: ‘THE PICTURE WAS VARNISHED WITH [‘CRACKED’ INSERTED ABOVE]/MASTIC IN 64 ON ALL PARTS BUT THE/GIRL. AFTER A FEW YEARS ALL THE/VARNISHED PARTS WERE CRACKED THE/REST NOT AT ALL. A RESTORER/FILLED UP THE CRACKS/WITH COLOR AND MASTIC/THIS HAS NOW BEEN/TAKEN OFF AND/I HAVE NOW/FILLED UP WITH/AMBER/86’. In both spandrels there is some illegibly faint pencil writing.
Judith Bronkhurst has drawn attention to two letters (Bodleian Library, Oxford) of 1879 from Hunt to F. G. Stephens which indicate that at that time also Hunt was concerned with repainting: he wrote of this picture and of ‘Claudio and Isabella’ (Tate N03447 ) being ‘out of order thro premature varnishing with Mastic I do both without charge but the continual writing about these would make one suppose I was being [granted] the greatest favor in being allowed to put these in order’. The second letter shows he was dealing with Lady Fairbairn: ‘I had had some rather severe fencing with the family because Lady F ... took it into her-no-tail to bother me to leave off all my chance with my picture [The Triumph of the Innocents] ... to complete the retouching of the A.C....’
Information kindly supplied by Judith Bronkhurst, Mrs Léon Quartermaine and Geoffrey Squire.
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On whic racecourse does the Irish Derby take place each year? | The Curragh Racecourse, County Kildare | The Curragh Horse Racing
The Curragh Racecourse, County Kildare
THE CURRAGH RACECOURSE, Co. Kildare
(Gaelic: An Currach. Meaning: The Racecourse)
The Curragh is mentioned in the earliest Irish manuscripts as a meeting place of the Celtic Kings where much sporting activity, including horseracing, took place. The first official racing to take place at the Curragh was in 1741.
Quick Facts About The Curragh The Curragh is a right-handed horseshoe shaped course with a circuit of 2 miles with no sharp bends and a straight run in of 3 furlongs uphill. The Curragh includes a straight mile course and two round courses and is widely recognised as a very fair galloping track. The Curragh is also the largest horse training centre in Ireland and boasts extensive facilities on its grounds. The surrounding area is home to thousands of racehorses in training yards and stud farms.
The Curragh Revealed
For those who enjoy seeing the best racehorses and horsemen in the world doing what they do best on a glorious stage then a visit to the Curragh is a must. This racecourse, steeped in tradition, is where the Five Classic races are held: The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby; The Darley Irish Oaks; The Etihad Airways Irish 1000 Guineas; The Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas and The St Leger along with many other great races.
All season long, from the first meeting in March to the conclusion of the flat racing season in October, the Curragh holds centre stage in Irish racing. All the best flat horses run there each year following the pantheon of former great horses that have tread the same famous turf. The jewel in this racing crown is the Irish Derby which is usually run on the last Sunday in June. For more details, see www.curragh.ie
Racing Tours Ireland will provide you with all the thrills and spills of a day at the races, with the added comfort of luxury transport, your own reserved table, and a hearty meal to keep you going. You’ll also get up close and personal with the horses prior to going racing. All in all, we can provide the best horse racing experience you can get in Ireland!
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"Which American city has the nickname ""Beantown""?" | When is the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby? All you need to know about this year's race - Irish Mirror Online
When is the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby? All you need to know about this year's race
John Gosden’s runner Jack Hobbs is the odds on favorite for this weekend's race
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Jack Hobbs is the favourite for the big race (Photo: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)
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The 150th Irish Derby takes place this weekend at The Curragh.
John Gosden’s runner Jack Hobbs currently leads the betting for the race worth €725,000. He has finished second to Golden Horn on his last two starts - in the Derby and the Dante Stakes - and looks the one to beat.
In saying that, it may prove costly to dismiss the Aiden O’Brien runners.
The Ballydoyle trainer has won all but one of the last nine runnings of the race and he saddles four runners in this year’s renewal - Giovanni Canaletto, Highland Reel, Kilimanjaro and Qualify.
Qualify is the only one of the O’Brien runners who won last time out, having caused a huge upset in the Investec Oaks, winning at odds of 50-1.
The other runners are Storm The Stars, Radanpour and Carbon Dating.
Here is all you need to know about this year’s race:
Joseph O'Brien won last year's Irish Derby onboard Australia (Photo: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy)
When is it?
The Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby takes place on Saturday, June 27 at the Curragh Racecourse in Co Kildare.
The race will start at 6.30pm.
Where can I watch it?
The race is live on RTE Two and coverage gets underway at 4.30pm, with the station showing four races from the Kildare venue.
All eight races on the day are live on At The Races.
Latest betting
Qualify won The Investec Oaks at Epsom at odds of 50/1 last time out
Jack Hobbs 8/11
What else is on?
There is loads more than the Irish Derby taking place over the three days.
The feature race on Friday night is the Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund "Ragusa" Handicap which jump racing’s champions trainer Willie Mullins runs a couple of horses in.
Willie Mullins has a number of runners entered in the Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund "Ragusa" Handicap (Photo: PA)
Saturday’s racing sees a number of good races take place, including the Group 2, Gain Railway Stakes and the Paddy Power Handicap.
Sunday’s feature race is the Sea The Stars Pretty Polly Stakes which the David Wachman trained Legattissimo is currently favourite.
How much are tickets and where can I get them?
Tickets range in price for each day, with admission for Friday and Sunday costing €20 and €30 for Saturday.
Tickets can be purchased on Curragh.ie with special discounts applying. A three-day ticket can be purchased on the website for €50.
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The Ashmolean Museum is Britain's oldest public museum. In which city is it located? | On the up: the Ashmolean museum strides into the 21st century | Art and design | The Guardian
Architecture
On the up: the Ashmolean museum strides into the 21st century
It's Britain's oldest museum – and it's just had a thrilling revamp. Here's a sneak preview of the all-new Ashmolean
New school … a glass walkway snakes its way through the Ashmolean Museum Extension, Oxford. Photograph: Richard Bryant/Arcaid
Monday 26 October 2009 17.30 EDT
First published on Monday 26 October 2009 17.30 EDT
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The redevelopment of Oxford's Ashmolean Museum cost £61m. Where has all that money gone? Looking from the street, it's hard to believe a single penny has been spent on this glorious early Victorian building that contrasts so strikingly with the medieval and neo-Gothic buildings it faces. The Ashmolean – an architectural wonder by Charles Robert Cockerell that fuses ancient Roman, Greek and English baroque design – seems all but unchanged since the day it opened in 1845.
This, though, is part of the conjuring trick Christopher Brown, director of the museum since 1998, and his architect Rick Mather have pulled off. While Cockerell's facades have been spruced up a little and the magnificent central door once again forms the museum's principal entrance (a side door was used for many years), those millions have been spent almost entirely out of sight.
It is behind Cockerell's neo-classical facades that a new world opens up, one that radically transforms the scale of this, Britain's oldest public museum. Beyond the Grecian entrance lobby, Mather's unexpectedly large six-storey extension might easily be considered the tail that wags the Ashmolean dog, were it not so restrained and refined. Mather has shoehorned a huge, modern concrete-and-glass box into the courtyard behind Cockerell's creation. From the surrounding streets, this generous extension is invisible; the streetscape, a heady mix of medieval, Georgian, Regency and Victorian Oxford, is untouched.
The huge concrete-and-glass extension is invisible from the street
By any standards, this is a clever sleight of hand, since Mather's extension actually doubles the museum's display space. Its six floors – one underground – boast no fewer than 39 new galleries, including four for temporary exhibitions, together with an education centre, offices and Oxford's first rooftop restaurant. Yet, for all its space, clarity and light, this is a complex design. The galleries are set on two different axes (north-south and east-west) over the six floors. Some are three metres high, others six. They come together like a multidimensional jigsaw puzzle, the pieces connected by enclosed glass bridges passing through and over a great central stairwell, lit from above. This stairwell is itself a quietly spectacular space, one side of which is given over to a gleaming white architectural cliff into which are set flight after flight of white Portland stone stairs, linking the tiers of galleries and the rooftop restaurant. While the geometry is intricate, the effect is relaxed, engaging and generous.
"The idea," says Mather, "is to entice visitors to make a great figure of eight – up, down and through the galleries. The contents of each can be glimpsed from the one before, through openings and windows. So you get pulled along. And, wherever you go, whatever you're looking at, the central stairwell, which holds the design together, is easy to find. We know a lot about 'museum fatigue', so we've made a sequence of spaces that, hopefully, will keep this to a minimum."
Wherever they walk, on whatever crisscrossing floor or bridge, visitors will circle back to that six-storey stairwell, only to be lured into ever more galleries, each presenting more of the Ashmolean's rich collection than has ever been seen before. "Much of what we have has been in store for donkey's years," says Brown, the Ashmolean's 17th director. The first was Robert Plot in 1683, when the museum was housed in what is now the University of Oxford's Museum of History and Science, a building commissioned for the celebrated antiquary Elias Ashmole's collection of curiosities. "Our problem was that the Cockerell building, although very fine, is actually tall and narrow. It's not that roomy.
Every bridge and walkway leads back to the enormous six-storey stairwell
"In the early 1890s, to get more space, the courtyard was filled with five pitched-roof sheds, rather industrial affairs rushed up by the local architect HW Moore. These were never satisfactory. A part of one shed's roof blew off a few years ago. They were, though, listed Grade I, because they were seen as part of the historically important Cockerell design. So they might have stood in our way. Luckily, the conservationists let us off lightly when we proposed demolition. Once we managed to convince everyone of what we could do with the space, without it being visible from the surrounding streets, we were up and running."
In fact, Brown has been working on the project for 11 years. But then his is a complicated museum, one that houses collections of both art and archaeology. Here you will find Constable cloudscapes and pre-Raphaelites, along with paintings by Dutch masters and Picasso. Balancing these are Greek and Roman sculptures, fragments from Minoan excavations, Middle Eastern robes and even a wooden doorway from Yemen donated by Lawrence of Arabia.
Then there are Anglo-Saxon jewels, prized majolica pottery, and the famous "Messiah" Stradivarius violin no one is allowed to play ("A condition of its being here," says Brown. "Rather sad, don't you think?"). Guy Fawkes's lantern (yes, the very one he carried with him on the gunpowder plot) is there, too, as well as antique bowls from Iraq and Iran, and Chinese political posters from the Cultural Revolution . . . and so the list goes on. The only things missing are a Cézanne, stolen (probably to order) from the Ashmolean in 1999; and what was one of the museum's greatest treasures – the world's only stuffed dodo. Had it not been allowed to rot back in the 18th century, it would have been quite a crowd-puller today.
The genius of 'fat walls'
When it reopens on 7 November, the new Ashmolean should certainly engage a wider public than before, although Brown is cautious when discussing visitor numbers. "Best not to get carried away," he says, suggesting a yearly figure of 500,000, which would be an increase of 100,000. It seems a conservative estimate: this is the first major modern museum in Oxford, a city of wealthy yet small independent colleges that rarely join together to shape a big building for public events.
A magical combination of cool stone, oak floors, steel and glass
While Mather's Ashmolean addition is a magical combination of cool stone, oak floors, spruce plywood, polished plaster, steel, glass and zinc, all its elements have been brought together with a lightness of touch. This is a characteristic of Mather buildings, from his Zen restaurants of the 1980s to the new Towner Gallery in Eastbourne, but here it is also down to the way the architects and engineers have tucked the mechanical and electrical services into the walls. So floor-to-ceiling heights are as generous as they can be, while what Mather calls his "fat walls" double as recessed exhibition spaces. The result is a building in which every last inch is hard at work, while giving the opposite impression.
Brown and Mather have not only brought fresh life to the Ashmolean; they have also given Oxford a fine new public place where visitors can meet, eat and while away rainy days rummaging happily through one of the country's great treasure chests. The fact that this enchanting museum is also an active seat of research and scholarship only adds to its lustre, while the reality of seeing so many objects – squirrelled away for too many years – out on display will make the Ashmolean a museum to return to, time and again.
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In what television knockout competition did Zara Brownless become the winner for the year 2011? | Oxford attractions
Oxford attractions
Gail Simmons , Destination guide expert
9 September 2016 • 12:34am
Shopping
Gail Simmons, our Oxford expert, gives advice on the best things to see, do and visit in the city.
For many first-time visitors, Oxford means the university. The atmospheric, golden-stone colleges, clustered around medieval streets, are irresistible, and most travellers will want to peek inside at least one. The charm of college-hopping in Oxford is that each has its own special character – only apparent once you’re inside – from the grandeur of Christ Church and Magdalen to the cosy intimacy of Corpus Christi.
Attractions abound In Oxford - and they're all within easy reach Credit: ALAMY
Most are open to visitors at varying hours and charges. The recently refurbished Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Britain’s oldest public museum, is another draw, as is the University Museum, which houses the Pitt Rivers Museum, with its collection of extraordinary finds from around the world.
These days it’s not just Oxford’s old favourites that are worth a visit but some newer attractions, many of them learning-related, also aimed at a younger crowd. Some of Oxford’s very finest attractions are its open spaces – parks, gardens and rivers, which are just as worth visiting as its buildings and museums.
First-timers
Christ Church College
If you visit just one college it must be aristocratic Christ Church, or “the House”, as it’s known. It’s more like a country house than an educational establishment, with the porters (or “bulldogs”) still sporting bowler hats. Scenes from Brideshead Revisited and Harry Potter were filmed here, and it’s where Lewis Carroll, the author ofAlice in Wonderland, taught mathematics. Its chapel is the city’s cathedral, which opens to residents and visitors for evensong at 6pm every evening – a magical experience, especially in winter.
Christ Church is arguably Oxford's most impressive college Credit: AP/FOTOLIA
Address: St. Aldates
Contact: 01865 276150; chch.ox.ac.uk
Prices: admission charges vary, though the chapel (Oxford’s cathedral) is usually free to members of Oxford diocese and visitors to evensong
Opening times: visitors are welcomed throughout the year (closed on Christmas Day). The Hall is often closed between 11.40am and 2.30pm and the Cathedral closes for choir practice every day at 4.45pm
Pitt Rivers Museum
Lieutenant-General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers was an anthropologist who collected more than 20,000 objects of scientific and cultural interest when he was posted around the British Empire. These are now housed in the Pitt Rivers Museum, a part of the University Museum crammed full of weird and wonderful knick-knacks from around the globe. Ethnic masks, items of clothing, musical instruments and jewellery are arranged by type rather than geographical area. The shrunken human heads, mummies and trophy scalps are spooky hits with children.
Pitt Rivers Museum is crammed full of weird and wonderful artifacts Credit: ALAMY
Address: South Parks Road
Opening times: Tues–Sun 10am-4.30pm (and bank holiday Mons); Mon 12-4.30pm
Radcliffe Square
This cobbled square is the heart of the university, formed by a trio of great architectural gems: the medieval University Church of St Mary the Virgin, the 15th-century Bodleian Library and the Palladian-style Radcliffe Camera. You can visit the ground floor of the Bodleian (known as the Divinity School), with its intricate rib vaulting; St Mary’s is open to the public, with its magnificent view from the tower of college quadrangles and dreaming spires.
The Palladian-style Radcliffe Camera dominates Radcliffe Square Credit: AP/FOTOLIA
Contact: bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Botanic Garden
Down the appropriately named Rose Lane, just off the High Street, Britain’s oldest botanic garden is a haven of stone-walled peace in the heart of the busy city centre. The emphasis in the formal gardens is on traditional herbal remedies and their use in modern medicine, while the heated greenhouses are a great refuge on chilly days.
Oxford's Botanic Garden is the oldest of its kind in Britain Credit: AP/FOTOLIA
Address: Rose Lane
Contact: 01865 286690; botanic-garden.ox.ac.uk
Opening times: variable opening throughout the year – check website for details
Prices: admission is £4.50 (also gives entry on the same day to Harcourt Arboretum, six miles south of Oxford)
Guided walks
The best way to see Oxford is on foot. If you don’t have the time to find your own way round the second best way is to join a group guided by someone who knows its quiet cobbled back streets, narrow alleyways and secret corners. Several organisations offer this service, from professional outfits to student guides who’ll also give you an insight into university life. Oxford Official Guided Walking Tours are led by guides and include an Inspector Morse tour, cost from £9 and begin outside the Tourist Information Centre in Broad Street (book in advance as groups sizes are limited: 01865 252037).
The best hotels in Oxford
Oxbridge Tours (01865 522570; oxbridgetours.com ) is a social enterprise run by students and offering cultural walking tours. With its guides all Oxford undergraduates or postgraduates, it’s a chance to get an insider’s view on student life in Oxford (there’s a Cambridge version too). Daily tours depart from outside Balliol College on Broad Street, or you can also book a private tour.
Punting
Hire a punt from one of the three punt stations on the Rivers Thames (or Isis) and Cherwell, and float serenely past the college gardens and through the university meadows to the countryside beyond. If you don’t know how to punt then hire a pro – otherwise you’ll waste much of your time going round in circles and bumping into other river traffic.
If you don't know how to punt you can always hire a pro Credit: ALAMY
Punts can be hired from the Magdalen Bridge Boathouse ( riverthames.co.uk ) and Salter’s Steamers ( salterssteamers.co.uk ) at Folly Bridge in the city centre, and the Cherwell Boathouse ( cherwellboathouse.co.uk ) in North Oxford.
Modern Art Oxford
Hidden behind one of the prime shopping streets, this gallery, which opened in 1965, has developed an international reputation for its displays of contemporary visual arts. Painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, installations, design, crafts and performance are all represented in a changing programme of exhibitions.
May 20, 2016 at 8:05am PDT
Address: 30 Pembroke Street
Opening times: Tues-Sat 11am-6pm; Sun 12–5pm
Prices: admission free
Holywell Music Room
Said to be the oldest custom-built concert hall in Europe, this music room in Holywell Street has been hosting recitals for more than 250 years. The acoustics are excellent for chamber music, with events throughout the year performed by individuals and ensembles from around the world. Particularly delightful are the Oxford Coffee Concerts, held at 11.15am every Sunday: the ticket (£12) includes a coffee in the Vaults and Garden Café from (see coffeeconcerts.co.uk for programme).
May 21, 2016 at 5:09am PDT
Old hands
Ashmolean Museum
Although this is the oldest public museum in England, founded in 1683 to house Elias Ashmole’s collection of curiosities, old Oxford hands may not have visited since the Ashmolean received its £61 million pound refit in December 2009. This has doubled the display space and transformed the building’s interior into a light, free-flowing exhibition space linked by walkways with galleries.
Welcome to the oldest public museum in England Credit: GETTY
Address: Beaumont Street
Opening times: Tues-Sun 10am-5pm; bank holiday Mon 10am–5pm
Prices: admission free
Castle Museum
Oxford’s 1,000-year-old castle and former prison were recently redeveloped to create one of the city’s busiest and liveliest quarters. Part of the old prison was transformed into the Malmaison Hotel and the remainder, plus the original castle, has reopened as a museum telling the story of the castle from 1071 until 1996, when the prison closed. Tours guided by “characters” from the prison’s history dressed in period costume really bring the story to life. Great for both adults and children.
Apr 11, 2016 at 2:45pm PDT
Address: 44-46 Oxford Castle
Contact: 01865 260666; oxfordcastleunlocked.co.uk
Opening times: daily from 10am; last tour at 4.20pm
Prices: admission £7.85 adult (if booked online), £7.15 senior, £5.90 children 5-15, under fives free. Walk-up prices are slightly higher
Day trips
Blenheim Palace
Along with Castle Howard in North Yorkshire, this is Vanbrugh’s masterpiece, created for John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, after the battle of Blenheim in 1704. Just eight miles north-west of Oxford, this magnificent Baroque World Heritage Site in undulating Capability Brown parkland is still home to the Marlborough dukes, and the Churchill family who count Sir Winston (who was born here and whose grave is at the nearby village of Bladon) and Lady Diana Spencer-Churchill among its members. You’ll need a day to see the house and gardens properly, and explore the old town of Woodstock.
Unesco-listed Blenheim Palace is a masterpiece of Baroque architecture Credit: AP/FOTOLIA
Address: Woodstock OX20 1PP
Contact: 0800 8496500; blenheimpalace.com
Prices & opening times: depends on which parts of the palace you want to visit and the time of year. See website for details
Getting there: the S3 bus from Oxford railway station stops outside the palace gates and old Woodstock ( stagecoachbus.com )
Burford
Twenty miles west of Oxford is this archetypal Cotswold market town, with one of the best medieval “wool” churches in the country. It’s no accident that the Lord Chancellor sits on a woolsack: in the late Middle Ages England’s wealth came from wool, and was used to build and adorn magnificent churches. St. John the Baptist is a gem, while the High Street is worth exploring for its antique shops and tea rooms. Eat at the flagstoned Lamb Inn (01993 823155; cotswold-inns-hotels.co.uk ) on Sheep Street.
Bucolic Burford is the archetypal Cotswold market town Credit: ALAMY
Getting there: car is best, though Swanbrook Coaches (01452 712386; swanbrook.co.uk ) runs a service a couple of times each day from central Oxford (St Giles)
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Who is the chairman of Newcastle United who also owns the chain of sports shops known as Sports Direct? | Sports Direct buys fashion chains USC and Cruise Clothing | Business | The Guardian
Sports Direct International
Sports Direct buys fashion chains USC and Cruise Clothing
Sports Direct paid £7m for an 80% stake in USC and Cruise, which specialise in designer brands such as Ugg boots and the Adidas Originals range
Sports Direct has taken a controlling stake in USC clothing stores Photograph: David Sillitoe for the Guardian
Wednesday 6 July 2011 04.35 EDT
First published on Wednesday 6 July 2011 04.35 EDT
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Mike Ashley , the founder of Sports Direct, is teaming up with Scottish retail tycoon Sir Tom Hunter to try to rid the sports chain of its discount image and take it more upmarket.
Sports Direct told the City on Wednesday morning that it was acquiring majority stakes in the USC and Cruise Clothing fashion chains controlled by Hunter.
Sports Direct, Britain's biggest sporting goods retailer, whose brands include Umbro, Lonsdale and Slazenger, is thought to have fought off competition from rival JD Sports. It paid £7m for an 80% stake in USC and Cruise, which specialise in designer brands such as Ugg boots and the Adidas Originals range. Hunter will keep the remaining 20% in both businesses and will remain as chairman of both companies, as well as providing "strategic guidance".
USC has 38 stores across the UK and made sales of £70m in the year to January, while Cruise has 10 UK stores and an annual turnover of about £20m. The shops will be run separately from Sports Direct's 470 UK stores in a newly established premium and luxury lifestyle division.
Sports Direct, which is majority owned by Newcastle United owner Ashley, will provide a facility of up to £20m to develop the two businesses. New USC stores are due to open in Swindon and Newbury in the autumn.
"This deal will transform the prospects for both USC and Cruise and our employees at a time of extraordinary turbulence in the high street," said Hunter. "I've known the Sports Direct team for many years and have huge respect for their talent, and look forward to co-investing with them."
Sports Direct chief executive Dave Forsey said: "While USC and Cruise will remain independent of Sports Direct, we will support the businesses with our operational expertise."
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Ernst & Young said they would hold the clearance sale in case they failed to find a buyer for the retailer's 57 stores, which employ 4,000 people
Published: 7 Jul 2011
Homeform, trading as Moben Kitchens, Dolphin Bathrooms and Kitchens Direct, closes with 557 job losses
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| Mike Ashley |
Who is the chairman of Wigan Athletic who also owns the chain of sports shops known as JJB Sports? | Mike Ashley eyes latest move with bid for Evans Cycles - Telegraph
Mike Ashley eyes latest move with bid for Evans Cycles
The Sports Direct founder is among a group of top retail names trying to buy the company
Mr Ashley is understood to see Evans Cycles as way to expand into the lucrative cycling market. Photo: AFP
By Graham Ruddick
8:00PM GMT 24 Jan 2015
Mike Ashley , the founder of Sports Direct, is among a group of top retail names trying to buy Evans Cycles.
Mr Ashley is understood to see Evans Cycles, which would cost roughly £100m, as way to expand Sports Direct into the lucrative cycling market.
Halfords and the online cycling retailer Wiggle, which is owned by private equity firm Bridgepoint, are also understood to have looked into buying Evans. Several other private equity firms are thought to be in the mix.
Mr Ashley was in talks to buy the retailer before it was snapped up by private equity group Active Capital for £35m in 2008.
Active, which also owns the fast food chain Leon, has appointed Canaccord Genuity to advise on the sale.
Related Articles
Mike Ashley to cut stake in Sports Direct
20 Jan 2015
The first Evans shop was opened in 1921 on Kennington Road in south east London. Today it has more than 50 shops and employs more than 1,200 people.
The retailer has a built a reputation as a specialist cycling chain and sells a range of bikes designed with Sir Chris Hoy, the multi gold medal winning cyclist.
Halfords has looked at buying Evans on numerous occasions because of its relationship with key suppliers. The popular bike manufacturers Specialized and Trek supply Evans but refuse to supply Halfords with products.
However, a source close to the situation said Halfords had now “categorically ruled out” a move for Evans. Instead, Halfords wants to focus on developing its own high street cycling brand Cycle Republic. Matt Davies, the outgoing chief executive of Halfords, has said he believes the company could open 100 Cycle Republic shops. The second Cycle Republic shop in London is due to open this week.
A potential deal with Sports Direct hinges on whether the key cycling brands would keep supplying Evans following a deal.
Previous Sports Direct deals, such as its move for the clothing chain USC, have run into trouble because suppliers have pulled out of stores due to fears that Mr Ashley would cut the price of their products.
However, Sports Direct has stated that cycling is a key market that it wants to expand into.
Mr Ashley, who serves as deputy chairman of Sports Direct and also owns Newcastle United, caused surprise in the City last week after conducting a series of share dealings.
The tycoon sold more than £110m of Sports Direct shares , then moved a majority stake in the company from his holding company Mash into a new entity called Mash Beta Limited. Sports Direct then announced on Friday that it had extended its control of Debenhams to 16.6pc of the department store after taking out a new option. However, Mr Ashley’s company said it “does not intend” to make a full offer for Debenhams.
Sports Direct and Halfords declined to comment.
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"Which British artist painted ""The Grand Canal, Venice"" and ""The Shipwreck""?" | JMW Turner Prints, Posters, Paintings, Biography & Quotes
Michelangelo
JMW Turner
JMW Turner was perhaps the most famous English romanticist landscape artist. William Turner became known as ‘the painter of light’. He is the most famous Romanticist painter. Turner is respected alongside other British artists such as Gainsborough and Constable for developing British art from the medieval and renaissance eras up to the more contemporary styles.
In 1910 the main part of the Turner Bequest, which includes unfinished paintings and drawings, was rehoused in the Duveen Turner Wing at the Tate Gallery. In 1974, the Turner Museum was founded in the USA by Douglass Montrose-Graem to house his collection of Turner prints.
Turner left a great legacy in British art . For example, a prestigious annual art award, the Turner Prize, created in 1984, was named in Turner’s honour, and twenty years later the Winsor & Newton Turner Watercolour Award was founded. indeed, In 2005, Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire was voted Britain’s “greatest painting” in a public poll organised by the BBC.
The intensity of hue and interest in evanescent light not only placed Turner’s work in the vanguard of English painting, but later exerted an influence upon art in France, as well; the Impressionists, particularly Claude Monet , carefully studied his techniques.
Famous oil paintings by JMW Turner include those in the following comprehensive list:
Warkworth Castle, Northumberland – Thunder Storm Approaching at Sun-Set
The Battle of Trafalgar, as Seen from the Mizen Starboard Shrouds of the Victory
Snow Storm: Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps
Eruption of Vesuvius
The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons
The Grand Canal, Venice
The Fighting Temeraire Tugged to Her Last Berth to Be Broken up
Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On)
Glaucus and Scylla
Rockets and Blue Lights (Close at Hand) to Warn Steamboats of Shoal Water
Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway
Shrimpers, Lyme Regis
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"Who composed the music for the ballet ""Spartacus""?" | 1000+ images about William Turner on Pinterest | Lakes, William turner and The burning
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William Turner
Joseph Mallord William Turner, pintor inglés, considerado uno de los grandes paisajistas. Denominado "el pintor de la luz", fue un importante precedente del impresionismo y mi paisajista favorito.
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On which racecourse does the Irish Grand National take place? | Easter Festival - April 16th to 18th at Fairyhouse | Fairyhouse.ie | Fairyhouse Racecourse
Ryanair Gold Cup
Sunday 16th April 2017
The Ryanair Gold Cup is a Grade 1 race of the highest quality and attracts some of England and Ireland’s best novice chasers aged five years and up. As one of the highlights of the Irish racing calendar punters are promised a day full of excitement and unpredictability. Whether you find yourself in one of our private luxury suites, the famous BobbyJo Bistro or cheering your horse home trackside, you’re sure to be captivated by the top class racing.
The BoyleSports Irish Grand National
Monday 17th April 2017
Nearing its 150th running, the BoyleSports Irish Grand National has become a stalwart at the heart of the Irish sporting calendar. A race which encapsulates everything that is great about Irish racing, affords connections the opportunity to etch their names into history and join an elusive group who have been fortunate enough to be successful in this race. The race is now the richest Jumps race in the country, standing at a whopping €500,000. The substantial prize fund, coupled with the reputation of the race attracts the game’s best runners and riders to Fairyhouse to take on this demanding course.
| Fairyhouse Racecourse |
"Which American city has the nickname ""Alamo City""?" | Irish Grand National: The betting trends to note : 005 Irish Racing : Horse Racing
Free Bet
Wayne Bailey goes through the statistics ahead of Easter Monday's big race at Fairyhouse
It's nearly Easter again, so that means it's Irish Grand National time. The problem with Grand National races is the laborious task of narrowing down the contenders to a manageable level. So where do we start looking when faced with 40 or more early declarations?
Trends.
There, I said it. I can almost hear "Off with his head" being shouted up and down the country!
All this week in the racing pages, reporters have found great delight in pointing out that a number of Cheltenham trends were smashed this year, and have been having a jibe at the anoraks that follow them.
I agree... to an extent.
Trends are there to be broken, and they get broken all the time. In fact, I was delighted to see Inglis Drever break some trends as I backed him with a tidy sum. But some trends are based on dubious research, and as Simon Rowlands rightly pointed out here this week, they are usually tested on "hopelessly small samples" .
If ball number 18 came out in the Lotto five times in a row for example, does this give it a better chance of coming out next week? Of course not.
It's not as easy however, to spot false trends in racing... but if a horse has a number of notable statistics for or against him, I still believe it's right to take note. Some of the newspaper reporters failed to notice that the trend-breaking horses this year also had many positive statistics in their favour. And that brings me to my main point - relying on one trend alone is not enough.
Of course, horseracing has a funny knack of making us look like a complete Wally at times, but it would be no fun if we did not stick our neck on the line now and then. With that in mind, I'm producing my Irish Grand National shortlist based on what I believe are important trends since 1997:
Breeding
Each country breeds differently and it definitely has an effect on a horse. Only French- and Irish-bred horses show up as winners in the data, which I find noteworthy.
Weight
No horse carrying heavier than 11st 4lbs has won in the sample. Not good news then, for top weight Beef or Salmon.
Age
No horse aged 11 or more has won, and on the younger side, no five-year-old has won either.
Racing Post Rating
No horse rated 132 or less has come out on top
Official Rating
No horse rated less than 115 has won, but on the other end of the scale, horses rated 135 or more don't make the cut either - which probably relates back to the weight again.
Prices
Horses at the shorter end of the market (less than [9.0]) are not good value with no wins. That said, it's not a market for massive outsiders, with all winners priced [34.0] or less.
As mentioned, horses can and do break trends, so I'm going to be extra strict and only dismissing horses that fall foul of at least two of the above rules. That cuts the field to about half, and a more manageable level.
So what about positive trends?
Last time out
Half of the sample finished fourth or better last time out.
Days since last run
All ten winners had run in the previous seven weeks.
At this stage, I risk turning it into a system, so I'll list the remaining contenders now:
• Ballistraw
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In which classic novel is Maggie Tulliver the heroine? | Rereading: George Eliot's Mill on the Floss | Books | The Guardian
Rereading
Rereading: George Eliot's Mill on the Floss
On the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Mill on the Floss, Kathryn Hughes celebrates George Eliot's most deeply autobiographical novel
Tom and Maggie overwhelmed by the flood Photograph: Rischgitz/Getty Images
Friday 26 March 2010 20.05 EDT
First published on Friday 26 March 2010 20.05 EDT
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On 5 March 1860, the scientist and journalist GH Lewes reported to the publisher John Blackwood that "Mrs Lewes is getting her eyes redder and swollener every morning as she lives through her tragic story. But there is such a strain of poetry to relieve the tragedy that the more she cries, and the readers cry, the better say I."
"Mrs Lewes" was, of course, George Eliot , and "the tragic story" on which she was working so damply was The Mill on the Floss, published by Blackwood 150 years ago next week. What was making Eliot cry was having to write the last few pages of her novel in which the heroine Maggie Tulliver and her estranged brother Tom drown in the swollen River Floss, locked together "in an embrace never to be parted".
More than mere melodrama, the watery hug represented a wishful reworking of Eliot's fractured relationship with her own adored brother, with whom she had grown up on the Warwickshire family farm in the 1820s. Ever since she had written to Isaac Evans three years before to explain that she was now cohabiting in London with the married Lewes – "Mrs Lewes" was a term of social convenience, her legal name remained Mary Ann Evans – the rigidly respectable Isaac had refused to have anything to do with her. Even more hurtfully, he had instructed their sister to break off contact too. This silence was to stretch bleakly over the coming quarter of a century. The brother and sister who, like Tom and Maggie, had once "roamed the daisied fields together" in loving childhood, would never meet again.
Unusually for such an intensely autobiographical novel, The Mill on the Floss was not Eliot's first work of fiction, but her third. Shortly before it came out she explained to a friend that my "mind works with most freedom and the keenest sense of poetry in my remotest past", and her first two novels had indeed truffled her own prehistory. Scenes of Clerical Life (1858) was drawn from stories circulating around her childhood community about a series of mild scandals that had taken place several decades earlier. Adam Bede (1859) was based on the young adulthood of her father, her uncle and her uncle's wife. It was as if Eliot had been working through what she called the "many strata" of collective memory before she was ready, finally, to confront her own past.
Literary theorists tend not to approve of reading novels as if they were fictionalised autobiography. Still, it is a stern critic who would deny readers the pleasure of spotting which parts of her own childhood George Eliot transferred to Tom and Maggie. The dynamics and personalities of the Tulliver family are remarkably similar to what we know of the Evanses. Mr Tulliver, the hot-headed miller, is described as finding "the relation between spoken and written language, briefly known as spelling, one of the most puzzling things in this puzzling world", and you only have to glance at the diaries of Eliot's father, Robert Evans, to realise that he too was an uncertain penman.
Evans, like Tulliver, was a fond father, who doted on "his little wench", born when he was already middle aged. And while he was far too astute to follow Tulliver's example of mounting ruinous law suits, Evans often found himself called into court to give expert witness on matters of land management.
Then there is Tom Tulliver, whose rigid respectability and lack of capacity for original thought makes him a ringer for Isaac. Some of the best scenes in the book show Tom struggling over schoolboy Latin while the younger Maggie races ahead, exhibiting a cleverness that upsets the gender expectations of her highly conventional family. Isaac, like Tom, grew up to be a practical man of business. Mary Ann, by contrast, followed Maggie into a self-punishing adolescence marked by an intense longing for the kind of intellectual and artistic life not generally available to girls in the muddy backwaters of late-Hanoverian England.
But it is the Dodson aunts who are the real stars of The Mill on the Floss. This bustling trio of self-regarding matrons is one of the great comic creations of 19th-century fiction, as good as anything Dickens ever did. The Dodsons are Mrs Tulliver's married sisters, and regularly descend on the mill in a disapproving chorus, ready to dispense home truths beginning with, "It's for your own good I say this." Devoid of culture or curiosity about lives other than their own, the Dodsons nonetheless know themselves to be experts in everything that really matters, including "obedience to parents, faithfulness to kindred, industry, rigid honesty, thrift, the thorough scouring of wooden and copper utensils".
Behind Eliot's comedy there is, as ever, a more serious intent. As a careful reader of all the new scientific theories, including Darwin's, Eliot wants to show us the Dodsons in their larger historical context. Thirty years ago, she explains, this is how rich Protestant peasants lived in middle England. Fussing over butter-making and swollen ankles, household linen and fashionable bonnets may strike her readers as tiresome and vulgar, but it is important to realise that this way of being represents a particular moment in human development. Now that moment has passed, and, for all their ant-like vitality, the Dodsons and their ilk are as dead as dodos.
The Dodson aunts derive much of their grotesque energy from Eliot's close observations of her own mother's sisters, the Pearsons. This formidable set of women lived in a series of prosperous farmhouses at several miles' distance from the Evanses' own home. Robert Evans's diaries for the early 1830s record a constant round of comings and goings, with aunts and uncles descending periodically just as they do in The Mill on the Floss. In return little Mary Ann is sent on overnight visits, especially to her Aunt Garner, the model for Aunt Deane. Eliot tells us that one of the main planks of Dodson respectability is the desire "to leave an unimpeachable will", so it is nice to report that the real-life model for the stuffiest of all the Dodson aunts, Aunt Glegg, did exactly that.
In 1844 wealthy widow Mary Everard departed the Warwickshire earth, leaving much of her household furniture to be divided between her three nieces: Mary Ann Evans, Mary Ann's elder sister Chrissy (the model for Mr Tulliver's sister Gritty) and their cousin Bessy Garner (possibly the original for the angelic cousin Lucy, whom jealous Maggie pushes into the mud). The will and its codicil comprise a remarkable inventory of Mrs Everard's household goods, written with an attention to detail that would have delighted her fictional counterpart. While Chrissy gets her aunt's best bed, and Bessy gets a wardrobe, Mary Ann gets 12 teaspoons, four saltspoons marked MP (for Mary Pearson) and the clock in the kitchen.
It is, though, Maggie Tulliver who towers over The Mill on the Floss, one of those great literary heroines whom bookish girls grow up wanting to be. Just like Anne of Green Gables or even Jane Eyre, Maggie captures exactly the dilemma of being the clever girl of the family, the ugly duckling, the misplaced foundling who longs to be recognised for the genius she secretly knows herself to be. (Maggie fantasises about writing to Sir Walter Scott, who will naturally recognise her specialness). Several of the most celebrated incidents in Maggie's life are said to be taken straight from Mary Anne's own emotionally jagged childhood – the hacking off of her unruly hair with the scissors, the running away to join the Gypsies, the mortification of being displaced in her brother's affections by a new pony.
The central crisis of the novel is a reworking of the drama that defined Eliot's own adult life. Towards the end of the book, the adult Maggie goes on an ill-advised boat trip with Stephen Guest, her cousin Lucy's beau. "Nothing happens", as we might say today, apart from Stephen begging Maggie to elope with him by heading to Scotland for a quick marriage. Maggie realises just in time that what she is doing is wrong and returns home. However, her absence has caused a storm of gossip and "the world's wife" is busy painting the blackest picture of what really went on during those missing hours. Respectable women turn away from Maggie in the street, and coarse men laugh knowingly. Tom, who is now head of the family, refuses to let his disgraced sister return to the mill, declaring savagely: "I wash my hands of you for ever."
Here, surely, is a fictional transmutation of Eliot's own "elopement" with Lewes in 1854. That, too, had started with a boat trip – to Germany, where the middle-aged couple spent the first few months of their life together. While Maggie commits no actual sin – she has not slept with Stephen – Eliot seems to be making the provocative case that neither has she. Lewes may technically still have been a married man, but that was because his complicated legal situation made divorce impossible. As far as Eliot was concerned, she and Lewes, whom she always referred to as "my husband", had a sacred bond which was more binding than any piece of paper. The "world's wife", though, saw things very differently.
On returning to Britain in the spring of 1855, Eliot found herself the centre of a storm of vicious finger-pointing. As a "fallen woman" she was not welcome in any respectable home, and several of her women friends were forbidden by their fathers from calling on her. Inveterate gossips such as Elizabeth Gaskell and Harriet Martineau made things even murkier by adding embellishments, including a fictitious illegitimate baby, to this already most juicy of literary scandals.
That Eliot was often writing about herself when she wrote about Maggie is betrayed by the uneven shape of The Mill on the Floss. The first two sections are leisurely and detailed, studded with examples of the comical Dodsons and the minute plotting of the changing relationship between the young Tullivers. It is as if Eliot is unable to achieve the critical distance required to move her story briskly forward, but instead lingers lovingly over her memories of those early years with Isaac.
And so the ending, when it comes, is rushed and breathless. A terrible tidal flood has marooned Tom in the mill and, in a reversal of the usual rescue plot, Maggie rows out from the town to save her elder brother. On the way back a piece of flotsam breaks off and heads towards their small boat. "'It is coming, Maggie!' Tom said, in a deep, hoarse voice, loosing the oars, and clasping her." The boat sinks, taking Tom and Maggie down in that final embrace. In real life this reunion of brother and sister never took place. Instead, Isaac and Mary Ann Evans spent their adult lives apart, he on the Warwickshire family farm, she as an increasingly successful and fêted author in London.
| The Mill on the Floss |
Mathematical Formulae - What is the mathematical formula expressing Einstein's relativity theory? | Criticisms and Interpretations. V. By W. D. Howells. Eliot, George. 1917. The Mill on the Floss. Vol. IX. Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction
George Eliot. (18191880). The Mill on the Floss.
The Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction. 1917.
V. By W. D. Howells
IT is by her nature, complex, passionate, sensuous, by her sex, intellectualized and spiritualized, that Maggie Tulliver is most important to the reader. In her relations to her brother, which are apparently the chief interest of the book, she is interestingly and novelly studied; but these, though they involve the catastrophe, do not involve the climax. That is reached, as it seems to me, not when she and Tom are drowned together in the flood of the Floss, but when her reason and her conscience are provisionally overborne by her love for Stephen Guest, and she floats with him down a tide and out upon a sea more perilous than any inundation, and saves herself only by a powerful impulse of her will, which is almost a convulsion. The fruition of her love would have been a double treason, treason to her cousin Lucy, who was Guests betrothed, and treason to Philip Wakem, to whom she was herself pledged; and the sense of this blackened it with guilt, and turned it to despair, even while she yielded and yielded to the love of being loved. Never has an unhappy passion been more faithfully studied in a character with strength enough finally to forbid it; or more subtly felt from that first moment when Maggie begins to rejoice in her beauty because of her love for the man who loves it, till that last moment when she refuses to marry him, and goes back to suffer shame rather than to merit shame. Every step of the way is accurately and firmly traced up to that passage where Stephen Guest comes to ask her to row with him on the river, and from which there seems no retreat.
1
It does not seem to me that the true logic of the late is Maggies death with Tom Tulliver, or Stephens marriage with Lucy. It is a forced touch where the husband and wife stand together beside the grave of the brother and sister; but in the novels, the best of the novels, fifty years ago, they forced their touches rather more than they do now. To kill people or to marry them is to beg the question; but into some corner the novelist is commonly driven who deals with a problem. It is only life that can deal masterfully with problems, and life does not solve them by referring them to another life or by stifling them with happiness. How life would have solved the problem of Maggie Tulliver I am not quite prepared to say; but I have my revolt against George Eliots solution. All the more I must own that the heroines character, from the sort of undisciplined, imaginative, fascinating little girl we see her at first, into the impassioned, bewildered, self-disciplined woman we see her at last, is masterly. Having given my opinion that her supreme expression is in her relation to her lover, I have my doubts, or at least my compunctions in behalf of her relation to her brother. Unquestionably the greatest pathos of the story appeals to us from her relation to her brother. The adoring dependence, the grieving indignation, the devotion, the revolt, the submission, and the reunion which make up her love for him is such a study of sisterly affection as I should not know where to match. The very conditions of her intellectual and emotional superiority involve a moral inferiority to the brute simplicity, the narrow integrity, the heroic truth of the more singly natured man. Maggie saw life more whole than Tom, but that part of it which he saw he discerned with a clearness denied to her large but cloudy vision. It is a great and beautiful story, which one reads with a helpless wonder that such a book should ever be in any wise superseded, or should not constantly keep the attention at least of those fitted to feel its deep and lasting significance.From George Eliots Maggie Tulliver and Hetty Sorrel, in Heroines of Fiction (1901).
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Petra Kvitova won the Wimledon Ladies Championship in 2011. What nationality is she? | Maria Sharapova v Petra Kvitova - Wimbledon 2011 women's final as it happened | Scott Murray | Sport | The Guardian
Maria Sharapova v Petra Kvitova - Wimbledon 2011 women's final as it happened
The moment of victory
Saturday 2 July 2011 06.19 EDT
First published on Saturday 2 July 2011 06.19 EDT
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You can't knock the quality of the Ladies Singles this year. The intensity of the fascinating Marion Bartoli. Amazing comebacks for Venus and Serena Williams. Shocking defeats - possibly of the harbinger variety - for Venus and Serena Williams. Promising performances by Plucky Brits® Heather Watson and Laura Robson. The wildcard heroics of Sabine Lisicki. Barry Davies back in the commentary box. The simply astonishing Kimiko Date-Krumm. It's been a blast. Those who continually knock the women's game want to take a long hard look at themselves in the mirror.
And with the dust coming down, the two deserving finalists are Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova. The 24-year-old Russian is hot favourite to win her first slam since the Australian Open in 2008 - it would be her second Wimbledon title, after the victory in 2004 which saw her introduce the concept of text messaging to Sue Barker - but the 21-year-old big-hitting left-handed Czech is hotly tipped as a future slam winner. Here's hoping for a classic tussle to put the cherry on a fine 2011 tournament.
They'll be out soon to knock up. Play begins at 2pm.
The weather: Overcast / sunny.
The crowd: Increasingly unfunny.
Hugely Talented Sports Star In Feet On Ground shock: Kvitova's just been interviewed on the BBC. A more charming chat you'll do well to lug in on. Do you like designer gear, she's asked? "Nah. I like normal clothes, jeans and t-shirt. Sometimes a dress. I don't want to change, I just want to be like everyone else, I'm nothing special."
Here they come. A long march through the clubhouse. Both women are given huge sprays of flowers before they take to the court. Kvitova smiles shyly. Sharapova looks stern and serious. Both look nervous as they wait to be announced to Centre Court. And they have a fair old wait before they're allowed to enter the arena. Which they eventually do, to trademark polite Wimbledon applause. If I'm ranking the flowers, Sharapova's arrangement looks a bit more varied in colour to me. Kvitova's bunch is a tad purple heavy. Too many Purple Flowers (purplus indigo flowerum). Sharapova wins the toss, but strangely allows Kvitova to serve first.
Tik tok tik tok tik tok tik tok tik tok tik tok tikky tik tok. They're knocking up. The atmosphere on Centre Court? There's a buzz, albeit a genteel one. Need you have asked? It's nearly 2.10pm; umpire Alison Lang has called time, and we're about to get under way.
First set: Kvitova* 0-1 Sharapova (*denotes server). "First set, Miss Petra Kvitova to serve. Ready, play." A shaky start for Kvitova, who hits a forehand into the net, then another way too long. But she wins her first-ever point in a grand-slam final after Sharapova hits long, then sends her opponent skittering this way and that after kicking a beautiful serve wide right. Sharapova comes straight back at her, though, with a couple of big points, Kvitova struggling to return. Sharapova breaks. Not such a strange move to opt to receive, then. A very wise decision. It's only the fifth time Kvitova's serve has been broken all fortnight.
First set: Kvitova 1-1 Sharapova*. What a response by Kvitova, who wins the break straight back. The first point looks like it's been won by a lovely cross-court shot, left to right, by Sharapova, but Kvitova races across and whips a delicious winner down the right-hand sideline. Amazing shot, and one that rocks Sharapova on her heels. She's soon 0-40 down, and though she saves the first break point, the inevitable occurs on the next one. This already promises to be a toe-to-toe battle, both women having already landed one huge blow. More, please!
First set: Kvitova* 2-1 Sharapova. And now a serve held, though it took some work. Kvitova slices a couple of huge serves out wide, Sharapova overcooking the returns, sending them well outside the sidelines. She's 40-15 up, but Sharapova fights back, and skelps a massive forehand down the left-hand sideline to bring the game to deuce. The Russian's soon earned a break point, but Kvitova - on her second serve - wallops a huge forehand to the right-hand corner of Sharapova's court to save the game. Kvitova's soon chalking it up after forcing Sharapova out wide left with a big serve, then dispatching the return down the right-hand sideline. This is becoming a mighty battle already.
First set: Kvitova 2-2 Sharapova*. The wheels have been known to clank off Sharapova's serve now and then, and she delivers her first double fault at 15-15. Her next first serve flies into the net too, and you can hear the sharp intakes of breath being taken by her coaches. Fortunately for the Russian she booms an unreturnable serve down to bring the game back to 30-30, and soon enough the game is secured, though Kvitova had half a chance to make a cross-court winner and earn a break point, only to wildly overcook her double-handed skelp. The least dramatic game so far, if you were to insist on ranking them thus. "The wife and I are watching with sound muted," writes Michael Gaff, "and we can still hear Maria."
First set: Kvitova* 3-2 Sharapova. A solid, fuss-free service game from Kvitova. After looking understandably jittery in the first game or two, she appears to have totally settled now.
First set: Kvitova 4-2 Sharapova*. Sharapova is taking bloody ages between serves, much to the annoyance of Kvitova, who very much likes to get on with it, and has taken to hopping and bobbing around in the agitated fashion. Some venom in one return sends Sharapova skidaddling miles wide left of court; she's nowhere as Kvitova approaches the net to finish the point off with a mammoth smash down the middle. Having brought the game to 30-30 by doing so, Sharapova serves out the game, though not in the way she'd like: two comically poor double faults hand the game to the Czech. This is very worrying for Sharapova.
First set: Kvitova* 5-2 Sharapova. Boom boom boom boom. Private Baldrick would love Kvitova's serve. "I'm in Tooting," writes Citizen Gary Naylor ," and I'm pretty sure I just heard Maria. Either that, or a fox just got run over on Merton Road."
First set: Kvitova 5-3 Sharapova*. Tape measure owner Michael McIntyre and rotund humourist James Corden were at the Murray-Nadal game yesterday. Just as we thought the reading on the celebrity-o-meter couldn't get any lower, duplicitous manifesto-mangler Nick Clegg pops up, and the needle shears right off. God save us from more eejitry. Sharapova starts the service game with her third double fault in a row, but gets it together staunchly, scrapping through a few points to 40-30. But she's pegged back to deuce, Kvitova launching a searing winner down the right-hand sideline. Sharapova saves a set point, before serving the game out. But the favourite isn't looking comfortable at all. Unless she breaks her opponent in the next game, she'll be dropping her first set of the tournament.
KVITOVA WINS THE FIRST SET: Kvitova* 6-3 Sharapova. Sharpova has no answer to Kvitova's serve, which is finding the far corners of both deuce and advantage court with unerring accuracy, then kicking out wide. Most of the returns fly straight into the net. Kvitova serves the game out to love, taking the first set. That was a brilliant set of tennis by the young Czech star. She's in the process of blowing Sharapova away.
Second set: Kvitova 6-3, 1-0 Sharapova*. Of course, whether Kvitova can keep it up, with her first grand-slam title beckoning, is another thing altogether. The initial signs are good. She goes 30-0 down, but brings it back to 30-30 with the shot of the match so far, a burning cross-court forehand whistling past Sharapova's nose. Sharapova responds with her fifth double fault of the match, and Kvitova converts her break point with an outstanding ball whipped down the right-hand sideline. It lands on the baseline, is called out, but correctly challenged. This is outstanding tennis by the young Czech player. At the moment, Sharapova has no answer.
Second set: Kvitova* 6-3, 2-0 Sharapova. Kvitova is a set and a break up. Will the nerves kick in? She opens the game with her first double fault of the match. But Sharapova isn't doing much to apply any pressure herself, hitting the next point long. It allows Kvitova to regroup. She picks up a ball that's sent right by her toes with a wedge over the net that Phil Mickelson would be proud of, then whips yet another forehand winner up the sideline. At 40-30, Kvitova double-faults, but even then she doesn't falter, a couple of big serves easing her through the rest of the game.
Second set: Kvitova 6-3, 2-1 Sharapova*. What's this? Sharapova wins only her second game in eight, and to love t'boot.
Second set: Kvitova* 6-3, 2-2 Sharapova. Kvitova's serve is rocking a tad - she double faults yet again, her third of the match, all in this set - and finally Sharapova asks a question, hitting a pearler of a return down the left-hand sideline. On break point, she seals the game by returning a weak Kvitova smash, lobbing her opponent straight down the middle. That's more like it from the hot favourite.
Second set: Kvitova 6-3, 3-2 Sharapova*. What mettle Kvitova possesses! The game goes to four deuces. It's eventually won by a blistering two-handed cross-court backhand, right to left, the ball landing flush in the extreme left-hand corner of Sharapova's court. The Russian didn't have a hope. To bounce back like that, having just been broken, with a first grand-slam increasingly within touching distance, is simply outstanding. There's a real sense that a star is being born here... though let's not get ahead of ourselves quite yet. The last mile is the longest mile.
Second set: Kvitova* 6-3, 3-3 Sharapova. And all of a sudden, the nerves start to show. A terrible mistake by Kvitova at 30-15. Her serve to the advantage court takes a huge kick right, sending Sharapova out of the game. All Kvitova has to do is dink the return into an empty court. Instead, she balloons an absurd backhand miles wide of the left-hand sideline. And then another at deuce, missing the easiest of smashes at the net, hoicking a load of nonsense yards wide right of another unguarded court. Sharapova breaks with a massive forehand down the right-hand line. That was very, very poor from Kvitova. Could those mistakes be as pivotal as Andy Murray's missed smash against Rafael Nadal in the second set yesterday?
Second set: Kvitova 6-3, 4-3 Sharapova*. This is a real rollercoaster now. Or is it a pendulum? It might be both. Kvitova knocks Sharapova backwards with some big, deep returns. She earns two break points, and wins the second, waiting patiently at the back of the court during a long rally until Sharapova finally cracks and booms a forehand long. After the utter nonsense she served up in the last game, that's a majestic response by Kvitova. She's getting closer and closer ...
Second set: Kvitova* 6-3, 5-3 Sharapova. ... and closer and closer. Kvitova slips to 15-30, but sends down a wonderful couple of first serves: they're not tight in the corners, but have enough slice to send Sharapova too far wide to return accurately. She's a game away from her first major title.
Second set: Kvitova 6-3, 5-4 Sharapova*. A service game to love. The players walk back to their seats for the changeover. It'll be the longest wait for Kvitova, who is about to serve for the match, and the 2011 Wimbledon's Ladies' Singles championship.
PETRA KVITOVA IS THE 2011 WIMBLEDON CHAMPION!!! Kvitova* 6-3, 6-4 Sharapova. Two big serves from the young Czech send Sharapova skittering out wide; Kvitova puts the returns away easily enough. Sharapova nets a return, and Kvitova has three championship points. She only needs one, hammering an ace down to secure her first major title! She drops to the famous turf, then quickly rises with a huge smile playing across her face. Sharapova - who never really had a proper look-in - air-kisses her at the net. What a win. What a player. That was an outstanding performance by the 21-year-old Czech.
The Duke of Kent bowls into view, in order to deal out the trophies. Kvitova's name is already up, in gold leaf, on the honours board. That was pretty quick work. Sharapova picks up her silver runners-up platter and smiles grimly. She looks gutted. In truth, she never looked happy today. Then Kvitova gets to raise the famous winner's shield over her head, to warm applause. She smiles shyly. "I'm nothing special," said the modest Kvitova before the match. And yet the evidence is piling up to the contrary.
The post-match interviews: Poor Sharapova manages a grim smile, and generously congratulates Kvitova for her brilliant victory. Then Kvitova is asked whether she's just played the best game of her life. "Er, I think so," she laughs. Is she ready to take her lap of honour around Centre Court with her new trophy? "Yes, I am ready." Damn straight she was ready. What a performance. A deserving champion, a wonderful performance in the final, and a fine end to a magnificent tournament. The men have it all to live up to tomorrow; let's hope they manage it.
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Medicine: What is a patient suffering from based on the following description - a spread of infection into the blood, which thereby carries the infecting agent throughout the body? | Petra Kvitova wins Wimbledon women's final against Eugenie Bouchard – as it happened | Sport | The Guardian
Petra Kvitova wins Wimbledon women's final against Eugenie Bouchard – as it happened
Petra Kvitova won her second Wimbledon title with a brilliant 55-minute dismantling of Eugenie Bouchard
Saturday 5 July 2014 10.36 EDT
First published on Saturday 5 July 2014 08.00 EDT
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3.36pm BST
That's all from me. An astonishing and thrilling if one-sided match and a pleasure to watch, even if I largely did so in mouth-agape awestruck numbness. Bye!
3.34pm BST
A few statistics, just to illustrate quite how ridiculous Kvitova's performance was:
First serves in: Bouchard 61%-68% Kvitova
First serve points won: Bouchard 46%-82% Kvitova
Second serve points won: Bouchard 36%-38% Kvitova
Break points: Bouchard 1-13 Kvitova
Winners: Bouchard 8-28 Kvitova
Unforced errors: Bouchard 4-12 Kvitova
Total points won: Bouchard 37-61 Kvitova
3.25pm BST
Ladies and gentlemens, your champion!
Petra Kvitova holds the championship trophy following her victory over Eugenie Bouchard in the women's singles final at Wimbledon. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/EPA
Updated
And now, Petra Kvitova speaks.
I had a great tactic from my coach [I'm not sure that playing like an absolute deity of sport counts as a tactic, but hey ho]. He always knows what I have to play. I just wanted to be here with the trophy. It was a tough match, mentally I already played one final. All my team helped me a lot during the years to come back here [she is very emotional at this point, apparently close to tears, so the crowd help her out with some applause to give her time to collect herself].
I can't say it's more special but definitely after three years to stand here with the trophy again, it's amazing. Definitely it's an amazing time for me. I've still a lot of work to do as many as Martina [Navratilova] has, but let me deal with it.
3.20pm BST
Presentations having been made, Sue Barker speaks to Eugenie Bouchard .
I'd like to congratulate Petra, she played fantastic these two weeks. It was really tough for me today, but I'm proud of how I've played this whole tournament. I love coming back to Wimbledon so thank you guys.
I feel like it's a step in the right direction. I don't know if I deserve all your love today, but I really appreciate it.
3.18pm BST
The presentation is now in progress, under a closed roof. Bouchard gets a massive ovation from the crowd as she collects her silver platter, and even musters a little smile. She's got a bright enough future not to get too distressed by the present.
3.17pm BST
More celebwatching: 12 years a slave, 55 minutes a final.
British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor and his partner Sari Mercer sit in the Royal Box on Centre Court before the start of the women's singles final. Photograph: Glyn Kirk/AFP/Getty Images
3.15pm BST
If there's a silver lining for Bouchard, it's that she might get to meet the person she was named after …
Princess Eugenie of York attends the ladies singles final between Eugenie Bouchard and Petra Kvitova. Photograph: Karwai Tang/WireImage
3.12pm BST
It took Kvitova 55 minutes to win that. Fifty five minutes. I don't even think Bouchard played terribly. The only time she seemed to be effected by the occasion was when she realised just what kind of car crash she was involved in, and of course by then it was too late. Kvitova just produced, from the first moments, a display of awesome power and accuracy. If she could do that every time she stepped on court, she'd be up there with the legends.
Updated
Petra Kvitova is the Wimbledon champion!
Second set: Bouchard* 3-6, 0-6 Kvitova (denotes player who has just served)
The game starts with three successive lets, which seems Bouchard's best way of extending the match. When she lands a serve in, it's returned with a great deal of interest and the point is swiftly lost. There's also a ludicrous forehand winner, and at 30-30 Bouchard hits a backhand into the top of the net to bring a first championship point. She takes it, inevitably, with another crosscourt winner. Stunning stuff. Genuinely awe-inspiring.
3.03pm BST
Second set: Bouchard 3-6, 0-5 Kvitova* (denotes player who has just served)
This is incredible tennis from Kvitova, one of the great Wimbledon final performances. Everyone loves a close match, the rallies and sweat and emotion and tension, but this has been thrilling in its own remorseless way. There have been so few chinks in her armour today – a bit of over-ambitious hitting, but a lot of sheer perfection. Kvitova is 25-7 up in winners, and is about to win her second title.
3.00pm BST
Second set: Bouchard* 3-6, 0-4 Kvitova (denotes player who has just served)
What on earth does a 20-year-old in her first Grand Slam final think, as she sits in her chair, a set and 0-3 down? Bouchard, as ever, looks unmoved, but she's on the edge of a cliff and teetering. Kvitova though is playing as if determined to catch the end of the Tour de France, attempting to slam winners without waiting for the best moment to hit one, which is where all those unforced errors are coming from. The game does feature perhaps the best point of the match, and certainly the best for a while, in which Bouchard hits a succession of excellent ground strokes before approaching the net and watching Kvitova stress to hit a delicious crosscourt pass. That makes it 40-40, prompting another flurry of ludicrous shotmaking from the Czech, and it's another break.
2.54pm BST
Second set: Bouchard 3-6, 0-3 Kvitova* (denotes player who has just served)
The crowd, desperate to see a game, acclaim a fine forehand return winner (it was a second serve) and, later, a nice backhand pass down a very open line. Those two shots and a wild forehand (Kvitova's 10-3 up in unforced errors, which mainly illustrates how many errors she has forced) take the game to deuce, at which Kvitova hits an unreturnable first serve, and then an ace. See ya.
2.50pm BST
Second set: Bouchard* 3-6, 0-2 Kvitova (denotes player who has just served)
Kvitova breaks! She's in such a hurry here, strutting rapidly across the court between points and preparing to shatter her opponent in the next one. Bouchard needs to refuse to be hurried. These are moments she'll never get back. Extend them, stretch them. At the moment she isn't doing that, but she's still showing occasional flashes of inspiration, with a crosscourt backhand winner saving a break point in some style, but then Kvitova slams three successive shots of such perfect depth that sooner or later Bouchard just can't get one back.
Updated
Kvitova wins the first set
First set: Bouchard* 3-6 Kvitova (denotes player who has just served)
Kvitova is not to be denied the set for long. After forcing a couple of errors there's a fabulous backhand crosscourt return winner that brings up three set points. She misses the first two, the second with an improvised swing of the racket that sends a return about two inches wide, but not the third, which she takes with a thunderous forehand crosscourt return. She's been all but unstoppable so far, massively, undeniably impressive.
2.41pm BST
First set: Bouchard 3-5 Kvitova* (denotes player who has just served)
Bouchard breaks back! There's another double point, Bouchard's first of the game, and she wins all the rest as well, capitalising on a second serve and sending a forehand right onto Kvitova's toes, and then another with a down-the-line passing shot, and then Kvitova slams the ball into the net.
2.37pm BST
First set: Bouchard* 2-5 Kvitova (denotes player who has just served)
Bouchard is taking a battering here, blown away by the force and accuracy of Kvitova's hitting and left clinging on desperately and hoping she's still around when it rains or Kvitova's mind wonders. At 15-30 she's so focused on hitting a strong second serve that she doesn't get it in at all, and Kvitova takes her first break point with a thunderous forehand that lands a yard away from Bouchard and she still has no hope of reaching.
2.34pm BST
First set: Bouchard 2-4 Kvitova* (denotes player who has just served)
That was quick. Kvitova holds to 15, handing one point away with a double fault and winning all the rest in short order.
2.31pm BST
First set: Bouchard* 2-3 Kvitova (denotes player who has just served)
In the blink of an eye it's love-30, at which Kvitova winds up a backhand return to a second serve but slams it into the net. It's a lifeline Bouchard doesn't grasp, and a double fault promptly hands Kvitova a couple of break points. Bouchard saves one with a fine forehand – though she was helped by a poor return right into her hitting zone – and Kvitova hits her next couple of returns long and Bouchard is back in the game. She has to save another break point, but the only reason Kvitova didn't win that game was wild unreliability: her game was all winners and unforced errors. So far Kvitova has hit more than twice as many winners as her opponent, and more than twice as many unforced errors.
2.25pm BST
First set: Bouchard 1-3 Kvitova* (denotes player who has just served)
Bouchard hits some excellent returns here, three of them point-winners and all of those from the same side of the court , but the only joy she gets on the other side is from a double fault, the second serve hit way deep. The game is won after a brilliant rally, with Bouchard seemingly well on top of the point until Kvitova improvises a superlative on-the-run crosscourt pass.
2.19pm BST
First set: Bouchard* 1-2 Kvitova (denotes player who has just served)
Kvitova breaks! Bouchard also started her game with an ace down the middle, but she's shown what might happen if she doesn't get her first serve right when Kvitova absolutely batters a second serve back with extreme interest to make the score 30-30, and she follows that with a massive crosscourt backhand to earn beak point. The players then trade unforced errors before Kvitova, already hitting so cleanly, takes her second break point with a finely angled and inevitably massive forehand.
2.15pm BST
First set: Bouchard 1-1 Kvitova* (*denotes player who has just served)
Kvitova's first serve of the day is an ace. And so it begins. There are a further two service winners, one a second serve, as she holds easily.
2.13pm BST
First set: Bouchard* 1-0 Kvitova (*denotes player who has just served)
The best point is the third, where the players trade gently crosscourt baseline drives before Bouchard thumps one down the line for a clean winner. The game is held to 30, with no signs of debilitating nerves on either side.
2.10pm BST
11.50am BST
Good afternoon
Simon will be here real soon. While you are waiting, here is Simon Cambers' preview for the final. Enjoy.
When Petra Kvitova makes the long walk along the corridors of the All England Club before the final on Saturday, she will stop to look at the honours board, partly to check her name is still there, partly to remind herself of what she has achieved in the past. The Czech takes on Canada’s Eugenie Bouchard, a player appearing in her first grand slam final but with the ambition to match her talent. It promises to be an enthralling encounter.
For Kvitova, this year’s Wimbledon has been a mirror of her 2011 campaign. Like so many tennis players and sports stars in general, she is sticking to what worked; she is eating the same breakfast every day (gluten-free bread, bought in Wimbledon village, perhaps with jam) and the same lunch (pineapple and rice). She will have a light hit in the morning with her coach, David Kotyza, on the same court she has used every day, then she will begin her warm-up about 45 minutes before the final is due to start.
On paper, as a former champion and the No6 seed, Kvitova is the favourite to win a second title. Her greater experience should stand her in good stead but whether she can handle the pressure of being favourite is questionable. Unlike the 20-year-old Bouchard, who seems to revel in the spotlight, Kvitova is much happier among friends and family. The 24-year-old found it hard to cope with the fame and media interest that came with her 2011 win and her grand slam results since then have been more down than up.
This fortnight, though, Kvitova has been more relaxed than ever and after edging out Venus Williams in the third round, she has not dropped a set.
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What was singing legend Frank Sinatra's middle name? | The My Hero Project - Frank Sinatra
FRANK SINATRA
Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra was born on the 12 of December 1915 as Francis Albert Sinatra. The only son of Anthony Martin and Natalie Della Sinatra, who raised him in Hoboken, a small town in New Jersey that runs alongside the Hudson river separating NJ from New York City.
From a young age Frank idolised such figures as Bing Crosby and Billy Holliday and decided at the age of fifteen that he would like to follow in their footsteps. In 1935 he took his first step down the road to success, entering into a radio talent show, grouped with a trio of singers and dancers. The group went on to win first prize and Sinatra started to perform for several different radio stations, singing frequently for them. For a time though, he was working as a singer and waiter at the Rustic Cabin, a restaurant in NJ. This is where he received his big break, when he was noticed by a trumpet player named Henry James who decided that the young Sinatra would be perfect for his band, �The Music Makers�.
After seven months with the band, �Ol Blue Eyes� (as he was called) moved on to join a swing orchestra, headed by Tommy Dorsey. It was with this group that the man became a success, making a name for himself due to his unique phrasing as well as the emotional performances he carried out. It was his first recorded song released in 1943 at the age of 28, titled �All or Nothing at All�, which served him well and became a huge hit. Over the next five years between 1946 and 1951, Sinatra branched out from his music career to indulge in the acting business, contracted by the major motion picture company MGM with a guarantee of $1.5million per year. Proving himself on stage, his talent came through behind the camera as well, completing many successful films of the time, for example, �Anchors Aweigh� and �On the Town�. Frank Sinatra was then becoming a house hold name and by the late forties, he had both fame and fortune, becoming even more increasingly popular among fans of all ages.
Unfortunately Frank suffered from his vocal chords haemorrhaging, turning his life upside down as his professional signing career plummeted. At 37 years of age he had to face the music as his employers from Universal, CBS and Colombia Records decided to abandon him along with his personal agent. It was then that Frank turned to his wife at the time Ava Gardner, a Hollywood actor.
Ava helped her husband through his difficult times by securing him in the role of Angelo Maggio in the 1953 picture �From Here To Eternity� which Sinatra himself believed he was born to play, as it fit him so well. He agreed to take part on a cut of only $8000, a major step down from his previous ventures. Unsurprising to Sinatra, his performance dramatically picked his career up to its natural standard. Proving to the doubting directors that he could play alongside the Hollywood Hotshots like Burt Lancaster and Donna Reed and even walking away with the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work on the film.
Sinatra�s acting career wasn�t just a one off flash in the pan, he held on at the top, giving his usual riveting performance as a heroin addict in The Man with the Golden Arm. Sinatra was back on top and his musical career was reborn. Now he was the �King of music�, movies and television. Expressing him self in many ways, creating at the same time some of the most popular albums he has ever made. Releasing �A Swinging Affair� and �Come Fly with Me� alongside major box office hits such as �High Society� and �Guys and Dolls�. It was, in this time of the late fifties early sixties, where the Frank Sinatra legend takes form due to the calm, cool, and collected way he handled himself through out the limelight of his career. Throughout the 60�s and 70�s Sinatra stayed mostly in television, making appearances on the big screen as well.
It was in 1988 that the Rat Pack reunion tour was launched; the Rat Pack originally formed in 1995 by actor Humphrey Bogart and was meant to be just a gathering of guys for night of drinking, gambling and having fun. After the death of Humphrey Bogart two years later, the packs new leader became Sinatra and was comprised mostly of his buddies, the most famous being Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr as well as Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. They performed with each other in a relaxed atmosphere yet also with an intimate humour which is not often portrayed in the groups of today.
It was with this quality that they stormed through the late 50�s and 60�s, creating a massive fan base as they played there parts on screen and on stage, feeding the growing attraction. The Rat Pack reunion tour with Sammy Davis Jr, Liza Minnelli who replaced Dean Martin due to schedule reasons, and obviously Frank himself, boomed with major success. Releasing two Duet albums - which sold more than any of Sinatra�s previous work. Proving that his style of song and music was and will always is very much alive. Crossing over generation barriers and appealing to a varied audience, both young and old.
Frank Sinatra was a man of many talents receiving various awards for his efforts over the years. Including an Oscar for his acting skills, a lifetime achievement award and to top that the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honour that can be presented to a civilian in the U.S.A. Up until his death on May 14 1998, when he was at the age of 82, he had always been a generous man. Contributing wealthily to charities, and providing funds to build a hospital and schooling centre in his home town. He regretted the fact that he could not serve his country during war due to medical reasons, but he served in his own way, raising the spirits of the country and the troops through his songs and contributions.
He lived a live that was full, which many people admire even if they are not fans of his music. Becoming popular through generations and many more to come, Frank Sinatra will always be a well known name and he will always be remembered for the extreme life he lived:
�I�ve lived a life that�s full,
I�ve travelled each and every highway.
But more, much more than this,
I did it my way.�
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What is the longest running programme on television first broadcast in 1953? | BIOGRAPHY: Frank Sinatra Lifetime
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BIOGRAPHY
Francis Albert Sinatra was the only child of two Italian immigrants. His father was Anthony Sinatra, a New York fireman of Sicilian origin, and his mother was Natalie Garavanta, who was usually called by her middle name, Dolly.
Sinatra’s mother was often called “Hatpin Dolly”, and was well known for her fiery volatile Ligurian personality. Sinatra’s parents had both emigrated from mainland Italy to America in the 1890s, and the family enjoyed a reasonable standard of living, thanks to Anthony’s secure job in the Fire Department, as well as his mother’s political connections with the Democratic Party in Hoboken. Dolly was a local political ward boss, as well as working as a midwife.
Young Sinatra enjoyed a stable, comfortable upbringing and he was keen to enlist for the armed services during World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. But when he attempted to sign up at the age of 26, he went for a medical check-up and was pronounced unfit for active service, owing to a punctured eardrum that he’d sustained at birth. It’s likely that Sinatra’s failure to enlist caused him to place even greater emphasis on his emerging career as an entertainer.
Sinatra had already embarked on his performing career, thanks to the help of his mother, who had found work for him singing in a group called The Three Flashes. One of his first engagements was at the Hoboken Union Club, and it was here, in 1935, that he got his first “big break”. The Three Flashes were approached by talent scout Edward “Major” Bowes, who then offered Sinatra work performing in a number of promotional films for his series, 'Amateur Hour'.
In September 1935, Sinatra took part in a talent contest organized by Edward Bowes, and won first prize: this led to a national tour. When the tour was over, Sinatra took a job as a singing waiter and MC at a venue called the Rustic Cabin. The pay was only $15 per week, but the Rustic Cabin gigs were also broadcast across New York on the WNEW radio station. Sinatra’s voice was now being heard by a far wider audience than before. In 1939, the wife of bandleader and trumpet player Harry James heard Sinatra singing on the radio, and persuaded her husband to give Sinatra a job. Harry hired Sinatra for the princely sum of $75 per week, and the two artists made their first joint recording in July 1939, as war was looming in Europe.
Working with Harry James was great experience for Sinatra, despite the fact that the band never made the big time. Sinatra and Harry recorded ten songs together. Shortly afterwards, Sinatra was offered a job with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, where he began to make his mark as a ballad singer. His first (and biggest) hit with his new band was the 1940s smash, 'I’ll Never Smile Again', which was also, by coincidence, the first ever Number One on Billboard magazine’s brand-new chart of America’s best-selling records. Sinatra’s gentle charisma and easy-listening crooning style made him an instant hit with the nation’s millions of teenage girls, known at the time as “bobby-soxers”, and his records began to sell in vast quantities.
Frank Sinatra cut a staggering total of 29 singles with Tommy Dorsey during 1941, which led to his being named Male Vocalist of the Year by Billboard Magazine. Sinatra stayed with the Dorsey Band until August 1942, when he left to pursue stardom as a solo recording artist.
In 1943, Sinatra signed a contract with Columbia Records, and was instantly successful. His career was no doubt given a further boost owing to the fact that there was a musicians’ strike in progress at the time his first records came out. He scored several hits during the strike, including the sensational 'Saturday Night is the Loneliest Night of The Week'. Sinatra also starred on many radio programs during the 1940s, and soon began to be thought of as the nation’s second most popular male singer, running a close second to Bing Crosby, whose audiences at the New York Paramount he had actually succeeded in topping.
“Sinatra-Mania” was now in full swing - Sinatra scored a phenomenal 23 top ten singles between 1940 and early 1943 alone: to show their appreciation of his talent, his American fans affectionately nicknamed him “The Voice”.
In 1943, Sinatra made his debut at New York’s famed Madison Square Garden. He then caused a sensation whilst playing to an audience of over 10,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl. Sinatra’s concert was so profitable that the Bowl’s financial difficulties were resolved in one stroke. Wowed by Sinatra’s relaxed charm, Hollywood producers soon came knocking on his door. He signed a seven-year contract with RKO, and appeared in a string of light musical films, including 'Step Lively' and 'Higher and Higher'.
Again, teenage fans made up his biggest audiences - a fact that did not go un-noticed by Louis B. Mayer - who bought his contract with RKO and signed him to MGM under a $1.5 million contract. Sinatra was now one of America’s top movie stars, and when he returned to New York’s Paramount for a concert, a crowd of over 35,000 fans caused a near riot - later known as the Columbus Day Riot. Sinatra’s fame during the 1940s was truly phenomenal: at one point, it was estimated that he had over 40 million fans!
In 1945, Sinatra starred in his first film alongside Gene Kelly, 'Anchors Aweigh'. This film was an instant success, sparking a string of movies in which he co-starred with Kelly. His singing career was also booming, and by 1946, he was performing as many as 45 shows a month at some periods.
The 1940s turned out to be Sinatra’s golden decade, and by the end of 1948, he himself suspected that his career was slipping from the pinnacle of success. This was reflected by the fact that he only reached No. 5 on Down Beat’s annual poll of most popular singers. As sales of his records slipped, Sinatra tried new ways of singing, such as gospel songs and novelty tracks. But his fortunes revived in 1949 as he co-starred with Gene Kelly again in 'Take Me Out To The Ball Game' - which was followed up by a further success in 'On The Town'.
Encouraged by his box office successes, Sinatra returned to the concert stage in January 1950, selling a staggering $18,000-worth of tickets for just two nights of performing - but an overly packed schedule of singing resulted in Sinatra’s haemorrhaging his vocal cords during a gig at the Copacabana night-club. He was forced to cut back on his commitments for a while, but bounced back to give a sell-out concert at the London Palladium in July 1950.
In 1951, he gave his debut performance at the Desert Inn in Las Vegas - a city that was to become the main arena for his singing over the ensuing decade. Elsewhere, his popularity was waning, as his appeal to teenage audiences fell. But Sinatra did have a few hits over this period, such as 'Goodnight Irene', 'Castle Rock', 'Bim Bam Baby', etc. and he continued to work extensively in radio, cabaret and television.
The slump that marked the beginning of the 1950s for Frank Sinatra turned out to be a temporary blip in his career. The massive success of the movie 'From Here To Eternity' in 1953, for which he won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor, marked the beginning of a major revival in his fortunes. Sinatra was a hugely successful film actor, but his dramatic style was marked by energy and spontaneity, rather than by technique - an approach that earned him the nick-name, “One-Take Charlie”. Critics consider 'The Manchurian Candidate' (1964) to be his best film, but he is probably most famous for the handful of movies he made with his friends, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., in particular, 'Ocean’s Eleven' (1960) and 'The Detective' (1968) - together, the three actor-performers were known as “The Rat Pack“.
Frank Sinatra was also well known for stormy love life and colourful relationships, which were frequently the object of tabloid attention. Frank married no less than four times; his first marriage was to his childhood sweetheart, Nancy Barbato, with whom he had three children - Nancy, Frank Sinatra Jr., and Christina. The marriage hit the rocks when Sinatra had an affair with actress Ava Gardner. She became wife No. 2, when he married her in 1951. But rumour has it that Sinatra still loved Nancy’s cooking so much, that he would send someone by to pick up her homemade specialities many years after they had parted.
Sinatra’s marriage to Ava Gardner was comparatively short-lived, and they split up in 1953 (but did not divorce until 1957). He then had a romance with Lauren Bacall, which was also short-lived. But whilst he was filming 'Von Ryan’s Express' in 1968, he had a fling with Rafaella Carra, who introduced him to his next wife, actress Mia Farrow, some thirty years his junior. They were divorced two years later. Finally, in 1976, Sinatra married Barbara Blakeley Marx, who became a Catholic in order to marry him. Barbara remained married to Sinatra until the day he died, despite her frequently difficult relationships with his children.
Notwithstanding Sinatra’s unparalleled success as a movie star and singer, his public image was often marred by rumours of his associations with organised crime and the Mafia. The allegations began as early as the 1940s, when Sinatra visited Havana with the Fischetti family, who were known mobsters. Sinatra was also friends with Sam Giancana, a Mafioso who was also linked with the Kennedy family. Giancana always wore a sapphire friendship ring that had been given to him by Sinatra. Despite the fact that J. Edgar Hoover, head of the FBI, suspected Sinatra of Mafia involvement, nothing was ever proved against him, and Sinatra publicly refuted these allegations on many occasions. The character of Johnny Fontane in the famous book and epic film series, 'The Godfather', was also widely believed to have been based on Sinatra, and his Mafia connections, much to Sinatra’s very public annoyance with the author.
Sinatra’s career suffered many ups and downs, but he always succeeded in making a comeback, and performed on the world’s stages right up until the last few years of his life. From his first released single in 1940, as the singer with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, to the release in 1980 of 'Theme from New York, New York', Frank Sinatra had an amazing total of 209 hits on Billboards pop singles charts. Of those, 127 reached the Top Twenty, 70 reached the Top Ten, and no less than 9 singles made it to No. 1! These were: 'I’ll Never Smile Again' (1940), 'There Are Such Things' (1942), 'In The Blue Of The Evening' (1943), 'All Or Nothing At All' (1944), 'Oh, What It Seemed To Be' (1945), 'Five Minutes More' (1946), 'Strangers In The Night' (1966) and 'Something Stupid' (1967).
Of Sinatra’s 55 Top Twenty albums, 41 reached the Top Ten, and 6 made it to number One: 'The Voice of Frank Sinatra' (1946), 'In the Wee Small Hours', 'Come Fly With Me' (1956), 'Frank Sinatra Sings for Only The Lonely' (1958), 'Nice n’Easy' (1960), and 'Strangers In The Night' (1966). His most successful album of all time was the 1997 compilation, 'My Way: The Very Best of Frank Sinatra', released the year before he died. Up until now, this album has charted for 128 weeks, and has earned 5 platinum records.
Sinatra maintained a hugely successful singing career alongside his acting career throughout the 1950s and for several decades beyond. Although he “retired” in the early 1970s, he made a huge comeback in 1973, releasing a special album called 'Ol’ Blue Eyes Is Back' and filming a TV special, to mark the occasion. He also resumed his singing career in Las Vegas, and toured extensively in the Far East, where he was phenomenally popular, especially in Japan. Sinatra toured right up until the 1990s, and was given a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Grammy Awards in 1994.
Failing health kept him out of the public eye after his 80th birthday, and he suffered a heart attack and stroke in 1996, and a further heart attack in 1997. After suffering his 3rd and final heart attack, Frank Sinatra died on 14 May 1998. His funeral in Beverly Hills was a star-studded occasion, with a list of mourners that included Liza Minnelli, Tony Curtis and Gregory Peck. Legend has it that he was buried in a blue suit, with a bottle of Jack Daniels, a pack of Camels cigarettes, a Zippo lighter - and a roll of dimes for good luck.
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What was singing legend Elvis Presley's middle name? | Elvis Presley - Biography - IMDb
Elvis Presley
Biography
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Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trade Mark (10) | Trivia (225) | Personal Quotes (36) | Salary (24)
Overview (5)
The King of Rock 'n' Roll
Height
5' 11¾" (1.82 m)
Mini Bio (1)
Elvis Aaron Presley was born on January 8, 1935 in East Tupelo, Mississippi, to Gladys Presley (née Gladys Love Smith) and Vernon Presley (Vernon Elvis Presley). He had a twin brother who was stillborn. In September 1948, Elvis and his parents moved to Memphis, Tennessee where he attended Humes High School. In 1953, he attended the senior prom with the current girl he was courting, Regis Wilson. After graduating from high school in Memphis, Elvis took odd jobs working as a movie theater usher and a truck driver for Crown Electric Company. He began singing locally as "The Hillbilly Cat", then signed with a local recording company, and then with RCA in 1955.
Elvis did much to establish early rock and roll music. He began his career as a performer of rockabilly, an up-tempo fusion of country music and rhythm and blues, with a strong backbeat. His novel versions of existing songs, mixing 'black' and 'white' sounds, made him popular - and controversial - as did his uninhibited stage and television performances. He recorded songs in the rock and roll genre, with tracks like "Jailhouse Rock" and "Hound Dog" later embodying the style. Presley had a versatile voice and had unusually wide success encompassing other genres, including gospel, blues, ballads and pop music. Teenage girls became hysterical over his blatantly sexual gyrations, particularly the one that got him nicknamed "Elvis the Pelvis" (television cameras were not permitted to film below his waist).
In 1956, following his six television appearances on The Dorsey Brothers' "Stage Show", Elvis was cast in his first acting role, in a supporting part in Love Me Tender (1956), the first of 33 movies he starred in.
In 1958, Elvis was drafted into the military, and relocated to Bad Nauheim, Germany. There he met and fell in love with 14-year old army damsel Priscilla Ann Wagner ( Priscilla Presley ), whom he would eventually marry after an eight-year courtship, and with whom he had his only child, Lisa Marie Presley . Elvis' military service and the "British Invasion" of the 1960s reduced his concerts, though not his movie/recording income.
Through the 1960s, Elvis settled in Hollywood, where he starred in the majority of his thirty-three movies, mainly musicals, acting alongside some of the most well known actors in Hollywood. Critics panned most of his films, but they did very well at the box office, earning upwards of $150 million total. His last fiction film, Change of Habit (1969), deals with several social issues; romance within the clergy, an autistic child, almost unheard of in 1969, rape, and mob violence. It has recently received critical acclaim.
Elvis made a comeback in the 1970s with live concert appearances starting in early 1970 in Las Vegas with over 57 sold-out shows. He toured throughout the United States, appearing on-stage in over 500 live appearances, many of them sold out shows. His marriage ended in divorce, and the stress of constantly traveling as well as his increasing weight gain and dependence upon stimulants and depressants took their toll.
Elvis Presley died at age 42 on August 16, 1977 at his mansion in Graceland, near Memphis, shocking his fans worldwide. At the time of his death, he had sold more than 600 million singles and albums. Since his death, Graceland has become a shrine for millions of followers worldwide. Elvis impersonators and purported sightings have become stock subjects for humorists. To date, Elvis Presley is the only performer to have been inducted into three separate music 'Halls of Fame'. Throughout his career, he set records for concert attendance, television ratings and recordings sales, and remains one of the best-selling and most influential artists in the history of popular music.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan and Chris Holland
Spouse (1)
Trade Mark (10)
The famous left-sided grin
His movements, with his pelvis, that gave him the nickname, "Elvis, the pelvis", which he strongly disliked
Longer and slightly deeper sideburns
White sequined jumpsuits with rhinestones
Onstage karate moves
Peanut butter and banana sandwiches (with bacon)
Two trademark phrases were "Thank ya!" and "Thank ya' very much!"
Deep husky voice with southern accent
Black hair often greased back
Known to friends and fans for his extremely kind-hearted and generous personality
Trivia (225)
The home address of Vernon Presley and Gladys Presley , as they became parents, on Tuesday, January 8, 1935, was 306 Old Saltillo Road, East Tupelo, Mississippi (there was no ZIP code, as they weren't created until the (1960s). His twin brother, Jesse Garon Presley, died at birth. Elvis was successfully delivered, approximately 35 minutes later.
Earned a black belt in karate in 1960.
Won three Grammy Awards, all for his gospel music.
His hair color was blonde until his early teens. As he got older his hair became darker. By the time he had his hair cut for the army at age 22 its natural color was dark chestnut (according to Charlie Hodge , who served with him in the army).
Was originally considered for the Kris Kristofferson role in A Star Is Born (1976), but Elvis turned it down because his manager, Tom Parker , refused him permission to act in a movie where he wouldn't have top billing. Also, he didn't like the fact that the producer, Jon Peters , was completely unknown.
Owned a pet chimpanzee called "Scatter".
Has more multi-platinum album sales than any other performer, with 12 albums selling over two million copies.
Father of Lisa Marie Presley (birthdate, Thursday, February 1st, 1968).
Interred at Graceland Estate, Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
His autopsy detected ten different drugs in his bloodstream.
Is a direct descendant of Abraham Lincoln 's great-great grandfather, Isaiah Harrison.
Had 18 Billboard #1 songs, the first being "Heartbreak Hotel" in March of 1956. His 18th and final #1, "Suspicious Minds", was released in September 1969.
When The Beatles came to America in 1965 there was only one person they wanted to meet: Elvis. On Friday, August 27, 1965, they got their wish and, according to John Lennon , spent an entirely enjoyable evening at the Presley home in Bel Air, California, talking, singing and laughing with each other.
He bought Graceland mansion on Tuesday, March 19, 1957, from Mrs. Ruth Brown Moore for $102,500. The mansion, built of tan Tennessee limestone, consists of 23 rooms and 13.7 surrounding acres. The Music Gates were installed in April of 1957. The name "Graceland" came with the mansion, from the days when it was originally used as a church.
His television debut was on the regionally telecast Louisiana Hayride (1955), Saturday, March 5th, 1955 in Shreveport, Louisiana.
In September 1955, "Country Song Roundup" magazine was the first to feature an article on Elvis, calling him a "folk music fireball".
In April of 1955 Elvis auditioned for a spot on Arthur Godfrey 's Talent Scouts (1948) and was turned down.
Elvis' body was placed in a family crypt in Memphis on Thursday, August 18, 1977. Eleven days later, however, an attempt was made to steal his body but the plan failed and three men were charged with trespassing and released on bond. Because of this incident, Vernon Presley , received approval from the Memphis Adjustment Board to allow re-interment of the bodies of Elvis and his mother, Gladys Presley to the Meditation Garden behind Graceland, which took place, on Sunday, October 2, 1977.
The book he was reading at the time of his death was "The Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus" by Frank O. Adams, (Psychical Aid Foundation, USA, 1972).
From the time they met up until his death, Elvis always sent a roomful of flowers to Ann-Margret whenever she opened up a show in Las Vegas.
Was one of the performers featured on a set of stamps of rock and blues legends issued by the U.S. Postal Service in June 1993.
His mother, Gladys Presley , gave him his first guitar in 1947, when he was 12 years old, as a birthday present.
He was a 1953 graduate of Humes High School, in Memphis, Tennessee.
Was one of the first people in the U.S. to own a "Betamax" system VCR
Honorary Member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity.
After seeing him in concert, Liberace suggested adding flashy costumes to his act. Elvis took the advice, and became famous for his gold lame jackets and jeweled white jumpsuits. He later reserved a seat for Liberace at a majority of his concerts, as his way of saying thanks.
One of only a handful of artists inducted into both The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame and The Country Music Hall of Fame. Others include Johnny Cash and Hank Williams .
Died with about $5 million in his bank account.
Elvis did not like confrontation. He wanted to fire his manager, Tom Parker , many times. He would tell his friends "Tell Parker, he's fired." His friends would go tell him, then Parker would say "Tell Elvis to tell me personally". Elvis never did.
"Heartbreak Hotel", which spent 17 weeks at #1 on Billboard's country chart (and 10 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100) was the #1 country song of 1956.
Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998.
His 1977 country hit, "Way Down," was the #1 song on Billboard magazine's country singles chart the week of Elvis' death. Nine other songs would go to #1 on Billboard's country charts between 1956 and 1981: "I Forgot to Remember to Forget," "Heartbreak Hotel," "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You," and the two-sided #1 hit "Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel" (all 1956); "All Shook Up," "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" and "Jailhouse Rock" (all 1957); "Moody Blue" (1977); and "Guitar Man" (1981, a remixed version released more than three years after his death). Most of his 1950s #1 country hits were also #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well.
In Sam Lovullo 's book "Life in the Kornfield", which recalled his years as producer of 1969's country music TV series Hee Haw (1969), he remarked that Elvis was a big fan of the show and had always wanted to perform on it. However, according to Lovullo, Elvis remarked they'd have to tape his spots in the middle of the night, knowing that if manager Tom Parker had found out, he'd never clear his appearance. Several months after Elvis' death, his father, Vernon Presley , appeared on "Hee Haw" and spoke about how the world would always love him and remember his music.
Hysteria over "Elvis sightings" after his death were lampooned in the Mojo Nixon song "Elvis Is Everywhere" and "Elvis Is Dead" by Living Colour .
His personal entourage were known as the "Memphis Mafia", and were given matching rings by Elvis. The diamond and gold rings sported a thunderbolt and the letters "TCB" (reportedly standing for "Take Care of Business"). Elvis was buried wearing one of the rings.
Pictured on a 29¢ US commemorative postage stamp issued on Friday, January 8th, 1993, 58 years after his birthdate. This was the inaugural issue in the Legends of American Music series.
In 2002 a re-mixed version of one his more obscure recordings, "A Little Less Conversation", became a dance club hit, and topped the charts in the United Kingdom.
The lightest Elvis ever weighed, as an adult, was 170 pounds in 1960, following his discharge from the U.S. Army. The heaviest was at the time of his death, which was 260 pounds. He gained 90 pounds in his final 17 years of life.
Was always known to be generous to a fault with family, friends and even total strangers. Anyone who admired any posession of his, from one of his many Cadillacs to any bit of bric-a-brac in his home, often found themselves the new owners of that posession.
Inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame (sponsored by the Gospel Music Association) in 2001.
Made the first ever musical video of all time: Jailhouse Rock (1957).
When Ed Sullivan finally allowed him to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948), he was filmed from the waist upwards only once, on his third and final appearance on Sunday, January 6th, 1957.
His 1960 single "It's Now Or Never" is one of the best selling singles of all time--if not the all-time best selling single--with sales estimated to have been between 25 and 30 million copies.
He is responsible for the best selling single of the 1950s ("Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel", 1956) and that of the 1960s ("It's Now Or Never", 1960).
His 29¢ commemorative postage stamp issued in 1993, sold more copies than any other postage stamp in U.S. Postal Service history.
A remix of his song "A Little Less Conversation" was featured on the soundtrack to the film Ocean's Eleven (2001) and became a Billboard #1 hit single, over 20 years after his death.
The Beatles were admirers of his work and, although John Lennon said they enjoyed his company very much, Elvis himself, ironically, thought that they were a bad influence on America's youth.
Elvis was descended from a woman named Morning White Dove (she was his maternal great-great-great-grandmother two times over). Morning White Dove is believed by some to have been a Cherokee Native American, although it is not clear if documentary evidence exists that she was a Native American. Elvis' character in G.I. Blues (1960) has a Cherokee background.
He was allegedly offered roles in The Rainmaker (1956), The Defiant Ones (1958), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), West Side Story (1961), Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967), Midnight Cowboy (1969), True Grit (1969), Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), A Star Is Born (1976) and Grease (1978).
He said that his favorite of all his films was King Creole (1958). He also said his film that he disliked the most was Clambake (1967).
During his third and final appearance on Ed Sullivan 's The Ed Sullivan Show (1948) weekly program, on Sunday, January 6, 1957, he angered Sullivan by singing the gospel song "Peace In The Valley" on his show, after Sullivan asked him not to.
He was a distant cousin of former US President Jimmy Carter (1977-81). When Elvis died on Tuesday, August 16, 1977, Carter said the next day, "Elvis Presley's death deprived our country of a part of itself. He was unique and irreplaceable".
He was temporarily a Shelby County (Tennessee) deputy sheriff.
Hal B. Wallis , producer of eight of his films, wanted to make a western with Elvis and John Wayne , but it never came about.
In 1973 he met with Led Zeppelin members Robert Plant and John Paul Jones in Los Angeles. An idol to the members of Led Zeppelin, Elvis wanted to meet "who was outselling him" at concerts (Zeppelin was in the midst of a record-breaking tour that year). A meeting was arranged with Plant and Jones. Plant was so awestruck at meeting his idol in person that he could barely speak to him. Jones, nearly as awestruck as Plant, made small talk with the "King," and mentioned what a beautiful watch Elvis wore. Elvis, always the generous one, instantly traded his $5,000 gold and diamond watch for Jones' $10 Mickey Mouse watch. This broke the ice with all of them, and they became fast friends. Throughout the early 1970s members of Led Zeppelin even attended a few of Elvis' concerts, and were granted the privilege of sitting in the front row by the King himself.
He named his four personal favorite films as: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Dirty Harry (1971) and Bullitt (1968).
He was drafted into the US Army in 1958, stationed in West Germany and discharged in 1960, achieving the rank of sergeant. His being in the army was a public relations headache, according to army documents released by the Pentagon on Thursday, June 9, 2005. "Elvis Presley will not be released in a manner different from any other inductee serving overseas," the Army's adjutant general wrote to citizens who complained following reports that the rock icon would get an early "good behavior" discharge. When he entered the army at Memphis, Tennessee, on March 24, 1958, there was a public outcry from his fans, and protests flowed to Washington, including a hand-written plea released by the National Archives and Records Administration. "Dear Mamie," one correspondent wrote to then First Lady Mamie Eisenhower . "Will you please, please be so sweet and kind as to ask Ike [President Dwight D. Eisenhower ] to please bring Elvis Presley back to us from the Army? We need him in our entertainment world to make us all laugh." A 1959 Army memo set out the Presley problem: "When Private First Class Presley was first inducted, there was considerable adverse public reaction . . . alleging that he would receive preferential treatment in the Army. This impression has been largely replaced by a public impression of a good soldier serving his military obligation . . . Many teenagers who look up to and emulate Private First Class Presley will . . . follow his example in the performance of their military service".
On Monday, December 21, 1970, he paid a visit to President Richard Nixon at the White House in Washington, D.C. The meeting was initiated by Presley, who wrote Nixon a six-page letter requesting a visit with the President and suggesting that he be made a "Federal Agent-at-Large" in the Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.
More people watched Elvis: Aloha from Hawaii (1973) (live via satellite TV broadcast)--the first of its kind--than watched astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin as they landed and then walked on the moon on July 20, 1969. Interestingly, the US audience didn't view this concert event live. It was seen by much of the world on January 14, 1973. The US audience had to wait almost three months, as it was telecast for the first time in the US on April 14, 1973. Several songs recorded by Elvis in a studio while he was in Hawaii were added. The concert was preceded, on NBC, by an Ann-Margret special.
He only performed two concerts outside of the United States of America. Both of them were in Canada. Therefore, all of his concerts were in North America.
Recorded 33 takes of "Hound Dog".
His favorite sports were racquetball and football.
He temporarily passed out from exhaustion, after recording "If I Can Dream".
After production of his 1968 NBC television special he told producer Steve Binder he would never make another movie or song he didn't believe in.
Once sent $1,000,000 to Buford Pusser , the crimefighting Tennessee sheriff who was the subject of the 1973 film Walking Tall (1973).
Once gave a robe to Muhammad Ali . On the back of the robe was stitched "The Peoples Champion", which was Presley's nickname for Ali.
His favorite actors were Marlon Brando and James Dean . In a 1956 interview he said that he considered Dean an acting genius.
His two favorite books were "The Holy Bible" and "The Impersonal Life".
His favorite class in high school was wood shop.
His mansion, Graceland, is the second most-visited place in United States of America. The first is the White House.
Elia Kazan had expressed interest several times in casting Elvis in his films, Elvis' manager Tom Parker refused to allow it.
Last film he saw in a theater was The Spy Who Loved Me (1977).
He tried to get a print of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) to show his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley , his last full day of life, on Monday, August 15th, 1977.
He is referenced in the work of other music artists. He is mentioned in the songs "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain , "Without Me" by Eminem (as well as spoofed in the music video) and "Three Minute Boy" by Marillion .
He was on the school boxing team while attending Humes High School in Memphis, TN.
Loved football and often had three TVs set up at Graceland to watch all of the games in progress at the same time.
He used to play touch football at Whitehaven High School during the '60s and early '70s with kids around the neighborhood.
Helped to support an All-Negro Day at the Memphis Zoo in 1956.
In 1975 he purchased a poor black East Memphis woman an electric wheelchair and picked her up and personally sat her in it. The woman's teenage daughter told Elvis she liked his car. He gave it to her and even gave her boyfriend a job.
He was a fervent admirer of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and had hoped to meet him in 1966, but the meeting never occurred. Many observers believed that was because his manager, Tom Parker , didn't want to alienate Elvis' fans in the South, many of whom saw King as an "outside agitator" because of his civil-rights work among Southern blacks.
Was a huge fan of the television shows The Jeffersons (1975), Good Times (1974), Happy Days (1974) and Flip (1970).
Once an opera singer attended one of his 1950s concerts and met him backstage. The singer told Elvis that he sang like a hillbilly and needed singing lessons. Elvis replied, "Thanks for the advice, but how many of the thousands of people out there tonight came to hear you sing?".
One set of genealogical research states that his surname was Anglicized from the German "Pressler" during the Civil War, and that his ancestor was Johann Valentin Pressler, who emigrated to North America in 1710. Pressler first settled in New York but later moved to the South. Jaime Pressly is also descended from him. Elvis also had English, Scottish, distant French, Dutch, Danish and--possible but unverified--Native American ancestry (through his descent from Morning White Dove, who was Elvis' great-great-great-grandmother twice over).
Shown on a 5.50 kr postage stamp issued by Sweden in 2004.
He was the #1 touring act in America for 1977; the year he died. This, despite the fact that he was well below par and only toured until July, is quite an achievement.
Held the world indoor attendance record for a concert. At the Pontiac Silverdome in Detroit on December 31, 1975, 62,500 fans attended. The show also set a record for the biggest box-office take for a single show: $850,000.
Held a single day's attendance record for his March 1974 shows at the Houston Astrodome--89,000 fans for two shows.
According to a show on the A&E Biography channel, he once attended a concert for singer Connie Francis and had to leave for emotional reasons once he heard her sing the old Italian song "Mama", as his mother, Gladys Presley had recently died.
Lived with Linda Thompson for 4-1/2 years, from 1972-6. She was a former "Miss Tennessee," actress and songwriter. Other than Priscilla Presley , Thompson was the most significant romantic relationship Elvis ever had.
When he was an infant a tornado struck his hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi. He and his family survived uninjured, but 233 people in the city were killed and hundreds were injured.
Suffered from chronic insomnia.
His tombstone gives his name as "Elvis Aaron Presley", whereas he was in fact named "Elvis Aron Presley". Although this fueled conspiracy theories that he had faked his death, it is generally believed he changed his middle name so it would be the same as Biblical person, Aaron, (brother of Moses).
Had glaucoma in the 1970s.
At the time of his death in 1977, he was the second best-selling recording artist of all time, second only to longtime successful crooner, Bing Crosby .
He was a born-again Christian who loved to sing gospel music.
None of his 33 films, 31 features and two musical documentaries were ever nominated for an Academy Award. Of his 31 feature films only one, Wild in the Country (1961), lost money.
He had two full face-lifts and rhinoplasty during the mid-1970s. On one of these visits to hospital he was accompanied by Linda Thompson .
He worked with legendary guitar player Hank Garland from 1957-61.
Nephew of Vester Presley .
Most of the films he starred in were not critically acclaimed, although he received good reviews for Flaming Star (1960) and King Creole (1958).
In the month following his final concert, at Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday, June 26, 1977, he was reported to have gained an extra 50 pounds.
Is portrayed by Val Kilmer in True Romance (1993). Like Presley, Kilmer is also said to have possible Cherokee heritage.
Of his many numerous impersonators, his personal favorite was Andy Kaufman .
Prior to being signed by RCA in November 1955, Elvis was known as "The Hillbilly Cat" in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee.
Is portrayed by Michael St. Gerard in Great Balls of Fire! (1989)
His song "Heartbreak Hotel" is based on a note left by a man who committed suicide in a Florida hotel suite. When Elvis first performed the song on Stage Show (1954) in 1956, he sang the words "They're so lonely they pray to die". This was changed in later performances from "pray to die" to "they could die" so as not to offend the religious establishment with a reference for a prayer for death.
Elvis topped the Forbes Magazine list of deceased highest earners for the fourth consecutive year, with earnings of $45 million in 2004.
In 1977 alone his personal physician, Dr. George Nichopoulos (usually referred to as "Dr. Nick"), had prescribed at least 10,000 hits of amphetamines, barbiturates, narcotics, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, laxatives and hormones for Presley. His medical license was later revoked for prescribing such huge amounts of drugs.
Barbra Streisand originally wanted Elvis to play the role of John Norman Howard in A Star Is Born (1976), but the studio couldn't meet Tom Parker 's demands ($1 million plus equal billing with Streisand).
Elvis dreamed of playing Don Vito Corleone in The Godfather (1972), but when he asked to audition for the part he was turned down.
One of his biggest hit songs, "Are You Lonesome Tonight?", was written in 1926 by Lou Handman and Roy Turk and first recorded by Lou's sister Edith Handman with Lou at the piano. Vaughn Deleath and The Colonial Club Orchestra released a version of the song in 1927 that became a hit. 'The Carter Family' recorded a bluegrass version with additional verses in 1936. The first charted version was by Blue Barron in 1950 (#16 US Pop), which introduced the spoken portion, modeled after Jacques' "All The World's A Stage" speech in William Shakespeare 's "As You Like It". Al Jolson recorded that version several weeks later. Additionaly, it was singer Jaye P. Morgan 's 1959 (#65 US Pop) version of the song, as well as Blue Barron's earlier 1950 version, that Elvis heard while in Germany that influenced him to record the song shortly after his discharge from the army. Elvis' 1960 version of "Are You Lonesome Tonight" is closest to the 1950 Blue Barron recording.
He was an avid collector of guns and badges.
In 1981, Kirsty MacColl had a number 14 single in the UK with the song "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis". He also inspired the song "Elvis Ate America" on the album "Original Soundtracks 1" by Passengers , which was a U2 and Brian Eno side project in 1995.
Once claimed Robert Mitchum was the inspiration for his famous hairstyle. Presley met Mitchum to discuss the possibility of starring together in Thunder Road (1958), but unfortunately Tom Parker 's demands for Presley's salary could not be met.
He was portrayed by Peter Dobson in Forrest Gump (1994).
Along with Jerry Lee Lewis , Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins , Elvis was a member of the celebrated "Million Dollar Quartet", so named because they were money-makers for Sam Phillips ' Sun Records label.
Newspaper reports indicated that Sammy Davis Jr. , Farrah Fawcett , Burt Reynolds and John Wayne were supposed to attend Presley's funeral, but they did not turn up. Ann-Margret , James Brown and George Hamilton were the only celebrities in attendance.
He was seriously considered for the role of the Texas Ranger in True Grit (1969) starring John Wayne . Unfortunately, Tom Parker 's demand that Presley receive top billing could not be met, so the part went to Glen Campbell instead.
He was offered a role in the animation film, Gay Purr-ee (1962), but disliked the roles of off-screen voice acting.
His autopsy detected 14 different drugs in his bloodstream, ten in significant quantity.
His home Graceland in Memphis is the second most popular private tourist attraction in the United States after the White House, and is estimated to bring in $150 million to the city itself each year.
Named the highest earning deceased celebrity for the sixth consecutive year in 2006 by Forbes.com.
He was considered for Ricky Nelson 's role in Rio Bravo (1959) starring John Wayne and Dean Martin . However, by the time filming began in May 1958 Presley was stationed with the US army in Germany.
He is credited as a co-writer of "(I'll) You'll Be Gone" (1965). This was the B side of the hit from his film Girl Happy (1965), "Do The Clam". It is found in his five-CD box set of '60s recordings. Elvis composed the lyrics and brought the song to a recording session.
In 1973 he was the biggest taxpayer in the US.
It was estimated that he earned earned $4.5 billion in his lifetime.
With a lot of entertainers making a living mimicking Elvis, Jimmy Buffett wrote a song called "Elvis Imitators" making mention of a few of Elvis' films, song titles, and mannerisms.
Has sold 1.8 billion records worldwide, more than any other artist or music group.
He was discovered by Sun Records owner Sam Phillips .
On Thursday, November 11th, 2004, he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame for his outstanding contribution to British music and integral part of British music culture.
His parents Vernon Presley and Gladys Presley were unemployed during the Great Depression of the 1930s and lived on welfare and then on Social Security after it was created during the administration of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt .
In 1970 he wrote to J. Edgar Hoover requesting to join the FBI at the height of its campaign against political protests in the United States.
Met President Lyndon Johnson at the White House in 1965.
Has been portrayed by Val Kilmer , Harvey Keitel , Jonathan Rhys Meyers , Kurt Russell , Don Johnson , Bruce Campbell , David Keith , Rob Youngblood , Peter Dobson and Scott Bakula .
The very last song he sang in public was "Can't Help Falling In Love", at The Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Sunday, June 26, 1977.
He did an early '60s concert in Hawaii, and donated the proceeds to help build the USS Arizona memorial.
Turned down the leading role in The Fastest Guitar Alive (1967), which went to his friend Roy Orbison .
In 2007 the National Rifle Association (NRA) released an Elvis Presley Tribute Revolver, officially authorized by his estate.
After his concert in Hawaii in 1961, Presley concentrated on making movies and did not perform before a live audience again for seven years until his 1968 TV special and subsequent return to Las Vegas in 1969.
He was ranked #2 on VH1's 100 Sexiest Artists and #8 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Rock & Roll. He was voted best singer of all time by Q Magazine. He was voted the 3rd Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
As a young man, Elvis idolized a gospel group called The Statesmen. According to Elvis' backup singer and lifelong friend Joe Moscheo , Elvis' leg-twitching dance moves were inspired by The Statesmen's bass singer, "Big Chief" Wetherington, who was famous for his leg twitching.
Between 1957-69 he performed only two concerts and made just two television appearances.
In 1962 he ceased almost completely to record non-soundtrack songs until his 1969 album "From Elvis in Memphis".
In July of 2005, Presley was named one of the top 100 "Greatest Americans," following a vote organized by Discovery Channel. In the vote, Presley ranked ahead of all entertainers and in 8th place behind Presidents Ronald Reagan , Abraham Lincoln , George Washington , Bill Clinton , and George W. Bush , plus Martin Luther King and Benjamin Franklin .
His records have spent a total of 79 weeks at the #1 position on the US charts.
His records have spent 2,574 weeks in both the UK singles and album charts, were and still are way ahead of his closest competitors Cliff Richard (1,982), Queen (1,755), The Beatles (1,749) and Madonna (1,660).
He was planning his first ever European tour in 1978.
In Alexandria, Louisiana, early in 1977 a local journalist complained that the singer was on stage for less than an hour and "was impossible to understand." In Baton Rouge, Presley didn't go on stage at all. He was unable to get out of his hotel bed and the rest of the tour was canceled.
Investor CKX paid $100 million for an 85% interest in Presley's income in February 2005.
Robbie Williams dedicated his song "Advertising Space" to him.
He is credited as a co-writer of "(I'll) You'll Be Gone" (1965). This was the B side of the hit from his film Girl Happy (1965), "Do The Clam". It is found in his five-CD box set of '60s recordings. Elvis composed the lyrics and brought the song to a recording session. He is also listed in the writer's credits to "Heartbreak Hotel".
His favorite actors were James Dean , John Wayne , Clint Eastwood , Steve McQueen and Marlon Brando . Brando personally strongly disliked Presley.
He was mentioned in Walter Kirn 's novel, "Thumbsucker".
Was a fan of actors Peter Sellers and Tony Curtis .
On seeing Elvis in rehearsal for Stage Show (1954) Jackie Gleason --the show's producer--described Elvis as " Marlon Brando with a guitar".
Was the first entertainer to introduce karate in an American motion picture ( Flaming Star (1960)).
While he never joined any political party, his political views were somewhat mixed. During the early 1960s he was an outspoken admirer of liberal President John F. Kennedy . He later confessed to "weeping openly" at the news of Kennedy's death. Later in life, however, he made a more conservative move on the political spectrum. He began singing the praises of President Richard Nixon , and his right-wing streak culminated in a visit to the White House in December 1970. During the visit, Presley was photographed giving the President a handgun, which was (for security reasons) presented but not given. Presley spoke of his admiration for Nixon, revealed his disgust at the hippie counterculture, spoke disparagingly of The Beatles (he said that having earned their money in America, they had then left for England to promote "anti-American" feelings), fervently expressed his patriotism, offered to infiltrate and go undercover in left-wing hippie groups, asked to be appointed a federal narcotics agent, and even hugged the president twice. Nixon, for his part, was not sure if Presley was serious or not, but granted his request and made him an honorary federal agent. Nixon said he was equally parts bewildered and amused by the encounter, thanked Presley for his support, and the picture of the duo has become one of the most famous photos taken in the White House. On Presley's death in 1977, the former president asked Americans to lower their flags all over the country as a mark of respect.
Elvis was a good friend of Johnny Cash , going back to their Sun Records' days recordings, after being discovered by Sam Phillips .
Voted the third greatest singer of the rock era in a Rolling Stone magazine poll in 2008.
Elvis' original combo (Elvis, Scotty Moore and Bill Black ) were nicknamed and known as "The Blue Moon Boys featuring that Hillbilly Cat" after their popular rendition of Bill Monroe 's "Blue Moon Of Kentucky". Moore acted as Elvis' first manager. Black in the late '40s was a member of Gene Krupa 's band and later had a successful recording career with Bill Black's Combo .
The last song he sang was "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain", at home, and playing the piano, to family and friends, Monday evening, August 15th, 1977.
According to Elvis and his manager Tom Parker , Elvis' return to TV in 1968 was in part due to NBC (Universal Pictures) agreeing to finance the remaining movies he was scheduled to make.
In 1953 while working as an usher in a local Memphis movie theater he sang, by request, "That's Amore" on stage.
He unsuccessfully auditioned for CBS' Talent Scouts (1948) nine months before his successful debut on Stage Show (1954). The trip to New York City for the audition was not a complete loss for Elvis. That same day he went uptown to see Bo Diddley , who was appearing at The Apollo.
In 1955 he appeared in a rock documentary, The Pied Piper of Cleveland: A Day in the Life of a Famous Disc Jockey (1955), about Cleveland DJ Bill Randle , filmed in various locations in the Cleveland, Ohio, area (mainly Brooklyn High School). The film headlined many top acts of the day including Bill Haley and the Comets , Pat Boone , The Four Lads and others. This film has yet to be released. It is still reportedly the property of Polygram International and in the Universal vault.
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6777 Hollywood Boulevard for Recording in Hollywood, California.
His funeral procession on August 18, 1977, consisted of 49 cars led by 11 white Cadillacs--Cadillac was his favorite car.
His live performance of "My Way" done early in his 1977 tour and featured on his October 1977 TV special was a million-selling single following his death.
Many Elvis fans and historians agree that his 1969 recording sessions at American International Studios in Memphis were among his greatest work--it contained songs in a variety of musical genres, from pop to country/western to R&B to standards, in addition to new material.
Four grandchildren: Riley Keough (b. May 29, 1989), Benjamin Keough (b. October 21, 1992) and twin girls Harper Vivienne Ann & Finley Aaron Love Lockwood (b. October 7, 2008).
During his 21-year association with RCA Records (1956-77), the only year he failed to have a single in the Billboard Top Pop 20 was 1967.
He is not related to Reg Presley (b: Reginald Maurice Ball), the lead singer of the popular British rock band The Troggs , which had 2 million sellers of their own, "Wild Thing" (1966) and "Love Is All Around" (1968).
Owned a collection of Andy Kaufman tapes.
During the 1970s he had 28 singles reach the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Posthumously, he had a #1 single on the Hot 100 in 2002 with the remix of "A Little Less Conversation".
Both his father Vernon Presley and grandmother Minnie Mae outlived him. Vernon died in 1979 at age 63 and Minnie Mae died in 1980 at age 90.
Former wife Priscilla Presley opened up their home Graceland to the public on June 7, 1982. Elvis' Aunt Delta remained living on the estate until her death in 1993.
Bought former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's yacht "Potomac" for $55,000 in January 1964.
According to Tommy Steele , Presley did visit London once in 1958. However, this has not been substantiated.
He asked his father Vernon Presley to pick TV evangelist Rex Humbard to officiate at his funeral.
His death on August 16, 1977, was 29 years after baseball athlete and first home-run king, Babe Ruth 's death, August 16, 1948 and 21 years after actor, Bela Lugosi , August 16, 1956.
Reports of the last words spoken by Elvis vary. He ended his last press conference with the words: "I hope I haven't bored you." Other reports say his last words were: "Okay, I won't" (The last words spoken to Ginger Alden , his girlfriend at the time of his death, who told him on the way to the bathroom not to "fall asleep in there.").
Elvis owned one of the world's first mobile phones. He had to have one after seeing Sean Connery use a car phone in the James Bond movie From Russia with Love (1963). Elvis's phone was contained in a suitcase-size carrying case with his name in black letters on a gold label on the front. He would use it to talk from his limousine.
Was a huge fan of professional wrestling.
His last film, Change of Habit (1969), had him as a doctor in an urban clinic, reflecting his attempt to be "relevant" to the social activism of the youth of the '60s. Additionally, this film dealt with what was then considered to be medical treatment of an "autistic" child, a topic almost unheard of in 1969.
After not having a Top 20 hit single since 1966, Elvis' Nov. 68 "comeback" TV Special spawned the now standard "If I Can Dream", (#13 US Pop). This was followed in 1969 by "Memories" (#35 US Pop), which was also performed on the Special, "In The Ghetto" (#3 US Pop), "Suspicious Minds" (#1 US Pop), and "Don't Cry Daddy" (#6 US Pop).
On his first appearance on Stage Show (1954) on Jan. 28, 1956, he sang a medley of "Shake Rattle and Roll" / "Flip Flop and Fly" and later performed "I Got A Woman". That breakthrough performance of "I Got A Woman", to a startled 1956 audience, had not been seen for years, but as of 2010 it is available on YouTube.
He and Andy Griffith debuted together, but at different times, on Steve Allen 's weekly program The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956), on July 1, 1956. It was Steve Allen 's second show and Elvis' appearance skyrocketed it in popularity.
While Elvis appeared on NBC's The Steve Allen Plymouth Show (1956), on Sunday, July 1, 1956. his manager Colonel Tom Parker was contacted by Ed Sullivan about Elvis appearing on Sullivan's weekly CBS variety show, The Ed Sullivan Show (1948), on CBS. Elvis was signed for a then staggering $50,000 for three appearances. This was quite an accomplishment--or lack of foresight--as Sullivan and Allen were broadcast in the same Sunday-evening time slot and had an ongoing "ratings war" against each other. Even more amazing was that Elvis' prestigious record label, RCA Victor, was a subsidiary of the corporation that owned NBC. The NBC logo at that time was the famous RCA Color (TV) Peacock. Elvis already had sold at least five million records for RCA. Allen would later state that his reason for "giving away" Elvis was that he ran strictly a comedy show. Ironically. the following summer Allen hosted Jerry Lee Lewis twice. After this, Sullivan was not as interested in biding for Lewis as he was for Elvis. Lewis did not appear on Sullivan's show until 1969.
An earlier take of Elvis' 1956 hit "I Want You, I Need You,I Love You" is titled "I Need You, I Want You, I Love You". This earlier version of the song appeared on some copies of his debut album titled "Elvis" and was later issued in a 1977 compilation package..
The media coverage of his death overshadowed that of the 86-year-old comedian and film star Groucho Marx , which occurred three days later.
In the mid-'70s he was approached to help finance a karate movie called "New Gladiators" in which he would narrate and make a cameo appearance at the climax. The film was never completed in his lifetime.
Stage: "All Shook Up", a show based on his work, debuted on Broadway in 2004.
During the days following Elvis' death, Philadelphia Phillies' pitcher Tug McGraw (father of Tim McGraw ), with guitar in hand, played a medley of Elvis' songs on the team bus.
In the 1981 documentary This Is Elvis (1981), in previously unseen footage, Elvis sang "Always On My Mind", a #16 hit from 1972 written for him by Mark James. Just months later, in 1981, Willie Nelson covered the song and it became a Grammy winner and one of Nelson's all-time signature hits. As the song was not written specifically for the film, it could not qualify for an Academy Award nomination. The Academy Award-winning song for 1981 was "The Theme from "Arthur".
Reportedly, in 1969 he received a death threat, just prior to his opening in Las Vegas. Though he had FBI agents providing security for him, for added protection he carried a Derringer pistol on stage, in his shoe.
During rehearsal for his June 5, 1956, appearance on Texaco Star Theatre (1948), Berle reportedly said to Elvis. "Let's see what you can do without the guitar". What resulted was a captivating extended televised performance by Elvis of the not yet recorded "Hound Dog"; enjoyable to his fans, though shocking to others including the news media, it was a song that he had been performing, up to that point, with guitar in hand. By the time of his second appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948), later in 1956, Elvis sang without his guitar, with The Jordanaires as his back-up vocal group and his back-up combo. For the most part this format would be followed for all of Elvis' stage performances for the remainder of his career. In 1969, when he returned to Las Vegas, a full orchestra was added.
It was after his appearance on Texaco Star Theatre: Episode #8.13 (1956) that Presley inadvertently earned the nickname "Elvis the Pelvis". While performing his classic "Hound Dog", Presley switched tempo in the middle of the song and began gyrating his hips suggestively. The performance caused such a furor that Berle received a reported 30,000 letters decrying his decision to allow such "lewd behavior" on national television. During the show Presley was backed by Scotty Moore (guitar), Bill Black (bass) and D.J. Fontana (drums).
Prior to marrying Priscilla Presley , Elvis proposed marriage to legendary cult actress Tura Satana , who turned him down. It is believed that Priscilla copied her hairstyle after that.
One set of genealogical research states that Elvis' surname leads back to Irish ancestors, who hailed from the village of Hacketstown in County Carlow. William Presley was forced to leave Ireland for America after a local dispute over land. He later moved to Carolina, where he had a son called Dunnan, and then moved on to Tennessee. Dunnan's granddaughter Rosella was born in 1863 and, though she never married, she had several children including one called Jessie. He named his son Vernon Elvis, and Vernon Presley later named his son Elvis Aaron Presley, the man who went on to become The King.
Curiously, cut from the 2009 issue of his critically acclaimed film King Creole (1958) was his performance of "Hard Headed Woman" a #1 hit for Elvis at the time of the film's release. A rare occurrence, possibly, the only time in film history that an essential musical number has been cut from a film, over a half-century after the film's release. Added in its place in 2009 is the then previously unseen stripper's sequence with the song "Banana". In 1958 the "Banana" scene, complete with female stripper, with its obvious phallic reference, would have been "too much" for the censors and mainstream America.
Of Terry Stafford 's 1964 cover of Elvis' recording of "Suspicion", a back-up group was added to sing the word "suspicion". This addition proved successful for Stafford, though many listeners still think they are listening to Elvis. Stafford's version of the song received considerable airplay and rose to #3 on the US pop charts.
Many rock singers mimicked Elvis' singing style, early in their careers, before adopting their own style for which they are most remembered. The most successful, in that area, was Conway Twitty with his (1958-61) hit recordings of "It's Only Make Believe", "The Story Of My Love" and "Lonely Blue Boy", originally recorded by Elvis as "Danny" for King Creole (1958) but later cut from the film. Twitty later crossed over to the country field. Charlie Rich 's initial hit, "Lonely Weekend" (1960), followed the same pattern, long before he was known as country music's "Silver Fox". One of Johnny Rivers ' first recordings, "You're The One" (1958), and a 1956 recording of "That'll Be The Day" by Buddy Holly --not the 1957 million selling version that is most played--sounded like Elvis behind the mike. There were also "one-hit wonders" like Ral Donner , the narrative voice of Elvis in This Is Elvis (1981), who had a million seller with "You Don't Know What You Got Until You Lose It" (1961). Of course, there's Terry Stafford 's successful 1964 cover of Elvis' recording of "Suspicion".
During the rehearsal for his 1968 TV Special Elvis (1968), he reportedly gave an impromptu performance of "MacArthur Park,, a big hit of the day for Richard Harris . Unfortunately, that performance was not recorded.
"I'll Be Home For Christmas", was the original closing number for Elvis' special, Elvis (1968). On previous occasions he headlined Christmas specials that were aired on radio stations throughout the Southern US. Producer Steve Binder and Elvis decided that a song that reflected the turbulence of the 1960s, and at the same time gave a plea for hope and understanding, would be more appropriate than a Christmas ballad to end the show. Earl Brown , the show's Musical Director, was asked by Binder to go home and write such a song. He did just that and composed, on short notice, "If I Can Dream", with its reference to Martin Luther King 's 1963 "I Have A Dream" speech, given in Washington, DC. Brown's newly composed song contained the lyrics, "If I can dream of a better land, where all my brothers walk hand in hand". With minimal rehearsing and no demo to work with, Elvis' spontaneous live performance of the new closing song was released as his next million-selling single, peaking at #13 on the US pop charts. The success of "If I Can Dream" led the way for Elvis to record other songs with social issues, such as "In the Ghetto", "Clean Up Your Own Backyard" and "Don't Cry Daddy".
His 1st big performance was at the Oventon Park Shell in Memphis in 1954.
He was discharged from the army on March 24, 1960. Eight days later, on April 1, he began filming G.I. Blues (1960).
His 1972 live album recorded at Madison Square Garden featured many celebrities in the audience, including George Harrison , Art Garfunkel , David Bowie , all the members of Ten Years After and Led Zeppelin , Paul Simon and Bob Dylan . It was reported that John Lennon was secretly in the audience, but Lennon insisted in a 1975 interview that he had never seen Elvis live. Bruce Springsteen was in the audience, having signed with Columbia Records about a month prior. The album was also the inspiration for a young Eddie Murphy , who would play it loud and lip-sync to it in front of the mirror. Murphy has gone on to say that it was Elvis who inspired him to become an entertainer.
Although Bob Dylan enormously admired him, Elvis was disparaging of Dylan, especially in terms of his singing voice. Once he was said to privately quip, "My mouth's so dry, feels like Bob Dylan slept in it". Later, however, he recorded a cover of Dylan's song, "Tomorrow is a Long Time". Elvis reportedly disliked much of the 1960s popular music, including The Beatles , because he associated it with the "drug culture", although he did freely cover songs by many such bands.
In early March of 1960, Elvis was on his way back to America from military duty in Germany. The plane Elvis was boarding on made a brief stop in the town of Prestwick, Scotland, where he was greeted and embraced by hundreds of British fans. This would be his first and only visit in the United Kingdom.
Was one of the many dozen of celebrities like John Agar , John Russell and Sabu who visited renowned animal trainer and Hollywood animal behaviorist Ralph Helfer 's Africa U.S.A. Exotic Animal Ranch in Soledad Canyon, California on weekends to play with the animals and pitch in with the chores. Elvis' favorite animal was a chimp named Coffee, who once belonged to Mae West .
Pictured on a USA 'forever' commemorative postage stamp in the Music Icons series, issued 12 August 2015. Price on day of issue was 49¢.
Childhood friend of Wink Martindale .
Had a twin brother, Jesse Caron, who died in infancy.
His all-time favorite horror movie was Black Christmas (1974). He made it a tradition to watch the film every Christmas and to this day his family honors his memory by watching the film every Christmas.
Received his first ever screen kiss from co-star Jana Lund in Loving You (1957).
Former brother-in-law of Michelle Beaulieu Hovey .
He was widely known to be a very private man.
"The All American Boy" is a 1958 'talking blues' song written by Bobby Bare, but credited by Fraternity Records to Bill Parsons, with songwriting credit to Bill Parsons and Orville Lunsford. The song reached #2 on the Billboard charts and was inspired by the success and then conscription of Elvis Presley.
Double first cousin of Patsy Presley Geranen .
Though Elvis is famed for the "I don't sound like nobody". He did have idols, and one of these, was dubbed 'the greatest entertainer of them all' it seems a fitting tribute to think that the King was in awe of Al Jolson.
Former father-in-law of Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage .
Personal Quotes (36)
[asked who he sounded like] I don't sound like nobody.
[asked what kind of music he sings] I sing all kinds.
I don't like being called Elvis The Pelvis. That's gotta be one of the most childish expressions I've ever heard coming from an adult.
Some people tap their feet, some people snap their fingers, and some people sway back and forth. I just sorta do 'em all together, I guess.
[his acceptance speech from the 1970 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Awards] When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies, and I was the hero in the movie. So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times . . . I learned very early in life that "Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain't got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend - without a song". So I keep singing a song. Goodnight. Thank you.
There's been a big change in the music field in the last 10 or 12 years. I think everything has improved--the sounds have improved, the musicians have improved, the engineers have definitely improved. I like a lot of the new groups, y'know, The Beatles and The Byrds and the . . . whoever, but I really like a lot of the new music, but a lot of it is basically, our music is basically, rock 'n roll music is basically gospel or rhythm and blues. People have been adding to it, adding instruments to it, experimenting with it.
I just fell into it, really. My daddy and I were laughing about it the other day. He looked at me and said, "What happened, El? The last thing I remember is I was working in a can factory and you were driving a truck". We all feel the same way about it. Still, it just caught us up.
[on performing] It's like a surge of electricity going through you. It's almost like making love, but it's even stronger than that . . . sometimes I think my heart is going to explode.
My daddy had seen a lot of people who played guitars and stuff and didn't work, so he said, "You should make up your mind either about being an electrician or playing a guitar, and I never saw a guitar player that was worth a damn".
The image is one thing and the human being is another, it's very hard to live up to an image.
A live concert to me is exciting because of all the electricity that is generated in the crowd and on stage. It's my favorite part of the business - live concerts.
I've never gotten over what they call stage fright. I go through it every show. I'm pretty concerned, I'm pretty much thinking about the show. I never get completely comfortable with it, and I don't let the people around me get comfortable with it, in that I remind them that it's a new crowd out there, it's a new audience, and they haven't seen us before. So it's got to be like the first time we go on.
[at a 1972 press conference in Madison Square Garden] Man, I was tame compared to what they do now, are you kidding? All that I ever did was just jiggle.
I want to entertain people. That's my whole life. To my last breath.
The police filmed a show one time in Florida because of the PGA, YMCA, or somebody. They thought that I was . . . something. They said, "Man, he's got to be crazy". So they, the police, came out and filmed the show. I couldn't move. I had to stand still. The only thing I could move was my little finger like that. "You ain't nothing but a hound dog crying all the time", y'know, for the whole show.
Take care of the fans and they will sure as hell take care of you.
I don't know anything about music. In my line you don't have to.
I wiggle my shoulders, I shake my legs, I walk up and down the stage, I hop around on one foot. But I never bump and grind. Why, that's vulgar. I'd never do anything vulgar before an audience. My mother would never allow it.
Roy Orbison is the greatest singer in the world.
[in 1956] The colored folks been singing it and playing it just like I'm doin' now, man, for more years than I know. They played it like that in their shanties and in their juke joints and nobody paid it no mind 'til I goosed it up. I got it from them. Down in Tupelo, Mississippi, I used to hear old Arthur Crudup bang his box the way I do now and I said if I ever got to a place I could feel all old Arthur felt, I'd be a music man like nobody ever saw.
I get tired of playing a guy who gets into a fight, then starts singing to the guy he's just beat up.
I am not the King. Jesus Christ is the King. I'm just an entertainer.
Since I was two years old, all I knew was gospel music. That music became such a part of my life it was as natural as dancing. A way to escape from my problems, an my way of release.
[on Blue Hawaii (1961)] In the movie we did a song called the "Hawaiian Wedding Song". And it was so real that it took me ten years before I realized I wasn't married to the chick.
Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain't goin' away.
I sure lost my musical direction in Hollywood. My songs were the same conveyor belt mass production, just like most of my movies were.
Just because you look good, don't mean you feel good.
I knew by heart all the dialogue of James Dean 's films; I could watch Rebel Without a Cause (1955) a hundred times over.
Only thing worse than watching a bad movie is being in one.
Rhythm is something you either have or don't have, but when you have it, you have it all over.
Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine.
I can never forget the longing to be someone. I guess if you are poor you always think bigger and want more than those who have everything.
[asked by a reporter in 1972 about his opinion of war protesters] Honey, I'd just as soon keep my own personal views about that to myself. I'm just an entertainer, and I'd rather not say.
The image is one thing and the human being is another. I try very hard to live up to an image, I'll put it that way.
It's your baby, you rock it.
[from a letter delivered to President Nixon's office on December 21, 1970] Sir, I can and will be of any I service that I can to help the country out. I have no concern or motive other than helping the country out, so I wish not to be given a title or an appointed position. I can and will do more good if I were made a Federal Agent at Large, and I will help best by doing it my way through my communications with people of all ages. First and foremost I am an entertainer, but all I need is the Federal Credentials..I have done an in depth study of Drug Abuse and Brainwashing Techniques and I am right in the middle of the whole thing..
Salary (24)
| AARON |
To which family of birds does the Siskin belong? | Elvis - Hit songs and info| FiftiesWeb
Elvis
HAPPY 81st BIRTHDAY ELVIS!
January 8, 2016 would have been Elvis Presley’s 81st birthday.
Yet to fans,Elvis will always be the sleek fellow with the wild hips and the mellow singing voice. Fifties Web pays tribute to Elvis Presley, the true King of Rock and Roll .
While this site includes his whole life, there is special emphasis on his early years, when he began his career in music. When the world fell in love with the handsome guy from Tupelo Mississippi.
Elvis Aaron Presley
January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977
Elvis Presley is the best selling solo artist In U.S. History
Charted more songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 than any other artist. (149)
Spent more weeks at the top of the charts than any other artist. (80)
Had the greatest number of consecutive #1 hits. (10)
Is second only to the Beatles in total of #1 hits. (18)
According to the RIAA:
Elvis is #2 for overall album sales (117.5 million)
(The Beatles sold 166.5 million; Led Zeppelin, 106 million)
Has the most Multi-Plaintum albums (25)
(The Beatles have 24; Led Zeppelin and Barbra Streisand have 13)
Has more Platinum albums than any other artist (55)
(The Beatles have 37; Barbra Streisand has 30)
Has the most Plaintum singles (27)
Has more Gold albums than any other artist (97)
(Barbra Streisand has 51; The Beatles have 42)
Has the most Gold singles (24)
No wonder they call him The King.
You would never have guessed any of this back in 1953 when a young worker from the Parker Machinists Shop wandered into the Memphis Recording Service on his lunch hour to record two songs as a belated birthday present for his mother. Okay, maybe that’s just folklore as this was summer and Gladys’ birthday was in April. Maybe he just wanted to record. That’s okay. Whatever the motivation, it was worth the $3.98 shot. Presley choose to record two Ink Spots tunes, “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin.” What’s interesting about the choices is that Sam Phillips, the owner, also owned Sun Records, an independent record label, and was known to be looking for a white man who could sing in a black R&B style.However, Sam Phillips wasn’t impressed then or when the young Presley tried again in January of 1954, when he recorded, “Careless Love” and “I’ll Never Stand In Your Way.” (Some say the song was “Casual Love Affair, but the Sun site says “Careless Love” and that’s good enough for me.)
Bill Black, Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore When they first hit the Southern circuit, they were billed as the Hillbilly Cat and the Blue Moon Boys.
In July of 1954 Elvis was back in the studio singing “That’s Alright Mama” only now at Phillips suggestion, he has Scotty Moore playing guitar and Bill Black on bass. Phillips, finally recognizing the potential, knew he had the breakthrough star he had been looking for. Specifically, Phillips had found a white guy who had the sound and feel of the black R&B artists he had been recording.
Elvis joined Sun Records and what would come to be called Sun’s “Million Dollar Quartet” – the foursome of Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Presley.
By 1955 Elvis had recorded 5 songs for Sun Records and gained some popularity in the South. What he also acquired was a new manager, Col. Tom Parker. Giving Parker his due – the man knew how to market. Parker launched a campaign aimed at garnishing national exposure for him.
Elvis Presley’s Five Sun Singles
That’s All Right/Blue Moon of Kentucky
Baby Let’s Play House/I’m Left, Your Right, She’s Gone
Good Rockin’ Tonight/I Don’t care If The Sun Don’t Shine
Milkcow Blues Boogie / You’re A Heartbreaker
Mystery Train/ I Forgot To Remember To Forget
Col. Tom Parker, Elvis Presley, Ed Sullivan
Elvis first appeared on CBS’ Dorsey Brothers Stage Show. On The Steve Allen Show, he sang “Hound Dog” to a real dog. From his performance on Milton Berle’s Texaco Star Theatre he got the nickname Elvis the Pelvis – which worried the family minded Ed Sullivan. By the third performance, Sullivan decided to “crop” Elvis. Thus, the now famous “from the waist up only” appearance on the Sullivan show. It is estimated that one of these Sullivan performances was viewed by 52 million people – one out of every three Americans.
From the Ed Sullivan Show
Did you know…Ed Sullivan had a nasty auto accident which caused him to miss five shows, including the one on September 9, 1956. Actor Charles Laughton filled in as guest host, and it was he who first introduced Elvis on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Elvis Presley’s TV Guest Appearances
Elvis Presley was paid $50,000, a huge amount for the time9/9/1956
“Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” “Reddy Teddy” and “Love Me Tender.”10/28/1956
“Don’t Be Cruel,” “Love Me Tender” and “Hound Dog.”1/6/1957
This is the only “above the waist” performance
“Hound Dog,” “Love Me Tender,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Peace in the Valley” “Too Much” and “When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again.”
Parker wanted to move Elvis away from Sun so he began some fancy negotiations. According to the legend, Parker hawked the contract to Decca, Mercury, Columbia and Atlantic – pitting them against one another to get progressively higher bids. Ultimately, RCA bought Elvis’ Sun contract for $40,000, a huge sum for that time. Because he was under 21 and therefore, still a minor, Elvis’ father, Vernon had to sign the contract.
In February of 1956 Elvis recorded his first five songs for RCA. Among these was Heartbreak Hotel, which quickly rose to the top of the charts to become Elvis’ first Number 1 hit.
The second half of the decade was good to Elvis. Amazingly, eight of his lifetime Top Ten songs are from the Fifties. This in spite of the fact that from 1958 through 1959, Elvis was in the U.S. Army. Elvis Presley: The Missing Years [DVD] (Rare Army footage) – DVD With the advantage of hindsight, we all know what the future would hold for Elvis Presley. Circumstances would catapult Elvis into a stardom unknown before or since by any single artist. And, the road would wind into a sad and tragic end. Beyond the Fifties we would never again have the intimate, close feeling that Elvis evoked. It would be the last time that we felt we could touch The King.
Elvis Aaron Presley
Which is correct? Aron or Aaron?
Both and neither!
Elvis’ middle name was to honor his father’s friend, Aaron Kennedy. But the Presleys (Vernon and Gladys) chose the spelling Aron. His stillborn twin brother Jesse was named to honor Vernon’s father, Jessie Presley, but again with a slightly different spelling.
In his later years, Elvis wanted to change the spelling of his middle name to the more biblical Aaron. He was surprised to find that unlike his birth records, the official state records already had it as Aaron.
Knowing Elvis’ preference for Aaron, that is the name his father ordered to be placed on Elvis’ tombstone. And it is the officially recognized spelling by the Presley estate today.
It is unclear why the marker at Graceland for Elvis’ brother is spelled Jessie. The baby was buried in an unmarked grave in Tupelo because the family was poor. Today the Presley estate uses Jessie as the official spelling.
For More Info:
| i don't know |
Which cathedral is the tallest in the UK with a spire height of 123 metres or 404 feet? | 7 Impressive Cathedrals in England - Trainline Blog
7 Impressive Cathedrals in England
England does them rather well. Here are some of the best.
1. Canterbury Cathedral
Geoffrey Chaucer made a rather lengthy trek here in the 1300’s. Thankfully, it’s much faster to reach by trains to Canterbury in the 21st century. Canterbury West is just 56 minutes from London St Pancras.
2. Salisbury Cathedral
A leading example of early English architecture, Salisbury Cathedral has the tallest church spire in the UK, reaching 123 metres (404 feet). Trains to Salisbury run from London Waterloo, Exeter, Cardiff and Bristol.
3. Truro Cathedral
An Anglican Cathedral located in Cornwall, it is one of only 2 in the country that boasts 3 spires. If you’re planning a visit, the Great Western Railway route from London Paddington to Truro offers some of the most stunning views on the British train network.
4. Westminster Cathedral
Westminster Cathedral is none other than the largest Catholic Church in England, and attracts thousands of tourists per year. Jump on a train to London to see it for yourself.
5. Guildford Cathedral
Scenes from the movie ‘The Omen’ were filmed here. If you fancy seeing where Damien was sacrificed on the Altar, this is the one for you. Trains to Guildford run every 15 minutes from London Waterloo.
6. Ely Cathedral
A major tourist destination, Ely Cathedral receives around 250,000 visitors every year. Trains to Ely run from London Kings Cross, Norwich and Birmingham New Street.
| The Salisbury |
Sam Stosur won the American Open Ladies Tennis Championship in 2011. What nationality is she? | Salisbury Cathedral (Pepys' Diary)
Salisbury Cathedral
This text was copied from Wikipedia on 14 January 2017 at 3:24AM.
Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Salisbury
Cathedral of Saint Mary
Salisbury Cathedral from the East
Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Salisbury
Location within Wiltshire
Lydia Brown
Eugenie Turton
Salisbury Cathedral, formally known as the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury , England, and one of the leading examples of Early English architecture . [1] The main body of the cathedral was completed in only 38 years, from 1220 to 1258.
The cathedral has the tallest church spire in the United Kingdom (123m/404 ft). Visitors can take the "Tower Tour" where the interior of the hollow spire, with its ancient wood scaffolding, can be viewed. The cathedral also has the largest cloister and the largest cathedral close in Britain (80 acres (32 ha)). [1] It contains the world's oldest working clock (from AD 1386) and has the best surviving of the four original copies of Magna Carta (all four original copies are in England). [1] In 2008, the cathedral celebrated the 750th anniversary of its consecration. [2]
The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and seat of the Bishop of Salisbury , currently the Right Reverend Nick Holtam .
Contents
11 External links
History
Sculpture on the west front of the cathedral of Bishop Richard Poore who oversaw the early years of its construction, beginning in 1220. He is holding a model of the cathedral
Plan showing the double transepts with aisles and extended east end, but not the cloisters or chapter house
As a response to deteriorating relations between the clergy and the military at Old Sarum Cathedral , the decision was taken to resite the cathedral and the bishopric was moved to Salisbury. [3] The move occurred during the tenure of Bishop Richard Poore , a wealthy man who donated the land on which it was built. The new cathedral was paid for by donations, principally from the canons and vicars of southeast England who were asked to contribute a fixed annual sum until it was completed. [4] A legend tells that the Bishop of Old Sarum shot an arrow in the direction he would build the cathedral but the arrow hit a deer that died in the place where Salisbury Cathedral is now. The cathedral crossing, Old Sarum and Stonehenge are reputed to be aligned on a ley line , though Clive L.N. Ruggles asserts that the site, on marshland, was chosen because a preferred site several miles to the west could not be obtained. [5]
The foundation stone was laid on 28 April 1220. [6] Much of the freestone for the cathedral came from Teffont Evias quarries . [7] As a result of the high water table in the new location, the cathedral was built on only four feet of foundations, and by 1258 the nave , transepts and choir were complete. The only major sections built later were the cloisters in 1240, the chapter house in 1263, tower and spire , which at 404 feet (123 m) dominated the skyline from 1320. Because most of the cathedral was built in only 38 years, it has a single consistent architectural style, Early English Gothic .
Although the spire is the cathedral's most impressive feature, it has proved to be troublesome. Together with the tower, it added 6,397 tons (6,500 tonnes) to the weight of the building. Without the addition of buttresses , bracing arches and anchor irons over the succeeding centuries, it would have suffered the fate of spires on later great ecclesiastical buildings (such as Malmesbury Abbey ) and fallen down; instead, Salisbury remains the tallest church spire in the UK . The large supporting pillars at the corners of the spire are seen to bend inwards under the stress. The addition of reinforcing tie beams above the crossing , designed by Christopher Wren in 1668, arrested further deformation. [8] The beams were hidden by a false ceiling, installed below the lantern stage of the tower.
Significant changes to the cathedral were made by the architect James Wyatt in 1790, including replacement of the original rood screen and demolition of a bell tower which stood about 320 feet (100 m) north west of the main building. Salisbury is one of only three English cathedrals to lack a ring of bells, the others are Norwich Cathedral and Ely Cathedral . However it does strike the time every 15 minutes with bells. In total, 70,000 tons of stone, 3,000 tons of timber and 450 tons of lead were used in the construction of the cathedral. [9]
Building and architecture
West front
The west front is of the screen-type, clearly deriving from that at Wells . It is composed of two stair turrets at each extremity, with two niched buttresses nearer the centre line supporting the large central triple window. The stair turrets are topped with spirelets and the central section is topped by a gable which contains four lancet windows topped by two round quatrefoil windows surmounted by a mandorla containing Christ in Majesty . At ground level there is a principal door flanked by two smaller doors. The whole is highly decorated with quatrefoil motifs, columns, trefoil motifs and bands of diapering . The west front was almost certainly constructed at the same time as the cathedral. [10] This is apparent from the way in which the windows coincide with the interior spaces. The entire façade is about 33 metres high and wide. It has been said that the front was built on a scale smaller than was initially planned. It lacks full-scale towers and/or spires as can be seen, for example at Wells, Lincoln , Lichfield , etc. [11] The facade is disparaged by Alec Clifton-Taylor, [12] who comments that it is the least successful of the English screen-facades and is a travesty of its prototype (Wells). He finds the composition to be unco-ordinated, and the Victorian statuary "poor and insipid".
The front accommodates over 130 shallow niches of varying sizes, 73 of these niches contains a statue. The line of niches extend round the turrets to the north, south and east faces. There are five levels of niches (not including the mandorla) which show, from the top, angels and archangels, Old Testament patriarchs, apostles and evangelists, martyrs, doctors and philosophers and, on the lower level, royalty, priests and worthy people connected with the cathedral. The majority of the statues were placed during the middle of the 19th century, however seven are from the 14th century and several have been installed within the last decade. (see main article)
Nave
The nave
Salisbury Cathedral is unusual for its tall and narrow nave, and has visual accentuation due to the use of light grey Chilmark stone for the walls and dark polished Purbeck marble for the columns. It has three levels: a tall pointed arcade, an open gallery and a small clerestory . [13] Lined up between the pillars are notable tombs such as that of William Longespée , half brother of King John and the illegitimate son of Henry II , who was the first person to be buried in the cathedral. [14]
Chapter house and Magna Carta
The chapter house is notable for its octagonal shape, slender central pillar and decorative medieval frieze . It was redecorated in 1855-9 by William Burges . The frieze circles the interior above the stalls and depicts scenes and stories from the books of Genesis and Exodus , including Adam and Eve , Noah , the Tower of Babel , and Abraham , Isaac and Jacob . The chapter house also displays the best-preserved of the four surviving original copies of Magna Carta . This copy came to Salisbury because Elias of Dereham , who was present at Runnymede in 1215, was given the task of distributing some of the original copies. Elias later became a canon of Salisbury and supervised the construction of the cathedral.
Depictions in art, literature and film
Salisbury Cathedral by John Constable , ca. 1825.
Paintings and other artistical objects
The cathedral is the subject of famous paintings by John Constable . As a gesture of appreciation for John Fisher , the Bishop of Salisbury , who commissioned this painting, Constable included the bishop and his wife in the canvas (bottom left). The view depicted in the paintings has changed very little in almost two centuries.
The cathedral is also the subject of William Golding 's novel The Spire which deals with the fictional Dean Jocelin who makes the building of the spire his life's work. In Edward Rutherfurd 's historical novel Sarum the narrative deals with the human settlement of the Salisbury area from pre-historic times just after the last Ice Age to the modern era. The construction of the cathedral itself, its famous spire, bell tower and chapter house are all important plot points in the novel, which blends historic characters with invented ones. The cathedral has been mentioned [15] by the author Ken Follett as one of two models for the fictional Kingsbridge Cathedral in his historical novel The Pillars of the Earth . It was also used for some external shots in the 2010 miniseries based on Follett's book and was shown as it is today in the final scene. The cathedral was the setting for the 2005 BBC television drama Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle , written by Rhidian Brook and directed by Susanna White. Kevin McCloud climbed the cathedral in his programme called Don't Look Down! in which he climbed high structures to conquer his fear of heights. The cathedral was the subject of a Channel 4 Time Team programme which was first broadcast on 8 February 2009.
The medieval clock
Clock
The Salisbury cathedral clock dating from about AD 1386 is supposedly the oldest working modern clock in the world. [16] The clock has no face because all clocks of that date rang out the hours on a bell. It was originally located in a bell tower that was demolished in 1792. Following this demolition, the clock was moved to the Cathedral Tower where it was in operation until 1884. The clock was then placed in storage and forgotten until it was discovered in 1929, in an attic of the cathedral. It was repaired and restored to working order in 1956. In 2007 remedial work and repairs were carried out to the clock. [17]
Dean and chapter
Dean – The Very Revd June Osborne (since 1 May 2004 installation) [18]
Precentor – The Revd Canon Tom Clammer (since 29 April 2012 installation) [19]
Chancellor – The Revd Canon Ed Probert (since 4 April 2004 installation) [20]
Treasurer – The Revd Canon Robert Titley (since November 2015 installation) [21]
Burials
The north transept, Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury
Among the people buried in the cathedral, the most famous is probably Sir Edward Heath
KG MBE
(1916–2005), who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and as a member of parliament from 1950 to 2001, and who lived in the Cathedral Close for the last twenty years of his life. [22]
Other burials
Richard Mitford , Bishop of Salisbury (1395 to 1407)
Robert Hungerford , Lord Moleyns and 3rd Baron Hungerford (1431–1464)
Richard Beauchamp , Bishop of Salisbury (1450 to 1482)
Edmund Audley , Bishop of Salisbury (1501 to 1524)
John Jewel , Bishop of Salisbury (1559 to 1571)
Edmund Gheast , Bishop of Salisbury (1571 to 1577)
Alexander Hyde , Bishop of Salisbury (1665 to 1667)
John Thomas , Bishop of Salisbury (1761 to 1766)
Music
Salisbury Cathedral Choir, Wiltshire, UK
The Trinity Chapel (Lady Chapel). The artwork below the stained glass window is the temporary exhibition of Nicholas Pope installation called "The Apostles Speaking in Tongues Lit By Their Own Lamps", shown at Salisbury Cathedral from 8 June until 4 August 2014
Organ
The cathedral's current organ was built in 1877 by Henry Willis & Sons . [23] Sir Walter Alcock , who was organist of the cathedral from 1916, oversaw a strictly faithful restoration of the famous Father Willis organ, [24] even going to such lengths as to refuse to allow parts of the instrument to leave the cathedral in case any unauthorised tonal alteration were made without his knowledge. [25]
An earlier organ was presented by King George III and was installed on top of the stone screen dividing the choir from the nave. It was later taken out and moved to St Thomas's Church. [26]
Organists
It is recorded that in 1463 John Kegewyn was organist of Salisbury Cathedral. Among the notable organists of more recent times have been a number of composers and well-known performers including Bertram Luard-Selby , Charles Frederick South , David Valentine Willcocks , Christopher Dearnley , Richard Godfrey Seal and the BBC presenter Simon Lole .
Choir
Salisbury Cathedral Choir auditions boys and girls aged 7–9 years old annually for scholarships to Salisbury Cathedral School , housed in the old Bishop's Palace. The boys choir and the girls choir (each 16 strong) sing alternate daily Evensong and Sunday Matins and Eucharist services throughout the school year. There are also many additional services during the Christian year particularly during Advent, Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter. The Advent 'From Darkness to Light services are the best known. Choristers come from across the country, some boarding. Six lay vicars (adult men) comprise the rest of the choir (singing tenor, alto and bass parts).
Cathedral constables
The cathedral previously employed five cathedral constables (known as "Close Constables"). Their duties mainly concerned the maintenance of law and order in the cathedral close. They were made redundant in 2010 as part of cost-cutting measures and replaced with "traffic managers". [27] The constables were first appointed when the cathedral became a liberty in 1611 and survived until the introduction of municipal police forces in 1835 with the Municipal Corporations Act . [28] In 1800 they were given the power, along with the city constables, to execute any justices' or court order requiring the conveyance of prisoners to or from the county gaol (at Fisherton Anger, then outside the city of Salisbury) as if it were the city gaol (and, in so doing, they were made immune from any legal action for acting outside their respective jurisdictions). [29] The right of the cathedral, as a liberty, to maintain a separate police force was conclusively terminated by the Local Government Act 1888 . [30] [31]
In February 2016 the statue The Kiss by Sophie Ryder , which was planned to be in place until July, had to be moved because people kept walking into it while texting. [32]
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
Pakistan PM tries to avert government collapse
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US, Germany developing spy satellites OSLO: Germany and the United States are jointly developing secret spy satellites under the guise of a commercial program despite opposition from France, leaked US diplomatic cables showed yesterday. The project, named HiROS, envisions the construction of an undetermined number of high-resolution observation satellites capable of spotting any object on the planet down to a size of just 50 cm, according to classified cables from US embassy in Berlin leaked to WikiLeaks and obtained by Norwegian daily Aftenposten. The satellites will have the capacity to take infrared images at night and to send images much quicker back to earth than the satellites currently in service, the cables showed. Due to the controversial nature of the program, US and German officials have decided it should be presented as a civilian project with environmental aims, run by commercial entities. But in reality it is “under the total control” of the German intelligence service BND and the German aerospace centre DLR, the cables showed. A DLR spokesman yesterday denied HiROS, which stands for High Resolution Optical Satellite System, was a spy satellite. “The purpose of HiRos will be to transmit data for public services, for example for crisis management in natural catastrophes,” Andreas Schuetz told AFP in an email. “HiROS is not a spy satellite nor a secret project,” he said. The US embassy cables quoted in Norwegian by Aftenposten cover a period from Feb 2009 to Feb 2010. They also show that some countries, “especially France,” have tried to stop the project by every means possible. Continued on Page 14
KUWAIT: Opposition and pro-government MPs yesterday traded statements just a day before a crucial vote which the prime minister looks certain to survive, as a number of lawmakers started to speak about the aftermath of the grilling. Pro-government MPs appeared jubilant, with Adnan Al-Mutawwa challenging the opposition lawmakers to carry out their promise to resign if they fail to oust the prime minister. Opposition MPs meanwhile refused to accept that the narrow margin of survival is a victory for the government, with MP Mohammad Hayef calling on Prime Minister HH Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah to resign. Meanwhile, MP Adel AlSaraawi warned the government against utilizing upcoming appointments in the oil sector as a way of repaying political supporters. As of late yesterday, the numbers of supporters and opponents of the prime minister remained almost unchanged with 21 MPs set to vote against the premier and 25 with him. Two MPs Hassan Jowhar and Khaled Al-Sultan - remain Continued on Page 14
KUWAIT: A pro-government gathering was held yesterday in Yarmouk at the residence of Eneza tribal chief Sheikh Mislet Zibin Al-Hazzal (inset), who declared his total support to the government and the Al-Sabah ruling family. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Egypt on high alert ahead of Coptic Xmas CAIRO: Egypt was on high alert yesterday ahead of Coptic Christmas in the wake of a New Year’s Day church bombing as investigators hunted the perpetrators of the attack which cost 21 lives. Police cancelled leave for senior officers and tightened surveillance of airports and ports to prevent suspects from leaving the country, as new checkpoints were set up across the nation. Security was also to be beefed up at churches for Christmas which Copts celebrate on January 7, security officials said. The clampdown comes amid concerns there may be new protests by Copts following overnight clashes at Cairo’s St. Mark’s Cathedral - headquarters of Coptic leader Pope Shenouda III - during which 45 policemen were injured. A health ministry official said 27 other people were also hurt. The protesters pelted with stones a minister who came to visit the pope and also heckled government officials, while other demonstrators blocked four main streets in Cairo before being dispersed. The violence died down yesterday, but witnesses said about 30 protesters prevent-
ed a construction crew from repairing damage at the blast site, saying the blood of the victims should remain to bear testimony to the attack. And about 50 people carrying wooden coffins staged a brief demonstration in central Cairo, where 200 intellectuals, writers and figures from the world of Egyptian cinema also held a protest. They carried banners reading “Egypt, one people” and stamped with the Muslim crescent and Christian cross. Coptic Christmas this year falls on Friday - the weekly Muslim day of prayer and rest and Shenouda said he intended to say mass as usual on Christmas Eve. “Not praying would mean that terrorism has deprived us of celebrating the birth of Christ,” the official Al-Ahram newspaper quoted him as saying. Twenty-one people were killed early on New Year’s Day and 79 wounded when an apparent suicide bomber detonated his payload as hundreds of worshippers were leaving AlQiddissin (The Saints) church in Alexandria after midnight. Continued on Page 14
DOHA: A Qatari woman waves a Saudi Arabia flag as a large Qatari flag flies behind yesterday amid preparations for the Asian Cup football tournament. The Asian Cup will kick off on Jan 7, with Iraq defending the title. — AP (See Page 19)
US approves new trial of stem cells for blindness
TEHRAN: In this July 15, 2010 file photo, Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientist, holds his 7year-old son Amir Hossein as he arrives at the Imam Khomeini airport. — AP
Iran nuke scientist jailed after return DUBAI: An Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed he slipped away from his CIA captors has not been seen publicly since his heroic return to Tehran last year and could be facing an investigation as a possible turncoat, according to an opposition website. The report on the website Iranbriefing.net says that Shahram Amiri is now being held in a Tehran prison, where he allegedly has faced beatings so severe that he had to be hospitalized for a week. The website’s account could not be verified, but it purports to offer the first details on Amiri’s fate since he surfaced in the United States six months ago amid an array of contradictory stories between Tehran and Washington. Amiri’s return to Tehran in July was portrayed by Iranian authorities as a propaganda coup. The nuclear scientist claimed he was kidnapped by American agents in May 2009 while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Iran’s state media said Amiri had snubbed a fortune in payoffs by his purported CIA captors and then escaped with inside information about America’s covert operations against Tehran. Officials said a TV movie was in the works. US officials, however, say Amiri willingly cooperated and had been paid a total of $5 million by the CIA for “significant” information about Iran’s nuclear program. Amiri turned up in Washington at the Iranian Interest Section at the Pakistan Embassy after a series of baffling videos that presented contradictory stories: one claiming Continued on Page 14
WASHINGTON: US biotech company Advanced Cell Technology said yesterday it was cleared by the government to start its second trial using human embryonic stem cells to treat blindness, this time in older people. The trial will examine the therapy’s ability to safely treat people with a condition known as dr y age-related macular degeneration, the most common form of irreversible vision loss in people over age 60. There is currently no cure for the disease, which affects around 10-15 million Americans and another 10 million people in Europe, the company said. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the Massachusetts-based company in November to begin a similar trial on patients with a less common form of juvenile vision loss, known as Stargardt’s disease. “ACT is now the first company to
WASHINGTON: US biotech company Advanced Cell Technology said yesterday it was cleared by the government to start its second trial using human embryonic stem cells to treat blindness, this time in older people. — AFP receive FDA clearance for two hESC (human embryonic stem cell) trials, and is now a true translational leader in the field of regenerative medicine,” said chief executive Gary Rabin. “It marks a major step forward, not just within the stem cell sector, but, potentially for
modern healthcare techniques.” The company hopes to begin the US clinical trials in the coming months, and intends to seek approval for similar trials in Europe. The US and European market for such a treatment Continued on Page 14
Bibi says Israel never said no to new freeze daily’s “nrg” website quoted JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Netanyahu as telling lawmakMinister Benjamin Netanyahu ers. “In the end the United yesterday said talks to secure a States decided not to take that new settlement freeze ground path, rightly in my opinion,” he to a halt when the United States added. stopped pressing for the ban, Haaretz daily’s website quotnot because Israel rejected it. ed Netanyahu as saying that he Israeli radio and news sites told US President Barack quoted him as telling parliaObama he would ask his cabiment’s Foreign Affairs and net to approve a three-month Defence Committee that Benjamin extension. “I told Obama that I Washington initially asked Israel Netanyahu am prepared to go with this to to extend a 10-month building freeze which expired in September. “The the cabinet and that I will be able to truth is that we were prepared to do this enforce the move, but then I received the but contrary to what was reported Israel surprising phone call from the Continued on Page 14 did not refuse to extend the freeze,” Maariv
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
LOCAL KD 9 million collected in donations
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receiving His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Seif Palace yesterday.
Consumer confidence in Kuwait records a drop 42%respondents have positive expectations KUWAIT: Consumer confidence is dropping in Kuwait, following last quarter’s increase, according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index (CCI). The Consumer Confidence Index, a quarterly survey conducted by the Middle East’s number one job site Bayt.com in conjunction with research specialists YouGov Siraj, found that consumer confidence in Kuwait decreased by 4.3 points since last September. Meanwhile, Bahrain and Qatar saw impressive increases of 10.4 and 9.4 points respectively. However, Lebanon recorded the largest decrease, moving down the index by an incredible 23.1 points. Lebanon has had a particularly unstable year with extreme lows and highs recorded each quarter. In North Africa, consumer confidence in Morocco and Egypt rose by 2.1 and 0.4 points respectively. The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is a measure of consumer expectations and satisfaction of various elements of the economy including inflation, job opportunities and the cost of living. As part of the CCI, respondents are asked questions about their personal financial circumstances and how they compare to the same period last year. Overall, 34 percent of the region’s respondents say their financial position is the same as last year and just over a quarter, 28 percent say it has gotten better. In Kuwait, 28 percent say they are better off than last year, 39 percent say they are in the same position as last year and 25 percent say they are in a worse position than last year. Among the countries surveyed, 31 percent of respondents in Qatar and Saudi Arabia say they are doing better than last year followed by 30 percent in Oman. However in Jordan, only 17 percent felt their financial position is better than last year. “The region seems to be stabilizing as we are seeing that countries seem to have the same figures each quarter with the exception of Lebanon who has suffered political instability explaining the country’s highs and lows in terms of consumer confidence. This could mean that the worse of the crisis is indeed over for most of the Middle East,” commented Amer Zureikat, Bayt.com. In addition to financial position, consumer confidence is assessed by asking the respondents about their level of optimism towards the future, which forms the Consumer Expectations Index (CEI). The countries varied widely in terms of their consumer expectations. The largest decrease was once again seen in Lebanon, with a drop of 24.7 index points since
the last quarter. Kuwait recorded a decrease of 7.2 points since the last quarter. Bahrain reported the biggest increase, moving up the index by 10.9 points. On the whole, respondents are expecting to be in a better financial position next year. Overall, 49 percent of respondents believe that their personal financial position will be better next year. By contrast, just eight percent of the region’s respondents believe that their financial position will become worse. In Kuwait, 49 percent of respondents believe that their personal finances will be better a year from now, compared to just 8 percent that believe they will become worse. Most optimistic that their personal financial position will be better in a year’s time are respondents in Oman with 58 percent confirming this statement. Respondents also remain largely optimistic that their country’s economy will be better in a year’s time. Overall, 35 percent say that their country’s economy will be better, 20 percent say it will remain the same, and 26 percent say it will become worse. Respondents in Oman are the most positive about the expected improvements in their country’s economy, with 59 percent stating that things will be better. Respondents in Egypt are most pessimistic about their country’s economy a year from now. At least 37 percent say that it will become worse. In Kuwait, 42 percent of respondents believe that their country’s economy will be better in a year’s time, compared to just 23 percent that believe it will be worse. Respondents were also asked what they feel their propensity to consume is, as part of the Propensity to Consume Index (PCI). Once again Kuwait moved down this index by 1.3 points compared to the previous quarter. Qatar saw an impressive rise of 16.8 points. At the other end of the scale, Lebanon recorded the largest drop, moving down the index by an exceptional 22.8 points. Asked whether they would invest in property, the respondents largely agree that they will not. The trend continues from the previous quarter with a majority of respondents (64 percent) stating they are not interested in making any investment in property. Within Kuwait, 59 percent say they will not be buying any property. Of those wishing to purchase a property, 60 percent say they are likely to opt for a new property. “Gauging consumer opinion is a powerful tool for revealing the current attitudes and sentiments
about the business and economic conditions in a specific country and to see how these change overtime,” commented Sundip Chahal, Chief Operating Officer of YouGov Siraj. Another contributor to the CCI is the Employee Confidence Index (ECI), which measures the attitudes of respondents to the local job market, in terms of their satisfaction towards the availability of jobs and their satisfaction with their salary. Kuwait saw a drop of 3.6 index points versus the previous quarter on this measure. Showing the biggest decrease is once again Lebanon, which moved down the index by 13.3 points. The most impressive rise was recorded once again by Bahrain which moved up 9.3 points. When asked whether they believe more jobs will be available in a year’s time, respondents are roughly divided: 26 percent say more will be available, 27 percent say the job situation will remain the same and 30 percent say the availability of jobs will be worse. In Kuwait, 34 percent believe the availability of jobs will get better while 23 percent of respondents believe the availability of jobs will become worse. In terms of salaries and whether they have kept pace with the cost of living, as in the previous wave, the majority feel that they have not kept pace with the cost of living, with 63 percent agreeing that there is a disparity. While just 19 percent agree they have increased in line with the cost of living, and five percent say they have increased more than the cost of living. “Our quarterly consumer confidence survey provides a strong indication, each quarter, as to how people living in countries across the region view their current economic situation, and how they believe it will change in the future. By conducting this survey, we are really aiming to achieve an honest and representative overview of current sentiments and feelings about various elements of the economy, so these can be used proactively and for positive effect by organizations and HR stakeholders around the Middle East,” concluded Zureikat. Data for the December 2010 Consumer Confidence Index Survey was collected online between 15 November and 16 December 2010 with 10,468 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan. Males and females aged over 18 years old, of all nationalities, were included in the survey.
KUWAIT: The Charitable Societies Department has reviewed the budgets of 37 charitable trusts that collected KD 9 million in donations during the past year, said Nasser Al-Ammar, Head of the Charitable Societies Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. He noted that the budgets of other organizations were being studied, and revealed that 80 organizations were declared. He further pointed out that 13 of them were closed last year for violating the rules and regulations of charity work, reported AlWatan. Al-Ammar said that the total donation amount collected by charitable organizations may increase after reviewing the accounts of 30 other organizations. He mentioned that KD 8 million out of KD 9 million collected by organizations was spent on charitable work in Kuwait, as regulations prohibit the setting up of charitable projects overseas. He asserted that the revenues of charitable societies increased recently, proving that the ministry does not seek to stop charity work in Kuwait as some critics claim. He added that large sums of money that the organizations have collected, in addition to the projects established in Kuwait and overseas, prove that they play a major role in charitable work.
Kuwait Digest
Grilling is govt’s responsibility By Abdellatif Al-Duaij he grillers may succeed in securing enough votes to win a non-cooperation motion against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlSabah or they may fail, which is more likely. Either way a victory for His Highness the Prime Minister would be very limited and would have serious repercussions and costs. The government may be able to cover such a cost but in the end the country will fail to keep up. It is not in the country’s, His Highness Sheikh Nasser’s or the government’s interest to survive the non-cooperation session. The goal is to guarantee the confidence of the National Assembly and not beg some of its members for support. For the fate of the cooperation between the parliament and the government to remain hanging on a thread or on the edge of a cliff will hamper the government’s moves and the assembly will lose its popu-
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larity. Stubbornness has a very high price and MPs stand to gain the most from their stubbornness. Some of them will gain votes while others gain checks but all of them will come out victorious either way. On the other hand, His Highness Sheikh Nasser, his government and maybe even the whole Cabinet will be the only losers. The only thing available for His Highness the Prime Minister to do is to look for a settlement and to contain the crises. While the cost seems high, rescuing the country and sparing the people from catastrophe is the duty of the leading elite. It is not in the interest of anyone for the struggle to continue and it is not in the public’s interest to get all the way to the final round only to discover that we have to start over again. The escalation so far has been the government’s. The government started it and it alone bears the responsibility of solving the problem.— Al-Aan
KUWAIT: Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid Al-Sabah met at his office yesterday with the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Jordan, Dr Hamad AlDuaij.
MGRP employs 1,046 citizens KUWAIT: More than 1,000 citizens were employed in the private sector in jobs that were signed with governmental departments. This statement was made recently by Nadira Al-Homoud Director of the Employment Department at the Management and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP). They explained that the MGRP’s team of nationalizing jobs has successfully provided 1,656 jobs to citizens in 2010. At least 2,630 candidates were nominated, of whom 1,046 signed contracts to work for several departments including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of
Electricity and Water, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in addition to the Kuwait Petroleum Association, Kuwait Ports Association and the Directorate General for Civil Aviation. Al-Hmoud further indicated that the Education Ministry has been the most active in ‘Kuwaitizing’ job opportunities that are created in executing developmental projects, reported Al-Qabas. After they signed an entire staff composed of Kuwaiti manpower to work as food suppliers, companies signed to provide public schools to obtain national manpower in accordance with the MGRP to hire staff and prepare meals.
Women’s committee to address extremists KUWAIT: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs is reportedly preparing to form a committee made up of female religious preachers and employees qualified to address women with extremist religious beliefs, reported AlQabas. According to an official source from the ministry, plans were made to enroll committee members in training courses organized by
KUWAIT: Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Undersecretary Mohammad Al-Kandari addressing the press conference.
Kuwaiti heritage to loom high at national celebrations KUWAIT: Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Undersecretar y Mohammad Al-Kandari affirmed importance of shedding special light on the Kuwaiti heritage in the upcoming national celebrations. Al-Kandari, the chairman of the national celebrations committee affirmed, in a statement released after a meeting with committee members yesterday, significance
of participation of several local bands that would present the Kuwaiti folklore at the celebrations of Kuwait ’s 50th Independence and 20th Liberation anniversaries. Patriotic songs will be chanted during the special exhibition of the Higher Committee, with the participation of state and private institutions and authorities. Moreover, Al-Kandari under-
scored necessity of coordination with all ministries and governmental institutions to decorate their buildings. He also welcomed participation of the cooperative societies, that would also be in charge of ornamenting the governmental buildings, located in the districts where the stores are situated. Fur thermore, he confirmed important role of the local cafes in
this festival, where there is a proposal to set up models of these traditional cafes at the venues of the activities to distribute Kuwaiti food to the attendees and participants, in order to enrich the Kuwaiti heritage ambiance. Participants in the meeting discussed broad plans for the ministr y program that would be implemented at the festival, due on February 28. — KUNA
international experts in handling cases of extremism. The efforts were made in order to reinforce addressing female extremists uncomfortable with being addressed by men. Moreover, the work of committee members is expected to remain confidential and includes lectures at mosques around the country to spread awareness among women against extremism.
Incompetence, violations cloud MSAL’s efforts KUWAIT: Despite the ongoing efforts to fight problems that plague the labor sector, the Ministr y of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) suffers from issues like corruption and forgery, mainly with regard to residence permit transactions. According to a local news report, the results of a tour carried out at departments of the ministry, reflected a case of complete desperation among staff members. The routine promotions are done based on favoritism, regardless of qualifications, they claimed. Meanwhile, the report also mentions several cases in which records of companies at the ministry’s database are manipulated to register workers illegally. They are eventually uncovered by the Ministry of Interior in addition to fraudulent companies. Violations do not seem to be the only
problem that the ministry has been suffering from. A separate report on the unannounced visit by the Far waniya Labor Department shows that chaos has been descending at government offices owing to employees’ incompetence. People are forced to seek cleaning workers’ help to mediate their transactions to reach a staff member’s office, reported AlQabas. A top ministry official when contacted for a comment said that unscheduled visits are planned by labor departments to assess work progress to check the problems that should be addressed. Undersecretary Mohammad Al-Kandari further insisted that the ministry will be able, in two years’ time, to eliminate all malprac tices at labor depar tments through a new monitoring system.
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Avalanche of sales hit market, stampedes stall shopping ‘Customers like a pack of hungry hounds fighting for a piece of meat’ By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: A stampede-like situation was created in some stores throughout Kuwait following a wave of recently launched sales. Dramatically slashed prices on essential grocery items caused chaos and long queues at various shopping outlets. Well-known super marMany essential grocery items, such as eggs, sugar and boxes of water, went on sale with a 50 percent discount. An investigation revealed that most of the items went out of stock halfway throughout the sale. Sugar and eggs topped the list of the most sought after goods. Minutes after being displayed the racks were emptied. “My son was about to be crushed at the shelves for sugar,” relayed one customer. “When I noticed customers rushing toward the arriving palette of sugar I immediately lifted him onto the pile of rice nearby,” he said. He said that customers resembled hungry hounds on the hunt, fighting over a piece of meat. “The whole thing almost ended in a fight,”
kets cut their prices in half, resulting in long check-out lines and disgruntled shoppers. Some advertising tactics, such as buy one get one free, were too effective and resulted in an insufficient stock. Though ads sometimes gave shoppers the impression they could have an unlimited supply of whatever they wanted, some customers were disappointed to learn they were limited to only two items per customer.
the customer continued. “I was afraid for my six-year-old son’s safety so I stopped fighting for a pack of sugar.” He added that the palette of sugar that was delivered and displayed in one corner was gone in a matter of minutes. “After the commotion, all that was left was an empty palette and two or three rippes bags of sugar on the floor,” another customer said. A customer walked away from the counter obviously disappointed after being told that he could not purchase most of the items in his cart. “I came all the way here from Mahboula to take advantage of the sale. I waited for quite some time to get this stuff and now I am being told I cannot have more than two items. This is ridiculous,” the customer said.
Some of the personnel at the store explained that they only allow customers to buy two or three items from the sale list to provide an opportunity for the customers. “If we gave all the items to just one customer it would be unfair,” the supermarket employee explained. One of the employees at the supermarket admitted that the first day was much worse. “I’ve seen some fighting and cursing amongst customers,” she said. “Some customers are not actually genuine consumers, they’re businessmen. They have money so they take advantage of the sales and buy all of the products. They leave the other customers with nothing but a few sales items.”
16,000 return after new year
KUWAIT: The first Scientific Arab Police Forum in Jordan started with cooperation between Nayef Arab University for Security Sciences and the Jordanian Security Directorate yesterday. A number of representatives from various Arab interior ministries, media, research centers and universities participated in it, said the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry’s official spokesman, Brig Mohammed Hashim Al-Sabr. The forum was the first of its kind and that it was useful in helping specialists cope with the latest developments in police work, Al-Sabr said adding that Kuwait would discuss a paper on obstacles impeding cooperation amongst security bodies and the media.
Kuwait Digest
Scarf of the popular female Abbas By Ahmed Mohammed Al-Fahad
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t is said that, historically, Agals (head dress) were used to secure Ghotras (head scarf ) firmly on our heads. It’s believed that Arabs, sometimes, used to leash their animals using the accessory. It is also said that the headdress was previously white in color and the color black was adopted in mourning ever since the fall of the Islamic empire of Andalus. Agals were composed of simple thin strands and developed over time to take various shapes and sizes. That is why Agals are different in Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain respectively. It is also made out of different fabrics and materials such as wool, suede and sometimes plastic threads. It is also alternatively used to assault adversaries! Abbas Al-Shab ( or popular Abbas) is a very wellknown man who has been overshadowing MP Musallam Al-Barrak at all press conferences. He has become an iconic figure at Al-Musallam’s conferences and one might immediately think that the two men are not in good terms if we see Al-Barrak speak without Abbas behind him. If we happen to see Abbas stand behind MP Khalaf Dumaitheer, we would immediately think that the latter has joined the Popular Action Bloc (PAB). Out of appreciation and admiration of what MP Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi did while discussing the recent PM’s grilling motion, regardless of the new look sported by Abdul Rahman Al-Anjeri, he did not fulfill Saleh AlMullah’s threats. She embarrassed her colleagues and forced them to support it. Abbas took off his Agal and tried to place it on Aseel’s head in a rather silly move! Traditionally, taking off Agals and throwing them on is a strictly male act. They cannot be thrown on women even if they were ministers or deputy prime ministers! In order to explain to Abbas why his move was silly, let us assume that we had an equivalent to Abbas called popular ‘Abbasah’ ( female Abbas) and that this political activist was a strong supporter of PAB who wanted to honor MP Musallam Al-Barrak or Ahmed Al-Saadoun for their stances by taking off her veil or shawl only to place them on AlBarrak’s or Al-Saadoun’s head. Just imagine how the latter would look in a black veil and his thick eyebrows and moustache, will this be a gesture of honor for either of them? — Al-Watan
KUWAIT: More than 16,000 travelers who spend four-day new year holidays abroad have begun to return home on Sunday. Many were relieved to spend time away from the local political tension that has stunted the growth tourism revival in the country, reported Al-Watan. Commenting on air traffic flow, Mohammed Al-Thuwaini, Acting Operations Manager at Civil Aviation Department said that air traffic plied as usual without any extra flights taking off. He also noted that staff members on each shift were increased to cope with the growing number of passengers, especially at the passport counters. “There were 105 outbound flights on December 29th with 13,000 passengers were on board. Atleast 14,000 left on December 30 and 200 left on December 31st,” he explained. Also 16,000 of these passengers returned to Kuwait on January 2.
MoH hires 2,979 staff members KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health (MoH) has hired nearly 300 staff members from different nationalities during the past year, announced Marzouq Al-Rushaidi Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative Affairs added. Al-Rushaidi explained that among the 2,979 staff members who were hired in 2010, 388 are physicians, while 89 are dentists, 70 are pharmacists. Also, 827 nurses were hired. He also indicated that 387 people were hired for technical jobs related to medicine, and 181 others were hired for technical jobs not related to medical specialties. He further noted that the Civil Service Commission has been contacted to hire 105 Kuwaitis for bookkeeping jobs, reported Al-Rai. In addition, Al-Rushaidi indicated that during the past year, more than 805 trainees at 84 programs organized
by the department were trained. This is in addition to 930 students from the Kuwait University and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET). In another development, no equipment that uses nuclear medicine will be allowed into Kuwait unless it first undergoes a thoough screening process supervised by the Ministry of Health’s committee. This statement was issued by Samir Al-Asfour Assistant Undersecretary for Public Services Affairs and Maintenance. The licenses are issued to obtain the device as per certain conditions laid down by the committee to prevent radiation leak, reported Al-Rai. AlAsfour’s statement rejected rumors about a supposed radiation leak that was detected at Faisal radiation treatment center, asserting that routine tests are conducted at all facilities that deal with radioactive devices.
ATV accidents on the rise KUWAIT: An increase in people admitted to hospitals with various injuries related to all-terrain-vehicle (AT V ) accidents has been noticed as the country enters its camping season, reported Al-Rai. A news report quotes a ministry official as saying that Al-Razi Hospital, among others, has received several ATV related cases in the past few days. The official noted that in one of the cases three teenagers, including one female, were
admitted to Jahra Hospital’s intensive care unit with serious injuries. The source further indicated that the majority of those injured suffer spinal or thighbone fractures and require surgery followed by a period of rehabilitation. The source announced that the ministry plans to launch an awareness campaign in order to spread awareness regarding the hazards of unsafe driving and ATVs.
Stage ready for 17th Qurain Cultural Festival KUWAIT: The 17th edition of Qurain Cultural Festival will start tomorrow in Dasma theater under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah. The opening ceremony of the festival, which will last till Jan 26, will be attended by Minister of Information and Minister of Oil Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Sabah. Secretar y General of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) Bader Al-Rifaei said in a press conference here yesterday that the festival will include several cultural activities covering exhibitions, plastic art shows, film screenings, theater performances, popular music pieces and cultural lectures. Al-Rifaei added that this edition will see a new activity, namely holding a roundtable forum for Arab intellectuals in order to discuss the role of intellectuals toward the deadlocked paths of Arab renaissance. He also made clear that Bait Al-Othman will be used as a cultural center following the restoration of some of its parts, adding that it will host on Jan 18 a museum exhibi-
tion showcasing the history of education in Kuwait as well as the foreign communities’ exhibition for plastic arts on Jan 19. Bait Al-Othman will become, following its renovation, one of the most important centers hosting the cultural functions in Kuwait all over the year, said Al-Rifaei. Further, he said that the festival’s supreme committee decided to choose Egypt as the guest of honor of this edition, adding that this will give opportunity to the Kuwaiti public to get a panoramic view of Egyptian cultural landscape. Al-Rifaei added that Egypt is the origin of modern culture in the Arab world, and that it still plays a major role in representing the Arab culture, noting Egypt’s artistic and intellectual output which attracts attention in the Arab world. He also said that Al-Qurain festival is a landmark on the Arab cultural scene due to its various activities and its development over the years. The festival is to see the distribution of state merit and incentive awards at its opening ceremony on the stage of AlDasma theater. —KUNA
Women residential rights part of State Development Strategy
Project to improve quality of education KUWAIT: The second phase of improving the quality of education project, which was introduced last year, began in Kuwait as a step to further elevate the status of education, said an official here yesterday. Assistant Undersecretary for Public Education Mona AlLougani said at a forum held at Al-Addan High School in Mubarak Al-Kabir Education District that building a strong education foundation would help improve social development, adding that better education would also provide means to bolster plans for other kinds of development projects in the country. Al-Lougani called on educators to pursue measures to better education in the country as part of their mission to help Kuwait develop. On her part, head of Mubarak Al-Kabir Education District Badriya Al-Khaldi affirmed that the district would be the first to implement the ministry’s plan to help integrate education in the country, wishing that such a plan would be crowned with success in the future. —KUNA
KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi received here yesterday Deputy Speaker of the Namibian National Assembly Loide Kasingo and the delegation accompanying her. The meeting focused on means to bolster bilateral relations as well as issues of mutual interest.
KUWAIT: Officials addressing the press conference yesterday.
KUWAIT: Recently-enacted amendments on laws of women’s residential care and those of the Saving and Credit Bank were among the projects of the state development plan, housing officials affirmed. In a press conference held here yesterday, the officials revealed that such amendments were aimed to secure adequate housing for Kuwaiti women that have not benefited from the residential care service through the provision of housing alternatives, either by obtaining a housing loan or providing housing at low rents. Adviser to the Minister of State for Housing Affairs’ office, Nidhal AlHumaidan, said the first amendment of first bill to article (47/93) tackled cases such as of the Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis, the divorcees, widows and unmarried women who are over 40 years old. The modifications address the situation of Kuwaiti women not covered by the law of residential care, she said, adding that they also include the law of SCB No. (30/65), increasing its capital from KD 500 million to KD 3 billion. Intended to help these women remain closely integrated with the Kuwaiti society, these amendments stipulate that family-size houses be secured for them in the country’s various provinces, according to IDs, so they may reside close to their families, Al-Humaidan said.
Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of State for Development Affairs and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Ahmad AlSabah played a major role in introducing the amendments, she added. On his part, the Director of Legal Affairs at the Bank of Credit and Savings Fahad Al-Mutairi said the amendments allow widows and divorcees with children to apply for a housing loan and get low-cost housing. Al-Mutairi added that the segment of women married to nonKuwaitis, or never married, or over the age of 40 years, are entitled to receive low-cost housing, saying that strict terms will be placed to obtain this type of housing. A committee is formed to settle disputes relating to residential care under the chairmanship of Advisor to the Court of Appeal to resolve the outstanding issues of women and the settlement of disputes before resorting to the courts, he added. Sheikh Al-Fahad was keen to broaden, through these amendments, the development strategy to address the situation of Kuwaiti women, not benefiting from the residential care by giving them multiple options to choose proper housing, said Majed Al-Ajmi, the secretary of committees and work teams at the bureau of the deputy premier for economic affairs. — KUNA
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MPs call for wisdom, less tension ahead of NA vote Top priority to protecting Kuwait’s unity By A Saleh KUWAIT: Some MPs considering the non-cooperation request filed against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlSabah a failure called for a return to wisdom and for the situation between the two authorities to calm down. They added that if those antigovernment MPs are true to their word they should resign as they promised they would if the motion results in favor of His Highness the Prime Minister. MP Adnan Al-Mutawa said “there are no more than 21 MPs supporting the non-cooperation motion against His Highness the Prime Minister, if not less. Those who spoke about resigning after the session should do so to maintain their credibility. Meanwhile, MP Adnan Abdelsamad said that “any political move toward the street outside of the law cannot be accepted. We are afraid that this method may promote intellectual terrorism and be an attempt to pressure others.” MP Dr Rolla Dashti said “those who submitted the non-cooperation motion did not realize how dangerous it is and may take the country down a dark tunnel with unpredictable results. In the interest of protecting Kuwait’s unity and the constitution we declare our support to His Highness the Prime Minister.” “The battle of January 5 has been decided in favor of His Highness the Prime Minister without a doubt,” said MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan. Meanwhile, MP Abdelrahman Al-Anjari said that he will vote against His Highness the Prime Minister in the upcoming vote, adding that his opinion has nothing to do with how many are in support of the motion or are against it. He added that his vote has constitutional and moral dimensions and that it will be up to His Highness the Amir Sheik Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to evaluate and diagnose the political situation following the vote. He told journalists that he “practiced his convictions” without pressure and that if the majority has an opinion different than his he will respect the majority’s opinion. He said that if the
outcome of the vote is not similar to his own opinion he will continue to work with parliamentary committees to finish laws and legislations. Al-Anjari said he does not promote going to the street to topple the government, as called on by some. He said that he is for public freedom and peaceful rallies that remain within the context of the law. Tomorrow’s parliament session will feature a much anticipated end to the current drama surrounding the interpellation filed against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Sabah. MPs will vote on a noncooperation motion filed against him by an antigovernment parliamentary alliance. Meanwhile, spectators are wondering what the next step will be for antigovernment MPs considering that the vote is expected to result in favor of His Highness the Prime Minister. If this is the case, oppositionists have two options; either to accept the results, turn the page and resume parliamentary work as normal or to further escalate the tension as they hinted with the state-
Kuwait Digest
By Mubarak Al-Hajri
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voiding a confrontation with voters may be the reason why some MPs fear facing the truth. What would go wrong if an MP met with his voters and explained his point of view on a certain topic? It’s not like they would hang him if he came up with an idea that conflicted with what they wanted. I’m sure the public would listen to their representative in the parliament if he wanted to explain his stance on a certain topic. Avoiding confrontation never solves a problem, instead, it makes problems worse. This kind of attitude makes voters feel sorry for their wasted votes during election season. It also makes them feel cheated after the parliamentarian they elect fails to fulfill the promises they made. Many promises were broken when a group of MPs with almost no opinion allowed themselves to be bought out. Those who made personal gains today will find themselves stuck at homes tomorrow when voters decide to leave them behind in future elections. By then, however, the damage will have already been done. —Al-Rai
Report calls for revisions to labor laws KUWAIT: A recent academic study called for rationing the employment of expats and finding civilized ways to recruit laborers, reported Al-Anba. The study, prepared by a professor at Kuwait University’s Faculty of Education, Dr Ali Watfa, recommended educational steps to increase the public’s awareness about the role of expats and their importance economically and socially. The study also called for taking the necessary precautions to prevent the effect of expats on the cultural and social identity of Kuwaiti society. The study dealt with the attitude of Kuwait University students towards expats, considering it one of the basic political and social issues in Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperative Council states. The study called for legislations that guarantees expats their basic human and social rights and to increase the public’s awareness regarding those rights. It also called on the revision of several laws to make them more compatible with international labor standards and recommended passing legislation that prohibits human trafficking and the recruitment of expats for commercial purposes.
ment that “the interpellation is only the beginning.” Escalating the situation and filing a mass resignation may be their last resort after failing to win the non-cooperation motion. When they prematurely announced victory following the grilling debate on December 28, antigovernment MPs failed to accurately assess the situation regarding the local political scene. It seems as though the Cabinet, with their majority support in the parliament, can overcome any obstacle put in their path by antigovernment MPs. While moving beyond the grilling saga may indicate a positive start to a new year, it seems likely that antigovernment parliamentarians have several more tricks up their sleeve. And while the Cabinet may emerge victorious from the recent grilling, they certainly sustained a serious blow to their morale as the current grilling saw an increase in the number of MPs opposed to the Cabinet. Even if they fail to knock the Cabinet out of power oppositionists may be able to claim victory for continuously practicing their monitory role.
MPs prepare more interpellation motions KUWAIT: A state minister believes that His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah’s decision to face a grilling motion for the third time in his political career, is the perfect example of commitment to the Constitution’s principles. Dr Fadhel Safar, Minister of Public Works and State Minister of Municipality Affairs made these comments in a recent press statement in which he added that “good lessons can be learned” from the recent experience, “including the need to reinforce national unity and adherence to His Highness the Amir’s orders.” Ahead of Wednesday’s session during which the non-cooperation motion filed against the premier will be put to vote, the minister of cabinet affairs assured that “things are looking good,” amid reports which assert that the anti-government MPs have almost no hope of securing the required number of 25 supporters to pass the motion. The Cabinet on the other hand has already obtained at least 26 votes. Anti-government MPs have, however, are exerting pressure on neutral MPs as well as those who have declared open support for premier, in an attempt to change their minds. As par t of these
efforts, these lawmakers took part in a public seminar that was held recently at the ‘diwaniya’ of Mohammad Al-Khalifa in Al-Jahra. MP Falah Al-Sawwagh announced that interpellation motions initiated against the Education Minister Dr Moudhi Al-Hmoud, Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali, as well as Dr Safar will be filed in the near future, reported AlQabas. Outspoken anti-government MP Musallam Al-Barrak also demanded that Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Deputy Chief of the National Guards release a statement clarifying reports that he had ordered Special Forces to use force against MPs and citizens. Meanwhile, Islamist MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabae criticized MPs who claimed that they followed the Islamic Sharia when making decisions to support HH the PM, indicating that “the Sharia has nothing to do with their stances.” Fellow Islamist MPs Mohammad Hayef and Daifullah Buramia also asked the premier to resign, with the latter indicating that “we are being accused of creating tension for our commitment to protect dignities.” This seminar took place at a time when several fifth constituency residents have been convening meetings in Al-Riqqa and Hadiya where MPs Mohammad Al-Huwaila and Khalid Al-Adwa reside respectively.
Mutawwa: Kuwait to keep up performance KUWAIT: Kuwait national football team will enter the upcoming AFC Asian Cup to be held from Friday in Qatar with a fearsome spirit and determination, said Kuwait striker and 2010 top scorer Bader Al-Mutawwa yesterday. “The team will continue the outstanding performance that earned its 10th Gulf Cup trophy in Yemen last December,” Al-Mutawwa told a press conference, adding that the ‘Blue Squad’ would try to keep on with its high performance in the upcoming Asian Cup. The press conference was held on the occasion of launching the new Internet site
for the Kuwait Football Association (KFA). He also noted that the team was also eyeing the qualification rounds of the 2014 World Cup, which would be held in Brazil. Al-Mutawwa, according to FIFA’s official website, won the top goal-scorer award after scoring 17 goals in 2010, beating Cameroon’s world-renowned striker Samuel Eto’o. Al-Mutawwa is the second Kuwaiti striker to win the award after countryman Jassem Al-Huwaidi in 1998. The Qadsiya striker was also nominated for best Asian player of the year award twice but did not win. — KUNA
eclipse to coincide with noon prayers KUWAIT: A partial solar eclipse will coincide with noon prayers today in a rare occurance, top astronomer Saleh Al-Ojairi said yesterday. Ojairi said that the eclipse is due to start at 1042 local time and ends at 1334 hours, while the noon prayers will be at 1152 hours. He said that 43 percent of the sun will be
eclipsed in Kuwait, adding that this phenomenon can be seen provided that skies are clear today Al-Ojairi warned the public against looking into the eclipse with the naked eye and said wearing special glasses or watching the phenomenon from behind tinted glass is needed to avoid harm to one’s vision. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Fire-fighters in action after a fire broke out in two flats in Farwaniya yesterday.
Apartments catch fire By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A fire broke out at two apartments in a Farwaniya building, resulting in five casualties. Two of the injured were admitted to the nearest hospital. Farwaniya, Ardhiya, Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh rescue centers reached the scene and put out the flames. Accidents A five-year-old Kuwaiti boy fractured his nose and suffered a laceration on his forehead in an accident that involved an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV ). He was transferred from Kabd Polyclinic to Farwaniya hospital. A 31-year-old Pakistani suffered a broken left leg after being hit by a car in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. He was admitted to Farwaniya hospital. Freak accident A seven month old Kuwaiti infant was rushed to Jahra hospital after swallowing a foreign object. She was reported to be in a stable condition. Car accidents A 21-year-old female citizen was emotionally disturbed and a 31-year-old Sri Lankan suffered multiple bruises in a car accident that took place along the Fourth Ring Road. They were admitted to Mubarak hospital. Also, a 40-year-old Egyptian suffered a laceration on his
KUWAIT: Several popular actors and singers paid a visit to a camp for the disabled where they put up a performance before campers.
forehead, and a 50-year-old Bangladeshi sustained a chest injury in a car accident that took place near Jaber stadium. Both were admitted to Farwaniya hospital. Suicide attempt A 25-year-old Filipina sustained deep cuts in her right hand, in an apparent suicide attempt at a Sabah Al-Salem home. She was admitted to Mubarak hospital. Hit and run case A 37-year- old Bangladeshi complained of pain in his right leg af ter being run over by a car in Hawally. He was admitted to Mubarak hospital. Smoke inhalation A 63-year-old Egyptian woman suffered from a case of smoke inhalation and was admitted to the hospital. Also, a two-year-old was administered treatment on the site where a fire had broken out near Sanaa round about in Farwaniya.
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Fallacy of predictions By Saleh Al-Ghannam
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ack in the good old days, when I had leisure time comparable to a swath of empty desert, I was preoccupied with reading about metaphysics, supernatural powers, dream interpretations and both Western and Chinese horoscopes. I read so much that I become a quasiexpert in the field and my friends began consulting me before taking major decisions in their lives. Naturally enough, I cannot reveal what has happened to those who consulted me. To give you an example, let me say that I have been hiding from two of my friends since 1987 because of what consulting me cost them. It is a terrible thing to be asked about — a potential wife. And telling the prospective groom that she is the most loving, kind-hearted, pious, fertile woman he could find. This is only to discover that she could not bear children and had been having affairs with most of the street restaurant customers who would buy her sandwiches! The other terrible incident took place when a friend of mine studying in Cairo inquired about the odds of passing an exam he would take in an hour’s time. I told him that his horoscope indicates that he has been going through an incredibly lucky time and that he would win fortunes in gambling. ‘So, you must go immediately to the Mina House casino and put all your money on number 17,’ I told him. Two hours later, I received an angry call from our consul in Cairo blaming me for advising my friend who was shouting at me in the background ‘take me back to Kuwait...I want to go back...I’m ruined...I lost all money.’ To calm them down, I asked the consul what his zodiac sign was, ‘I’m a Taurean, why?,’ he replied, and I told him that he would become our next ambassador in Amsterdam. The line was disconnected and I lost touch with this nonsense ever since. When I rearranged my books recently, I got rid of about 70 such books where I found some clippings that contained over twenty-five-year old notes. However, I am busy during this vacation, creating schedules on the crises situation we may witness this year. So far, I predict that trouble makers will cause at least 35 to 40 controversial problems. The problems they create mushroom quickly only to die out at the same accelerated rate . Happy New year everybody! — Al-Watan
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
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Kuwait University extremist pamphlet causes uproar Breach of several regulations By Hussain Al-Qatari KUWAIT: An extremist pamphlet about the vices of not wearing the hijab distributed last week at Kuwait University caused an uproar on campus. The pamphlet, published by the Eitilafiyah student group, a group associated with the Islamic Brotherhood, is written in the format of a letter directed to women who don’t wear the hijab. The letter misquotes Quranic verses and suggests that women who do not wear the hijab are doomed to go to hell. Using inappropriate phrases and claiming God’s disapproval of women who do not wear the hijab, the pamphlet claims “if you repeatedly beg for God’s mercy and assistance to no avail, it is because you-a woman without hijab-are damned.” It uses missionary language, suggesting it is “never too late to go on the right path.” Kuwait University’s deanship strongly con-
Dr Faisal Maqseed demned the publication of the pamphlet, noting that it was not issued with permission from the student affairs office. The deanship issued a statement announcing that the concerned party will be held responsible. Meanwhile, Kuwait University spokesperson, Dr Faisal Maqseed explained that there are several guidelines and rules that regulate the publi-
cation of pamphlets on Kuwait University’s campus. “What happened recently was a breach of several regulations and was a very irresponsible act that will be punished severely,” he said. “It was spread virally amongst the local media, tainting the reputation of the university and giving it a bad image. This will not be tolerated,” he added. The spokesperson explained that the university does not oppose the expression of ideologies and opinions but finds the phrases used in this pamphlet particularly offensive. “Students who wish to express their opinions can do so in the designated mediums. There are student forums, a weekly student journal, debate clubs and other activities that are held, moderated and regulated. We refuse offensive language on campus,” he said. Kuwait University’s liberal student party, the Democratic Circle, issued a statement condemning the pamphlet and noted that they are against any attempt to divide Kuwaiti society into segments. “We are not in a position to speak for or against the cause that the pamphlet is promoting but we strongly condemn the language and disapprove of anything that puts our society in bad light. We are all one unit and there is no need to make the hijab an issue,” said the statement. Student Dalal Al-Khaldi, 20, said that the pamphlet did not sound like it came from a student organization but from an extremist terrorist group. “No one has the right to use such language to speak to anyone, let alone students in
KUWAIT: The pamphlet which was distributed at Kuwait University last week. a university. This method of scaring people with quotes and telling them that they will go to hell is not right. They could have done a better job if they held an open debate with the students or brought religious clergymen to speak publicly.” Abdulrahman Al-Awadh, 21, noted that there are several things one could point out wrong about the pamphlet but what he finds
most infuriating is that it comes from a religious party. “I expect a more civil way to promote ideas, especially from a religious party that presumably takes example from the life of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). But this way of promoting the hijab is totally uncivilized, not befitting Kuwait University or a party in an academic institute.”
Great Mubarak Kiosk, a landmark construction KUWAIT: The Kiosk of Grand Mubarak AlSabah is one of the country’s landmark buildings that documents an important historic period of time and the era of Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, the seventh ruler of Kuwait. Kiosk is a Persian word that means a square structure, said Kuwaiti historian Mohammad Abdulhadi. The two-storey building was used by Sheikh Mubarak (1837-1915) as an office to run the country’s daily affairs during his time of rule from May, 1896 until his
death on Nov 28, 1915. Sheikh Mubarak set up two kiosks, one of which faced southward while the other faced northward, said the historian. Sheikh Mubarak used to run the country’s affairs during the morning time at the southward building and the other was confined for the afternoon sittings, Abdulhadi noted. The northward kiosk overlooked the eastern entrance of the vegetable market while the southward kiosk was located across the
Gharaballi market at the Mubarakiya courtyard in the heart of the old city of Kuwait. The sheikh sits in the two offices on daily basis to listen to senior citizens’ views regarding various issues and present assistance to nationals and solve problems facing them, Abdulhadi said. The location of the kiosks is at a significant commercial area during the rule of Sheikh Mubarak. It groups a host of markets of meat, vegetables, dates and households. After the
passing away of Sheikh Mubarak, the kiosks were used for other purposes. The southern kiosk was used as an office for the municipality and later as an office for the Saudi commercial representative, said Abdulhadi. The northward office was used as a court house in 1934, a post office between 1942 and 1952, a public library and later as a photography studio. The ground floor was also used as a pharmacy and other commercial stores. — KUNA
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A successful journey By Iqbal Al-Ahmad
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y journey with the Kuwaiti media delegation to the occupied Palestinian territories organized by the Kuwait Journalists Association was a complete success. It was an unprecedented move by the Gulf and Arab regions. During the visit we were able to see the agony of the Palestinian people that we all have been reading about and watching for years with our own eyes. What hurt us the most was the sight of Palestinian children walking to their schools each morning in extremely cold conditions and being forced to pass through Israeli barriers and submit to extensive searches. Other awful sights we will always remember include Palestinian shops covered with vulnerable cardboard shields in a desperate attempt to protect them from garbage thrown by Israeli settlers from their windows as well as the closed Shuhadaa (martyrs) Road near the Ibrahmi Mosque. The road is the only way for poor families to look for work and was closed after settlers filed several complaints. However, Palestinians could not hide their joy as they welcomed the visiting Kuwaiti delegation. They expressed their appreciation to Kuwait for being the only country to send a visiting media delegation without prior invitation. They expressed their gratitude toward the Kuwaiti delegation for visiting during Christmas and attending the Church of Nativity address. It marked the first time in history a country’s delegation attended the address. I urge delegations from all fields of the community to carry out similar visits to the occupied Palestinian territories so that the Palestinians can feel they are not left alone. Such attempts would boost their spirit and put more pressure on the Zionist regime. The Palestinian Authority always welcomes any delegation willing to visit the Palestinian territories through legal means and can ensure a successful visit. —Al-Qabas
Six-member gang held for committing 40 theft cases Man in custody for Sulaibiya burglaries KUWAIT: Police recently arrested a sixmember expatriate gang responsible for committing 40 theft cases in the country. The arrest took place after police located two of the culprits who are Syrian nationals residing in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh illegally. Following their arrest, the two told police that they stole cars along with a third suspect, a Gulf national who was caught before selling the cars off to a Pakistani car dealer. It was then sold to an Egyptian worker in Amghara who dismantled the parts to be sold individually. They were referred to concerned authorities, reported Al-Watan. Meanwhile, police arrested one of the two Sulaibiya residents who carried out several burglaries in Mubarak Al-Kabeer. The duo stole jewelry worth KD 60,000. The booty was recovered at a ‘safe’, found at a jakhour (animal farm) in Kabad where they were hidden. A search for the other accomplice is still ongoing, reported Al- Rai. In a separate incident, police recently arrested a gang of three Asian men who sold spoiled meat to restaurants in Al-Farwaniya and Khaitan after buying them from a worker at a Shuwaikh slaughterhouse, reported AlAnba. Efforts are currently being made to determine the places that bought stale supplies from culprits. Boyfriend stabbed A young bedoon man was admitted to Al-Jahra hospital after being attacked by his girlfriend’s brother. The victim was spotted in the company of the young woman at a mall when the girl’s brother happened to
pass by, reported Al-Watan. He charged at the couple with a knife in hand, which he used to stab the victim before fleeing the scene with his sister. Police filed a case. Drunk son A bedoon man turned his son in to officials at the Sulaibiya police station, after returning home in a heavily intoxicated state, reported Al-Watan. A case was filed and the young man was detained. Drunk arrested Police recently arrested a young man who had been directing motorists to pull over at Al-Gous street, using an emergency light bar that was attached to the top of his car. Upon approaching the suspect, officials soon realized that he was under the influence of alcohol, reported Al-Watan. A background check revealed that he is already wanted in connection with previous felony charges. He was taken into custody. Woman suffers falls An Asian woman was admitted to AlAdan hospital with a broken jaw and severe chest injuries after missing a step and falling from a commercial building in Fahaheel. She was admitted to the ICU in fatal condition, reported Al-Watan. Police opened an investigation into the case. Absconding employee A female citizen filed a case against an Egyptian employee of a real-estate company that she owns, accusing him of disap-
pearing with a number of cheques worth KD 6,996, reported Al-Watan. Investigations have been opened into the case. Teacher arrested Police arrested a French language teacher after being accused of sexually harassing a female student while giving private tuition lessons. The incident took place at a home in Qurain where the teacher was hired. He reportedly attempted to assault his student when they were left alone. After the teacher escaped, the victim’s brothers filed a case with officials, reported Al-Rai. The police traced the man at an apartment building in Hawally. Rapists caught Police arrested three men, including two servicemen for kidnapping and raping a teenage girl. The case was filed when the 17-year-old victim’s parents filed a missing complaint about their daughter. Investigations revealed that the victim was in contact with an officer from the Ministry of Interior before her disappearance. Police then obtained a warrant to raid a Salmiya apartment that he had rented. The main suspect, victim, two other suspects were found in the apartment. During interrogation, the victim said that she was taken to the apartment after agreeing to accompany the officer. The girl then explained that the officer and his two friends gang raped her at the apartment. One of them worked with the Ministry of Defense. The men denied accu-
sations, and a medical forensic checkup was performed to confirm her claims, repor ted Al-Rai. In another case, the Hawally police apprehended three rapists who assaulted a minor expatriate girl after kidnapping her in Salmiya. The criminals were arrested from a Salmiya apartment where the victim was also found. The victim was able to make a brief phone call to her father who reported the incident to police immediately. During interrogation, the culprits admitted to having planned the crime by monitoring the victim’s apartment and waiting for her father to leave before forcibly entering it and kidnapping her, repor ted Al-Watan. Separately, the Jahra police managed to rescue a woman who was kidnapped from Al-Salmy. During interrogation, the victim claimed that the abductor raped her at a Salwa apartment. They also added that the building’s janitor also attempted to assault her, reported Al-Anba. However, the suspect denied the accusations, indicating that the victim had accompanied him willingly. Drug dealer A Jahra barber was arrested for trading in drugs. The arrest took place after a confrontation with the suspect. The police had already confirmed the information they had received about his illegal activities. He was taken into custody after 10 pieces of hashish bars prepared for sale were found in his possession, reported Al-Rai. He was referred to proper authorities.
English students required to pass 11 grades before graduation KU WAI T: The M i ni s tr y o f Education announced that they will only accredit high school degrees issued by schools with GCSE and IGCSE British systems as long as the student studied
for no less than 11 years, reported Al- Qabas. The announce ment was made by the General Director of Private Education, Mohammad Al-Dahis, who indicated that all British schools in
About 1,000 seedlings planted in Kuwait KUWAIT: The national trilateral commission aided by students planted yesterday 1,000 seedlings along Al-Wafra-Abdullah Port highway in an attempt to counter pollution. The campaign grouping security follow-up committee, Environment Public Authority (EPA) and Kuwait Municipality displays authorities’ keenness in greening the country and countering pollution. — KUNA
Kuwait that teach according to t ho se t wo system s were informed to provide a curriculum where high school students are required to pass at least 11 grades before graduating.
Al-Dahis noted that the depar tment receives a large number of degrees each year from high school graduates that o nly p ass 1 0 gra des. He explained that such degrees
cannot be accredited according to the ministry’s regulations and pointed out that such degrees are usually rejec ted by most universities in Ku wait and abroad.
Nabila Al-Anjari
‘Kuwait’s democratic set up is safe’ KUWAIT: A female Kuwaiti activist believes that the country’s democratic set up is safe, regardless of Wednesday’s parliamentary session results. In the meantime, she asserts that accepting the result with a positive attitude would be the main proof of true commitment to the Constitution. Nabila Al-Anjari made these comments while speaking to reporters. While blaming “violent language in speeches that cloud our democratic experience,” the activist insisted that ‘no one can benefit from the deterioration of Kuwait’s democracy,’ urging oppositionist MPs to become aware of the importance of protecting constitutional gains. Moreover, Al-Anjari called for the current situation to be studied carefully and adopt a more normal approach in dealing with cases of political interpellations “similar to those presented in more democratic communities, away from exaggerated hype, intimidation, hesitation and facts blown out of proportion through the media which picture the situation as if it were a crisis.” Al-Anjari further added that the recent development uncovered a flaw in the democratic culture, as well as the proper comprehension of national loyalty, which she says are reasons to devise a formula to reinforce the concept of democracy as a means to solidify national affiliation and achieve more development for a better life.
Kuwait municipality examines mega resort project KUWAIT: The Municipal Council, at a session held yesterday, re-examined the mega project of building a tourist resort in Jahra, and decided to debate anew proportion of the commercial sector of the venture at the next session. The members of the council discussed this particular issue, however they decided to include it in the agenda of the upcoming session, without taking final decisions in this respect. On other topics, the council submitted a report by the Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs, Dr. Fadhel Safar, regarding the naming of Al-Orouba Street in the district of Al-Khaldiah after Ali Saleh Al-Fadhalah to the Street Naming Committee. It referred a report by the steering committee charged with preparation for the national days to the executive department of the municipality, and approved the specialization of a plot for building headquarters for the Oula Fuel Marketing Company. —KUNA
International TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
Pakistan PM scrambles to keep govt from collapsing
A busy first day for Brazil’s new prez Page 10
Defection deprives PM of majority seats in parliament
LAHORE: This handout photograph released by the Pakistani Press Information Department yesterday shows Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (L) speaking with governor of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif during a meeting in Lahore. —AFP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister yesterday tried to keep his government from collapsing after a key party said it was quitting the ruling coalition, leaving the government short of majority support in parliament. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the second largest party in the ruling coalition, said Sunday it would join the opposition because of fuel price hikes, inflation and the ruling Pakistan People’s Party’s general poor performance. The defection deprives Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s government of the 172 seats needed for a majority in the 342-member parliament. That means the fractured opposition parties , if they can work together, could sponsor a no-confidence vote in Gilani, which if passed by a majority of lawmakers would remove the prime minister from office and possibly trigger early elections. The political crisis is almost certain to distract the government at a time when the US is pushing Islamabad to do more to help turn around the war in neighboring Afghanistan, although security is largely the purview of Pakistan’s powerful military. It also all but guarantees lawmakers will make no progress anytime soon on solving the economic problems that have frustrated ordinary Pakistanis and forced the country to rely on $11 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund. With his job on the line, Gilani was scrambling yesterday to secure the support of opposition groups to avoid a no-confidence vote. He met with representatives of the biggest opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, as well the second largest opposition group, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q. But it was unclear whether he had made any headway as of late yesterday afternoon. One opposition leader said his party had nothing against the prime minister, but stressed that it could only support Gilani’s government if it improved its performance. “Today we gave support with a condition, and that condition is the real issues of the people are addressed,” said Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the PML-Q. PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan avoided directly addressing whether his faction would support a no-confidence vote. “We will not destabilize this government, but if it loses its majority we will not support it,” he said. “We will no way give it a shoulder.” Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is the head of the People’s Party. His position as president would likely be safe even if the Party loses its majority in Parliament. Analysts speculated that Zardari might be willing to replace Gilani with a premier more acceptable to other parties to avoid the PPP’s losing power. But Pakistani media reported early yesterday evening that Zardari had phoned Gilani and assured him of his support. The MQM said Sunday it was quitting the ruling coalition after the government announced hikes in gas and heating oil prices on New Year’s Eve.
“The petrol bomb the government has dropped on the people of Pakistan has forced our party to part ways with such insane decisions,” said Faisal Subzwari, an MQM leader. The MQM filed an application yesterday to formally switch to the opposition. Its Cabinet ministers already tendered their resignations last week. Another, smaller party, the Jamiat Ulema Islam, announced in December it would switch to the opposition and its application is under review. Without the two, the ruling coalition will fall about a dozen seats short of the 172 needed to keep a majority. Analysts said Gilani had only weeks, if not days, to keep his coalition intact or scrape together a new one. However, he appeared to have a bit of breathing room because there is no guarantee the fragmented opposition will be able to close ranks and oust Gilani. The MQM and the PML-N, headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, have frosty relations. Sharif’s party also would likely be loath to take the reins of a new government at such a difficult time. The IMF has demanded that Pakistan significantly reform its economy, including deep cuts to its deficit, in order to keep the loan program going. The international assistance took on added importance after the massive floods of late 2010 that affected some 20 million people. But the economic reforms, notably a revised general sales tax, are unpopular and have given the opposition , as well as the MQM and the JUI , something to rail against. Many analysts speculate the parties could be using the crisis as a tactic to win concessions from the ruling party. The MQM upped the pressure on the ruling PPP yesterday, raising the possibility that it might quit its partnership with the People’s Party in the coalition that governs Sindh province. The lack of progress and political bickering has upset many Pakistanis. “There is no electricity, no gas, no jobs and they are fighting one another,” said Arif Fasiullah, 35, of the central city of Multan, in a recent interview. “They do not pass any legislation. They just do dirty politics.” The inflation rate in Pakistan is above 15 percent, according to government statistics, and the poorest are feeling the pain most. The People’s Party took power in February 2008 in elections that brought Pakistan out of nearly a decade of military rule. It rode to power on a wave of sympathy after its leader, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated. But its popularity has slipped as Pakistan has grappled with severe economic problems and frequent militant attacks. The PML-N holds the second largest number of seats in parliament and is believed to be the most popular party in the country. It is more aligned with religious conservatives than the People’s Party is and has not been as vocal in opposing the Taleban , a position that could cause some discomfort in Washington, which needs Pakistan’s help in ending the war in neighboring Afghanistan. —AP
South Korea talks tough but opens door to diplomacy SEOUL: South Korea’s president yesterday opened the door to possible peace talks with North Korea even as he vowed not to let Pyongyang “covet even an inch of our territor y ”, looking to strike a delicate balance between diplomacy and strength two days after the North called for better ties with Seoul. Lee Myung-bak, addressing the country in a New Year’s speech, said the Nov 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, which killed four and has spiked fears of war, should be treated as the United States did the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and spur the South to change the way it defends itself. Future provocations, he said, “will be met with stern, strong responses.” However, he said: “The door for dialogue is still open. If the North exhibits sincerity, we have both the will and the plan to drastically enhance economic cooperation.” On New Year’s Day, the North called for warmer ties and the resumption of joint projects with South Korea. Pyongyang, eager for food and fuel assistance, has said it wants stalled international aid-for-nucleardisarmament talks to restart. Washington and Seoul have said no, demanding the North first fulfill past nuclear disarmament commitments. Meanwhile, the United States, which has about 28,500 troops in the South, is sending its top envoy on Nor th Korea, Stephen Bosworth, to Seoul for talks Wednesday with top officials. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit Seoul next week. North Korea yesterday called for Seoul to scrap its hostile policy against Pyongyang. “As long as South Korea’s dangerous nor thward invasion plot is maintained, Nor th-South Korea relations cannot be improved at all and we cannot think about the nation’s safety and peaceful reunification,” the Nor th’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. In the North Korean capital, about 100,000 people gathered yesterday for an annual New Year rally to display loyalty to leader Kim Jong Il. The crowd packed Kim Il Sung plaza, pumping their fists in the air and shouting slogans while carrying huge portraits of Kim and his father, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. Some waved huge red flags and played small drums, as top officials watched from an elevated viewing stand. Kim and his son and heir-apparent, Kim Jong Un, didn’t appear in the footage broadcast by APTN. Despite the mention of possible peace talks, the focus of Lee’s comments on North Korea was a tough promise to improve South Korea’s defenses.
SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak speaks to the nation during his New Year’s speech at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea yesterday.—AP Lee was severely criticized for acting too slowly and too weakly after the shelling near the Koreas’ disputed western sea border. It was the first attack by the North, which claims the waters around the island as its territory, on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War. Lee’s government has responded by replacing the defense chief, strengthening security and pushing to deploy additional troops and weaponry to Yeonpyeong, which lies just seven miles (11 kilometers) from North Korean shores. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Lee said, the United States devised new security strategies. “ The shelling of Yeonpyeong Island also served as an opportunity for us to reflect on our security readiness and overhaul our defense posture,” he said. Under Lee’s conservative administration, relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated as he reversed policies of earlier liberal-leaning administrations that he saw as rewarding the Nor th’s aggression. Presidential and foreign ministry officials said the resumption of talks with North Korea would depend on whether Pyongyang makes progress on past nuclear commitments. Jeung Young-tae, an analyst with the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said tensions won’t be dramatically eased anytime soon because North Korea won’t accept linking new talks with disarmament efforts. — AP
Karroubi says ready for trial TEHRAN: Opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi is prepared to go on trial over the unrest which followed Iran’s disputed presidential poll in June 2009 but wants the trial open to the public, his website reported yesterday. His offer came after Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jaffari Dolatabadi threatened on Friday to file criminal charges against opposition leaders such as Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi for their “seditionist” role in the post-vote violence. “I completely welcome such a trial... I am ready for the court to be held in any form,” Karroubi said in a signed open letter posted on his website Sahamnews.org. “But I have a request... that the proceedings be open to the public so that the people, who own the country, can listen to both sides and then make their own judgement,” the website quoted him as writing in the letter. Tehran and other Iranian cities were gripped by violent street protests in the aftermath of the 2009 election, which officially returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. Mousavi, Karroubi and their supporters maintain the poll was rigged. In his letter, Karroubi also wrote that he had “strong reasons” for the stance he has adopted since the vote. Dolatabadi has previously warned it was just a matter of time until opposition leaders would be held legally responsible for the widespread rioting after the election. —AFP
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
INTERNATIONAL Christians subject to genocide: Ex-Lebanon leader BEIRUT: Extremist groups are waging a "genocide" against Christians in the Middle East, a former Lebanese president said yesterday after a New Year's suicide bombing of a church in Egypt killed 21 people. Amin Gemayel, a Christian who served a six-year term as president in the 1980s, cited the attack in Egypt and recent violence in Iraq as he urged leaders to give Christian communities a larger political role. "Massacres are taking place for no reason and without any justification against Christians. It is only because they are Christians," said Gemayel, who leads Lebanon's right-wing Christian Phalange party. "What is happening to Christians is a genocide," he said. Lebanon, which experienced a ruinous 15-year civil war, in part between Muslims and Christians, that left about 150,000 dead, is deeply divided along sectarian lines. Christians make up about 40 percent of Lebanon's 4 million people and the country is the only Arab nation with a Christian head of state. The Phalange party, which was founded in 1936 by Gemayel's father, Pierre, fought heavily on the Christian side during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war. Militias linked to the party carried out the notorious massacres of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in 1982.
Gbagbo defies calls to step down
Former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel Egyptian police are focusing their investigation into the New Year's suicide bombing on a group of Islamic hard-liners inspired by al-Qaida and based in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Scores of Iraqi Christians have been killed in the past months at the hands of extremists as well. — AP
Policeman shot dead in northeastern Nigeria MAIDUGURI: A policeman was shot dead in northeastern Nigeria yesterday, the latest in a string of violent attacks in one of the poorest areas of Africa's most populous nation. The officer was shot in the city of Maiduguri where an Islamist sect last week killed at least 16 people in a series of religiously motivated attacks, the police have said. Over 90 suspects have been arrested. "Corporal James was trailed by two people on a motorcycle when he disengaged from patrol duty this morning, and they shot him dead near police quarters in Gwange ward at about 9:45 am," police commissioner Mohammed Abubaker said. Two days earlier suspect-
Neighbors to pressure Ivory Coast leader to leave
ed members of Islamist group Boko Haram set a church ablaze close to where yesterday's shooting took place, Abubaker said. Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful" in Hausathe language spoken across northern Nigeria, is loosely modelled on the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and wants Islamic law imposed throughout the West African country. The sect claimed responsibility for Christmas Eve bombings in the central Nigerian city of Jos which killed at least 80 people and left more than 100 wounded, part of a wave of violence less than four months before presidential elections. — Reuters
ABIDJAN: African leaders returned to Ivory Coast yesterday in their second visit in a week as they stepped up pressure on the country's renegade president to cede power more than a month after the election or face a military ouster. Laurent Gbagbo has defied the calls to step down even though results tallied by the country's electoral commission and certified by the United Nations showed he lost by a nearly 9-point margin to longtime opposition leader Alassane Ouattara. Gbagbo has clung to power with the backing of the army, and human rights groups accuse his security forces of abducting and killing hundreds of political opponents. The U.N. says it also has been barred entry from two suspected mass graves. Gbagbo has dismissed the international condemnation as "a foreign plot" led by France, the country's former colonizer. In a break with the past though, the African leaders also have taken a stance against one of their own. The three presidents who are coming to Abidjan yesterday represent the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, a 15-member regional bloc that is threatening military action if Gbagbo does not agree to step aside. The presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde are also being joined by Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is representing the African Union. The continental body in the past has been derisively called "the club of dictators" because of its unwillingness to criticize rogue leaders. However, the AU has been ABIDJAN: Benin President Boni Yayi, left, walks with Sierra Leone President, Ernest Bai Koroma, on arrival at the uncharateristically strident in its airport in Abidjan yesterday. —AP criticism of Gbagbo, threatening sanctions if he does not leave. Col. as a test case for democracy in win." Some have taken that to ing foreign channels off the air. He Mohammed Yerima, director of Africa and a warning to other mean he never intended to step called on the United Nations peacekeeping mission to leave the defense information for the strongmen on the continent who down, regardless of the results. For several days after the vote, country, accusing them of backing Nigerian military, said that defense refuse to let go. Gbagbo, who came to power in Gbagbo loyalists tried to prevent his opponent, who is holed up in a chiefs from the 15-nation bloc met Friday to begin strategizing what 2000 and ruled during a brief civil the election commission from luxury hotel in the commercial sort of assault they'd use if talks war, overstayed his mandate when releasing the outcome, and once capital of Abidjan. The election was intended to it expired in 2005, claiming the the results were out, the constitufail. He said any initial invasion force country was too unstable to organ- tional council led by a Gbagbo help reunify the country, which would rely on the West African ize a poll. When the election was adviser immediately overturned was divided by the 2002-2003 war coalition's standby force, as well as finally held in October, it had been them by canceling half a million into a rebel-controlled north and a equipment and material already scheduled and then canceled at ballots from opposition strong- loyalist south. Instead, the election has renewed divisions that threatstockpiled. If international pressure least six times. In the lead-up to holds. Gbagbo's government then en to plunge the country back into succeeds in forcing Gbagbo to the November runoff, his party's stand down, Ivory Coast could act slogan was: "Either we win. Or we imposed a media blackout, yank- civil war. — AP
Finland expands Patria bribery probe to Croatia HELSINKI:
Finnish police have begun a bribery investigation into arms group Patria's sales in Croatia, sparked by information collected during a similar probe into its dealings in Slovenia, officials said yesterday. The National Bureau of Investigation said police suspect that "money was handed to civil servants and decision makers" in 2007 when the Finnish company sold armored vehicles to Croatia in a deal valued at the time at 112 million Euros. Detective Chief Inspector Kaj Bjorkvist declined to give details as both investigations were pending. But he confirmed that the bureau began the investigation in Croatia after suspicions were aroused during an ongoing probe into alleged bribes paid to Slovenian politicians in a Euros 280 million deal in
2006. In October, the Slovene Parliament stripped a former prime minister of his immunity so he could be prosecuted for allegedly taking bribes while in office. Janez Jansa, now a lawmaker in Slovenia's strongest opposition party, was indicted with four other men for seeking about §2 million in bribes to help Patria win the 2006 tender. He has denied the charges. In November 2008, the Finnish bureau detained former Patria CEO Jorma Wiitakorpi and another former Patria official in connection with the Slovenia investigation. Both men were suspected of "industrial espionage, aggravated bribery and bribery in business operations," the bureau said at the time. Patria has declined to comment on the case except
BASRA: US Army soldiers salute during a handover ceremony of a military base from the 1st Infantry Division to the 36th Infantry Division in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday. — AP
two GIs killed in Iraq
HEIJNINGEN, Netherlands: A tractor moves glass bottles at a recycling facility yesterday. The recycling facility accepts deliveries of truckloads of glass after the holidays from throughout the country. – AFP
BAGHDAD: Gun and bomb attacks killed three Iraqis and wounded 15 yesterday, security officials said, while the US military said two US soldiers had been killed, the first to die in Iraq this year. A suicide car bomb exploded yesterday morning outside a police intelligence office in Baquba north of the Iraqi capital, killing a man and wounding 15 other people, a security official and a doctor said. The bombing targeted the office, located in a central market, at about 11:00 am (0800 GMT), the security official said, adding that guards protecting the building and girls on a nearby school bus were among the wounded. Just before the suicide bomber blew up the car, insurgents threw several hand grenades into the intelligence office. It was the first attack against the centre, which was opened three years ago. Dr Firas al-Dulaimi, who works at the main hospital in Baquba, said the wounded included 10 girls, two men, and three guards from the intelligence office, who suffered serious injuries. In central Baghdad, gunmen early yesterday broke into the home of a Christian woman, Rafah Toma, shot her dead and made off with a number of her possessions, an interior ministry official said. Toma, who lived alone in Al-Wahda neighbourhood, is the latest victim of a string of attacks on Christians in Iraq, with the official saying she was likely targeted because of her religion. On Thursday, at least two Christians were killed and 16 others wounded in a wave of bomb attacks on Christian targets in Baghdad, while 44 worshippers, two priests and seven security forces members were killed in an October 31 attack by militants on a Baghdad church. The interior ministry official, who would not be named, also said that a policeman was shot dead by gunmen with silenced weapons in Taifiya in northern Baghdad yesterday. He gave no further details.
The policeman's death followed a string of similar attacks on Sunday night in which a traffic police colonel, two other police, an army captain and an engineer were gunned down in five separate attacks in Baghdad by gunmen with silenced weapons. Gunmen also severely wounded a colonel with the interior ministry on Sunday. The US military yesterday announced that two US soldiers have been killed in central Iraq. "Two US service members were killed in central Iraq Sunday night while in support of Operation New Dawn," a statement from the US military said. Operation New Dawn is the name for US military activities in Iraq from September 1, 2010, after the declared end of combat operations. "This was one incident resulting in the death of two US service members. These are the first deaths of any US service member in 2011," a spokeswoman for the military said, without giving further details on how the two were killed, or to which branch of the military they belonged. The latest deaths brings to 4,432 the number of American soldiers to have died in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, according to an AFP tally based on data from independent website www.icasualties.org. According to the website, 60 members of the US military were killed in Iraq in 2010 -- by far the smallest number since 2003. Some 50,000 US troops remain in the country, but a security accord between Baghdad and Washington requires that they be withdrawn by the end of 2011. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who was approved for a second term by parliament on December 21 along with a national unity cabinet after over nine months of political deadlock, has named security as one of his top priorities. — AFP
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Busy first day for Brazil’s new prez Rousseff to improve ties with Washington
In this frame grab taken from video provided to the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, US Navy Capt Owen Honors appears in one of a series of profanity-laced comedy sketches that were broadcast on the USS Enterprise via closed-circuit television. —AP
Navy probes lewd videos shown on deployed carrier VIRGINIA: Videos just coming to light show the crew of a Navy aircraft carrier got an eyeful on shipboard TV: Gay slurs, suggestive shower scenes and mimicked masturbation in clips made not by some sailor run amok but by the ship’s second-most powerful officer. The Navy said Sunday it will investigate the “clearly inappropriate” videos shown through the nuclear-powered ship’s closed-circuit television system. The star of the videos, made in 2006 and 2007, is Capt Owen Honors, who now commands the USS Enterprise but was its executive officer, the second in command , when the videos were made. The Nor folk-based Enterprise was deployed in the Middle East at the time the videos were made and is weeks from deploying again. The Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported on the videos in its Sunday editions and posted an edited version of one video on its website. It’s not immediately known why the images are surfacing now. The VirginianPilot quoted anonymous crew members who said they raised concerns aboard the ship about the videos when they aired, but they were brushed off. It’s clear from the videos that Honors, who took over the ship’s command in May, had already gotten complaints when some of them were made. “Over the years I’ve gotten several complaints about inappropriate material during these videos, never to me personally but, gutlessly, through other channels,” he said in the introduction to the video posted by the newspaper. He goes on to use a derogatory term for gays and tells his critics: “This evening, all of you bleeding hearts ... why don’t you just go ahead and hug yourselves for the next 20 minutes or so, because there’s a really good chance you’re gonna be offended.” Next comes a sequence of what appear to be outtakes in which Honors and others curse, followed by clips in which he and others are shown making hand motions that mimic masturbation. Honors segues to the next segment by saying, “Finally let’s get to my favorite topic ... chicks in the shower.” Next are shown clips of pairs of women and a pair of men pretending to shower together. No nudity is shown, but the men’s and women’s bare shoulders imply they are nude. Other clips in the video show a man in drag and a mock rectal examination.
Navy Cmdr. Chris Sims said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that the videos “were not acceptable then and are not acceptable in today’s Navy.” Executive officers and other leaders “are charged to lead by example and are held accountable for setting the proper tone and upholding the standards of honor, courage and commitment that we expect sailors to exemplify,” he said. Sims said US Fleet Forces Command “has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the production of these videos.” In a statement to the Virginian-Pilot on Friday, however, the Navy said it had put a stop to videos with “inappropriate content” on the Enterprise several years ago. “It is unfortunate that copies of these videos remained accessible to crewmembers, especially after leadership took action approximately four years ago to ensure any future videos reflected the proper tone,” the Navy said. It also said the videos “were intended to be humorous skits focusing the crew’s attention on specific issues such as port visits, traffic safety, water conservation, ship cleanliness, etc.” A phone listing for Honors was not immediately available. He is a 1983 alumnus of the US Naval Academy and was a naval aviator before holding command. He attended the US Naval Fighter Weapons School, also known as Top Gun. The newspaper reported that the videos were made during the Enterprise’s two six-month deployments to the Middle East in 2006 and 2007. Commissioned in 1961, the Enterprise is the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. It is scheduled to sail two more deployments before it is decommissioned in 2013. It can carry a crew of more than 5,800. The commanding officer of the Enterprise at the time the videos were made, Lawrence Rice, was later promoted to the rank of the rear admiral and had been assigned to the Norfolk-based US Joint Forces Command, but is no longer there, a spokeswoman said. The video posted by the newspaper included clips of past “movies” Honors had made , including several statements in which he holds his higher-ups blameless for the material. “As usual, the admiral and the captain have no idea about the contents of the video or movie this evening, and they should not be held accountable in any judicial setting,” Honors says.—AP
US Republicans arm for Congress battles WASHINGTON: Republicans eagerly geared up for battle in Congress this week, warning Democrats of an aggressive push to slash spending and an early assault on President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform. With most politicians already eyeing the 2012 presidential election, the US Congress returns tomorrow with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives and a slimmed- down Democratic majority in the Senate. Buoyed by their gains in the November mid-term elections which also saw the grassroots conservative Tea Party movement win its first lawmakers, Republicans are champing at the bit to try to unravel two years of legislation enacted by Obama’s Democrats. Topping the Republicans’ “to do” list are the nation’s 1.3-trillion- dollar budget deficit and health care reform, with rightwing lawmakers saying they are responding to voters’ anger at the stagnant economy and high unemployment. Representative Fred Upton, who takes over as chair of the power ful Energy and Commerce Committee, vowed tough oversight and “to bring up spending reductions virtually every week.” And he told Fox News Sunday his committee would hold a vote on moving to repeal Obama’s health care reform before the presidential State of the Union address at the end of January. Republicans cannot repeal health reform while Obama has a presidential veto, but plan instead to block White House efforts to fund its implementation. “If we pass this bill, it will put enormous pressure on the Senate to do the same thing. But then we’re going to go after this bill piece by piece,” Upton said. Obama’s signature legislation, pushed through Congress despite huge Republican opposition early last year, aims to ensure that all Americans have health care insurance. But Tea Par ty favorite M ichele Bachmann told CBS: “Obamacare will bankrupt the countr y... I t ’s ver y costly, it ’s
unwieldy. “So we will put forth a clean repeal bill of Obamacare.” In his weekly national address on Saturday, Obama reminded Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives that they have a “shared responsibility to move this country forward.” “It’s time to make some serious decisions about how to keep our economy strong, growing, and competitive in the long run,” the president said. But serving notice that a spirit of bi-partisanship hesitantly forged in late December looked set to evaporate, Representative Darrell Issa said: “I think we’re going to be in a constant battle over jobs and the economy.” Issa, who will be the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and who last year called the Obama administration “one of the most corrupt,” also warned he intends to rigorously oversee spending. The Republican bid to rein in spending appears focused in part on the nation’s debt ceiling. The US is about 400 billion dollars away from hitting the current debt ceiling of 14.3 trillion dollars. But fiscal conservatives in Congress are opposed to raising the limit, believing it is already high enough. Refusing to raise the ceiling would be “insanity ” and would mean “essentially defaulting on our obligations, which is totally unprecedented in American history,” warned Austan Goolsbee, chairman of Obama’s council of economic advisors, on ABC’s “This Week.” But incoming lawmaker, Mike Kelly, told CBS: “Raising the debt ceiling to me is absolutely irresponsible. We’ve been spending money for so long that we don’t have and keep saying, well, it’s OK.” Democratic Party chairman Tim Kaine said Sunday the president, while aiming to work with the Republicans, was not going to kow-tow to them as they wield their newfound political muscle. “He’s not going to play ‘mother may I’ with the Republicans. He’s going to govern,” he told CNN.—AFP
BRASILIA: Brazil’s new president Dilma Rousseff held a flurry of talks with foreign envoys on Sunday during her first full day in office after succeeding her hugely popular predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The 63-year-old Rousseff, who was Lula’s former cabinet chief, vowed during her inauguration on Saturday to continue his policies, which have fueled economic growth and enhanced Brazil’s international standing. On Sunday, Rousseff met with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-Sik, Spain’s crown Prince Felipe, Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, Cuban Vice President Jose Ramon Machado and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. The new foreign minister Antonio Patriota said her travel plans would take her to Brazil’s two biggest trading partners, the United States and China, in the coming months as well as a February South AmericaArab summit in Peru. Rousseff wants to improve ties with Washington and most likely will take a more critical stand with Iran, analysts have said, after Lula irked the United States with his friendly embrace of Tehran. She was also expected to pursue closer ties with the BRICS club of major emerging economies, which besides Brazil includes Russia, India, China and South Africa. During Saturday’s inauguration ceremony, Rousseff received the green-and-gold official sash and a heartfelt hug from Lula before he left her alone in the spotlight to give her first speech to the nation. “I will look after the most vulnerable. I will govern for all Brazilians,” she said in the televised address from the palace’s balcony. Required to step down after ser ving the maximum two consecutive terms permitted under Brazil’s constitution, Lula has not said what he plans to do in retirement. But he has said he is a “natural born politician” who would not rule out trying to return to the presidency after Rousseff ’s four-year mandate ends, depending on the per formance of the woman he helped get elected. In her swearing-in speech before Brazil’s Congress, Rousseff repeatedly paid homage to her mentor, calling him a “great man” and vowing to maintain his legacy, notably in reducing poverty and promoting economic prosperity. “The most determined struggle will be to eradicate extreme poverty,” she said. “We can be a more developed and fairer country.” Rousseff outlined plans for tax reforms, environmental protection, improved health services, regional development-and unspecified measures to combat foreign “speculation” that could upset Brazil’s economic growth. Brazil’s economy grew an enviable 7.6 percent in 2010, it enjoys recently discovered oil finds that could make it a big-league exporter and it is preparing to host the 2014 football World Cup and 2016 Olympics. But challenges loom. Growth is expected to slide to 4.5 percent in 2011, rising inflation is well above the government target at an estimated 5.9 percent, and an aim to cut public debt from 42 percent to 30 percent is likely to meet resistance, as Brazil desperately needs more and better infrastructure. Brazil’s currency, the real, has more than doubled in value against the dollar during Lula’s eight years in power, and looks set to rise further, undermining the competitiveness of Brazilian exporters. —AFP
BRASILIA: Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, right, shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday. —AP
Magnitude-7.1 quake shakes southern Chile SANTIAGO: A magnitude-7.1 earthquake shook southern Chile on Sunday, prompting tens of thousands to flee the coast for higher ground amid fears it could generate a tsunami like the one that ravaged the area last year. There were no reports of deaths or damage, and Vicente Nunez, head of the National Emergency Office, said no tsunami alert was issued. “There has been no harm to people, no harm to property,” Nunez said. “We will continue monitoring.” The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii also said a destructive Pacific Ocean-wide tsunami was not expected. President Sebastian Pinera urged calm in an address to the nation. “ There was an exercise of selfevacuation, which is exactly what we
have asked people to do,” Pinera said. “For tunately we do not have to lament accidents or losses of life.” Some cell-phone communications and electrical power were knocked out in the Araucania region where the quake was centered, 370 miles (595 kilometers) south-southwest of the capital, Santiago. The US Geological Survey said the epicenter was about 45 miles (70 kilometers) away from the provincial capital of Temuco, which has a population of about 250,000. The quake struck at a depth of about 11 miles (17 kilometers), according to the USGS, and there was at least one aftershock of 5.0 magnitude. When the first temblor struck, people in several coastal cities quickly moved away from the ocean, abandoning some
shopping centers entirely. In the communities of La Araucania, Puerto Saavedra, Tolten and Teodoro Smith, an estimated 50,000 people voluntarily evacuated to higher ground, according to Nunez. Hundreds of tourists spending the New Year’s holiday at the resorts of Villarica and Pucon cut their trips short and headed north, clogging roads and toll stations. Residents of the region have fresh memories of the magnitude -8.8 quake and resulting tsunami on Feb. 27, 2010, that killed at least 521 people and left 200,000 homeless. Sergio Barrientos, director of the seismology office at the University of Chile, said Sunday ’s temblor was itself an aftershock of last year ’s mega-quake. — AP
Mexican cartel announces 1-month truce MORELIA: A letter purportedly signed by La Familia drug cartel announcing a one-month truce circulated Sunday in the western state of Michoacan. In the one-page message, distributed by email and in some cities door by door, the gang claims it will halt all crime activity during January to demonstrate that the cartel “is not responsible for the criminal acts federal authorities are reporting to the media.” Prosecutors have not verified the letter’s authenticity, according to an employee of the Michoacan bureau of the federal Attorney General’s Office who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The government says La Familia has been weakened by a recent string of arrests and deaths of top leaders. In another letter that circulated in November, La Familia purportedly
offered to disband. Last month, gunmen torched vehicles across Michoacan and used them as barricades to block all entrances into the state capital of Morelia after federal police killed alleged La Familia leader Nazario Moreno Gonzalez. La Familia has occasionally made public pronouncements seeking to convince the public that it is defending Michoacan against other drug gangs. Federal officials, however, say the cartel has terrorized the state with kidnappings, extortion, hundreds of murders, decapitations and drug trafficking. More than 30,000 people have died in drug-related violence nationwide since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on cartels after taking office in December 2006, first deploying hundreds of soldiers and federal police to his home state of Michoacan.
On Sunday, Calderon said in a New Year’s broadcast that his administration will continue to fight organized crime. “We all know it is necessary to rid Mexico of crime, impunity and corruption, which had been rooted in our society and our institutions,” he said. “I can assure you we are on the right path and we will defeat the criminals, to ultimately build a Mexico of peace.” Earlier Sunday, military and federal agencies responsible for fighting the drug war released a joint statement highlighting what they called “historic achievements.” In Calderon’s first four years in government, more methamphetamine, automatic rifles and grenades were seized than in the previous eight years, the statement said. It did not say how seizures for cocaine and marijuana, the main sources of income for Mexican drug cartels, compare to previous administrations.—AP
PORT-AU-PRINCE: Police extinguish a bonfire, part of a barricade set up by demonstrators protesting against presidential elections, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti yesterday. —AP
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China claims mastering nuclear fuel reprocessing Breakthrough may yield additional power sources BEIJING: Chinese scientists have mastered the technology for reprocessing nuclear fuel, potentially yielding additional power sources to keep the country’s economy booming, state television reported yesterday. The breakthrough will extend by many times the amount of power that can be generated from China’s nuclear plants by allowing the recovery of fissile and fertile materials to provide new fuel, CCTV said.
Several European countries, Russia, India and Japan already reprocess nuclear fuel, the actual materials used to make nuclear energy, to separate out and recover the unused uranium and plutonium, reduce waste and close the nuclear cycle for safety reasons. Each country’s process is generally considered an industrial secret and not shared. Both the recovered plutonium and, when prices are high, the uranium can then be re-used as fuel. As well, some types of reactors can use other components that are reprocessed, potentially multiplying the amount of energy that results from the original uranium fuel by about 60 times. However, reprocessing is controversial because the extracted plutonium can be used to produce nuclear weapons. It also costs substantially more than using fuel once and then storing it as waste.
China, which has possessed nuclear weapons for decades, has known supplies of nuclear fuel to last 50-70 years, but the new process could yield enough extra fuel to potentially extend that to 3,000 years, the report said. Chinese scientists have been working on the technology for more than 20 years, but the details of the process they developed are being kept secret, CCTV said. No timeframe was given for when China will begin reprocessing on an industrial scale. China is heavily dependent on coal for energy, but has launched an ambitious plan to add hundreds of nuclear power plants to its 13 currently in use. China overtook the United States in 2009 to become the world’s largest energy consumer, years before it was expected to do s o, a cco rd i n g to t h e Pa r i s - b a s e d
International Energy Agency. China’s total 2009 consumption, including energy sources ranging from oil and coal to wind and solar power, was equal to 2.265 billion tons of oil, compared with 2.169 billion tons used by the U.S., the IEA said. The consumption boom reflects China’s transformation from a nation of subsistence farmers to one of workers increasingly trading bicycles for cars and buying air conditioners and other energy-hungr y home electronics. That has also bestowed on China status as the world’s biggest polluter, although Beijing has long pointed fingers at developed nations in climate change talks and resists any label that could increase international pressure for it to take a larger role in curbing greenhouse gas emissions.—AP
Afghan peace council heads for Pakistan talks
QUEENSLAND: This picture taken on Sunday shows rising floodwaters spreading through the low-lying suburb of Depot Hill in Rockhampton, in eastern Queensland. —AFP
Australian army rushes supplies to flood zone ROCKHAMPTON: The Australian military raced to supply the flood-hit northern city of Rockhampton, which was cut off by rising waters yesterday, as the disaster claimed its third fatality. Up to 200,000 people are estimated to have been hit by the fast-flowing waters that have inundated 22 rural towns in the country’s northeast, across an area the size of France and Germany. The military rushed food and medical supplies to Rockhampton yesterday as flood waters threatened the costal city. “Looks like Rockhampton’s in the middle of an inland sea,” Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said after flying over the area. “The amount of water coming down these river systems is nothing short of astonishing. Bligh later said that Rockhampton had been cut off, with the last route into the town inundated. “The highway is cut at Rockhampton,” Bligh told ABC radio. “Rockhampton is now completely stranded-a town of 75,000 people-no airport, rail or road.” With the last route to Rockhampton cut, three Australian Defence Force helicopters will provide the city’s only lifeline for food and medical supplies. “The affected area is greater than the size of New South Wales (state), with the worst still to come in communities like Rockhampton,” Bligh said. “Supplying them with food, ensuring that we keep them safe during this flood is absolutely critical.” Bligh said floods had also halted operations at 75 per cent of Queensland’s coal fields, which supplied half of the world’s coking coal needed in steel manufacturing. Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered emergency funds to people affected by the floods, including farmers more used to battling crippling droughts, as well as to small businesses. “When the floodwaters recede, we are going to see a lot of damage but we will obviously be working with the state government to rebuild that essential community infrastructure,” Gillard told reporters in
Sydney. “All in all, we know hundreds of millions of dollars are going to flow into Queensland.” Gillard, who toured some of the devastated areas Friday, said that for some communities these were “the biggest floods they have ever seen” and warned people to be aware of the risks of the fastflowing waters. Police confirmed the third death since the floods were declared a disaster, that of a man who drowned after his vehicle was swept into a flooded river. His death follows that of a man who died after abandoning his boat Saturday as it took on water, and a woman who drowned as she was swept away by surging waters that swamped her car. Ten people have now died in floodrelated accidents since November 30 — including three whose vehicles were swept away, two people who attempted to swim in fast-flowing waters, a man who was knocked off a footbridge and a girl who drowned while trying to walk across a river. Queensland state assistant police commissioner Alistair Dawson has warned the emergency could drag on for a month, saying that, while parts of the state were in recovery mode, others were bracing for the worst. Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter said the flooding, set to peak in tomorrow in the city, would take a long time to recede. “We expect to have our airport closed for the best part of three weeks,” he told reporters yesterday. The floods are wreaking untold billions of dollars in damage to crops and Australia’s key mining industry, while farmers, small businesses and tourism are also expected to suffer. In Bundaberg, in Queensland’s southeast, the clean-up had begun in about 300 homes and 120 businesses as flood waters receded, but other towns such as Theodore and Condamine remained empty of residents. “It’s just devastating,” Queenslander Beryl Callaghan told Sky News after returning to her water-damaged home.— AFP
KABUL: Members of an Afghan peace council will hold talks this week with leaders in Pakistan, a crucial player in any future Afghan peace settlement, in the latest attempt to resolve the drawn-out and costly war. A delegation led by former president Burhanuddin Rabbani would hold talks this week with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and others to discuss peace efforts in Afghanistan, said Waheed Omer, chief spokesman for President Hamid Karzai. Pakistan, long blamed for stoking the insurgency in Afghanistan to thwart rival India, is nevertheless seen as an important ally to the United States and other NATO members as they battle a worsening insurgency now in its tenth year. Acceptance has grown at home and abroad that talks may be the route to peace in Afghanistan, with US and NATO leaders also examining their long term-commitment to the war, which is at its deadliest since the Taleban were ousted in late 2001. Omer said the delegation from Karzai’s High Peace Council wanted to seek help from Pakistan and keep its leaders abreast of developments. “This trip is not about meeting members of the Taleban,” Omer told a news conference in Kabul. “As Pakistan has influence over the Afghan Taleban and anti-government elements who are Afghans, it can be productive in the peace process,” he said. Pakistan backed the Taleban until the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on US cities. It says it has maintained some contacts but rejects accusations it backs the insurgency. The United States has increased pressure on Pakistan to hunt down Islamist militants in a bid to turn around the war in Afghanistan, but those efforts have been complicated by a growing political crisis in Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was scrambling to save his ruling coalition yesterday after a key partner withdrew. At a summit in Lisbon in November, NATO leaders accepted Karzai’s ambitious timeline for Afghan security forces to take over security responsibility by the end of 2014, part of his broader peace plan that includes talks with the Taleban. While Afghan officials have been meeting Taleban and other insurgent leaders for at least two years, the momentum for talks grew last year after a series of media stories incorrectly said senior Taleban leaders had met Karzai’s government. No serious, high-level discussions about peace have been held between the Afghan government and the Taleban, US, NATO and Afghan officials have said, with contacts described as “talks about talks” or “networking”. Interest in talks also grew in the leadup to US President Barack Obama’s review of his Afghan war strategy last month, which found US and NATO forces were making headway against the Taleban and al Qaeda but serious challenges remain. Karzai established the peace council in October. His broader peace plan includes reintegrating Taleban “foot soldiers” and finding asylum in third countries for irreconcilable leaders. Some Western leaders have said the conflict cannot be won militarily but Washington and NATO leaders however say talks will not be possible unless militants renounce the insurgency. The Taleban, in turn, have said repeatedly there will be no talks until all foreign troops have left Afghanistan. Most of the senior members of the Afghan Taleban, including their elusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, fled to neighbouring Pakistan when US-backed Afghan forces toppled their strict Islamist regime in late 2001. The drive for a resolution coincides with the bloodiest period of the war, with military and civilian casualties at record levels. Some 711 foreign troops were killed in 2010, by far the deadliest year of the war for NATO-led forces. — Reuters
LAGHMAN: Afghan policemen stand around the lifeless body of a Taleban militant, who was killed during a clash with Afghan police in Laghman east of Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. —AP
Afghan violence had to get worse to get better: NATO KABUL: Violence levels in Afghanistan had to get worse before they got better, a spokesman for the US-led NATO force in the war-torn country said yesterday, after its bloodiest year yet in the war. Brigadier General Josef Blotz said that troops from the 140,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would not let up in their battle against the Taleban despite the winter, when fighting has previously lessened. “Our casualties are not a proof of any failure of our strategy. On the contrary,” he told a regular press briefing in Kabul, highlighting a US strategy announced in 2009 that boosted American troops by 30,000. “With this increased force posture, we were able to challenge Taleban and insurgency networks in areas where they haven’t been challenged for many years,” he said. “This actually led to un upturn in vio-
lence and we expected this. “But obviously this is a necessary step, a necessary phase in the overall strategy and before it gets better, unfortunately it has to get worse and that’s what we saw towards the end of 2010.” A total of 711 international troops died in Afghanistan in 2010, according to the independent website iCasualties.org. That was by far the highest annual figure yet, up from 521 in 2009 and 295 in 2008. Limited, conditions-based troop withdrawals are expected to start in July 2011 ahead of a scheduled transition to Afghan security control by 2014. Blotz insisted that international troops would fight through the bitterly cold winter months in Afghanistan.”There will be no end of the fighting season from an ISAF perspective. We will maintain the pressure on the insurgency everywhere,” Blotz said. “There will definitely be no winter pause.”— AFP
100,000 N Koreans rally in Pyongyang SEOUL: About 100,000 North Koreans rallied yesterday in the capital Pyongyang, holding portraits of leader Kim Jong-Il and his late father, a report said. The rally, shown on state television, was organised by Pyongyang to show support for policy guidelines outlined in a New Year message, the South’s Yonhap news agency said. The message carried in a joint editorial by state media on Saturday called for the revival of light industries and improved relations with South Korea. “Slogan boards were set up at the site of the rally, saying hurray to the revolutionary ideas” of Kim Jong-Il and his late father Kim Il-Sung, who founded the country, Yonhap
said. The rally, which featured a wide collection of propaganda flags, began with a hymn to Kim Jong-Il, while the participants pledged to fervently carry out the New Year goals, it said. Since his death in 1994, Kim Il-Sung has been designated as “Eternal President.” Kim Jong-Il, 68, is known to be accelerating the power transfer to his third son, Kim Jong-Un, after suffering from a stroke in 2008. JongUn, believed aged 27, was in September made a four-star general and given senior posts in the communist party. Analysts said Pyongyang was apparently pursuing stability on the Korean peninsula to cement an eventual hereditary succession.— AFP
PYONGYANG: In this photo released by (North) Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service in Tokyo, people pump their fists as about 100,000 gather for an annual New Year rally to display loyalty to leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea yesterday.—AP
Malaysia book causes rift over Indian caste system KUALA LUMPUR: A high school text book that highlights multiethnic Malaysia’s racial harmony has riled the main ethnic Indian party, which wants it banned because it refers to the Hindu caste system, an official said yesterday. The Malaysian Indian Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition, has asked the Education Ministry to withdraw the book “Interlock,” or at least revoke portions referring to the caste system, because it is seen as hurtful to minority Indians, said party deputy president S. Subramaniam. The spat emphasizes the difficulty of running a multiethnic country such as Malaysia where minorities are
hypersensitive to suggestions their culture is not being respected, or they are being ridiculed by others. The caste system is an outdated concept that Malaysian Indians want to forget, and it was “unnecessary” to include the reference in the book, Subramaniam said. “It’s irrelevant to modern day life here,” he told The Associated Press. “With this kind of image, (some Indian Malaysians) feel hurt ... It’s not touched upon or talked about by anybody.” Deputy Education Deputy Wee Ka Siong told the AP the ministry is waiting to hear the party’s arguments before making a decision. The book, required reading for literature classes start-
ing this year, tells the stories of three families _ Malay, Chinese and Indian _ in British colonial times. Malays, who are Muslims, make up 60 percent of Malaysia’s 28 million people. Chinese are 25 percent and Indians, who are mostly Hindus, make up 8 percent. The book, written by a Malay author, shows the “integration of the various majority races” and how they contributed toward the independence of Malaysia from Britain in 1957. Most of the Indians in Malaysia were brought from India by the British colonialists as laborers in rubber plantations or for construction. The portion that angered the party is from a chapter that tells the
story of a poor man from India’s “Pariah caste.” He travels to Malaya, as it was known then, to find work and is surprised at the absence of a caste system. Under the Indian caste system, Hindus are divided into four main castes according to their line of work. In addition, there are people outside the system called “untouchables” who are supposed to do unclean jobs dealing with excrement and the dead. Although the caste system is banned in India, it is still practiced in villages. Malaysian Indians continue with most traditions of their ancestors, but the caste system is largely obsolete here.—AP
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Issues New Congress poses test for Republicans By Steven R Hurst new Congress opens for business tomorrow with the Republican Party back in control of the House of Representatives, wrestling internally to set a course between the last two years of obstructionism against President Barack Obama and the new requirement to govern. With the US economy still struggling toward recovery, unemployment stuck near 10 percent and the national debt setting a new record daily, Americans have called on both Republicans and Democrats to show the gumption to compromise and confront those problems. The solutions will be painful, however, and - with the next presidential election just two years away _ bold action may prove too politically dangerous and less likely to be taken. Also, Democrats still control the Senate, although with a reduced majority, and Obama can kill legislation with his veto pen. The frame of the argument in Washington has not changed. Republicans believe in smaller government, lower taxes and less regulation, saying such policies will unleash the private sector and spur economic growth. Democrats insist that it is the business of government - while promoting a robust capitalism to ensure an adequate safety net for those left behind in the changing economy. Thus, some of the biggest issues likely to consume the legislative calendar in the new Congress center on social programs and taxes. After a huge legislative battle, Obama and fellow Democrats managed to pass a law that overhauls the American healthcare system without Republican support. Republican Rep Fred Upton, the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Sunday on a television news program that repealing the healthcare reform is his top priority. Republicans will first try to repeal the healthcare law outright, and if that doesn’t work because of the president’s veto power, then try to dismantle it piece by piece, he said. The healthcare reforms - that are expected to expand coverage to more than 30 million Americans who can’t afford or qualify for private insurance - bump up against two other social programs. Many Republicans want to alter the federal Social Security pension program and the Medicare healthcare program to cut government spending, but will face stiff opposition if they shrink federal pension and medical benefits for the elderly and disabled. Those two entitlement programs,
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along with the military, make up the bulk of government spending and are, therefore, the place to find savings to cut the country’s debt. While increasing taxes could help, Republicans will never allow any boost significant enough to have a major impact on the debt. Obama and the Democrats most likely will be left the possibility of finding a compromise with the Republicans on overhauling the tax system to make it fairer but not more onerous for the wealthy. House Republicans also pledge to hold tough investigations and hearings on the president’s programs and policies, ending the free pass that Democratic committee chairmen gave the Obama administration the past two years. Republicans insist they will bring key administration officials to Congress to explain how they are spending the public’s money. The friendly tone of inquiry from Democratic chairmen will be replaced by Republicans demanding answers to these questions: What’s the purpose of this program? Is this the best use of the taxpayers’ money? The chief Republican investigator, Rep Darrell Issa, is eager to get started, and he’s not alone. Issa, the incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has been especially critical of what he calls waste in Obama’s economic stimulus spending. “The sooner the administration figures out that the enemy is the bureaucracy and the wasteful spending, not the other party, the better off we’ll be,” he said on a Sunday television news program. Rep Harold Rogers, incoming leader of the House Appropriations Committee, said he wants top officials from all major government agencies to appear and justify spending. In addition to healthcare reform, Upton said a big target for his committee will be Upton said, vowing to battle what he considers over-zealous government regulators. The new Republican majority in the House is certain to put a damper on Obama’s agenda and snarl his administration in uncomfortable hearings. But Democrats still hold the critical Senate redoubt, buttressed by the president’s veto power. Beyond all that, too, is the pressure on politicians in both parties to make progress on issues that will win them votes in 2012. The most powerful way forward is through the economy - a return to healthy growth and, most importantly, putting people back to work. There are no clear signs yet that either party has ready answers. — AP
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Three months after polls, deadlock grips Bosnia By Rusmir Smajilhodzic hree months on from general elections, Bosnia is gripped by a political deadlock that has fanned ethnic tensions and blocked reforms needed to meet its goal of European Union membership, say analysts. Under the Balkan country’s complex political system, two executive bodies with their own governments - the Serb-run Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation - are linked by a weak central government. But since the Oct 3 elections, only the Republika Srpska has managed to form a government, leaving Bosnia without central institutions needed to adopt key reforms sought by the European Union. Analysts are warning the formation of a central government could take months and the hag-
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gling could exacerbate tensions that have plagued Bosnia since the 1992-95 war which saw Muslims, Serbs and Croats pitted against each other. The impasse “could further deepen inter-ethnic tensions,” said Srecko Latal, a political analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank. He also pointed out that the whole process of implementing the reforms Brussels insists on mainly strengthening the central government at the expense of the other two entities - has already been blocked for years. After the October elections two political blocs were formed one around the Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) of Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik and the other led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a multi-ethnic formation headed by former Bosnian pre-
mier Zlatko Lagumdzija. But while Dodik has advocated a quick formation of the central government that would then discuss reforms, Lagumdzija insists the parties that form a coalition agree on a programme of reforms first. With the two sides unable to agree on even the basic principles for forming a government, analysts warn the deadlock is likely to persist. “It is senseless to insist on an agreement on the reforms that were impossible to implement during the past four years, as a condition to form a new government,” Latal said. “These are two completely different approaches and this situation will provoke a long-lasting process of talks,” analyst Sanel Huskic of the ACIPS non-governmental organisation, known for its work on Bosnia’s EU integration, told AFP. The SDP ’s insistence on an
agenda is a novelty on the Bosnian political scene, since previous central governments were only an alliance of parties that won within each ethnic community -Croat, Muslim and Serb - and lacked an overall program, Huskic said. “The SDP has brought in a new spirit, a new kind of game, more normal, that maybe heralds a new era of political wisdom in Bosnia,” he said. Despite the obvious differences in their approaches, Dodik and Lagumdzija met on two occasions since the elections and both said they wanted to restar t the process of Bosnia approaching the EU. But Dodik, who is backed by the two main Croat parties - the Croat Democratic Union and the Croat Democratic Union 1990 - is becoming impatient and has called on the SDP and the biggest Muslim par ty, the Par ty of
Democratic Action (SDA), to meet next Monday to tr y to stitch together a grand coalition. The SDP has insisted, however, that it would only participate if the other parties propose their own agenda of reforms. Lagumdzija for his part has accused Dodik of wanting to “try to continue (with the stagnation) of the past four years.” “We will not par ticipate in something that goes in that direction,” he stressed. Analyst Milos Solaja, a political science professor at Banja Luka University, warned the deadlock could continue as many feel the entities can run themselves without the central government. “The central government is not really needed since the countr y can function without it. In this way the crisis could be prolonged for an indefinite period,” he said. — AFP
Organic farming blooms in Serbia By Stephanie van den Berg tanding in her greenhouse in gumboots, Zorana Gajic jokes how she used to think “food grew in supermarkets” but now experiments on how to mix crops to ensure optimum use of her “organic” soil. A path next to the greenhouse leads to an orchard with plum and cherry trees, melon patches in between and a flock of sheep grazing peacefully throughout. “I came to this via my husband otherwise I would still think food was grown in supermarkets,” Zorana, a lawyer who works for the World Bank and the Serbian government, told AFP. Her husband, engineer Miodrag Radivojevic, a retired engineer, had inherited a 5.5-hectare family farm where the couple enjoyed growing some of their own vegetables. Then two years ago Zorana started having allergic reactions to tomatoes she bought in the supermarket, due to pesticides. That’s when they decided to jump into organic farming. “We started out of our love for nature but we were also aware of the potential market out there,” she said. The unique circumstances in Serbia allowed them to get quick certification as an organic farm: almost a decade of international sanctions had crippled the economy, meaning farmers simply had not had money to buy chemical fertilizers and insecticides. In general, experts say, agricultural land must be free of chemicals for
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three years to qualify for organic farming. In parts of Serbia, however, the process has been cut to two years - whereas in some European Union countries where chemical use was heavy, it can take up to five or six years. “For almost 20 years farmers did not have the means to buy manure and
organic food stall in Belgrade’s famed Kalenic market. At the moment only 0.3 percent of Serbian agriculture land is used for organic farming but demand is growing, Igor Novakovic of Serbia’s export promotion agency SIEPA told AFP. “There is a rise in organic production driven by
nificantly higher than at surrounding stalls. Its clients are mainly young urban upper middle class professionals with families. “It is mothers who want to feed their children the best,” Cicic said. The trend has also attracted industrial producers like the Belgrade-based Royal Eco Food, which
the Brussels-based International Taste and Quality Institute of independent chefs and sommeliers. Though the firm is only five years old, sales boomed so fast it had to cut short a venture into the Russian market because its local producers could not keep up with the demand. “Whatever we exported,
A market vendor arranges organic vegetables in Belgrade on Dec 18, 2010. – AFP herbicides. That’s why the land is really clean compared to other countries in Europe,” explained Branko Cicic of the Organic Serbia Fund, which runs a special
domestic demand from young people who want to eat healthy food,” Novakovic said. In the Kalenic market, prices at the organic stand are sig-
makes organic versions of traditional Serb preserves like plum chutney and ajvar, a sweet pepper relish. Their ajvar has won a “superior taste” award from
sold out,” Tanja Stojanovic of Royal Eco Food told AFP. The growth has not been without obstacles. “If you are a pioneer in any field, by default you are
faced with difficulties,” said Stojanovic. “In the beginning we had to import (organic) tomatoes from Italy as we did not have enough suppliers here,” she said. It was also hard to get farmers willing to start the transition to organic production. Now “we offer long-term contracts with guarantees given in advance that the production will be bought,” Stojanovic said. “This was necessary to get the farmers involved in the process as the organic production is also more expensive and more risky.” Royal Eco Food would not comment on its turnover other than to say that production is sustainable. For now, it is focusing on the local market but still eyeing expansion into the European Union as Serbia’s relations with Brussels improve. And the potential for boosting production is vast. Figures from the agriculture ministry estimate that around 75 percent of Serbia’s agricultural land, some 650,000 hectares, can be used for organic food production within three years. “Because of the UN sanctions,” SIEPA’s Novakovic told AFP, “you can find fields here of 20 hectares that people haven’t put chemicals on in 20 years”. He said Serbia was hoping to attract European investors to set up organic farms here, listing another national asset. “You can also find highly skilled and cheap labour (and) in organic farming you need a lot of manual labour as you cannot use machines,” said Novakovic. — AFP
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Last gen cries, laughs and laments over Cuba
Focus A frontier too far for US-China cooperation By Jim Wolf
By Christine Armario hey hold court in the back of the Versailles restaurant in M iami’s Little Havana, a group of old Cuban men whose raspy, impassioned voices fill the room. Presidents and political candidates have passed through, hoping to lure the CubanAmerican vote. Journalists come with cameras and microphones, looking for an aging exile to comment on the latest news about the island’s communist government. Legendary singers and artists stop in for Cuban coffee. Miami is the de facto capital of Cuban exiles, and Versailles is their prime meeting spot. The old men call themselves La Pena del Versailles. The Club of Versailles. Unlike the more traditional penas of Spain and Latin America where artists meet, these men are not poets or musicians. They are retired real estate brokers and salesman, war veterans and fumigators who gather each afternoon. Cuba is always a topic of discussion, but these days, the talk veers elsewhere, as well. They talk about taking medicine and feeling old, about families that put their elderly in nursing homes, and feeling disconnected in an age of computers and mobile phones. My grandfather, Manuel Armario, is among them. “I was not meant for these times,” he often tells me. Their generation is shrink ing, and the CubanAmerican community is changing. Younger generations and newer immigrants tend to be less Republican. Many were born in the United States and have never been to Cuba. Some don’t even speak Spanish. The first arrivals left Cuba thinking their sojourn in Miami would be brief. But years extended into decades and now the likelihood of a return seems a near impossibility. “ There are weeks that six, seven, eight people leave us,” says one of the men, Juan Pena. So they gather here, among a final stronghold of friends. • • • •
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They call him the president. He’s the one who stands every day under a palm tree beside the coffee window. Inside, waitresses in olive green uniforms hurriedly serve churros sprinkled with sugar, ham croquetas, guava pastries and cafe con leche. Outside, men and women wait impatiently in line to place their orders. Juan Pena arrives around 4 pm, dressed in a well-ironed collared shirt, a pin with the Cuban emblem on one side, the Cuban and United States flags, joined together as they have not been since 1961, on the other. He has no political experience, no desire to be officially recognized or to hold elections. He takes his place next to the window and soon a circle of three or four men gather around him. “We recognize Pena as the president of the Pena del Versailles,” says a loud, balding man with a broad smile. “There is no one else. No one has been here as long.” “He’s the leader!” another man chimes, as he passes by. Pena blushes, shaking them away. Pena was born in Havana 76 years ago. His mother was a Spanish woman from Barcelona who taught bridge at the foreign embassies in Cuba. Pena proudly recalls that she met Maureen O’Hara and once kissed Winston Churchill on the cheek during a visit to the Havana Yacht Club, one of the most extravagant clubs in pre-revolutionary Cuba. He worked for Cuba’s Department of State, issuing passports. He also took classes at the IBM building in Havana, where he became friends with a young woman named Estrella. He would visit her family’s home every week or so, as a friend - and always with her mother present. He would have liked to have a closer relationship, but since Fidel Castro marched victoriously into Havana on New Year’s Day in 1959 and declared the triumph of a revolution, Pena had wanted out of Cuba. Six years later, he had finally gained passage to Mexico, where his father had been born. He left alone, uncertain if he would see Estrella again, but somehow sure it would be many years before he returned. Pena doesn’t like to talk much about the revolution. “Hate I don’t want to have,” Pena says. From Mexico, he went to New Jersey and eventually Puerto Rico. His mother told him Estrellita had sometimes called to ask about him. But after a time, he lost track of her. He wrote a letter to Diario de las
Americas in the United States. “To whom it may interest,” he wrote. “If Estrella Alvarez has left Cuba, please contact me. I always had a grand impression of you. Lamentably, the political situation in Cuba is a tragedy, and I had to choose between exile and jail. What happiness it would give me to know you have left that torture. To hear from you.” A letter arrived less than a week later, sent special delivery. The outside of the envelope had Estrella’s name. “When I saw that name,” Pena says, his cheeks turning red, “what could I do?” A family friend in Chicago had seen the letter and told Estrella. And there began a long series of letters - 50 in all - that ended with a marriage proposal and a new life for the couple in Puerto Rico. “Those letters,” Pena says, “No one has ever been so romantic.” The marriage produced one daughter but fell apart after 18 years. She asked him for a divorce, and he agreed. Thereafter, he devoted his time to caring for his ageing mother in Miami Beach. Each day he made a two-hour trek, taking three buses from their apartment to Versailles in Little Havana. “It filled a great emptiness,” he says. After his mother died a year ago, his visits to Versailles became longer. He is, arguably, Versaille’s most recognizable patron. He is the one who journalists are most likely to approach, and years of interviews have made him a natural. On a fall afternoon, TV Marti, the US-government sponsored news program that sends broadcasts to Cuba, asked him about the annual American tradition of eating turkey on Thanksgiving. “Thanksgiving is fantastic,” he told the reporter. “Do you think it’s good that the president pardons the life of a turkey?” she asked. “Yes, of course,” Pena said. “Of course.” “Tell me in a complete sentence,” she said. “I think it’s good that they suspend the killing of the turkey,” he said. Pena usually heads to his apartment around 8 pm. He stays up until 2 or 3 am. It’s hard to go to sleep before then - his clock is still set by the hours he spent caring for his mother. He reads the day’s newspapers and listens to the radio. An easy-listening station helps put him to sleep. • • • • Twice a month, M ike Baralt writes for La Voz de la Calle, The Voice of the Street. In the picture that accompanies his column, Baralt poses with one hand drawn to his chin, his face pensive, eyes tired. From his seat in the back of Versailles - the group calls this the “Salon de los Pasos Perdidos” or the “Hall of Lost Steps” - Baralt quietly observes the passing political candidate, the businessman stopping in briefly for coffee, the old men discussing baseball, international affairs, the trials of being old (though he says he does not know his own age). And then he shares his musings with the paper’s 25,000 subscribers. The columns “all maintain the same idea,” Baralt says, in a soft, scratchy voice. “The fight for the freedom of our country. The unity of exile. The battle for democracy.” Baralt has spoken, briefly, with several US presidents. Bill Clinton struck him as “a very nice person”. With Ronald Reagan he had “a small exchange of words.” And though he is hardly one to seek out attention, Baralt himself has appeared numerous times on television when there is news from Cuba. “I saw you on television,” family and friends will tell the white-haired and nearly toothless Baralt. He laughs. “I like to be discreet,” he says. In his youth, Baralt was a journalist. At 12, he created his own newspaper, which his grandpar-
he prospects for cooperation between the United States and China in space are fading even as proponents say working together in the heavens could help build bridges in often-testy relations on Earth. The idea of joint ventures in space, including spacewalks, explorations and symbolic “feel good” projects, have been floated from time to time by leaders on both sides. Efforts have gone nowhere over the past decade, swamped by economic, diplomatic and security tensions, despite a 2009 attempt by President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, to kick-start the bureaucracies. US domestic politics make the issue unlikely to advance when Obama hosts Hu at the White House on Jan 19. Washington is at odds with Beijing over its currency policies and huge trade surplus but needs China’s help to deter North Korea and Iran’s nuclear ambitions and advance global climate and trade talks, among other matters. Hu’s state visit will highlight the importance of expanding cooperation on “bilateral, regional and global issues,” the White House said. But space appears to be a frontier too far for now, partly due to US fears of an inadvertent technology transfer. China may no longer be much interested in any event, reckoning it does not need US expertise for its space program. New obstacles to cooperation have come from the Republicans capturing control of the US House of Representatives in the Nov 2 congressional elections from Obama’s Democrats. Representative Frank Wolf, for instance, is set to take over as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the US space agency in the House. A China critic and human rights firebrand, the Republican congressman has faulted NASA’s chief for meeting leaders of China’s Manned Space Engineering Office in October. “As you know, we have serious concerns about the nature and goals of China’s space program and strongly oppose any cooperation between NASA and China,” Wolf and three fellow Republicans wrote NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Oct 15 as he left for China.
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In this photo made June 3, 2010, Cuban exile Mike Baralt (second from right) tells a story to fellow exiles. His wife of 50 years, died 12 years ago. — AP ents read and affectionately critiqued. Four years later, he was published in a small magazine. Then he went on to work for two of Cuba’s largest pre-revolutionary newspapers, La Informacion and El Pais. In one, he had a Catholic column. In another, he gave advice. And for a radio station, he reported on the activity at a train station - once, he notes with a laugh, mistakenly reporting that a political leader was traveling with his wife (in truth, it was his mistress). He can’t say what particularly draws him to journalism. It is simply his trade. “Journalists are not made,” he says. “ They are born.” In M iami, he worked in restaurants, starting as a busboy and working his way up to manager to support his wife and two children. The Spanish language press in the 1960s was still young and unable to provide him a steady living. He visited Versailles, but mostly he spent time with his family. Then, 12 years ago, his wife of more than three decades died. When he reaches this part of his stor y, Baralt clenches his right hand into a fist and lowers it onto his thigh. After her death, friends suggested that he write a column for La Voz, one of the many small, exile newspapers that rest on a small bookshelf beside a pastry counter. He refused. They insisted. “Write,” the newspaper’s editor told him. He put together a few paragraphs and submitted it. “If you like it, publish it,” Baralt said. “If not, throw it away. It doesn’t matter to me.” They printed it, and in the course of a dozen years, he has written nearly 300 columns, all by hand. “They’ve never criticized me,” Baralt says of his readership. “Although, they do ask me to be more aggressive. Some want a more combative journalism. But that doesn’t interest me.” He is sometimes political: “There is a project that will permit American tourists to visit Cuba,” he wrote in one column. “They will go, as if to a theater, to see in all its reality, a picture titled, ‘ The Destruction of a Country in 51 Years’. And everything will continue, unchanged.” O ther times, philosophical: “Man and the planet. After the oil spill, one asks, ‘Where is man headed? It is time that the destruction of the environment stops, that we sacrifice a bit of the advancements in science and technology. Human life is more important.” Occasionally, somber: “Our friend, Pedro Bringas, a member of the Pena del Versailles, has been admitted to Baptist Hospital. We pray for his swift recovery.” “It has been, perhaps, a medicine,” editor Vicente Rodriguez says of Baralt’s writing. A medicine, perhaps, for the other men as well. They never doubt the sacrifice of immigra-
tion, but sometimes wonder whether, and how, anyone will remember them. “Some pessimistic people believe Cuban exiles are not united,” Baralt wrote in a recent column. “ That they have not accomplished much in 50 years of existence here. We believe they have.” • • • • At 94, Pedro Fernandez still dresses impeccably in European suits and ties. He wakes up at 6 each morning and does an hour of exercise. Then he cooks his breakfast, ham and eggs. “I’m going to show you some exercises,” he says. Fernandez lifts his agile, thin body from a chair and stands firmly, feet shoulder length apart. He’s in a gray suit he bought in France one of 103 suits he owns - and a pair of pointed black-and-white shoes. He hurls his right, boney fist forward in a punch. “Huh!” he exhales loudly. Fernandez is the only surviving member of his family. He has married eight times, but had no children. “No one,” Fernandez says. “I’m alone here.” He says that solitude doesn’t bother him. That any of his friends would help him in a moment ’s notice. But his face sometimes speaks otherwise. His eyes will stare somberly across the rows of tables and the restaurant’s green and white checkered tiles. His lithe frame nearly disappears beneath the folds of his opulent suits. He lives in an apartment about 30 minutes away and makes the drive every day from Hialeah to Little Havana. At Versailles, he hovers from one table to another. He says Versailles is a good place to do business. Sometimes he stands outside, leaning against a wall as cars pass by. “ These days, I’ve been a bit agitated,” he says. He’s moving to a new apartment, closer to Versailles, but at the moment all of his belongings are in boxes. “Look at this shirt,” he says. The beige shirt he is wearing, with a black tie and light colored flowers, has a few faint stains. “All the clothes are packed.” Originally from the small town of Rancho Veloz in the northern, central region of Cuba, Fernandez came from a family of successful sugar field and refinery owners. As a teenager, he went to work in the fields, learning about the different types of cane and how to cut, process and refine it. He eventually became the head of production. Then came the revolution. “The whole countr y was finished,” Fernandez says. “As if oil was poured over ever ything.” Fernandez claims he staged an attempt on Fidel Castro’s life a few years later. He doesn’t disclose many details, but says 10 men died
In this photo made Nov 30, 2010, Juan Pena stands outside Versailles cafe. – AP
and that he was sentenced to 25 years in jail. “But I only served 37 months,” he says, grinning. “Because I escaped from Fidel.” He created two construction businesses in exile: Hacia Arriba (To the Top) and Mas Todavia Arriba (Even Higher Up). Even in old age, Fernandez is all about numbers. The value of the car he is trying to sell. The cost of his most recent trip to the drycleaners. The 500 homes he is looking to build with Chinese business partners in the Dominican Republic. He traveled there recently. He says the beach is “precious.” “I brought back a bottle of sand,” he says. “People told me it was white sugar.” He has a younger girlfriend he hopes to marr y. “ We’ve been dating for three years,” he says, taking out a picture from an inside jacket pocket of the two smiling together. “I sincerely think she loves me very much.” He likes to keep it there, where he says he can keep her in his embrace. One of the other men talks about his grandchildren. “What a beautiful thing to say you have grandchildren,” Fernandez says. “I don’t have anyone.” • • • • Fernandez calls out to my grandfather, who is sitting at a nearby table with a group of three or four other men. “Armario,” he says. “Coma here please. Sit down please.” They talk about their eyes. Fernandez says he is going to see a doctor about his. My grandfather says he’ll have eye surgery in another month. He talks about the heart attack that nearly killed him two years ago, when he was 79. About having to take pills and feeling weak and not wanting to bother others with his worries. “I get afraid something will happen to me,” my grandfather says. “But I try to avoid calling.” “I’m a bit like you in that,” Fernandez says. “I don’t like to bother anyone.” My grandfather likes to call Versailles his “office.” He jokes that there are three shifts — morning, afternoon and evening. He usually shows up in the late afternoon, staying just until dark. In Cuba, my grandfather worked for the electric company in Havana. I t was an unusual choice for a profession. As a teenager, he saw his younger brother electrocuted after stepping on a downed wire after a hurricane while they were playing baseball with some other boys. But he has always been a bit brash and unafraid. When revolution gripped the countr y, he was among those who stood in opposition, convinced that Castro was a communist. He often tells the stor y of how he decided on exile after seeing my father, then just a young boy, and his older brother marching outside like members of the revolutionary guard. He feared that staying in Cuba meant a life of indoctrination. And so he fled, bringing his wife and children later. In exile, he bounced from one career to another. At one point, he had an ice cream truck. It played the Cuban national anthem and had the words “We Will Return” in Spanish on the back. In old age, he mostly feels disconnec ted, out of place. Like many, he says he is waiting for Castro to die before stepping back on Cuban soil. Now they are both old, the ideological war that divides them increasingly outdated, insignificant. If he returned, what would he return to? I have been to Cuba and the stories of a glamorous, majestic Havana no longer describe it. His memories lie under layers of paint and dust. Perhaps the only marvel that survives as he remembers it is the ocean. And so, Versailles may be his closest place to home. — AP
Space Exploration Obama and Hu, in a statement in November 2009, called for “the initiation of a joint dialogue on human spaceflight and space exploration, based on the principles of transparency, reciprocity and mutual benefit.” The statement, marking a visit by Obama to China, also called for reciprocal visits in 2010 of NASA’s chief and “the appropriate Chinese counterpart.” Bolden, who went to China as head of a small team, said discussions there “did not include consideration of any specific proposals for future cooperation” - a statement apparently designed to placate Wolf, who will have a big say in NASA’s budget. The Chinese visit to NASA did not materialize in 2010 for reasons that have not been explained. NASA representatives did not reply to questions but a Chinese embassy spokesman, Wang Baodong, said he suspected it was “mainly a scheduling issue”. China is an emerging space power. Over 13 years starting in August 1996, it ran up 75 consecutive successful Long March rocket launches after overcoming technical glitches with the help of US companies. China launched its second moon orbiter in Oct. In 2008, it became the third country after the United States and Russia to send astronauts on a spacewalk outside an orbiting craft. Beijing plans an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover in 2012 and the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017. Chinese scientists have talked about the possibility of sending a man to the moon after 2020 — more than 50 years after US astronauts accomplished the feat. Anti-Satellite Tests Possible US-Chinese cooperation became more controversial after Beijing carried out a watershed anti-satellite test in January 2007, using a groundbased missile to knock out one of its inactive weather satellites in high polar orbit. No advance notice of the test was given. Thirteen months later, the United States destroyed a malfunctioning US spy satellite using a ship-launched Raytheon Co Standard Missile 3 after a high-profile buildup to the event. The US interception was just outside the atmosphere so that debris would burn up promptly. US officials say China’s capabilities could threaten US space assets in low orbit. The Chinese test also created a large cloud of orbital debris that may last for 100 years, boosting the risk to manned spaceflight and to hundreds of satellites belonging to more than two dozen countries. China’s work on anti-satellite weapons is “destabilizing,” Wallace Gregson, assistant US secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, said in December, also citing its investment in anti-ship missiles, advanced submarines, surface-to-air missiles and computer warfare techniques. “It has become increasingly evident that China is pursuing a long-term, comprehensive military buildup that could upend the regional security balance,” Gregson told a forum hosted by the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, called on members of the incoming Congress to be wary of any space cooperation with China on the grounds it could bolster Beijing’s knowledge and harm US security. “Congress should reject (the Obama) administration attempts to curry favor with the international community while placing US advantages in space at risk,” Dean Cheng, a Heritage research fellow for Chinese political and security affairs, and two colleagues said in a Dec. 15 memo to lawmakers. Proponents of cooperation say even symbolic steps, such as hosting a Chinese astronaut on the International Space Station, might help win friends in Beijing and blunt hardliners. Gregory Kulacki, China project manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a group often at odds with US policy, said cooperation would be more of a political project than a technical one. “We need to get past the idea that the Chinese need us more than we need them,” he said. — Reuters
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‘MAGIC PYTHONS’ IN WEDDED BLISSSSSS SVAY ROLUM, Cambodia: Hundreds of villagers flocked to a wedding ceremony yesterday between a 4.8-m, 90-kg female python and her slightly smaller mate - both believed to be magic snakes that bring prosperity and peace. The two-hour ceremony in Svay Rolum village, 20 km south of the capital Phnom Penh, ended with two Buddhist monks blessing the pair and villagers showering them with flowers as wedding music played. Most Cambodians, almost all Buddhists, also subscribe to animism - a belief that spirits can inhabit all sorts of living and inanimate objects. Whenever an odd animal makes an appearance, it is cause for the superstitious to celebrate. “We married these pythons to ask for health and prosperity in our village,” said 41-year-old Neth Vy, owner of female python named Chamrouen. “We were told (by fortunetellers) that the two pythons are husband and wife and they need to live together, and if we don’t marry them we will meet bad luck,” said Neth Vy, who found the then-tiny python while fishing 16 years ago. He said since the snake became part of the household, the family’s living conditions had steadily improved and no misfortune had befallen them. The male python, named Kroung Pich, was caught 12 days ago by Hin Mao, a 44-year-old, childless woman who said she regarded it as her son. Many people offered money and prayed after the pythons were placed in the same cage following the religious ceremony. “It surprised me. Since I was born I have never seen snakes get married,” said Penh Kong, a 56-year-old vendor, while admiring the happy couple. — Agencies
SVAY ROLUM, Cambodia: Male pythons Krong Pich (top) and female python Chamroeun (bottom) lie in a cage after their wedding ceremony at this village in Kandal province about 20 km south of Phnom Penh yesterday. — AP
US approves new trial of stem cells for... Continued from Page 1 amounts to $25 to $30 billion, it said. “We are moving ahead aggressively to seek regulatory clearance from the European Medicines Agency to conduct clinical trials in Europe,” said Edmund Mickunas, ACT’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. ACT’s announcement marks the third such trial of embr yonic stem cells in human patients, after US company Geron broke new ground in October last year with the first-ever attempt to use the therapy on a human patient with spinal cord injury. Embryonic stem cell research has been a controversial field ever since the first such stem cells were isolated more than 12 years ago. Critics oppose the research because it involves the destruction of human embr yos.
However scientists say the cells offer great promise in treating Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and a variety of other illnesses. Like the other trials involving human patients, the first step in ACT’s Phase I and II trials is to assess whether the therapy is safe before moving on to testing how well it works. Bob Lanza, chief scientist at ACT, said that trials using the technique on animals have shown no evidence of complication or tumors. “In a rat model of macular degeneration, we have seen a remarkable improvement in visual performance over untreated animals, without any adverse effects,” said Lanza. Twelve patients will enroll in the study at various US sites including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Stanford University. The therapy uses retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embry-
onic stem cells to replace RPE cells that have broken down in patients with the disease. Dry age-related macular degeneration, the type that occurs in 90 percent of cases, causes a deterioration in central vision when RPE cells in the patient’s macula, in the center of the retina, lose their ability to function. Patients often experience blurring in the center of their field of vision, while peripheral view remains intact. Dry AMD gets progressively worse, while the other type, known as wet AMD, does not advance in stages. Wet AMD is caused by abnormal blood vessels which leak fluid behind the macula, causing a quicker loss of central vision. “As the population ages, the incidence of AMD is expected to double over the next 20 years, further exacerbating this unmet medical need,” Lanza said. — AFP
Egypt on high alert ahead of Coptic Xmas Continued from Page 1 A security official said on Sunday that about 20 people were detained for questioning but there was no evidence any of them was directly connected to the attack in the northern Egyptian city. Al-Ahram quoted security officials as saying the bomb was a sophisticated device packed with TNT and pieces of metal aimed at causing the largest possible number of casualties. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which came two months after an Al-Qaeda-linked group said it was behind a deadly Baghdad church hostage-taking and threatened Coptic Christians as well. The group demanded the release of two women, Camelia Shehata and Wafa Constantine, both
priests’ wives, saying the Coptic church was holding them against their will after they converted to Islam. An Al-Qaeda-linked website that published that threat posted in December a list of Coptic churches in Egypt and Europe it said should be attacked, including the church in Alexandria that was targeted. A French security official said police were investigating threats against Coptic churches in France after a church official filed a complaint. Egypt, the most populous Arab country, witnessed a resurgence in attacks by Islamist militants in the past decade after the government battled a spate of attacks in the 1990s that included an attempt abroad to kill the president. President Hosni Mubarak has
vowed to find those responsible for the bombing which he said targeted all Egyptians, regardless of their faith, and blamed “foreign hands”. The bombing has further underscored the vulnerability of the Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 80-million population and complain of discrimination. Last year began with a massacre of six Copts and a Muslim security guard after a Coptic Christmas Eve mass and ended on a tense note after two Coptic protesters died in clashes in a protest over a Cairo church permit. Some Coptic activists have accused the government of not doing enough to prevent incitement against the minority, especially after Islamists began staging regular demonstrations demanding Shehata’s release. — AFP
US, Germany developing spy satellites Continued from Page 1 The opposition from Paris however appears to have been brushed aside by German officials, who according to the cables, said they were sick of being “outmaneuvred by France”. “Absolutely no cooperation is planned with France or any other EU country when it comes to the HiROS project,” DLR executive Andreas Eckart was quoted as saying. According to Aftenposten, the satellites would cost
an estimated 1.6 billion kroner ($274 million) and were scheduled to enter service between 2012 and 2013. Officially, France and Germany are involved in the common Multinational Space-based Imaging System (MUSIS), along with Belgium, Spain, Greece and Italy. Contacted by AFP, the US embassy in Oslo refused to comment on any information emerging from the some 250,000 US diplomatic cables leaked to whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.
The German and French governments have also refused to comment. WikiLeaks has so far only made public around 2,000 of the cables in its possession, in cooperation with publications El Pais, The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde and Der Spiegel. Norwegian daily of reference Aftenposten however said last month it had obtained all the diplomatic documents and would publish stories based on them independently of WikiLeaks’ own releases. — AFP
KIEV: A Ukrainian man walks on the frozen Dnieper River yesterday. The temperatures in the Ukrainian capital dropped to -2 C yesterday. — AP
BIBI SAYS ISRAEL NEVER SAID NO TO NEW FREEZE Continued from Page 1 Americans who said they no longer demand that Israel extends the freeze,” the paper quoted him as telling the committee yesterday. Netanyahu said in November that he would put the US request to a cabinet vote if incentives from Washington were put in writing, among them finance for advanced warplanes and a promise to veto any UN Security Council resolution against Israel’s interests. That letter apparently never came. US officials admitted last month that efforts to coax Israel into imposing new curbs on West Bank settlement construction had gone nowhere. Netanyahu yesterday said that senior Obama aide Dennis Ross would be in Israel this week for discussions. Netanyahu also confirmed that he himself would visit Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak. “This week the envoy Dennis Ross and other American envoys will arrive. On Thursday I shall go to Egypt,” he told senior members of his Likud party in remarks broadcast on public radio. “We have a single aim, to strengthen security and to move toward achiev-
ing peace.” Mubarak has publicly blamed Israel for the collapse of peace talks, and has urged the international community, especially the United States, to move the process forward. Without a new freeze, the Palestinians have refused to negotiate, effectively deadlocking direct peace talks that began on Sept 2, only to run aground three weeks later when building resumed in the settlements. “We have been pursuing a moratorium as a means to create conditions for a return to meaningful and sustained negotiations,” US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on Dec 7. “After a considerable effort, we have concluded that this does not create a firm basis to work towards our shared goal of a framework agreement.” Haaretz on Sunday quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that a US counterpart told him Washington was deeply disappointed with Israeli Defence Minister and Labour party leader Ehud Barak for failing to deliver on promises that he could win government approval for a fresh freeze. Some Labour ministers in Netanyahu’s right-dominated coalition govern-
ment are calling for Barak to lead the party out of the government if there is no progress towards peace talks. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is now calling for the international community, spearheaded by the peacemaking Quartet of the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union, to come up with a new peace plan. “We demand that the Middle East Quartet and the various UN bodies, headed by the Security Council, draft a peace plan which conforms with international law, instead of keeping up negotiations which do not solve the problem,” he said in a televised address last week. Netanyahu said on Sunday that he was prepared for an immediate resumption of face-to-face talks with Abbas “until white smoke emerges,” a statement from his office said. If Abbas were to accept the invitation, the statement quoted Netanyahu as saying, they could discuss all key aspects of the dispute and see if there were prospects for progress. “We shall very soon know if we shall be able to reach an agreement,” Netanyahu said. — AFP
Iran nuke scientist jailed after return Continued from Page 1 he was on the run from the CIA and the other saying he was studying for a doctorate in the US. Amiri then decided to leave the United States but without the money - in July, American officials said. His return to Tehran, however, was the last time Amiri was seen in public. Iranian authorities have not offered any information on his whereabouts and his family and colleagues have made no public statements as to his fate. The Farsi-language account posted on the Iranbriefing.net website claims to pick up Amiri’s trail after his highly publicized return. It cited anonymous family members as saying Amiri was first held in a safe house in Tehran and allowed weekend visits with relatives at the Talaiie cultural center, which is
operated by Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard. The website quoted family members as being told that Amiri’s movements were restricted for “his own safety”. The report says - without citing any source - that Amiri was later moved to a former military lockup, the Heshmatieh Prison, in Tehran, where he allegedly faced harsh interrogations and beatings that left him in a military-run hospital afterward for a week. The website is operated by the IranBriefing Foundation, which describes itself as a “non-profit human rights organization” based in the United States that focuses on the role of the Revolutionary Guard and other Iranian security agencies. Officials at the group could not be reached immediately for comment. The reports - if true - would fit into Iran’s increasing
attention to trying to plug security holes inside its nuclear program, which the West and others fear could lead to the development of atomic weapons. Iran claims it only seeks reactors for power and research. In October, one of Iran’s vice presidents, Ali Akbar Salehi - who is now acting foreign minister - acknowledged that some personnel at nuclear facilities had passed secrets to the West in exchange for payment. Salehi claimed that it “awakened” security forces to impose tighter controls. Iran also acknowledged that a sophisticated computer worm, known as Stuxnet, had infiltrated systems at nuclear sites, including briefly halting activity at Iran’s uranium enrichment lab. Iran’s intelligence chief has accused the CIA and Israeli and British spy agencies of being behind the cyber attacks. — AP
Pro-govt MPs gloat as PM win looks certain Continued from Page 1 undecided, with the first expected to abstain and the latter to support the opposition. Two other MPs will not vote. They include State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan Al-Roudhan because ministers are barred from voting on no-confidence motions and MP Mubarak Al-Khrainej, who is outside Kuwait. Shiite MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan described the latest position as a resounding victory for the prime minister and called on the opposition to admit defeat, adding that the grilling should not have been submitted against the prime minister. MP Rola Dashti strongly lashed out at the opposition, saying that the grilling was unconstitutional and that it placed national unity and the country’s stability and security at stake. MP Adnan Abdulsamad said that going out to the street by violating the framework of the constitution is unacceptable and should be rejected. Abdulsamad even issued an appeal
to deputy speaker and member of the National Action Bloc Abdullah AlRoumi to withdraw supporting the opposition to back the prime minister. However, MP Hayef called on the government to resign because of the large number of MPs expected to vote against the prime minister, saying that from a political perspective, the expected outcome is not a victory for the government. Hayef said that the opposition will assess available options after tomorrow’s vote, adding this grilling is different from the previous ones because of the large support it has received. Liberal MP Abdulrahman Al-Anjari said the issue is not only about “figures of supporters and opponents but more to do with the constitutional and moral aspects and these issues are expected to be assessed by the prime minister”. Anjari said he will accept the outcome of the vote and rejected calls that the opposition should continue its popular campaign to bring the downfall of the prime minister.
In the meantime, lawyer Nawaf Sari said yesterday he has filed a lawsuit on behalf of journalist Mohammad Al-Sandan who was severely injured by police beatings during the police crackdown on Dec 8 at a public gathering. Sari said that the medical report clearly states that the injury he received was due to extreme violence. Sandan was sent for treatment to Germany two days ago. In a related matter, opposition MP Musallam Al-Barrak called on deputy chairman of the National Guards Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to deny rumours that hold him responsible for ordering the police to beat up the people. Barrak said that during the grilling of the premier, he asked the prime minister three times if HH the Amir had ordered the crackdown and he did not answer. Later, the government leaked a rumour saying that Sheikh Mishaal was responsible, Barrak claimed. The lawmaker called on Sheikh Mishaal to publicly dissociate himself from the rumour.
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sp orts Palestinian team to tour Pakistan
Milan finalise Cassano transfer ROME: Controversial Italian forward Antonio Cassano’s transfer from Sampdoria to AC Milan was officialised yesterday. The 28-year-old had already joined his new team-mates at their winter training camp in Dubai on December 27. His move came following a falling out with Samp president Riccardo Garrone in October after Cassano allegedly gravely insulted the club chief. He was frozen out of the first team picture as Samp moved to have his contract terminated but an arbitration body ruled against the club in December while deeming that the player’s salary should be halved. Milan were quick to move in and although there was an initial stumbling block relating to a five million euro payment still owed by Samp to Cassano’s previous club Real Madrid, the two Italian clubs and the forward soon found a resolution to the problem, each contributing to the financial settlement. —AFP
LAHORE: The Palestinian national football side is to tour Pakistan next month, an official said, as the hosts ramp up effor ts to bring back international spor t to a countr y plagued by terrorism. “Palestine’s national football team is due to tour Pakistan and will play a two-match series and this series will help us revive international spor t,” Pak istan Football Federation president Faisal Salah Hayat told reporters. I nternational teams have refused to tour Pakistan since gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore nearly two years ago, killing eight peo-
US star Taurasi tests positive
ple and wounding seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach. Pakistan has been forced to play its cricket series on neutral venues including England and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hayat said the Palestinian team will play in the eastern city of Lahore on February 27 and Karachi on March 2. “After the two-match series, Pakistan will tour Palestine in March where another two-match series will be played,” said Hayat. Hayat to l d re p o r te r s t h a t I ra n , Malaysia, Oman, South Korea and the UAE had also agreed to play Pakistan. —AFP
ISTANBUL: Top US women’s basketball star Diana Taurasi’s B sample has also tested positive for a banned substance, Turkish NTV television reported yesterday. Taurasi, who plays for Fenerbahce Istanbul, tested positive for the mild stimulant drug modafinil, which can be used to combat insomnia and other sleep-related conditions on December 25. She has been provisionally suspended from playing pending the B sample and risks a two-year suspension. Her lawyer in the United States, Howard Jacobs, was quoted as saying that the drug is not a steroid. Taurasi has won two Olympic titles with the United States and on four occasions she has been named most valuable player in the women’s NBA in the United States. She has played for the last four years for Spartak in Russia before joining Fenerbahce in Turkey this season. —AFP
Flyers clip Red Wings, Panthers blank Rangers DETROIT: James van Riemsdyk, Daniel Carcillo and Scott Hartnell scored to help the Philadelphia Flyers win for the first time in Detroit in more than 22 years, 3-2 over the Red Wings on Sunday. Brian Boucher made 25 saves for Philadelphia. Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit. Jimmy Howard stopped 24 shots before being pulled in favor of Chris Osgood to start the third period. Osgood made five saves.
Panthers 3, Rangers 0 At Sunrise, Florida, Tomas Vokoun made 32 saves for his fifth shutout of the season and 43rd overall, and David Booth, Chris Higgins and Stephen Weiss scored as Florida downed New York. Martin Biron stopped 32 shots for New York. The Rangers, coming off a 2-1 overtime loss in Tampa Bay on Saturday night, lost for the first time (9-1) in the second half of back-to-back games.
Thrashers 4, Canadiens 3 At Montreal, Dustin Byfuglien scored his third overtime goal of the season from a power-play at 3:43 of the extra session, and Ondrej Pavelec made 47 saves in Atlanta’s win over Montreal. Byfuglien leads NHL defensemen with 16 goals and 41 points. He has six winning goals. Rich Peverley, Evander Kane and Andrew Ladd scored in regulation for Atlanta. Montreal captain Brian Gionta scored with 4:47 left in the third to tie it at 3. The Canadiens got power-play goals from Tomas Plekanec and PK Subban.
Wild 6, Coyotes 5 At St. Paul, Minnesota, Cam Barker scored 46 seconds into overtime after Pierre-Marc Bouchard leveled it with 26 seconds left in regulation as Minnesota edged Phoenix. Andrew Brunette scored twice, Brent Burns and Nick Schultz added goals, Mikko Koivu had four assists and Jose Theodore made 39 saves for the Wild. Ray Whitney scored twice for Phoenix, while Scottie Upshall, Keith Yandle and Ed Jovanovski added goals and Jason LaBarbera stopped 23 shots.
Predators 4, Blue Jackets 1 At Nashville, Tennessee, Shea Weber had a goal and two assists, and Pekka Rinne made 19 saves as Nashville downed Columbus. Nick Spaling, Patric Hornqvist and Sergei Kostitsyn also scored to help Nashville run its home winning streak against Columbus to 15 games. The Predators have won two straight following a five-game losing streak. R.J. Umberger scored for Columbus. The Blue Jackets had won three straight.
Stars 4, Blues 2 At St. Louis, Brad Richards scored the go-
ANAHEIM: Bick Bonino No. 63 of the Anaheim Ducks protects the puck from Tomas Kopecky No. 82 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the NHL game at Honda Center. —AFP ahead goal at 6:32 of the third period and Kari Lehtonen stopped 28 shots in Dallas’ win over St. Louis. Richards also had two assists, Brenden Morrow scored twice, and Dallas had three thirdperiod goals en route to its fifth straight road victory. James Neal added a goal with 2:50 left. Alex Steen and David Backes scored for the Blues.
Canucks 2, Avalanche 1 At Denver, Roberto Luongo made 31 saves, and Alexandre Bolduc and Mason Raymond scored as Vancouver beat Colorado for its fifth straight victory. Tanner Glass had two assists for Vancouver, 12-1-2 since the end of November. Vancouver
hasn’t lost in regulation since Dec. 5 against St. Louis, a span of 12 games. The Canucks are 4-0 against Colorado. Paul Stastny scored his 15th goal of the season and Craig Anderson made 27 saves for the Avalanche, 1-4-1 since winning six straight.
Ducks 2, Blackhawks 1 At Anaheim, California, Jonas Hiller made 39 saves to help Anaheim beat Stanley Cup champion Chicago. Andreas Lilja scored his first goal of the season and Corey Perry broke a second-period tie for Anaheim. The Ducks won their third straight game and ran their home winning streak to four. Bryan Bickell scored for Chicago. The Blackhawks have lost three straight. —AP
NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Sunday. Atlanta 4, Montreal 3 (OT); Florida 3, NY Rangers 0; Philadelphia 3, Detroit 2; Dallas 4, St. Louis 2; Nashville 4, Columbus 1; Minnesota 6, Phoenix 5 (OT); Vancouver 2, Colorado 1; Anaheim 2, Chicago 1. (OT denotes overtime win) Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlantic Division Central Division W L OTLGF GA PTS Detroit 24 10 5 133 110 53 Philadelphia 24 10 5 131 104 53 St. Louis 20 13 5 101 104 45 Pittsburgh 25 12 3 127 94 53 Nashville 19 13 6 95 93 44 NY Rangers 22 15 3 119 103 47 Columbus 20 16 3 101 114 43 NY Islanders 11 19 6 84 118 28 Chicago 20 17 3 124 115 43 New Jersey 10 26 2 68 122 22 Northwest Division Vancouver 24 8 5 127 92 53 Colorado 20 14 5 132 125 45 Northeast Division Minnesota 18 15 5 98 112 41 Boston 20 11 6 108 84 46 Calgary 18 18 3 105 110 39 Montreal 21 16 3 100 96 45 Edmonton 12 18 7 95 126 31 Ottawa 16 19 5 90 121 37 Buffalo 16 18 4 105 114 36 Pacific Division Toronto 14 19 4 89 111 32 Dallas 23 13 4 114 111 50 San Jose 21 13 5 115 108 47 Anaheim 21 17 4 109 119 46 Southeast Division Los Angeles 22 15 1 113 92 45 Tampa Bay 23 11 5 121 122 51 Phoenix 17 13 8 106 113 42 Washington 23 12 5 120 106 51 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one Atlanta 21 15 6 131 125 48 point in the standings and are not included Carolina 18 15 4 108 111 40 in the loss column (L). Florida 17 17 2 98 92 36
Teen Bhamar touted as India’s Yao Ming
CORDOBA: Qatar’s driver Nasser Al-Attiyah steers his Volkswagen across the Elcano stream with German co-driver Timo Gottschalk, during the stage one Victoria-Cordoba of the Dakar 2011 Rally. —AFP
Despres rides to second stage win at Dakar Rally ARGENTINA: Three-time Dakar Rally motorbikes champion Cyril Despres claimed victory in the second stage of the Dakar Rally a 300km special between Cordoba and San Miguel de Tucuman yesterday. Despres finished 1min 39sec ahead of fellow KTM rider Marc Coma of Spain with compatriot David Casteu of Sherco in third. The title-holder cemented his place at the top of the overall standings with a second consecutive victory after teammate Ruben Faria who had won Sunday’s first stage was handed a one minute penalty for breaking the speed limit in a controlled zone. Despres managed to stay in front from start to finish to claim his 25th stage win in the Dakar Rally, and only the third time that he has won when opening the road.
In the overall standings, Despres leads two-time champion Coma by 2min 35sec with Portugal’s Faria third at 6:13. Today’s third stage to San Salvador de Jujuy includes a 521km special. On Sunday, defending champion Carlos Sainz won the first stage of the Dakar Rally, covering the 222-kilometer distance in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 32 seconds. Sainz’s Volkswagen was 1:31 ahead of secondplace Stephane Peterhansel in a BMW and 2:16 in front of Volkswagen teammate Nasser Al Attiyah. American driver Mark Miller was fourth, 4:17 behind. Ruben Faria of Portugal took the stage in the bike category, clocking 1:58:02. He was 29 seconds ahead of defending champion Cyril Despres and had a 1:15 lead on Marc Coma, the 2009 champion. Sainz managed a stage victory without having a
good day. “For about 20 kilometers (30 miles), we had a lot of rain,” he said. “At times we just could not see anything. Moreover, I had issues with the wipers that had stopped working. I am really happy the day is over. It was a bit like the Rally of Great Britain.” Faria also seemed surprised to have been a winner. “I did better today than many great riders with different driving styles,” Faria said. “It’s already a good point of reference.” Despres took the wet, slippery day in his stride. “It was a great warming-up exercise — a winding route, big sliding sections, a mix between skiing and riding,” Despres said. “I am in good shape. ... In the beginning of a Dakar, one always wonders: is this going to change much? Even if we tested our bikes, a Dakar will always be a Dakar. The race is on now and staying focused is of the essence.” —Agencies
NEW DELHI: Giant teenager Satnam Singh Bhamar idolizes Kobe Bryant, but hopes he can one day do for basketball in India what Houston Rockets star Yao Ming has done for China. Standing 2.18-meters (7-foot-2) tall, the 15-year-old Bhamar is being touted as the player who can turn Indian basketball around. “It feels good to be compared to Yao Ming,” says the shy boy from rural India, who adds he realizes he has a long way to go after an initial three-month stint at the IMG basketball academy in Florida. Yao’s move from Shanghai to the Houston Rockets made him an icon in China and Bhamar is seen as having the potential to someday hold the same status in India. Bhamar was among eight players — four boys and four girls — chosen to attend the academy when the Basketball Federation of India recently joined sports management company IMG-Reliance in a 30-year strategy to promote the sport. Bhamar’s height has ensured he has stood out so far at the one-year training program. Watching the national championships back in New Delhi, he knows he has a long way to go before he’s ready for the top level. “I have to work very hard on my speed, power and agility to do well at the top level,” Bhamar said. “The training methods are very different (in Florida) and I was initially worried whether I would be able to cope with the
strenuous sessions.” Bhamar says there is a huge gap in the standard of players in India and the US. “I think players here need to forget their style of play,” he said. “I was unable to match top (Indian) seniors before I left for my training, but I can already feel the difference when I play with them now in practice sessions.” Bhamar’s father Balbir Singh Bhamar, who stands at 2.13 meters (7 feet), could not pursue Basketball due to a lack of opportunities. “I am really lucky to have got the chance and I want to make my family, coaches and country proud by doing well,” said Bhamar, who started playing basketball six years ago. “ The NBA officials I have met have also praised me and see a great prospect in me,” he added. “I am going to give it my everything.” Coach Teja Singh Dhaliwal, who runs an academy at Ludhiana City in the northern state of Punjab, remembers the day Bhamar walked in with his father wanting to play basketball. “He was five feet and nine inches tall when he came to our facility five or six years ago. We had invited players for trials and his height being exceptional for his age, we decided to train him,” Dhaliwal said. Basketball Federation of India secretary, Harish Sharma, is particularly bullish about Bhamar’s prospects. “We are hoping he will be for India what Yao Ming was for China. —AP
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Morgenstern closes in on Four Hills title INNSBRUCK: Austrian ski jumping ace Thomas Morgenstern won the third event of the classic Four Hills tournament here yesterday to consolidate his place atop the overall World Cup standings. The 24-year-old triple Olympic champion, who also won the first event in the Four Hills, produced the two longest jumps, of 129.5 and 126.5 metres for a total of 266.5 points. Poland’s Adam Malysz (128 and 123m for 257.5 pts) was second, with Norwegian Tom Hilde (127.5 and 122 for 255.2 pts) completing the podium. Switzerland’s four-time Olympic
champion Simon Ammann, who won the second wind-affected Four Hills event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday, had to be happy with fourth place. The victory all but secures the title for Morgenstern who now has a 27.3point advantage on Ammann going into the final event on January 6 at Bischofshofen, Austria. Morgenstern is bidding for his first Four Hills title and to follow in the footsteps of compatriots Wolfgang Loitzl and Andreas Kofler, winners of the last two editions. “I’m feeling very good and the
atmosphere is wonderful, really mad,” said Morgenstern, who is also leading the overall World Cup standings. Ammann all but conceded defeat in his bid for his first Four Hills title. “ The tournament was in effect decided today. Clawing back more than 27 points will be very difficult for me at Bischofshofen,” said Ammann. Given the different structures of the hills in Oberstdorf, GarmischPartenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, the Four Hills is widely regarded as the most difficult title to achieve in the sport.—AFP AUSTRIA: A jumper soars in front of the Alps during the third station of the Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Innsbruck. —AP
Khawaja’s bright cameo helps lift Sydney gloom
CAPE TOWN: India’s Gautam Gambhir (right) plays a shot during the third Test against South Africa. —AP
Gambhir, Tendulkar lead Indian fightback C A PE TOWN : G a ut a m G ambhi r a nd S a c h i n Tendulkar ground out the first century partnership of the match as I ndia overcame the loss of two early wickets on the second day of the third and final Test against South Africa at Newlands yesterday. Gambhir (65 not out) and Tendulkar (49 not out) put on an unbeaten 114 for th e t hi rd w i c ke t to enable India to reach 142 for t wo at the close in re p l y to S o u t h Afr i c a’s Jacque s K a l l i s-i nsp i re d 362 all out. Th e st a nd e na b le d I n dia to st ay i n w i t h a chance of winning a series in South Africa for the first time. The sides came to Newlands locked at oneall. Kallis was the mainstay o f t h e S o u t h Afr i c a n in n in gs, ma k i ng 1 6 1 before being last man out. K allis b a t te d sup e r b l y with tailenders Paul Harris and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, taking his score from 100 to 161 while the last two wickets added 79 runs. I t was the S outh African batting star’s 39th Test century, moving him into joint second place on the all-time Test centurions list alongside Ricky Ponting of Australia and behind only India’s Sachin Tendulkar, who has made 50 hundreds. It was also the highest of seven Test centuries by K allis at N ewland s, hi s hom e ground. The innings came at a cost to South Africa, however, as Kallis aggravated a side strain while batting and did not take the field
SCOREBOARD CAPE TOWN, South Africa: Scores at close of play on the second day of the third and final Test between South Africa and India at Newlands yesterday: South Africa, first innings (overnight 232-4) A. Petersen c Dhoni b Sharma 21 G. Smith lbw b Khan 6 H. Amla c Pujara b Sreesanth 59 J. Kallis c Dhoni b Khan 161 A. de Villiers c Dhoni b Sreesanth 26 A. Prince b Sreesanth 47 M. Boucher c Dhoni b Sreesanth 0 D. Steyn c Pujara b Khan 0 M. Morkel c Dhoni b Sreesanth 8 P. Harris c Pujara b Sharma 7 L. Tsotsobe not out 8 Extras (b1, lb6, nb11, w1) 19 Total (112.5 overs) 362 Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Smith), 2-34 (Petersen), 3-106 (Amla), 4-164 (De Villiers), 5-262 (Prince), 6-262 (Boucher), 7-272 (Steyn), 8-283 (Morkel), 9-310 (Harris) Bowling: Khan 29.5-6-89-3 (nb2), Sreesanth
fo r th e I n d i a n i n n i n g s, leaving South Africa with ju s t fo u r bow l e rs w h o were made to toil under a hot sun as Gambhir and Tendulkar dug in. Hot weather is predicted for Tuesday when the pitch, which still offered the bowlers some assistance off the seam, should be at its best for batting. Virender Sehwag again had a disappointing first innings after being out for nought in the first Test in Centurion and 25 in the second match in Durban. He made 13 before a typically flat-footed drive against Steyn spooned to m i d - o ff w h e re S o u th African captain Graeme Smith made a good catch, diving forward. Rahul Dravid was out for five in unusual circums ta n ce s w h e n G a m bh i r was dropped on 10 by
29-0-114-5 (nb6, w1), Sharma 27-6-77-2 (nb3), Harbhajan Singh 27-3-75-0. India, first innings G. Gambhir not out 65 V. Sehwag c Smith b Steyn 13 R. Dravid run out (De Villiers) 5 S. Tendulkar not out 49 Extras (lb8, nb1, w1) 10 Total (2 wkts, 50 overs) 142 Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Sehwag), 2-28 (Dravid) Bowling: Steyn 13-4-31-1, Morkel 14-3-46-0, Tsotsobe 12-3-28-0, Harris 11-2-29-0 To bat: V. Laxman, C. Pujara, M. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, I. Sharma, S. Sreesanth Match position: India trail by 220 runs with eight wickets remaining in the first innings.
Alviro Petersen at gully off Tsotsobe. The batsmen went through for a run b ut seco nd slip A B de Villiers picked up the ball and t hrew down t he stumps with Dravid just short of his ground. Gambhir was dropped o f f Ts o t s o b e w h e n D e Villier s sp illed a hi gh chance at second slip when the batsman was on 60. He also played several false shots but showed good composure in a 159ball innings which included eight fours. Tendulk ar edged Tso t so b e dangero usly close to Ashwell Prince at t hird slip when he had eight but went on to play a solid, cautious innings, facing 106 balls before the close. South Africa’s eventual to t al seem ed unlikely when they lost four wick-
ets in the space of 26 balls against the second new ball during the first hour of the day. Three of the wickets fell to fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who finished with five for 114. It was Sreesanth’s third five wicket haul in Tests. Pa u l H a r r i s h e l p e d Kallis add 27 for the ninth wic ket and K allis t hen gave a masterly exhibition of keeping the strike as he and Tsotsobe added an unbeaten 52 for the last wicket before Kallis edged an attempted square cut against Zaheer K han in trying to keep the strike yet again. Kallis reached a watchful century off 209 balls but scored his next 61 off only 82 deliveries, adding ten more boundaries to the nine in his first 100.—AFP
SYDNEY: Debutant Usman Khawaja briefly lit up a gloomy first day of the fifth Ashes Test yesterday but Australia’s batting frailties and rain returned later in the day to leave the hosts wobbling on 134-4 at the close of play. Despite their hopes of regaining the Ashes having gone, Australia could still square the series with a victory this week but England just about edged the weather-disrupted day with some stifling bowling and key wickets. Khawaja, the first Muslim to play for Australia, opened his first test innings with a stunning salvo but ended it for 37 runs with a looping topedged sweep off Graeme Swann which Jonathan Trott gathered at square leg just as the rain returned. “You never want to get out, especially with the last ball of the day, as it turned out that was,” the 24-year-old told reporters. “I had a ball out there, I was having so much fun out there I just wanted to stay out there as long as I could.” Mike Hussey, so often Australia’s saviour in this series, was still at the crease on 12 runs with Brad Haddin about to join him when play was stopped for the day. “It’s always good to get the first punch in... it’s definitely our day,” said Tim Bresnan, who took 2-47. “Although they played well, I think we were unlucky not to have a few more down.” Haddin’s elevation above Steve Smith in the batting order was one of the first manifestations of the captaincy of Michael Clarke, who took charge of his country’s test side for the first time in place of the injured Ricky Ponting. Clarke was Bresnan’s second victim, dismissed when he clipped the ball straight at James Anderson in the gully for just four runs after the first rain delay, which had swallowed up the tea break. The 29-year-old, greeted with cheers from his home crowd and boos from the English contingent when he walked out to bat, was clearly furious with himself for another failure in a series where he has averaged just 19 runs in eight innings. Khawaja came in straight after a lunch break precipitated by the fall of opener Phillip Hughes, who wasted a good morning’s work with a sloppy shot to be caught at slip by Paul Collingwood off the bowling of Chris Tremlett for 31. Pakistan-born Khawaja, the first Australian to debut at number three since Justin
SYDNEY: England’s James Anderson (left) appeals for the wicket of Australia’s Shane Watson (top center) on the first day of play in their fifth Ashes cricket Test match.—AP
SCOREBOARD SYDNEY: Scoreboard at the close of play on the first day of the fifth and final Ashes test between England and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on yesterday: Australia won the toss and chose to bat. Australia first innings S. Watson c Strauss b Bresnan P. Hughes c Collingwood b Tremlett U. Khawaja c Trott b Swann M. Clarke c Anderson b Bresnan M. Hussey not out
Langer in 1993, had been forced to wait for his chance but grasped it with both hands when it came courtesy of Ponting’s injury. Watched by his parents and an expectant nation, he sent the first ball he faced racing away for two runs before summoning up a beautiful pull shot at chest height to dispatch the second for four. Eight balls into his test career, he had made 15 runs and, although he then settled into the more conservative pace of his team mates, the 43,561 crowd at the SCG was buzzing. “It was a good start and it got all the anxiety out of my system,” Khawaja said. “I was
45 31 37 4 12
Extras (lb-4, nb-1) 5 Total (for four wickets, 59 overs) 134 Fall of wickets: 1-55 2-105 3-113 4-134 Still to bat: B. Haddin, S. Smith, M. Johnson, P. Siddle, M. Beer, B. Hilfenhaus Bowling (to date): Anderson 20-5-34-0, Tremlett 16-6-40-1 (1nb), Bresnan 16-4-47-2, Swann 5-3-6-1, Collingwood 2-1-3-0.
just loving being out there in the middle. I wasn’t thinking that much, I just wanted to get off the mark as soon as possible.” Opener Shane Watson had epitomised the cautious approach, waiting 89 deliveries for his first boundary and taking more than three hours to put on 45 before he hit a Bresnan ball he should have left and was caught in the slips by Andrew Strauss. The England skipper had decided to stick with the team that retained the Ashes with an innings and 157 run victory in Melbourne last week and his bowlers repaid his faith in them. “We’re definitely up for this game,” Bresnan said. “Even
though we’ve already effectively retained the Ashes, we want to win this series. “We were very happy with first use of that pitch, we were going to bowl because it looks like it’s only going to get batter,” the Yorkshireman added. Clarke won the toss and elected to bat, as Ponting would undoubtedly have done, but he put his own stamp on the captaincy by not doling out the baggy green caps to the debutants. Khawaja received his from former captain and test opener Mark Taylor, while Shane Warne did the honours for the other — his fellow spinner and former club mate Michael Beer. —Reuters
Pakistan 234-8 in tour match WHANGAREI: New Zealand Test paceman Chris Martin took three wickets as a New Zealand XI held Pakistan to 234-8 in its first innings on the second day of a three-day tour match yestrday. Martin (3-52) claimed the wickets
of openers Mohammad Hafeez (4) and Taufeeq Umar (1) — both caught by New Zealand’s new wicketkeeper Reece Young — and veteran Younis Khan (1) as the New Zealand side reduced Pakistan early on to 39-4 in reply to its first innings of 384.
The New Zealand XI total was almost entirely based around Brendon McCullum’s 206 on Sunday. Pakistan captain Misbah ul-Haq was 99 not out at stumps on the second day after batting for 4-1/2 hours, hitting 10 fours and three sixes. —AP
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NBA results/standings Results and standings from the NBA games on Sunday: NY Knicks 98, Indiana 92; Atlanta 107, LA Clippers 98; Boston 93, Toronto 79; Dallas 104, Cleveland 95; Portland 100, Houston 85; Sacramento 94, Phoenix 89; Memphis 104, LA Lakers 85.
LOS ANGELES: Lakers forward Pau Gasol (below) of Spain tangles with Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol of Spain as they go after a rebound in the second half of their NBA basketball game. — AP
Celtics pound Raptors TORONTO: Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Ray Allen had 23 as the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 93-79 on Sunday. Glenn Davis added 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as Boston won for the 10th time in 11 meetings with Toronto. Pierce hit 10 of 15 shots, seven of eight free throws and grabbing seven rebounds to help Boston snap a two-game losing streak. DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points, Joey Dorsey had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Amir Johnson had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost 11 of their past 14. Hawks 107, Clippers 98 At Los Angeles, Joe Johnson scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Josh Smith added 22 as Atlanta rallied for the win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Johnson, who returned to the lineup on Dec. 17 after missing nine games following right elbow surgery, was 7 for 20 from the field after going 18 of 51 over his previous three games. Clippers rookie Blake Griffin scored 19 of his 31 points in the first half and pulled down 15 rebounds for his 27th double-double and 21st in a row. Baron Davis had 15 points and five assists. Knicks 98, Pacers 92 At New York, Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points,
Shooting tournament season set to resume By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: Kuwait Shooting Sport Club resumes its tournament season by organizing the Late Sheikh Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah Cup tournament which will start Thursday, Jan 6. Technical and administrative preparations are being made including setting the training schedule as competition will be in skeet, trap, double trap, 10m rifle and pistol for men, women, juniors and beginners in addition to Olympic archery. The tournament’s organizing committee prepared the Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex with all requirements the shooters need. The tournament’s schedule was sent to the military, police and national guard sports unions as well as the club’s shooters. Registration for the tournament continues through today Tuesday January 4, 2011. KSC Secretary General Obied Mnahi Al-Osaimi said the Cup of the Late Sheikh Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah has a special place within the shooting community and that is why the board of directors makes sure that it is included every year in its annual activities to remind all with the late Sheikh’s contributions to Kuwait in all sectors he served in as well as his efforts when he was defense minister after liberating Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation as he took the responsibility of rebuilding the armed forces. He also contributed to equip and support security forces when he was interior minister. The shooting community remembers his outstanding contribution to the sport of shooting and he headed the first shooting delegation in the military sports tournament.
including six of New York’s last seven points, and Danilo Gallinari had 19 to lead New York over Indiana. Danny Granger had 25 points and 17 rebounds, and Darren Collison had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Pacers, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games. Mavericks 104, Cavaliers 95 At Cleveland, Shawn Marion scored 22 points and DeShawn Stevenson added 21 to help Dallas end a threegame losing streak. The Mavericks, playing without starting forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler, used a balanced attack. Jason Terry scored 18 points, Tyson Chandler added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Jason Kidd had 10 points and eight assists. Antawn Jamison led Cleveland with a season-high 35 points, and Ramon Sessions added 19. Grizzlies 104, Lakers 85 At Los Angeles, Rudy Gay scored 27 points, and Zach Randolph added 21 points and eight rebounds as Memphis pulled away in the second half. OJ Mayo scored 15 points for the Grizzlies, who bounced back from two losses to wrap up their three-game road trip with a stunningly easy blowout of the two-time defending champions. Kobe Bryant scored 28 points for the Lakers, who have
lost three of their last four home games — all three by at least 16 points — and four of six overall. T Blazers 100, Rockets 85 At Portland, Oregon, LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Nicolas Batum added a season-high 21 points as Portland won its eighth straight home game. Patrick Mills had a career-high 14 points, five assists and five steals for Portland. Wesley Matthews added 14 and Marcus Camby had 13 rebounds and season-high eight assists. Kevin Martin had 15 points to lead the Rockets, who were held well below their season average of 106 points per game. Courtney Lee added 12 points. Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks and Chase Budinger each had 10. Kings 94, Suns 89 At Sacramento, California, DeMarcus Cousins scored 13 of his career-high 28 points in the fourth quarter as Sacramento closed with a 19-2 run. Francisco Garcia had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Omri Casspi added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings. Carl Landry had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Steve Nash had 20 points and 12 assists for the Suns, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Vince Carter had 17 points and Marcin Gortat added 16. — AP
CHENNAI: Serbian tennis player Janko Tipsarevic serves against his Argentinian opponent Eduardo Schwank during their first round match at the ATP Chennai Open 2011. — AP because I was a bit ner vous,” said Nishikori, who has signed Brad Gilbert as coach for the new season. “Brad does not join me till next week, so to beat the defending champion here was very good. I think I played well. “This year I am determined to change my tennis, not miss easy balls, serve better and not do the crazy things I did on court earlier.” A disappointed Cilic said the Japanese youngster deserved to win. “He played the crucial points better than me,” said Cilic. “It is not a good feeling to lose in the first round as the defending champion, but I think I did not play badly. “There was no pressure on trying to win three titles in a row in Chennai. I was not even thinking about it. My only aim was to get ready for the new season.” Cilic’s defeat opened the field for Chennai first-timer Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who ended last year as world number six.
PCT .781 .576 .394 .333 .265
GB 6.5 12.5 14.5 17
.688 .438 .419 .333 .235
8 8.5 11.5 15
.743 .636 .611 .355 .250
4 4.5 13 16.5
Western Conference Northwest Division Utah 23 11 .676 Oklahoma City 23 12 .657 Denver 19 13 .594 Portland 18 16 .529 Minnesota 9 25 .265 Pacific Division LA Lakers 23 11 .676 Phoenix 14 18 .438 Golden State 13 20 .394 LA Clippers 10 24 .294 Sacramento 7 24 .226 Southwest Division San Antonio 29 4 .879 Dallas 25 8 .758 New Orleans 20 14 .588 Houston 16 17 .485 Memphis 15 19 .441
.5 3 5 14 8 9.5 13 14.5 4 9.5 13 14.5
Venus looking forward to injury-free season
Nishikori stuns Cilic at ATP Chennai Open
CHENNAI: Rising Japanese star Kei Nishikori ended Marin Cilic’s bid for a hat trick of titles at the ATP Chennai Open with a first round upset yesterday. The 21-year-old, ranked 98th in the world, fought back after losing the opening set to knock out number 14 Cilic 4-6, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2 in two hours and 33 minutes in the southern Indian city. It was Nishikori’s second big win over the lanky Croat, having beaten him in five sets in the second round of the US Open last year. Cilic, who won the Chennai titles in 2009 and 2010, appeared set for another confident start to the new year when he breezed through the first set in 46 minutes. But Nishikori won the tie-breaker in th e s e cond set wit ho ut dro p p i ng a point and then broke Cilic in the first and seventh games of the third set to clinch victory. “It was a good way to start the year
Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L Boston 25 7 NY Knicks 19 14 Philadelphia 13 20 Toronto 11 22 New Jersey 9 25 Central Division Chicago 22 10 Indiana 14 18 Milwaukee 13 18 Detroit 11 22 Cleveland 8 26 Southeast Division Miami 26 9 Orlando 21 12 Atlanta 22 14 Charlotte 11 20 Washington 8 24
Berdych, 25, reached the French Open semi-final and then stunned Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon on way to his maiden appearance in a Grand Slam final. “It was a good year for me and I hope I can continue the same way this season,” the top-seed told reporters after an twohour practice session. “It was a good mix of rest and training in the off-season. The important thing for me is to stay healthy and fit and ready to play well each time I go on court.” Other contenders for the Chennai title include world number 21 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, the French duo of Richard Gasquet and Jeremy Chardy, and Serbian Janko Tipsarevic. Robert Kendrick of the United States also moved into the second round by defeating Denis Gremelmayr of Germany 7-6 (7/1), 6-4. German veteran Bjorn Phau outplayed Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-2, 6-2 in another match. — AFP
HONG KONG: Venus Williams says she’s looking forward to a healthy season for herself and sister Serena after an injuryplagued year for the siblings. The Williams sisters, who have 20 Grand Slam singles titles between them, both saw their years cut short in 2010. Serena missed the rest of the season after winning Wimbledon in July, following a cut on her right foot. She is still recovering and will miss the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 17. After losing at Wimbledon, Venus only played at the US Open, bothered by a bad left knee. Venus, however, said yesterday in Hong Kong, where she is competing in an exhibition tournament, “hopefully we’ll (Serena and I) reunite as a doubles team pretty soon,” adding her younger sister is in “very good spirits.” Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki says she is not setting any deadlines to win her first Grand Slam tournament as the topranked Dane gears up for the Australian Open later this month. There are high hopes for a 20-year-old player who burst onto the scene in 2008 by winning three WTA Tour titles. A year later, she matched that feat and reached her first major final at the US Open. In 2010, she bagged a tour-best six titles, a result that helped her overtake an injured Serena Williams as the top-ranked female player in October. Now all eyes are on whether she can back up her No. 1 ranking with a win at the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 17, especially given the open field missing Williams. Speaking to reporters in Hong Kong, where she is competing in an exhibition tournament, Wozniacki said yesterday she is trying not to let the pressure overwhelm her. “Of course I would like to win a Grand Slam title. Is it going to be this year? No one knows if it’s going to happen. But definitely I’m going to try. I’m going to be fighting hard for it. We’re going to have to see,” she said. “I’m not very picky. If I win a Grand Slam in my career, I’ll be happy. I don’t set any deadlines.” One thing that Wozniacki is certain about is that she deserves the No. 1 spot. Unlike the men’s game, where Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have controlled the top two spots in recent years, women’s tennis has seen a series of new No. 1s since 2008, including Williams, Serbs Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, Belgium’s Justine Henin, as well as Russians Maria Sharapova and Dinara Safina. “I feel pressure is when you are put in a spot where you don’t feel like you belong. I feel like I belong where I am. I’ve had a great year,” she said. Wozniacki added she has no plans to drastically change her defensive style of play to boost her chances of winning a Slam. —AP
A
Years
S P ORT S
Profiles of teams in NFL playoffs NEW YORK: Brief profiles of the 12 teams that qualified for this season’s National Football League (NFL) playoffs: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS Founded: 1960 Home Ground: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts Head coach: Bill Belichick Starting quarterback: Tom Brady Super Bowl titles: 3 Playoff appearances: 17 Regular season record: 14 wins, 2 losses How they qualified: 1st AFC East Division
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES Founded: 1933 Home Ground: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Head coach: Andy Reid Starting quarterback: Michael Vick Super Bowl titles: 0 Playoff appearances: 23 Regular season record: 10 wins, 6 losses How they qualified: 1st NFC East Division
NEW YORK JETS Founded: 1960 Home Ground: New Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Head coach: Rex Ryan Starting quarterback: Mark Sanchez Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 14 Regular season record: 11 wins, 5 losses How they qualified: 2nd AFC East Division (Wild Card) PITTSBURGH STEELERS Founded: 1933 Home Ground: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Head coach: Mike Tomlin Starting quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger Super Bowl titles: 6 Playoff appearances: 26 Regular season record: 12 wins, 4 losses How they qualified: 1st AFC North Division
CHICAGO BEARS Founded: 1920 Home Ground: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois Head coach: Lovie Smith Starting quarterback: Jay Cutler Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 26 Regular season record: 11 wins, 5 losses How they qualified: 1st NFC North Division GREEN BAY PACKERS Founded: 1921 Home Ground: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Head coach: Mike McCarthy Starting quarterback: Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl titles: 3 Playoff appearances: 26 Regular season record: 10 wins, 6 losses How they qualified: 2nd NFC North Division (Wild Card) ATLANTA FALCONS
BALTIMORE RAVENS Founded: 1996 Home Ground: M & T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland Head coach: John Harbaugh Starting quarterback: Joe Flacco Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 7 Regular season record: 12 wins, 4 losses How they qualified: 2nd AFC North Division (Wild Card) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Founded: 1944 Home Ground: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana Head coach: Jim Caldwell Starting quarterback: Peyton Manning Super Bowl titles: 2 Playoff appearances: 24 Regular season record: 10 wins, 6 losses How they qualified: 1st AFC South Division
Founded: 1966 Home Ground: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia Head coach: Mike Smith Starting quarterback: Matt Ryan Super Bowl titles: 0 Playoff appearances: 10 Regular season record: 13 wins, 3 losses How they qualified: 1st NFC South Division NEW ORLEANS SAINTS Founded: 1967 Home Ground: Louisiana Superdome, New rleans, Louisiana Head coach: Sean Payton Starting quarterback: Drew Brees Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 8 Regular season record: 11 wins, 5 losses How they qualified: 2nd NFC South Division (Wild Card) SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS Founded: 1960 Home Ground: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Head coach: Todd Haley Starting quarterback: Matt Cassel Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 16 Regular season record: 10 wins, 6 losses How they qualified: 1st AFC West Division
Founded: 1976 Home Ground: Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington Head coach: Pete Carroll Starting quarterback: Matt Hasselbeck Super Bowl titles: 0 Playoff appearances: 11 Regular season record: 7 wins, 9 losses How they qualified: 1st NFC West Division. — Reuters
time.” Despite his advancing years, Favre had one of the best statistical seasons of his career in 2009, throwing for over 4,200 yards, 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions and led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game. Minnesota lost that game to the New Orleans Saints but his decision to come back for a shot at reaching what would have been his third Super Bowl proved to be ill-fated. The Vikings struggled and Favre looked a shadow of the player who had enjoyed so much success a year earlier. He threw for 2,509 yards and 11 touchdowns, the lowest totals since his rookie year, when he played just two games. “This year did not work out the way that we would have hoped, but that’s football, and I don’t regret coming back. I enjoyed my experience here,” said Favre. He also said that he understood that some fans would be skeptical of his decision being truly final. “I don’t know if, for me, it’s ever easy. I’m sure throughout this year the comment has been made that we’ll wait and see in August or September. But it’s time,” said Favre. —Reuters
Seahawks thrash Rams SEATTLE: Backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw a 4-yard touchdown pass on Seattle’s first drive, and Olindo Mare kicked second-half field goals as the Seahawks became division champions with a 16-6 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. The Seahawks finished as champs of the National Football Conference West at 7-9, the first playoff team with a losing record — not including the 1982 strikeshortened season — since the merger in 1970. It was Seattle’s first division title since 2007. Colts 23, Titans 20 At Indianapolis, Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes and Adam Vinatieri made a 43-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Colts their seventh American Football Conference South title in eight years. The Colts (10-6) tied Dallas’ NFL record for most consecutive playoff appearances (nine) and will face the New York Jets next weekend in a wild-card game. Texans 34, Jaguars 17 At Houston, Arian Foster ran for 180 yards to capture the NFL rushing title for Houston. The Jaguars (8-8) needed a win and a Colts loss to make playoffs, but couldn’t overcome the absence of its top two offensive players. Quarterback David Garrard had finger surgery Thursday and Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew sat out with a right knee injury. Indianapolis wound up winning minutes after the Jaguars’ game ended. Falcons 31, Panthers 10 At Atlanta, Matt Ryan and Atlanta put a decisive stamp on the NFC South title and home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Falcons (13-3) earned their first division title since 2004, home-field edge throughout the NFC playoffs and a bye next weekend. The time off for Ryan and other starters came early, as backups took over in the fourth quarter. Steelers 41, Browns 9 At Cleveland, Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes as Pittsburgh won the AFC North to secure a first-round playoff bye. The game could be the final one for Browns coach Eric Mangini. Roethlisberger, who got to rest most of the second half, threw a 56yard TD to Mike Wallace on his first pass.
Cowboys 14, Eagles 13 At Philadelphia, Stephen McGee threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten with 55 seconds left to lead Dallas over the NFC East champs. Michael Vick and nearly every starter didn’t play in a game that had no effect on Philadelphia’s playoff positioning. The Eagles (10-6) are locked into the No. 3 seed and will host Green Bay in a wildcard game next Sunday. Giants 17, Redsksins 14 At Landover, Maryland, the Giants got the win, but they didn’t get the help they needed to make the playoffs. Osi Umenyiora forced two of the defense’s four turnovers, and the Giants ended with a 10-6 and no playoff spot after the Packers defeated the Bears to clinch the final NFC postseason spot. 49ers 38, Cardinals 7 At San Francisco, Alex Smith threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis in what likely was the quarterback’s final hurrah with the 49ers in a matchup for last place in the awful NFC West. Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick who becomes a free agent, threw for 276 yards and two TDs overall and the Niners (6-10) made interim coach Jim Tomsula a winner in what will probably be his only game coaching the team. Chargers 33, Broncos 28 At Denver, rookie Ryan Mathews ran for three scores and Nate Kaeding kicked four field goals for San Diego. The Broncos (4-12) closed out the season with more than 11 losses for the first time in club history, but secured the No. 2 overall pick in the April draft behind Carolina. — AP
NFL results/standings Atlanta 31, Carolina 10; Pittsburgh 41, Cleveland 9; Baltimore 13, Cincinnati 7; Oakland 31, Kansas City 10; New England 38, Miami 7; Tampa Bay 23, New Orleans 13; NY Jets 38, Buffalo 7; Detroit 20, Minnesota 13; Green Bay 10, Chicago 3; Indianapolis 23, Tennessee 20; Dallas 14, Philadelphia 13; San Francisco 38, Arizona 7; San Diego 33, Denver 28; Houston 34, Jacksonville 17; NY Giants 17, Washington 14.
Raiders 31, Chiefs 10 At Kansas City, Missouri, Michael Bush rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown as short-handed Oakland beat playoff-bound Kansas City to gain a unique NFL distinction. The Raiders (8-8) finished 6-0 in the AFC West, the first team since the 1970 merger to go unbeaten in the division and not make the playoffs. The AFC West champion Chiefs (10-6) were 2-4 in the division, and will host the Ravens in the playoffs next Sunday.
American Football Conference AFC East W L T PF PA New England 14 2 0 518 313 NY Jets 11 5 0 367 304 Miami 7 9 0 273 333 Buffalo 4 12 0 283 425 AFC North Pittsburgh 12 4 0 375 232 Baltimore 12 4 0 357 270 Cleveland 5 11 0 271 332 Cincinnati 4 12 0 322 395 AFC South Indianapolis 10 6 0 435 388 Jacksonville 8 8 0 353 419 Houston 6 10 0 390 427 Tennessee 6 10 0 356 339 AFC West Kansas City 10 6 0 366 326 San Diego 9 7 0 441 322 Oakland 8 8 0 410 371 Denver 4 12 0 344 471
Buccaneers 23, Saints 13 At New Orleans, Josh Freeman passed for two touchdowns but Tampa Bay failed to make the playoffs. The Bucs (10-6) entered the game needing a victory and losses by both the Giants and Packers to make the post season. The Giants and Packers both won. The Saints (11-5) will open the playoffs next Saturday against the NFC West champion Seahawks. Patriots 38, Dolphins 7 At Foxborough, Massachusetts, Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to cap a record-setting season as New England won its eighth straight. The game meant nothing in the standings. Still, Brady played into the third quarter and finished with 36 touchdowns passing and four interceptions. He extended his NFL records to 335 straight passes without an interception and 28 consecutive regular-season wins as a starter at home.
NEW ORLEANS: Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams (right) pulls in a touchdown pass in front of New Orleans Saints cornerback Jabari Greer (33) during the third quarter of an NFL football game. — AP
(6-10) closed out a lost season by putting the three-time MVP quarterback on the inactive because of a concussion, with rookie Joe Webb making his second start. After the game, Favre said it was time for him to call it a career.
Ravens 13, Bengals 7 At Baltimore, Ed Reed had two interceptions and Ray Lewis recovered two fumbles, part of an opportunistic defense that carried Baltimore. Despite the victory, the Ravens (12-4) failed to get the help necessary to win the AFC North. Baltimore needed Pittsburgh to lose to Cleveland, but the Steelers won easily to deny the Ravens a firstround bye.
Packers 10, Bears 3 At Green Bay, Wisconsin, Aaron Rodgers’ 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Donald Lee gave Green Bay the lead, and its defense held on to clinch a wild card berth. The Packers will visit the NFC East champion Eagles next Sunday.
After 20 seasons, Favre says time to walk away DETROIT: Record-breaking quarterback Brett Favre sat out the final game of what he has called his last NFL season on Sunday and then said he knew it finally was time to walk away. After watching from the sidelines with lingering effects of a concussion while his Minnesota Vikings capped a disappointing season with a 20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions, Favre suggested the risk of injury was a factor in his decision. “If you just talked about head injuries, and there’s been lots of discussion on that this year, it wouldn’t be worth it anyway. But it’s time. I know it’s time. And that’s OK. It is,” Favre told reporters. The 41-year-old quarterback has come out of retirement twice before, but after 20 seasons in the NFL the career record holder in nearly every major statistical category for passing simply said it was time. “I hold no regrets, and I can’t think of too many players off hand that can walk away and say that,” said Favre. “I played with some great, great teammates over the years and was honored to play with them. And I just know it’s
BALTIMORE: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson fumbles the ball on a hit from Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris Carr during the first half of an NFL football game. — AP
Jets 38, Bills 7 At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Mark Brunell threw two touchdown passes in relief of Mark Sanchez and Joe McKnight ran for a career-high 158 yards as the Jets’ defense dominated. Having already clinched a postseason spot, New York (11-5) sat a handful of stars, including LaDainian Tomlinson and Darrelle Revis, but still earned the fourth 11-win season in franchise history — and first since the 1998 team went to the AFC championship game. The Jets open the playoffs against the Indianapolis Colts next Saturday. Lions 20, Vikings 13 At Detroit, Brett Favre stood in street clothes on the sideline in what likely was the final game of his 20-season career, watching the Lions (6-10) beat his Vikings for their fourth straight win. The Vikings
National Football Conference NFC East Philadelphia 10 6 0 439 377 NY Giants 10 6 0 394 347 Dallas 6 10 0 394 436 Washington 6 10 0 302 377 NFC North Chicago 11 5 0 334 286 Green Bay 10 6 0 388 240 Detroit 6 10 0 362 369 Minnesota 6 10 0 281 348 NFC South Atlanta 13 3 0 414 288 New Orleans 11 5 0 384 307 Tampa Bay 10 6 0 341 318 Carolina 2 14 0 196 408 NFC West Seattle 7 9 0 310 407 St. Louis 7 9 0 289 328 San Francisco 6 10 0 305 346 Arizona 5 11 0 289 434
PCT .875 .688 .438 .250 .750 .750 .313 .250 .625 .500 .375 .375 .625 .563 .500 .250
.625 .625 .375 .375 .688 .625 .375 .375 .813 .688 .625 .125 .438 .438 .375 .313
y
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
sports PREVIEW
Man City title credentials on the line at Arsenal LONDON:- Manchester City face the acid test of their Premier League title credentials tomorrow when they seek to win at Arsenal, something they have not managed for 36 years. After winning all three festive fixtures, City are level with Manchester United on 41 points at the top of the Premier League, with Arsenal third on 39. Having not tasted success at the Gunners since 1975 and having lost 3-0 at home to them in October, victory would go a long way to convincing even City’s most pessimistic fans that they are serious contenders to win the league for the first time since 1968. “It seems ridiculous that we haven’t won there since the 1970s but that has to end sometime,” assistant manager Brian Kidd, who played for both clubs, told City’s website (www.mcfc.co.uk). “They beat us fair and square in the first game but I wouldn’t change our squad for any other. I don’t fear any team in the league.” City were up against it in the home match after an early red card for defender Dedryck Boyata who has not played a league game since. “Now we want to play them with 11 men,” said defender Jerome Boateng. “I don’t believe in bogey teams or jinxes and things like that I only look to the next game. That City have not won at Arsenal for a long time makes no difference to what might happen on Wednesday night. Mario Balotelli and David Silva, who has been in superb form, are both struggling to make the game because of knee injuries. Manchester United, who have two games in hand on City and one on the other three title hopefuls, host Stoke City today. United needed a late goal by Javier Hernandez to secure a 2-1 win at The Britannia in October and they are expecting another tough battle with Tony Pulis’s physical side. “They always have a go and you have to win that battle and earn the right to play,” United midfielder Darren Fletcher said. Chelsea, still reeling from conceding a stoppagetime equaliser in Sunday’s 3-3 home draw with Aston Villa after scoring twice in the last six minutes, visit Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday. The champions’ poor run, which has brought 10 points from the last 10 games, has seen them drop outside the top four and they now trail United by six points having played a game more. Tottenham Hotspur, a point above their London rivals after three successive wins, visit Everton tomorrow. —Reuters
DOHA: In this handout picture released by the Emirates Airline media relations office, Yousuf Yaqub Al-Serkal, the vice president of the Asian Football Confederation, AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam, Qatar Football Association (QFA) president, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, Ahmed Khoory, pose with Emirates Airline officials behind the AFC trophy at Doha airport. The AFC Asian Cup will take place from January 7-29. — AFP
Barcelona under pressure for Bilbao King’s Cup clash MADRID: Barcelona must cope with the daunting atmosphere of Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames stadium if they are to reach the King’s Cup quarter-finals tomorrow after a rare off day left them vulnerable to an early exit. The deafening roars and piercing whistles of the Bilbao fans have often given their team extra impetus in the claustrophobic, 40,000-seater arena known as the Cathedral and the Basques are right in the tie after holding Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in last month’s first leg at the Nou Camp. “Bilbao are a team that will create prob-
lems for us,” Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said after the league leaders ground out a 2-1 home win over promoted Levante on Sunday. Barca, who would meet Getafe or second-division leaders Real Betis in the last eight, won 3-1 in Bilbao in La Liga in September, when midfielder Andres Iniesta was roundly booed after he was involved in the dismissal of Fernando Amorebieta. Spain midfielder Iniesta has mostly been hailed as a hero by opposing fans for scoring the winning goal in July’s World Cup final but that achievement cuts little ice
with the fiercely independent Basques. “Now we have a life or death match,” Iniesta said after the Levante game. Barca’s arch-rivals Real Madrid have not won the domestic Cup since 1993 but virtually secured a quarter-final berth with an 8-0 demolition of Levante in the first leg. Jose Mourinho’s side, who play Levante on Thursday, look likely to go on and face city rivals and 2010 runners-up Atletico, who won their first leg at home to Espanyol 1-0. Mourinho said Brazil playmaker Kaka, who had knee surgery after the World Cup
and has not played this season, could get a run-out in Real’s La Liga match at neighbours Getafe later yesterday. “He won’t start against Getafe and he is still nowhere near being able to,” the Portuguese told a news conference. “He could give us 15 or 20 minutes of his super quality but no more.” In other last 16, second legs, Villarreal host Valencia on Thursday after the pair drew 0-0 at the Mestalla, Malaga are looking to overturn a 5-3 defeat by holders Sevilla and Almeria will attempt to defend a 4-3 lead at Real Mallorca. —Reuters
Bahrain face daunting task
GUANGZHOU: A picture dated Nov 16, 2010 shows India’s football team members singing the national anthem before competing against Japan at the men’s football 1/8 final match 44 during the 16th Asian Games. —AFP
India have little hope in Qatar DOHA: It has taken India 27 years to qualify for its third Asian Cup and few are expecting any fireworks from a massive country that has never realised its footballing potential. India are in Qatar courtesy of winning the eight-nation AFC Challenge Cup as hosts in 2008 — a tournament of lower-tier Asian teams. It will be their first outing at the Asian Cup since 1984 where they failed to make any impact, in contrast to their maiden appearance in 1964 when they finished runners-up. A repeat of that performance is highly unlikely with Bobby Houghton’s squad more concerned with preventing any embarrassing scorelines, with the might of Australia, South Korea and Bahrain awaiting them in a tough Group C. If recent results are any indication, they could be seriously out of their depth having lost 2-0 to Iraq, 9-1 to Kuwait and 5-0 to the UAE in November. That match againt UAE on November 18 was the last one they have played and they go into the tournament clearly under-prepared. They have also been hit by controversy with manager Pradeep Chowdhury walking out on the team in December after an Matches on TV (Local Timings) English Premier League Blackpool v Birmingham ... 23:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 4 Fulham v West Brom .......... 23:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 1 Man United v Stoke .......... 23:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 2
apparent spat with Houghton, with players accusing him of deserting them. English journeyman Houghton, who used to play for Fulham and has previously coached China and Uzbekistan, admitted they face an uphill task. “I don’t know what is realistic. We are 144 in the world and Australia and South Korea have just played the World Cup. That is a very tough group,” he recently told goal.com. Houghton, who has been in charge of India since 2006, has also been struggling with a spate of injuries to key players, including captain and striker Baichung Bhutia, although he has been named in their squad. The 63-year-old has been around long enough to know that a thrashing in Qatar will spell the end of the road for him, despite having a contract that runs until 2013. “You have to be realistic. If India goes out of the Asian Cup with no points there’s going to be an enormous outcry to sack the coach. Sometimes decisions are taken out of your hands.” The 1950s and 60s was India’s golden era, with the national team winning the Asian Games gold medals in 1951 and 1962 while becoming the first Asian nation to make it to the Olympics semi-finals at Melbourne in 1956. But since those glory days, football has gone backwards, with infrastructure for its development poor compared to other countries in the region. Currently ranked a lowly 144th in the world, recent successes have been limited to the South Asian region with victories in the Nehru Cup in 2007 and 2009 before their AFC Challenge Cup heroics handed them a ticket to Doha. Asian Football Confederation chief Mohamad bin Hammam recently blasted India’s almost stagnant development in the sport, saying it was important that they start showing their potential. —AFP
DOHA: Bahrain failed to get into the knockout rounds at the last Asian Cup in 2007 and with Australia and South Korea awaiting them in Doha a similar fate could be on the cards. Avoiding last place in Group C must be their priority as they come into the tournament riding a poor run of form. Their outcome is in the hands of former international Salman Sharida, who recently took over when Austrian Josef Hickersberger quit to return to his previous club Al Wahda of United Arab Emirates. But Sharida, who lacks international experience, has enjoyed little success so far, and with failure at the tournament often seeing heads roll, he has his work cut out. Under Sharida, Bahrain were held goalless by Uganda in November, followed by a 2-0 loss at the hands of fellow Asian Cup finalists Syria. They were then held 1-1 in the Gulf Cup opener by Oman before losing 3-2 to Iraq, the defending Asian Cup champions. The Gulf Cup turned into a disaster with the team only managing a point from their group-emphasizing the difficulty of their task in Qatar. A 1-1 draw in a warm-up game with Uzbekistan last week failed to lift the gloom before they bounced back to beat Jordan 2-1 in another friendly for a muchneeded morale boost. While Bahrain, who are in their third consecutive Asian Cup, haven’t made too many footballing headlines recently, they were plastered over the papers in September when they found themselves at the centre of an elaborate scam. That beat Togo 3-0 in Manama in a warm-up to the West Asian Football
ADEN: A picture dated Nov 29, 2010 shows Bahrain’s national team posing for a group picture before the start of their 20th Gulf Cup football match against UAE in the southern Yemeni city of Aden. —AFP Federation Championship only to find that the visitors were a fraud, masquerading as the national squad. Amusing as it was, it came at a cost with several people, including an ex-Togo sports minister, being detained. There is no chance of that happening in Doha with Australia and South Korea boosting top-rated teams full of European-based stars. Bahrain open their campaign against the Koreans at Al Gharafa Stadium on
January 10 before facing a must-win match against group minnows India, who are under the tutlege of English journeyman Bobby Houghton. India have qualified for the first time in 24 years and if Bahrain can’t get three points in this match then their bid for the knockout round would appear doomed. They complete their group games against the Socceroos on January 18, with only the top two progressing. With goals a priority, Bahrain will be
relying heavily on dangerous striker Ismaeel Abdullateef, while fellow forward Jaycee John features after his Turkish club Eskisehirspor released him-they refused to do so for the Gulf Cup. Sharida will also pin hopes on his overseas players who are mostly based in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. They include Faouzi Aaish and Abdulla Al Marzooqi (Al Silia, Qatar), Mohammed Hussain (Um Salal, Qatar) and Hussain Baba (Al Wehda, Saudi Arabia). —AFP
South Korea fired up despite Park blow
DURBAN: A picture dated June 22, 2010 shows members of South Korea’s football team posing before the start of the Group B first round 2010 World Cup football match between Nigeria and South Korea. —AFP
DOHA: South Korea attempt to land their first Asian Cup in 51 years this month but their hopes have been hit hard by the withdrawal of key striker Park Chu-Young. The 2002 World Cup semi-finalists are one of the pre-tournament favourites but start their Group C matches against Australia, Bahrain and India without a man who has scored more goals than anyone else in the squad. Park, who played up front as the sole striker during last year’s World Cup, hurt his knee while celebrating an injury-time winner for his French club Monaco against FC Sochaux on December 23. Doctors have ruled him out for up to four weeks with cartilage damage, with coach Cho Kwang-Rae drafting in Hong Jung-Ho, a defender, as a replacement. It is a major blow but Cho is confident his team can still perform. “I have faith in our players’ capabilities,” he told reporters.
“We can’t keep worrying about Park Chu-Young’s injury. Football is not an individual sport, and if each of the 23 players can come together, we can overcome this problem.” Without him, South Korea’s front line features Ji Dong-Won, Kim ShinWook, and Yoo Byung-Soo. But Cho, who took over from Huh Jung-Moo after the South Africa World Cup, also has Celtic duo Cha Du Ri and Ki Sung-Yeung at his disposal. They both scored in their final match before jetting out to Qatar when the Scottish giants beat St Johnstone 2-0. He also has hugely influential captain, Manchester United’s Park JiSung, on board after Alex Ferguson agreed to release the midfielder for international duty. Park missed the last tournament four years ago with injury and has suggested the 2011 showpiece could be his international swansong. —AFP
Despres rides to second stage win at Dakar Rally
Tendulkar, Gambhir, lead Indian fightback
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
Flyers clip Red Wings in NHL action Page 15 DOHA: In this photo issued by ATP showing Rafael Nadal of Spain (left) and Roger Federer of Switzerland as they play tennis on a specially designed aquatic tennis court, set up in the Gulf Sea to promote the upcoming Qatar ATP Open Tennis tournament. —AP
Federer, Nadal set to resume rivalry DOHA: Roger Federer will be looking to bounce back from a string of Grand Slam defeats in 2010 while his biggest rival, topranked Rafael Nadal, is hoping to resume the dominant form that saw him capture the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles. Spectators can expect to see much of the pair in 2011, starting with the season-opening Qatar Open in Doha which begins Monday. A taste of their long-running rivalry was also on display in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, when Nadal edged Federer 7-6, 7-6 to defend his title at the invitational World Tennis Championships. Before leaving for Doha, the No. 2-ranked Federer said he saw Abu Dhabi and Doha as a chance to try out new shots, adding that he was looking forward to resuming his duel with Nadal that will get its first big test at the Australian Open where the 29-year-old Swiss is the defending champion. “It’s a special Australian Open with me being the defending champion,” Federer said. “Obviously the focus is going to be on the two of us. Tennis is really going to be exciting down in Australia.” Nadal said he doesn’t feel any pressure ahead of this year’s Australian Open, even though a tournament victory there would make him the first man to win four major titles in a row since Rod Laver pulled off a calendar Grand Slam by claiming all four in 1969. “It’s not extra pressure, for me it’s extra
motivation,” Nadal said, who lost in the Doha final last year to Russian Nikolay Davydenko. “The pressure is everyday to play well and keep winning matches and I don’t think (about) winning (the) Australian Open immediately,” Nadal said. “You never know what’s going to happen since it’s going to be a very difficult tournament.” For Nadal, staying healthy will be his top priority. He still grimaces at the memories of last year’s Australian Open _ where he retired from his quarterfinal with a knee injury, the lone blemish on his 25-1 Grand Slam record in 2010. “Health. That’s the most important thing. For myself and everybody that’s the most important thing,” Nadal said after winning in Abu Dhabi. “Without that, the rest of the things are just impossible.” In Doha, Federer and Nadal are the top seeds, ahead of Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Fourth-seeded Davydenko is hoping to find his form after a year in which he has dropped from sixth to 22nd in the rankings. “It’s good to be back here in Doha as the defending champion, although I’m no longer the favorite here,” Davydenko said. “I’m keen to make my presence felt ... I’m now ranked 22nd and have to make amends.” In their first round matches, Federer plays a qualifier while Nadal plays the 103rd-ranked Karol Beck of Slovakia.—AP
Sharapova sends Brianti packing AUCKLAND: Maria Sharapova underlined her pulling power yesterday with Auckland Classic organisers confirming they had sold out all of the day sessions for the entire tournament just minutes before she stepped on court for her first round match. A limited number of tickets for the three night sessions were left available, though all of Sharapova’s matches will be played during the day and organisers said it was the first time the tournament, with a total prize pool of just $220,000, had been effectively sold out by the first day. Sharapova, making her first appearance in New Zealand, received an enormous cheer from the 3,200 fans packed around the revamped centre court, before the former world number one overcame a nervous start to beat Alberta Brianti 6-2 6-3. The 23-year-old Russian, who will now meet Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic in the second round, said she had been pleased at the Auckland public’s reaction to the tournament. “I was surprised yesterday when I came to practice even all the people with the qualifying matches,” she told reporters after her victory over the Italian. “From a player’s perspective that’s really exciting ... it’s my first time here and I didn’t know what to expect, but it has been really great.” —Reuters
Americans too good for France PERTH: The United States cruised to victory over France in their Group B tie at the mixed teams Hopman Cup yesterday, as Great Britain suffered an unexpected early exit at the hands of Italy. The unseeded US pairing of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and John Isner won both singles matches to secure the tie, before completing a clean sweep by claiming the mixed doubles against French duo Kristina Mladenovic and Nicolas Mahut. The talking point of the clash was the singles rematch between Wimbledon marathon men Isner and Mahut. In their first on-court meeting since that famous 11-hour, three-day epic that ended with the American winning 70-68 in the third set in the longest match in tennis history, the pair played for a paltry 90 minutes as Isner sealed the tie for the US. After Mattek-Sands had overcome a slow start against the teenage Mladenovic to win 3-6, 6-3, 61, the 19th-ranked John Isner fired down 17 aces to win in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). Isner said it was joy to
play Mahut again, the pair bonded forever by their Wimbledon experience. “It is just a lot of fun playing Nicolas,” he said. “Since that match we have become really, really close friends and it is great to share the court with him.” The Americans won the mixed doubles 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. Earlier yesterday, heatstricken Scot Andy Murray dismissed concerns about his health despite struggling through Great Britain’s unexpected 2-1 loss to Italy ’s Potito Starace and Francesca Schiavone in their Group B tie. The world number four beat Starace in the men’s singles 7-5, 6-1 to level the tie after Schiavone beat 16-yearold Laura Robson, herself battling a heavy cold, 7-5, 6-3 in the women’s singles. The Italians then claimed the tie by coming from a set down to win the deciding mixed doubles rubber in a match tiebreak, 6-7 (1/7), 7-6 (8/6), 10-2, with both of the British players appearing to tire late in the match. Murray admitted he was feeling the effects of his first outings of the year, having arrived in Perth only on
PERTH: John Isner of the United States plays Nicolas Mahut during their Saturday, but said it was nothing to be worried about. “I’m a bit stiff, which is to be expected after so long travelling and the doubles was very long,” he said. “The conditions were tough, but it is normal I think.” Murray said the combination of the oppressive heat and tiredness caused him some problems, but added that it was all valuable preparation for the upcoming Australian Open in Melbourne later this month. —AFP
Rusty Stosur eases through in Brisbane
AUCKLAND: Maria Sharapova of Russia plays a forehand to Alberta Brianti of Italy during their match at the ASB Classic tennis tournament. —AP
SYDNEY: Top-seeded Australian Sam Stosur kicked off her 2011 season by easing through to the Brisbane International second round with a 7-6 6-1 win over Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka yesterday. The world number six was broken in the first game and had to save a set point before rattling through the tiebreaker 7-1 at Pat Rafter Arena. Having shaken off the rust, the 26-year-old breezed through the second set and next faces fellow Australian Jarmila Groth at the warm-up tournament for the Jan. 17-30 Australian Open. “Obviously she was winning on the scoreboard, but she was hitting the ball very well and she’s got a huge serve so at the start it was maybe a bit hard to read that,” French
Open runner-up Stosur, her country’s best chance of ending a 32-year wait for a home grand slam champion, told reporters. “I didn’t panic, I didn’t start freaking out and thinking I had to play unbelievable to try and get back. I just took it point by point and slowly started getting it back.” Defending men’s champion Andy Roddick began his year with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 firstround win over local wildcard Marinko Matosevic. The world number eight, seeded second behind Robin Soderling, took just 72 minutes to blast Matosevic off the court as he started his build-up to the first grand slam of the year. Roddick said winning the title in Brisbane last year had been a significant factor in him reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals, where he lost to Marin Cilic.—Reuters
Tsonga makes winning return in Qatar DOHA: Third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga began his season with a crushing 6-2, 6-0 win over Spain’s Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in the first round of the Qatar Open. Tsonga had not played since October because of a knee injury, but he showed no signs of rust as he broke serve twice in the first set and three times in the second to complete a one-sided win. “Yeah, I played a good match,” Tsonga said. “Everybody’s friendly with me here. I feel really good. “I’m completely fit. I’m maybe healthier than before, and, you know, I just enjoy every moment on the court, and that’s it. I hope it will continue.” Tsonga will face Sergei Bubka in the second round after the Ukrainian wildcard entry, who is the son of the former Olympic and world champion pole-vaulter of the same name, upset Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-0, 6-3. Also on Monday, fourth seed and defending champion Nikolay Davydenko of Russia eased past Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-1, 6-4 in 63 minutes. Playing an aggressive baseline game, punctuated with solid returns, Davydenko, who beat Rafael Nadal of Spain in last year’s final, broke Fognini in games two and four to take the first set in 25 minutes. Employing similar tactics, the 29-year-old Russian wasted little time in taking the second set. Davydenko fired six aces, and did not face a break point in the entire match. Top-ranked Rafael Nadal plays his first ATP match of the season against Karol Beck of Slovakia on Tuesday, when two-time champion Roger Federer of Switzerland also plays Dutch qualifier Thomas Schoorel. Nadal beat Federer in straight sets on Saturday at an invitational event in Abu Dhabi.—AP
Business
Remal Real Estate lists on KSE Page 22
What to expect in 2011 for GCC markets Page 23
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
No immediate plans to merge Fiat, Chrysler: CEO Page 26
Singapore looks to tourism, casinos to fuel growth
SINGAPORE: The financial skyline is lit while the newly opened Marina Bay Sands casinos, left, tower over the bay area as they await New Year’s day countdown. Singapore’s two huge casino resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, which together cost more than $10 billion to build, are the crowning jewels of a decade-long effort to diversify the island’s economy toward services such as tourism and away from low-end manufacturing. — AP SINGAPORE: Wear red if you want to win at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino, but sport white to boost your luck at rival Resorts World Sentosa. So says feng shui expert Danny Cheong, who has seen demand for his skills soar thanks to last year’s opening of the citystate’s first two casino resorts. “Before I would occasionally get clients who asked for help with playing the horses or the lottery,” said Cheong, a 50-year-old Singaporean trained in Hong Kong. “Now everybody wants advice about the casinos.” Singapore’s two huge casino resorts, which together cost more than $10 billion to build, are at the center of a decade-long effort to diversify the island’s economy toward services such as tourism and finance and less on manufacturing. The casinos have created more than 20,000 jobs, helped attract record visitors and fueled 14.7 percent economic growth last year, likely the second-highest in the world behind Qatar. Singapore is also benefiting from strong economic growth in Asia, led by China. Almost all the growth of tourist arrivals last year came from regional neighbors and, for the first time, Chinese demand for Singapore’s exports likely surpassed that of the US in 2010. To woo Chinese visitors, the resorts incorporated feng shui and other Chinese beliefs in their design and operation. Resorts World opened its casino at 8:28 am on Feb. 14 while Marina Bay Sands opened March 27 at 3:18 pm because eight is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture. Its strong economic ties in the region, particularly with China, put Singapore in a favorable position to ride the current wave of growth from Asia, said DBS economist Irvin Seah. Gross domestic product rose 12.5 percent in the fourth quarter from a year ago, compared with 10.5 percent in the third quarter, the Trade and Industry Ministry said yesterday. The economy grew an annualized, seasonally adjusted 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter after contracting 18.9 percent in the third, the ministry said. Singapore in recent decades lost much of its lowwage manufacturing to regional emerging
economies like China and Vietnam, and it has focused on exporting more valueadded products such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. Manufacturing soared 28 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous year while services gained 8.8 percent and construction slumped 1.2 percent, the ministry said. This year, the resorts should contribute about 1.7 percentage points of GDP growth to an economy that Singapore’s DBS bank expects will slow, but still grow a healthy 7 percent. The government is forecasting economic growth of between 4 percent and 6 percent for 2011. Services will overtake manufacturing as the key contributor to growth, and gaming will overtake pharmaceuticals as the fastest growing sector, Seah said. Singapore, which has a population of 5 million and is about the size of New York City, saw visitor arrivals average about 1 million per month and jump 20 percent in the first 11 months of last year from the same period in 2009. The resorts also plan to expand this year. Marina Bay Sands, owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp., is scheduled to open the world’s first ArtScience Museum in February while Genting Bhd’s Resorts World will open its Maritime Xperiential Museum by midyear, with two more hotels and a marine life park later. Retailers, at the resorts and at Singapore’s famous Orchard Road shopping malls, have also benefited from the tourism boom, with spending by visitors soaring 47 percent to SG$13.7 billion in the third quarter from the previous year. Other winners include feng shui masters such as Cheong, who for 22 years has advised companies such as Pizza Hut, Renault and Robinson’s department store on the finer points of attracting the right kind of qi, or energy. Gamblers are now paying 500 Singapore dollars ($380) for “wealth achievement” sessions — advice on how to beat the casinos where Cheong analyzes the date and time of a client’s birth to dole out tips about lucky clothes and the direction to face at a card table. Some Singaporeans have misgivings about the embrace of casinos, however. — AP
US manufacturing grows, bolsters 2011 outlook JOB outlook still troublesome NEW YORK: US manufacturing grew for a 17th straight month in December, a report showed yesterday, extending a recent run of encouraging economic data and suggesting US growth could accelerate further in 2011. A separate report showed construction spending hit a five-month high in November, adding to evidence that the US economy picked up steam in the final quarter of last year after growing at a 2.6 percent rate between July and September. Most promising for investors was the Institute for Supply Management’s national factory activity index, which rose for the 17th straight month in December. The report showed new orders rose, suggesting momentum for growth ahead,
though factory sector employment slipped to a nine-month low. Still, the data dovetailed with strong readings on employment and consumer spending over the last three months of 2010, prompting economists to predict a fragile US recovery may this year finally turn into self-sustaining growth. “We’re (starting) off the new year on a strong foot,” said Zach Pandl, US economist at Nomura Securities, adding the report “suggests the economy is accelerating and growth should be 3 percent in the first quarter.” The US manufacturing sector grew at a slightly faster pace in December, marking its 17th straight month of expansion. US stock indexes held their gains after the data while the dollar pared gains against the
euro and benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell in price. A caveat for the sunny outlook remains the unemployment rate, which stood at 9.8 percent in November and is expected to remain high for much of the year. The government’s closely watched employment report due Friday is expected to show employers added 140,000 jobs last month, not enough to make much of a dent in the jobless rate. Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, warned as well that the ISM index tells investors little about the health of small businesses and has tended to overstate the pace of economic growth over the last three quarters. Economists at Goldman Sachs, however,
said they now think signs of stronger US growth will at least dissuade the Federal Reserve from adding to a $600 billion bondbuying program when it ends in mid-2011. The bank’s economics team had predicted the bond-buying scheme, aimed at boosting growth and holding down long-term interest rates, could swell to as much as $2 trillion, but have since “beaten a hasty retreat.” “If real GDP grows at a 3-1/2 percent to 4 percent pace in the first half of 2011, it is hard to see” additional bond purchases, they wrote in a note to clients. Goldman still expects inflation to remain low and said the Fed is likely to hold shortterm interest rates near zero all year and possibly through 2012. — Reuters
Qatar soars on growth, dividends optimism
LONDON: A man boards a bus after purchasing a television on Oxford Street, central London yesterday. With the VAT rate in the UK set to rise from 17.5% to 20%, many people are taking advantage of the last day to buy larger items. — AFP
Moody’s cuts Dubai Holding unit bonds on credit deal DUBAI: Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the bonds of Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHCOG) yesterday, citing a deal with lenders to convert a $555 million revolving credit facility into a five-year term loan. Moody’s downgraded the notes of conglomerate Dubai Holding’s main unit by one notch to B3, while maintaining a review for possible downgrade of the company’s B2 corporate family rating (CFR). The rating action followed a statement by DHCOG on Dec. 30 that the company had reached a deal with lenders to convert the $555 million revolving credit facility into a five-year term loan. DHCOG, Dubai Holding’s loss-making hospitality and property arm, had extended for a third time the loan due Nov. 30, to Dec. 30. “Despite the limited information so far
regarding the new terms, Moody’s believes that the banks may now be in a preferential position vis-a-vis bondholders,” said Martin Kohlhase, analyst at Moody’s in Dubai. “Moody’s has accordingly reflected this by downgrading the debt instruments’ ratings to B3,” Kohlhase said. Moody’s maintained its review for possible downgrade of the medium term note (MTN) ratings and the probability of default rating (PDR). Moody’s said it was maintaining the PDR at B3 to indicate continued high default risk until the capital market debt is refinanced over the next 14 months. The agency said DHCOG had a $240 million MTN maturing in July 2011 and a $500 million MTN in February 2012. Moody’s had downgraded DHCOG in June to B2 from B1 over the challenges in Dubai’s real estate market. —Reuters
DUBAI: Qatari stocks climbed to a high of action and focusing on high dividend yieldmore than two years yesterday following ing stocks.” In Egypt, a church bombing that killed strong growth figures and on hopes of generous dividends, while regional bourses 21 people at the weekend dented a reputation for stability that has boosted Egypt’s were mixed. Qatar Navigation jumped 7 percent economy. The index fell 0.1 percent to close while Qatar National Bank rose 3.2 percent at 7,073 points after touching a sevenand Industries Qatar added 2.6 percent. month high of 7,142 points on Thursday. “Any investor would be worried. It is norThe index climbed 1.5 percent to 8,873 points, its highest close since September mal since this is a major incident that harms anyone in Egypt,” said Hisham 2008. “Qatar navigation results are expected Metwalli of Arab Finance Brokerage. to be better than 2009, after the merger “Protests and clashes that followed the with Qatar Shipping,” said Hani Girgis, assis- attack also raised concerns on stability.” tant chief dealer with Dlala Brokerage. “The Rising oil prices helped lift major stocks in profit for Qatar Saudi Arabia, Shipping will including be better (and heavyweight MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS benefit Qatar Saudi Basic Navigation). Industries Corp Some of the (SABIC) which stocks which are gaining are also because rose 1.4 percent. they pay good dividends to investors.” Mohammad Al Mojil Group jumped 4.7 Yesterday, Qatar Statistics Authority percent after saying it signed a $52.5 milreleased third-quarter nominal gross lion contract with South Korea’s Hyundai domestic product data showing a 21.1 per- Engineering and Construction Co to build cent rise on an annual basis and a 13.1 per- an engine oil factory in Abu Dhabi. cent increase from the previous quarter. But Shuaa Capital warned of possible Abu Dhabi’s index and Oman’s bench- difficulties ahead for Mojil, saying new conmark also advanced, with the latter rallying tracts were coming in slower than expecton optimism over a $78 billion five-year ed. “While we view this breakthrough in government development plan. Galfar Abu Dhabi as a positive, we are of the view Engineering advanced 1.8 percent and that the company is still facing many diffiOman Cables Industries gained 2.1 percent. culties with the growth outlook deteriorat“Galfar is amongst gainers as investors ing faster than expected through 2010,” believe that the company will be benefici- said an analyst note from Shuaa Capital. ary of increasing government spending,” The Saudi index ended 0.3 percent highsaid Gunjan Gupta, head of research at er. Dubai’s index fell 0.3 percent on profitOman Arab Bank. taking following the previous session’s 2.3 “Institutional investors are back in percent gain. — Reuters
A
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
BUSINESS
Remal-Real Estate lists on KSE Firm eyeing local property deals KUWAIT: Chairman of the board for Remal RealEstate Company M ohammad Al-Nassar announced here yesterday that the company would be listed today on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). Al-Nassar said in a symposium that the company had made some profits during its last year’s real-estate activities, revealing that the group had purchased a number of real-estate projects worth KD 52.8 million. He noted that the group also acquired some financial facilities worth $100 million from a local bank in 2010, affirming that such reflected the strong financial grounds which the company is standing on.
On upcoming ventures, Al-Nassar pointed out that Remal was studying a number of local realestate deals. He also said that an economic report revealed that the company’s assets had reached $70 million by September 30, 2010 with around 94 percent of such assets being for investments purposes. Kuwait Remal Real Estate is a Kuwaiti shareholding company established in 2007, with a share capital of KD 20 million. The major business activities of the company include developing, managing, operating, investing and renting commercial and mixed use real estate projects in and outside Kuwait. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Chairman of the board for Remal Real-Estate Company Mohammad Al-Nassar addressing a symposium yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Oman Air Appoints Chief Officer, Hotel & Catering Oman Air has recently appointed Richard Hodges as Chief Officer Hotels & Catering. Richard Hodges brings with him entrenched expertise in Hotels and In-flight Catering, which meets the Company’s rapid expansion in this regard. Hodges has over 30 years of experience in the hotel and catering industry, and has over the years held many international and corporate operating positions. Some of his former appointments include: Vice President of Business Development of Regal Hotels International, General Manager of Regal Airport Hotel in Hong Kong, and Vice President of hotel projects in San Diego, California, USA. Hodges had been the Chairman of Hong Kong Airpor t Managers Association, a member of the Executive Committee
Tariq Abdulsalam
KIPCO names new Investment CEO KUWAIT: KIPCO - the Kuwait Projects Company - has appointed Tariq Abdulsalam as Chief Executive Officer Investment. AbdulSalam joined the United Real Estate Company (URC) in 2006 as CEO, and in 2010 he became Chairman and CEO. He will continue to hold the position of Chairman after joining KIPCO. Abdulsalam joined KIPCO in 1992 and became in charge of KIPCO’s Investment Division from 1996 to 1999. He then became the General Manager of KIPCO Asset Management Company (KAMCO). He was also the Chairman of Burgan Bank and held a board position at KAMCO, United Gulf Bank, Kuwait Bahrain Insurance Company, and GIC. He is also the Vice Chairman of Kuwait Clearing Company and a board member of the Jordan Kuwait Bank. He holds a BSc in Accounting from Kuwait University. Faisal Al-Ayyar, KIPCO’s Vice Chairman, said Abdulsalam’s experience
of Hong Kong Hotels Association, besides the Sub-committee of The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. Expressing his contentment on his appointment, Richard Hodges said: “I am thrilled to join Oman Air and take on this immense and rewarding challenge which lies ahead of me. Oman Air is in a phase where the leisure and hospitality sec tor is poised for a symbiotic growth. As the airline is expanding its wings further afield, and the awareness on Oman is reaching across to a global audience, I am sure this can be translated into fruitful business ventures, with the support and guidance from Oman Air’s management team and the board of directors.” A couple of years back, Oman Air
made its initial foray into a new area of business with its acquisition of the Golden Tulip Hotel in Muscat. Situated in close proximity to the Muscat International Airport, the hotel opens up viable synergies for Oman Air not only in terms of the leisure aspect, but also through the services offered to other airlines and passengers. In order to tap the full potential of this developing business area, which is one of the six strategic business units of Oman Air, it was decided then by the management to appoint a Chief Officer for this unit reporting directly to the CEO. Hodges’ experience in the business development of airport hotels and hospitality industry in general is sure to aid him in achieving the desired results for Oman Air in growing the Hotels & Catering Business.
Richard Hodges
BAHRAH TRADING CO (AL SAYER GROUP)
would be invaluable as KIPCO continues to implement its strategies: “KIPCO’s different projects have been thriving despite the global economic crisis. The many years of experience that Abdulsalam brings with him will be an asset to KIPCO as it continues to implement its long-term investment strategy and expand its presence throughout promising MENA markets.” “As part of the restructuring of KIPCO, the management is seeking to utilize the expertise of its veterans in implementing the company’s long-term strategies and to supervise the operations of its different business sectors.” In April 2010, KIPCO announced that it had appointed Masaud Hayat as CEO - Banking. Abdulsalam said: “KIPCO is one of the region’s largest investors, and I am happy to be back on board to participate in the implementation of the company’s ambitious strategy to expand its presence and investments in the regional market.”
INTEGRATING DOOSAN PORTABLE POWER / INGERSOLL RAND KUWAIT: In their constant efforts to provide their valuable customers with excellent value added products, Bahrah Trading Company join force with Doosan portable power, affiliate of the renowned international conglomerate Doosan Infracore. This heralds a strategic partnership that is poised to serve clients in Kuwait by supplying premium quality products covering INGERSOLL RAND Portable Compressors, Construction tools, Light compaction equipments like Vibratory plate compactors, Walk behind Rollers, Up right Rammers, and Portable lighting towers etc. Ingersoll Rand, with a proud history that spans more than a centur y, is well recognized world over for their quality products that have been instrumental in forming the core activities in construction, industrial and defense sectors.
Bahrah Trading recently have had the pleasure of receiving the visiting Nick Verbeek, Director, Portable Power, Europe. Middle East and Africa accompanied by Hazeem El Naqeeb District Manager, Middle East. The visiting delegation had meeting with Steve Shaw, Senior GM and Hamza Melakandy, GM, Operations of Bahrah Trading, discussed matters of mutual concern and plans for future strategy in emerging Kuwait market scenario. Addition of Doosan portable power / Ingersoll Rand to the Bahrah product range is certain to contribute independently and collectively in fulfilling their long term goals and stated mission to achieve highest level of customer satisfaction by providing business solutions thru’ supply of premium products, backed by excellent after sales support.
EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds
.2730000 .4320000 .3690000 .2960000 .2800000 .2830000 .0045000 .0020000 .0759460 .7399160 .3900000 .0730000 .7253550 .0045000 .0480000
CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2797500 GB Pound/KD .4348430 Euro .3719420 Swiss francs .2991500 Canadian dollars .2820630 Danish Kroner .0499040 Swedish Kroner .0416200 Australian dlr .2855970 Hong Kong dlr .0359830 Singapore dlr .2176870 Japanese yen .0034430 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0762660 Bahraini dinars .7422390 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0746200 Omani riyals .7268120 Philippine Peso .0000000
Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka
ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.470 6.284 3.277 2.528 3.941 219.110 36.166 3.969
.2860000 .4430000 .3780000 .3060000 .2880000 .2910000 .0075000 .0035000 .0767090 .7473520 .4100000 .0780000 .7326450 .0072000 .0560000 .2818500 .4381080 .3747340 .3013950 .2841800 .0502780 .0419330 .2877410 .0362540 .2193210 .0034690 .0063340 .0025510 .0033060 .0040260 .0767570 .7478110 .3986560 .0751800 .7322680 .0064940
Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash
6.415 9.378 0.271 0.273
Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal 75.030 Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal
GCC COUNTRIES 74.985 77.262 730.550 746.860 76.674
Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham
ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 52.000 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 48.429 Yemen Riyal 1.319 Tunisian Dinar 201.490 Jordanian Dinar 397.090 Lebanese Lira 187.000 Syrian Lier 6.074 Morocco Dirham 34.195 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 281.080 Euro 374.960 Sterling Pound 438.480 Canadian dollar 284.490 Turkish lire 181.800 Swiss Franc 301.810 Australian dollar 286.590 US Dollar Buying 280.095 GOLD 271.000 137.000 70.000
20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram
COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees
SELL CASH 291.000 747.300 4.220 286.500 551.900 14.100 51.300 167.800 51.650 378.500 36.840 6.510
219.920 44.930 2.677 441.500 42.700 303.800 6.200 9.720 198.263 76.760 281.400 1.360
0.032
397.180 0.189 93.800 3.950 220.200
Sterling Pound US Dollar
219.920 44.930 2.528 439.500 302.300 6.200 9.540 76.570 281.000
TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 439.500 281.000
Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd
SELL DRAFT 289.500 747.300 3.968 285.000
219.900 48.436 377.000 36.690 6.285
Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Cyprus Pound Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound
Selling Rate 281.800 284.215 434.705 372.180 295.771 691.257 745.860 76.700 77.380 75.115 397.641 48.541
Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees
6.257 3.289 2.531 4.000 6.413 3.415 9.330 6.147 3.899
Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 729.730 3.295 6.430 77.300 75.030
GOLD 1,496.400
10 Tola
Bahrain Exchange Company
0.032 0.262 0.251 3.550 399.060 0.190 93.800 46.200 4.400 221.700 1.911 49.100 729.910 3.380 6.690 77.730
Currency US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Candaian Dollars
Rate per 1000 (Tran) 281.200 3.285 6.300 2.540 3.980 6.460 76.650 75.195 747.560 48.475 443.300 0.00003280 3.950 1.550 399.500 5.750 382.200 288.400
Al Mulla Exchange Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) US Dollar 280.550 Euro 376.200 Pound Sterling 438.250 Canadian Dollar 283.400 Japanese Yen 3.470 Indian Rupee 6.280 Egyptian Pound 48.420 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.527 Bangladesh Taka 3.960 Philippines Peso 6.420 Pakistan Rupee 3.278 Bahraini Dinar 747.000 UAE Dirham 76.450 Saudi Riyal 74.950 *Rates are subject to change
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What to expect in 2011 for GCC markets KUWAIT: After severely underperforming Emerging Market peers in 2009, GCC markets performed more on par with the same in 2010; the S&P GCC index has gained 11% YTD versus about 13% for MSCI EM (MSCI BRIC remains an underperformer with a gain of just 3%). A recent report released by Kuwait Financial Centre "Markaz", "What to expect in 2011", points out that there was no perceptible difference in the scale and magnitude of issues that haunted the market post financial crisis. Companies are still busy repairing their balance sheets and image, while governments are busy spending with nothing specific to write home about regarding regulatory reforms. The report notes that while oil prices did not spring any negative surprise in 2010, it was not enough to propel the market. In the wake of mounting pressures in the form of weak earnings, ultra weak liquidity and ever present volatility, stable oil price alone is not sufficient to lift the markets to heights that investors are used to in the past. One possible reason for the ultra poor liquidity is that retail investors (constituting the backbone) are still busy putting their house in order while sources of traditional funding for stock market (bank lending) has come to a complete halt. Earnings destruction in certain cyclical sectors like the investment sector has been too severe to stage a meaningful comeback. Even the elephant among the sectors i.e., banking, continued to surprise investors with high levels of provisioning. Given firmer oil prices and a better global economic environment, the GCC is set to show stronger growth going forward despite slower private investment/credit growth continuing to be a drag on economic growth. Private demand is expected to remain weak in the intermediate term until investor confidence returns more fully and bank balance sheets return to a healthier state. Overall, the authors remain optimistic in the New Year with positive outlooks for Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman while neutral for others. There are several interesting investment themes at play. We reiterate our strong belief that high volatility should be a source of portfolio strategy rather than a problem. We also provide some ideas in the space of defensives and cyclicals. We believe that GCC is a good yield play. Watching analysts' coverage can provide some important clues to stock picking. Strategies that benefit in a low liquidity environment are also emphasized. Finally, it is time to remove the wheat from the chaff through the lenses of corporate governance. COUNTRY VIEWS Saudi Arabia - Neutral The report has a Neutral outlook on Saudi Arabia for 2011 due to moderate economic activity and expensive valuation (inflation is a factor to be watched in addition to the struggling real estate sector). Positive factors arise in the corporate earnings segment in addition to the geopolitical and regulatory arenas. Following the global financial crisis, real GDP growth in the Kingdom was forecasted to push past 4% in 2010; however,
Markaz Economic Report
continued uncertainty in the region led to the growth rate falling a bit short. Real GDP is estimated to have grown between 3.4% - 3.7% in 2010, a significant improvement from the 0.6% logged in 2009. Healthy crude oil prices are expected to offer some support to fiscal and current balances, despite increased government spending aimed at enhancing growth in the coming years; real GDP growth is expected to be between 4%-4.5% in 2011. Market liquidity remains a concern for all GCC markets; in the Kingdom, value traded is down by 54% in 2010 (up to November). However, the market remains fairly open to foreign investors and the regulatory structure is relatively sound with active capital market/monetary regulatory bodies. Kuwait - Positive The authors are Positive on Kuwait in 2011 due to positive economic indicators and corporate earnings health. One area of concern is in valuations as the market is trading at a PE (TTM) of 20x which seems excessive in our view. Market liquidity, or lack thereof, is also a concern.Kuwait's economy is slated to have grown at about 3% in 2010, which would be half the historical average; this growth is expected to bump up to 4.5% in 2011 on high commodity prices, which will maintain the fiscal balance at about 21.5% of GDP. Additionally, the country has enacted a $107 bn, 5 year economic development
meant to stimulate various economic sectors. On the corporate earnings side, after the turnaround story of 2010, corporate earnings are expected to resume a more stable course, growing at about 32%. Value traded is down 55% so far in 2010, a further contraction from the 44% decline seen in 2009. UAE - Abu Dhabi: Positive, Dubai: Neutral The authors have segregated their UAE outlook and are Positive on Abu Dhabi while being Neutral on Dubai. The economy fell short of its 3% real GDP growth for 2010 and managed an estimated growth of about 2.4%, which is expected to increase to 3.2% in 2011. Inflation was at 2% in 2010 and is expected to bump up to between 2.5% - 2.8% in 2011 as economic growth picks up. Additionally, the geopolitical and regulatory arenas are considered to be stable. However, lack of liquidity remains a problem as value traded in the UAE continues to dry up. The debt issues in the UAE will continue to be a drag on economic growth as banks provision against possible losses and remain wary of funding new projects. Dubai has over $42 bn in debt obligations due in 2011/2012 and an additional $55 bn beyond that, the service of which will be monitored very closely for signs of possible duress. As the more economically robust emirate, Abu Dhabi will also be watched closely in terms of its support of
Dubai. On the other hand, corporate earnings should return to growth in 2011; after declining by an estimated 6% in 2010, growth is expected at 24% in 2011. Qatar - Positive The authors have a Positive outlook on Qatar owing to its high economic growth prospects, healthy banking sector and heavy government support. Qatar's GDP is expected to have grown 16% in 2010; 2011 growth is expected to be between 15%-18%. High fiscal expenditure and preparations for the 2022 World Cup should lead to a boost in economic activity going forward through government-mandated, large-scale infrastructure projects which would boost the construction and real estate sectors over the coming few years. Qatar, like the rest of the GCC, is facing lower liquidity as value traded so far in 2010 has fallen over 50% versus a decline of 46% in 2009. Oman - Positive The outlook on Oman is Positive due to relatively healthy and sustained economic growth and positive corporate earnings. Areas of vulnerability remain in the geopolitical arena, investor sentiment and market liquidity. Bahrain - Neutral The report gives a Neutral outlook on Bahrain, as the economy continues to
Whiff of optimism in markets for 2011 World economy seen growing at 4% KUWAIT: Markets are entering 2011 with optimism at a notch higher for the world economy. This improved sentiment, built in 4Q10, is the result of more positive data from the major economies; a tax cut package and QE2 in the US, and the financial rescue of Ireland by the EU and the IMF. Of course, earlier concerns of a double-dip recession were further alleviated by these developments. World economies and balance sheets recovered further in 2010 though are by no means totally healed. *2 + 6 = 4. The market consensus view now is for emerging markets to outperform and grow near 6% while advanced economies grow 2%, for a global world growth of 4% (real GDP basis). Better than last year, and subject to perhaps moderate upward revisions, again in light of the positive developments above. The stronger data reassures that current growth is sustainable. The recent Irish bailout reaffirms the EU's commitment to save the euro and to avoid sovereign defaults (or restructuring, to use the more polite term). The extension of the Bush tax cuts in the wake of QE2 reaffirms the US authorities' commitment to avoid, at all costs, a double-dip and/or deflation. * The determination of governments in the major economies to act as they did is certainly a major "plus" for financial markets. There
NBK ECONOMIC BRIEF are significant caveats however. The euro zone's sovereign debt problems (Greece, Ireland, Portugal, etc.) are still with us and awaiting more permanent solutions. The US tax deal extends lower tax rates for 2 years, reduces the payroll tax for salaried workers, and extends unemployment benefits. Thus, 2011 will see added fiscal stimulus (over USD 200 billion) instead of fiscal contraction. However, all that comes at a cost: even higher deficits and public debt ahead and no credible plan to reduce future deficits. Moody's recently said it may re-examine the rating of US debt in light of the new tax package. * In the US, retail sales, confidence, manufacturing, exports all posted encouraging numbers in 2H10, while housing and employment lagged behind. In November, the US economy added only 39K new jobs and unemployment rose to 9.8%. Real GDP growth was revised to 2.6% in 3Q10 and appears headed for growth of over 3.0% in 4Q. The market expectation should be near 3.0% for 2011 GDP growth with the new tax cut deal. However, the latter could push the 2011 fiscal deficit back up toward 10% of GDP. Inflation remains contained and the Fed should be satis-
fied that 10-year inflationar y expectations are now at 2.3% up from 1.5% (and sinking) back in August. Falling inflation was the primar y reason the Fed announced, and embarked on, QE2. * QE2 entails buying $600 billion of additional Treasury debt into 2Q11 by the Fed, or an average of $75 billion per month. One purpose of QE2 was to keep long term rates low. Ironically the announcement briefly took the 10year rates to new lows, near 2.3%, but 10-year interest rates have since jumped to 3.5% and higher on stronger data and forecasts, and on the credibility-busting tax deal. * In Europe the core (Germany, France...) continue to outperform the periphery, most of which is dogged by debt woes. Recent fiscal austerity cuts Europe-wide are expected to slow down the region's economy. Contagion fears remain for Portugal, and the much larger Spain and I taly, where spreads have come under pressure, the Ireland rescue plan notwithstanding. * Observers seem to be positive on the world economy in 2011, with an eye on the risks above. The large emerging economies are
growing but are expected to slow somewhat from their 2010 pace, in part because of tighter money linked to higher inflation (China, India). The slowdown is however from high rates of GDP growth (over 9% in 2010 to around 8% in the cases of India and China). * Oil and other commodities have been firm and have, among others, shored up the prospects for the GCC economies, where stock markets have outperformed in 2010. With the exception of Qatar, with double digit real GDP growth, the remaining GCC countries, including Kuwait, are expect to grow at 4-5% in 2011. Growth should be helped by the world recovery, but also by ambitious large government projects in most GCC countries.
grow while corporate earnings remain healthy. Corporate earnings are expected to show a growth of 28% in 2010 due to strength in banks, but mitigated by telecom weakness. In 2011, the banking sector is expected to grow by about 28% pushing aggregate growth to 26%. The report provides an outlook for 2011 by using the six forces framework which includes 1. Economic Factors, 2. Valuation Attraction, 3. Earnings Growth Potential, 4. Investor Sentiment,. 1. Economic Factors: GDP Growth: According to the latest economic forecasts from the IIF, Real GDP across the GCC is likely to show a growth of 4% in 2010 followed by a growth of 4.6% in 2011; these rates remain below the historical average for the region as credit growth and private demand remain weak in some countries. Growth in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase to 4.5% in 2011 as credit growth picks up. Kuwait is expected to witness a growth of 4.4% in 2011 versus about 2% in 2010 while Qatar's real GDP growth is expected at 18%. Inflation: Inflation has been relatively well contained in the region as economic growth has been subdued in addition to weak real estate sectors which have brought down rents. Saudi witnessed a surge in inflation, from about 3.5% in late 2009 to 5.5% in mid-2010; however, this is expected to be sustained at that rate
through 2011. Fiscal Deficits: Fiscal balances are tightening as countries increase spending to spur economic growth; Saudi fiscal balance is expected to decline from 4% of GDP in 2010 to 2% in 2011. Kuwait, which had planned for a decline in fiscal spending in 2010, is expected to have a fiscal balance equal to 22% of GDP in 2011. Current Account Balance: Current account balances are relatively healthy across the region's largest economies; the highest balance is in Kuwait at 36% of GDP in 2010 to grow to 38% of GDP in 2011. Broad Money Growth: Money supply growth has been nothing short of abysmal for the GCC in 2010; Saudi Arabia's M2 growth has been 4% in 2010 (up to October) versus an average of 15% between 2003-2009. Kuwait has fared even worse, with virtually no growth in broad money, up just 1.8% in 2010 (November). The rest of the GCC has seen their broad money growth halve from the 5 yr average. 2. Valuation Attraction: Earnings weakness in 2010 pushed up PE valuations as markets remained somewhat stagnant. A resumption of healthier corporate growth in 2011 should bring down valuations. Earnings growth is expected at 22% for 2010 (based on annualized 9M10 results). As for 2011, growth in GCC earnings is expected at 22%, which coupled with recovering markets, would bring GCC PE to about 12x, down from about 15x in 2010. 3. Earnings growth potential: Earnings are expected to grow another 22% in 2011 (following an estimated 22% growth in 2010) for the GCC mainly due to more stable growth in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and a return to positive growth in Oman and the UAE. Among sectors, banks are expected to show a growth of 13% in 2010, led by a turnaround in Kuwait (growing 68% in 2010) followed by a growth of 28% as credit lines loosen and economic activity picks up across the region 4. Market Liquidity: Liquidity has been drying up across the GCC markets at an accelerating rate. Total value traded declined 41% in 2009 before shrinking by a further 55% so far in 2010. With an average monthly value traded of just $25 bn, the full year figure should be around $255bn, which would be half that of 2009 (up to November 2010, GCC Value Traded is at $229 bn).
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Banking sector helps; Kuwait stocks mixed GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended the first trading session in 2011 on a mixed note. The bullish performance of the banking sector was the major characteristic of the day. Global General Index (GGI) closed 0.51 points up (0.23 percent), at 224.04 point as the Market capitalization increased reaching KD36.38mn. On the other hand, Kuwait Stock Exchange Price Index closed in the red zone shedding 7.90 points (0.11 percent) from its value and closed at 6,947.60 point. Market breadth During the session, 109 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 38 equities advanced versus 44 that retreated. Volume of shares traded on the exchange increased by 34.22 percent to reach 205.33mn shares, the value of shares traded decreased by 3.58 percent to stand at KD30.74mn. The Services Sector was the volume leader yesterday, accounting for 36.07 percent of total shares and the Services Sector was the value leader, with 33.24 percent of total traded value. Company-wise, Al Safwa Holding Group was the volume leader, with a total traded volume of 29.28mn shares. changing hands. Livestock Transport & Trading Co. was the value leader, with a total traded value of KD10.22mn. In terms of top gainers, Alafco Aviation Lease & Finance Co was the biggest gainer for the day, adding 7.81 percent and closed at KD0.345. On the other hand, Nafais Holding Co came in as the biggest decliner, dropping by 8.47 percent and closed at KD0.054. Sector-wise Sector-wise, four out of the
eight sectors edged higher during the day. Buying interest was observed in the banking, investment, and real estate sectors. The G l o b a l B a n k i n g I ndex led t he pack of advancers, producing 1.07 percent in gains. Burgan Bank repor ted a 1.89 percent improvement. Investment stocks performed robustly yesterday with the sector index adding 0.64 percent. The second biggest percentage advancer during the day was First Investment Co, claiming an 6.25 percent jump. Global Investment House picked up where it left off last year, housing a 5.77 percent climb. National I nvestment Co m p a ny a n d N oo r Fi nanc i al Investment Co were up by 3.30
percent and 5.59 percent respectively. Companies embracing the Islamic Sharia in their activities edged higher by 2.24 percent on Saturday. Kuwait Finance House (KFH) saw its share value appreciate by 3.45 percent yesterday. Food and insurance stocks pulled back by 1.98 percent and 111 percent respectively during t he day. Wet haq Tak af ul Insurance Co, recoiled by 5.21 percent on a solitary trade.
each, will be providing direct and indirect food services to restaurants, hospitals, schools, companies, cinemas, clubs, theaters, etc, the newspaper’s recent edition stated. YIACO Medical Company has made a clarification about the news published in a local paper as regards having submitted the lowest bid for a KD5.5mn worth of tender. The company negated the news, adding that it had not made a bid for such a tender.
Corporate news The closed shareholding “Aquabor Food” was established with a paid-up capital of KD1mn, Kuwait’s official gazette Al-Kuwait Al-Youm said. The company, with its 10mn shares wor th 100fils
Oil news The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $88.99 a barrel on Friday, compared with $89.47 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.
Oil extends rally above $92, eyes more growth LONDON: Oil extended a rally above $92 a barrel yesterday, spurred by expectations economic recovery will fuel energy demand and as market bulls set their sights on $100 a barrel. US crude was trading 70 cents higher at $92.08 a barrel by 1325 GMT, off a session high of $92.30, its highest since October 2008. It settled at $91.38 on Friday, marking an annual gain of around 15 percent and the highest year-end price since 2007 when the market had embarked on its ascent to the all-time high of nearly $150 a barrel touched in July 2008. Brent was up 97 cents a barrel at $95.72, off an intraday peak of $96.07, also the highest since early October 2008. Trade was thinned by a public holiday in the United Kingdom but could take direction later on Monday from a survey by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) — a measure of US national factory activity. It was expected to show a slight expansion in the manufacturing sector, reinforcing the view the economy in the world’s largest oil consumer is strengthening, which could drive up energy demand. “Traders will be looking at the string of US economic numbers coming out this week to see if they can sustain the strong price moves in December. Overall, we expect the market to be well bid. How bid? Well, it depends on the data,” said Geoff Howie, markets strategist at MF Global in Singapore. Data for Asia and Europe showed factory growth eased slightly in Asia in December, while export orders picked up in Europe. Commodities as a whole embarked on a
compelling rally in September. It continued throughout the final months of last year, driven by expectations of quantitative easing and a weakened US dollar, which tends to boost dollar-denominated commodities. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies yesterday, partly offsetting the bullish implications for the oil market of a possible economic recovery in the United States. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries helped to stoke bullish sentiment by saying the market was still well supplied and that it would not implement any formal change in output unless it saw a convincing shift in the balance of supply and demand. Some analysts agreed the rally was speculative. “It does not make sense on a fundamental basis,” said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix. “The structure of the market is telling a different story from the flat price.” US crude futures have been stuck in a stubborn contango, whereby prompt oil is cheaper than that for later delivery, a market condition that encourages storage. Traders, however, said there was momentum to move higher as new money was expected to enter the market at the start of the year and that in the short term there was little choice but to follow it. “The answer is to go with it or you’ll lose money,” said one trader who could not be named. Prices could still falter before the next move higher, possibly correcting to $83.85 per barrel, based on a wave pattern and a channel technique, according to Wang Tao, Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals. —Reuters
Tata Motors in bid to boost Nano’s sales MUMBAI: The world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, will now see “open sales” across India, Tata Motors said in a statement yesterday, in an effort to boost sales. The snub-nosed, jelly-bean shaped car, whose monthly sales in November were its lowest since its launch in July 2009, has until now been sold directly from showrooms in only 12 of 28 Indian states. “We are announcing open sales for the Nano in all states,” Tata Motors said, which means customers can buy the car directly from any of the company’s 874 sales outlets
across India, instead of having to book and wait for delivery. The Nano sold 5,784 units in December, latest sales data showed, up 60 percent from a year ago, but up from only 509 units in the previous month. Concerned with flagging sales, Tata Motors last month announced a “happiness guarantee” offer for new buyers and existing owners, who will get a free four-year or 60,000-kilometre (37,000mile) warranty. November’s slump in monthly sales came after Tata was forced to offer free safety upgrades when around half a dozen of the cars caught fire. —AFP
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Factory output surges; exports aid euro-zone India, China dip; overheating worries ease LONDON/MUMBAI: Factory output growth eased only slightly in Asia in December and offered an upbeat end to a fraught 2010 for the eurozone, with signs that growth in export orders was filtering through to the region’s periphery. Surging new orders and a fast-improving labor market helped quicken the expansion of the single currency area’s manufacturing sector for the fourth month running, purchasing managers’ indexes showed yesterday.
FRANKFURT: Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn during a press conference in Frankfurt, Germany. German automaker Volkswagen AG said yesterday its board has agreed to extend the contract of chief executive Martin Winterkorn through the end of 2016. — AP
Asian, EU carmakers look to 2011 growth PARIS/SEOUL: South Korean automakers predicted rising 2011 sales on US and China growth, while France’s car market ended a negative 2010 on a high note, with drivers flocking to bag scrapping bonuses before they ran out. Carmakers are increasingly relying on growth in high-profile emerging markets like China, Brazil, Russia and India, while the US market is gradually recovering. In Spain, car sales fell for the sixth consecutive month in December, with a 23.9 percent drop. For the fullyear, sales rose 3.1 percent. A 0.7 percent slide in French car sales in December brought the year’s decline there to 2.2 percent, but the French car market saw 2010 out with a bang in terms of new orders, as the final scrapping bonuses spurred drivers to buy new cars. Orders placed in the final weeks of 2010 mean the French car market will have a strong start to 2011, although beyond the first quarter, uncertainty reigns. “We have good visibility for the first quarter of 2011,” said Flavien Neuvy, head of the automobile industry research department at French consumer credit organization Cetelem. “With the orders from the end of the year we know that the first three months of 2011 overall will be good ... afterwards, there is real
uncertainty,” said Neuvy. He added that the end of 2011 could be difficult, and that there would be a “payback” effect in the second half of the year when the benefits of scrapping ran out once and for all. In the short term, Neuvy sounded a note of caution about margins, as carmakers offered hefty additional discounts to encourage buyers in the last weeks of the scrappage scheme. “Certainly they made a lot of marketing efforts, so we can think that will have an effect on vehicle margins. They have focused on volumes-in France what is really important for carmakers is defending their market share.” French car sales fell 2.2 percent to 2.25 million units in 2010, carmakers’ association CCFA said yesterday. “December orders were very good,” said a CCFA spokesman, “but that is not necessarily reflected in sales.” Car sales or registration figures lag behind orders as customers register their cars when they are delivered a few weeks after the order is placed. “The first quarter of 2011 should be rather good,” the CCFA spokesman added, as orders taken in the final months of 2010 would show up then. France originally offered a scrapping bonus of 1,000 euros ($1,339), but it was
gradually reduced to 500 euros before finally ending on New Year’s Eve. “It was an absolutely phenomenal month: we had a market of orders for 370,000 cars, which allows us to start the year with a very comfortable order book,” Renault’s commercial director for France, Bernard Cambier, told BFM radio yesterday. The French car market saw 370,000 orders registered in December, 30 percent more than the same month last year, he said, adding that Renault itself saw orders rise “almost 46 percent” year-on-year in December. December car sales figures showed a 5.7 percent increase for the PSA Peugeot Citroen group, while Renault group sales fell 4.6 percent last month, CCFA data showed. US RECOVERY Hyundai Motor Group and its affiliate Kia Motors aim to boost vehicle sales by 10 percent this year after robust December sales, as the sector shows a gradual recovery, led by China and the United States. US car sales figures are due out on Tuesday, and December is expected to be the third straight month that US auto sales hold above 12 million vehicles on an annualized basis, capping a year of gradual recovery for the auto sector, analysts said. — Reuters
BofA to take $2bn charge to settle home loan claims CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Bank of America Corp will take an approximately $2 billion charge in its fourth quarter as it settles buyback claims on home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The bank said yesterday that it also expects to take a provision of about $3 billion in the quarter related to repurchase obligations on the home loans. Bank of America shares jumped 4.4 percent in premarket trading on the news. On Friday Bank of America, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, paid Fannie Mae $1.34 billion and Freddie Mac $1.28 billion as part of the settlements. The deals with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are tied to Countrywide Financial Corp residential mortgage loans. Bank of America bought Countrywide in July 2008. Buyback claims are an ongoing issue for the financial industry, with Ally Financial Inc. announcing last week that it would pay $462 million to settle buyback claims on $292 billion in home loans that it sold to Fannie Mae. And in mid-December a group of eight investors including Freddie Mac, Pimco Investment Management, Blackrock Financial Management and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York extended talks with Bank of America over the group’s demands that the bank buy back soured mortgages sold to them.
The investors argue that Countrywide’s practice of modifying loans found to have faulty paperwork or those written outside of normal underwriting standards breached signed agreements with the investors. By continuing to service bad loans rather than speeding up foreclosures, the group claims, Countrywide ran up servicing fees, enriching itself at the expense of investors. Bank of America, however, has described the loan modifications as the “proper response to an unprecedented housing crisis and in furtherance of the stated policy of the federal government.” The deals with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae don’t cover loan servicing obligations, other contractual obligations or loans contained in private label securitizations. But the agreements are a sign that the bank is working quickly to deal with buyback claims. “These actions resolve substantial legacy issues in the best interest of our shareholders,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement. Fannie Mae said in a statement that the Bank of America deal was a “fair and responsible resolution” of the outstanding claims. The company said the agreement accounts for about 44 percent of the $7.7 billion in repurchase requests outstanding with all of its seller servicers as of Sept. 30, 2010. In premarket trading, Bank of America shares rose 58 cents to $13.92. — AP
In fast-growing China and India, manufacturing expanded robustly though at a slower pace than previously, easing some concerns about possible overheating in Asia. South Korea’s factories posted their biggest surge in seven months. Powerhouses Germany and France continued to lead the 16-nation single currency zone’s industrial recovery. But output also grew faster in much of the area’s periphery where debt concerns continued to drive financial markets on the first trading day of 2011 — as export orders revived following steady declines in the value of the euro. “Germany remained the star performer, seeing nearrecord growth, followed by France, where the PMI slipped only slightly from November’s ten-year peak,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist of index compiler Markit. “However, (there were) welcome signs ... in the periphery, where export sales helped boost output growth in all cases except Greece, where the rate of decline at least moderated.” The US purchasing managers’ index (PMI) due to be released later is forecast to rise slightly to 56.9 in December from 56.6 the previous month, which would provide further evidence that the country’s recovery is gaining traction, leaving Japan and the euro zone as the global economy’s prime laggards. Europe’s holidaythinned markets showed little reaction to the PMI data. With investors bracing for a heavy quarter of euro zone debt issuance, safe-haven German government bonds rose while the euro resumed its slide against the dollar. “There’s the question of whether things are going to blow up again with everyone having so much issuance to do and that will lead to more stresses on the periphery,” a London-based fixed-income trader said. The Markit Eurozone PMI, which records manufacturing activity across all the major euro area economies, rose to 57.1 in December, revised higher from a preliminary reading of 56.8 and up from 55.3 in November and nearing April’s 46-month high. In Germany, manufacturers boosted their workforces at the fastest rate in at least 14 years and the headline index rose to a revised 60.7, its highest level since July. Ireland’s PMI hit its highest level since May and Spain’s index rose off the back of its strongest monthly surge in foreign orders in over a decade, though factory output in recessionmired Greece remained in the doldrums. The growth outlook for Europe remains modest, with cuts in public finances expected to weigh for years. Analysts polled by Reuters last month expected quarter-on-quarter growth in the euro zone to peak at 0.5 percent over the next two years. —-Reuters
DOUAIS: Vehicles produced by French carmaker Renault stand parked in the factory plot in Douais, northern France. Automakers have registered 370,000 orders for new cars in France in December 2010, or 30% more than during the same period last year, announced Renault France’s sales manager, Bernard Cambier yesterday. —AFP
Macau gaming industry hit record jackpot in 2010 HONG KONG: Casinos in Macau cashed in a record $23.5 billion last year, according to official figures yesterday which analysts said trumped the Las Vegas Strip by about four times. The revenue figure was a 57.8 percent increase over 2009, cementing the former Portuguese colony as the world’s biggest gaming hub, thanks largely to the millions of mainland Chinese punters who descend on it each year. But the governments of China and its special region of Macau are growing worried about the vast sums of money flowing into the city’s economy and have already imposed several restrictions to try and cap its runaway growth. Macau’s huge jackpot comes even as regional rivals including Singapore have opened glitzy new casinos to grab a chunk of the massive Asian market. Some industry experts have predicted Asia will eclipse the entire US gaming market over the next
few years. Macau’s casinos raked in 188.3 billion patacas ($23.5 billion) in 2010, compared with 119.3 billion patacas in 2009, the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said. That total is about fourtimes higher than the $6 billion that gamblers are thought to have spent on the Las Vegas Strip in 2010, according to Hong Kongbased brokerage CLSA. The Chinese territory also set a new monthly record in December, raking in 18.88 billion patacas, about 66.4 percent higher than a year earlier. “We were not expecting it to be so strong in December,” Aaron Fischer, a CLSA gaming analyst, told AFP. “We thought it would fall off a bit in the last few weeks (of the month) but it didn’t. Historically, Christmas is not a big gambling time.” The gaming boomtown’s revenue is driven largely by high-roller gamblers, including many
wealthy Chinese tourists who have been riding high on the country’s surging economy, he said. “It’s not just a Macau or gaming thing,” Fischer added. “There are a huge amount of mainland Chinese travelling and spending money.” Macau has posted a sharp revenue increase since mid-2009, continuing to smash monthly records as it shrugs off a downturn during the global financial crisis. Handed back to China in 1999, Macau is the only Chinese city where casino gambling is allowed and has seen its fortunes steadily soar since opening up to foreign competition in 2002. The most recent yearly figures are about four times higher than the 46 billion patacas in gaming revenue which Macau recorded in 2005. But that growth has caused the Chinese and Macau governments to express concerns about the city’s gambling-dependent economy
and skyrocketing rents, with Beijing imposing visa restrictions on mainland citizens in 2009. Macau has also tightened restrictions on immigrant labor due to pressure from home-grown labor groups, including banning foreigners with only tourist visas from working in the city. That has caused headaches for casino operators, including US operator Las Vegas Sands, which has seen a $4.1 billion project on the city’s lucrative Cotai strip repeatedly delayed. In March, the Macau government said it would cap the number of gambling tables in the city’s casinos, making expansion plans more difficult. Macau’s government last month rejected separate applications from a Sands unit and local casino tycoon Stanley Ho’s SJM Holdings to develop another Cotai site, saying it would no longer grant land for casinos without a public tender. — AFP
Macau’s gaming revenue hit a record $23.5 billion in 2010, according to official figures released yesterday, outpacing the Las Vegas Strip by about four-fold. —AFP
Gold climbs above $1,420/oz as 2011 gets underway LONDON: Gold rose above $1,420 an ounce in Europe yesterday, within 1 percent of its record high, and silver and palladium hit multi-year peaks, driven by pent-up demand on the first trading day of 2011. While a firm dollar limited gains, expectations for more bad news on euro zone debt, concerns over potential inflation in developing economies and an increased focus on the US deficit are set to maintain surging demand for gold, analysts said. Pradeep Unni, a senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services in Dubai, said fresh highs in gold were likely this year, with an initial target seen at $1,455-$1,480, after trade in the metal was becalmed over the Christmas
holidays. “The fundamentals are driving the price, and those fundamentals remain fear-driven,” he said. “Gold (steps) into the New Year with all its current fundamentals intact ... sovereign debt risk, macro uncertainty, concerns over currency stability, medium-term inflation fears as the US Federal Reserve implements Quantitative Easing II, geopolitical tensions and low interest rates.” Spot gold was bid at $1,420.10 an ounce at 1230 GMT, against $1,419.45 late in New York on Friday. The precious metal had hit a record $1,430.95 an ounce in December. European trade is expected to remain quiet, with London still
on holiday. US gold futures for February delivery eased 50 cents an ounce to $1,420.90. While gold was little changed in early trade yesterday, US data due later in the session-November construction spending and December
Commodities market ISM non-manufacturing numbers at 1500 GMT-may influence later trade. The euro fell 0.5 percent against the dollar early in the day, reversing year-end gains on persistent concerns about euro-zone debt.
These worries can work both ways for gold. A weaker euro, and consequently stronger dollar, typically pressures gold prices, but concerns over sovereign debt are set to support demand for the metal as a haven from risk. “(We look) for the gold market to start out 2011 on a strong note,” said MF Global in an end-of-year report. “Support may come from a resumption of investment inflows and a renewed focus on European sovereign debt issues. “Background support will be offered by quantitative ease, and improved (jewelry) demand,” it added. “Negative factors will linger in the background as well but should be
shelved in the midst of fresh investment this week.” The strong inverse relationship between gold and the dollar weakened to such an extent last year that gold prices managed to rise nearly 30 percent at the same time that the dollar rose more than 6.5 percent against the euro. Among other precious metals, silver hit its highest since 1980 at $31.17 an ounce against $30.86 as investors continued to pick up the metal as a cheaper proxy for gold. “At over $31 a troy ounce at the beginning of the new year, silver ... continues its high-altitude flight,” said Commerzbank in a note. “Ongoing strong demand, e.g. for
silver ETFs (exchange-traded funds), could push the price up further. Alone the world’s largest silver ETF, iShares Silver Trust, increased its holdings last year by 15 percent or 1,429 to 10,922 tons.” Platinum was at $1,774.65 an ounce against $1,767.50, and palladium at $799.75 against $799.50, having earlier touched its highest since March 2001 at $803 an ounce. Palladium and silver were among the best-performing precious metals last year, up 97 percent and 83 percent respectively. Autocatalyst metal palladium is seen as the surer bet for 2011, however, on expectations its market balance will tighten. — Reuters
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
business
Bangladesh garment scraps head for Western living rooms HATIBANDHA, Bangladesh: Every year, Bangladesh’s garment sector produces billions of dollars worth of highstreet clothes for major western brands-and generates mountains of fabric offcuts in the process. While an informal recycling sector has sprung up to deal with the scraps of leftover jeans and T-shirts churned out by the country’s 4,500 garment factories, it produces only low-value products for domestic consumption. But one Bangladeshi entrepreneur has found a new, more lucrative way of dealing with the estimated 100,000 tons of scrap fabric the garment sector
produces each year: making rag-rugs for export. “The rags produced by the garment factories are seen as worthless waste but I saw that they could be a way to build a business-then Kik picked up my products and everything started to take off,” Tauhid Bin Salam told AFP. Tauhid set up his company, Classical Handmade Products Bangladesh, in 2008 and has now built it into a successful business with an annual turnover of 80 million taka ($1.2 million) and a workforce of 530, mostly women. Tauhid’s first buyer, German compa-
ny Kik Textilien, is one of Europe’s largest textile discounters with a presence in six European countries. It primarily sources its low-cost goods in China and Bangladesh. His four factories are stretched across the impoverished north of Bangladesh, where nonagricultural work is scarce and his ragrug factories provide a valuable source of jobs, especially for rural women. Traditional garment waste processing units tend to be concentrated in Dhaka, where nearly 11,000 people are believed to work in the informal sector, recycling garment factory waste into cheap clothes for domestic sale.
Tauhid’s factories are now producing some 80,000 rugs a month, all of which are exported and sold in Germany, where Kik is preparing for the usual Christmas surge in sales at its stores. “We are now planning to increase the volume of our orders and begin selling those rag-rugs in other European countries such as Austria and Slovenia,” Petra Katzenberger, Kik’s corporate social responsibility manager, told AFP. The rugs have proved a big hit in Germany, as they are cheap, unique, handmade and environmentally-
friendly, said Daniel Seidl from the Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Nearly three percent of all Germans now own one of these rugs,” Seidl told AFP, adding that this was about two million people. Tauhid uses only 100-percent cotton scraps from the best quality clothes to produce his rugs, saying that the company could easily expand as there is so much scrap waste to use up thanks to Bangladesh’s booming garment sector. Fabric scraps are collected in huge bales from garment factories, taken to Tauhid’s factories where they are sorted into different
colors and trimmed into long, thin strips of cloth. These strips of cloth are then woven by hand into rugs using a traditional wooden hand loom, and while the size — 60 cm by 90 cm (about two feet by three feet) — is uniform, each rug’s pattern is unique. “Every year, a large garment factory will produce enough scrap material to make one million rugs,” Tauhid said. There are up to 600 large garment factories in Bangladesh-defined as a factory which employs over 1,000 people-out of a total 4,500 factories overall. —AFP
Merger of Fiat, Chrysler not now: Marchionne Italian automaker may boost stake in Chrysler to 51%
MILAN: Fiat tractors are parked outside the stock exchange in Milan, Italy, yesterday. —AP
US wheat at new 5-month top on Australia floods SINGAPORE/PARIS: US wheat futures started 2011 with a new five-month high yesterday as floods in Australia hampered grain shipments and reinforced the global supply concerns that had sent grain markets surging last year. In 2010 Chicago wheat posted its first annual gain in three years by rising 47 percent, and many analysts expect grains to test all-time highs this year because of weather worries, robust demand and investor interest. Soybean and corn futures also recorded hefty gains last year on the back of tightening supply and Chinese-driven demand, although they eased on Monday under pressure from a firm dollar. Chicago Board of Trade March wheat was up 1.23 percent at $8.04 a bushel by 1131 GMT, after earlier climbing to $8.103/4, a new high for front-month prices since Aug. 6. “There is supporting news from Australia as it seems that Australia is not going to recover from floods soon,” said Ker Chung Yang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. “ They are one of the major wheat exporting countries and news from there is driving the market.” Floods in Australia’s Queensland could disrupt grain supplies for weeks, top grains handler GrainCorp Ltd said on Monday, further delaying the transportation to market of the country’s waterlogged wheat crop. Even ahead of the latest deluge, Australia’s wettest spring on record had damaged the crop quality in the world’s fourth largest wheat exporter, contributing to highs on global wheat markets at the end of 2010. Last year’s gains for spot prices allowed Chicago wheat to erase a 42 percent combined loss for 2008 and 2009, when ample global supplies weighed on prices and pulled them back from all-time highs seen
in 2007/08. European milling wheat futures also started the year on a firm footing, setting the latest in a series of contract highs as the market stayed at levels last seen in March 2008. January milling wheat rose 0.59 percent to 254.00 euros a ton after reaching earlier a new high of 255.50 euros, while the more active March reached a fresh contract high of 252.00 euros. “The market remains on a bullish trend,” a European futures broker said. “There is still concern about Australia and Argentina.” Operators said movements could also be driven at the start of the year by investment flows linked to index reweighting, as well as a closely watched grains supply/demand report from the US government on Jan. 12. Dry conditions in Argentina are threatening to stress corn and soybean crops and could add to tensions in world supply after a severe drought in Russia, the rains in Australia and ongoing dryness in US wheat-growing areas. Parched, hot conditions caused by the La Nina weather phenomenon are threatening corn yields in Argentina, the world’s No 2 exporter of the cereal, and rains are urgently needed, the government said on Friday. The situation in Argentina underpinned corn and soy futures, which had risen 52 percent and 34 percent respectively in 2010, but a stronger dollar pushed prices down a touch yesterday. Corn for March delivery lost 0.2 percent to $6.27-3/4 a bushel, and soybeans for January eased 0.20 percent to trade at $13.91. The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up 0.3 percent. A stronger dollar makes US commodities less competitive in the international market. —Reuters
US jobs trickle in; Whither workers? GLOBAL ECONOMY WEEK AHEAD WASHINGTON: US private employers have recorded 11 consecutive months of job gains, yet the number of people who are so discouraged that they have given up searching for work stands at an all-time high. Friday’s employment report is expected to show the pace of payroll growth accelerated last month after a disappointing showing in November. However, consumers’ assessment of the job market deteriorated in December, according to the Conference Board’s latest consumer confidence survey. This disconnect is symptomatic of the state of the labor market. Yes, it is recovering, but at a pace that can hardly keep up with population growth, let alone quickly bring down the 9.8 percent unemployment rate. Private employment increased by an average of 106,000 per month through November. At that rate, it would take more than 6 years just to replace the jobs lost during the latest recession. There is reason to believe hiring will pick up in 2011. Many economists have raised economic growth forecasts, in part because of a tax deal that keeps in place lower rates enacted under President George W Bush, and planned job cuts are down 60 percent from a year ago. However, that may not make job hunting much easier, said John Challenger, chief executive of job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas in Chicago. “The job market could be even more
competitive as improving job prospects entice people who abandoned their job searches out of frustration to re-enter the labor pool,” he said. The labor pool looks like it has sprung a leak. In a civilian labor force 154-million strong, only 64.5 percent were either working or looking for a job in November, a rate that matched October as the lowest since the early 1980s. If workers come pouring back into the labor market more quickly than employers want to hire, the jobless rate will rise. The Labor Department counts people as unemployed only if they are actively looking for work, so those discouraged workers-nearly 1.3 million of them as of November-are excluded. A look at the gender breakdown offers some signs that the dropout rate could stay high even if hiring improves. Nearly two-thirds of the discouraged workers were men, perhaps a reflection of sharp declines in male-dominated industries such as construction and manufacturing, where jobs are expected to remain scarce. Ethan Harris, an economist with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said the economic healing process will be faster for women than for men, in part because women are more likely to go to college and obtain the skills needed to find a job. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, about 41 percent were enrolled in college or graduate school, according to Census data. —Reuters
MILAN: Fiat and Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne said he had no immediate plans to merge the two automakers as shares in a new stripped-down Fiat began trading on the stock exchange yesterday. But Fiat may raise its stake in Chrysler, which it saved from bankruptcy, to 51 percent if the troubled US automaker returns to the stock market this year, he added. “I have no plans to merge Fiat and Chrysler today,” Marchionne told journalists at a ceremony organized at the Milan stock exchange for the first listing of spin-off Fiat Industrial, which contains the conglomerate’s non-automotive elements. “I think we have done a relatively decent job in the last 18 months” in terms of “industrial integration” of Fiat and Chrysler, he said, adding “a legal merger is not going to change our lives.” Italy’s largest private employer, created by the legendary Agnelli family and a symbol of the country’s postwar industrialization, owns 20 percent of Chrysler. In the biggest reorganization in Fiat’s history, it took operational control of Chrysler in June 2009 after the US automaker nearly went bankrupt. Marchionne said it was “possible” Fiat may boost the holding to 51 percent before a planned IPO by the Chrysler Group this year. “I think it is possible, I don’t know whether it is likely, but it is possible that we will go over the 50 percent if Chrysler decides to go to the market in 2011,” he said. In September 2010 Fiat shareholders approved the Italian auto giant’s plan to separate its car and non-car making activities as part of a drive to increase its global clout. In the spin off, which took effect on January 1, Fiat’s truckmaker Iveco and CNH agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer became part of the new Fiat Industrial. Its shares opened at 9.00 euros and had slid to 8.87 euros as of 0930 GMT. Fiat, whose carmaking operations include the Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, opened at 6.9 and had climbed to 7.01 euros. Marchionne has set ambitious financial targets for the two carmakers, saying that Fiat’s turnover should double from 32 billion euros to 64 billion euros by 2014 while Fiat Industrial’s should grow by 19 billion euros to 29 billion euros. Marchionne has said the Fiat and Chrysler companies combined should produce six million vehicles by 2014. Analysts expect the new structure to help Fiat not only integrate with Chrysler but also to form other alliances as new players come onto the scene from emerging economies such as Russia and India. When the spin-off was first announced in April, the CEO said he hoped it would resolve one of the “strategic issues” that over the past years “has been a thorn in Fiat’s side.” The car and non-car activities have different strategies, markets and capital needs. The Italian-Canadian Marchionne, who is credited with rescuing Fiat from the brink of collapse, became Chrysler’s chief executive in the deal under which Fiat contributed its small-car and green technology and the US carmaker opened the door to its sprawling distribution network. —AFP
MILAN: Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is surrounded by reporters at the stock exchange in Milan yesterday. —AP
Asian stocks rise as 2011 trading opens HONG KONG: World stock markets were higher on the first trading day of 2011, with investor confidence boosted by signs that China’s efforts at keeping a lid on inflation may be working. Oil prices rose to near $92 a barrel yesterday in Asia as traders mulled how high crude can go before it sparks inflation. In currencies, the dollar was higher against the yen and the euro. In early European trade, France’s CAC-40 rose 1.2 percent to 3,851.15 and Germany’s DAX added 1.2 percent to 6,992.39. Wall Street was set to open higher, with Dow futures up 68 points, or 0.6 percent, at 11,581.00. Broader S&P futures gained 7.3 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,260.30. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 400.60 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 23,436.05, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 19.08 points, or 0.9 per-
cent, to finish at 2,070.80. A monthly survey released over the weekend indicated that manufacturing in China slipped for the first time in five months. The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said that its purchasing managers index, or PMI, dipped in December, though it was still the 22nd month of expansion. That eased investor fears that authorities would take further steps to cool inflation, including by raising interest rates further, which could hurt economic growth. “It may indicate that the mainland government may not need to further tighten monetary policy because it is already slowing down,” said Kenny Tang, an executive director at Redford Asset Management. Tang said fund managers returning from the holidays are also “reshuffling their portfolios to buy the lagging markets.” Hong Kong
stocks were also boosted by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., a conglomerate forming part of billionaire Li Kashing’s business empire, which surged 5.2 percent after it announced the purchase of assets from China Resources (Holding) Co. in a deal worth 5.7 billion Hong Kong dollars ($733 million). Singapore’s benchmark rose 1.3 percent while those in Taiwan and India also posted gains. Markets in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, mainland China, Thailand and Britain were closed for the New Year’s holiday. In currencies, the dollar rose 0.6 percent against the yen to 81.35. The euro fell 0.8 percent to 1.3272. Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 19 cents to $91.57 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.54 on Friday to end the year at $91.38 per barrel. —AP
MANILA: Filipino traders hear mass during the opening of the first trading day at the Philippine Stock Exchange at the financial district of Makati, south of Manila, Philippines, yesterday. —AP
Spanish auto sales rose 3.1% in 2010 MADRID: Car sales in Spain rose 3.1 percent last year, after two years of double - digit declines, but were down in December for the six th straight month following the end of a government trade -in bonus scheme, manufacturers’ association Anfac said yesterday. Sales of new cars in the country plunged 23.9 percent in December over the same month last year to 68,942 units, bringing total sales for the year to 982,015 units, it said in a statement posted on its web site.
“ The year 2010 was marked by two distinct periods,” said Anfac. While sales were up 39.5 percent during the first half of the year, they have dropped by over 20 percent each month since the incentive program ended in July and the sales tax rose by two percentage points that month. Under the trade-in scheme introduced in May 2009, the government offered subsidies of up to 2,000 euros ($2,600) to help boost car sales. The program expired when the money set aside for it was
exhausted. New car sales fell 17.9 percent in 2009 after dropping by 28 percent in 2008, its biggest-ever annual decline as the collapse of a property bubble plunged the country into its worst recession in decades. The Spanish economy, Europe’s fifth-largest, emerged from recession with tepid growth of just 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2010 and 0.2 percent in the second, but then stalled with zero percent growth in the third. —AFP
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
TECHNOLOGY
Toshiba to sell tablet with new upcoming Android OS SAN FRANCISCO: Toshiba Corp is hoping to lure consumers to its new tablet computer by including a screen that is slightly larger than the iPad and offering a version of Google Inc’s Android mobile operating software geared toward such devices. Tentatively called the Toshiba Tablet, the device will include a touch screen that measures 26 cm diagonally - compared with 25 cm on Apple Inc’s iPad. Toshiba’s device will also have the forthcoming version of Android, called Honeycomb. It will be more optimized for tablets than current, smartphone-focused versions of Android, by letting applications adjust to take advantage of the tablet’s larger screen.
PALO ALTO, California: This May 26, 2010 file photo shows Mark Zuckerberg speaking during a press conference at the Facebook headquarters. — AFP
Goldman Sachs values Facebook at $50 billion NEW YORK: Facebook has raised 500 million dollars from US investment bank Goldman Sachs and a Russian firm in a deal that values the social-networking website at 50 billion dollars, The New York Times reported yesterday. The investment makes Facebook worth more than fellow Internet companies eBay and Yahoo!, as well as media company Time Warner, the newspaper said, citing sources familiar with the deal. “The stake by Goldman Sachs, considered one of Wall Street’s savviest investors, signals the increasing might of Facebook, which has already been bearing down on giants like Google,” the daily said. Under the terms of the deal, Goldman has invested $450 million, and Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian investment firm that has already sunk about half a billion dollars into Facebook, invested 50 million dollars, people involved in the talks told the Times. The new money provides the privately held social-networking giant founded by Mark Zuckerberg more firepower to develop new resources, make acquisitions and lure away top employees as it increasingly competes more directly with Internet search giant Google. Goldman has the right to sell part of its stake, up to $75 million, to the Russian firm, the Times said. For Digital Sky Technologies, the new investment means its original investment in Facebook, at a valuation of $10 billion, has climbed fivefold, it noted. “As part of the deal, Goldman is expected to raise as much as 1.5 billion dollars from investors for Facebook at the 50 billion dollars valuation, people involved in the discussions said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the transaction was not supposed to be made public until the fund-raising had been completed,” the Times said. Representatives for Facebook, Goldman and Digital Sky Technologies all declined to comment, it added. Facebook surpassed Google, the world’s Internet search leader, in 2010 as the most-visited website in the United States, Internet research firm Experian Hitwise said last week. The social-networking giant has more than 500 million active users per month in the world, and according to comScore attracted 647.5 million unique visits in November, a jump of 48 percent from a year ago. The new investment deal may double the personal fortune of Zuckerberg, the Times said. According to Forbes, Zuckerberg was worth $6.9 billion when Facebook was valued at $23 billion. — AFP
The Japanese computer and flat-screen TV maker is set to unveil the tablet at the annual International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It won’t be the only one: A handful of tablets were released in 2010, but many more are expected to be shown off at CES and hit store shelves later this year. Since Apple unveiled its iPad last January, consumers have been clamoring for the sleek computing device, and manufacturers have started churning out competing products in an effort to capitalize on the iPad’s popularity. Toshiba’s Tablet won’t be the company’s first, nor its first Android tablet, but it will be the first time Toshiba is releasing such a product in the US. Toshiba expects to roll out the tablet by the end of June. A price has not yet been set, but the company believes it will be competitive with the iPad, which costs $499 to $829, depending on its memory capacity and wireless capabilities. Showing off a nonworking prototype of the tablet to AP in December, Phil Osako, Toshiba’s director of product marketing, said the device will be the first in a family of tablets the company plans to release. That device has a black, glossy face and rubberized back. The Tablet’s screen will be able to show high-definition videos in 1080p resolution, the highest offered on current TVs, and it includes an HDMI port to connect it to a high-definition television. It will also play Flash videos - something Samsung Electronics Co’s Galaxy Tab can do as well, but the iPad cannot. Although details of Honeycomb have not yet been announced by Google, Google’s mobile head, Andy Rubin, said at a December conference that Honeycomb will enable applications to have multiple views and present information differently depending on whether they’re running on a phone or a tablet. The Tablet will have an Nvidia Tegra 2 mobile processor and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting and a 5-megapixel rear camera. Osako said it will include Wi-Fi for getting online but won’t
initially have the ability to access wireless carriers’ data networks, as the Galaxy Tab and the more expensive version of the iPad can. Toshiba may eventually work
An image provided by Toshiba shows the Toshiba Tablet. — AP
online market, Toshiba Places, for downloading content such as games, movies and music. It will have the Toshiba BookPlace e-reader and BookPlace marketplace for buying e-books. Toshiba expects the tablet to be slightly more than half an inch thick and weigh less than 1.7 pounds. This would be a hair chubbier than the iPad, which is half an inch thick and weighs slightly less at 1.5 pounds or 1.6 pounds, depending on the model. Osako said the company is looking to include a battery that provides seven hours of video playback. The iPad, by comparison, promises as much as 10 hours of Web surfing over Wi-Fi or video watching. Over the past few years, Toshiba has been a player in the market for netbooks small, low-cost, portable laptops with less computing power than standard laptops and Osako doesn’t believe the Toshiba Tablet signals the demise of that category. He said tablets are a quick, easy way to access entertainment content. But tablets have on-screen keyboards, and the regular keyboard on a netbook makes it better suited for more text-intensive things such as writing lots of emails and instant messages, he said. “I think this is going to grow the market for mobile devices rather than taking away from it,” he said. — AP
with carriers to add their wireless service to the device, he said. The Tablet will have GPS and Bluetooth technologies and include a USB port, mini USB port and SD memory card slot. Besides supporting Google’s Android Marketplace for downloading apps, the Tablet will include access to Toshiba’s own
Apple woes continue as some sleep in Asia, Europe
CHICAGO: In this photo taken Dec 1, 2010, Chicago Cut steakhouse managing partner Matt Moore browses the restaurant’s wine list on an iPad. The restaurant is just one eatery of several across the US that have started uploading menus and wine lists to the digital devices. — AP
HONG KONG/HELSINKI: Some iPhone users in Asia and Europe complained of malfunctioning alarms on the first working day of 2011, even after Apple reassured users that its phones’ built-in clocks will work from Monday. Bloggers, Facebook and Twitter users complained they missed flights or were late to arrive at work, as the alarm built into Apple’s iPhone failed to go off for a third straight day for some users. “My iPhone alarm didn’t work again,” user Sueannlove from Singapore tweeted on the social networking site. “Time to dig out (the) old school alarm clock.” Similar messages were sent by iPhone users in Britain, Netherlands and other European countries. The problem was not limited only to the iPhone, with some owners of other Apple products, such as its iPod music players, also complaining of a similar problem with their alarms. “Apple certainly needs to fix it as soon as possible, but I doubt this will impact sales or reflect negatively on Apple itself,” said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. Apple was not immediately available for comment in Asia and Europe, but it said on Jan 2 that it was aware of the problem with non-recurring alarms and that the iPhone’s alarm will begin functioning normally again on Jan 3. Some users said their alarms worked properly on Jan 3. “This is not a major issue for Apple, but it is sad that they have the same error on vital dates,” said John Strand, founder and chief of Danish telecoms consultancy Strand Consult. The iPhone alarm system failed to recognise changes in daylight savings time in 2010, causing some users to sleep in an hour longer, according to media reports. The last time Apple was embroiled in publicity problems was in July last year after the launch of the iPhone 4, when reports about bad reception snowballed and forced the company to call a news conference to address the issue, dubbed “antennagate”. This had no visible impact on Apple’s sales as the firm sold more than 14 million iPhones in JulySeptember quarter, more than ever before, and is now the world’s second largest smartphone manufacturer behind Nokia. — Reuters
Taking a break from social networks HAMBURG: It only takes a few clicks to set up a profile in a social network. Getting rid of a profile is altogether more difficult. Facebook and its ilk will do everything in their power to hold on to members, even if it means playing with your emotions. “It was a big change for my friends,” says Frauke Luepke-Narberhaus. As part of a personal experiment, this Hamburg native got rid of all her accounts with social networks. Saying goodbye wasn’t hard for the 27year-old: “After all, there is still email and mobiles.” The bigger problem was deregistering. “The exit was emotionally dramatized. Plus, it’s well hidden.” Anyone who wants to cut ties to a social network has some hurdles ahead of him. Patrick Wassel, who is with a working group on social media with the German Federal
Association of Digital Business, says there are good reasons to deactivate or delete a profile. Anyone taking his first steps into the professional world might no longer want his school-time exploits available online, for example. But anyone tired of being in a social network can delete his profile - and has the right to do so - says Munich-based lawyer Jan Christian Seevogel. That ’s because using personal data requires the active approval of anyone affected by the dissemination of that data. Users give that permission when they register with a social network. But that data has to be deleted as soon as there is no justification for its continued storage. “The permission of the user for data use generally ends with the deactivation of the account,
which is the same as cancellation of the user contract with the social network,” says Seevogel, who runs his own social media platform on legal topics. There shouldn’t be any technical hurdles to canceling an account, says Carsten Ulbricht, another German lawyer who specializes in internet questions. Users also should be told at registration about their right to revoke permissions for the use of personal data. But the networks don’t make it easy. StudiVZ, a popular German network, warns you that “all your friends will miss you - and so will we” if one tries to leave. The message comes along with the image of a crying woman. To make it even more challenging, directions for leaving are well hidden by most networks, although they all do have a page
explaining the way to quit. There are also other websites out there devoted entirely to telling people how to quit, with stories from those who have already taken the plunge. Facebook, the market leader, makes a distinction between canceling and deactivating an account. But once you delete your data, it can never be summoned up again. However, the company notes that it can take 14 days for the entire cancellation process to complete. Deactivation, on the other hand, simply freezes the account in place and makes it invisible - until that is, you happen to decide to log back in, in which case all functions are automatically activated again. For many people, par ticularly younger people, belonging to an online network is of major importance and forms
a key link to one’s peer group, says Stefan Drewes, chairman of the school psychology group with the German Professional Association of Psychologists. Thus, getting out of a social network shouldn’t be a step taken without careful consideration or in a moment of rage over changes in data privacy guidelines. Taking the plunge could suddenly mean you’re cut off from your entire social circle, creating isolation. “De-registering is, in this case, similar to homesickness after leaving one’s hometown,” explains Drewes. — dpa
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Blood test to spot cancer gets big boost from J&J Boston scientists join forces to bring test to market BOSTON: A blood test so sensitive that it can spot a single cancer cell lurking among a billion healthy ones is moving one step closer to being available at your doctor’s office. Boston scientists who invented the test and healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson were to announce that they are joining forces to bring it to market. Four big cancer centers also will start studies using the experimental test this year. Stray cancer cells in the blood mean that a tumor has spread or is likely to, many doctors believe. A test that can capture such cells has the potential to transform care for many types of cancer, especially breast, prostate, colon and lung. Initially, doctors want to use the test to try to predict what treatments would be best for each patient’s tumor and find out quickly if they are working. “This is like a liquid biopsy” that avoids painful tissue sampling and may give a better way to monitor patients than periodic imaging scans, said Dr. Daniel Haber, chief of Massachusetts General Hospital’s cancer center and one of the test’s inventors. Ultimately, the test may offer a way to screen for cancer besides the mammograms, colonoscopies and other less-than-ideal methods used now. “There’s a lot of potential here, and that’s why there’s a lot of excitement,” said Dr. Mark Kris, lung cancer chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He had no role in developing the test, but SloanKettering is one of the sites that will study it this year. Many people have their cancers diagnosed through needle biopsies. These often do not provide enough of a sample to deter-
mine what genes or pathways control a tumor’s growth. Or the sample may no longer be available by the time the patient gets sent to a specialist to decide what treatment to prescribe. Doctors typically give a drug or radiation treatment and then do a CT scan two months later to look for tumor shrinkage. Some patients only live long enough to try one or two treatments, so a test that can gauge success sooner, by looking at cancer cells in the blood, could give patients more options. “If you could find out quickly, ‘this drug is working, stay on it,’ or ‘this drug is not working, try something else,’ that would be huge,” Haber said. The only test on the market now to find tumor cells in blood — CellSearch, made by J&J’s Veridex unit — just gives a cell count. It doesn’t capture whole cells that doctors can analyze to choose treatments. Interest in trying to collect these cells soared in 2007, after Haber and his colleagues pub-
lished a study of Mass General’s test. It is far more powerful than CellSearch and traps cells intact. It requires only a couple of teaspoons of blood and can be done repeatedly to monitor treatment or determine why a drug has stopped working and what to try next. “That’s what got the scientific community’s interest,” Kris said. Doctors can give a drug one day and sample blood the next day to see if the circulating tumor cells are gone, he explained. The test uses a microchip that resembles a lab slide covered in 78,000 tiny posts, like bristles on a hairbrush. The posts are coated with antibodies that bind to tumor cells. When blood is forced across the chip, cells ping off the posts like balls in a pinball machine. The cancer cells stick, and stains make them glow so researchers can count and capture them for study. The test can find one cancer cell in a billion or more healthy cells, said Mehmet Toner, a
Harvard University bioengineer who helped design it. Researchers know this because they spiked blood samples with cancer cells and then searched for them with the chip. Studies of the chip have been published in the journals Nature, the New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine. It is the most promising of several dozen that companies and universities are rushing to develop to capture circulating tumor cells, said Bob McCormack, technology chief for Veridex. The agreement announced Monday will have Veridex and J&J’s Ortho Biotech Oncology unit work to improve the microchip, including trying a cheaper plastic to make it practical for mass production. No price goal has been set, a company official said, but the current CellSearch test costs several hundred dollars. The companies will start a research center at Mass General and will have rights to license the test from the hospital, which holds the patents. In a separate effort, Mass General, Sloan-Kettering, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston will start using the test this year. They are one of the “dream teams” sharing a $15 million grant from the Stand Up to Cancer telethon, run by the American Association for Cancer Research. Already, scientists have been surprised to find that more cancer patients harbor these stray cells than has been believed. In one study, the test was used on men thought to have cancer confined to the prostate, “but we found these cells in two-thirds of patients,” Toner said. This might mean that cancer cells enter the
blood soon after a tumor starts, or that more cancers have already spread but are unseen by doctors. Or it could mean something else entirely, because researchers have much to learn about these cells, said Dr. Minetta Liu, a breast cancer specialist at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. She led a session on them at the recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and has been a paid speaker for Veridex. She hopes the cells will someday aid cancer screening. “ The dream is, a woman comes in for her mammogram and gets a tube of blood drawn,” so doctors can look for cancer cells in her blood as well as tumors on the imaging exam, she said. That’s still far off, but Mass General’s test already is letting doctors monitor patients without painful biopsies. Like Greg Vrettos, who suffered a collapsed lung from a biopsy in 2004, when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. “It had spread to both lungs and they couldn’t operate,” said Vrettos, 63, a nonsmoker and retired electrical engineer from Durham, N.H. Tests from the biopsy showed that he was a good candidate for the drug Iressa, which he has taken ever since. He goes to Boston every three months for CT scans and the blood test. “They could look at the number of cancer cells and see that it dropped over time. It corresponded with what the scans were showing,” Vrettos said of doctors looking at his blood tests. The test also showed when he had a setback last January and needed to have his treatment adjusted. “I think it’s going to be revolutionary,” he said of the test. —AP
Spanish hotels quick in adapting to smoking ban MADRID: Spanish bars and restaurants were quick in adapting to a smoking ban which entered into force on Sunday, bar employees, clients and media reports said yesterday. “ This is wonderful, because I now breathe easier and my eyes no longer become watery” from smoke, a Madrid waitress named Cristina, 31, told the German Press Agency dpa.
The Spanish parliament toughened the country’s anti-smoking legislation in late December, putting Spain in line with the strictest anti-smoking countries in Europe. The law banned smoking in bars, restaurants and discotheques, as well as in outdoor public areas such as playgrounds, schoolyards or hospital entrances. A 2006 law had already prohibited smoking at workplaces, schools, hospitals, shop-
ping centres or railway stations. The new law entered into force on January 2 in order not to spoil New Year celebrations on January 1. At midnight, waiters told smoking clients to extinguish their cigarettes or to go outside to light up. Many establishments had put up signs asking their clients to help them apply the law, and removed ashtrays to make it easier for them to comply. Some establishments took measures to help smokers cope with the cold weather outside. Outdoor terraces, where smoking is allowed, were equipped with heaters. Some establishments even distributed blankets to their clients. The overwhelming majority of clients reacted with understanding. Some replaced their cigarettes with lollipops, praising the new law as an opportunity for them to quit smoking. Others, however, complained about the law treating smokers like “criminals.” “Our government has exaggerated, like always,” said a young woman smoking on the street outside a Madrid bar. Society now had so many rules that “soon they will not
even allow us to live anymore,” a cigar fan named Antonio complained at a Barcelona bar terrace. The law initially faced strong opposition from bar and restaurant owners fearing it would make them lose large numbers of clients. Cristina, however, said the number of clients had not gone down significantly in her bar. “We have even received some new clients, who come because they no longer need to suffer from smoke,” she observed. The law was being applied “normally,” Health Minister Leire Pajin said. However, the law was being broken at some hospital entrances where people continues smoking. The consumers’ organization Facua received hundreds of complaints from people reporting violations of the smoking ban on a website set up for the purpose. Smoking kills more than 50,000 people in Spain annually, including up to 5,000 passive smokers, such as waiters inhaling smoke. Those violating the ban can face fines as high as 600,000 euros ($800,000). —dpa
Fresh air and sunlight help you stay healthy COLOGNE: Too much time spent in the warm indoors, too little exercise in the fresh air and too little sunlight can make you tired and susceptible to illness. Professor Ingo Froboese from the Centre for Health at the German Sports High School in Cologne offers the following advice: “Even when it’s dark and overcast all day long, you should make use of the daylight hours of the day to tank up on sunlight and get some fresh air into your lungs.” Daylight is excellent for keeping you immune system in top shape. “You should get between 15 and 20 minutes of sunlight a day so your body can develop vitamin D which is very important for our immune systems,” says Froboese. Sunlight converts the precursor form of vitamin D, which is produced in cer tain cells in the body, into active vitamin D. That encourages our immune cells to build anti-microbial Cathelicidin which plays an impor tant role in our body ’s response to bacterial infection. “ That means sunlight can help you stay healthy,” says Froboese. “And it does
not always have to be direct sunlight, which is in short supply at this time of year.” Even on an overcast day enough scattered light penetrates the clouds to have a positive effect on our immune systems. “You should also get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day in the fresh air,” advises Froboese. “It can be in the form of sport but even an extended walk can be great for filling your lungs with oxygen.” Oxygen is important for keeping the energy-generating mitochondria in our cells and organs in good condition. Exercise also keeps our immune system in shape by ensuring that immune cells stay active and effective. Light and oxygen also help you feel good about yourself. —DPA
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
news in brief British govt unveils healthy-eating plan LONDON: The British government unveiled a 250 million pound ($390 million) industr yfinanced plan to promote good eating on Sunday under which millions of people will receive vouchers offering discounts on healthy foods. The coalition government is promoting the scheme as part of its Change4Life program, aimed at combating Britain’s high obesity rate by encouraging people to eat healthier food and exercise more.
Red meat may raise women’s stroke risk NEW YORK: Women who eat a lot of red meat may be putting themselves at increased risk of stroke, a new study in more than 30,000 Swedish women hints. The study team found that those in the top tenth for red meat consumption, who ate at least 102 grams or 3.6 ounces daily, were 42 percent more likely to suffer a stroke due to blocked blood flow in the brain compared to women who ate less than 25 grams (just under an ounce) of red meat daily.
Family alcoholism and obesity risk CHICAGO: People with a family history of alcoholism may be turning to high-calorie treats instead of booze to satisfy their addiction, US researchers say, a change that could be fueling the obesity epidemic. Because alcohol and bingeing on junk foods stimulate the same parts of the brain, it may be that people with a predisposition to alcoholism are replacing alcohol with junk foods, says the team from Washington University in St. Louis.
Denying smoking among pregnant women NEW YORK: Overall, about one in four women who smoke while pregnant deny it, a new study hints. The numbers could be even higher in certain groups of women, like those in their early 20s. In the United States, smoking by moms-tobe is one of the most common preventable causes of illness and death among infants, Dr. Patricia Dietz from the division of reproductive health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues note in their report.
Alcohol use disorders in Australia NEW YORK: Proposed revisions to formal criteria for alcohol abuse and dependence would label significantly more people as problem drinkers, a new study from Australia shows. “Our analyses show that the proposed changes would lead to about a 60 percent increase in the diagnosis of alcohol use disorders in Australia, from 6.0 percent to 9.7 percent,” Louise Mewton, from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Center, University of New South Wales in Sydney, told Reuters Health by e-mail.
Blood clot risk with hormone patch NEW YORK: Women who treat menopause symptoms with hormone patches rather than pills may not have an increased risk of blood clots in the legs or lungs-even when they have a history of such clots, a new study suggests. The findings, published in the journal Menopause, add to evidence that skin patches can be a safer alternative to pills for women who want to treat their bothersome menopause symptoms with hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Medical care and Americans NEW YORK: Traveling to foreign countries for medical procedures, treatments or surgeriesso-called ‘medical tourism’-may not be as cost saving or as popular among US residents as previously thought, suggests a new survey of companies promoting the practice. The international travel of wealthy patients from poor countries to prestigious US medical centers is well known. In recent years, however, another trend has emerged: people living in wealthy countries traveling afar to find lower cost care, or even procedures that may not be available domestically.
Smoking tied to miscarriage risk NEW YORK: A new study may offer women one more reason to kick the smoking habit before becoming pregnant: a potentially reduced risk of early miscarriage. In a study of nearly 1,300 Japanese women with a past pregnanc y, researchers found that those who smoked heavily early in pregnancy were more than twice as likely as non-smokers to suffer a miscarriage in the first trimester.
Canada warnings on cigarettes OTTAWA: Canada will slap larger and enhanced warning labels on cigarette packs, the government announced on Thursday, in a step critics said was unduly delayed because of lobbying by tobacco companies. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the new warnings will cover three-quarters of the front and back of cigarette packs, up from one-half. —Reuters
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Natural disasters killed 295,000 in 2010
RIO DE JANEIRO: More than 200 people were killed and about 4,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes following massive floods and mudslides that crippled the southern region of Brazil early 2010. —AP File
Obama signs health bill for 9/11 responders KAILUA, Hawaii: US President Barack Obama signed into law on Sunday a bill to compensate emergency responders sickened in the rubble of the September 11 attacks, the White House said. “We will never forget the selfless courage demonstrated by the firefighters, police officers, and first responders who risked their lives to save others,” Obama said after the signing. “I believe this is a critical step for those who continue to bear the physical scars of those attacks.” The president is currently in Hawaii, where he spent the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, and was expected back in Washington on Tuesday. The US Congress on December 22 approved a 10-year, four-billiondollar program to help police, firefighters and other workers made ill by the fumes left in the wake of the worst terrorist attack on US soil.
The Senate and then the House of Representatives passed the measure after a last-minute compromise ended a Republican blockade in one of the final acts of the Democrat-led US Congress. The measure offers health care and compensation to firefighters, police officers and other first responders who rushed to the scene of the World Trade Center attack in 2001. Some of the emergency workers who survived the collapse of the Twin Towers have become sick and even died from cancer and other ailments in the nine years since, purportedly from toxic substances contained in the wreckage. Almost 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001 when planes hijacked by Al-Qaeda suicide operatives were flown into the World Trade Center, as well as the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. —AFP
FRANKFURT: The Haiti earthquake and floods in Pakistan and China helped make 2010 an exceptional year for natural disasters, killing 295,000 and costing $130 billion, the world’s top reinsurer said yesterday. “The high number of weather-related natural catastrophes and record temperatures both globally and in different regions of the world provide further indications of advancing climate change,” said Munich Re in a report. The last time so many people died in natural disasters was in 1983, when 300,000 people died, mainly due to famine in Ethiopia, spokesman Gerd Henghuber told AFP. A total of 950 natural disasters were recorded last year, making 2010 the second worst year since 1980. The average number of events over the past 10 years was 785. And in terms of economic cost, insured losses amounted to approximately $37 billion, putting 2010 among the six most loss-intensive years for the insurance industry since 1980. “2010 showed the major risks we have
to cope with. There were a number of severe earthquakes. The hurricane season was also eventful,” said Torsten Jeworrek, the firm’s chief executive. The earthquake in Haiti in January was by far the worst disaster in terms of human cost, killing 222,570 people, Munich Re said. Some 56,000 died in a combination of heatwaves and forest fires in Russia, it said. The other most destructive events were an earthquake in China in April that killed 2,700, floods in Pakistan between July and September that cost 1,760 lives and August floods in China in which 1,470 perished. Although the Haiti earthquake resulted in human devastation on a “staggering scale”, it cost the industry very little as very few people in the poverty-stricken country can afford insurance. However, an earthquake in Chile that hit over a month later was the world’s most expensive natural disaster last year, with overall losses of $30 billion and insured losses of $ billion. The second most expensive disaster for
the insurance industry was a series of earthquakes that rattled New Zealand, which cost an estimated $3.3 billion but caused no deaths. The global distribution of natural catastrophes in 2010 was however “comparable to that of previous years,” Munich Re said. Most disasters, 365, occurred on the American continent, with 310 in Asia. A total of 120 natural disasters were recorded in Europe, 90 in Africa and 65 in Australia and Oceania. In 2009, considered a “benign” year due to the absence of major catastrophes and a less severe than usual hurricane season in the North Atlantic, there were 900 “destructive natural hazard events”, costing some 60 billion dollars. Around 11,000 people lost their lives in natural disasters in 2009, well below the average of 77,000. Last month, another major reinsurer, Swiss Re, reported that man-made and natural disasters generated worldwide economic losses of $222 billion in 2010, more than three times the figure for the previous year. —AFP
Arkansas bird carcasses being sent for testing BEEBE, Arkansas: Wildlife experts are trying to solve an apocalyptic-type mystery: Why did nearly 3,000 red-winged blackbirds tumble from the Arkansas sky on New Year’s Eve? The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says laboratories in Arkansas, Georgia and Wisconsin would examine some carcasses starting yesterday. Results could be back in a week. Commission spokesman Keith Stephens says the birds fell in an area about a mile long and a half-mile wide (1 1/2 kilometers long and 800 meters wide). Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe says the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail, or may have been startled by fireworks. It’s not the first time birds have dropped from the Arkansas sky. Lightning killed ducks at Hot Springs in 2001 and hail knocked birds from the sky at Stuttgart in 1973 on the day before hunting season. —AP
Dead birds sit in a bucket after being collected by workers with United States Environmental Services LLC in Beebe, Ark. Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011. Wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to die and fall from the sky over the Arkansas town. —AP
Too much work is bad for you BERLIN: What many people long suspected has now been found to be true: too much work is bad for you. People who work more hours a week suffer disproportionately from sleep disturbances, back pain and heart problems, according to the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which has conducted multiple studies on the topic. About one in four workers who puts in more than 60 hours a week complains about sleeping problems, reports the group citing two Germany-wide studies. On the other hand, only one in five full-time workers putting in between 35 and 44 hours a week has similar complaints. Meanwhile, only one in 10 of people working part-time (less than 19 hours a week) suffered from any of the health problems. Shift work or flexible hours that meant working some evenings increased the frequency of health complaints, since this doesn’t just affect health, but one’s social life. The more hours workers put in, the more they claim that the job is bad for their family and hard to juggle with free time. Flexible scheduling only mildly allays some of these negative effects, said the group. —DPA
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Diamond exhibition opens in Kuwait U
nder auspices and with attendance of Sheikh Duaij Al-Khalifa, actress Amal Abbas and Wafa Al-Shemmari also known as the Mother Kind Hearts on people with special needs, the Masa (Diamond) exhibition was recently opened at Selayel Al-Jahra Hotel and Resort with participation of various Kuwaiti companies.
Aware center holds diwaniya presentation
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oday diwaniya presentation will be given on “Women Rights in Islam,” for the first time by Iman Martin at 7pm at the Aware center in South Surra area. The theme of the presentation will explain that Islam considers a woman to be equal to a man as a human being and as his partner in this life. Islam does not blame Eve alone for the mistake she and Adam committed. In the Islamic Law, a woman is an independent, unique individual in her own right. Women have the right to education, employment and protection, etc. The presentation will also touches questions like how were women treated in Arabia before, the advent of Prophet Muhammad amd how Prophet Muhammad treated women.
Arpan Kuwait annual general meeting
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rpan Kuwait will hold its annual general meeting on Friday January 7, 2010. The meeting will elect officebearers for the year 2011. The AGM will take place at Sevadarshan Hall, Salmiya from 10:30am onwards. All the members are requested to attend the meeting.
After 27 years in Kuwait going home to India “I am going home to relax and take care of my place in my home town of Mangalore” By Wendy Clayton KUWAIT: Dioge Fernandez looks back on his life after spending the last 27 years working for the Austrian Embassy in Kuwait. December 31, 2010 was the last day of Fernandez’s working life and he is looking forward to living out the rest of his life in India. Fernandez began his work life at the Indian Navy based in Bombay, India. A chance of a lifetime saw him working for the Kuwait Embassy in Iran where Fernandez spent five years in Tehran, Iran working for the Kuwait Embassy before the then Ambassador was ordered to close the embassy due to the rising tensions within Iran. “At the time the Sultan was in charge in Iran but the civil tensions and ensuing war meant we had to leave,” Fernandez remembers. There were four Indians working for the Kuwait embassy at the time but only two were selected to return to Kuwait with the Kuwaiti Ambassador. Fernandez was one of the lucky ones to be selected. “The Ambassador had planned to take me with him to his next posting in Libya but the Libyan government refused. They said that all local positions in embassies had to be filled with Libyan nationals,” said Fernandez. This then meant Fernandez needed to find
work here in Kuwait or else go back home to India. A chance meeting with an Austrian business woman, saw Fernandez being introduced to the Austrian Ambassador. A letter of reference from the Kuwaiti Ambassador helped to secure Fernandez with a three month trial period at the Austrian Embassy as an office boy. “The Austrian Ambassador said he would give me a chance because of my previous embassy work and my defense background,” said Fernandez. “I only needed to wait two months though before I was fully accepted and received the authority from the Austrian Government in Vienna”. Fernandez was soon moved into the visa section where he trained as a Visa Officer and learned to answer the telephone properly. “This new position was wonderful” reflects Fernandez. “I was very happy. I had a good job, my family was here and life was good in Kuwait”. Although it was a step-up from office boy, Fernandez says it was high pressure in the beginning learning a new job. “If I made a mistake I had to fix it up,” said Fernandez. “At the time we had many visas to process because it was the time before the Schengen States and there were fewer restrictions on the applications”. Looking back over his time in Kuwait Fernandez says he remembers not liking Kuwait when he first came here. “I enjoyed
being in Iran so much. I missed Iran,” explains Fernandez. “I found the weather in Kuwait very difficult to live in also.” Fernandez explained that Iran was very different to Kuwait. He says the Kuwait Ambassador made all the staff feel like they were part of the Kuwait family. Every Friday the Ambassador would gather all the staff and take them to a special garden were they would spend the day together having a picnic. “When I first came to Kuwait, I thought I have lost my Iran. I was very upset,” said Fernandez. “After I got the job with the Austrian Embassy life changed for the better, though. It has been God’s gift that I have stayed so long in this wonderful country”. Fernandez says the best part of Kuwait for him and his family has been the good life. “I like Kuwait because it has been good money, a good job, and good accommodation,” said Fernandez. “We are so central to everything here. It is a good place for eating out if you don’t want to cook. There is no tension at all”. After going home to India Fernandez plans to take time out and enjoy his retirement. “I am going home to relax and take care of my place in my home town of Mangalore,” said Fernandez. “I have a little bit of land with a house on it and we have some coconut trees. Although I have enjoyed my time here in Kuwait, I am looking forward to going home”.
Austrian Konsul Martin Burker (left) presents Dioge and Lucy Fernandez with a gift of appreciation
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
w h at ’s o n
EMBASSY OF BANGLADESH The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait has taken up an initiative to update the database of Bangladesh nationals residing in the State of Kuwait. For inclusion in the database all the Bangladesh nationals are requested to collect the Registration Form from the Labour Wing of the Embassy. The forms can also be collected sending request to [email protected] e-mail address. The filled-in forms can also be submitted by hand, by email or by fax (number 2491-3204). EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Daíaiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home. The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.uae.gc.ca.
Gust hosts Ambassador of Italy
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he Gulf University for Science and Technology’s (GUST) Humanities and Social Sciences Department welcomed the Italian ambassador in Kuwait, Enrico Granara, at the university on December 29th, to attend a presentation entitled ‘Brothers in Faith’ which reflects the early versus modern Ethiopian migration to Italy and the question of European racism. Dr Matteo Salvadore, assistant professor in the department, gave this presentation and spoke about his research on Ethiopian/Italian relations during
the early - modern period. He began the lecture with an anecdote asking students what was the first thing that came to their minds with regards to the African/European relations. The answer was the slave trade, which Salvadore emphasized on by talking about Ethiopian history, European history, what discrimination is and if Europeans laid the foundation to what is perceived as prejudice and racism. Throughout the lecture a series of paintings were displayed to give the audience a visual to the words he spoke, showing
Ethiopian migration and its impact on Europe. Salvadore shared his view as discrimination is as old as mankind. The presentation revolved around the relations of two different groups and how they were united by a common faith. He also gave an explanation as to how discrimination can be found in every society and it was not Europeans who created the idea of prejudice. He, however, noted that Europeans certainly developed a fixation
with color in the early-modern era. The presentation had a great turnout of students and fellow colleagues. Following the presentation Granara was taken to the grand meeting room for a small reception in his honor with Salvadore and many other faculty members. Robert Cook, Vice President for Academic Affairs was also present to greet the Ambassador. After the reception, the Ambassador was given a grand tour of the contemporary university campus and its notable facilities.
EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India has further revamped and improved its Legal Advice Clinic at the Indian Workers Welfare Center, and made the free service available to Indian nationals on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday every week. Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the Legal Advice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indian lawyers would be available on Sundays. Following are the free welfare services provided at the Indian Workers Welfare Center located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline for Domestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no. 25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides information and advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers (Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, and other issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk: It registers labor complaints and provides grievance redressal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters: For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) Legal Advice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals (Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Monday to Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and (vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (Visa No. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1 PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No. 20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, Kurd Roundabout, Al-Abraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday. Embassy of India would like to inform that application forms for passport/visa services and labor contracts that are on its website, www.indembkwt.org, have been upgraded to include the facility for online data entry. Affidavit forms on the embassy website have had this facility since May 6, 2009. EMBASSY OF THE US The United States Department of State announces the increase in various visa fees to ensure sufficient resources to cover the increasing cost of processing nonimmigrant visas (NIVs). US law requires the Department to recover the cost of processing non-immigrant visas through the collection of the application fees. The increased fees are to take effect June 4, 2010. Under the new rule, applicants for all visas that are not petition-based, including B1/B2 tourist and business visitor visas and all student and exchange-visitor visas, will pay a fee of $140. Applicants for petition-based visas will pay an application fee of $150, as each of the below categories requires a review of extensive documentation and a more in-depth interview of the applicant than other categories, such as tourists. These categories include: H visa for temporary workers and trainees L visa for intra-company transferees O visa for aliens with extraordinary ability P visa for athletes, artists and entertainers Q visa for international cultural exchange visitors R visa for religious occupations The application fee for K visas for fiance(e)s of US citizens will be $350. The fee for E visas for treaty-traders and treatyinvestors will be $390. EMBASSY OF GERMANY The German Embassy wishes to extend and update its information base on German business in Kuwait. Therefore all Kuwaiti companies representing German companies are invited to register at the embassy. For more information on the registration, please visit www.kuwait.diplo.de. EMBASSY OF UK The Consular Section will be closed on the same dates above. The opening hours of the Visa Application Centre are from 0930 to 1630 hrs. Application forms remain available online from the UKBA www.ukvisas.gov.uk: or from the Visa Application Centreís website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com. And also, from the UK Visa Application Centre located at: 4W First Floor, Al Banwan Building, (Burgan Bank Branch Office Building) Al Qibla area, opposite Central Bank of Kuwait Kuwait City For any further inquiries, please contact the Visa Application Centre: Website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com ; E-mail: [email protected]; Telephone: 22971170. For information On the British Embassy services, visit the British Embassy website: www.ukinkuwait.fco.gov.uk
Awami League Kuwait Observes Victory Day of Bangladesh
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n Thursday, Dec 23 Awami League Kuwait Chapter held a function to commemorate the great Victory Day of Bangladesh which took place on Dec 16, 1971. After a 9 months long blood spattered war with Pakistan, Bangladeshis achieved their independence. To mark this great day, a speech delivery session along with a colorful cultural event were lined up. A huge number of people attended the program and enjoyed themselves with an extraordinary celebration. The function was presided over by the President of Kuwait Awami League Mohammed Sadeq Hussain while Acting General Secretary Asrak Ali Ferdous conducted the function. The Chief Guest of the function was the Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait Sayed Shahed Reza while his accompanying delegation DA of Bangladesh Embassy Kuwait Brdg Gen Aminul Hasan NDC, PSC, Councilor Nurul Islam, and Nur E Hilali Saifur Rahman, the Labour Secretary K.M. Ali Reza, Advisor of Kuwait A.L. Emadul Hoque Khan, distinguished businessman Shaheed Islam Papul, Vice President of Kuwait A L Fayez Kamal, Shafiqul Alam Shafi, Ataul Gani Mamum. Abdu) Kashem and Abdul Hay Marnun shared the stage as guests of honour. The function started with the recitation of Holy Quran by Muhtasim khan Shuhan followed by one minute silence to pay tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and those brave freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives during the 1971 independence war. Flower garland was put on the portrait of Bangabandhu by the Chief Guest His Excellency the Ambassador Sayed Shahed Reza accompanied with the Vice President of A L. A number of political activists from different sister concern organizations of ALK delivered their speech on this auspicious day focusing on great Victory Day and Independence of Bangladesh, General Secretary of Awami Shechashehok League Shamsul Uoque, President of Jatio Sramik
League Mohd Hanif Miah, President of Awami Foundation Rafiqul Islam Bulu. General Secretary of Awami Jube League Harun ur Rashid, Ali Abdul Waheed, Harun ur Rashed, Golan Mowla Babul. Ataul Gani Mamum. Fayez Kamal of Awami League, CEO of Marafi Kuwaitia International
Shaheed Islam Papul and adevisor of ALK Emadul Hoque Khan also graced the event. A large victory cake was cut by chief guest along with President Advisor Emadul Hoque Khan and Shima Islam the secretary of female affaires followed by the concluding speech by the President.
IIS wishes a Happy New Year
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he principal of the Indian International School (IIS) Principal, FM Basheer Ahmed greets every child on this joyous occasion of the beginning of New Year and calls to realize their potential to dream for the stars and walk on the road of excellence. Basheer passes his message as every child is nature’s greatest miracle. Since the beginning of time never has there been another child with his mind
and heart. Every child is different from others. Every child is unique. Every child is the end product of thousands of years of evolution and therefore he is better equipped in both mind and body than all the emperors and wise men who preceded him. Every child is born for a purpose and that purpose is to grow as a mountain, not to shrink as a grain of sand. He passes his wish as, “I confidently believe the New Year 2011 will bring
success, stability and security for the teaching community, society and Gulf Countries in general. I hope this New Year will bring economic development and provide a positive outlook to women for empowering themselves and unfurl reasonable amendments to Civil Service Law and Expatriates Residency Law so that everyone will have a dignified joyous life in the New Year to strengthen our land so as to make the land of opportunities.”
The second episode of a colorful cultural event started with a number of well known singers who played the most popular patriotic songs for the audience conducted by Sadika Yasmin Rachna and assisted by Eng Fayjur Rahman and Rubina.
Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: [email protected] Fax: 24835619 / 20
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Years
TV PROGRAMS
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The Ellen Degeneres Show Good Morning America Alias Treme Cold Case Good Morning America5 Parenthood Law And Order The Ellen Degeneres Show Cold Case Cold Case Law And Order Parenthood Live Good Morning America Alias The Ellen Degeneres Show Law And Order In Plain Sight Lie To Me Alias Treme
ANIMAL PLANET 00:50 Untamed & Uncut 01:45 Tigers Attack 02:40 Dogs 101 03:35 Incredible Journeys with Steve Leonard 04:30 Max’s Big Tracks 05:25 Human Prey 06:20 Untamed & Uncut 07:10 Cats of Claw Hill 07:35 Cats of Claw Hill 08:00 Meerkat Manor 08:25 Planet Wild 08:50 Corwin’s Quest 09:40 Breed All About It 10:10 Project Puppy 10:35 Project Puppy 11:05 Daniel and Our Cats 12:00 Animal Precinct 12:55 Wildlife SOS 13:20 Wildlife SOS 13:50 Animal Cops Houston 14:45 RSPCA: Have You Got What it Takes? 15:10 E-Vets: The Interns 15:40 The Animals’ Guide to Survival 16:30 Breed All About It 17:00 Planet Wild 17:30 Baby Planet 18:25 Animal Crackers 18:50 Animal Crackers 19:20 Incredible Journeys with Steve Leonard 20:15 Escape to Chimp Eden 20:40 Snake Crusader with Bruce George 21:10 Dogs 101
00:30 00:55 01:25 02:10 03:05 03:35 04:05 04:35 04:50 05:10 05:25 05:40 05:55 06:00 06:15 06:35 06:50 07:10 07:20 07:25 07:40 08:00 08:20 08:40 08:50 08:55 09:10 09:30 09:50 10:10
Ideal Keeping Up Appearances The Weakest Link Holby City Eastenders Doctors Keeping Up Appearances Gigglebiz Balamory Forget Me Not Farm Fimbles The Large Family The Adventures Of Spot Gigglebiz Balamory Forget Me Not Farm Fimbles The Large Family The Adventures Of Spot Gigglebiz Balamory Tweenies Fimbles The Large Family The Adventures Of Spot Gigglebiz Balamory Tweenies Fimbles The Large Family
10:20 10:25 10:40 11:10 11:40 12:25 13:20 13:50 14:20 15:10 15:40 16:10 16:40 17:30 18:15 18:45 19:15 20:10 21:00 21:45 22:15 22:45 23:40 Fallen
The Adventures Of Spot Gigglebiz Keeping Up Appearances Keeping Up Appearances The Weakest Link Bleak House Doctors Eastenders Holby City Keeping Up Appearances Keeping Up Appearances Keeping Up Appearances Bleak House The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Holby City Bleak House The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Holby City Spanish Flu - The Forgotten
00:05 00:30 01:20 01:45 02:35 03:00 04:30 05:15 06:05 06:55 07:20 08:55 09:40 10:30 11:15 12:55 13:45 14:30 15:15 16:05 16:55 17:20 18:05 18:50 19:40 21:20 21:45 22:10 22:55
New Scandinavian Cooking Celebrity Masterchef 10 Years Younger Come Dine With Me Design Rules Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt New Scandinavian Cooking Celebrity Masterchef 10 Years Younger Daily Cooks Challenge Cash In The Attic 10 Years Younger Cash In The Attic Antiques Roadshow Design Rules Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt New Scandinavian Cooking Celebrity Masterchef Design Rules Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt New Scandinavian Cooking Come Dine With Me Design Rules Design Rules Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt
01:30 Frenzy-PG15 03:30 No One Knows About Persian Cats-PG15 05:30 End Of The Spear-PG15 07:30 Shadows In The Sun-PG15 09:00 A Shine Of Rainbows-PG15 11:00 Georgia O’Keeffe-PG15 13:00 Sins Of The Mother-PG15 15:00 Barton Fink-PG15 17:00 The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond-PG15 19:00 The Firm-PG15 21:00 Cabaret-PG15 23:15 The Unloved-18
00:40 01:35 02:30 03:25 04:20 05:15 05:40 06:05 07:00 07:50 08:45 09:10 09:40 10:30 11:25 12:20 13:15 14:10 15:05 16:00
Overhaulin’ Dirty Jobs Man Vs Fish With Matt Watson Discovery Project Earth Mythbusters How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? Dirty Jobs Discovery Project Earth American Chopper How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? Mythbusters Cake Boss Overhaulin’ Ultimate Survival Mythbusters Miami Ink Dirty Jobs Overhaulin’
16:55 Ultimate Survival 17:50 Mythbusters 18:45 Cake Boss 19:10 Border Security 19:40 The Gadget Show 20:05 How Do They Do It? 20:35 How Machines Work 21:00 Monsters Inside Me 21:55 La Ink 22:50 Police Women Of Maricopa County 23:45 Serial Killers
00:40 01:30 01:55 02:45 03:35 04:25 04:50 05:45 06:40 07:10 08:00 08:55 09:50 10:45 11:10 11:40 12:30 12:55 13:45 14:15 15:05 15:55 16:20 17:10 18:00 18:25 18:50 19:40 20:30 21:20
Mega World The Gadget Show The Future Of... World’s Biggest Airliner Superships How Does That Work? Scrapheap Challenge Robocar Weird Connections Nextworld Da Vinci’s Machines Ten Ways World’s Biggest Airliner Stunt Junkies The Gadget Show Nextworld How Does That Work? Da Vinci’s Machines Weird Connections World’s Biggest Airliner Superships Savage Planet The Future Of... Mega World The Gadget Show How Does That Work? Brainiac Ecopolis Discovery Project Earth How It’s Made
00:00 Jonas 00:20 Wizards Of Waverly Place 00:45 Suite Life On Deck 01:10 Fairly Odd Parents 01:35 Replacements 02:00 Phineas & Ferb 02:25 Little Einsteins 02:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Y1 (Cema) 03:10 Handy Manny 03:35 Lazytown 04:00 Jonas 04:25 Suite Life On Deck 04:50 Wizards Of Waverly Place 05:15 Hannah Montana 05:40 Sonny With A Chance 06:00 Higglytown Heroes 06:10 My Friends Tigger And Pooh 06:35 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:20 Lazytown 07:45 Lazytown 08:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Y1 (Cema) 08:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Y1 (Cema) 09:00 Handy Manny 09:25 Special Agent Oso 09:45 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 10:10 Fairly Odd Parents 10:35 Hannah Montana 11:00 I Got A Rocket 11:25 Wizards Of Waverly Place 11:45 Phineas & Ferb 12:10 Suite Life On Deck 12:35 Replacements 12:55 American Dragon 13:20 Kim Possible 13:40 Famous Five 14:05 Fairly Odd Parents 14:30 Phineas & Ferb 14:55 Replacements 15:15 I Got A Rocket 15:40 Wizards Of Waverly Place 16:00 Hannah Montana 16:25 Sonny With A Chance 16:45 Fairly Odd Parents 17:10 Phineas & Ferb 17:35 Suite Life On Deck
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Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana The Replacements Splits Jonas Suite Life On Deck Sonny With A Chance Hannah Montana Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Replacements Splits American Dragon Kim Possible Famous Five Fairly Odd Parents Phineas & Ferb
00:15 Kendra 00:40 The Soup 01:05 Chelsea Lately 01:30 Ths 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties 05:30 Streets Of Hollywood 06:00 15 Most Shocking Political Sex Scandals 07:45 Behind The Scenes 08:10 Behind The Scenes 08:35 E! News 09:25 Giuliana And Bill 09:50 Ths 11:05 Ths 12:00 E! News 12:50 Extreme Close-Up 13:15 Extreme Close-Up 13:40 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 14:05 Kendra 14:30 Ths 15:25 Ths 16:15 Behind The Scenes 16:40 Behind The Scenes 17:10 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 17:35 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 18:00 E! News 18:50 Extreme Close-Up 19:15 Extreme Close-Up 19:40 E!es 20:30 Style Star 20:55 Chelsea’s Big Interview Special 21:45 Then And Now 22:10 E! News
00:00 Throwdown with Bobby Flay 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:00 Chopped 02:00 30 Minute Meals 02:30 Tyler’s Ultimate 03:00 Food Network Challenge 04:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics 04:30 Unwrapped 05:00 Iron Chef America 06:00 Good Eats - Special 06:30 Guy’s Big Bite 07:00 Chopped 08:00 Paula’s Best Dishes 08:25 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 08:50 Guy’s Big Bite 09:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics 09:40 Everyday Italian 10:05 30 Minute Meals 10:30 Tyler’s Ultimate 11:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 11:30 Barefoot Contessa 12:00 Unwrapped 12:30 Paula’s Party 13:30 Good Eats - Special 14:00 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 14:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 15:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics 15:30 Everyday Italian 16:00 30 Minute Meals 16:30 Guy’s Big Bite 17:00 Chopped 18:00 Barefoot Contessa 18:30 Unwrapped 19:00 Paula’s Best Dishes 19:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 20:00 Good Eats - Special 20:30 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 21:00 Iron Chef America 22:00 Barefoot Contessa 22:30 Everyday Italian 23:00 Chopped
00:30 Dream Team Season 9 01:30 Golf Channel - TBA 02:00 Golf Central International 02:30 Golf Channel - TBA 03:00 NHL Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals 04:30 ATP Champions Tour Paris 05:00 NHL Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings 08:00 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Michigan State at Northwestern 10:00 ACC Sunday Night Hoops LSU at Virginia 12:00 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Arizona at Oregon St. 14:00 Golf Central International 14:30 PGA Tour: Year in Review 15:30 FEI Equestrian World 16:00 Figure Skating Stars on Ice 17:00 ACC Sunday Night Hoops Gonzaga at Wake Forest 19:00 NHL Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings 22:00 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Michigan State at Northwestern
Explicit Ills on Show Movies
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Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab A Haunting Serial Killers FBI Case Files Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghost Lab Mystery Diagnosis Forensic Detectives On The Run Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Disappeared FBI Files
13:00 13:50 14:40 15:30 15:55 16:20 17:10 18:00 18:50 19:40 20:30 20:55 21:20 22:10 23:00 Jones 23:50
On The Case With Paula Zahn Undercover Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Disappeared Forensic Detectives On The Run FBI Files Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls On The Case With Paula Zahn Undercover True Crime With Aphrodite
01:45 03:19 04:55 06:35 08:00 09:35 13:15 14:40 16:05 17:25 18:50 20:30 22:00 23:35
The January Man War Party Heat(Cannon) L.A. Bounty Cornbread, Earl And Me Breakheart Pass It Runs In The Family Haunted Honeymoon Movers And Shakers Sibling Rivalry Nothing Personal Sleepover Three Ninjas Comes A Horseman
Solved
00:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 01:30 Passport To Wine 02:30 Meet The Natives 03:30 Treks In A Wild World 04:00 Banged Up Abroad 04:30 Passport To Wine 05:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 05:30 Passport To Wine 06:30 Meet The Natives 07:30 The Frankincense Trail 08:30 62 Days At Sea 09:30 Banged Up Abroad 10:00 Treks In A Wild World 10:30 Bondi Rescue 11:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 11:30 Passport To Wine 12:30 Long Way Down 13:30 Lonely Planet- Roads Less Travelled 14:30 Don’t Tell My Mother 15:30 Banged Up Abroad 16:00 Treks In A Wild World 16:30 Bondi Rescue 17:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 17:30 Passport To Wine 18:30 Long Way Down 19:30 Lonely Planet- Roads Less Travelled 20:30 Don’t Tell My Mother 21:30 Banged Up Abroad 22:00 Treks In A Wild World 22:30 Bondi Rescue 23:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 23:30 Passport To Wine
00:00 Two And A Half Men 00:30 Til Death 01:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 01:30 The Colbert Report Global Edition 02:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 03:00 Comedy Central Presents 03:30 Comedy Central Presents 04:00 South Park 04:30 How To Make It In America 05:00 How To Make It In America 05:30 Malcolm In The Middle 06:00 Hope And Faith 06:30 The Drew Carey Show 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Til Death 08:30 Malcolm In The Middle 09:00 Hope And Faith 09:30 The Drew Carey Show 10:00 Rita Rocks 10:30 Billable Hours 11:00 Malcolm In The Middle 11:30 Hope And Faith 12:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 13:00 Til Death 13:30 Malcolm In The Middle 14:00 Hope And Faith 14:30 Two And A Half Men 15:00 Billable Hours 15:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 16:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 16:30 The Drew Carey Show 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Til Death 18:30 Rita Rocks 19:00 My Boys 19:30 Two And A Half Men 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The Cleveland Show 22:30 Party Down
01:00 Deuce Bigalow: Male GigoloPG15 03:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks : The Squeakquel-FAM 05:00 Hellboy II: The Golden ArmyPG15 07:00 Up-FAM 09:00 The Princess And The Frog-FAM 11:00 Con Air-PG15 13:00 The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor-PG 15:00 America’s Sweethearts-PG15 17:00 The Princess And The Frog-FAM 19:00 Yes Man-PG15 21:00 Forgetting Sarah Marshall-18
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Coronation Street Lost The Event Desperate Housewives Lost The Office White Collar The Ellen Degeneres Show Coronation Street The Event Desperate Housewives
Obsessed on Super Movies 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:30
The Ellen Degeneres Show The Office Coronation Street White Collar Lost Special The Event Desperate Housewives The Office Coronation Street The Ellen Degeneres Show White Collar Psych Royal Pains Parenthood Lost The Office The Ellen Degeneres Show
00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:15 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:15 22:00
Road Trip: Beer Pong-18 Explicit Ills-PG15 The Elder Son-PG15 Max And Co.-PG School Of Rock-PG15 The Express-PG Cairo Time-PG15 Morning Light-PG School Of Rock-PG15 The Vintner’s Luck-PG15 Sleuth-18 Avatar-PG
01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00
The Faculty-18 Battle In Seattle-18 Alien Raiders-18 Bionicle: The Legend RebornHeaven’s Fall-PG15 Mean Machine-18 The Least Of These-PG15 Heaven’s Fall-PG15 Jesse Stone: No Remorse-PG15 The Bleeding-18 Timeline-PG15 Into The Blue 2: The Reef-18
00:00 The Matchmaker-PG15 02:00 The Last Shot-PG15 04:00 Madagascar 2-PG 06:00 Will You Merry Me-PG15 08:00 Meet The Applegates-PG15 10:00 Adventures Of Power-PG15 12:00 Mad About Mambo-PG15 14:00 The Good Girl-PG15 16:00 The Matchmaker-PG15 18:00 Working Girl-18 20:00 Marci X-PG15 22:00 How To Lose Friends And Alienate People-PG15
00:00 Babar: King Of The ElephantsFAM 02:00 The Pagemaster-PG 04:00 Pocahontas II: Winter Of The Rocky Mount-FAM 06:00 Christopher Columbus-PG 08:00 Scruff In Midsummer Night’s Dream-FAM 10:00 Pocahontas II: Winter Of The Rocky Mount-FAM 12:00 Alexander The Great-FAM 14:00 The Pagemaster-PG 16:00 The Jungle Book I-FAM 18:00 Hotel For Dogs-FAM 20:00 Ghatothkach - Master Of Magic 22:00 Alexander The Great-FAM
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C.S.I. Miami Desperate Housewives The Martha Stewart Show Heroes The View What’s Good For You
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Emmerdale Coronation Street Heroes The Martha Stewart Show What’s Good For You Heroes The View Emmerdale Coronation Street The Martha Stewart Show C.S.I. Miami Desperate Housewives What’s Good For You The View Emmerdale Coronation Street Justified Defying Gravity Heroes The View What’s Good For You
00:00 Aviva Premiership 02:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 02:30 Live Ashes Test Cricket 09:30 Goals On Monday 10:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 11:00 PDC Darts World Championship 15:00 Ashes Test Cricket 22:00 PDC Darts World Championship
02:00 Goals On Monday 03:00 Scottish Premier League 05:00 Aviva Premiership 07:00 Goals On Monday 08:00 PDC Darts World Championship 12:00 Extreme Sailing 12:30 Pool World Cup 13:30 Aviva Premiership 15:30 Goals On Monday 16:30 Premier League Darts 20:30 Brazil League Highlights 21:00 Futbol Mundial 21:30 Scottish Premier League 23:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights
00:00 UFC 125 03:00 FIA GT1 World Championship 04:30 Full Throttle 05:00 UFC Unleashed 06:00 UFC Unleashed 07:00 WWE NXT 08:00 WWE SmackDown 10:00 Full Throttle 10:30 FIA GT1 World Championship 12:00 WWE Bottom Line 13:00 Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 14:00 Red Bull X-Fighters 15:00 UAE National Race Day 16:00 FIA GT1 World Championship 17:30 Air Sports World 18:00 WWE Bottom Line 19:00 WWE SmackDown 21:00 UFC 125
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Growing Op-PG15 Obsessed-PG15 Car Babes-PG15 Charlotte Gray-PG15 Obsessed-PG15 Racing For Time-PG15 Operating Instructions-PG15 Disco-PG A Number-PG15 Balibo-PG15 The Stepfather-PG15 Vicky Cristina Barcelona-PG15
00:55 Kings Go Forth-PG 02:45 The Charge Of The Light Brigade-PG 05:00 Screening Room, The Animation Special-PG 05:30 Get Carter-18 07:25 Screening Room, The - Asian Pacific...-PG 08:00 It Happened At The World’s FairFAM 09:45 The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn-FAM 11:30 Ben-Hur-PG 14:55 Kings Go Forth-PG 16:45 Boys’Town-PG 18:15 Elvis On Tour-PG 19:45 Key Largo-PG 21:25 American Friends-PG 23:00 Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid-
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MonsterQuest Fleeing the Reich Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Sliced Sliced Deep Sea Salvage Tales of the Gun Man Moment Machine MonsterQuest Fleeing the Reich Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Sliced Sliced Deep Sea Salvage Tales of the Gun Man Moment Machine MonsterQuest Fleeing the Reich Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Sliced Sliced Deep Sea Salvage Tales of the Gun Man Moment Machine MonsterQuest Fleeing the Reich Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Ax Men 2 Prehistoric Mega Storms Life After People
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Mel B: It’s A Scary World Jerseylicious Fashion Avenue Fashion Avenue How Do I Look? Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? Homes With Style Area Clean House Big Boutique Big Boutique Homes With Style Homes With Style Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? How Do I Look? Fashion Avenue Fashion Avenue Big Boutique Big Boutique Clean House Clean House Comes Clean Fashion Avenue Jerseylicious Ruby Mel B: It’s A Scary World My Celebrity Home Fashion Avenue Fashion Avenue Clean House
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Classifieds TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
Years
Mind games Give your brain a workout with these fun and challenging titles. — Vickie An
‘SUPER SCRIBBLENAUTS’ By Debbie Alfaro, Oscar Mancia, Dinora Monroy and Edita Quinteros (age 10), Newsday
Q: Can you deQ: What was it like to We recently scribe yourself? be in the movie met actress and A: I’m goofy, “Akeelah and the singer Keke Palmer, Bee”? outgoing, I’m A: It was aweloud sometimes, 17, who stars in the I’m sensitive, Nickelodeon TV series some! Some people I’m passionate, started noticing me. “True Jackson, VP.” I’m loving, I The movie had such Read on to find out could sometimes a great message, and what she had be a little bit of a I felt proud to be part know-it-all. of something like that. to say.
Q: How does it feel to be on television? A: I never like to watch myself; I get embarrassed when I watch myself. But it feels kind of cool. Q: And performing in front of other people? A: Exciting. It gets my energy pumping. It makes me want to do very well because I know people are watching me.
Q: How did it feel to win a small role in the film “Barbershop 2: Back in Business” at age 9? A: It was really fun. It was my first thing ever so I just felt really privileged, like, “Oh my gosh I get to do a movie with Ice Cube and Queen Latifah!”
Q: How do you make your per-
formances so remarkable that you earned the NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Actress? (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awards the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts.) A: I don’t know really how I did that. I worked really hard. I think I put my heart into it and I took one scene at a time. I think that’s the best thing you can do, put your all in every scene ...
Q: You must be very busy. Do
you ever get spare time to do what you like? A: Every now and then I get time to hang out with my friends, stuff like that. When I get a break I go to the movies, talk on the phone or go to the Santa Monica pier. Just normal teenage stuff.
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‘NAT GEO CHALLENGE! WILD LIFE’ Now families can explore the desert, trek through the jungle and venture to the depths of the ocean, all from the comfort of their living rooms. “Nat Geo Challenge! Wild Life” is the first video game from the National Geographic brand, known for its stunning nature photography and unmatched film footage. The game’s breathtaking visuals — which include more than 2,000 wildlife images and 90 minutes of video — come from the company’s award-winning library. Players can show what they know about the planet with 15 different interactive trivia challenges. Who’s the nature expert in your family? Take the challenge today and find out! For Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, $29.95, Rated E
Q: Does being a teenage star hinder your education? What about college? A: I definitely have plans to go to college. I just graduated. It’s really hard to do both acting and school, but my mom and dad made sure I got the best teacher I could, and I thank them for that. But I think maybe in a year or so I’ll go to a junior college for two years and then I’ll go to a four year (school).
FOR SALE Toyota Corolla 1.8 XLi, model 2005, color golden beige, 81,000 km done, excellent condition, cash price KD 2,350. Contact: 66211779. (C 3004) Mitsubishi Space Wagon,
2004, 107000 km, dual A/C, 7-seater, metallic maroon, in excellent condition, KD 1700 O.N.O, Contact: 99775373. (C 3001) Quality household goods and furniture for sale. Sofa set, baby cot, wardrobes, full size pool table, pots/plants and BBQ set. Tel: 97209669. (C 3005) Toyota Corolla 2006 model, excellent condition. Contact: 99668534. (C 3006) 4-1-2011 Toyota Corolla 1.6, model 2009, color gray, low mileage, excellent condition with CD and sensor, cash price KD 3,650. Contact: 99934965. (C 2939)
CHANGE OF NAME Panutala Emilian Venkateswarlu. holder of Indian Passport E8759241 hereby change my name to Emilian Gonsalues. (C 3003) 4-1-2011
SITUATION WANTED Chartered Accountant having many years of experience in Finance, Accounting, Auditing and presently working in Kuwait as Finance Manager/Controller available for immediate appointment. Contact: [email protected] (C 2948) 4-1-2011
No: 14959
© 2011 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved. TIME FOR KIDS and Timeforkids.com are registered trademarks of Time Inc.
Q: What is your favorite game to play like sports? A: I love double dutch and I love volleyball. I’ve played a little bit of basketball. I’ve played football. I had to do a movie about it so I played some. I play volleyball with my sister and then I played doubledutch. I did a film about that.
MCT ILLUSTRATION, PHOTO COURTESY NICKELODEON
M A RT Y W E S T M A N / M C T
Q: Do you ever dream of having another career? A: Sometimes. This would definitely be my first choice, but if I had to do something else, I would be a doctor. Q: What are your hobbies? A: I read. I try to do my own music on my computer with Logic, but it’s really hard to learn. I’ve tried though, but I’m not that good at it.
Q: We read you like to help people in need of food and clothes. What do you do to help? A: Yes, I definitely do. Whenever I get rid of my clothes I usually give them to Goodwill ... I work with Urban Farming. We go and plant in neighborhoods where many people don’t have enough money to buy vegetables. We plant gardens near their homes so they can go out and get healthy fruits and vegetables to eat. And I’m also involved with the Boys and Girls Club, and an organization called Be Smart. Telling kids it’s OK to be smart ... to let the light shine and not be afraid to use their minds.
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A N S W E R S : S N O W, S C A R F, C A R R OT, C O A L , H AT
Q: Are you like your character True Jackson? A: We are similar sometimes. True is a perfectionist like I am. She’s also an optimist. That’s a quality I have. She’s hard working. I’d like to say I was hard-working. She also has qualities I don’t have. She gets a lot of things done in a quicker time than I can. But all around she’s a great character. I’m not as great.
Q: Do you have any siblings and do you get time to spend with your family? A: Yes, I do have an older sister. She’s 21 and then a little brother and sister that are 9 — I spend as much time as I can with them ... And my older sister, she’s actually in college right now. But when she comes (home) we talk — I talk to her about everything that’s going on with her in school and boys and stuff like that.
Maxwell, the puzzlesolving hero of Scribblenauts, is back for another super-sized adventure. The mission of “Super Scribblenauts” is the same: Type in a word for an object that you think will help Maxwell solve the challenge and win the Starite. What’s the “super” part? Now, you can boost your creativity with the use of adjectives. With a bank of more than 10,000 adjectives available in the “Super Scribblenauts” dictionary, you can change the size, color and behaviors of any object. Watch as the angry purple panda or the polka-dotted golden moose you summoned springs to life onscreen. It’s the perfect way to let your imagination run wild. For Nintendo DS, $29.99, Rated E10+
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FLIGHT SCHEDULE FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161 In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines JZR GFA ETH WAN THY UAE DHX QTR FDB ETD JZR JZR KAC AFR JZR KAC BAW KAC JZR FCX KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE KAC QTR ABY ETD GFA IRA IRA JZR MHK JZR KAC MSR KAC FDB UAL SVA KAC KAC JZR QTR KAC
Flt 267 211 620 306 772 853 370 138 67 305 529 207 544 6700 503 416 157 412 555 201 206 53 302 332 676 855 286 132 123 301 213 605 619 121 711 165 382 610 672 57 982 500 562 284 257 134 746
Arrival Flights on Tuesday 4/1/2011 Route BEIRUT BAHRAIN ADDIS ABABA CAIRO ISTANBUL DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI ASSIUT DAMASCUS CAIRO PARIS LUXOR JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR LONDON MANILA / BANGKOK ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN ISLAMABAD DUBAI MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM DUBAI DUBAI CHITTAGONG DOHA SHARJAH ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ISFAHAN LAR BAHRAIN BAGHDAD / NAJAF DUBAI DELHI CAIRO DUBAI DUBAI WASHINGTON DC DULLES JEDDAH AMMAN DHAKA BEIRUT DOHA ABU DHABI / DAMMAM
Time 0:45 1:40 1:45 1:50 2:15 2:35 2:45 2:45 3:05 3:10 3:45 3:50 4:40 4:45 5:20 6:25 6:40 6:45 7:00 7:00 7:40 7:45 7:55 8:05 8:10 8:30 8:35 9:05 9:05 9:30 9:35 9:45 10:35 11:10 11:15 11:20 12:45 12:55 13:25 13:50 14:10 14:30 14:40 14:55 15:00 15:00 15:05
KAC WAN MLR ETD UAE GFA WAN SVA JZR JZR RJA JZR ABY ALK JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC WAN SIA VOS FDB OMA WAN JAI SYR KAC DHX GFA WAN MEA QTR UAE KLM KAC IAC JZR MSR JZR UAL DLH PIA
546 304 403 303 857 215 402 510 213 777 800 239 127 227 177 542 618 786 614 674 166 104 774 552 642 458 93 61 647 612 572 341 512 372 217 104 402 136 859 443 502 981 157 612 135 981 636 205
ALEXANDRIA CAIRO COLOMBO / DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN BEIRUT RIYADH DEIREZZOR JEDDAH AMMAN AMMAN SHARJAH COLOMBO / DUBAI DUBAI CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI PARIS / ROME LONDON RIYADH DAMASCUS VIENNA SINGAPORE / ABU DHABI KANDAHAR / DUBAI DUBAI MUSCAT ISTANBUL MUMBAI DAMASCUS TEHRAN BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT DOHA DUBAI AMSTERDAM BEIRUT CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD / HYDERABAD DOHA CAIRO BAHRAIN BAHRAIN FRANKFURT LAHORE / PESHAWER
15:30 16:20 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:10 18:15 18:50 18:55 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:40 19:45 19:50 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:15 20:20 20:55 21:00 21:15 21:15 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:40 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:45 22:55 23:00 23:35 23:55
Airlines TAR UAL IAC PIA BBC DLH ETH KAC THY KAC DHX FDB UAE ETD QTR AFR JZR RJA GFA JZR FDB WAN KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY WAN QTR ETD GFA IRA WAN IRA KAC JZR JZR KAC JZR MHK KAC
Flt 328 981 576 240 44 637 620 283 773 381 371 68 854 306 139 6700 164 803 212 120 54 641 545 156 256 671 745 561 101 856 124 303 133 302 214 604 611 618 165 212 776 541 238 712 785
Arrival Flights on Tuesday 4/1/2011 Route DUBAI / TUNIS WASHINGTON DC DULLES GOA / CHENNAI SIALKOT DHAKA FRANKFURT BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA DHAKA ISTANBUL DELHI BAHRAIN DUBAI DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI / HONG KONG DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI VIENNA ALEXANDRIA LONDON BEIRUT DUBAI DAMMAM / ABU DHABI AMMAN LONDON / NEW YORK DUBAI SHARJAH CAIRO DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ISFAHAN ISTANBUL LAR ROME / PARIS DEIREZZOR JEDDAH CAIRO AMMAN NAJAF / BAGHDAD JEDDAH
Time 0:25 0:45 0:50 1:10 1:15 1:30 2:30 2:40 3:15 3:30 3:45 3:45 3:50 4:00 4:55 6:30 6:55 7:00 7:15 8:20 8:25 8:40 8:50 8:55 9:00 9:00 9:05 9:20 9:35 9:40 9:45 9:45 10:00 10:20 10:20 10:45 11:30 11:35 11:45 11:45 12:00 12:00 12:10 12:30 13:40
Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)
JZR MSR KAC FDB KAC WAN UAL KAC SVA KAC KAC KAC KAC QTR MLR ETD VOS GFA UAE RJA ABY JZR SVA ALK WAN WAN JZR KAC FDB KAC JZR KAC OMA JAI SYR SIA KAC DHX KAC GFA MEA JZR FCX QTR KLM KAC UAE JZR JZR MSR KAC
176 611 551 58 673 401 982 617 501 501 613 773 511 135 404 304 82 216 858 801 128 156 511 228 305 305 134 361 62 351 528 343 648 571 342 457 543 373 677 218 403 206 102 137 443 301 860 502 554 613 411
DUBAI CAIRO DAMASCUS DUBAI DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA JEDDAH BEIRUT BAHRAIN RIYADH TEHRAN DOHA DUBAI / COLOMBO ABU DHABI BAGHDAD BAHRAIN DUBAI AMMAN SHARJAH DOHA RIYADH DUBAI / COLOMBO CAIRO CAIRO BAHRAIN COLOMBO DUBAI COCHIN ASSIUT CHENNAI MUSCAT MUMBAI DAMASCUS ABU DHABI / SINGAPORE CAIRO BAHRAIN DUBAI / MUSCAT BAHRAIN BEIRUT DAMASCUS BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN / AMSTERDAM MUMBAI DUBAI LUXOR ALEXANDRIA CAIRO BANGKOK / MANILA
13:50 13:55 14:20 14:35 15:10 15:15 15:25 15:35 15:45 16:15 16:20 16:25 16:25 16:30 17:40 17:40 18:00 18:05 18:10 18:15 18:25 18:30 18:35 19:10 19:15 19:15 20:05 20:20 20:50 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:20 22:20 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:45 23:45 23:55
34
s ta rs Calvin
CROSSWORD 189
Aries (March 21-April 19) Shift a negative to a positive by changing your surroundings or your mind. Group meetings can be confusing if they are not organized—you could help with the organizing. This would be a good time to make notes and write up your synopsis of the meeting as well as your thoughts in order to bring about an improvement to group gatherings. Remember that you may not be able to change things overnight; just keep your notes and all the facts together. Today you will have an opportunity to use your great wit. Your practical vision and common sense will create recognition in your career. Community needs keep coming to your attention and you may find an interest in involving yourself more and more with a new library or some useful citizen’s project.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) You love to visit a music store or a bookstore during your noon breaks—today is no exception. The friends you have made during your visit to these places are quite enjoyable. You talk over philosophy, religion and all that is mystical and you enjoy playing or listening to music. Your value system and the way you care for others may shoot up a notch to a higher plane because of these days. A hot topic in the workplace may have your blood pressure up this afternoon—wait, give someone else a chance; this is their issue. You stay with your own itinerary this afternoon. At home this evening, you may not want to go out again—a friend’s phone conversation may surprise you and you could forget about the time as the conversations are quite fun.
Pooch Cafe ACROSS 1. The cry made by sheep. 4. United States writer of poems and plays about racial conflict (born in 1934). 10. A lipoprotein that transports cholesterol in the blood. 13. A Kwa language spoken by the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria. 14. A port city in southwestern Iran. 15. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma. 16. A flexible container with a single opening. 17. Someone who pays rent to use land or a building or a car that is owned by someone else. 18. An adult male person (as opposed to a woman). 19. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens. 21. The outermost (and toughest) of the 3 meninges. 23. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar. 25. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products. 26. The branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively. 27. New Zealand conifer. 30. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light. 32. A rounded thickly curled hairdo. 35. A republic in southeastern Europe on the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula. 39. The wife of a sheik. 41. (computer science) A coding system that incorporates extra parity bits in order to detect errors. 42. Imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy. 43. An associate degree in applied science. 46. A vast treeless plain in the arctic regions between the ice cap and the tree line. 53. An associate degree in nursing. 55. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that is highly corrosionresistant. 56. Loose-fitting nightclothes worn for sleeping or lounging. 58. A sock with a separation for the big toe. 62. A small cake leavened with yeast. 63. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum. 64. Wood of a sumac. 66. (British) Your grandmother. 67. The arch of bone beneath the eye that forms the prominence of the cheek. 68. A partly sheltered anchorage. 69. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) In-depth discussions and probing conversations find you at your mental best. Others are able to follow your lead and much can be accomplished in your work world. Your mind could be quite clear and natural for giving instructions, helping or teaching. A love for the unusual may show itself in the way you express yourself—you are most original. If you are speaking to a crowd today, you will be expressive and meaningful. Because of your enthusiasm, people listening in the back of the room are already figuring out how to put their own ideas to work; perhaps, like you did. A volunteer group that you are usually involved with may want you to join them once again this year. It is through helping others that we gain much satisfaction.
Non Sequitur
Cancer (June 21-July 22) Learn how to handle interruptions and avoid overwork that leads to stress. Enthusiastic people like yourself will accept the stress as a challenge to show off your problem-solving abilities. What if you are in a position to have no outside interruptions? You may be competing with your own time schedule. You cannot avoid stress but you can handle it. Your success this month will be large in measure. This day may be a bit taxing. After a meal, the pressures seem to ease a great deal. It would be a good idea to walk outside for a short time of exercise. Tonight brings clear communication with your loved ones. Forgiveness and understanding arouse deep feelings and a healing is possible where needed. Family scenes at your house are positive these days.
Leo (July 23-August 22) Be aware that although this month can be rather slow, the rest of the year will be faster than most of us can keep up with easily. Fight the urge to try new things just now. Make this a time of planning instead of action. Take advantage of this time to plan your goals for work, play, health regimen, finances and do not leave out romance! Get rid of anything that has outlived its purpose and can no longer give you pleasure or serve you. This is a way to clear a space for new and wonderful growth coming your way soon. Figuring out ways to make your nest egg grow can be a preoccupation with family members this evening. There are some good choices; vote on one and get prepared to follow through with the decision. Romance is in the air.
Zits
DOWN 1. An imaginary elephant that appears in a series of French books for children. 2. Jordan’s port. 3. The month following July and preceding September. 4. Nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate. 5. In bed. 6. A cyst on the underside of the tongue. 7. The sixth month of the civil year. 8. Valuable fiber plant of East Indies now widespread in cultivation. 9. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neutralizing. 10. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism. 11. Any of numerous low-growing cushion-forming plants of the genus Draba having rosette-forming leaves and terminal racemes of small flowers with scapose or leafy stems. 12. An island of central Hawaii. 20. A river in southeastern Australia that flows generally northwest to join the Darling River. 22. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America. 24. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group. 28. A landlocked desert republic in north-central Africa. 29. A state in midwestern United States. 31. Used of a single unit or thing. 33. The federal agency that insures residential mortgages. 34. Shattered or torn up or torn apart violently as by e.g. wind or lightning or explosive. 36. A chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints). 37. Being nine more than ninety. 38. A radioactive element of the actinide series. 40. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine. 44. A mountain peak in the Andes in Bolivia (21,391 feet high). 45. A metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables. 47. A city in central New York. 48. A silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group. 49. A metric unit of length equal to 1000 meters (or 0.621371 miles). 50. A woody climbing usually tropical plant. 51. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables. 52. (Hindu) A manner of sitting (as in the practice of Yoga). 54. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery. 57. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 59. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels. 60. A change in the electrical properties of the skin in response to stress or anxiety. 61. A Nilotic language. 65. A soft silver-white ductile metallic element (liquid at normal temperatures).
Virgo (August 23-September 22) After a long holiday, you know that many people could stay with the celebration spirit, so as you get on the freeway this week, be observant and try not to prove a point with your vehicle; you will be safe. Your creative insights can enrich your business affairs today and tomorrow. You may decide a new direction or addition to your business expertise is needed at this time. This may call for added education. There are good energies around whatever you set out to accomplish. A good investment at this time will bring many profits later. An advisor may be necessary with this regard. Having had many adventures in life a friend may call for your advice. This may involve travel. Whatever the scenario, you will be able to help make your friend’s life better.
Libra (September 23-October 22)
Mother Goose and Grimm
This morning is full of wonderful sights. It may be the weather or it may be a new life form. Whatever the case, a situation that is easy to observe and absorb goes with your spirit throughout the day. When a friend or work partner is not as energetic to learn or accomplish new things, you just seem to understand that they are not as excited about life as you are energized. A situation today will uncover and explain a previous misunderstanding. You may be reminded in subtle ways, thank goodness, that it is good to be humble. You will find that an after-work gathering of friends is quite enjoyable. Sharing interests, experiences and ideas boosts the spirit for all participants. Unconventional romantic and social connections are likely this evening.
Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Finding the truth of a matter will help you put a closure on some long-term issue. Gulp down your pride now and a healing will be created. Your mental focus is good and ideas will come easily. Others appreciate your suggestions and enjoy complimenting you—perhaps, because you seem so modest. If there are decisions that need to be made, today is a good day to make wise choices. Trust in yourself. There is a tendency to rush things, but you will be happier with the results if you can pace yourself. The evening could be devoted to your hobby as your hand and eye coordination are in fine shape. Keep up with these fun activities as you are more able to be successful in your work when you mind is occasionally otherwise occupied.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) There is a need to do your own thing today, and if allowed to do so, you will make a great deal of progress. You will have insight into your path of progress. Perhaps you will be able to ease up on the pressure you have put yourself through lately. You will soon be paying a debt from last year and clearing away old paperwork as well. Old business that was not finished at the end of last year can be completed. New ways to communicate will make themselves clear; conversations and interactions go well. A dialogue with an older person may take place this afternoon and lessons are learned. New insight is coming to help you in caring for your health. This may take the form of a new book by a new author. Good luck surrounds you today.
Yesterday’s Solution
Aquarius (January 20- February 18)
Yesterday’s Solution To
INTERNATIONAL CALLS Kuwait Qatar Abu Dhabi Dubai Raas Al Khayma Al-Shareqa Muscat Jordan Bahrain Riyadh Makkah - Jeddah Cairo Alexandria Beirut Damascus Allepo
00965 00974 009712 009714 009717 009716 00968 009626 00973 009661 009662 00202 00203 009611 0096311 0096321
Tunisia Rabat Washington New York Paris London Madrid Zurich Geneva Monaco Rome Bangkok Hong Kong Pakistan Taiwan Bonn
0021610 002127 001212 001718 00331 004471 00341 00411 004122 0033 00396 00662 00852 0092 00886 0049228
Wonderful ideas could benefit you and others if you could write them down as they come to you. New technologies are difficult to learn, but you will discover new ways to learn. Whether you are in your own business or working for someone else—you will make great progress today. You have an opportunity to give advice to young people today. When you answer questions, you are good at making people feel comfortable and the little humor you add endears you to many. People remember your concerns and want to help you with your special project. Tonight you may try to encourage creativeness among the members of your household. Do not become too frustrated if an older person has a change of mind after getting you deeply involved. holiday break.
You turn a negative to a positive quickly today. Find a blank sheet of paper, start writing out what you are grateful for and keep this list with you during the day. Before commenting on how you feel, look at where the truth has stopped and emotions have begun. Stay with the truth—listen to music or get busy with some project. Of course, if you are in a workplace, consider a walk at the noon break or visit a pet store, music store or library—any place that will help you to move into a positive awareness. You could come up with new discoveries, creative ideas or inventions when you return to the workplace. You feel positive and creative this evening. Your passions are high and an intimate time with your loved one can be sensational.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
Word Sleuth Solution
Conversations with co-workers are fun, but may be short today. There is a lot of work set out for you, but you are happy there is plenty of work. Harmonious times with the family are available at home this afternoon. Everyone goes to his or her own corner to do homework, read, work on a hobby or tend to responsibilities. There may be a block meeting tonight in your neighborhood that will help to eventually eliminate some community problems this year. Be sure to attend this meeting because you will be able to offer a different slant to a subject matter. Did you ever think of the kitchen as a place of awareness? You and a loved enjoy uninterrupted conversations in the kitchen this evening. Perhaps new scheduling is in order for the family to run more smoothly.
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4732263
Fintas
THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988 AIRLINES Kuwait Airways Wataniya Airways Jazeera Airways Jet Airways Qatar Airways KLM Air Slovakia Olympic Airways Royal Jordanian Reservation British Airways Air France Emirates Air India Sri Lanka Airlines Egypt Air Swiss Air Saudia Middle East Airlines Lufthansa PIA Alitalia Balkan Airlines Bangladesh Airlines Czech Airlines 22417901/2433141 Indian Airlines Oman Air Turkish Airlines
PHARMACIES ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE Ahmadi
PHARMACY Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan
ADDRESS Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd
PHONE 23915883 23715414 23726558
Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop
22436184 24833967
New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan
Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11
24734000 24881201 24726638
Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis
Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St
25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264
Hawally
3900322
EMERGENCY 112
Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea Dr. Masoma Habeeb Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy Dr. Mohsen Abel Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly
25622444 25752222 25321171 25739999 25757700 25732223 25732223
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT): Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners: Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists: Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Plastic Surgeons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272 Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700
Dr. Abdel Quttainah
Dr. Sohail Qamar Dr. Snaa Maaroof Dr. Pradip Gujare Dr. Zacharias Mathew
Family Doctor: Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581
22621099 25713514 23713100 24334282
(1) Ear, Nose and Throat Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan
25722291 22666288
Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290
(2) Plastic Surgeon 22635047 22613623/0
Gynaecologists & Obstetricians: Dr Adrian Harbe 23729596/23729581 Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 8321 Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539 Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406 Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272 Dr. Salem soso 22618787 General Surgeons:
Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher
Dr. Deyaa Shehab Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees
22610044 25327148
Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939 Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300 Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004 Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515 Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446 Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3 Paediatricians: Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300 Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444
Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)
25655535 Dentists:
Endocrinologist: Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman
25339330
25658888
Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD:
Internist, Chest & Heart: DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Tel: 25339667 Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555 Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123 Psychologists/Psychotherapists Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688 [email protected] www.soorcenter.com Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677 William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677
22433377 24379900 177 22924455 22423888 22425747 22434940 22420002/9 22418064/5/6 22433388 22425635 22430224 22425566 22438184 22424444 22421578 22421516 22426306 22423073 22422493 22421044 22414427 22416474 22452977/8 22456700 22412284/5 22453820/1
INTERNATIONAL CALLS
22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801
Ext
Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African Republic 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593
Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062 Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231
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lifestyle G o s s i p
Liam Neeson
loves fly fishing
always helps her friends
he ‘Taken’ actor - who has two sons with his late wife Natasha Richardson - has left his partying days in Hollywood behind him and now prefers to spend his spare time on the water, but admits he hasn’t had many opportunities to indulge in his hobby lately. He said: “There’s a lot of nonsense in Hollywood. I’ve been a part of that years ago and gotten the t-shirt. I was even president of the club at one stage. “I love doing the work but then when I’m not working I love my other life which is being with my kids and fly fishing as much as I can. “I haven’t been out since the end of August when I took my kids to Wyoming and we caught a few trout.” Liam is such a fan of fly fishing that he has even taken part in a program about his hobby. He explained: “In America there’s a program called ‘Fly Fishing the World’ and I’ve done about five of them. The last one I did was in New Zealand for about ten days and I brought my best friend. We had two cameras up our noses the entire time but they’re great fun.”
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eira Knightley always helps her friends in crisis. The 25-year-old actress again teamed with her ‘Pride and Prejudice’ co-star Carey Mulligan on their latest movie ‘Never Let Me Go’ and her pal was delighted when she signed up for the film because they get along so well. Carey who split from boyfriend Shia LaBeouf earlier this year- said: “I was so happy when she came on to the film. We met playing sisters and we are like family to each other, so that bond was there to recreate on the film. “Keira is the friend I call when I’m in trouble or suffering from a broken heart. She’ll meet me in the bar with a mojito and be there for me.” Carey also insisted her friend is not as reserved as she is perceived to be. She added: “She reserves herself for the people she cares about but when she comes to my birthday parties - and she’s never missed one since we met - she’s the first to get up and dance and the last to leave.”
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Abba to reform for one-off show bba could reform after more than 30 years apart. Agnetha Faltskog - one fourth of the group alongside AnniFrid Lyngstad, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson - has confirmed she would like to “chat” with her former bandmates about the possibility of doing a one-off show, despite previously hinting she did not want to revisit the past.
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n o s r e And er
talk s d e z a r c d by e i f i r r e t t f le nstalker co a crazed
er lar was fo rrified aft was left te rmer ‘Baywatch’ st erpool Lime n o rs e d iv n fo L amela A r on a train. The man at e young e part in a fronted h g a platform by th in the city taking w. The o n t lo in sh a fter a st lowed theatre ngland, a British Christmas auty along carE , n o ti a old be etting Street st e - a traditional e 43-yearim from g pantomim d male followed th anaged to stop h . A statement m y e unidentifi e train, but police with pepper spra me verbally abua th im c h e in b g s n e in riag halt e ma ritish read: “Th to her by a ticket. B too close Transport Police sked to produce iolent and v a sh from Briti staff when he was the man became ere forced to use d w il sive to ra olice attended an rrested. “Officers - who was playP a la Transport n officer and was ed arrest.” Pame in’ at Liverpool’s st a d assaulted ray as the man resi e version of ‘Alad - was said to be n im o sp d m n re to o n tu L a London cap ep k to ding bac m train to enie in th ing the G atre, and was hea urce on the 8.48p spayed him he Empire T the incident. A so mped on him and was shaken up, by ” n gs. “She f them ju “shake : “A load o by his arms and le ing happened.” id sa n o st ff o Eu yth uling him before an before ha was taken away e h but glad
file she was a young adult. She told Swedish magazine M: “I am uninterested in appearing in newspapers and on television. Many people think that I am striking a pose - that I want to create a sense of shyness. But it’s just not something I want to do. “I overdosed. When I was 15 I became a fulltime singer in a band. At 18 I made my first record. When I was 25, Abba was formed. After Abba I made three solo albums. Maybe I have been productive
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Berry would quit acting for her daughter he Oscar-winning actress - who has a two-year-old daughter Nahla with former boyfriend Gabriel Aubry says her priorities have changed since becoming a mother and she is no longer so focused on her career. Halle said: “Children shift your priorities and now I have a greater purpose for being here. I love making movies but I would give it all up to be with my daughter if I had to because she’s the love of my life. “She’s made me a better person because everything I do and say, everything I want and don’t want, I think first, ‘Will this be best for her?’ “When you have children you get to see things all over again. So I’ve never laughed as hard, I’ve never done more silly things, and I go to great lengths to make her laugh. She’s awakened a childlike side of me. The 44-yearold beauty - who is currently dating Kylie
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Minogue’s former boyfriend, actor Oliver Martinez - also admitted Nahla has also influenced her taste in men. She explained to the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Every choice I make now, and that includes who I choose to spend personal time with as a partner, is not just about me anymore, it’s about what’s best for her.” However the ‘Gothika’ star is happy in her new relationship and revealed things have never been better for her. She said: “I am just a girl who met a boy; a girl who liked a boy; a boy liked the girl and then that’s what happened. “I’ve wanted this for so long and I feel happier than ever before. “I’m happy and fulfilled and I’m in a really good space in my life. I’ve survived many highs and many lows and I think I have it all in perspective now - never get too high and never get too low.”
Arquette checks into rehab avid Arquette has checked himself into rehab. The 39-year-old actor - who has attracted attention with his partying since announcing in October he had separated from wife Courteney Cox Arquette - decided to enter the facility in California on Saturday after a wild New Year’s Eve . A friend said: “He was drinking too much. Once he drank too much, he became somebody he didn’t like.” Another friend added the star is struggling to cope since his marriage broke down and revealed no one is surprised at his decision to seek help. The pal said: “He is in there for drinking and depression, not hard drugs. Rehab was inevitable. He is dealing with a broken heart. He can’t handle all the changes in his life. All his inner demons came out.” Former ‘Friends’ star Courteney - who has a six-yearold daughter, Coco, with David - praised his decision to seek help for his problems. She is quoted by People magazine as saying: “I really admire David and his choice to take charge and better his life. I love and support him.” David recently admitted he was finding the split traumatic and had turned to alcohol to cope. He said: “I’ve been drinking a lot. But I don’t want to go into all that, because it’s really a personal, traumatic thing. “Everybody’s worried and concerned about me. When I drink, I become a maniac. “This is the hardest thing anyone has to go through. You wake up and the reality hits you.”
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The 60-year-old Swede said: “I feel it would be fun to meet, chat about the old days and perhaps perform together. “We would not get together again for a tour like the Rolling Stones and some other old bands do. But I think we would all consider a one-off reunion, maybe for a good cause.” Agnetha who has made three solo albums since splitting with the ‘Waterloo’ hitmakers added she was “uninterested” in the idea of any further fame because of how high-pro-
enough.” In December, it was claimed the band - who rose to fame on the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 - would perform at the royal wedding of Prince William and his fiance Kate Middleton on April 29. Bookmakers Ladbrokes put odds of 1/2 the Swedish group would perform at least one concert before 2015 and 66/1 they would sing at the wedding.
Barat becomes father arl Barat has become a father for the first time. The 32-year-old musician confirmed on twitter his girlfriend Edie Langley gave birth to a boy named Eli over the festive period. He wrote on his twitter page: “Mehreh Christmas one and all. I am the devastatingly proud father of a boy, who’s name is Eli. X(sic)” The Libertines rocker had formerly predicted he would be spending the holidays with his new baby, who was due on Christmas Day. He said: “How will I spend Christmas? Well, I’m having a baby so I don’t know. Maybe we’ll end up spending it in a manger. Or a maternity ward. “She’s due around Christmas Day. I’ll probably be in a maternity ward, although there’s all kinds of Christmas metaphors you can make. “I’ve got a plethora of wise men on standby.” Discussing his highlights of 2010, Carl added the baby and the reformation of The Libertines with Pete Doherty were peaks of his year. He added: “My personal highlight, I guess my baby. Apart from that, The Libertines reunion. But my baby comes first. “With the
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Libertines, all those years of doubts and potentially falling through the many vortexes and pitfalls of speculation and conjecture regarding the band, their mythology and their actuality, I think it was withdrawn from any negatives and I felt so happy to be at the centre of something so many people were using as a catalyst for such joy.” —Bang Showbiz
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Pete Postlethwaite dead at 64
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File photo shows Lindsay Lohan arrives for a probation violation hearing at Beverly Hills Courthouse in Beverly Hills, Calif.—AP
After rehab release, more uncertainty for Lohan
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indsay Lohan was scheduled to be released from the Betty Ford rehab center in Palm Springs sometime yesterday, only to face an uncertain career and looming legal issues. For months, the actress has been haunted by her inability, or unwillingness, to shake a 3 1/2 year old drunken driving case that resulted in two rehab stints and two trips to jail in 2010 alone. And now she also remains under investigation for alleged misdemeanor battery on a Betty Ford worker and needs to satisfy a criminal judge that she’s been in compliance with her probation terms during her threemonth stint at the Ford center. Still, experts say Lohan has a good shot at recovery. Provided, of course, that she wants it, changes her party girl lifestyle and remains in continued therapy. If a New Year’s Day message posted on her Twitter account is any indication, the “Mean Girls” star seems ready to do just that. “Today is the first day of the rest of my life,” it said. ‘“The future depends on what we do in the present.’ -Mahatma Gandhi... One step at a time...” Her father, Michael Lohan, is expressing confidence as she begins her next chapter. “She has taken the right steps and put the right people back in her life that she had at the best part of her life, to really use it as a springboard,” Lohan said during an interview Monday on CBS television. But he also sounded a familiar alarm, identifying “one imperative key element that is missing.” He said that if his ex-wife Dina Lohan “can’t resolve the differences she believes that we have, it’s going to be a never-ending battle for Lindsay.” —AP
ritish actor Pete Postlethwaite, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role in “In the Name of the Father”, has died aged 64 following a lengthy illness, a friend announced yesterday. Journalist and friend Andrew Richardson said he died peacefully in hospital in Shropshire, west central England, on Sunday. Postlethwaite had been receiving treatment for cancer. One of Britain’s top character actors, he starred in films such as “The Usual Suspects”, “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”, and was a highly-acclaimed theatre and television performer. Peter William Postlethwaite was born to a working-class Catholic family in the northwest English town of Warrington in February 1946, the youngest of four children. He trained as a teacher but gave it up by the age of 24 to train as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic theatre, taking a job as a sheet metal worker making beer kegs to get by. Honing his skills on stage with Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre, he then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in the mid-1980s, meeting Queen Elizabeth II after a performance of “Taming Of The Shrew”. “My mother always thought that acting was a phase,” he said. “But when she saw me with the Queen, she finally accepted that I was serious about it.” His first film appearance was a minor part in the “The Duellists” (1977), directed by Ridley Scott. However, his leading role as a terrifying father in the 1988 British movie “Distant Voices, Still Lives”-considered by some an overlooked masterpiece brought him wider recognition. He broke into Hollywood, appearing alongside Mel Gibson in “Hamlet” (1990),“Alien 3” (1992) and “The Last of the Mohicans” in the same year. His performance as quiet, devoted parent Giuseppe Conlon in “In the Name of the Father” (1994), was one of his finest and earned him an Oscar nomination. The movie was about the wrongful convictions of the so-called Guildford Four for an Irish Republican Army bomb attack. He went on to appear as the mysterious Kobayashi in “The Usual Suspects” (1995), in the British hit film “Brassed Off” (1996) and director Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” (1996). Postlethwaite appeared in atwo 1997 films Photo from files showing Sophia Loren and Pete Postlethwaite during a photocall for the film directed by Steven Spielberg, “The Lost World: Between Strangers at the 59th International Venice Film Festival, Terrazza del Casino in Lido, Jurassic Park” and “Amistad”. —AFP Venice, Italy.—AFP
‘X Factor’ winner stays top of UK singles chart
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inger Matt Cardle, winner of ITV’s “The X Factor” talent show, notched a third week at the top of the British pop charts on Sunday but fell short of achieving the biggest selling single of 2010. Cardle’s debut single “When We Collide” kept R&B singer Rihanna at No 2 for the third week in a row with “What’s My Name,” featuring Canadian rapper Drake, the Official Charts Company said. But Rihanna was the featured artist on the biggest selling single of the year, Eminem’s “Love The Way You Lie,” which sold 854,000 copies in Britain during 2010. “When We Collide” followed with 815,000 copies, ahead of Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are (Amazing)” with 766,000. Cardle, 27, a former painter and decorator, performed “When We Collide” during the X Factor final. It is a renamed version of the song “Many of Horror” by the Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro. The Black Eyed Peas stayed at No 3 on the week’s singles chart with “The Time (Dirty Bit),” while British singer Ellie Goulding moved up one place to No 4 with her version of Elton John’s “Your Song.” In the album chart, Rihanna’s “Loud” overtook Take That’s “Progress”-the year’s biggest release-to claim the No1 spot. British rapper Plan B’s “The Defamation Of Strickland Banks” soared 18 places to No 3. “Progress” sold 1.8 million copies last year, well ahead of Michael Buble’s “Crazy Love” with 1.2 million and Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” with 1.1 million.—Reuters
In this photo suplied by Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary, Brad Pitt, front second from right, and Angelina Jolie, front fifth from right, with their children and owners and staff of the Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary where Pitt and Jolie spent Christmas with their six children.—AP
Jolie, Pitt donate $2 million to African wildlife
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ngelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are donating $2 million to the Namibian sanctuary where they spent Christmas with their kids.The donation to the Naankuse Lodge and Wildlife Sanctuary was made through the Jolie-Pitt Foundation in the name of their daughter Shiloh, who was b o r n i n N a m i b i a . I n a s t a te m e n t re l e a s e d ye s te rd ay, Angelina said “We want her to be very involved and grow up with the understanding of her country of birth.”
Zsa Zsa Gabor to have part of leg amputated
File photo shows Zsa Zsa Gabor responds to a question during a news conference at her home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles.—AP
“Avatar” and “The Blind Side.” The weak performance brought the curtain down on a disappointing year for Hollywood, when higher prices for 3D movies failed to offset a decline in attendance. The number of tickets sold in 2010 slid about 5.4 percent from 2009, according to box office analysts at Hollywood.com. It marked the biggest percentage drop since 2005 when attendance tumbled 8.1 percent. Overall ticket sales were flat at about $10.6 billion, marking the first time since 2008 that sales failed to improve upon the previous year, Hollywood.com said. Studios charged moviegoers an extra few dollars to see films in 3D ranging from the hit “Alice in Wonderland” to the bomb “Piranha.” But fans and critics carped that the picture quality for some 3D movies did not justify the premium pricing, while parents faced an even steeper tab for a family outing. All three of the 3D movies in the weekend top 10 — “Tron: Legacy,” “Yogi Bear” and Disney’s Rapunzel cartoon “Tangled”- were aimed at families, although only “Tangled” is a big hit with sales to date of $168 million.—Reuters
Fockers, True Grit lead soft new year box office
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sa Zsa Gabor was hospitalized Sunday to undergo surgery to have part of her right leg amputated because gangrene was setting in, a representative said. Doctors examined a lesion on Gabor’s leg that had gone from just over an inch to about a foot and was growing gangrenous, publicist John Blanchette said. “They’re going to have to amputate part of her leg,” Blanchette said. “They said if they didn’t, she could lose her life.” He said the amputation would likely be below the knee, Gabor was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and had been prepared for surgery Sunday night, Blanchette said. Her husband Prince Frederic von Anhalt was with her. The 93year-old former actress broke her hip and had replacement surgery in July, and has been hospitalized several times since for swelling in her legs and blood clots throughout her body. She was in critical condition and asked for a priest to read her last rites during a hospital visit in August, but recovered and returned home. Gabor has used a wheelchair since she was partially paralyzed in a 2002 car accident, and had a stroke in 2005. Gabor retreated from the spotlight after the accident. She liked staying home and watching soap operas, game shows and old movies, von Anhalt told reporters in July 2010. She detested having her picture taken by the papparazi while she was in her wheelchair. “She wants people to remember her as she was years ago,” he said. A Hungarian-born sex symbol of the 1950s and 1960s, Gabor had a brief and unremarkable film career, appearing in films ranging from “Moulin Rouge” in 1952 to “Queen of Outer Space” in 1958, and had no regular television role like her sister Eva had on “Green Acres.” Her primary role was herself-appearing on TV specials and game shows, as a guest on several television series, and in real-life dramas like her slapping of a Beverly Hills policeman in 1989 that led to a brief jail term.—AP
A n g e l i n a s a i d t h e ow n e r s o f t h e s a n c t u a r y a re o l d friends. “We continue to be impressed by their hard work and dedication to the people and conser vation of the land and wildlife of Namibia,” she said. The family spent Christmas together at the lodge, where staff say the children helped to feed and care for orphaned baby baboons a n d f oxe s a n d s a w a l e o p a r d r e l e a s e d b a c k i n t o t h e wild.—AP
he commercially underwhelming comedy “Little Fockers” narrowly held its lead at the North American box office during the holiday weekend, as Hollywood’s prolonged slump spilled over into the new year. According to studio estimates issued Sunday, “Little Fockers” earned $26.3 million in the three days beginning Dec 31, followed by “True Grit” with $24.5 million and “Tron: Legacy” with $18.3 million. The movies, all either sequels or remakes, were unchanged in rank from last weekend. “Little Fockers,” the third entry in the dueling in-laws franchise starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, has earned $103.2 million after 12 days. Its predecessor, “Meet the Fockers,” released exactly six years earlier, had pulled in almost $163 million after the same period. The Jeff Bridges Western remake “True Grit,” one of the few hits of the holiday season, has earned $86.8 million after 12 days. But with a $38 million budget, the Coen brothers’ drama cost about one-third of “Little Fockers” and is expected to hold up well as awards season plays out. Internationally, “Little Fockers” earned $22.5 million, taking its total to $72 million. It ranked No 3 overseas behind the domestic dud “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Tron: Legacy,” which each earned about $24 million over the weekend. Overall sales in North America fell for the eighth consecutive weekend compared with the year-ago period, when business In this film publicity image released by Universal Pictures, Robert De Niro, left, and Daisy Tahan are shown in a scene from “Little Fockers”.—AP was driven by such hits as
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
lifestyle T r a v e l
Lover’s Beach is located on the Sea of Cortez side of Land’s End at Cabo San Lucas.—MCT
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By Luaine Lee
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hile the rest of Mexico is in turmoil, the good times keep on rollin’ at Cabo San Lucas. Landing at the tourist destination at the very southern tip of Baja California, it seems like you’re in a parallel world. Here’s an Applebee’s, a downtown mall, a Home Depot and pristine
The famous arch at the southern tip of Baja California at Cabo San Lucas.
beaches as far as you can see. With only 4 percent unemployment, Cabo is safe compared to much of the rest of the country. And there are myriads of recreational activities, from snorkeling with the dolphins to zip lining over the foamy waves of the Sea of Cortez, but there also are unexplored areas to visit.
By Hugo Martin
Highlights could be a jaunt to the quaint town of Todos Saltos, about 45 miles from Cabo and the location of the Eagles’ song “Hotel California.” Or, even better, take a back-country trip down rough river beds and dirt roads that are frequented by burros, cows, goats, chipmunks, snakes, iguanas, horses and exotic birds like the peregrine, Mexican hawk and eagle. One such trail-the old road to La Pazpasses the tiny village of La Calenderia, the home of 75 people who enjoy electricity only twice a day-two hours in the morning and two hours at night. The neighborhood was offered a full-time connection but refused, reportedly arguing that it would seduce the children into watching television all day. In this town sits an immaculate little church, profuse plumeria trees and friendly residents. If you take one of these side trips you’ll need a sturdy crossover utility vehicle like the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport or the KIA Sportage to make it through the sand traps and Mars-like terrain. Of the 110 species of cactus on the peninsula, you’ll easily spot the elephant, barrel and nopal cactus, the honey Manzanita, used for grilling, and the giant fig with its massive roots. Cabo is famous for its party times. And you can do that until you drop from exhaustion. The “in” places to go include the Pink Kitty, Mandala, Baja Jonkie, Cabo Wabo (owned by rocker Sammy Hagar), Passion Club at the ME Cabo hotel on Medano Beach, the Office, known for its daytime beach parties, and Squid Roe. Most of these clubs don’t solicit a cover charge. The places
in a life-or-death battle. The Kong attraction will be one stop on the park’s back lot studio tour ride. During a recent preview of the technology, a dirty, battle-scarred Kong stared menacingly out from two 180-footlong by 40-foot-tall screens that wrap around the trams that will carry visitors. In another scene, a 35-foot-tall T. rex steps over the trams, turns to the audience and bares its massive teeth. “You are really going to be immersed in every part of the show,” Universal Studios
start rocking around 11 pm. There’s great Mexican food here, especially seafood. Not only is Cabo a popular sport fishing venue, the fish served at local restaurants is superb. For Mexican fare try the mediumpriced La Fonda. For fine dining there’s La Frida, and a local favorite is Mariscos Mazatlan for an inexpensive evening out. There are dozens of great golf courses (not for the beginner) that stretch along the emerald coastline. One of the favorites is Palmilla at the Palmilla Resort, 25 minutes from Cabo. (800) 637-2226. Another less rugged trek is the trip north on Highway 1 to Buena Vista, where the sea views are beautiful and the beaches are vacant. This road (which serves the airport) is a toll road, 28 pesos per car, and along this route you’ll cross over the Tropic of Cancer. Hotels cluster along the coastline, the closer to the southern tip of Baja (known as Land’s End) the better. For top service and accommodations try the ME Cabo, right on the sea with a fabulous view of the famous granitic arch and rugged outcrops that define Land’s End. Prices run from $190 to $1,800, depending on the season ([email protected]). The Costa Costa Azul runs $175 to $245, the Westin Resort & Spa starts at $165. A trip to the rocky formations is recommended. Accessible by water taxi or small boats, the bay side is fine for swimming, but the water is too rough to negotiate on the Pacific side.—MCT Barrell cactus grows on the back road out of Cabo San Lucas.
show producer Valerie Johnson-Redrow said during the preview for employees and advertising sponsors last week. The new digital Kong represents the lastest trend in theme park attractions: the increased use of movie magic to thrill and entertain park visitors, including 3-D effects, holograms and pyrotechnics. The new Kong replaces a seventon, 30-foot-tall mechanical ape that was built in 1986 and considered for many years to be one of the most complex animatronic figures in the world. The old Kong was also an icon,
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fter nearly 19 months away from the spotlight, a new King Kongmore grizzled and, definitely, ferocious-is preparing to return to Universal Studios Hollywood. Since the old animatronic Kong was destroyed in a fire on the theme park’s back lot, Hollywood’s top visual effects wizards have been tinkering away in a giant hangar in Playa Vista to create a new, more realistic ape to terrify visitors who take the park’s signature back lot studio tour. Inside the humongous drab-green building, Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson has led a team of film and theme park ride experts in creating a 3-D version of the hairy ape to replace the Kong that died in the June 2008 fire. The new Kong attraction, described by Universal Studios as the largest 3-D exhibit in the world, will debut this summer at the height of tourist season. If the new technology works as designed, park visitors will not only see Kong in three dimensions but will smell his banana breadth, feel the gust of wind as he jumps over the guests and sense the ground quake when the ape engages a Tyrannosaurus rex
eep sea year: m fishing: Fish a arlin, sa vailable ilfi w t www.p ahoo, shark. P sh, dorado, ye his time of icantes icante S ll ow-fin t po p www.m una, inervas rtfishing.com ortfishing, .com. ; Minerv a’s Baja Tours a Tackle, n Baja in d excursions A : www.b ction, www.ba Baja Bora, ww w ajaoutb ja ack.com inaction.com .bajabora.com ; Baja O ; . utback, Curren cy: App roximat ely 12 p esos to the doll ar.
(From Left) Jamie Glastein, Jenn DeCrescenzo and Sheri Bain wear 3D glasses during a short tour of The King Kong ride setup inside a hangar for testing in Playa Vista, California. — MCT
used by Universal Studios in television commercials and print ads to draw visitors. It is unclear if the loss of the attraction hurt attendance at the park because the economic recession that took hold in 2008 cut theme park attendance nationwide. Within months of the fire, executives began forming plans to rebuild and improve the attraction. Park officials quickly agreed that film technology had advanced much faster than robotics, and so decided Kong would return in digital form. Although they declined to discuss the price tag for the 3-D production, theme park officials said the cost will be more than six times the price of rebuilding the destroyed mechanical Kong. “After the 2008 fire, we knew he had to bring him back to the back lot studio tour, but in a way that has never been experienced before,” said Universal Studios Hollywood President Larry Kurzweil. But the concept of a 3-D King Kong was born long before the fire killed off the animatronic ape. After Jackson completed the 2005 Academy Award-winning film “King Kong” for Universal Pictures, some of his visual effects experts converted scenes from the movie into a 3-D visual format. “We saw it and we said we wish we had done the whole movie in 3-D,” said Joe Letteri, the visual effects supervisor for the film. Since then Jackson and his team of visual effects experts at Weta Digital have honed the 3-D technology on this year’s Golden Globewinning film “Avatar.” Many of the technological advances developed for “Avatar” will be used in the Kong attraction, Letteri said. “It’s going to feel like ‘Avatar’ but it will be happening all around you,” he said. Last year, park officials announced the
partnership with Jackson to create the attraction, formally titled “King Kong 360 3D, created by Peter Jackson.” The new ape will resemble the Kong from the 2005 film, right down to the broken canine tooth and the scars over its right eye. Other creatures and scenes from the movie, including caves, giant bats and dinosaurs from Skull Island will also appear on the four-stor y-tall screens. When the attraction is complete, guests on the studio tour will board a tram that will enter a 200-foot-long soundstage, said Johnson-Redrow. Guests must don 3-D glasses for the 2 {-minute attraction. Inside the building, the tram will stop over a “tram-mover” system, powered by massive air bags that will lift, shake and drop the tram, giving guests the feeling of being jolted during the battle between Kong and the T. rex, she said. The 180-footlong screens will curve around the tram so the 3-D images seem to surround the viewers. A system of fans, sprayers and other devices installed in the building will spew park visitors with air, water and odors to bring the images to life, she said. Jackson, Letteri and others have been putting the final touches on the attraction in the same 281,000-square-foot hangar in Playa Vista where aviation legend Howard Hughes built the 200-ton plane known as the Spruce Goose in the 1940s. The few test scenes shown during a preview last week were taken from the 2005 “King Kong” movie but Johnson-Redrow said tour-takers will see original material, created by Jackson, specifically for the attraction. “We are going to bring you to Skull Island,” she said. “We are going to bring you right in the middle of a knock-down, drag-out fight with a T-Rex.” — MCT
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
lifestyle T r a v e l
Earl Young remodeled this house with signature stone exterior in Charlevoix. — MCT photos This diminutive 1936 Earl Young one-bedroom cottage is on the property of a larger home called the Panama House along Lake Michigan. By Ellen Creager
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ast summer, 760 lucky people got to walk through eight Earl Young houses. It was the first tour of interiors ever offered. “We could have put through 1,200 at least; the phone was ringing off the hook for tickets,” says David Miles, codirector of the Harsha House Museum, part
Earl Young’s 1928 house, Boulder Manor, is for sale for $1.25 million. of the Charlevoix Historical Society. When tickets ran out, “we had tears. We had people upset. We had people arrive from at least 20 states. We had no idea of the interest nationwide. What I didn’t know is the
emotional attachment to these houses, because a lot of people have been coming to Charlevoix since they were children.” Earl Young tourism is a Charlevoix specialty. The quirky builder erected 30 stone homes in town between 1918 and the 1950s, all so unusual they are often compared to works of art. Some look like mushroom houses, with undulating roofs capping boulder walls. Some are tiny. Some are enormous. Most have incredible detaildoorways of stone, window frames made of boulders, chimneys that look frosted by a giddy cake decorator. The early houses are arts and crafts or chalet style, but the later homes are rounded and organic, part Tolkien, part Keebler elf. And each summer, busloads of tourists drive down Park Avenue, Clinton Street and Boulder Avenue, snapping photos and ringing doorbells. “We are used to it,” says Jennie Silva, who owns 304 Clinton, for which Earl Young did the exterior. “It is a piece of art that is livable. He oddly had a sense of humor.” Karen Stankovich, who owns a Cotswold-style Earl Young house at 14915 Boulder Avenue, lives in the 1929 main house but in summer rents out a diminutive stone house that appears to have sprouted on her property. “It was originally a place for the maid and gardener,” she says. “Now I’m the maid and gardener.” Despite demand, the next Earl Young interiors home tour won’t be at least two or three years from now, says Mona Bergeon, historical society president. “We need to let the owners indicate when they are going to be ready again.” But that does not mean you can’t do your own Earl Young tour, any time of year. Here’s what I’d suggest: ◗ Come off-season. Summer is crowded in Charlevoix, so try winter, when houses are snug against the piles of snow. Virtually every photo ever taken shows Young’s houses with gentle green trees and grass. But in winter, you can see the icicle side of the sturdy northern
Michigan cottages. Stay in an Earl Young house. At least three of them are vacation rentals. ◗ Pick up the free self-guided tour brochure “A Guide to Earl Young Structures in Charlevoix, the Beautiful.” Get it at the Chamber of Commerce office or Harsha House Museum, 103 State Street. Many houses in town have stone exteriors, but only some are genuine Earl Young houses. This shows you which are which. ◗ Visit Harsha House Museum’s Earl Young exhibit. Start with a virtual tour at the museum’s website, www.chxhistory.com. Or book a tour with David Miles (exteriors only, $50 an hour, 231547-0373). ◗ Buy the 2009 book “Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix” by photographer Mike Barton (Boulder Press, $19.95). It has amazing photos and all the stories. Of which there are many. Like all local characters, Earl Young, who died in 1975, was larger than life and often brusque. One local architect, Jack Begrow, 80, knew Young and has done many interior renovations and even additions to Young houses, which tended to have irrationally tiny kitchens, closets and bedrooms. Young’s appeal endures because “he had a feeling for the little cottages,” Begrow says. The houses, which Begrow calls “early Mother Goose,” are happy and serene, “and a little goofy,” he says. Begrow gives some credit to Young’s wife, who was an artist, for helping her husband make his ideas a reality. Did Young mind Begrow doing remodeling work on the houses? No, because “he figured I had his spirit,” he says, and he was meticulous in not disturbing the exterior originality. Although many people come to Charlevoix believing they have seen other Young houses around the country, it’s not true. Young built every one of his houses in ◗
Charlevoix except for one in Alma. People who describe elfin houses in Carmel-bythe-Sea, Calif, for example, aren’t seeing Earl Young design. To people in Charlevoix, the houses are pieces of art-and you have to come here to see them. “People ask if the homeowners mind tourists coming by, but I say, if you buy an Earl Young house, it
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round. Castle Farms, a 1918 castle/mansion just outside town, used for weddings and gatherings, offers self-guided tours year round (www.castlefarms.com, 231237-0884). — MCT
Charlevoix, Michigan, is known for its “mushroom houses,” designed by Earl Young, but this lovely house, built in 1948 for gasoline company president William Sucher, is on a larger scale. The house recently was featured in Martha Stewart Living magazine. —MCT comes with the territory,” says Miles. “It’s an astonishing legacy for one man to have left our city.”
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Other attractions: The Charlevoix Lighthouse was repainted its original red in 2009 (from white) and now is a stand-out photo op year-
Plenty of people have seen summer photographs of Charlevoix, Michigan’s most famous Earl Young house, the “mushroom house”, built 1951-52. But in winter, it looks like a white-capped storybook house.
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| Pete Postlethwaite |
Medicine: What is a patient suffering from, based on the following description - Partial or complete blockage of a blood vessel by a blood clot? | 4 Dec by Kuwait Times - issuu
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
Pakistan PM tries to avert government collapse
40 PAGES
Cambodia ‘magic pythons’ in wedded blissssss
www.kuwaittimes.net
Goldman values Facebook at $50bn
Seahawks shut down Rams to reach playoffs
Pro-govt MPs gloat as PM win looks certain ‘Magic number’ of 25 remains elusive for opposition
Max 23 Min 9 Low Tide 13:03 & 23:14 High Tide 06:31 & 18:01
By B Izzak
US, Germany developing spy satellites OSLO: Germany and the United States are jointly developing secret spy satellites under the guise of a commercial program despite opposition from France, leaked US diplomatic cables showed yesterday. The project, named HiROS, envisions the construction of an undetermined number of high-resolution observation satellites capable of spotting any object on the planet down to a size of just 50 cm, according to classified cables from US embassy in Berlin leaked to WikiLeaks and obtained by Norwegian daily Aftenposten. The satellites will have the capacity to take infrared images at night and to send images much quicker back to earth than the satellites currently in service, the cables showed. Due to the controversial nature of the program, US and German officials have decided it should be presented as a civilian project with environmental aims, run by commercial entities. But in reality it is “under the total control” of the German intelligence service BND and the German aerospace centre DLR, the cables showed. A DLR spokesman yesterday denied HiROS, which stands for High Resolution Optical Satellite System, was a spy satellite. “The purpose of HiRos will be to transmit data for public services, for example for crisis management in natural catastrophes,” Andreas Schuetz told AFP in an email. “HiROS is not a spy satellite nor a secret project,” he said. The US embassy cables quoted in Norwegian by Aftenposten cover a period from Feb 2009 to Feb 2010. They also show that some countries, “especially France,” have tried to stop the project by every means possible. Continued on Page 14
KUWAIT: Opposition and pro-government MPs yesterday traded statements just a day before a crucial vote which the prime minister looks certain to survive, as a number of lawmakers started to speak about the aftermath of the grilling. Pro-government MPs appeared jubilant, with Adnan Al-Mutawwa challenging the opposition lawmakers to carry out their promise to resign if they fail to oust the prime minister. Opposition MPs meanwhile refused to accept that the narrow margin of survival is a victory for the government, with MP Mohammad Hayef calling on Prime Minister HH Sheikh Nasser Mohammad Al-Ahmad AlSabah to resign. Meanwhile, MP Adel AlSaraawi warned the government against utilizing upcoming appointments in the oil sector as a way of repaying political supporters. As of late yesterday, the numbers of supporters and opponents of the prime minister remained almost unchanged with 21 MPs set to vote against the premier and 25 with him. Two MPs Hassan Jowhar and Khaled Al-Sultan - remain Continued on Page 14
KUWAIT: A pro-government gathering was held yesterday in Yarmouk at the residence of Eneza tribal chief Sheikh Mislet Zibin Al-Hazzal (inset), who declared his total support to the government and the Al-Sabah ruling family. — Photos by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Egypt on high alert ahead of Coptic Xmas CAIRO: Egypt was on high alert yesterday ahead of Coptic Christmas in the wake of a New Year’s Day church bombing as investigators hunted the perpetrators of the attack which cost 21 lives. Police cancelled leave for senior officers and tightened surveillance of airports and ports to prevent suspects from leaving the country, as new checkpoints were set up across the nation. Security was also to be beefed up at churches for Christmas which Copts celebrate on January 7, security officials said. The clampdown comes amid concerns there may be new protests by Copts following overnight clashes at Cairo’s St. Mark’s Cathedral - headquarters of Coptic leader Pope Shenouda III - during which 45 policemen were injured. A health ministry official said 27 other people were also hurt. The protesters pelted with stones a minister who came to visit the pope and also heckled government officials, while other demonstrators blocked four main streets in Cairo before being dispersed. The violence died down yesterday, but witnesses said about 30 protesters prevent-
ed a construction crew from repairing damage at the blast site, saying the blood of the victims should remain to bear testimony to the attack. And about 50 people carrying wooden coffins staged a brief demonstration in central Cairo, where 200 intellectuals, writers and figures from the world of Egyptian cinema also held a protest. They carried banners reading “Egypt, one people” and stamped with the Muslim crescent and Christian cross. Coptic Christmas this year falls on Friday - the weekly Muslim day of prayer and rest and Shenouda said he intended to say mass as usual on Christmas Eve. “Not praying would mean that terrorism has deprived us of celebrating the birth of Christ,” the official Al-Ahram newspaper quoted him as saying. Twenty-one people were killed early on New Year’s Day and 79 wounded when an apparent suicide bomber detonated his payload as hundreds of worshippers were leaving AlQiddissin (The Saints) church in Alexandria after midnight. Continued on Page 14
DOHA: A Qatari woman waves a Saudi Arabia flag as a large Qatari flag flies behind yesterday amid preparations for the Asian Cup football tournament. The Asian Cup will kick off on Jan 7, with Iraq defending the title. — AP (See Page 19)
US approves new trial of stem cells for blindness
TEHRAN: In this July 15, 2010 file photo, Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientist, holds his 7year-old son Amir Hossein as he arrives at the Imam Khomeini airport. — AP
Iran nuke scientist jailed after return DUBAI: An Iranian nuclear scientist who claimed he slipped away from his CIA captors has not been seen publicly since his heroic return to Tehran last year and could be facing an investigation as a possible turncoat, according to an opposition website. The report on the website Iranbriefing.net says that Shahram Amiri is now being held in a Tehran prison, where he allegedly has faced beatings so severe that he had to be hospitalized for a week. The website’s account could not be verified, but it purports to offer the first details on Amiri’s fate since he surfaced in the United States six months ago amid an array of contradictory stories between Tehran and Washington. Amiri’s return to Tehran in July was portrayed by Iranian authorities as a propaganda coup. The nuclear scientist claimed he was kidnapped by American agents in May 2009 while on a pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. Iran’s state media said Amiri had snubbed a fortune in payoffs by his purported CIA captors and then escaped with inside information about America’s covert operations against Tehran. Officials said a TV movie was in the works. US officials, however, say Amiri willingly cooperated and had been paid a total of $5 million by the CIA for “significant” information about Iran’s nuclear program. Amiri turned up in Washington at the Iranian Interest Section at the Pakistan Embassy after a series of baffling videos that presented contradictory stories: one claiming Continued on Page 14
WASHINGTON: US biotech company Advanced Cell Technology said yesterday it was cleared by the government to start its second trial using human embryonic stem cells to treat blindness, this time in older people. The trial will examine the therapy’s ability to safely treat people with a condition known as dr y age-related macular degeneration, the most common form of irreversible vision loss in people over age 60. There is currently no cure for the disease, which affects around 10-15 million Americans and another 10 million people in Europe, the company said. The Food and Drug Administration cleared the Massachusetts-based company in November to begin a similar trial on patients with a less common form of juvenile vision loss, known as Stargardt’s disease. “ACT is now the first company to
WASHINGTON: US biotech company Advanced Cell Technology said yesterday it was cleared by the government to start its second trial using human embryonic stem cells to treat blindness, this time in older people. — AFP receive FDA clearance for two hESC (human embryonic stem cell) trials, and is now a true translational leader in the field of regenerative medicine,” said chief executive Gary Rabin. “It marks a major step forward, not just within the stem cell sector, but, potentially for
modern healthcare techniques.” The company hopes to begin the US clinical trials in the coming months, and intends to seek approval for similar trials in Europe. The US and European market for such a treatment Continued on Page 14
Bibi says Israel never said no to new freeze daily’s “nrg” website quoted JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Netanyahu as telling lawmakMinister Benjamin Netanyahu ers. “In the end the United yesterday said talks to secure a States decided not to take that new settlement freeze ground path, rightly in my opinion,” he to a halt when the United States added. stopped pressing for the ban, Haaretz daily’s website quotnot because Israel rejected it. ed Netanyahu as saying that he Israeli radio and news sites told US President Barack quoted him as telling parliaObama he would ask his cabiment’s Foreign Affairs and net to approve a three-month Defence Committee that Benjamin extension. “I told Obama that I Washington initially asked Israel Netanyahu am prepared to go with this to to extend a 10-month building freeze which expired in September. “The the cabinet and that I will be able to truth is that we were prepared to do this enforce the move, but then I received the but contrary to what was reported Israel surprising phone call from the Continued on Page 14 did not refuse to extend the freeze,” Maariv
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
LOCAL KD 9 million collected in donations
KUWAIT: His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah receiving His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah at Seif Palace yesterday.
Consumer confidence in Kuwait records a drop 42%respondents have positive expectations KUWAIT: Consumer confidence is dropping in Kuwait, following last quarter’s increase, according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index (CCI). The Consumer Confidence Index, a quarterly survey conducted by the Middle East’s number one job site Bayt.com in conjunction with research specialists YouGov Siraj, found that consumer confidence in Kuwait decreased by 4.3 points since last September. Meanwhile, Bahrain and Qatar saw impressive increases of 10.4 and 9.4 points respectively. However, Lebanon recorded the largest decrease, moving down the index by an incredible 23.1 points. Lebanon has had a particularly unstable year with extreme lows and highs recorded each quarter. In North Africa, consumer confidence in Morocco and Egypt rose by 2.1 and 0.4 points respectively. The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) is a measure of consumer expectations and satisfaction of various elements of the economy including inflation, job opportunities and the cost of living. As part of the CCI, respondents are asked questions about their personal financial circumstances and how they compare to the same period last year. Overall, 34 percent of the region’s respondents say their financial position is the same as last year and just over a quarter, 28 percent say it has gotten better. In Kuwait, 28 percent say they are better off than last year, 39 percent say they are in the same position as last year and 25 percent say they are in a worse position than last year. Among the countries surveyed, 31 percent of respondents in Qatar and Saudi Arabia say they are doing better than last year followed by 30 percent in Oman. However in Jordan, only 17 percent felt their financial position is better than last year. “The region seems to be stabilizing as we are seeing that countries seem to have the same figures each quarter with the exception of Lebanon who has suffered political instability explaining the country’s highs and lows in terms of consumer confidence. This could mean that the worse of the crisis is indeed over for most of the Middle East,” commented Amer Zureikat, Bayt.com. In addition to financial position, consumer confidence is assessed by asking the respondents about their level of optimism towards the future, which forms the Consumer Expectations Index (CEI). The countries varied widely in terms of their consumer expectations. The largest decrease was once again seen in Lebanon, with a drop of 24.7 index points since
the last quarter. Kuwait recorded a decrease of 7.2 points since the last quarter. Bahrain reported the biggest increase, moving up the index by 10.9 points. On the whole, respondents are expecting to be in a better financial position next year. Overall, 49 percent of respondents believe that their personal financial position will be better next year. By contrast, just eight percent of the region’s respondents believe that their financial position will become worse. In Kuwait, 49 percent of respondents believe that their personal finances will be better a year from now, compared to just 8 percent that believe they will become worse. Most optimistic that their personal financial position will be better in a year’s time are respondents in Oman with 58 percent confirming this statement. Respondents also remain largely optimistic that their country’s economy will be better in a year’s time. Overall, 35 percent say that their country’s economy will be better, 20 percent say it will remain the same, and 26 percent say it will become worse. Respondents in Oman are the most positive about the expected improvements in their country’s economy, with 59 percent stating that things will be better. Respondents in Egypt are most pessimistic about their country’s economy a year from now. At least 37 percent say that it will become worse. In Kuwait, 42 percent of respondents believe that their country’s economy will be better in a year’s time, compared to just 23 percent that believe it will be worse. Respondents were also asked what they feel their propensity to consume is, as part of the Propensity to Consume Index (PCI). Once again Kuwait moved down this index by 1.3 points compared to the previous quarter. Qatar saw an impressive rise of 16.8 points. At the other end of the scale, Lebanon recorded the largest drop, moving down the index by an exceptional 22.8 points. Asked whether they would invest in property, the respondents largely agree that they will not. The trend continues from the previous quarter with a majority of respondents (64 percent) stating they are not interested in making any investment in property. Within Kuwait, 59 percent say they will not be buying any property. Of those wishing to purchase a property, 60 percent say they are likely to opt for a new property. “Gauging consumer opinion is a powerful tool for revealing the current attitudes and sentiments
about the business and economic conditions in a specific country and to see how these change overtime,” commented Sundip Chahal, Chief Operating Officer of YouGov Siraj. Another contributor to the CCI is the Employee Confidence Index (ECI), which measures the attitudes of respondents to the local job market, in terms of their satisfaction towards the availability of jobs and their satisfaction with their salary. Kuwait saw a drop of 3.6 index points versus the previous quarter on this measure. Showing the biggest decrease is once again Lebanon, which moved down the index by 13.3 points. The most impressive rise was recorded once again by Bahrain which moved up 9.3 points. When asked whether they believe more jobs will be available in a year’s time, respondents are roughly divided: 26 percent say more will be available, 27 percent say the job situation will remain the same and 30 percent say the availability of jobs will be worse. In Kuwait, 34 percent believe the availability of jobs will get better while 23 percent of respondents believe the availability of jobs will become worse. In terms of salaries and whether they have kept pace with the cost of living, as in the previous wave, the majority feel that they have not kept pace with the cost of living, with 63 percent agreeing that there is a disparity. While just 19 percent agree they have increased in line with the cost of living, and five percent say they have increased more than the cost of living. “Our quarterly consumer confidence survey provides a strong indication, each quarter, as to how people living in countries across the region view their current economic situation, and how they believe it will change in the future. By conducting this survey, we are really aiming to achieve an honest and representative overview of current sentiments and feelings about various elements of the economy, so these can be used proactively and for positive effect by organizations and HR stakeholders around the Middle East,” concluded Zureikat. Data for the December 2010 Consumer Confidence Index Survey was collected online between 15 November and 16 December 2010 with 10,468 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan. Males and females aged over 18 years old, of all nationalities, were included in the survey.
KUWAIT: The Charitable Societies Department has reviewed the budgets of 37 charitable trusts that collected KD 9 million in donations during the past year, said Nasser Al-Ammar, Head of the Charitable Societies Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor. He noted that the budgets of other organizations were being studied, and revealed that 80 organizations were declared. He further pointed out that 13 of them were closed last year for violating the rules and regulations of charity work, reported AlWatan. Al-Ammar said that the total donation amount collected by charitable organizations may increase after reviewing the accounts of 30 other organizations. He mentioned that KD 8 million out of KD 9 million collected by organizations was spent on charitable work in Kuwait, as regulations prohibit the setting up of charitable projects overseas. He asserted that the revenues of charitable societies increased recently, proving that the ministry does not seek to stop charity work in Kuwait as some critics claim. He added that large sums of money that the organizations have collected, in addition to the projects established in Kuwait and overseas, prove that they play a major role in charitable work.
Kuwait Digest
Grilling is govt’s responsibility By Abdellatif Al-Duaij he grillers may succeed in securing enough votes to win a non-cooperation motion against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlSabah or they may fail, which is more likely. Either way a victory for His Highness the Prime Minister would be very limited and would have serious repercussions and costs. The government may be able to cover such a cost but in the end the country will fail to keep up. It is not in the country’s, His Highness Sheikh Nasser’s or the government’s interest to survive the non-cooperation session. The goal is to guarantee the confidence of the National Assembly and not beg some of its members for support. For the fate of the cooperation between the parliament and the government to remain hanging on a thread or on the edge of a cliff will hamper the government’s moves and the assembly will lose its popu-
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larity. Stubbornness has a very high price and MPs stand to gain the most from their stubbornness. Some of them will gain votes while others gain checks but all of them will come out victorious either way. On the other hand, His Highness Sheikh Nasser, his government and maybe even the whole Cabinet will be the only losers. The only thing available for His Highness the Prime Minister to do is to look for a settlement and to contain the crises. While the cost seems high, rescuing the country and sparing the people from catastrophe is the duty of the leading elite. It is not in the interest of anyone for the struggle to continue and it is not in the public’s interest to get all the way to the final round only to discover that we have to start over again. The escalation so far has been the government’s. The government started it and it alone bears the responsibility of solving the problem.— Al-Aan
KUWAIT: Interior Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Khalid Al-Sabah met at his office yesterday with the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Jordan, Dr Hamad AlDuaij.
MGRP employs 1,046 citizens KUWAIT: More than 1,000 citizens were employed in the private sector in jobs that were signed with governmental departments. This statement was made recently by Nadira Al-Homoud Director of the Employment Department at the Management and Government Restructuring Program (MGRP). They explained that the MGRP’s team of nationalizing jobs has successfully provided 1,656 jobs to citizens in 2010. At least 2,630 candidates were nominated, of whom 1,046 signed contracts to work for several departments including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of
Electricity and Water, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in addition to the Kuwait Petroleum Association, Kuwait Ports Association and the Directorate General for Civil Aviation. Al-Hmoud further indicated that the Education Ministry has been the most active in ‘Kuwaitizing’ job opportunities that are created in executing developmental projects, reported Al-Qabas. After they signed an entire staff composed of Kuwaiti manpower to work as food suppliers, companies signed to provide public schools to obtain national manpower in accordance with the MGRP to hire staff and prepare meals.
Women’s committee to address extremists KUWAIT: The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs is reportedly preparing to form a committee made up of female religious preachers and employees qualified to address women with extremist religious beliefs, reported AlQabas. According to an official source from the ministry, plans were made to enroll committee members in training courses organized by
KUWAIT: Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Undersecretary Mohammad Al-Kandari addressing the press conference.
Kuwaiti heritage to loom high at national celebrations KUWAIT: Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor Undersecretar y Mohammad Al-Kandari affirmed importance of shedding special light on the Kuwaiti heritage in the upcoming national celebrations. Al-Kandari, the chairman of the national celebrations committee affirmed, in a statement released after a meeting with committee members yesterday, significance
of participation of several local bands that would present the Kuwaiti folklore at the celebrations of Kuwait ’s 50th Independence and 20th Liberation anniversaries. Patriotic songs will be chanted during the special exhibition of the Higher Committee, with the participation of state and private institutions and authorities. Moreover, Al-Kandari under-
scored necessity of coordination with all ministries and governmental institutions to decorate their buildings. He also welcomed participation of the cooperative societies, that would also be in charge of ornamenting the governmental buildings, located in the districts where the stores are situated. Fur thermore, he confirmed important role of the local cafes in
this festival, where there is a proposal to set up models of these traditional cafes at the venues of the activities to distribute Kuwaiti food to the attendees and participants, in order to enrich the Kuwaiti heritage ambiance. Participants in the meeting discussed broad plans for the ministr y program that would be implemented at the festival, due on February 28. — KUNA
international experts in handling cases of extremism. The efforts were made in order to reinforce addressing female extremists uncomfortable with being addressed by men. Moreover, the work of committee members is expected to remain confidential and includes lectures at mosques around the country to spread awareness among women against extremism.
Incompetence, violations cloud MSAL’s efforts KUWAIT: Despite the ongoing efforts to fight problems that plague the labor sector, the Ministr y of Social Affairs and Labor (MSAL) suffers from issues like corruption and forgery, mainly with regard to residence permit transactions. According to a local news report, the results of a tour carried out at departments of the ministry, reflected a case of complete desperation among staff members. The routine promotions are done based on favoritism, regardless of qualifications, they claimed. Meanwhile, the report also mentions several cases in which records of companies at the ministry’s database are manipulated to register workers illegally. They are eventually uncovered by the Ministry of Interior in addition to fraudulent companies. Violations do not seem to be the only
problem that the ministry has been suffering from. A separate report on the unannounced visit by the Far waniya Labor Department shows that chaos has been descending at government offices owing to employees’ incompetence. People are forced to seek cleaning workers’ help to mediate their transactions to reach a staff member’s office, reported AlQabas. A top ministry official when contacted for a comment said that unscheduled visits are planned by labor departments to assess work progress to check the problems that should be addressed. Undersecretary Mohammad Al-Kandari further insisted that the ministry will be able, in two years’ time, to eliminate all malprac tices at labor depar tments through a new monitoring system.
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Avalanche of sales hit market, stampedes stall shopping ‘Customers like a pack of hungry hounds fighting for a piece of meat’ By Ben Garcia KUWAIT: A stampede-like situation was created in some stores throughout Kuwait following a wave of recently launched sales. Dramatically slashed prices on essential grocery items caused chaos and long queues at various shopping outlets. Well-known super marMany essential grocery items, such as eggs, sugar and boxes of water, went on sale with a 50 percent discount. An investigation revealed that most of the items went out of stock halfway throughout the sale. Sugar and eggs topped the list of the most sought after goods. Minutes after being displayed the racks were emptied. “My son was about to be crushed at the shelves for sugar,” relayed one customer. “When I noticed customers rushing toward the arriving palette of sugar I immediately lifted him onto the pile of rice nearby,” he said. He said that customers resembled hungry hounds on the hunt, fighting over a piece of meat. “The whole thing almost ended in a fight,”
kets cut their prices in half, resulting in long check-out lines and disgruntled shoppers. Some advertising tactics, such as buy one get one free, were too effective and resulted in an insufficient stock. Though ads sometimes gave shoppers the impression they could have an unlimited supply of whatever they wanted, some customers were disappointed to learn they were limited to only two items per customer.
the customer continued. “I was afraid for my six-year-old son’s safety so I stopped fighting for a pack of sugar.” He added that the palette of sugar that was delivered and displayed in one corner was gone in a matter of minutes. “After the commotion, all that was left was an empty palette and two or three rippes bags of sugar on the floor,” another customer said. A customer walked away from the counter obviously disappointed after being told that he could not purchase most of the items in his cart. “I came all the way here from Mahboula to take advantage of the sale. I waited for quite some time to get this stuff and now I am being told I cannot have more than two items. This is ridiculous,” the customer said.
Some of the personnel at the store explained that they only allow customers to buy two or three items from the sale list to provide an opportunity for the customers. “If we gave all the items to just one customer it would be unfair,” the supermarket employee explained. One of the employees at the supermarket admitted that the first day was much worse. “I’ve seen some fighting and cursing amongst customers,” she said. “Some customers are not actually genuine consumers, they’re businessmen. They have money so they take advantage of the sales and buy all of the products. They leave the other customers with nothing but a few sales items.”
16,000 return after new year
KUWAIT: The first Scientific Arab Police Forum in Jordan started with cooperation between Nayef Arab University for Security Sciences and the Jordanian Security Directorate yesterday. A number of representatives from various Arab interior ministries, media, research centers and universities participated in it, said the Kuwaiti Interior Ministry’s official spokesman, Brig Mohammed Hashim Al-Sabr. The forum was the first of its kind and that it was useful in helping specialists cope with the latest developments in police work, Al-Sabr said adding that Kuwait would discuss a paper on obstacles impeding cooperation amongst security bodies and the media.
Kuwait Digest
Scarf of the popular female Abbas By Ahmed Mohammed Al-Fahad
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t is said that, historically, Agals (head dress) were used to secure Ghotras (head scarf ) firmly on our heads. It’s believed that Arabs, sometimes, used to leash their animals using the accessory. It is also said that the headdress was previously white in color and the color black was adopted in mourning ever since the fall of the Islamic empire of Andalus. Agals were composed of simple thin strands and developed over time to take various shapes and sizes. That is why Agals are different in Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Bahrain respectively. It is also made out of different fabrics and materials such as wool, suede and sometimes plastic threads. It is also alternatively used to assault adversaries! Abbas Al-Shab ( or popular Abbas) is a very wellknown man who has been overshadowing MP Musallam Al-Barrak at all press conferences. He has become an iconic figure at Al-Musallam’s conferences and one might immediately think that the two men are not in good terms if we see Al-Barrak speak without Abbas behind him. If we happen to see Abbas stand behind MP Khalaf Dumaitheer, we would immediately think that the latter has joined the Popular Action Bloc (PAB). Out of appreciation and admiration of what MP Dr Aseel Al-Awadhi did while discussing the recent PM’s grilling motion, regardless of the new look sported by Abdul Rahman Al-Anjeri, he did not fulfill Saleh AlMullah’s threats. She embarrassed her colleagues and forced them to support it. Abbas took off his Agal and tried to place it on Aseel’s head in a rather silly move! Traditionally, taking off Agals and throwing them on is a strictly male act. They cannot be thrown on women even if they were ministers or deputy prime ministers! In order to explain to Abbas why his move was silly, let us assume that we had an equivalent to Abbas called popular ‘Abbasah’ ( female Abbas) and that this political activist was a strong supporter of PAB who wanted to honor MP Musallam Al-Barrak or Ahmed Al-Saadoun for their stances by taking off her veil or shawl only to place them on AlBarrak’s or Al-Saadoun’s head. Just imagine how the latter would look in a black veil and his thick eyebrows and moustache, will this be a gesture of honor for either of them? — Al-Watan
KUWAIT: More than 16,000 travelers who spend four-day new year holidays abroad have begun to return home on Sunday. Many were relieved to spend time away from the local political tension that has stunted the growth tourism revival in the country, reported Al-Watan. Commenting on air traffic flow, Mohammed Al-Thuwaini, Acting Operations Manager at Civil Aviation Department said that air traffic plied as usual without any extra flights taking off. He also noted that staff members on each shift were increased to cope with the growing number of passengers, especially at the passport counters. “There were 105 outbound flights on December 29th with 13,000 passengers were on board. Atleast 14,000 left on December 30 and 200 left on December 31st,” he explained. Also 16,000 of these passengers returned to Kuwait on January 2.
MoH hires 2,979 staff members KUWAIT: The Ministry of Health (MoH) has hired nearly 300 staff members from different nationalities during the past year, announced Marzouq Al-Rushaidi Assistant Undersecretary for Administrative Affairs added. Al-Rushaidi explained that among the 2,979 staff members who were hired in 2010, 388 are physicians, while 89 are dentists, 70 are pharmacists. Also, 827 nurses were hired. He also indicated that 387 people were hired for technical jobs related to medicine, and 181 others were hired for technical jobs not related to medical specialties. He further noted that the Civil Service Commission has been contacted to hire 105 Kuwaitis for bookkeeping jobs, reported Al-Rai. In addition, Al-Rushaidi indicated that during the past year, more than 805 trainees at 84 programs organized
by the department were trained. This is in addition to 930 students from the Kuwait University and the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET). In another development, no equipment that uses nuclear medicine will be allowed into Kuwait unless it first undergoes a thoough screening process supervised by the Ministry of Health’s committee. This statement was issued by Samir Al-Asfour Assistant Undersecretary for Public Services Affairs and Maintenance. The licenses are issued to obtain the device as per certain conditions laid down by the committee to prevent radiation leak, reported Al-Rai. AlAsfour’s statement rejected rumors about a supposed radiation leak that was detected at Faisal radiation treatment center, asserting that routine tests are conducted at all facilities that deal with radioactive devices.
ATV accidents on the rise KUWAIT: An increase in people admitted to hospitals with various injuries related to all-terrain-vehicle (AT V ) accidents has been noticed as the country enters its camping season, reported Al-Rai. A news report quotes a ministry official as saying that Al-Razi Hospital, among others, has received several ATV related cases in the past few days. The official noted that in one of the cases three teenagers, including one female, were
admitted to Jahra Hospital’s intensive care unit with serious injuries. The source further indicated that the majority of those injured suffer spinal or thighbone fractures and require surgery followed by a period of rehabilitation. The source announced that the ministry plans to launch an awareness campaign in order to spread awareness regarding the hazards of unsafe driving and ATVs.
Stage ready for 17th Qurain Cultural Festival KUWAIT: The 17th edition of Qurain Cultural Festival will start tomorrow in Dasma theater under the patronage of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber AlSabah. The opening ceremony of the festival, which will last till Jan 26, will be attended by Minister of Information and Minister of Oil Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Sabah. Secretar y General of the National Council for Culture, Arts and Letters (NCCAL) Bader Al-Rifaei said in a press conference here yesterday that the festival will include several cultural activities covering exhibitions, plastic art shows, film screenings, theater performances, popular music pieces and cultural lectures. Al-Rifaei added that this edition will see a new activity, namely holding a roundtable forum for Arab intellectuals in order to discuss the role of intellectuals toward the deadlocked paths of Arab renaissance. He also made clear that Bait Al-Othman will be used as a cultural center following the restoration of some of its parts, adding that it will host on Jan 18 a museum exhibi-
tion showcasing the history of education in Kuwait as well as the foreign communities’ exhibition for plastic arts on Jan 19. Bait Al-Othman will become, following its renovation, one of the most important centers hosting the cultural functions in Kuwait all over the year, said Al-Rifaei. Further, he said that the festival’s supreme committee decided to choose Egypt as the guest of honor of this edition, adding that this will give opportunity to the Kuwaiti public to get a panoramic view of Egyptian cultural landscape. Al-Rifaei added that Egypt is the origin of modern culture in the Arab world, and that it still plays a major role in representing the Arab culture, noting Egypt’s artistic and intellectual output which attracts attention in the Arab world. He also said that Al-Qurain festival is a landmark on the Arab cultural scene due to its various activities and its development over the years. The festival is to see the distribution of state merit and incentive awards at its opening ceremony on the stage of AlDasma theater. —KUNA
Women residential rights part of State Development Strategy
Project to improve quality of education KUWAIT: The second phase of improving the quality of education project, which was introduced last year, began in Kuwait as a step to further elevate the status of education, said an official here yesterday. Assistant Undersecretary for Public Education Mona AlLougani said at a forum held at Al-Addan High School in Mubarak Al-Kabir Education District that building a strong education foundation would help improve social development, adding that better education would also provide means to bolster plans for other kinds of development projects in the country. Al-Lougani called on educators to pursue measures to better education in the country as part of their mission to help Kuwait develop. On her part, head of Mubarak Al-Kabir Education District Badriya Al-Khaldi affirmed that the district would be the first to implement the ministry’s plan to help integrate education in the country, wishing that such a plan would be crowned with success in the future. —KUNA
KUWAIT: National Assembly Speaker Jassem Al-Khorafi received here yesterday Deputy Speaker of the Namibian National Assembly Loide Kasingo and the delegation accompanying her. The meeting focused on means to bolster bilateral relations as well as issues of mutual interest.
KUWAIT: Officials addressing the press conference yesterday.
KUWAIT: Recently-enacted amendments on laws of women’s residential care and those of the Saving and Credit Bank were among the projects of the state development plan, housing officials affirmed. In a press conference held here yesterday, the officials revealed that such amendments were aimed to secure adequate housing for Kuwaiti women that have not benefited from the residential care service through the provision of housing alternatives, either by obtaining a housing loan or providing housing at low rents. Adviser to the Minister of State for Housing Affairs’ office, Nidhal AlHumaidan, said the first amendment of first bill to article (47/93) tackled cases such as of the Kuwaiti women married to non-Kuwaitis, the divorcees, widows and unmarried women who are over 40 years old. The modifications address the situation of Kuwaiti women not covered by the law of residential care, she said, adding that they also include the law of SCB No. (30/65), increasing its capital from KD 500 million to KD 3 billion. Intended to help these women remain closely integrated with the Kuwaiti society, these amendments stipulate that family-size houses be secured for them in the country’s various provinces, according to IDs, so they may reside close to their families, Al-Humaidan said.
Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister of State for Development Affairs and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Ahmad AlSabah played a major role in introducing the amendments, she added. On his part, the Director of Legal Affairs at the Bank of Credit and Savings Fahad Al-Mutairi said the amendments allow widows and divorcees with children to apply for a housing loan and get low-cost housing. Al-Mutairi added that the segment of women married to nonKuwaitis, or never married, or over the age of 40 years, are entitled to receive low-cost housing, saying that strict terms will be placed to obtain this type of housing. A committee is formed to settle disputes relating to residential care under the chairmanship of Advisor to the Court of Appeal to resolve the outstanding issues of women and the settlement of disputes before resorting to the courts, he added. Sheikh Al-Fahad was keen to broaden, through these amendments, the development strategy to address the situation of Kuwaiti women, not benefiting from the residential care by giving them multiple options to choose proper housing, said Majed Al-Ajmi, the secretary of committees and work teams at the bureau of the deputy premier for economic affairs. — KUNA
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MPs call for wisdom, less tension ahead of NA vote Top priority to protecting Kuwait’s unity By A Saleh KUWAIT: Some MPs considering the non-cooperation request filed against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad AlSabah a failure called for a return to wisdom and for the situation between the two authorities to calm down. They added that if those antigovernment MPs are true to their word they should resign as they promised they would if the motion results in favor of His Highness the Prime Minister. MP Adnan Al-Mutawa said “there are no more than 21 MPs supporting the non-cooperation motion against His Highness the Prime Minister, if not less. Those who spoke about resigning after the session should do so to maintain their credibility. Meanwhile, MP Adnan Abdelsamad said that “any political move toward the street outside of the law cannot be accepted. We are afraid that this method may promote intellectual terrorism and be an attempt to pressure others.” MP Dr Rolla Dashti said “those who submitted the non-cooperation motion did not realize how dangerous it is and may take the country down a dark tunnel with unpredictable results. In the interest of protecting Kuwait’s unity and the constitution we declare our support to His Highness the Prime Minister.” “The battle of January 5 has been decided in favor of His Highness the Prime Minister without a doubt,” said MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan. Meanwhile, MP Abdelrahman Al-Anjari said that he will vote against His Highness the Prime Minister in the upcoming vote, adding that his opinion has nothing to do with how many are in support of the motion or are against it. He added that his vote has constitutional and moral dimensions and that it will be up to His Highness the Amir Sheik Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to evaluate and diagnose the political situation following the vote. He told journalists that he “practiced his convictions” without pressure and that if the majority has an opinion different than his he will respect the majority’s opinion. He said that if the
outcome of the vote is not similar to his own opinion he will continue to work with parliamentary committees to finish laws and legislations. Al-Anjari said he does not promote going to the street to topple the government, as called on by some. He said that he is for public freedom and peaceful rallies that remain within the context of the law. Tomorrow’s parliament session will feature a much anticipated end to the current drama surrounding the interpellation filed against His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser AlMohammad Al-Sabah. MPs will vote on a noncooperation motion filed against him by an antigovernment parliamentary alliance. Meanwhile, spectators are wondering what the next step will be for antigovernment MPs considering that the vote is expected to result in favor of His Highness the Prime Minister. If this is the case, oppositionists have two options; either to accept the results, turn the page and resume parliamentary work as normal or to further escalate the tension as they hinted with the state-
Kuwait Digest
By Mubarak Al-Hajri
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voiding a confrontation with voters may be the reason why some MPs fear facing the truth. What would go wrong if an MP met with his voters and explained his point of view on a certain topic? It’s not like they would hang him if he came up with an idea that conflicted with what they wanted. I’m sure the public would listen to their representative in the parliament if he wanted to explain his stance on a certain topic. Avoiding confrontation never solves a problem, instead, it makes problems worse. This kind of attitude makes voters feel sorry for their wasted votes during election season. It also makes them feel cheated after the parliamentarian they elect fails to fulfill the promises they made. Many promises were broken when a group of MPs with almost no opinion allowed themselves to be bought out. Those who made personal gains today will find themselves stuck at homes tomorrow when voters decide to leave them behind in future elections. By then, however, the damage will have already been done. —Al-Rai
Report calls for revisions to labor laws KUWAIT: A recent academic study called for rationing the employment of expats and finding civilized ways to recruit laborers, reported Al-Anba. The study, prepared by a professor at Kuwait University’s Faculty of Education, Dr Ali Watfa, recommended educational steps to increase the public’s awareness about the role of expats and their importance economically and socially. The study also called for taking the necessary precautions to prevent the effect of expats on the cultural and social identity of Kuwaiti society. The study dealt with the attitude of Kuwait University students towards expats, considering it one of the basic political and social issues in Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperative Council states. The study called for legislations that guarantees expats their basic human and social rights and to increase the public’s awareness regarding those rights. It also called on the revision of several laws to make them more compatible with international labor standards and recommended passing legislation that prohibits human trafficking and the recruitment of expats for commercial purposes.
ment that “the interpellation is only the beginning.” Escalating the situation and filing a mass resignation may be their last resort after failing to win the non-cooperation motion. When they prematurely announced victory following the grilling debate on December 28, antigovernment MPs failed to accurately assess the situation regarding the local political scene. It seems as though the Cabinet, with their majority support in the parliament, can overcome any obstacle put in their path by antigovernment MPs. While moving beyond the grilling saga may indicate a positive start to a new year, it seems likely that antigovernment parliamentarians have several more tricks up their sleeve. And while the Cabinet may emerge victorious from the recent grilling, they certainly sustained a serious blow to their morale as the current grilling saw an increase in the number of MPs opposed to the Cabinet. Even if they fail to knock the Cabinet out of power oppositionists may be able to claim victory for continuously practicing their monitory role.
MPs prepare more interpellation motions KUWAIT: A state minister believes that His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah’s decision to face a grilling motion for the third time in his political career, is the perfect example of commitment to the Constitution’s principles. Dr Fadhel Safar, Minister of Public Works and State Minister of Municipality Affairs made these comments in a recent press statement in which he added that “good lessons can be learned” from the recent experience, “including the need to reinforce national unity and adherence to His Highness the Amir’s orders.” Ahead of Wednesday’s session during which the non-cooperation motion filed against the premier will be put to vote, the minister of cabinet affairs assured that “things are looking good,” amid reports which assert that the anti-government MPs have almost no hope of securing the required number of 25 supporters to pass the motion. The Cabinet on the other hand has already obtained at least 26 votes. Anti-government MPs have, however, are exerting pressure on neutral MPs as well as those who have declared open support for premier, in an attempt to change their minds. As par t of these
efforts, these lawmakers took part in a public seminar that was held recently at the ‘diwaniya’ of Mohammad Al-Khalifa in Al-Jahra. MP Falah Al-Sawwagh announced that interpellation motions initiated against the Education Minister Dr Moudhi Al-Hmoud, Finance Minister Mustafa Al-Shamali, as well as Dr Safar will be filed in the near future, reported AlQabas. Outspoken anti-government MP Musallam Al-Barrak also demanded that Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Deputy Chief of the National Guards release a statement clarifying reports that he had ordered Special Forces to use force against MPs and citizens. Meanwhile, Islamist MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabae criticized MPs who claimed that they followed the Islamic Sharia when making decisions to support HH the PM, indicating that “the Sharia has nothing to do with their stances.” Fellow Islamist MPs Mohammad Hayef and Daifullah Buramia also asked the premier to resign, with the latter indicating that “we are being accused of creating tension for our commitment to protect dignities.” This seminar took place at a time when several fifth constituency residents have been convening meetings in Al-Riqqa and Hadiya where MPs Mohammad Al-Huwaila and Khalid Al-Adwa reside respectively.
Mutawwa: Kuwait to keep up performance KUWAIT: Kuwait national football team will enter the upcoming AFC Asian Cup to be held from Friday in Qatar with a fearsome spirit and determination, said Kuwait striker and 2010 top scorer Bader Al-Mutawwa yesterday. “The team will continue the outstanding performance that earned its 10th Gulf Cup trophy in Yemen last December,” Al-Mutawwa told a press conference, adding that the ‘Blue Squad’ would try to keep on with its high performance in the upcoming Asian Cup. The press conference was held on the occasion of launching the new Internet site
for the Kuwait Football Association (KFA). He also noted that the team was also eyeing the qualification rounds of the 2014 World Cup, which would be held in Brazil. Al-Mutawwa, according to FIFA’s official website, won the top goal-scorer award after scoring 17 goals in 2010, beating Cameroon’s world-renowned striker Samuel Eto’o. Al-Mutawwa is the second Kuwaiti striker to win the award after countryman Jassem Al-Huwaidi in 1998. The Qadsiya striker was also nominated for best Asian player of the year award twice but did not win. — KUNA
eclipse to coincide with noon prayers KUWAIT: A partial solar eclipse will coincide with noon prayers today in a rare occurance, top astronomer Saleh Al-Ojairi said yesterday. Ojairi said that the eclipse is due to start at 1042 local time and ends at 1334 hours, while the noon prayers will be at 1152 hours. He said that 43 percent of the sun will be
eclipsed in Kuwait, adding that this phenomenon can be seen provided that skies are clear today Al-Ojairi warned the public against looking into the eclipse with the naked eye and said wearing special glasses or watching the phenomenon from behind tinted glass is needed to avoid harm to one’s vision. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Fire-fighters in action after a fire broke out in two flats in Farwaniya yesterday.
Apartments catch fire By Hanan Al-Saadoun KUWAIT: A fire broke out at two apartments in a Farwaniya building, resulting in five casualties. Two of the injured were admitted to the nearest hospital. Farwaniya, Ardhiya, Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh rescue centers reached the scene and put out the flames. Accidents A five-year-old Kuwaiti boy fractured his nose and suffered a laceration on his forehead in an accident that involved an All Terrain Vehicle (ATV ). He was transferred from Kabd Polyclinic to Farwaniya hospital. A 31-year-old Pakistani suffered a broken left leg after being hit by a car in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh. He was admitted to Farwaniya hospital. Freak accident A seven month old Kuwaiti infant was rushed to Jahra hospital after swallowing a foreign object. She was reported to be in a stable condition. Car accidents A 21-year-old female citizen was emotionally disturbed and a 31-year-old Sri Lankan suffered multiple bruises in a car accident that took place along the Fourth Ring Road. They were admitted to Mubarak hospital. Also, a 40-year-old Egyptian suffered a laceration on his
KUWAIT: Several popular actors and singers paid a visit to a camp for the disabled where they put up a performance before campers.
forehead, and a 50-year-old Bangladeshi sustained a chest injury in a car accident that took place near Jaber stadium. Both were admitted to Farwaniya hospital. Suicide attempt A 25-year-old Filipina sustained deep cuts in her right hand, in an apparent suicide attempt at a Sabah Al-Salem home. She was admitted to Mubarak hospital. Hit and run case A 37-year- old Bangladeshi complained of pain in his right leg af ter being run over by a car in Hawally. He was admitted to Mubarak hospital. Smoke inhalation A 63-year-old Egyptian woman suffered from a case of smoke inhalation and was admitted to the hospital. Also, a two-year-old was administered treatment on the site where a fire had broken out near Sanaa round about in Farwaniya.
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Fallacy of predictions By Saleh Al-Ghannam
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ack in the good old days, when I had leisure time comparable to a swath of empty desert, I was preoccupied with reading about metaphysics, supernatural powers, dream interpretations and both Western and Chinese horoscopes. I read so much that I become a quasiexpert in the field and my friends began consulting me before taking major decisions in their lives. Naturally enough, I cannot reveal what has happened to those who consulted me. To give you an example, let me say that I have been hiding from two of my friends since 1987 because of what consulting me cost them. It is a terrible thing to be asked about — a potential wife. And telling the prospective groom that she is the most loving, kind-hearted, pious, fertile woman he could find. This is only to discover that she could not bear children and had been having affairs with most of the street restaurant customers who would buy her sandwiches! The other terrible incident took place when a friend of mine studying in Cairo inquired about the odds of passing an exam he would take in an hour’s time. I told him that his horoscope indicates that he has been going through an incredibly lucky time and that he would win fortunes in gambling. ‘So, you must go immediately to the Mina House casino and put all your money on number 17,’ I told him. Two hours later, I received an angry call from our consul in Cairo blaming me for advising my friend who was shouting at me in the background ‘take me back to Kuwait...I want to go back...I’m ruined...I lost all money.’ To calm them down, I asked the consul what his zodiac sign was, ‘I’m a Taurean, why?,’ he replied, and I told him that he would become our next ambassador in Amsterdam. The line was disconnected and I lost touch with this nonsense ever since. When I rearranged my books recently, I got rid of about 70 such books where I found some clippings that contained over twenty-five-year old notes. However, I am busy during this vacation, creating schedules on the crises situation we may witness this year. So far, I predict that trouble makers will cause at least 35 to 40 controversial problems. The problems they create mushroom quickly only to die out at the same accelerated rate . Happy New year everybody! — Al-Watan
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
local
Kuwait University extremist pamphlet causes uproar Breach of several regulations By Hussain Al-Qatari KUWAIT: An extremist pamphlet about the vices of not wearing the hijab distributed last week at Kuwait University caused an uproar on campus. The pamphlet, published by the Eitilafiyah student group, a group associated with the Islamic Brotherhood, is written in the format of a letter directed to women who don’t wear the hijab. The letter misquotes Quranic verses and suggests that women who do not wear the hijab are doomed to go to hell. Using inappropriate phrases and claiming God’s disapproval of women who do not wear the hijab, the pamphlet claims “if you repeatedly beg for God’s mercy and assistance to no avail, it is because you-a woman without hijab-are damned.” It uses missionary language, suggesting it is “never too late to go on the right path.” Kuwait University’s deanship strongly con-
Dr Faisal Maqseed demned the publication of the pamphlet, noting that it was not issued with permission from the student affairs office. The deanship issued a statement announcing that the concerned party will be held responsible. Meanwhile, Kuwait University spokesperson, Dr Faisal Maqseed explained that there are several guidelines and rules that regulate the publi-
cation of pamphlets on Kuwait University’s campus. “What happened recently was a breach of several regulations and was a very irresponsible act that will be punished severely,” he said. “It was spread virally amongst the local media, tainting the reputation of the university and giving it a bad image. This will not be tolerated,” he added. The spokesperson explained that the university does not oppose the expression of ideologies and opinions but finds the phrases used in this pamphlet particularly offensive. “Students who wish to express their opinions can do so in the designated mediums. There are student forums, a weekly student journal, debate clubs and other activities that are held, moderated and regulated. We refuse offensive language on campus,” he said. Kuwait University’s liberal student party, the Democratic Circle, issued a statement condemning the pamphlet and noted that they are against any attempt to divide Kuwaiti society into segments. “We are not in a position to speak for or against the cause that the pamphlet is promoting but we strongly condemn the language and disapprove of anything that puts our society in bad light. We are all one unit and there is no need to make the hijab an issue,” said the statement. Student Dalal Al-Khaldi, 20, said that the pamphlet did not sound like it came from a student organization but from an extremist terrorist group. “No one has the right to use such language to speak to anyone, let alone students in
KUWAIT: The pamphlet which was distributed at Kuwait University last week. a university. This method of scaring people with quotes and telling them that they will go to hell is not right. They could have done a better job if they held an open debate with the students or brought religious clergymen to speak publicly.” Abdulrahman Al-Awadh, 21, noted that there are several things one could point out wrong about the pamphlet but what he finds
most infuriating is that it comes from a religious party. “I expect a more civil way to promote ideas, especially from a religious party that presumably takes example from the life of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH). But this way of promoting the hijab is totally uncivilized, not befitting Kuwait University or a party in an academic institute.”
Great Mubarak Kiosk, a landmark construction KUWAIT: The Kiosk of Grand Mubarak AlSabah is one of the country’s landmark buildings that documents an important historic period of time and the era of Sheikh Mubarak Al-Sabah, the seventh ruler of Kuwait. Kiosk is a Persian word that means a square structure, said Kuwaiti historian Mohammad Abdulhadi. The two-storey building was used by Sheikh Mubarak (1837-1915) as an office to run the country’s daily affairs during his time of rule from May, 1896 until his
death on Nov 28, 1915. Sheikh Mubarak set up two kiosks, one of which faced southward while the other faced northward, said the historian. Sheikh Mubarak used to run the country’s affairs during the morning time at the southward building and the other was confined for the afternoon sittings, Abdulhadi noted. The northward kiosk overlooked the eastern entrance of the vegetable market while the southward kiosk was located across the
Gharaballi market at the Mubarakiya courtyard in the heart of the old city of Kuwait. The sheikh sits in the two offices on daily basis to listen to senior citizens’ views regarding various issues and present assistance to nationals and solve problems facing them, Abdulhadi said. The location of the kiosks is at a significant commercial area during the rule of Sheikh Mubarak. It groups a host of markets of meat, vegetables, dates and households. After the
passing away of Sheikh Mubarak, the kiosks were used for other purposes. The southern kiosk was used as an office for the municipality and later as an office for the Saudi commercial representative, said Abdulhadi. The northward office was used as a court house in 1934, a post office between 1942 and 1952, a public library and later as a photography studio. The ground floor was also used as a pharmacy and other commercial stores. — KUNA
A
A successful journey By Iqbal Al-Ahmad
M
y journey with the Kuwaiti media delegation to the occupied Palestinian territories organized by the Kuwait Journalists Association was a complete success. It was an unprecedented move by the Gulf and Arab regions. During the visit we were able to see the agony of the Palestinian people that we all have been reading about and watching for years with our own eyes. What hurt us the most was the sight of Palestinian children walking to their schools each morning in extremely cold conditions and being forced to pass through Israeli barriers and submit to extensive searches. Other awful sights we will always remember include Palestinian shops covered with vulnerable cardboard shields in a desperate attempt to protect them from garbage thrown by Israeli settlers from their windows as well as the closed Shuhadaa (martyrs) Road near the Ibrahmi Mosque. The road is the only way for poor families to look for work and was closed after settlers filed several complaints. However, Palestinians could not hide their joy as they welcomed the visiting Kuwaiti delegation. They expressed their appreciation to Kuwait for being the only country to send a visiting media delegation without prior invitation. They expressed their gratitude toward the Kuwaiti delegation for visiting during Christmas and attending the Church of Nativity address. It marked the first time in history a country’s delegation attended the address. I urge delegations from all fields of the community to carry out similar visits to the occupied Palestinian territories so that the Palestinians can feel they are not left alone. Such attempts would boost their spirit and put more pressure on the Zionist regime. The Palestinian Authority always welcomes any delegation willing to visit the Palestinian territories through legal means and can ensure a successful visit. —Al-Qabas
Six-member gang held for committing 40 theft cases Man in custody for Sulaibiya burglaries KUWAIT: Police recently arrested a sixmember expatriate gang responsible for committing 40 theft cases in the country. The arrest took place after police located two of the culprits who are Syrian nationals residing in Jleeb Al-Shuyoukh illegally. Following their arrest, the two told police that they stole cars along with a third suspect, a Gulf national who was caught before selling the cars off to a Pakistani car dealer. It was then sold to an Egyptian worker in Amghara who dismantled the parts to be sold individually. They were referred to concerned authorities, reported Al-Watan. Meanwhile, police arrested one of the two Sulaibiya residents who carried out several burglaries in Mubarak Al-Kabeer. The duo stole jewelry worth KD 60,000. The booty was recovered at a ‘safe’, found at a jakhour (animal farm) in Kabad where they were hidden. A search for the other accomplice is still ongoing, reported Al- Rai. In a separate incident, police recently arrested a gang of three Asian men who sold spoiled meat to restaurants in Al-Farwaniya and Khaitan after buying them from a worker at a Shuwaikh slaughterhouse, reported AlAnba. Efforts are currently being made to determine the places that bought stale supplies from culprits. Boyfriend stabbed A young bedoon man was admitted to Al-Jahra hospital after being attacked by his girlfriend’s brother. The victim was spotted in the company of the young woman at a mall when the girl’s brother happened to
pass by, reported Al-Watan. He charged at the couple with a knife in hand, which he used to stab the victim before fleeing the scene with his sister. Police filed a case. Drunk son A bedoon man turned his son in to officials at the Sulaibiya police station, after returning home in a heavily intoxicated state, reported Al-Watan. A case was filed and the young man was detained. Drunk arrested Police recently arrested a young man who had been directing motorists to pull over at Al-Gous street, using an emergency light bar that was attached to the top of his car. Upon approaching the suspect, officials soon realized that he was under the influence of alcohol, reported Al-Watan. A background check revealed that he is already wanted in connection with previous felony charges. He was taken into custody. Woman suffers falls An Asian woman was admitted to AlAdan hospital with a broken jaw and severe chest injuries after missing a step and falling from a commercial building in Fahaheel. She was admitted to the ICU in fatal condition, reported Al-Watan. Police opened an investigation into the case. Absconding employee A female citizen filed a case against an Egyptian employee of a real-estate company that she owns, accusing him of disap-
pearing with a number of cheques worth KD 6,996, reported Al-Watan. Investigations have been opened into the case. Teacher arrested Police arrested a French language teacher after being accused of sexually harassing a female student while giving private tuition lessons. The incident took place at a home in Qurain where the teacher was hired. He reportedly attempted to assault his student when they were left alone. After the teacher escaped, the victim’s brothers filed a case with officials, reported Al-Rai. The police traced the man at an apartment building in Hawally. Rapists caught Police arrested three men, including two servicemen for kidnapping and raping a teenage girl. The case was filed when the 17-year-old victim’s parents filed a missing complaint about their daughter. Investigations revealed that the victim was in contact with an officer from the Ministry of Interior before her disappearance. Police then obtained a warrant to raid a Salmiya apartment that he had rented. The main suspect, victim, two other suspects were found in the apartment. During interrogation, the victim said that she was taken to the apartment after agreeing to accompany the officer. The girl then explained that the officer and his two friends gang raped her at the apartment. One of them worked with the Ministry of Defense. The men denied accu-
sations, and a medical forensic checkup was performed to confirm her claims, repor ted Al-Rai. In another case, the Hawally police apprehended three rapists who assaulted a minor expatriate girl after kidnapping her in Salmiya. The criminals were arrested from a Salmiya apartment where the victim was also found. The victim was able to make a brief phone call to her father who reported the incident to police immediately. During interrogation, the culprits admitted to having planned the crime by monitoring the victim’s apartment and waiting for her father to leave before forcibly entering it and kidnapping her, repor ted Al-Watan. Separately, the Jahra police managed to rescue a woman who was kidnapped from Al-Salmy. During interrogation, the victim claimed that the abductor raped her at a Salwa apartment. They also added that the building’s janitor also attempted to assault her, reported Al-Anba. However, the suspect denied the accusations, indicating that the victim had accompanied him willingly. Drug dealer A Jahra barber was arrested for trading in drugs. The arrest took place after a confrontation with the suspect. The police had already confirmed the information they had received about his illegal activities. He was taken into custody after 10 pieces of hashish bars prepared for sale were found in his possession, reported Al-Rai. He was referred to proper authorities.
English students required to pass 11 grades before graduation KU WAI T: The M i ni s tr y o f Education announced that they will only accredit high school degrees issued by schools with GCSE and IGCSE British systems as long as the student studied
for no less than 11 years, reported Al- Qabas. The announce ment was made by the General Director of Private Education, Mohammad Al-Dahis, who indicated that all British schools in
About 1,000 seedlings planted in Kuwait KUWAIT: The national trilateral commission aided by students planted yesterday 1,000 seedlings along Al-Wafra-Abdullah Port highway in an attempt to counter pollution. The campaign grouping security follow-up committee, Environment Public Authority (EPA) and Kuwait Municipality displays authorities’ keenness in greening the country and countering pollution. — KUNA
Kuwait that teach according to t ho se t wo system s were informed to provide a curriculum where high school students are required to pass at least 11 grades before graduating.
Al-Dahis noted that the depar tment receives a large number of degrees each year from high school graduates that o nly p ass 1 0 gra des. He explained that such degrees
cannot be accredited according to the ministry’s regulations and pointed out that such degrees are usually rejec ted by most universities in Ku wait and abroad.
Nabila Al-Anjari
‘Kuwait’s democratic set up is safe’ KUWAIT: A female Kuwaiti activist believes that the country’s democratic set up is safe, regardless of Wednesday’s parliamentary session results. In the meantime, she asserts that accepting the result with a positive attitude would be the main proof of true commitment to the Constitution. Nabila Al-Anjari made these comments while speaking to reporters. While blaming “violent language in speeches that cloud our democratic experience,” the activist insisted that ‘no one can benefit from the deterioration of Kuwait’s democracy,’ urging oppositionist MPs to become aware of the importance of protecting constitutional gains. Moreover, Al-Anjari called for the current situation to be studied carefully and adopt a more normal approach in dealing with cases of political interpellations “similar to those presented in more democratic communities, away from exaggerated hype, intimidation, hesitation and facts blown out of proportion through the media which picture the situation as if it were a crisis.” Al-Anjari further added that the recent development uncovered a flaw in the democratic culture, as well as the proper comprehension of national loyalty, which she says are reasons to devise a formula to reinforce the concept of democracy as a means to solidify national affiliation and achieve more development for a better life.
Kuwait municipality examines mega resort project KUWAIT: The Municipal Council, at a session held yesterday, re-examined the mega project of building a tourist resort in Jahra, and decided to debate anew proportion of the commercial sector of the venture at the next session. The members of the council discussed this particular issue, however they decided to include it in the agenda of the upcoming session, without taking final decisions in this respect. On other topics, the council submitted a report by the Minister of Public Works and Minister of State for Municipal Affairs, Dr. Fadhel Safar, regarding the naming of Al-Orouba Street in the district of Al-Khaldiah after Ali Saleh Al-Fadhalah to the Street Naming Committee. It referred a report by the steering committee charged with preparation for the national days to the executive department of the municipality, and approved the specialization of a plot for building headquarters for the Oula Fuel Marketing Company. —KUNA
International TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
Pakistan PM scrambles to keep govt from collapsing
A busy first day for Brazil’s new prez Page 10
Defection deprives PM of majority seats in parliament
LAHORE: This handout photograph released by the Pakistani Press Information Department yesterday shows Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani (L) speaking with governor of Punjab Shahbaz Sharif during a meeting in Lahore. —AFP
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister yesterday tried to keep his government from collapsing after a key party said it was quitting the ruling coalition, leaving the government short of majority support in parliament. The Muttahida Qaumi Movement, the second largest party in the ruling coalition, said Sunday it would join the opposition because of fuel price hikes, inflation and the ruling Pakistan People’s Party’s general poor performance. The defection deprives Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani’s government of the 172 seats needed for a majority in the 342-member parliament. That means the fractured opposition parties , if they can work together, could sponsor a no-confidence vote in Gilani, which if passed by a majority of lawmakers would remove the prime minister from office and possibly trigger early elections. The political crisis is almost certain to distract the government at a time when the US is pushing Islamabad to do more to help turn around the war in neighboring Afghanistan, although security is largely the purview of Pakistan’s powerful military. It also all but guarantees lawmakers will make no progress anytime soon on solving the economic problems that have frustrated ordinary Pakistanis and forced the country to rely on $11 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund. With his job on the line, Gilani was scrambling yesterday to secure the support of opposition groups to avoid a no-confidence vote. He met with representatives of the biggest opposition party, the Pakistan Muslim League-N, as well the second largest opposition group, the Pakistan Muslim League-Q. But it was unclear whether he had made any headway as of late yesterday afternoon. One opposition leader said his party had nothing against the prime minister, but stressed that it could only support Gilani’s government if it improved its performance. “Today we gave support with a condition, and that condition is the real issues of the people are addressed,” said Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain of the PML-Q. PML-N leader Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan avoided directly addressing whether his faction would support a no-confidence vote. “We will not destabilize this government, but if it loses its majority we will not support it,” he said. “We will no way give it a shoulder.” Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari is the head of the People’s Party. His position as president would likely be safe even if the Party loses its majority in Parliament. Analysts speculated that Zardari might be willing to replace Gilani with a premier more acceptable to other parties to avoid the PPP’s losing power. But Pakistani media reported early yesterday evening that Zardari had phoned Gilani and assured him of his support. The MQM said Sunday it was quitting the ruling coalition after the government announced hikes in gas and heating oil prices on New Year’s Eve.
“The petrol bomb the government has dropped on the people of Pakistan has forced our party to part ways with such insane decisions,” said Faisal Subzwari, an MQM leader. The MQM filed an application yesterday to formally switch to the opposition. Its Cabinet ministers already tendered their resignations last week. Another, smaller party, the Jamiat Ulema Islam, announced in December it would switch to the opposition and its application is under review. Without the two, the ruling coalition will fall about a dozen seats short of the 172 needed to keep a majority. Analysts said Gilani had only weeks, if not days, to keep his coalition intact or scrape together a new one. However, he appeared to have a bit of breathing room because there is no guarantee the fragmented opposition will be able to close ranks and oust Gilani. The MQM and the PML-N, headed by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, have frosty relations. Sharif’s party also would likely be loath to take the reins of a new government at such a difficult time. The IMF has demanded that Pakistan significantly reform its economy, including deep cuts to its deficit, in order to keep the loan program going. The international assistance took on added importance after the massive floods of late 2010 that affected some 20 million people. But the economic reforms, notably a revised general sales tax, are unpopular and have given the opposition , as well as the MQM and the JUI , something to rail against. Many analysts speculate the parties could be using the crisis as a tactic to win concessions from the ruling party. The MQM upped the pressure on the ruling PPP yesterday, raising the possibility that it might quit its partnership with the People’s Party in the coalition that governs Sindh province. The lack of progress and political bickering has upset many Pakistanis. “There is no electricity, no gas, no jobs and they are fighting one another,” said Arif Fasiullah, 35, of the central city of Multan, in a recent interview. “They do not pass any legislation. They just do dirty politics.” The inflation rate in Pakistan is above 15 percent, according to government statistics, and the poorest are feeling the pain most. The People’s Party took power in February 2008 in elections that brought Pakistan out of nearly a decade of military rule. It rode to power on a wave of sympathy after its leader, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated. But its popularity has slipped as Pakistan has grappled with severe economic problems and frequent militant attacks. The PML-N holds the second largest number of seats in parliament and is believed to be the most popular party in the country. It is more aligned with religious conservatives than the People’s Party is and has not been as vocal in opposing the Taleban , a position that could cause some discomfort in Washington, which needs Pakistan’s help in ending the war in neighboring Afghanistan. —AP
South Korea talks tough but opens door to diplomacy SEOUL: South Korea’s president yesterday opened the door to possible peace talks with North Korea even as he vowed not to let Pyongyang “covet even an inch of our territor y ”, looking to strike a delicate balance between diplomacy and strength two days after the North called for better ties with Seoul. Lee Myung-bak, addressing the country in a New Year’s speech, said the Nov 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, which killed four and has spiked fears of war, should be treated as the United States did the Sept 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and spur the South to change the way it defends itself. Future provocations, he said, “will be met with stern, strong responses.” However, he said: “The door for dialogue is still open. If the North exhibits sincerity, we have both the will and the plan to drastically enhance economic cooperation.” On New Year’s Day, the North called for warmer ties and the resumption of joint projects with South Korea. Pyongyang, eager for food and fuel assistance, has said it wants stalled international aid-for-nucleardisarmament talks to restart. Washington and Seoul have said no, demanding the North first fulfill past nuclear disarmament commitments. Meanwhile, the United States, which has about 28,500 troops in the South, is sending its top envoy on Nor th Korea, Stephen Bosworth, to Seoul for talks Wednesday with top officials. US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will visit Seoul next week. North Korea yesterday called for Seoul to scrap its hostile policy against Pyongyang. “As long as South Korea’s dangerous nor thward invasion plot is maintained, Nor th-South Korea relations cannot be improved at all and we cannot think about the nation’s safety and peaceful reunification,” the Nor th’s main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. In the North Korean capital, about 100,000 people gathered yesterday for an annual New Year rally to display loyalty to leader Kim Jong Il. The crowd packed Kim Il Sung plaza, pumping their fists in the air and shouting slogans while carrying huge portraits of Kim and his father, North Korean founder Kim Il Sung. Some waved huge red flags and played small drums, as top officials watched from an elevated viewing stand. Kim and his son and heir-apparent, Kim Jong Un, didn’t appear in the footage broadcast by APTN. Despite the mention of possible peace talks, the focus of Lee’s comments on North Korea was a tough promise to improve South Korea’s defenses.
SEOUL: South Korean President Lee Myung-bak speaks to the nation during his New Year’s speech at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea yesterday.—AP Lee was severely criticized for acting too slowly and too weakly after the shelling near the Koreas’ disputed western sea border. It was the first attack by the North, which claims the waters around the island as its territory, on a civilian area since the 1950-53 Korean War. Lee’s government has responded by replacing the defense chief, strengthening security and pushing to deploy additional troops and weaponry to Yeonpyeong, which lies just seven miles (11 kilometers) from North Korean shores. After the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Lee said, the United States devised new security strategies. “ The shelling of Yeonpyeong Island also served as an opportunity for us to reflect on our security readiness and overhaul our defense posture,” he said. Under Lee’s conservative administration, relations between the two Koreas have deteriorated as he reversed policies of earlier liberal-leaning administrations that he saw as rewarding the Nor th’s aggression. Presidential and foreign ministry officials said the resumption of talks with North Korea would depend on whether Pyongyang makes progress on past nuclear commitments. Jeung Young-tae, an analyst with the government-funded Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said tensions won’t be dramatically eased anytime soon because North Korea won’t accept linking new talks with disarmament efforts. — AP
Karroubi says ready for trial TEHRAN: Opposition leader Mehdi Karroubi is prepared to go on trial over the unrest which followed Iran’s disputed presidential poll in June 2009 but wants the trial open to the public, his website reported yesterday. His offer came after Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jaffari Dolatabadi threatened on Friday to file criminal charges against opposition leaders such as Karroubi and Mir Hossein Mousavi for their “seditionist” role in the post-vote violence. “I completely welcome such a trial... I am ready for the court to be held in any form,” Karroubi said in a signed open letter posted on his website Sahamnews.org. “But I have a request... that the proceedings be open to the public so that the people, who own the country, can listen to both sides and then make their own judgement,” the website quoted him as writing in the letter. Tehran and other Iranian cities were gripped by violent street protests in the aftermath of the 2009 election, which officially returned President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to power. Mousavi, Karroubi and their supporters maintain the poll was rigged. In his letter, Karroubi also wrote that he had “strong reasons” for the stance he has adopted since the vote. Dolatabadi has previously warned it was just a matter of time until opposition leaders would be held legally responsible for the widespread rioting after the election. —AFP
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
INTERNATIONAL Christians subject to genocide: Ex-Lebanon leader BEIRUT: Extremist groups are waging a "genocide" against Christians in the Middle East, a former Lebanese president said yesterday after a New Year's suicide bombing of a church in Egypt killed 21 people. Amin Gemayel, a Christian who served a six-year term as president in the 1980s, cited the attack in Egypt and recent violence in Iraq as he urged leaders to give Christian communities a larger political role. "Massacres are taking place for no reason and without any justification against Christians. It is only because they are Christians," said Gemayel, who leads Lebanon's right-wing Christian Phalange party. "What is happening to Christians is a genocide," he said. Lebanon, which experienced a ruinous 15-year civil war, in part between Muslims and Christians, that left about 150,000 dead, is deeply divided along sectarian lines. Christians make up about 40 percent of Lebanon's 4 million people and the country is the only Arab nation with a Christian head of state. The Phalange party, which was founded in 1936 by Gemayel's father, Pierre, fought heavily on the Christian side during Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war. Militias linked to the party carried out the notorious massacres of Palestinians in the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in 1982.
Gbagbo defies calls to step down
Former Lebanese President Amin Gemayel Egyptian police are focusing their investigation into the New Year's suicide bombing on a group of Islamic hard-liners inspired by al-Qaida and based in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria. Scores of Iraqi Christians have been killed in the past months at the hands of extremists as well. — AP
Policeman shot dead in northeastern Nigeria MAIDUGURI: A policeman was shot dead in northeastern Nigeria yesterday, the latest in a string of violent attacks in one of the poorest areas of Africa's most populous nation. The officer was shot in the city of Maiduguri where an Islamist sect last week killed at least 16 people in a series of religiously motivated attacks, the police have said. Over 90 suspects have been arrested. "Corporal James was trailed by two people on a motorcycle when he disengaged from patrol duty this morning, and they shot him dead near police quarters in Gwange ward at about 9:45 am," police commissioner Mohammed Abubaker said. Two days earlier suspect-
Neighbors to pressure Ivory Coast leader to leave
ed members of Islamist group Boko Haram set a church ablaze close to where yesterday's shooting took place, Abubaker said. Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sinful" in Hausathe language spoken across northern Nigeria, is loosely modelled on the Taliban movement in Afghanistan and wants Islamic law imposed throughout the West African country. The sect claimed responsibility for Christmas Eve bombings in the central Nigerian city of Jos which killed at least 80 people and left more than 100 wounded, part of a wave of violence less than four months before presidential elections. — Reuters
ABIDJAN: African leaders returned to Ivory Coast yesterday in their second visit in a week as they stepped up pressure on the country's renegade president to cede power more than a month after the election or face a military ouster. Laurent Gbagbo has defied the calls to step down even though results tallied by the country's electoral commission and certified by the United Nations showed he lost by a nearly 9-point margin to longtime opposition leader Alassane Ouattara. Gbagbo has clung to power with the backing of the army, and human rights groups accuse his security forces of abducting and killing hundreds of political opponents. The U.N. says it also has been barred entry from two suspected mass graves. Gbagbo has dismissed the international condemnation as "a foreign plot" led by France, the country's former colonizer. In a break with the past though, the African leaders also have taken a stance against one of their own. The three presidents who are coming to Abidjan yesterday represent the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, a 15-member regional bloc that is threatening military action if Gbagbo does not agree to step aside. The presidents of Benin, Sierra Leone and Cape Verde are also being joined by Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is representing the African Union. The continental body in the past has been derisively called "the club of dictators" because of its unwillingness to criticize rogue leaders. However, the AU has been ABIDJAN: Benin President Boni Yayi, left, walks with Sierra Leone President, Ernest Bai Koroma, on arrival at the uncharateristically strident in its airport in Abidjan yesterday. —AP criticism of Gbagbo, threatening sanctions if he does not leave. Col. as a test case for democracy in win." Some have taken that to ing foreign channels off the air. He Mohammed Yerima, director of Africa and a warning to other mean he never intended to step called on the United Nations peacekeeping mission to leave the defense information for the strongmen on the continent who down, regardless of the results. For several days after the vote, country, accusing them of backing Nigerian military, said that defense refuse to let go. Gbagbo, who came to power in Gbagbo loyalists tried to prevent his opponent, who is holed up in a chiefs from the 15-nation bloc met Friday to begin strategizing what 2000 and ruled during a brief civil the election commission from luxury hotel in the commercial sort of assault they'd use if talks war, overstayed his mandate when releasing the outcome, and once capital of Abidjan. The election was intended to it expired in 2005, claiming the the results were out, the constitufail. He said any initial invasion force country was too unstable to organ- tional council led by a Gbagbo help reunify the country, which would rely on the West African ize a poll. When the election was adviser immediately overturned was divided by the 2002-2003 war coalition's standby force, as well as finally held in October, it had been them by canceling half a million into a rebel-controlled north and a equipment and material already scheduled and then canceled at ballots from opposition strong- loyalist south. Instead, the election has renewed divisions that threatstockpiled. If international pressure least six times. In the lead-up to holds. Gbagbo's government then en to plunge the country back into succeeds in forcing Gbagbo to the November runoff, his party's stand down, Ivory Coast could act slogan was: "Either we win. Or we imposed a media blackout, yank- civil war. — AP
Finland expands Patria bribery probe to Croatia HELSINKI:
Finnish police have begun a bribery investigation into arms group Patria's sales in Croatia, sparked by information collected during a similar probe into its dealings in Slovenia, officials said yesterday. The National Bureau of Investigation said police suspect that "money was handed to civil servants and decision makers" in 2007 when the Finnish company sold armored vehicles to Croatia in a deal valued at the time at 112 million Euros. Detective Chief Inspector Kaj Bjorkvist declined to give details as both investigations were pending. But he confirmed that the bureau began the investigation in Croatia after suspicions were aroused during an ongoing probe into alleged bribes paid to Slovenian politicians in a Euros 280 million deal in
2006. In October, the Slovene Parliament stripped a former prime minister of his immunity so he could be prosecuted for allegedly taking bribes while in office. Janez Jansa, now a lawmaker in Slovenia's strongest opposition party, was indicted with four other men for seeking about §2 million in bribes to help Patria win the 2006 tender. He has denied the charges. In November 2008, the Finnish bureau detained former Patria CEO Jorma Wiitakorpi and another former Patria official in connection with the Slovenia investigation. Both men were suspected of "industrial espionage, aggravated bribery and bribery in business operations," the bureau said at the time. Patria has declined to comment on the case except
BASRA: US Army soldiers salute during a handover ceremony of a military base from the 1st Infantry Division to the 36th Infantry Division in Basra, Iraq’s second-largest city, 340 miles (550 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad, Iraq on Sunday. — AP
two GIs killed in Iraq
HEIJNINGEN, Netherlands: A tractor moves glass bottles at a recycling facility yesterday. The recycling facility accepts deliveries of truckloads of glass after the holidays from throughout the country. – AFP
BAGHDAD: Gun and bomb attacks killed three Iraqis and wounded 15 yesterday, security officials said, while the US military said two US soldiers had been killed, the first to die in Iraq this year. A suicide car bomb exploded yesterday morning outside a police intelligence office in Baquba north of the Iraqi capital, killing a man and wounding 15 other people, a security official and a doctor said. The bombing targeted the office, located in a central market, at about 11:00 am (0800 GMT), the security official said, adding that guards protecting the building and girls on a nearby school bus were among the wounded. Just before the suicide bomber blew up the car, insurgents threw several hand grenades into the intelligence office. It was the first attack against the centre, which was opened three years ago. Dr Firas al-Dulaimi, who works at the main hospital in Baquba, said the wounded included 10 girls, two men, and three guards from the intelligence office, who suffered serious injuries. In central Baghdad, gunmen early yesterday broke into the home of a Christian woman, Rafah Toma, shot her dead and made off with a number of her possessions, an interior ministry official said. Toma, who lived alone in Al-Wahda neighbourhood, is the latest victim of a string of attacks on Christians in Iraq, with the official saying she was likely targeted because of her religion. On Thursday, at least two Christians were killed and 16 others wounded in a wave of bomb attacks on Christian targets in Baghdad, while 44 worshippers, two priests and seven security forces members were killed in an October 31 attack by militants on a Baghdad church. The interior ministry official, who would not be named, also said that a policeman was shot dead by gunmen with silenced weapons in Taifiya in northern Baghdad yesterday. He gave no further details.
The policeman's death followed a string of similar attacks on Sunday night in which a traffic police colonel, two other police, an army captain and an engineer were gunned down in five separate attacks in Baghdad by gunmen with silenced weapons. Gunmen also severely wounded a colonel with the interior ministry on Sunday. The US military yesterday announced that two US soldiers have been killed in central Iraq. "Two US service members were killed in central Iraq Sunday night while in support of Operation New Dawn," a statement from the US military said. Operation New Dawn is the name for US military activities in Iraq from September 1, 2010, after the declared end of combat operations. "This was one incident resulting in the death of two US service members. These are the first deaths of any US service member in 2011," a spokeswoman for the military said, without giving further details on how the two were killed, or to which branch of the military they belonged. The latest deaths brings to 4,432 the number of American soldiers to have died in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion to oust Saddam Hussein, according to an AFP tally based on data from independent website www.icasualties.org. According to the website, 60 members of the US military were killed in Iraq in 2010 -- by far the smallest number since 2003. Some 50,000 US troops remain in the country, but a security accord between Baghdad and Washington requires that they be withdrawn by the end of 2011. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who was approved for a second term by parliament on December 21 along with a national unity cabinet after over nine months of political deadlock, has named security as one of his top priorities. — AFP
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Busy first day for Brazil’s new prez Rousseff to improve ties with Washington
In this frame grab taken from video provided to the Virginian-Pilot newspaper, US Navy Capt Owen Honors appears in one of a series of profanity-laced comedy sketches that were broadcast on the USS Enterprise via closed-circuit television. —AP
Navy probes lewd videos shown on deployed carrier VIRGINIA: Videos just coming to light show the crew of a Navy aircraft carrier got an eyeful on shipboard TV: Gay slurs, suggestive shower scenes and mimicked masturbation in clips made not by some sailor run amok but by the ship’s second-most powerful officer. The Navy said Sunday it will investigate the “clearly inappropriate” videos shown through the nuclear-powered ship’s closed-circuit television system. The star of the videos, made in 2006 and 2007, is Capt Owen Honors, who now commands the USS Enterprise but was its executive officer, the second in command , when the videos were made. The Nor folk-based Enterprise was deployed in the Middle East at the time the videos were made and is weeks from deploying again. The Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported on the videos in its Sunday editions and posted an edited version of one video on its website. It’s not immediately known why the images are surfacing now. The VirginianPilot quoted anonymous crew members who said they raised concerns aboard the ship about the videos when they aired, but they were brushed off. It’s clear from the videos that Honors, who took over the ship’s command in May, had already gotten complaints when some of them were made. “Over the years I’ve gotten several complaints about inappropriate material during these videos, never to me personally but, gutlessly, through other channels,” he said in the introduction to the video posted by the newspaper. He goes on to use a derogatory term for gays and tells his critics: “This evening, all of you bleeding hearts ... why don’t you just go ahead and hug yourselves for the next 20 minutes or so, because there’s a really good chance you’re gonna be offended.” Next comes a sequence of what appear to be outtakes in which Honors and others curse, followed by clips in which he and others are shown making hand motions that mimic masturbation. Honors segues to the next segment by saying, “Finally let’s get to my favorite topic ... chicks in the shower.” Next are shown clips of pairs of women and a pair of men pretending to shower together. No nudity is shown, but the men’s and women’s bare shoulders imply they are nude. Other clips in the video show a man in drag and a mock rectal examination.
Navy Cmdr. Chris Sims said in a statement sent to The Associated Press that the videos “were not acceptable then and are not acceptable in today’s Navy.” Executive officers and other leaders “are charged to lead by example and are held accountable for setting the proper tone and upholding the standards of honor, courage and commitment that we expect sailors to exemplify,” he said. Sims said US Fleet Forces Command “has initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the production of these videos.” In a statement to the Virginian-Pilot on Friday, however, the Navy said it had put a stop to videos with “inappropriate content” on the Enterprise several years ago. “It is unfortunate that copies of these videos remained accessible to crewmembers, especially after leadership took action approximately four years ago to ensure any future videos reflected the proper tone,” the Navy said. It also said the videos “were intended to be humorous skits focusing the crew’s attention on specific issues such as port visits, traffic safety, water conservation, ship cleanliness, etc.” A phone listing for Honors was not immediately available. He is a 1983 alumnus of the US Naval Academy and was a naval aviator before holding command. He attended the US Naval Fighter Weapons School, also known as Top Gun. The newspaper reported that the videos were made during the Enterprise’s two six-month deployments to the Middle East in 2006 and 2007. Commissioned in 1961, the Enterprise is the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. It is scheduled to sail two more deployments before it is decommissioned in 2013. It can carry a crew of more than 5,800. The commanding officer of the Enterprise at the time the videos were made, Lawrence Rice, was later promoted to the rank of the rear admiral and had been assigned to the Norfolk-based US Joint Forces Command, but is no longer there, a spokeswoman said. The video posted by the newspaper included clips of past “movies” Honors had made , including several statements in which he holds his higher-ups blameless for the material. “As usual, the admiral and the captain have no idea about the contents of the video or movie this evening, and they should not be held accountable in any judicial setting,” Honors says.—AP
US Republicans arm for Congress battles WASHINGTON: Republicans eagerly geared up for battle in Congress this week, warning Democrats of an aggressive push to slash spending and an early assault on President Barack Obama’s signature health care reform. With most politicians already eyeing the 2012 presidential election, the US Congress returns tomorrow with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives and a slimmed- down Democratic majority in the Senate. Buoyed by their gains in the November mid-term elections which also saw the grassroots conservative Tea Party movement win its first lawmakers, Republicans are champing at the bit to try to unravel two years of legislation enacted by Obama’s Democrats. Topping the Republicans’ “to do” list are the nation’s 1.3-trillion- dollar budget deficit and health care reform, with rightwing lawmakers saying they are responding to voters’ anger at the stagnant economy and high unemployment. Representative Fred Upton, who takes over as chair of the power ful Energy and Commerce Committee, vowed tough oversight and “to bring up spending reductions virtually every week.” And he told Fox News Sunday his committee would hold a vote on moving to repeal Obama’s health care reform before the presidential State of the Union address at the end of January. Republicans cannot repeal health reform while Obama has a presidential veto, but plan instead to block White House efforts to fund its implementation. “If we pass this bill, it will put enormous pressure on the Senate to do the same thing. But then we’re going to go after this bill piece by piece,” Upton said. Obama’s signature legislation, pushed through Congress despite huge Republican opposition early last year, aims to ensure that all Americans have health care insurance. But Tea Par ty favorite M ichele Bachmann told CBS: “Obamacare will bankrupt the countr y... I t ’s ver y costly, it ’s
unwieldy. “So we will put forth a clean repeal bill of Obamacare.” In his weekly national address on Saturday, Obama reminded Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives that they have a “shared responsibility to move this country forward.” “It’s time to make some serious decisions about how to keep our economy strong, growing, and competitive in the long run,” the president said. But serving notice that a spirit of bi-partisanship hesitantly forged in late December looked set to evaporate, Representative Darrell Issa said: “I think we’re going to be in a constant battle over jobs and the economy.” Issa, who will be the new chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and who last year called the Obama administration “one of the most corrupt,” also warned he intends to rigorously oversee spending. The Republican bid to rein in spending appears focused in part on the nation’s debt ceiling. The US is about 400 billion dollars away from hitting the current debt ceiling of 14.3 trillion dollars. But fiscal conservatives in Congress are opposed to raising the limit, believing it is already high enough. Refusing to raise the ceiling would be “insanity ” and would mean “essentially defaulting on our obligations, which is totally unprecedented in American history,” warned Austan Goolsbee, chairman of Obama’s council of economic advisors, on ABC’s “This Week.” But incoming lawmaker, Mike Kelly, told CBS: “Raising the debt ceiling to me is absolutely irresponsible. We’ve been spending money for so long that we don’t have and keep saying, well, it’s OK.” Democratic Party chairman Tim Kaine said Sunday the president, while aiming to work with the Republicans, was not going to kow-tow to them as they wield their newfound political muscle. “He’s not going to play ‘mother may I’ with the Republicans. He’s going to govern,” he told CNN.—AFP
BRASILIA: Brazil’s new president Dilma Rousseff held a flurry of talks with foreign envoys on Sunday during her first full day in office after succeeding her hugely popular predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The 63-year-old Rousseff, who was Lula’s former cabinet chief, vowed during her inauguration on Saturday to continue his policies, which have fueled economic growth and enhanced Brazil’s international standing. On Sunday, Rousseff met with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-Sik, Spain’s crown Prince Felipe, Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, Cuban Vice President Jose Ramon Machado and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas. The new foreign minister Antonio Patriota said her travel plans would take her to Brazil’s two biggest trading partners, the United States and China, in the coming months as well as a February South AmericaArab summit in Peru. Rousseff wants to improve ties with Washington and most likely will take a more critical stand with Iran, analysts have said, after Lula irked the United States with his friendly embrace of Tehran. She was also expected to pursue closer ties with the BRICS club of major emerging economies, which besides Brazil includes Russia, India, China and South Africa. During Saturday’s inauguration ceremony, Rousseff received the green-and-gold official sash and a heartfelt hug from Lula before he left her alone in the spotlight to give her first speech to the nation. “I will look after the most vulnerable. I will govern for all Brazilians,” she said in the televised address from the palace’s balcony. Required to step down after ser ving the maximum two consecutive terms permitted under Brazil’s constitution, Lula has not said what he plans to do in retirement. But he has said he is a “natural born politician” who would not rule out trying to return to the presidency after Rousseff ’s four-year mandate ends, depending on the per formance of the woman he helped get elected. In her swearing-in speech before Brazil’s Congress, Rousseff repeatedly paid homage to her mentor, calling him a “great man” and vowing to maintain his legacy, notably in reducing poverty and promoting economic prosperity. “The most determined struggle will be to eradicate extreme poverty,” she said. “We can be a more developed and fairer country.” Rousseff outlined plans for tax reforms, environmental protection, improved health services, regional development-and unspecified measures to combat foreign “speculation” that could upset Brazil’s economic growth. Brazil’s economy grew an enviable 7.6 percent in 2010, it enjoys recently discovered oil finds that could make it a big-league exporter and it is preparing to host the 2014 football World Cup and 2016 Olympics. But challenges loom. Growth is expected to slide to 4.5 percent in 2011, rising inflation is well above the government target at an estimated 5.9 percent, and an aim to cut public debt from 42 percent to 30 percent is likely to meet resistance, as Brazil desperately needs more and better infrastructure. Brazil’s currency, the real, has more than doubled in value against the dollar during Lula’s eight years in power, and looks set to rise further, undermining the competitiveness of Brazilian exporters. —AFP
BRASILIA: Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, right, shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a meeting at the Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Sunday. —AP
Magnitude-7.1 quake shakes southern Chile SANTIAGO: A magnitude-7.1 earthquake shook southern Chile on Sunday, prompting tens of thousands to flee the coast for higher ground amid fears it could generate a tsunami like the one that ravaged the area last year. There were no reports of deaths or damage, and Vicente Nunez, head of the National Emergency Office, said no tsunami alert was issued. “There has been no harm to people, no harm to property,” Nunez said. “We will continue monitoring.” The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii also said a destructive Pacific Ocean-wide tsunami was not expected. President Sebastian Pinera urged calm in an address to the nation. “ There was an exercise of selfevacuation, which is exactly what we
have asked people to do,” Pinera said. “For tunately we do not have to lament accidents or losses of life.” Some cell-phone communications and electrical power were knocked out in the Araucania region where the quake was centered, 370 miles (595 kilometers) south-southwest of the capital, Santiago. The US Geological Survey said the epicenter was about 45 miles (70 kilometers) away from the provincial capital of Temuco, which has a population of about 250,000. The quake struck at a depth of about 11 miles (17 kilometers), according to the USGS, and there was at least one aftershock of 5.0 magnitude. When the first temblor struck, people in several coastal cities quickly moved away from the ocean, abandoning some
shopping centers entirely. In the communities of La Araucania, Puerto Saavedra, Tolten and Teodoro Smith, an estimated 50,000 people voluntarily evacuated to higher ground, according to Nunez. Hundreds of tourists spending the New Year’s holiday at the resorts of Villarica and Pucon cut their trips short and headed north, clogging roads and toll stations. Residents of the region have fresh memories of the magnitude -8.8 quake and resulting tsunami on Feb. 27, 2010, that killed at least 521 people and left 200,000 homeless. Sergio Barrientos, director of the seismology office at the University of Chile, said Sunday ’s temblor was itself an aftershock of last year ’s mega-quake. — AP
Mexican cartel announces 1-month truce MORELIA: A letter purportedly signed by La Familia drug cartel announcing a one-month truce circulated Sunday in the western state of Michoacan. In the one-page message, distributed by email and in some cities door by door, the gang claims it will halt all crime activity during January to demonstrate that the cartel “is not responsible for the criminal acts federal authorities are reporting to the media.” Prosecutors have not verified the letter’s authenticity, according to an employee of the Michoacan bureau of the federal Attorney General’s Office who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. The government says La Familia has been weakened by a recent string of arrests and deaths of top leaders. In another letter that circulated in November, La Familia purportedly
offered to disband. Last month, gunmen torched vehicles across Michoacan and used them as barricades to block all entrances into the state capital of Morelia after federal police killed alleged La Familia leader Nazario Moreno Gonzalez. La Familia has occasionally made public pronouncements seeking to convince the public that it is defending Michoacan against other drug gangs. Federal officials, however, say the cartel has terrorized the state with kidnappings, extortion, hundreds of murders, decapitations and drug trafficking. More than 30,000 people have died in drug-related violence nationwide since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on cartels after taking office in December 2006, first deploying hundreds of soldiers and federal police to his home state of Michoacan.
On Sunday, Calderon said in a New Year’s broadcast that his administration will continue to fight organized crime. “We all know it is necessary to rid Mexico of crime, impunity and corruption, which had been rooted in our society and our institutions,” he said. “I can assure you we are on the right path and we will defeat the criminals, to ultimately build a Mexico of peace.” Earlier Sunday, military and federal agencies responsible for fighting the drug war released a joint statement highlighting what they called “historic achievements.” In Calderon’s first four years in government, more methamphetamine, automatic rifles and grenades were seized than in the previous eight years, the statement said. It did not say how seizures for cocaine and marijuana, the main sources of income for Mexican drug cartels, compare to previous administrations.—AP
PORT-AU-PRINCE: Police extinguish a bonfire, part of a barricade set up by demonstrators protesting against presidential elections, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti yesterday. —AP
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China claims mastering nuclear fuel reprocessing Breakthrough may yield additional power sources BEIJING: Chinese scientists have mastered the technology for reprocessing nuclear fuel, potentially yielding additional power sources to keep the country’s economy booming, state television reported yesterday. The breakthrough will extend by many times the amount of power that can be generated from China’s nuclear plants by allowing the recovery of fissile and fertile materials to provide new fuel, CCTV said.
Several European countries, Russia, India and Japan already reprocess nuclear fuel, the actual materials used to make nuclear energy, to separate out and recover the unused uranium and plutonium, reduce waste and close the nuclear cycle for safety reasons. Each country’s process is generally considered an industrial secret and not shared. Both the recovered plutonium and, when prices are high, the uranium can then be re-used as fuel. As well, some types of reactors can use other components that are reprocessed, potentially multiplying the amount of energy that results from the original uranium fuel by about 60 times. However, reprocessing is controversial because the extracted plutonium can be used to produce nuclear weapons. It also costs substantially more than using fuel once and then storing it as waste.
China, which has possessed nuclear weapons for decades, has known supplies of nuclear fuel to last 50-70 years, but the new process could yield enough extra fuel to potentially extend that to 3,000 years, the report said. Chinese scientists have been working on the technology for more than 20 years, but the details of the process they developed are being kept secret, CCTV said. No timeframe was given for when China will begin reprocessing on an industrial scale. China is heavily dependent on coal for energy, but has launched an ambitious plan to add hundreds of nuclear power plants to its 13 currently in use. China overtook the United States in 2009 to become the world’s largest energy consumer, years before it was expected to do s o, a cco rd i n g to t h e Pa r i s - b a s e d
International Energy Agency. China’s total 2009 consumption, including energy sources ranging from oil and coal to wind and solar power, was equal to 2.265 billion tons of oil, compared with 2.169 billion tons used by the U.S., the IEA said. The consumption boom reflects China’s transformation from a nation of subsistence farmers to one of workers increasingly trading bicycles for cars and buying air conditioners and other energy-hungr y home electronics. That has also bestowed on China status as the world’s biggest polluter, although Beijing has long pointed fingers at developed nations in climate change talks and resists any label that could increase international pressure for it to take a larger role in curbing greenhouse gas emissions.—AP
Afghan peace council heads for Pakistan talks
QUEENSLAND: This picture taken on Sunday shows rising floodwaters spreading through the low-lying suburb of Depot Hill in Rockhampton, in eastern Queensland. —AFP
Australian army rushes supplies to flood zone ROCKHAMPTON: The Australian military raced to supply the flood-hit northern city of Rockhampton, which was cut off by rising waters yesterday, as the disaster claimed its third fatality. Up to 200,000 people are estimated to have been hit by the fast-flowing waters that have inundated 22 rural towns in the country’s northeast, across an area the size of France and Germany. The military rushed food and medical supplies to Rockhampton yesterday as flood waters threatened the costal city. “Looks like Rockhampton’s in the middle of an inland sea,” Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said after flying over the area. “The amount of water coming down these river systems is nothing short of astonishing. Bligh later said that Rockhampton had been cut off, with the last route into the town inundated. “The highway is cut at Rockhampton,” Bligh told ABC radio. “Rockhampton is now completely stranded-a town of 75,000 people-no airport, rail or road.” With the last route to Rockhampton cut, three Australian Defence Force helicopters will provide the city’s only lifeline for food and medical supplies. “The affected area is greater than the size of New South Wales (state), with the worst still to come in communities like Rockhampton,” Bligh said. “Supplying them with food, ensuring that we keep them safe during this flood is absolutely critical.” Bligh said floods had also halted operations at 75 per cent of Queensland’s coal fields, which supplied half of the world’s coking coal needed in steel manufacturing. Prime Minister Julia Gillard offered emergency funds to people affected by the floods, including farmers more used to battling crippling droughts, as well as to small businesses. “When the floodwaters recede, we are going to see a lot of damage but we will obviously be working with the state government to rebuild that essential community infrastructure,” Gillard told reporters in
Sydney. “All in all, we know hundreds of millions of dollars are going to flow into Queensland.” Gillard, who toured some of the devastated areas Friday, said that for some communities these were “the biggest floods they have ever seen” and warned people to be aware of the risks of the fastflowing waters. Police confirmed the third death since the floods were declared a disaster, that of a man who drowned after his vehicle was swept into a flooded river. His death follows that of a man who died after abandoning his boat Saturday as it took on water, and a woman who drowned as she was swept away by surging waters that swamped her car. Ten people have now died in floodrelated accidents since November 30 — including three whose vehicles were swept away, two people who attempted to swim in fast-flowing waters, a man who was knocked off a footbridge and a girl who drowned while trying to walk across a river. Queensland state assistant police commissioner Alistair Dawson has warned the emergency could drag on for a month, saying that, while parts of the state were in recovery mode, others were bracing for the worst. Rockhampton Mayor Brad Carter said the flooding, set to peak in tomorrow in the city, would take a long time to recede. “We expect to have our airport closed for the best part of three weeks,” he told reporters yesterday. The floods are wreaking untold billions of dollars in damage to crops and Australia’s key mining industry, while farmers, small businesses and tourism are also expected to suffer. In Bundaberg, in Queensland’s southeast, the clean-up had begun in about 300 homes and 120 businesses as flood waters receded, but other towns such as Theodore and Condamine remained empty of residents. “It’s just devastating,” Queenslander Beryl Callaghan told Sky News after returning to her water-damaged home.— AFP
KABUL: Members of an Afghan peace council will hold talks this week with leaders in Pakistan, a crucial player in any future Afghan peace settlement, in the latest attempt to resolve the drawn-out and costly war. A delegation led by former president Burhanuddin Rabbani would hold talks this week with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and others to discuss peace efforts in Afghanistan, said Waheed Omer, chief spokesman for President Hamid Karzai. Pakistan, long blamed for stoking the insurgency in Afghanistan to thwart rival India, is nevertheless seen as an important ally to the United States and other NATO members as they battle a worsening insurgency now in its tenth year. Acceptance has grown at home and abroad that talks may be the route to peace in Afghanistan, with US and NATO leaders also examining their long term-commitment to the war, which is at its deadliest since the Taleban were ousted in late 2001. Omer said the delegation from Karzai’s High Peace Council wanted to seek help from Pakistan and keep its leaders abreast of developments. “This trip is not about meeting members of the Taleban,” Omer told a news conference in Kabul. “As Pakistan has influence over the Afghan Taleban and anti-government elements who are Afghans, it can be productive in the peace process,” he said. Pakistan backed the Taleban until the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on US cities. It says it has maintained some contacts but rejects accusations it backs the insurgency. The United States has increased pressure on Pakistan to hunt down Islamist militants in a bid to turn around the war in Afghanistan, but those efforts have been complicated by a growing political crisis in Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani was scrambling to save his ruling coalition yesterday after a key partner withdrew. At a summit in Lisbon in November, NATO leaders accepted Karzai’s ambitious timeline for Afghan security forces to take over security responsibility by the end of 2014, part of his broader peace plan that includes talks with the Taleban. While Afghan officials have been meeting Taleban and other insurgent leaders for at least two years, the momentum for talks grew last year after a series of media stories incorrectly said senior Taleban leaders had met Karzai’s government. No serious, high-level discussions about peace have been held between the Afghan government and the Taleban, US, NATO and Afghan officials have said, with contacts described as “talks about talks” or “networking”. Interest in talks also grew in the leadup to US President Barack Obama’s review of his Afghan war strategy last month, which found US and NATO forces were making headway against the Taleban and al Qaeda but serious challenges remain. Karzai established the peace council in October. His broader peace plan includes reintegrating Taleban “foot soldiers” and finding asylum in third countries for irreconcilable leaders. Some Western leaders have said the conflict cannot be won militarily but Washington and NATO leaders however say talks will not be possible unless militants renounce the insurgency. The Taleban, in turn, have said repeatedly there will be no talks until all foreign troops have left Afghanistan. Most of the senior members of the Afghan Taleban, including their elusive leader Mullah Mohammad Omar, fled to neighbouring Pakistan when US-backed Afghan forces toppled their strict Islamist regime in late 2001. The drive for a resolution coincides with the bloodiest period of the war, with military and civilian casualties at record levels. Some 711 foreign troops were killed in 2010, by far the deadliest year of the war for NATO-led forces. — Reuters
LAGHMAN: Afghan policemen stand around the lifeless body of a Taleban militant, who was killed during a clash with Afghan police in Laghman east of Kabul, Afghanistan yesterday. —AP
Afghan violence had to get worse to get better: NATO KABUL: Violence levels in Afghanistan had to get worse before they got better, a spokesman for the US-led NATO force in the war-torn country said yesterday, after its bloodiest year yet in the war. Brigadier General Josef Blotz said that troops from the 140,000-strong International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would not let up in their battle against the Taleban despite the winter, when fighting has previously lessened. “Our casualties are not a proof of any failure of our strategy. On the contrary,” he told a regular press briefing in Kabul, highlighting a US strategy announced in 2009 that boosted American troops by 30,000. “With this increased force posture, we were able to challenge Taleban and insurgency networks in areas where they haven’t been challenged for many years,” he said. “This actually led to un upturn in vio-
lence and we expected this. “But obviously this is a necessary step, a necessary phase in the overall strategy and before it gets better, unfortunately it has to get worse and that’s what we saw towards the end of 2010.” A total of 711 international troops died in Afghanistan in 2010, according to the independent website iCasualties.org. That was by far the highest annual figure yet, up from 521 in 2009 and 295 in 2008. Limited, conditions-based troop withdrawals are expected to start in July 2011 ahead of a scheduled transition to Afghan security control by 2014. Blotz insisted that international troops would fight through the bitterly cold winter months in Afghanistan.”There will be no end of the fighting season from an ISAF perspective. We will maintain the pressure on the insurgency everywhere,” Blotz said. “There will definitely be no winter pause.”— AFP
100,000 N Koreans rally in Pyongyang SEOUL: About 100,000 North Koreans rallied yesterday in the capital Pyongyang, holding portraits of leader Kim Jong-Il and his late father, a report said. The rally, shown on state television, was organised by Pyongyang to show support for policy guidelines outlined in a New Year message, the South’s Yonhap news agency said. The message carried in a joint editorial by state media on Saturday called for the revival of light industries and improved relations with South Korea. “Slogan boards were set up at the site of the rally, saying hurray to the revolutionary ideas” of Kim Jong-Il and his late father Kim Il-Sung, who founded the country, Yonhap
said. The rally, which featured a wide collection of propaganda flags, began with a hymn to Kim Jong-Il, while the participants pledged to fervently carry out the New Year goals, it said. Since his death in 1994, Kim Il-Sung has been designated as “Eternal President.” Kim Jong-Il, 68, is known to be accelerating the power transfer to his third son, Kim Jong-Un, after suffering from a stroke in 2008. JongUn, believed aged 27, was in September made a four-star general and given senior posts in the communist party. Analysts said Pyongyang was apparently pursuing stability on the Korean peninsula to cement an eventual hereditary succession.— AFP
PYONGYANG: In this photo released by (North) Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service in Tokyo, people pump their fists as about 100,000 gather for an annual New Year rally to display loyalty to leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, North Korea yesterday.—AP
Malaysia book causes rift over Indian caste system KUALA LUMPUR: A high school text book that highlights multiethnic Malaysia’s racial harmony has riled the main ethnic Indian party, which wants it banned because it refers to the Hindu caste system, an official said yesterday. The Malaysian Indian Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition, has asked the Education Ministry to withdraw the book “Interlock,” or at least revoke portions referring to the caste system, because it is seen as hurtful to minority Indians, said party deputy president S. Subramaniam. The spat emphasizes the difficulty of running a multiethnic country such as Malaysia where minorities are
hypersensitive to suggestions their culture is not being respected, or they are being ridiculed by others. The caste system is an outdated concept that Malaysian Indians want to forget, and it was “unnecessary” to include the reference in the book, Subramaniam said. “It’s irrelevant to modern day life here,” he told The Associated Press. “With this kind of image, (some Indian Malaysians) feel hurt ... It’s not touched upon or talked about by anybody.” Deputy Education Deputy Wee Ka Siong told the AP the ministry is waiting to hear the party’s arguments before making a decision. The book, required reading for literature classes start-
ing this year, tells the stories of three families _ Malay, Chinese and Indian _ in British colonial times. Malays, who are Muslims, make up 60 percent of Malaysia’s 28 million people. Chinese are 25 percent and Indians, who are mostly Hindus, make up 8 percent. The book, written by a Malay author, shows the “integration of the various majority races” and how they contributed toward the independence of Malaysia from Britain in 1957. Most of the Indians in Malaysia were brought from India by the British colonialists as laborers in rubber plantations or for construction. The portion that angered the party is from a chapter that tells the
story of a poor man from India’s “Pariah caste.” He travels to Malaya, as it was known then, to find work and is surprised at the absence of a caste system. Under the Indian caste system, Hindus are divided into four main castes according to their line of work. In addition, there are people outside the system called “untouchables” who are supposed to do unclean jobs dealing with excrement and the dead. Although the caste system is banned in India, it is still practiced in villages. Malaysian Indians continue with most traditions of their ancestors, but the caste system is largely obsolete here.—AP
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Issues New Congress poses test for Republicans By Steven R Hurst new Congress opens for business tomorrow with the Republican Party back in control of the House of Representatives, wrestling internally to set a course between the last two years of obstructionism against President Barack Obama and the new requirement to govern. With the US economy still struggling toward recovery, unemployment stuck near 10 percent and the national debt setting a new record daily, Americans have called on both Republicans and Democrats to show the gumption to compromise and confront those problems. The solutions will be painful, however, and - with the next presidential election just two years away _ bold action may prove too politically dangerous and less likely to be taken. Also, Democrats still control the Senate, although with a reduced majority, and Obama can kill legislation with his veto pen. The frame of the argument in Washington has not changed. Republicans believe in smaller government, lower taxes and less regulation, saying such policies will unleash the private sector and spur economic growth. Democrats insist that it is the business of government - while promoting a robust capitalism to ensure an adequate safety net for those left behind in the changing economy. Thus, some of the biggest issues likely to consume the legislative calendar in the new Congress center on social programs and taxes. After a huge legislative battle, Obama and fellow Democrats managed to pass a law that overhauls the American healthcare system without Republican support. Republican Rep Fred Upton, the incoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Sunday on a television news program that repealing the healthcare reform is his top priority. Republicans will first try to repeal the healthcare law outright, and if that doesn’t work because of the president’s veto power, then try to dismantle it piece by piece, he said. The healthcare reforms - that are expected to expand coverage to more than 30 million Americans who can’t afford or qualify for private insurance - bump up against two other social programs. Many Republicans want to alter the federal Social Security pension program and the Medicare healthcare program to cut government spending, but will face stiff opposition if they shrink federal pension and medical benefits for the elderly and disabled. Those two entitlement programs,
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along with the military, make up the bulk of government spending and are, therefore, the place to find savings to cut the country’s debt. While increasing taxes could help, Republicans will never allow any boost significant enough to have a major impact on the debt. Obama and the Democrats most likely will be left the possibility of finding a compromise with the Republicans on overhauling the tax system to make it fairer but not more onerous for the wealthy. House Republicans also pledge to hold tough investigations and hearings on the president’s programs and policies, ending the free pass that Democratic committee chairmen gave the Obama administration the past two years. Republicans insist they will bring key administration officials to Congress to explain how they are spending the public’s money. The friendly tone of inquiry from Democratic chairmen will be replaced by Republicans demanding answers to these questions: What’s the purpose of this program? Is this the best use of the taxpayers’ money? The chief Republican investigator, Rep Darrell Issa, is eager to get started, and he’s not alone. Issa, the incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has been especially critical of what he calls waste in Obama’s economic stimulus spending. “The sooner the administration figures out that the enemy is the bureaucracy and the wasteful spending, not the other party, the better off we’ll be,” he said on a Sunday television news program. Rep Harold Rogers, incoming leader of the House Appropriations Committee, said he wants top officials from all major government agencies to appear and justify spending. In addition to healthcare reform, Upton said a big target for his committee will be Upton said, vowing to battle what he considers over-zealous government regulators. The new Republican majority in the House is certain to put a damper on Obama’s agenda and snarl his administration in uncomfortable hearings. But Democrats still hold the critical Senate redoubt, buttressed by the president’s veto power. Beyond all that, too, is the pressure on politicians in both parties to make progress on issues that will win them votes in 2012. The most powerful way forward is through the economy - a return to healthy growth and, most importantly, putting people back to work. There are no clear signs yet that either party has ready answers. — AP
All articles appearing on these pages are the personal opinion of the writers. Kuwait Times takes no responsibility for views expressed therein. Kuwait Times invites readers to voice their opinions. Please send submissions via email to: [email protected] or via snail mail to PO Box 1301 Safat, Kuwait. The editor reserves the right to edit any submission as necessary.
Three months after polls, deadlock grips Bosnia By Rusmir Smajilhodzic hree months on from general elections, Bosnia is gripped by a political deadlock that has fanned ethnic tensions and blocked reforms needed to meet its goal of European Union membership, say analysts. Under the Balkan country’s complex political system, two executive bodies with their own governments - the Serb-run Republika Srpska and the Muslim-Croat Federation - are linked by a weak central government. But since the Oct 3 elections, only the Republika Srpska has managed to form a government, leaving Bosnia without central institutions needed to adopt key reforms sought by the European Union. Analysts are warning the formation of a central government could take months and the hag-
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gling could exacerbate tensions that have plagued Bosnia since the 1992-95 war which saw Muslims, Serbs and Croats pitted against each other. The impasse “could further deepen inter-ethnic tensions,” said Srecko Latal, a political analyst for the International Crisis Group think tank. He also pointed out that the whole process of implementing the reforms Brussels insists on mainly strengthening the central government at the expense of the other two entities - has already been blocked for years. After the October elections two political blocs were formed one around the Union of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD) of Bosnian Serb President Milorad Dodik and the other led by the Social Democratic Party (SDP), a multi-ethnic formation headed by former Bosnian pre-
mier Zlatko Lagumdzija. But while Dodik has advocated a quick formation of the central government that would then discuss reforms, Lagumdzija insists the parties that form a coalition agree on a programme of reforms first. With the two sides unable to agree on even the basic principles for forming a government, analysts warn the deadlock is likely to persist. “It is senseless to insist on an agreement on the reforms that were impossible to implement during the past four years, as a condition to form a new government,” Latal said. “These are two completely different approaches and this situation will provoke a long-lasting process of talks,” analyst Sanel Huskic of the ACIPS non-governmental organisation, known for its work on Bosnia’s EU integration, told AFP. The SDP ’s insistence on an
agenda is a novelty on the Bosnian political scene, since previous central governments were only an alliance of parties that won within each ethnic community -Croat, Muslim and Serb - and lacked an overall program, Huskic said. “The SDP has brought in a new spirit, a new kind of game, more normal, that maybe heralds a new era of political wisdom in Bosnia,” he said. Despite the obvious differences in their approaches, Dodik and Lagumdzija met on two occasions since the elections and both said they wanted to restar t the process of Bosnia approaching the EU. But Dodik, who is backed by the two main Croat parties - the Croat Democratic Union and the Croat Democratic Union 1990 - is becoming impatient and has called on the SDP and the biggest Muslim par ty, the Par ty of
Democratic Action (SDA), to meet next Monday to tr y to stitch together a grand coalition. The SDP has insisted, however, that it would only participate if the other parties propose their own agenda of reforms. Lagumdzija for his part has accused Dodik of wanting to “try to continue (with the stagnation) of the past four years.” “We will not par ticipate in something that goes in that direction,” he stressed. Analyst Milos Solaja, a political science professor at Banja Luka University, warned the deadlock could continue as many feel the entities can run themselves without the central government. “The central government is not really needed since the countr y can function without it. In this way the crisis could be prolonged for an indefinite period,” he said. — AFP
Organic farming blooms in Serbia By Stephanie van den Berg tanding in her greenhouse in gumboots, Zorana Gajic jokes how she used to think “food grew in supermarkets” but now experiments on how to mix crops to ensure optimum use of her “organic” soil. A path next to the greenhouse leads to an orchard with plum and cherry trees, melon patches in between and a flock of sheep grazing peacefully throughout. “I came to this via my husband otherwise I would still think food was grown in supermarkets,” Zorana, a lawyer who works for the World Bank and the Serbian government, told AFP. Her husband, engineer Miodrag Radivojevic, a retired engineer, had inherited a 5.5-hectare family farm where the couple enjoyed growing some of their own vegetables. Then two years ago Zorana started having allergic reactions to tomatoes she bought in the supermarket, due to pesticides. That’s when they decided to jump into organic farming. “We started out of our love for nature but we were also aware of the potential market out there,” she said. The unique circumstances in Serbia allowed them to get quick certification as an organic farm: almost a decade of international sanctions had crippled the economy, meaning farmers simply had not had money to buy chemical fertilizers and insecticides. In general, experts say, agricultural land must be free of chemicals for
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three years to qualify for organic farming. In parts of Serbia, however, the process has been cut to two years - whereas in some European Union countries where chemical use was heavy, it can take up to five or six years. “For almost 20 years farmers did not have the means to buy manure and
organic food stall in Belgrade’s famed Kalenic market. At the moment only 0.3 percent of Serbian agriculture land is used for organic farming but demand is growing, Igor Novakovic of Serbia’s export promotion agency SIEPA told AFP. “There is a rise in organic production driven by
nificantly higher than at surrounding stalls. Its clients are mainly young urban upper middle class professionals with families. “It is mothers who want to feed their children the best,” Cicic said. The trend has also attracted industrial producers like the Belgrade-based Royal Eco Food, which
the Brussels-based International Taste and Quality Institute of independent chefs and sommeliers. Though the firm is only five years old, sales boomed so fast it had to cut short a venture into the Russian market because its local producers could not keep up with the demand. “Whatever we exported,
A market vendor arranges organic vegetables in Belgrade on Dec 18, 2010. – AFP herbicides. That’s why the land is really clean compared to other countries in Europe,” explained Branko Cicic of the Organic Serbia Fund, which runs a special
domestic demand from young people who want to eat healthy food,” Novakovic said. In the Kalenic market, prices at the organic stand are sig-
makes organic versions of traditional Serb preserves like plum chutney and ajvar, a sweet pepper relish. Their ajvar has won a “superior taste” award from
sold out,” Tanja Stojanovic of Royal Eco Food told AFP. The growth has not been without obstacles. “If you are a pioneer in any field, by default you are
faced with difficulties,” said Stojanovic. “In the beginning we had to import (organic) tomatoes from Italy as we did not have enough suppliers here,” she said. It was also hard to get farmers willing to start the transition to organic production. Now “we offer long-term contracts with guarantees given in advance that the production will be bought,” Stojanovic said. “This was necessary to get the farmers involved in the process as the organic production is also more expensive and more risky.” Royal Eco Food would not comment on its turnover other than to say that production is sustainable. For now, it is focusing on the local market but still eyeing expansion into the European Union as Serbia’s relations with Brussels improve. And the potential for boosting production is vast. Figures from the agriculture ministry estimate that around 75 percent of Serbia’s agricultural land, some 650,000 hectares, can be used for organic food production within three years. “Because of the UN sanctions,” SIEPA’s Novakovic told AFP, “you can find fields here of 20 hectares that people haven’t put chemicals on in 20 years”. He said Serbia was hoping to attract European investors to set up organic farms here, listing another national asset. “You can also find highly skilled and cheap labour (and) in organic farming you need a lot of manual labour as you cannot use machines,” said Novakovic. — AFP
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Last gen cries, laughs and laments over Cuba
Focus A frontier too far for US-China cooperation By Jim Wolf
By Christine Armario hey hold court in the back of the Versailles restaurant in M iami’s Little Havana, a group of old Cuban men whose raspy, impassioned voices fill the room. Presidents and political candidates have passed through, hoping to lure the CubanAmerican vote. Journalists come with cameras and microphones, looking for an aging exile to comment on the latest news about the island’s communist government. Legendary singers and artists stop in for Cuban coffee. Miami is the de facto capital of Cuban exiles, and Versailles is their prime meeting spot. The old men call themselves La Pena del Versailles. The Club of Versailles. Unlike the more traditional penas of Spain and Latin America where artists meet, these men are not poets or musicians. They are retired real estate brokers and salesman, war veterans and fumigators who gather each afternoon. Cuba is always a topic of discussion, but these days, the talk veers elsewhere, as well. They talk about taking medicine and feeling old, about families that put their elderly in nursing homes, and feeling disconnected in an age of computers and mobile phones. My grandfather, Manuel Armario, is among them. “I was not meant for these times,” he often tells me. Their generation is shrink ing, and the CubanAmerican community is changing. Younger generations and newer immigrants tend to be less Republican. Many were born in the United States and have never been to Cuba. Some don’t even speak Spanish. The first arrivals left Cuba thinking their sojourn in Miami would be brief. But years extended into decades and now the likelihood of a return seems a near impossibility. “ There are weeks that six, seven, eight people leave us,” says one of the men, Juan Pena. So they gather here, among a final stronghold of friends. • • • •
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They call him the president. He’s the one who stands every day under a palm tree beside the coffee window. Inside, waitresses in olive green uniforms hurriedly serve churros sprinkled with sugar, ham croquetas, guava pastries and cafe con leche. Outside, men and women wait impatiently in line to place their orders. Juan Pena arrives around 4 pm, dressed in a well-ironed collared shirt, a pin with the Cuban emblem on one side, the Cuban and United States flags, joined together as they have not been since 1961, on the other. He has no political experience, no desire to be officially recognized or to hold elections. He takes his place next to the window and soon a circle of three or four men gather around him. “We recognize Pena as the president of the Pena del Versailles,” says a loud, balding man with a broad smile. “There is no one else. No one has been here as long.” “He’s the leader!” another man chimes, as he passes by. Pena blushes, shaking them away. Pena was born in Havana 76 years ago. His mother was a Spanish woman from Barcelona who taught bridge at the foreign embassies in Cuba. Pena proudly recalls that she met Maureen O’Hara and once kissed Winston Churchill on the cheek during a visit to the Havana Yacht Club, one of the most extravagant clubs in pre-revolutionary Cuba. He worked for Cuba’s Department of State, issuing passports. He also took classes at the IBM building in Havana, where he became friends with a young woman named Estrella. He would visit her family’s home every week or so, as a friend - and always with her mother present. He would have liked to have a closer relationship, but since Fidel Castro marched victoriously into Havana on New Year’s Day in 1959 and declared the triumph of a revolution, Pena had wanted out of Cuba. Six years later, he had finally gained passage to Mexico, where his father had been born. He left alone, uncertain if he would see Estrella again, but somehow sure it would be many years before he returned. Pena doesn’t like to talk much about the revolution. “Hate I don’t want to have,” Pena says. From Mexico, he went to New Jersey and eventually Puerto Rico. His mother told him Estrellita had sometimes called to ask about him. But after a time, he lost track of her. He wrote a letter to Diario de las
Americas in the United States. “To whom it may interest,” he wrote. “If Estrella Alvarez has left Cuba, please contact me. I always had a grand impression of you. Lamentably, the political situation in Cuba is a tragedy, and I had to choose between exile and jail. What happiness it would give me to know you have left that torture. To hear from you.” A letter arrived less than a week later, sent special delivery. The outside of the envelope had Estrella’s name. “When I saw that name,” Pena says, his cheeks turning red, “what could I do?” A family friend in Chicago had seen the letter and told Estrella. And there began a long series of letters - 50 in all - that ended with a marriage proposal and a new life for the couple in Puerto Rico. “Those letters,” Pena says, “No one has ever been so romantic.” The marriage produced one daughter but fell apart after 18 years. She asked him for a divorce, and he agreed. Thereafter, he devoted his time to caring for his ageing mother in Miami Beach. Each day he made a two-hour trek, taking three buses from their apartment to Versailles in Little Havana. “It filled a great emptiness,” he says. After his mother died a year ago, his visits to Versailles became longer. He is, arguably, Versaille’s most recognizable patron. He is the one who journalists are most likely to approach, and years of interviews have made him a natural. On a fall afternoon, TV Marti, the US-government sponsored news program that sends broadcasts to Cuba, asked him about the annual American tradition of eating turkey on Thanksgiving. “Thanksgiving is fantastic,” he told the reporter. “Do you think it’s good that the president pardons the life of a turkey?” she asked. “Yes, of course,” Pena said. “Of course.” “Tell me in a complete sentence,” she said. “I think it’s good that they suspend the killing of the turkey,” he said. Pena usually heads to his apartment around 8 pm. He stays up until 2 or 3 am. It’s hard to go to sleep before then - his clock is still set by the hours he spent caring for his mother. He reads the day’s newspapers and listens to the radio. An easy-listening station helps put him to sleep. • • • • Twice a month, M ike Baralt writes for La Voz de la Calle, The Voice of the Street. In the picture that accompanies his column, Baralt poses with one hand drawn to his chin, his face pensive, eyes tired. From his seat in the back of Versailles - the group calls this the “Salon de los Pasos Perdidos” or the “Hall of Lost Steps” - Baralt quietly observes the passing political candidate, the businessman stopping in briefly for coffee, the old men discussing baseball, international affairs, the trials of being old (though he says he does not know his own age). And then he shares his musings with the paper’s 25,000 subscribers. The columns “all maintain the same idea,” Baralt says, in a soft, scratchy voice. “The fight for the freedom of our country. The unity of exile. The battle for democracy.” Baralt has spoken, briefly, with several US presidents. Bill Clinton struck him as “a very nice person”. With Ronald Reagan he had “a small exchange of words.” And though he is hardly one to seek out attention, Baralt himself has appeared numerous times on television when there is news from Cuba. “I saw you on television,” family and friends will tell the white-haired and nearly toothless Baralt. He laughs. “I like to be discreet,” he says. In his youth, Baralt was a journalist. At 12, he created his own newspaper, which his grandpar-
he prospects for cooperation between the United States and China in space are fading even as proponents say working together in the heavens could help build bridges in often-testy relations on Earth. The idea of joint ventures in space, including spacewalks, explorations and symbolic “feel good” projects, have been floated from time to time by leaders on both sides. Efforts have gone nowhere over the past decade, swamped by economic, diplomatic and security tensions, despite a 2009 attempt by President Barack Obama and his Chinese counterpart, Hu Jintao, to kick-start the bureaucracies. US domestic politics make the issue unlikely to advance when Obama hosts Hu at the White House on Jan 19. Washington is at odds with Beijing over its currency policies and huge trade surplus but needs China’s help to deter North Korea and Iran’s nuclear ambitions and advance global climate and trade talks, among other matters. Hu’s state visit will highlight the importance of expanding cooperation on “bilateral, regional and global issues,” the White House said. But space appears to be a frontier too far for now, partly due to US fears of an inadvertent technology transfer. China may no longer be much interested in any event, reckoning it does not need US expertise for its space program. New obstacles to cooperation have come from the Republicans capturing control of the US House of Representatives in the Nov 2 congressional elections from Obama’s Democrats. Representative Frank Wolf, for instance, is set to take over as chairman of the appropriations subcommittee that funds the US space agency in the House. A China critic and human rights firebrand, the Republican congressman has faulted NASA’s chief for meeting leaders of China’s Manned Space Engineering Office in October. “As you know, we have serious concerns about the nature and goals of China’s space program and strongly oppose any cooperation between NASA and China,” Wolf and three fellow Republicans wrote NASA Administrator Charles Bolden on Oct 15 as he left for China.
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In this photo made June 3, 2010, Cuban exile Mike Baralt (second from right) tells a story to fellow exiles. His wife of 50 years, died 12 years ago. — AP ents read and affectionately critiqued. Four years later, he was published in a small magazine. Then he went on to work for two of Cuba’s largest pre-revolutionary newspapers, La Informacion and El Pais. In one, he had a Catholic column. In another, he gave advice. And for a radio station, he reported on the activity at a train station - once, he notes with a laugh, mistakenly reporting that a political leader was traveling with his wife (in truth, it was his mistress). He can’t say what particularly draws him to journalism. It is simply his trade. “Journalists are not made,” he says. “ They are born.” In M iami, he worked in restaurants, starting as a busboy and working his way up to manager to support his wife and two children. The Spanish language press in the 1960s was still young and unable to provide him a steady living. He visited Versailles, but mostly he spent time with his family. Then, 12 years ago, his wife of more than three decades died. When he reaches this part of his stor y, Baralt clenches his right hand into a fist and lowers it onto his thigh. After her death, friends suggested that he write a column for La Voz, one of the many small, exile newspapers that rest on a small bookshelf beside a pastry counter. He refused. They insisted. “Write,” the newspaper’s editor told him. He put together a few paragraphs and submitted it. “If you like it, publish it,” Baralt said. “If not, throw it away. It doesn’t matter to me.” They printed it, and in the course of a dozen years, he has written nearly 300 columns, all by hand. “They’ve never criticized me,” Baralt says of his readership. “Although, they do ask me to be more aggressive. Some want a more combative journalism. But that doesn’t interest me.” He is sometimes political: “There is a project that will permit American tourists to visit Cuba,” he wrote in one column. “They will go, as if to a theater, to see in all its reality, a picture titled, ‘ The Destruction of a Country in 51 Years’. And everything will continue, unchanged.” O ther times, philosophical: “Man and the planet. After the oil spill, one asks, ‘Where is man headed? It is time that the destruction of the environment stops, that we sacrifice a bit of the advancements in science and technology. Human life is more important.” Occasionally, somber: “Our friend, Pedro Bringas, a member of the Pena del Versailles, has been admitted to Baptist Hospital. We pray for his swift recovery.” “It has been, perhaps, a medicine,” editor Vicente Rodriguez says of Baralt’s writing. A medicine, perhaps, for the other men as well. They never doubt the sacrifice of immigra-
tion, but sometimes wonder whether, and how, anyone will remember them. “Some pessimistic people believe Cuban exiles are not united,” Baralt wrote in a recent column. “ That they have not accomplished much in 50 years of existence here. We believe they have.” • • • • At 94, Pedro Fernandez still dresses impeccably in European suits and ties. He wakes up at 6 each morning and does an hour of exercise. Then he cooks his breakfast, ham and eggs. “I’m going to show you some exercises,” he says. Fernandez lifts his agile, thin body from a chair and stands firmly, feet shoulder length apart. He’s in a gray suit he bought in France one of 103 suits he owns - and a pair of pointed black-and-white shoes. He hurls his right, boney fist forward in a punch. “Huh!” he exhales loudly. Fernandez is the only surviving member of his family. He has married eight times, but had no children. “No one,” Fernandez says. “I’m alone here.” He says that solitude doesn’t bother him. That any of his friends would help him in a moment ’s notice. But his face sometimes speaks otherwise. His eyes will stare somberly across the rows of tables and the restaurant’s green and white checkered tiles. His lithe frame nearly disappears beneath the folds of his opulent suits. He lives in an apartment about 30 minutes away and makes the drive every day from Hialeah to Little Havana. At Versailles, he hovers from one table to another. He says Versailles is a good place to do business. Sometimes he stands outside, leaning against a wall as cars pass by. “ These days, I’ve been a bit agitated,” he says. He’s moving to a new apartment, closer to Versailles, but at the moment all of his belongings are in boxes. “Look at this shirt,” he says. The beige shirt he is wearing, with a black tie and light colored flowers, has a few faint stains. “All the clothes are packed.” Originally from the small town of Rancho Veloz in the northern, central region of Cuba, Fernandez came from a family of successful sugar field and refinery owners. As a teenager, he went to work in the fields, learning about the different types of cane and how to cut, process and refine it. He eventually became the head of production. Then came the revolution. “The whole countr y was finished,” Fernandez says. “As if oil was poured over ever ything.” Fernandez claims he staged an attempt on Fidel Castro’s life a few years later. He doesn’t disclose many details, but says 10 men died
In this photo made Nov 30, 2010, Juan Pena stands outside Versailles cafe. – AP
and that he was sentenced to 25 years in jail. “But I only served 37 months,” he says, grinning. “Because I escaped from Fidel.” He created two construction businesses in exile: Hacia Arriba (To the Top) and Mas Todavia Arriba (Even Higher Up). Even in old age, Fernandez is all about numbers. The value of the car he is trying to sell. The cost of his most recent trip to the drycleaners. The 500 homes he is looking to build with Chinese business partners in the Dominican Republic. He traveled there recently. He says the beach is “precious.” “I brought back a bottle of sand,” he says. “People told me it was white sugar.” He has a younger girlfriend he hopes to marr y. “ We’ve been dating for three years,” he says, taking out a picture from an inside jacket pocket of the two smiling together. “I sincerely think she loves me very much.” He likes to keep it there, where he says he can keep her in his embrace. One of the other men talks about his grandchildren. “What a beautiful thing to say you have grandchildren,” Fernandez says. “I don’t have anyone.” • • • • Fernandez calls out to my grandfather, who is sitting at a nearby table with a group of three or four other men. “Armario,” he says. “Coma here please. Sit down please.” They talk about their eyes. Fernandez says he is going to see a doctor about his. My grandfather says he’ll have eye surgery in another month. He talks about the heart attack that nearly killed him two years ago, when he was 79. About having to take pills and feeling weak and not wanting to bother others with his worries. “I get afraid something will happen to me,” my grandfather says. “But I try to avoid calling.” “I’m a bit like you in that,” Fernandez says. “I don’t like to bother anyone.” My grandfather likes to call Versailles his “office.” He jokes that there are three shifts — morning, afternoon and evening. He usually shows up in the late afternoon, staying just until dark. In Cuba, my grandfather worked for the electric company in Havana. I t was an unusual choice for a profession. As a teenager, he saw his younger brother electrocuted after stepping on a downed wire after a hurricane while they were playing baseball with some other boys. But he has always been a bit brash and unafraid. When revolution gripped the countr y, he was among those who stood in opposition, convinced that Castro was a communist. He often tells the stor y of how he decided on exile after seeing my father, then just a young boy, and his older brother marching outside like members of the revolutionary guard. He feared that staying in Cuba meant a life of indoctrination. And so he fled, bringing his wife and children later. In exile, he bounced from one career to another. At one point, he had an ice cream truck. It played the Cuban national anthem and had the words “We Will Return” in Spanish on the back. In old age, he mostly feels disconnec ted, out of place. Like many, he says he is waiting for Castro to die before stepping back on Cuban soil. Now they are both old, the ideological war that divides them increasingly outdated, insignificant. If he returned, what would he return to? I have been to Cuba and the stories of a glamorous, majestic Havana no longer describe it. His memories lie under layers of paint and dust. Perhaps the only marvel that survives as he remembers it is the ocean. And so, Versailles may be his closest place to home. — AP
Space Exploration Obama and Hu, in a statement in November 2009, called for “the initiation of a joint dialogue on human spaceflight and space exploration, based on the principles of transparency, reciprocity and mutual benefit.” The statement, marking a visit by Obama to China, also called for reciprocal visits in 2010 of NASA’s chief and “the appropriate Chinese counterpart.” Bolden, who went to China as head of a small team, said discussions there “did not include consideration of any specific proposals for future cooperation” - a statement apparently designed to placate Wolf, who will have a big say in NASA’s budget. The Chinese visit to NASA did not materialize in 2010 for reasons that have not been explained. NASA representatives did not reply to questions but a Chinese embassy spokesman, Wang Baodong, said he suspected it was “mainly a scheduling issue”. China is an emerging space power. Over 13 years starting in August 1996, it ran up 75 consecutive successful Long March rocket launches after overcoming technical glitches with the help of US companies. China launched its second moon orbiter in Oct. In 2008, it became the third country after the United States and Russia to send astronauts on a spacewalk outside an orbiting craft. Beijing plans an unmanned moon landing and deployment of a moon rover in 2012 and the retrieval of lunar soil and stone samples around 2017. Chinese scientists have talked about the possibility of sending a man to the moon after 2020 — more than 50 years after US astronauts accomplished the feat. Anti-Satellite Tests Possible US-Chinese cooperation became more controversial after Beijing carried out a watershed anti-satellite test in January 2007, using a groundbased missile to knock out one of its inactive weather satellites in high polar orbit. No advance notice of the test was given. Thirteen months later, the United States destroyed a malfunctioning US spy satellite using a ship-launched Raytheon Co Standard Missile 3 after a high-profile buildup to the event. The US interception was just outside the atmosphere so that debris would burn up promptly. US officials say China’s capabilities could threaten US space assets in low orbit. The Chinese test also created a large cloud of orbital debris that may last for 100 years, boosting the risk to manned spaceflight and to hundreds of satellites belonging to more than two dozen countries. China’s work on anti-satellite weapons is “destabilizing,” Wallace Gregson, assistant US secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, said in December, also citing its investment in anti-ship missiles, advanced submarines, surface-to-air missiles and computer warfare techniques. “It has become increasingly evident that China is pursuing a long-term, comprehensive military buildup that could upend the regional security balance,” Gregson told a forum hosted by the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, called on members of the incoming Congress to be wary of any space cooperation with China on the grounds it could bolster Beijing’s knowledge and harm US security. “Congress should reject (the Obama) administration attempts to curry favor with the international community while placing US advantages in space at risk,” Dean Cheng, a Heritage research fellow for Chinese political and security affairs, and two colleagues said in a Dec. 15 memo to lawmakers. Proponents of cooperation say even symbolic steps, such as hosting a Chinese astronaut on the International Space Station, might help win friends in Beijing and blunt hardliners. Gregory Kulacki, China project manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists, a group often at odds with US policy, said cooperation would be more of a political project than a technical one. “We need to get past the idea that the Chinese need us more than we need them,” he said. — Reuters
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‘MAGIC PYTHONS’ IN WEDDED BLISSSSSS SVAY ROLUM, Cambodia: Hundreds of villagers flocked to a wedding ceremony yesterday between a 4.8-m, 90-kg female python and her slightly smaller mate - both believed to be magic snakes that bring prosperity and peace. The two-hour ceremony in Svay Rolum village, 20 km south of the capital Phnom Penh, ended with two Buddhist monks blessing the pair and villagers showering them with flowers as wedding music played. Most Cambodians, almost all Buddhists, also subscribe to animism - a belief that spirits can inhabit all sorts of living and inanimate objects. Whenever an odd animal makes an appearance, it is cause for the superstitious to celebrate. “We married these pythons to ask for health and prosperity in our village,” said 41-year-old Neth Vy, owner of female python named Chamrouen. “We were told (by fortunetellers) that the two pythons are husband and wife and they need to live together, and if we don’t marry them we will meet bad luck,” said Neth Vy, who found the then-tiny python while fishing 16 years ago. He said since the snake became part of the household, the family’s living conditions had steadily improved and no misfortune had befallen them. The male python, named Kroung Pich, was caught 12 days ago by Hin Mao, a 44-year-old, childless woman who said she regarded it as her son. Many people offered money and prayed after the pythons were placed in the same cage following the religious ceremony. “It surprised me. Since I was born I have never seen snakes get married,” said Penh Kong, a 56-year-old vendor, while admiring the happy couple. — Agencies
SVAY ROLUM, Cambodia: Male pythons Krong Pich (top) and female python Chamroeun (bottom) lie in a cage after their wedding ceremony at this village in Kandal province about 20 km south of Phnom Penh yesterday. — AP
US approves new trial of stem cells for... Continued from Page 1 amounts to $25 to $30 billion, it said. “We are moving ahead aggressively to seek regulatory clearance from the European Medicines Agency to conduct clinical trials in Europe,” said Edmund Mickunas, ACT’s Vice President of Regulatory Affairs. ACT’s announcement marks the third such trial of embr yonic stem cells in human patients, after US company Geron broke new ground in October last year with the first-ever attempt to use the therapy on a human patient with spinal cord injury. Embryonic stem cell research has been a controversial field ever since the first such stem cells were isolated more than 12 years ago. Critics oppose the research because it involves the destruction of human embr yos.
However scientists say the cells offer great promise in treating Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and a variety of other illnesses. Like the other trials involving human patients, the first step in ACT’s Phase I and II trials is to assess whether the therapy is safe before moving on to testing how well it works. Bob Lanza, chief scientist at ACT, said that trials using the technique on animals have shown no evidence of complication or tumors. “In a rat model of macular degeneration, we have seen a remarkable improvement in visual performance over untreated animals, without any adverse effects,” said Lanza. Twelve patients will enroll in the study at various US sites including the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and Stanford University. The therapy uses retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from human embry-
onic stem cells to replace RPE cells that have broken down in patients with the disease. Dry age-related macular degeneration, the type that occurs in 90 percent of cases, causes a deterioration in central vision when RPE cells in the patient’s macula, in the center of the retina, lose their ability to function. Patients often experience blurring in the center of their field of vision, while peripheral view remains intact. Dry AMD gets progressively worse, while the other type, known as wet AMD, does not advance in stages. Wet AMD is caused by abnormal blood vessels which leak fluid behind the macula, causing a quicker loss of central vision. “As the population ages, the incidence of AMD is expected to double over the next 20 years, further exacerbating this unmet medical need,” Lanza said. — AFP
Egypt on high alert ahead of Coptic Xmas Continued from Page 1 A security official said on Sunday that about 20 people were detained for questioning but there was no evidence any of them was directly connected to the attack in the northern Egyptian city. Al-Ahram quoted security officials as saying the bomb was a sophisticated device packed with TNT and pieces of metal aimed at causing the largest possible number of casualties. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, which came two months after an Al-Qaeda-linked group said it was behind a deadly Baghdad church hostage-taking and threatened Coptic Christians as well. The group demanded the release of two women, Camelia Shehata and Wafa Constantine, both
priests’ wives, saying the Coptic church was holding them against their will after they converted to Islam. An Al-Qaeda-linked website that published that threat posted in December a list of Coptic churches in Egypt and Europe it said should be attacked, including the church in Alexandria that was targeted. A French security official said police were investigating threats against Coptic churches in France after a church official filed a complaint. Egypt, the most populous Arab country, witnessed a resurgence in attacks by Islamist militants in the past decade after the government battled a spate of attacks in the 1990s that included an attempt abroad to kill the president. President Hosni Mubarak has
vowed to find those responsible for the bombing which he said targeted all Egyptians, regardless of their faith, and blamed “foreign hands”. The bombing has further underscored the vulnerability of the Copts, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s 80-million population and complain of discrimination. Last year began with a massacre of six Copts and a Muslim security guard after a Coptic Christmas Eve mass and ended on a tense note after two Coptic protesters died in clashes in a protest over a Cairo church permit. Some Coptic activists have accused the government of not doing enough to prevent incitement against the minority, especially after Islamists began staging regular demonstrations demanding Shehata’s release. — AFP
US, Germany developing spy satellites Continued from Page 1 The opposition from Paris however appears to have been brushed aside by German officials, who according to the cables, said they were sick of being “outmaneuvred by France”. “Absolutely no cooperation is planned with France or any other EU country when it comes to the HiROS project,” DLR executive Andreas Eckart was quoted as saying. According to Aftenposten, the satellites would cost
an estimated 1.6 billion kroner ($274 million) and were scheduled to enter service between 2012 and 2013. Officially, France and Germany are involved in the common Multinational Space-based Imaging System (MUSIS), along with Belgium, Spain, Greece and Italy. Contacted by AFP, the US embassy in Oslo refused to comment on any information emerging from the some 250,000 US diplomatic cables leaked to whistleblowing website WikiLeaks.
The German and French governments have also refused to comment. WikiLeaks has so far only made public around 2,000 of the cables in its possession, in cooperation with publications El Pais, The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde and Der Spiegel. Norwegian daily of reference Aftenposten however said last month it had obtained all the diplomatic documents and would publish stories based on them independently of WikiLeaks’ own releases. — AFP
KIEV: A Ukrainian man walks on the frozen Dnieper River yesterday. The temperatures in the Ukrainian capital dropped to -2 C yesterday. — AP
BIBI SAYS ISRAEL NEVER SAID NO TO NEW FREEZE Continued from Page 1 Americans who said they no longer demand that Israel extends the freeze,” the paper quoted him as telling the committee yesterday. Netanyahu said in November that he would put the US request to a cabinet vote if incentives from Washington were put in writing, among them finance for advanced warplanes and a promise to veto any UN Security Council resolution against Israel’s interests. That letter apparently never came. US officials admitted last month that efforts to coax Israel into imposing new curbs on West Bank settlement construction had gone nowhere. Netanyahu yesterday said that senior Obama aide Dennis Ross would be in Israel this week for discussions. Netanyahu also confirmed that he himself would visit Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak. “This week the envoy Dennis Ross and other American envoys will arrive. On Thursday I shall go to Egypt,” he told senior members of his Likud party in remarks broadcast on public radio. “We have a single aim, to strengthen security and to move toward achiev-
ing peace.” Mubarak has publicly blamed Israel for the collapse of peace talks, and has urged the international community, especially the United States, to move the process forward. Without a new freeze, the Palestinians have refused to negotiate, effectively deadlocking direct peace talks that began on Sept 2, only to run aground three weeks later when building resumed in the settlements. “We have been pursuing a moratorium as a means to create conditions for a return to meaningful and sustained negotiations,” US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said on Dec 7. “After a considerable effort, we have concluded that this does not create a firm basis to work towards our shared goal of a framework agreement.” Haaretz on Sunday quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying that a US counterpart told him Washington was deeply disappointed with Israeli Defence Minister and Labour party leader Ehud Barak for failing to deliver on promises that he could win government approval for a fresh freeze. Some Labour ministers in Netanyahu’s right-dominated coalition govern-
ment are calling for Barak to lead the party out of the government if there is no progress towards peace talks. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas is now calling for the international community, spearheaded by the peacemaking Quartet of the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the European Union, to come up with a new peace plan. “We demand that the Middle East Quartet and the various UN bodies, headed by the Security Council, draft a peace plan which conforms with international law, instead of keeping up negotiations which do not solve the problem,” he said in a televised address last week. Netanyahu said on Sunday that he was prepared for an immediate resumption of face-to-face talks with Abbas “until white smoke emerges,” a statement from his office said. If Abbas were to accept the invitation, the statement quoted Netanyahu as saying, they could discuss all key aspects of the dispute and see if there were prospects for progress. “We shall very soon know if we shall be able to reach an agreement,” Netanyahu said. — AFP
Iran nuke scientist jailed after return Continued from Page 1 he was on the run from the CIA and the other saying he was studying for a doctorate in the US. Amiri then decided to leave the United States but without the money - in July, American officials said. His return to Tehran, however, was the last time Amiri was seen in public. Iranian authorities have not offered any information on his whereabouts and his family and colleagues have made no public statements as to his fate. The Farsi-language account posted on the Iranbriefing.net website claims to pick up Amiri’s trail after his highly publicized return. It cited anonymous family members as saying Amiri was first held in a safe house in Tehran and allowed weekend visits with relatives at the Talaiie cultural center, which is
operated by Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard. The website quoted family members as being told that Amiri’s movements were restricted for “his own safety”. The report says - without citing any source - that Amiri was later moved to a former military lockup, the Heshmatieh Prison, in Tehran, where he allegedly faced harsh interrogations and beatings that left him in a military-run hospital afterward for a week. The website is operated by the IranBriefing Foundation, which describes itself as a “non-profit human rights organization” based in the United States that focuses on the role of the Revolutionary Guard and other Iranian security agencies. Officials at the group could not be reached immediately for comment. The reports - if true - would fit into Iran’s increasing
attention to trying to plug security holes inside its nuclear program, which the West and others fear could lead to the development of atomic weapons. Iran claims it only seeks reactors for power and research. In October, one of Iran’s vice presidents, Ali Akbar Salehi - who is now acting foreign minister - acknowledged that some personnel at nuclear facilities had passed secrets to the West in exchange for payment. Salehi claimed that it “awakened” security forces to impose tighter controls. Iran also acknowledged that a sophisticated computer worm, known as Stuxnet, had infiltrated systems at nuclear sites, including briefly halting activity at Iran’s uranium enrichment lab. Iran’s intelligence chief has accused the CIA and Israeli and British spy agencies of being behind the cyber attacks. — AP
Pro-govt MPs gloat as PM win looks certain Continued from Page 1 undecided, with the first expected to abstain and the latter to support the opposition. Two other MPs will not vote. They include State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Roudhan Al-Roudhan because ministers are barred from voting on no-confidence motions and MP Mubarak Al-Khrainej, who is outside Kuwait. Shiite MP Faisal Al-Duwaisan described the latest position as a resounding victory for the prime minister and called on the opposition to admit defeat, adding that the grilling should not have been submitted against the prime minister. MP Rola Dashti strongly lashed out at the opposition, saying that the grilling was unconstitutional and that it placed national unity and the country’s stability and security at stake. MP Adnan Abdulsamad said that going out to the street by violating the framework of the constitution is unacceptable and should be rejected. Abdulsamad even issued an appeal
to deputy speaker and member of the National Action Bloc Abdullah AlRoumi to withdraw supporting the opposition to back the prime minister. However, MP Hayef called on the government to resign because of the large number of MPs expected to vote against the prime minister, saying that from a political perspective, the expected outcome is not a victory for the government. Hayef said that the opposition will assess available options after tomorrow’s vote, adding this grilling is different from the previous ones because of the large support it has received. Liberal MP Abdulrahman Al-Anjari said the issue is not only about “figures of supporters and opponents but more to do with the constitutional and moral aspects and these issues are expected to be assessed by the prime minister”. Anjari said he will accept the outcome of the vote and rejected calls that the opposition should continue its popular campaign to bring the downfall of the prime minister.
In the meantime, lawyer Nawaf Sari said yesterday he has filed a lawsuit on behalf of journalist Mohammad Al-Sandan who was severely injured by police beatings during the police crackdown on Dec 8 at a public gathering. Sari said that the medical report clearly states that the injury he received was due to extreme violence. Sandan was sent for treatment to Germany two days ago. In a related matter, opposition MP Musallam Al-Barrak called on deputy chairman of the National Guards Sheikh Mishaal Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah to deny rumours that hold him responsible for ordering the police to beat up the people. Barrak said that during the grilling of the premier, he asked the prime minister three times if HH the Amir had ordered the crackdown and he did not answer. Later, the government leaked a rumour saying that Sheikh Mishaal was responsible, Barrak claimed. The lawmaker called on Sheikh Mishaal to publicly dissociate himself from the rumour.
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sp orts Palestinian team to tour Pakistan
Milan finalise Cassano transfer ROME: Controversial Italian forward Antonio Cassano’s transfer from Sampdoria to AC Milan was officialised yesterday. The 28-year-old had already joined his new team-mates at their winter training camp in Dubai on December 27. His move came following a falling out with Samp president Riccardo Garrone in October after Cassano allegedly gravely insulted the club chief. He was frozen out of the first team picture as Samp moved to have his contract terminated but an arbitration body ruled against the club in December while deeming that the player’s salary should be halved. Milan were quick to move in and although there was an initial stumbling block relating to a five million euro payment still owed by Samp to Cassano’s previous club Real Madrid, the two Italian clubs and the forward soon found a resolution to the problem, each contributing to the financial settlement. —AFP
LAHORE: The Palestinian national football side is to tour Pakistan next month, an official said, as the hosts ramp up effor ts to bring back international spor t to a countr y plagued by terrorism. “Palestine’s national football team is due to tour Pakistan and will play a two-match series and this series will help us revive international spor t,” Pak istan Football Federation president Faisal Salah Hayat told reporters. I nternational teams have refused to tour Pakistan since gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore nearly two years ago, killing eight peo-
US star Taurasi tests positive
ple and wounding seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach. Pakistan has been forced to play its cricket series on neutral venues including England and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Hayat said the Palestinian team will play in the eastern city of Lahore on February 27 and Karachi on March 2. “After the two-match series, Pakistan will tour Palestine in March where another two-match series will be played,” said Hayat. Hayat to l d re p o r te r s t h a t I ra n , Malaysia, Oman, South Korea and the UAE had also agreed to play Pakistan. —AFP
ISTANBUL: Top US women’s basketball star Diana Taurasi’s B sample has also tested positive for a banned substance, Turkish NTV television reported yesterday. Taurasi, who plays for Fenerbahce Istanbul, tested positive for the mild stimulant drug modafinil, which can be used to combat insomnia and other sleep-related conditions on December 25. She has been provisionally suspended from playing pending the B sample and risks a two-year suspension. Her lawyer in the United States, Howard Jacobs, was quoted as saying that the drug is not a steroid. Taurasi has won two Olympic titles with the United States and on four occasions she has been named most valuable player in the women’s NBA in the United States. She has played for the last four years for Spartak in Russia before joining Fenerbahce in Turkey this season. —AFP
Flyers clip Red Wings, Panthers blank Rangers DETROIT: James van Riemsdyk, Daniel Carcillo and Scott Hartnell scored to help the Philadelphia Flyers win for the first time in Detroit in more than 22 years, 3-2 over the Red Wings on Sunday. Brian Boucher made 25 saves for Philadelphia. Valtteri Filppula and Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit. Jimmy Howard stopped 24 shots before being pulled in favor of Chris Osgood to start the third period. Osgood made five saves.
Panthers 3, Rangers 0 At Sunrise, Florida, Tomas Vokoun made 32 saves for his fifth shutout of the season and 43rd overall, and David Booth, Chris Higgins and Stephen Weiss scored as Florida downed New York. Martin Biron stopped 32 shots for New York. The Rangers, coming off a 2-1 overtime loss in Tampa Bay on Saturday night, lost for the first time (9-1) in the second half of back-to-back games.
Thrashers 4, Canadiens 3 At Montreal, Dustin Byfuglien scored his third overtime goal of the season from a power-play at 3:43 of the extra session, and Ondrej Pavelec made 47 saves in Atlanta’s win over Montreal. Byfuglien leads NHL defensemen with 16 goals and 41 points. He has six winning goals. Rich Peverley, Evander Kane and Andrew Ladd scored in regulation for Atlanta. Montreal captain Brian Gionta scored with 4:47 left in the third to tie it at 3. The Canadiens got power-play goals from Tomas Plekanec and PK Subban.
Wild 6, Coyotes 5 At St. Paul, Minnesota, Cam Barker scored 46 seconds into overtime after Pierre-Marc Bouchard leveled it with 26 seconds left in regulation as Minnesota edged Phoenix. Andrew Brunette scored twice, Brent Burns and Nick Schultz added goals, Mikko Koivu had four assists and Jose Theodore made 39 saves for the Wild. Ray Whitney scored twice for Phoenix, while Scottie Upshall, Keith Yandle and Ed Jovanovski added goals and Jason LaBarbera stopped 23 shots.
Predators 4, Blue Jackets 1 At Nashville, Tennessee, Shea Weber had a goal and two assists, and Pekka Rinne made 19 saves as Nashville downed Columbus. Nick Spaling, Patric Hornqvist and Sergei Kostitsyn also scored to help Nashville run its home winning streak against Columbus to 15 games. The Predators have won two straight following a five-game losing streak. R.J. Umberger scored for Columbus. The Blue Jackets had won three straight.
Stars 4, Blues 2 At St. Louis, Brad Richards scored the go-
ANAHEIM: Bick Bonino No. 63 of the Anaheim Ducks protects the puck from Tomas Kopecky No. 82 of the Chicago Blackhawks during the NHL game at Honda Center. —AFP ahead goal at 6:32 of the third period and Kari Lehtonen stopped 28 shots in Dallas’ win over St. Louis. Richards also had two assists, Brenden Morrow scored twice, and Dallas had three thirdperiod goals en route to its fifth straight road victory. James Neal added a goal with 2:50 left. Alex Steen and David Backes scored for the Blues.
Canucks 2, Avalanche 1 At Denver, Roberto Luongo made 31 saves, and Alexandre Bolduc and Mason Raymond scored as Vancouver beat Colorado for its fifth straight victory. Tanner Glass had two assists for Vancouver, 12-1-2 since the end of November. Vancouver
hasn’t lost in regulation since Dec. 5 against St. Louis, a span of 12 games. The Canucks are 4-0 against Colorado. Paul Stastny scored his 15th goal of the season and Craig Anderson made 27 saves for the Avalanche, 1-4-1 since winning six straight.
Ducks 2, Blackhawks 1 At Anaheim, California, Jonas Hiller made 39 saves to help Anaheim beat Stanley Cup champion Chicago. Andreas Lilja scored his first goal of the season and Corey Perry broke a second-period tie for Anaheim. The Ducks won their third straight game and ran their home winning streak to four. Bryan Bickell scored for Chicago. The Blackhawks have lost three straight. —AP
NHL results/standings NHL results and standings on Sunday. Atlanta 4, Montreal 3 (OT); Florida 3, NY Rangers 0; Philadelphia 3, Detroit 2; Dallas 4, St. Louis 2; Nashville 4, Columbus 1; Minnesota 6, Phoenix 5 (OT); Vancouver 2, Colorado 1; Anaheim 2, Chicago 1. (OT denotes overtime win) Eastern Conference Western Conference Atlantic Division Central Division W L OTLGF GA PTS Detroit 24 10 5 133 110 53 Philadelphia 24 10 5 131 104 53 St. Louis 20 13 5 101 104 45 Pittsburgh 25 12 3 127 94 53 Nashville 19 13 6 95 93 44 NY Rangers 22 15 3 119 103 47 Columbus 20 16 3 101 114 43 NY Islanders 11 19 6 84 118 28 Chicago 20 17 3 124 115 43 New Jersey 10 26 2 68 122 22 Northwest Division Vancouver 24 8 5 127 92 53 Colorado 20 14 5 132 125 45 Northeast Division Minnesota 18 15 5 98 112 41 Boston 20 11 6 108 84 46 Calgary 18 18 3 105 110 39 Montreal 21 16 3 100 96 45 Edmonton 12 18 7 95 126 31 Ottawa 16 19 5 90 121 37 Buffalo 16 18 4 105 114 36 Pacific Division Toronto 14 19 4 89 111 32 Dallas 23 13 4 114 111 50 San Jose 21 13 5 115 108 47 Anaheim 21 17 4 109 119 46 Southeast Division Los Angeles 22 15 1 113 92 45 Tampa Bay 23 11 5 121 122 51 Phoenix 17 13 8 106 113 42 Washington 23 12 5 120 106 51 Note: Overtime losses (OTL) are worth one Atlanta 21 15 6 131 125 48 point in the standings and are not included Carolina 18 15 4 108 111 40 in the loss column (L). Florida 17 17 2 98 92 36
Teen Bhamar touted as India’s Yao Ming
CORDOBA: Qatar’s driver Nasser Al-Attiyah steers his Volkswagen across the Elcano stream with German co-driver Timo Gottschalk, during the stage one Victoria-Cordoba of the Dakar 2011 Rally. —AFP
Despres rides to second stage win at Dakar Rally ARGENTINA: Three-time Dakar Rally motorbikes champion Cyril Despres claimed victory in the second stage of the Dakar Rally a 300km special between Cordoba and San Miguel de Tucuman yesterday. Despres finished 1min 39sec ahead of fellow KTM rider Marc Coma of Spain with compatriot David Casteu of Sherco in third. The title-holder cemented his place at the top of the overall standings with a second consecutive victory after teammate Ruben Faria who had won Sunday’s first stage was handed a one minute penalty for breaking the speed limit in a controlled zone. Despres managed to stay in front from start to finish to claim his 25th stage win in the Dakar Rally, and only the third time that he has won when opening the road.
In the overall standings, Despres leads two-time champion Coma by 2min 35sec with Portugal’s Faria third at 6:13. Today’s third stage to San Salvador de Jujuy includes a 521km special. On Sunday, defending champion Carlos Sainz won the first stage of the Dakar Rally, covering the 222-kilometer distance in 2 hours, 18 minutes, 32 seconds. Sainz’s Volkswagen was 1:31 ahead of secondplace Stephane Peterhansel in a BMW and 2:16 in front of Volkswagen teammate Nasser Al Attiyah. American driver Mark Miller was fourth, 4:17 behind. Ruben Faria of Portugal took the stage in the bike category, clocking 1:58:02. He was 29 seconds ahead of defending champion Cyril Despres and had a 1:15 lead on Marc Coma, the 2009 champion. Sainz managed a stage victory without having a
good day. “For about 20 kilometers (30 miles), we had a lot of rain,” he said. “At times we just could not see anything. Moreover, I had issues with the wipers that had stopped working. I am really happy the day is over. It was a bit like the Rally of Great Britain.” Faria also seemed surprised to have been a winner. “I did better today than many great riders with different driving styles,” Faria said. “It’s already a good point of reference.” Despres took the wet, slippery day in his stride. “It was a great warming-up exercise — a winding route, big sliding sections, a mix between skiing and riding,” Despres said. “I am in good shape. ... In the beginning of a Dakar, one always wonders: is this going to change much? Even if we tested our bikes, a Dakar will always be a Dakar. The race is on now and staying focused is of the essence.” —Agencies
NEW DELHI: Giant teenager Satnam Singh Bhamar idolizes Kobe Bryant, but hopes he can one day do for basketball in India what Houston Rockets star Yao Ming has done for China. Standing 2.18-meters (7-foot-2) tall, the 15-year-old Bhamar is being touted as the player who can turn Indian basketball around. “It feels good to be compared to Yao Ming,” says the shy boy from rural India, who adds he realizes he has a long way to go after an initial three-month stint at the IMG basketball academy in Florida. Yao’s move from Shanghai to the Houston Rockets made him an icon in China and Bhamar is seen as having the potential to someday hold the same status in India. Bhamar was among eight players — four boys and four girls — chosen to attend the academy when the Basketball Federation of India recently joined sports management company IMG-Reliance in a 30-year strategy to promote the sport. Bhamar’s height has ensured he has stood out so far at the one-year training program. Watching the national championships back in New Delhi, he knows he has a long way to go before he’s ready for the top level. “I have to work very hard on my speed, power and agility to do well at the top level,” Bhamar said. “The training methods are very different (in Florida) and I was initially worried whether I would be able to cope with the
strenuous sessions.” Bhamar says there is a huge gap in the standard of players in India and the US. “I think players here need to forget their style of play,” he said. “I was unable to match top (Indian) seniors before I left for my training, but I can already feel the difference when I play with them now in practice sessions.” Bhamar’s father Balbir Singh Bhamar, who stands at 2.13 meters (7 feet), could not pursue Basketball due to a lack of opportunities. “I am really lucky to have got the chance and I want to make my family, coaches and country proud by doing well,” said Bhamar, who started playing basketball six years ago. “ The NBA officials I have met have also praised me and see a great prospect in me,” he added. “I am going to give it my everything.” Coach Teja Singh Dhaliwal, who runs an academy at Ludhiana City in the northern state of Punjab, remembers the day Bhamar walked in with his father wanting to play basketball. “He was five feet and nine inches tall when he came to our facility five or six years ago. We had invited players for trials and his height being exceptional for his age, we decided to train him,” Dhaliwal said. Basketball Federation of India secretary, Harish Sharma, is particularly bullish about Bhamar’s prospects. “We are hoping he will be for India what Yao Ming was for China. —AP
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Morgenstern closes in on Four Hills title INNSBRUCK: Austrian ski jumping ace Thomas Morgenstern won the third event of the classic Four Hills tournament here yesterday to consolidate his place atop the overall World Cup standings. The 24-year-old triple Olympic champion, who also won the first event in the Four Hills, produced the two longest jumps, of 129.5 and 126.5 metres for a total of 266.5 points. Poland’s Adam Malysz (128 and 123m for 257.5 pts) was second, with Norwegian Tom Hilde (127.5 and 122 for 255.2 pts) completing the podium. Switzerland’s four-time Olympic
champion Simon Ammann, who won the second wind-affected Four Hills event in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday, had to be happy with fourth place. The victory all but secures the title for Morgenstern who now has a 27.3point advantage on Ammann going into the final event on January 6 at Bischofshofen, Austria. Morgenstern is bidding for his first Four Hills title and to follow in the footsteps of compatriots Wolfgang Loitzl and Andreas Kofler, winners of the last two editions. “I’m feeling very good and the
atmosphere is wonderful, really mad,” said Morgenstern, who is also leading the overall World Cup standings. Ammann all but conceded defeat in his bid for his first Four Hills title. “ The tournament was in effect decided today. Clawing back more than 27 points will be very difficult for me at Bischofshofen,” said Ammann. Given the different structures of the hills in Oberstdorf, GarmischPartenkirchen, Innsbruck and Bischofshofen, the Four Hills is widely regarded as the most difficult title to achieve in the sport.—AFP AUSTRIA: A jumper soars in front of the Alps during the third station of the Four Hills ski jumping tournament in Innsbruck. —AP
Khawaja’s bright cameo helps lift Sydney gloom
CAPE TOWN: India’s Gautam Gambhir (right) plays a shot during the third Test against South Africa. —AP
Gambhir, Tendulkar lead Indian fightback C A PE TOWN : G a ut a m G ambhi r a nd S a c h i n Tendulkar ground out the first century partnership of the match as I ndia overcame the loss of two early wickets on the second day of the third and final Test against South Africa at Newlands yesterday. Gambhir (65 not out) and Tendulkar (49 not out) put on an unbeaten 114 for th e t hi rd w i c ke t to enable India to reach 142 for t wo at the close in re p l y to S o u t h Afr i c a’s Jacque s K a l l i s-i nsp i re d 362 all out. Th e st a nd e na b le d I n dia to st ay i n w i t h a chance of winning a series in South Africa for the first time. The sides came to Newlands locked at oneall. Kallis was the mainstay o f t h e S o u t h Afr i c a n in n in gs, ma k i ng 1 6 1 before being last man out. K allis b a t te d sup e r b l y with tailenders Paul Harris and Lonwabo Tsotsobe, taking his score from 100 to 161 while the last two wickets added 79 runs. I t was the S outh African batting star’s 39th Test century, moving him into joint second place on the all-time Test centurions list alongside Ricky Ponting of Australia and behind only India’s Sachin Tendulkar, who has made 50 hundreds. It was also the highest of seven Test centuries by K allis at N ewland s, hi s hom e ground. The innings came at a cost to South Africa, however, as Kallis aggravated a side strain while batting and did not take the field
SCOREBOARD CAPE TOWN, South Africa: Scores at close of play on the second day of the third and final Test between South Africa and India at Newlands yesterday: South Africa, first innings (overnight 232-4) A. Petersen c Dhoni b Sharma 21 G. Smith lbw b Khan 6 H. Amla c Pujara b Sreesanth 59 J. Kallis c Dhoni b Khan 161 A. de Villiers c Dhoni b Sreesanth 26 A. Prince b Sreesanth 47 M. Boucher c Dhoni b Sreesanth 0 D. Steyn c Pujara b Khan 0 M. Morkel c Dhoni b Sreesanth 8 P. Harris c Pujara b Sharma 7 L. Tsotsobe not out 8 Extras (b1, lb6, nb11, w1) 19 Total (112.5 overs) 362 Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Smith), 2-34 (Petersen), 3-106 (Amla), 4-164 (De Villiers), 5-262 (Prince), 6-262 (Boucher), 7-272 (Steyn), 8-283 (Morkel), 9-310 (Harris) Bowling: Khan 29.5-6-89-3 (nb2), Sreesanth
fo r th e I n d i a n i n n i n g s, leaving South Africa with ju s t fo u r bow l e rs w h o were made to toil under a hot sun as Gambhir and Tendulkar dug in. Hot weather is predicted for Tuesday when the pitch, which still offered the bowlers some assistance off the seam, should be at its best for batting. Virender Sehwag again had a disappointing first innings after being out for nought in the first Test in Centurion and 25 in the second match in Durban. He made 13 before a typically flat-footed drive against Steyn spooned to m i d - o ff w h e re S o u th African captain Graeme Smith made a good catch, diving forward. Rahul Dravid was out for five in unusual circums ta n ce s w h e n G a m bh i r was dropped on 10 by
29-0-114-5 (nb6, w1), Sharma 27-6-77-2 (nb3), Harbhajan Singh 27-3-75-0. India, first innings G. Gambhir not out 65 V. Sehwag c Smith b Steyn 13 R. Dravid run out (De Villiers) 5 S. Tendulkar not out 49 Extras (lb8, nb1, w1) 10 Total (2 wkts, 50 overs) 142 Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Sehwag), 2-28 (Dravid) Bowling: Steyn 13-4-31-1, Morkel 14-3-46-0, Tsotsobe 12-3-28-0, Harris 11-2-29-0 To bat: V. Laxman, C. Pujara, M. Dhoni, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, I. Sharma, S. Sreesanth Match position: India trail by 220 runs with eight wickets remaining in the first innings.
Alviro Petersen at gully off Tsotsobe. The batsmen went through for a run b ut seco nd slip A B de Villiers picked up the ball and t hrew down t he stumps with Dravid just short of his ground. Gambhir was dropped o f f Ts o t s o b e w h e n D e Villier s sp illed a hi gh chance at second slip when the batsman was on 60. He also played several false shots but showed good composure in a 159ball innings which included eight fours. Tendulk ar edged Tso t so b e dangero usly close to Ashwell Prince at t hird slip when he had eight but went on to play a solid, cautious innings, facing 106 balls before the close. South Africa’s eventual to t al seem ed unlikely when they lost four wick-
ets in the space of 26 balls against the second new ball during the first hour of the day. Three of the wickets fell to fast bowler Shanthakumaran Sreesanth, who finished with five for 114. It was Sreesanth’s third five wicket haul in Tests. Pa u l H a r r i s h e l p e d Kallis add 27 for the ninth wic ket and K allis t hen gave a masterly exhibition of keeping the strike as he and Tsotsobe added an unbeaten 52 for the last wicket before Kallis edged an attempted square cut against Zaheer K han in trying to keep the strike yet again. Kallis reached a watchful century off 209 balls but scored his next 61 off only 82 deliveries, adding ten more boundaries to the nine in his first 100.—AFP
SYDNEY: Debutant Usman Khawaja briefly lit up a gloomy first day of the fifth Ashes Test yesterday but Australia’s batting frailties and rain returned later in the day to leave the hosts wobbling on 134-4 at the close of play. Despite their hopes of regaining the Ashes having gone, Australia could still square the series with a victory this week but England just about edged the weather-disrupted day with some stifling bowling and key wickets. Khawaja, the first Muslim to play for Australia, opened his first test innings with a stunning salvo but ended it for 37 runs with a looping topedged sweep off Graeme Swann which Jonathan Trott gathered at square leg just as the rain returned. “You never want to get out, especially with the last ball of the day, as it turned out that was,” the 24-year-old told reporters. “I had a ball out there, I was having so much fun out there I just wanted to stay out there as long as I could.” Mike Hussey, so often Australia’s saviour in this series, was still at the crease on 12 runs with Brad Haddin about to join him when play was stopped for the day. “It’s always good to get the first punch in... it’s definitely our day,” said Tim Bresnan, who took 2-47. “Although they played well, I think we were unlucky not to have a few more down.” Haddin’s elevation above Steve Smith in the batting order was one of the first manifestations of the captaincy of Michael Clarke, who took charge of his country’s test side for the first time in place of the injured Ricky Ponting. Clarke was Bresnan’s second victim, dismissed when he clipped the ball straight at James Anderson in the gully for just four runs after the first rain delay, which had swallowed up the tea break. The 29-year-old, greeted with cheers from his home crowd and boos from the English contingent when he walked out to bat, was clearly furious with himself for another failure in a series where he has averaged just 19 runs in eight innings. Khawaja came in straight after a lunch break precipitated by the fall of opener Phillip Hughes, who wasted a good morning’s work with a sloppy shot to be caught at slip by Paul Collingwood off the bowling of Chris Tremlett for 31. Pakistan-born Khawaja, the first Australian to debut at number three since Justin
SYDNEY: England’s James Anderson (left) appeals for the wicket of Australia’s Shane Watson (top center) on the first day of play in their fifth Ashes cricket Test match.—AP
SCOREBOARD SYDNEY: Scoreboard at the close of play on the first day of the fifth and final Ashes test between England and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on yesterday: Australia won the toss and chose to bat. Australia first innings S. Watson c Strauss b Bresnan P. Hughes c Collingwood b Tremlett U. Khawaja c Trott b Swann M. Clarke c Anderson b Bresnan M. Hussey not out
Langer in 1993, had been forced to wait for his chance but grasped it with both hands when it came courtesy of Ponting’s injury. Watched by his parents and an expectant nation, he sent the first ball he faced racing away for two runs before summoning up a beautiful pull shot at chest height to dispatch the second for four. Eight balls into his test career, he had made 15 runs and, although he then settled into the more conservative pace of his team mates, the 43,561 crowd at the SCG was buzzing. “It was a good start and it got all the anxiety out of my system,” Khawaja said. “I was
45 31 37 4 12
Extras (lb-4, nb-1) 5 Total (for four wickets, 59 overs) 134 Fall of wickets: 1-55 2-105 3-113 4-134 Still to bat: B. Haddin, S. Smith, M. Johnson, P. Siddle, M. Beer, B. Hilfenhaus Bowling (to date): Anderson 20-5-34-0, Tremlett 16-6-40-1 (1nb), Bresnan 16-4-47-2, Swann 5-3-6-1, Collingwood 2-1-3-0.
just loving being out there in the middle. I wasn’t thinking that much, I just wanted to get off the mark as soon as possible.” Opener Shane Watson had epitomised the cautious approach, waiting 89 deliveries for his first boundary and taking more than three hours to put on 45 before he hit a Bresnan ball he should have left and was caught in the slips by Andrew Strauss. The England skipper had decided to stick with the team that retained the Ashes with an innings and 157 run victory in Melbourne last week and his bowlers repaid his faith in them. “We’re definitely up for this game,” Bresnan said. “Even
though we’ve already effectively retained the Ashes, we want to win this series. “We were very happy with first use of that pitch, we were going to bowl because it looks like it’s only going to get batter,” the Yorkshireman added. Clarke won the toss and elected to bat, as Ponting would undoubtedly have done, but he put his own stamp on the captaincy by not doling out the baggy green caps to the debutants. Khawaja received his from former captain and test opener Mark Taylor, while Shane Warne did the honours for the other — his fellow spinner and former club mate Michael Beer. —Reuters
Pakistan 234-8 in tour match WHANGAREI: New Zealand Test paceman Chris Martin took three wickets as a New Zealand XI held Pakistan to 234-8 in its first innings on the second day of a three-day tour match yestrday. Martin (3-52) claimed the wickets
of openers Mohammad Hafeez (4) and Taufeeq Umar (1) — both caught by New Zealand’s new wicketkeeper Reece Young — and veteran Younis Khan (1) as the New Zealand side reduced Pakistan early on to 39-4 in reply to its first innings of 384.
The New Zealand XI total was almost entirely based around Brendon McCullum’s 206 on Sunday. Pakistan captain Misbah ul-Haq was 99 not out at stumps on the second day after batting for 4-1/2 hours, hitting 10 fours and three sixes. —AP
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NBA results/standings Results and standings from the NBA games on Sunday: NY Knicks 98, Indiana 92; Atlanta 107, LA Clippers 98; Boston 93, Toronto 79; Dallas 104, Cleveland 95; Portland 100, Houston 85; Sacramento 94, Phoenix 89; Memphis 104, LA Lakers 85.
LOS ANGELES: Lakers forward Pau Gasol (below) of Spain tangles with Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol of Spain as they go after a rebound in the second half of their NBA basketball game. — AP
Celtics pound Raptors TORONTO: Paul Pierce scored 30 points and Ray Allen had 23 as the Boston Celtics beat the Toronto Raptors 93-79 on Sunday. Glenn Davis added 15 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as Boston won for the 10th time in 11 meetings with Toronto. Pierce hit 10 of 15 shots, seven of eight free throws and grabbing seven rebounds to help Boston snap a two-game losing streak. DeMar DeRozan scored 27 points, Joey Dorsey had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Amir Johnson had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors, who have lost 11 of their past 14. Hawks 107, Clippers 98 At Los Angeles, Joe Johnson scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and Josh Smith added 22 as Atlanta rallied for the win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Johnson, who returned to the lineup on Dec. 17 after missing nine games following right elbow surgery, was 7 for 20 from the field after going 18 of 51 over his previous three games. Clippers rookie Blake Griffin scored 19 of his 31 points in the first half and pulled down 15 rebounds for his 27th double-double and 21st in a row. Baron Davis had 15 points and five assists. Knicks 98, Pacers 92 At New York, Amare Stoudemire scored 26 points,
Shooting tournament season set to resume By Abdellatif Sharaa KUWAIT: Kuwait Shooting Sport Club resumes its tournament season by organizing the Late Sheikh Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah Cup tournament which will start Thursday, Jan 6. Technical and administrative preparations are being made including setting the training schedule as competition will be in skeet, trap, double trap, 10m rifle and pistol for men, women, juniors and beginners in addition to Olympic archery. The tournament’s organizing committee prepared the Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Olympic Shooting Complex with all requirements the shooters need. The tournament’s schedule was sent to the military, police and national guard sports unions as well as the club’s shooters. Registration for the tournament continues through today Tuesday January 4, 2011. KSC Secretary General Obied Mnahi Al-Osaimi said the Cup of the Late Sheikh Ali Sabah Al-Salem Al-Sabah has a special place within the shooting community and that is why the board of directors makes sure that it is included every year in its annual activities to remind all with the late Sheikh’s contributions to Kuwait in all sectors he served in as well as his efforts when he was defense minister after liberating Kuwait from the Iraqi occupation as he took the responsibility of rebuilding the armed forces. He also contributed to equip and support security forces when he was interior minister. The shooting community remembers his outstanding contribution to the sport of shooting and he headed the first shooting delegation in the military sports tournament.
including six of New York’s last seven points, and Danilo Gallinari had 19 to lead New York over Indiana. Danny Granger had 25 points and 17 rebounds, and Darren Collison had 22 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Pacers, who lost for the fourth time in their last five games. Mavericks 104, Cavaliers 95 At Cleveland, Shawn Marion scored 22 points and DeShawn Stevenson added 21 to help Dallas end a threegame losing streak. The Mavericks, playing without starting forwards Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler, used a balanced attack. Jason Terry scored 18 points, Tyson Chandler added 14 points and 14 rebounds, and Jason Kidd had 10 points and eight assists. Antawn Jamison led Cleveland with a season-high 35 points, and Ramon Sessions added 19. Grizzlies 104, Lakers 85 At Los Angeles, Rudy Gay scored 27 points, and Zach Randolph added 21 points and eight rebounds as Memphis pulled away in the second half. OJ Mayo scored 15 points for the Grizzlies, who bounced back from two losses to wrap up their three-game road trip with a stunningly easy blowout of the two-time defending champions. Kobe Bryant scored 28 points for the Lakers, who have
lost three of their last four home games — all three by at least 16 points — and four of six overall. T Blazers 100, Rockets 85 At Portland, Oregon, LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Nicolas Batum added a season-high 21 points as Portland won its eighth straight home game. Patrick Mills had a career-high 14 points, five assists and five steals for Portland. Wesley Matthews added 14 and Marcus Camby had 13 rebounds and season-high eight assists. Kevin Martin had 15 points to lead the Rockets, who were held well below their season average of 106 points per game. Courtney Lee added 12 points. Luis Scola, Aaron Brooks and Chase Budinger each had 10. Kings 94, Suns 89 At Sacramento, California, DeMarcus Cousins scored 13 of his career-high 28 points in the fourth quarter as Sacramento closed with a 19-2 run. Francisco Garcia had 20 points and 11 rebounds and Omri Casspi added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings. Carl Landry had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Steve Nash had 20 points and 12 assists for the Suns, but was held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Vince Carter had 17 points and Marcin Gortat added 16. — AP
CHENNAI: Serbian tennis player Janko Tipsarevic serves against his Argentinian opponent Eduardo Schwank during their first round match at the ATP Chennai Open 2011. — AP because I was a bit ner vous,” said Nishikori, who has signed Brad Gilbert as coach for the new season. “Brad does not join me till next week, so to beat the defending champion here was very good. I think I played well. “This year I am determined to change my tennis, not miss easy balls, serve better and not do the crazy things I did on court earlier.” A disappointed Cilic said the Japanese youngster deserved to win. “He played the crucial points better than me,” said Cilic. “It is not a good feeling to lose in the first round as the defending champion, but I think I did not play badly. “There was no pressure on trying to win three titles in a row in Chennai. I was not even thinking about it. My only aim was to get ready for the new season.” Cilic’s defeat opened the field for Chennai first-timer Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, who ended last year as world number six.
PCT .781 .576 .394 .333 .265
GB 6.5 12.5 14.5 17
.688 .438 .419 .333 .235
8 8.5 11.5 15
.743 .636 .611 .355 .250
4 4.5 13 16.5
Western Conference Northwest Division Utah 23 11 .676 Oklahoma City 23 12 .657 Denver 19 13 .594 Portland 18 16 .529 Minnesota 9 25 .265 Pacific Division LA Lakers 23 11 .676 Phoenix 14 18 .438 Golden State 13 20 .394 LA Clippers 10 24 .294 Sacramento 7 24 .226 Southwest Division San Antonio 29 4 .879 Dallas 25 8 .758 New Orleans 20 14 .588 Houston 16 17 .485 Memphis 15 19 .441
.5 3 5 14 8 9.5 13 14.5 4 9.5 13 14.5
Venus looking forward to injury-free season
Nishikori stuns Cilic at ATP Chennai Open
CHENNAI: Rising Japanese star Kei Nishikori ended Marin Cilic’s bid for a hat trick of titles at the ATP Chennai Open with a first round upset yesterday. The 21-year-old, ranked 98th in the world, fought back after losing the opening set to knock out number 14 Cilic 4-6, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2 in two hours and 33 minutes in the southern Indian city. It was Nishikori’s second big win over the lanky Croat, having beaten him in five sets in the second round of the US Open last year. Cilic, who won the Chennai titles in 2009 and 2010, appeared set for another confident start to the new year when he breezed through the first set in 46 minutes. But Nishikori won the tie-breaker in th e s e cond set wit ho ut dro p p i ng a point and then broke Cilic in the first and seventh games of the third set to clinch victory. “It was a good way to start the year
Eastern Conference Atlantic Division W L Boston 25 7 NY Knicks 19 14 Philadelphia 13 20 Toronto 11 22 New Jersey 9 25 Central Division Chicago 22 10 Indiana 14 18 Milwaukee 13 18 Detroit 11 22 Cleveland 8 26 Southeast Division Miami 26 9 Orlando 21 12 Atlanta 22 14 Charlotte 11 20 Washington 8 24
Berdych, 25, reached the French Open semi-final and then stunned Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon on way to his maiden appearance in a Grand Slam final. “It was a good year for me and I hope I can continue the same way this season,” the top-seed told reporters after an twohour practice session. “It was a good mix of rest and training in the off-season. The important thing for me is to stay healthy and fit and ready to play well each time I go on court.” Other contenders for the Chennai title include world number 21 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland, the French duo of Richard Gasquet and Jeremy Chardy, and Serbian Janko Tipsarevic. Robert Kendrick of the United States also moved into the second round by defeating Denis Gremelmayr of Germany 7-6 (7/1), 6-4. German veteran Bjorn Phau outplayed Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-2, 6-2 in another match. — AFP
HONG KONG: Venus Williams says she’s looking forward to a healthy season for herself and sister Serena after an injuryplagued year for the siblings. The Williams sisters, who have 20 Grand Slam singles titles between them, both saw their years cut short in 2010. Serena missed the rest of the season after winning Wimbledon in July, following a cut on her right foot. She is still recovering and will miss the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 17. After losing at Wimbledon, Venus only played at the US Open, bothered by a bad left knee. Venus, however, said yesterday in Hong Kong, where she is competing in an exhibition tournament, “hopefully we’ll (Serena and I) reunite as a doubles team pretty soon,” adding her younger sister is in “very good spirits.” Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki says she is not setting any deadlines to win her first Grand Slam tournament as the topranked Dane gears up for the Australian Open later this month. There are high hopes for a 20-year-old player who burst onto the scene in 2008 by winning three WTA Tour titles. A year later, she matched that feat and reached her first major final at the US Open. In 2010, she bagged a tour-best six titles, a result that helped her overtake an injured Serena Williams as the top-ranked female player in October. Now all eyes are on whether she can back up her No. 1 ranking with a win at the Australian Open, which starts on Jan. 17, especially given the open field missing Williams. Speaking to reporters in Hong Kong, where she is competing in an exhibition tournament, Wozniacki said yesterday she is trying not to let the pressure overwhelm her. “Of course I would like to win a Grand Slam title. Is it going to be this year? No one knows if it’s going to happen. But definitely I’m going to try. I’m going to be fighting hard for it. We’re going to have to see,” she said. “I’m not very picky. If I win a Grand Slam in my career, I’ll be happy. I don’t set any deadlines.” One thing that Wozniacki is certain about is that she deserves the No. 1 spot. Unlike the men’s game, where Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have controlled the top two spots in recent years, women’s tennis has seen a series of new No. 1s since 2008, including Williams, Serbs Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic, Belgium’s Justine Henin, as well as Russians Maria Sharapova and Dinara Safina. “I feel pressure is when you are put in a spot where you don’t feel like you belong. I feel like I belong where I am. I’ve had a great year,” she said. Wozniacki added she has no plans to drastically change her defensive style of play to boost her chances of winning a Slam. —AP
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Profiles of teams in NFL playoffs NEW YORK: Brief profiles of the 12 teams that qualified for this season’s National Football League (NFL) playoffs: NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS Founded: 1960 Home Ground: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Massachusetts Head coach: Bill Belichick Starting quarterback: Tom Brady Super Bowl titles: 3 Playoff appearances: 17 Regular season record: 14 wins, 2 losses How they qualified: 1st AFC East Division
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES Founded: 1933 Home Ground: Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Head coach: Andy Reid Starting quarterback: Michael Vick Super Bowl titles: 0 Playoff appearances: 23 Regular season record: 10 wins, 6 losses How they qualified: 1st NFC East Division
NEW YORK JETS Founded: 1960 Home Ground: New Meadowlands Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey Head coach: Rex Ryan Starting quarterback: Mark Sanchez Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 14 Regular season record: 11 wins, 5 losses How they qualified: 2nd AFC East Division (Wild Card) PITTSBURGH STEELERS Founded: 1933 Home Ground: Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Head coach: Mike Tomlin Starting quarterback: Ben Roethlisberger Super Bowl titles: 6 Playoff appearances: 26 Regular season record: 12 wins, 4 losses How they qualified: 1st AFC North Division
CHICAGO BEARS Founded: 1920 Home Ground: Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois Head coach: Lovie Smith Starting quarterback: Jay Cutler Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 26 Regular season record: 11 wins, 5 losses How they qualified: 1st NFC North Division GREEN BAY PACKERS Founded: 1921 Home Ground: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin Head coach: Mike McCarthy Starting quarterback: Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl titles: 3 Playoff appearances: 26 Regular season record: 10 wins, 6 losses How they qualified: 2nd NFC North Division (Wild Card) ATLANTA FALCONS
BALTIMORE RAVENS Founded: 1996 Home Ground: M & T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland Head coach: John Harbaugh Starting quarterback: Joe Flacco Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 7 Regular season record: 12 wins, 4 losses How they qualified: 2nd AFC North Division (Wild Card) INDIANAPOLIS COLTS Founded: 1944 Home Ground: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Indiana Head coach: Jim Caldwell Starting quarterback: Peyton Manning Super Bowl titles: 2 Playoff appearances: 24 Regular season record: 10 wins, 6 losses How they qualified: 1st AFC South Division
Founded: 1966 Home Ground: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia Head coach: Mike Smith Starting quarterback: Matt Ryan Super Bowl titles: 0 Playoff appearances: 10 Regular season record: 13 wins, 3 losses How they qualified: 1st NFC South Division NEW ORLEANS SAINTS Founded: 1967 Home Ground: Louisiana Superdome, New rleans, Louisiana Head coach: Sean Payton Starting quarterback: Drew Brees Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 8 Regular season record: 11 wins, 5 losses How they qualified: 2nd NFC South Division (Wild Card) SEATTLE SEAHAWKS
KANSAS CITY CHIEFS Founded: 1960 Home Ground: Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri Head coach: Todd Haley Starting quarterback: Matt Cassel Super Bowl titles: 1 Playoff appearances: 16 Regular season record: 10 wins, 6 losses How they qualified: 1st AFC West Division
Founded: 1976 Home Ground: Qwest Field, Seattle, Washington Head coach: Pete Carroll Starting quarterback: Matt Hasselbeck Super Bowl titles: 0 Playoff appearances: 11 Regular season record: 7 wins, 9 losses How they qualified: 1st NFC West Division. — Reuters
time.” Despite his advancing years, Favre had one of the best statistical seasons of his career in 2009, throwing for over 4,200 yards, 33 touchdowns and only seven interceptions and led the Vikings to the NFC Championship game. Minnesota lost that game to the New Orleans Saints but his decision to come back for a shot at reaching what would have been his third Super Bowl proved to be ill-fated. The Vikings struggled and Favre looked a shadow of the player who had enjoyed so much success a year earlier. He threw for 2,509 yards and 11 touchdowns, the lowest totals since his rookie year, when he played just two games. “This year did not work out the way that we would have hoped, but that’s football, and I don’t regret coming back. I enjoyed my experience here,” said Favre. He also said that he understood that some fans would be skeptical of his decision being truly final. “I don’t know if, for me, it’s ever easy. I’m sure throughout this year the comment has been made that we’ll wait and see in August or September. But it’s time,” said Favre. —Reuters
Seahawks thrash Rams SEATTLE: Backup quarterback Charlie Whitehurst threw a 4-yard touchdown pass on Seattle’s first drive, and Olindo Mare kicked second-half field goals as the Seahawks became division champions with a 16-6 win over the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. The Seahawks finished as champs of the National Football Conference West at 7-9, the first playoff team with a losing record — not including the 1982 strikeshortened season — since the merger in 1970. It was Seattle’s first division title since 2007. Colts 23, Titans 20 At Indianapolis, Peyton Manning threw two touchdown passes and Adam Vinatieri made a 43-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Colts their seventh American Football Conference South title in eight years. The Colts (10-6) tied Dallas’ NFL record for most consecutive playoff appearances (nine) and will face the New York Jets next weekend in a wild-card game. Texans 34, Jaguars 17 At Houston, Arian Foster ran for 180 yards to capture the NFL rushing title for Houston. The Jaguars (8-8) needed a win and a Colts loss to make playoffs, but couldn’t overcome the absence of its top two offensive players. Quarterback David Garrard had finger surgery Thursday and Pro Bowl running back Maurice Jones-Drew sat out with a right knee injury. Indianapolis wound up winning minutes after the Jaguars’ game ended. Falcons 31, Panthers 10 At Atlanta, Matt Ryan and Atlanta put a decisive stamp on the NFC South title and home-field advantage in the playoffs. The Falcons (13-3) earned their first division title since 2004, home-field edge throughout the NFC playoffs and a bye next weekend. The time off for Ryan and other starters came early, as backups took over in the fourth quarter. Steelers 41, Browns 9 At Cleveland, Ben Roethlisberger threw two touchdown passes as Pittsburgh won the AFC North to secure a first-round playoff bye. The game could be the final one for Browns coach Eric Mangini. Roethlisberger, who got to rest most of the second half, threw a 56yard TD to Mike Wallace on his first pass.
Cowboys 14, Eagles 13 At Philadelphia, Stephen McGee threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten with 55 seconds left to lead Dallas over the NFC East champs. Michael Vick and nearly every starter didn’t play in a game that had no effect on Philadelphia’s playoff positioning. The Eagles (10-6) are locked into the No. 3 seed and will host Green Bay in a wildcard game next Sunday. Giants 17, Redsksins 14 At Landover, Maryland, the Giants got the win, but they didn’t get the help they needed to make the playoffs. Osi Umenyiora forced two of the defense’s four turnovers, and the Giants ended with a 10-6 and no playoff spot after the Packers defeated the Bears to clinch the final NFC postseason spot. 49ers 38, Cardinals 7 At San Francisco, Alex Smith threw a 59-yard touchdown pass to Vernon Davis in what likely was the quarterback’s final hurrah with the 49ers in a matchup for last place in the awful NFC West. Smith, the 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick who becomes a free agent, threw for 276 yards and two TDs overall and the Niners (6-10) made interim coach Jim Tomsula a winner in what will probably be his only game coaching the team. Chargers 33, Broncos 28 At Denver, rookie Ryan Mathews ran for three scores and Nate Kaeding kicked four field goals for San Diego. The Broncos (4-12) closed out the season with more than 11 losses for the first time in club history, but secured the No. 2 overall pick in the April draft behind Carolina. — AP
NFL results/standings Atlanta 31, Carolina 10; Pittsburgh 41, Cleveland 9; Baltimore 13, Cincinnati 7; Oakland 31, Kansas City 10; New England 38, Miami 7; Tampa Bay 23, New Orleans 13; NY Jets 38, Buffalo 7; Detroit 20, Minnesota 13; Green Bay 10, Chicago 3; Indianapolis 23, Tennessee 20; Dallas 14, Philadelphia 13; San Francisco 38, Arizona 7; San Diego 33, Denver 28; Houston 34, Jacksonville 17; NY Giants 17, Washington 14.
Raiders 31, Chiefs 10 At Kansas City, Missouri, Michael Bush rushed for 137 yards and a touchdown as short-handed Oakland beat playoff-bound Kansas City to gain a unique NFL distinction. The Raiders (8-8) finished 6-0 in the AFC West, the first team since the 1970 merger to go unbeaten in the division and not make the playoffs. The AFC West champion Chiefs (10-6) were 2-4 in the division, and will host the Ravens in the playoffs next Sunday.
American Football Conference AFC East W L T PF PA New England 14 2 0 518 313 NY Jets 11 5 0 367 304 Miami 7 9 0 273 333 Buffalo 4 12 0 283 425 AFC North Pittsburgh 12 4 0 375 232 Baltimore 12 4 0 357 270 Cleveland 5 11 0 271 332 Cincinnati 4 12 0 322 395 AFC South Indianapolis 10 6 0 435 388 Jacksonville 8 8 0 353 419 Houston 6 10 0 390 427 Tennessee 6 10 0 356 339 AFC West Kansas City 10 6 0 366 326 San Diego 9 7 0 441 322 Oakland 8 8 0 410 371 Denver 4 12 0 344 471
Buccaneers 23, Saints 13 At New Orleans, Josh Freeman passed for two touchdowns but Tampa Bay failed to make the playoffs. The Bucs (10-6) entered the game needing a victory and losses by both the Giants and Packers to make the post season. The Giants and Packers both won. The Saints (11-5) will open the playoffs next Saturday against the NFC West champion Seahawks. Patriots 38, Dolphins 7 At Foxborough, Massachusetts, Tom Brady threw two touchdown passes to cap a record-setting season as New England won its eighth straight. The game meant nothing in the standings. Still, Brady played into the third quarter and finished with 36 touchdowns passing and four interceptions. He extended his NFL records to 335 straight passes without an interception and 28 consecutive regular-season wins as a starter at home.
NEW ORLEANS: Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Williams (right) pulls in a touchdown pass in front of New Orleans Saints cornerback Jabari Greer (33) during the third quarter of an NFL football game. — AP
(6-10) closed out a lost season by putting the three-time MVP quarterback on the inactive because of a concussion, with rookie Joe Webb making his second start. After the game, Favre said it was time for him to call it a career.
Ravens 13, Bengals 7 At Baltimore, Ed Reed had two interceptions and Ray Lewis recovered two fumbles, part of an opportunistic defense that carried Baltimore. Despite the victory, the Ravens (12-4) failed to get the help necessary to win the AFC North. Baltimore needed Pittsburgh to lose to Cleveland, but the Steelers won easily to deny the Ravens a firstround bye.
Packers 10, Bears 3 At Green Bay, Wisconsin, Aaron Rodgers’ 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Donald Lee gave Green Bay the lead, and its defense held on to clinch a wild card berth. The Packers will visit the NFC East champion Eagles next Sunday.
After 20 seasons, Favre says time to walk away DETROIT: Record-breaking quarterback Brett Favre sat out the final game of what he has called his last NFL season on Sunday and then said he knew it finally was time to walk away. After watching from the sidelines with lingering effects of a concussion while his Minnesota Vikings capped a disappointing season with a 20-13 loss to the Detroit Lions, Favre suggested the risk of injury was a factor in his decision. “If you just talked about head injuries, and there’s been lots of discussion on that this year, it wouldn’t be worth it anyway. But it’s time. I know it’s time. And that’s OK. It is,” Favre told reporters. The 41-year-old quarterback has come out of retirement twice before, but after 20 seasons in the NFL the career record holder in nearly every major statistical category for passing simply said it was time. “I hold no regrets, and I can’t think of too many players off hand that can walk away and say that,” said Favre. “I played with some great, great teammates over the years and was honored to play with them. And I just know it’s
BALTIMORE: Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson fumbles the ball on a hit from Baltimore Ravens cornerback Chris Carr during the first half of an NFL football game. — AP
Jets 38, Bills 7 At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Mark Brunell threw two touchdown passes in relief of Mark Sanchez and Joe McKnight ran for a career-high 158 yards as the Jets’ defense dominated. Having already clinched a postseason spot, New York (11-5) sat a handful of stars, including LaDainian Tomlinson and Darrelle Revis, but still earned the fourth 11-win season in franchise history — and first since the 1998 team went to the AFC championship game. The Jets open the playoffs against the Indianapolis Colts next Saturday. Lions 20, Vikings 13 At Detroit, Brett Favre stood in street clothes on the sideline in what likely was the final game of his 20-season career, watching the Lions (6-10) beat his Vikings for their fourth straight win. The Vikings
National Football Conference NFC East Philadelphia 10 6 0 439 377 NY Giants 10 6 0 394 347 Dallas 6 10 0 394 436 Washington 6 10 0 302 377 NFC North Chicago 11 5 0 334 286 Green Bay 10 6 0 388 240 Detroit 6 10 0 362 369 Minnesota 6 10 0 281 348 NFC South Atlanta 13 3 0 414 288 New Orleans 11 5 0 384 307 Tampa Bay 10 6 0 341 318 Carolina 2 14 0 196 408 NFC West Seattle 7 9 0 310 407 St. Louis 7 9 0 289 328 San Francisco 6 10 0 305 346 Arizona 5 11 0 289 434
PCT .875 .688 .438 .250 .750 .750 .313 .250 .625 .500 .375 .375 .625 .563 .500 .250
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
sports PREVIEW
Man City title credentials on the line at Arsenal LONDON:- Manchester City face the acid test of their Premier League title credentials tomorrow when they seek to win at Arsenal, something they have not managed for 36 years. After winning all three festive fixtures, City are level with Manchester United on 41 points at the top of the Premier League, with Arsenal third on 39. Having not tasted success at the Gunners since 1975 and having lost 3-0 at home to them in October, victory would go a long way to convincing even City’s most pessimistic fans that they are serious contenders to win the league for the first time since 1968. “It seems ridiculous that we haven’t won there since the 1970s but that has to end sometime,” assistant manager Brian Kidd, who played for both clubs, told City’s website (www.mcfc.co.uk). “They beat us fair and square in the first game but I wouldn’t change our squad for any other. I don’t fear any team in the league.” City were up against it in the home match after an early red card for defender Dedryck Boyata who has not played a league game since. “Now we want to play them with 11 men,” said defender Jerome Boateng. “I don’t believe in bogey teams or jinxes and things like that I only look to the next game. That City have not won at Arsenal for a long time makes no difference to what might happen on Wednesday night. Mario Balotelli and David Silva, who has been in superb form, are both struggling to make the game because of knee injuries. Manchester United, who have two games in hand on City and one on the other three title hopefuls, host Stoke City today. United needed a late goal by Javier Hernandez to secure a 2-1 win at The Britannia in October and they are expecting another tough battle with Tony Pulis’s physical side. “They always have a go and you have to win that battle and earn the right to play,” United midfielder Darren Fletcher said. Chelsea, still reeling from conceding a stoppagetime equaliser in Sunday’s 3-3 home draw with Aston Villa after scoring twice in the last six minutes, visit Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday. The champions’ poor run, which has brought 10 points from the last 10 games, has seen them drop outside the top four and they now trail United by six points having played a game more. Tottenham Hotspur, a point above their London rivals after three successive wins, visit Everton tomorrow. —Reuters
DOHA: In this handout picture released by the Emirates Airline media relations office, Yousuf Yaqub Al-Serkal, the vice president of the Asian Football Confederation, AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam, Qatar Football Association (QFA) president, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed al-Thani, Ahmed Khoory, pose with Emirates Airline officials behind the AFC trophy at Doha airport. The AFC Asian Cup will take place from January 7-29. — AFP
Barcelona under pressure for Bilbao King’s Cup clash MADRID: Barcelona must cope with the daunting atmosphere of Athletic Bilbao’s San Mames stadium if they are to reach the King’s Cup quarter-finals tomorrow after a rare off day left them vulnerable to an early exit. The deafening roars and piercing whistles of the Bilbao fans have often given their team extra impetus in the claustrophobic, 40,000-seater arena known as the Cathedral and the Basques are right in the tie after holding Barcelona to a 0-0 draw in last month’s first leg at the Nou Camp. “Bilbao are a team that will create prob-
lems for us,” Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said after the league leaders ground out a 2-1 home win over promoted Levante on Sunday. Barca, who would meet Getafe or second-division leaders Real Betis in the last eight, won 3-1 in Bilbao in La Liga in September, when midfielder Andres Iniesta was roundly booed after he was involved in the dismissal of Fernando Amorebieta. Spain midfielder Iniesta has mostly been hailed as a hero by opposing fans for scoring the winning goal in July’s World Cup final but that achievement cuts little ice
with the fiercely independent Basques. “Now we have a life or death match,” Iniesta said after the Levante game. Barca’s arch-rivals Real Madrid have not won the domestic Cup since 1993 but virtually secured a quarter-final berth with an 8-0 demolition of Levante in the first leg. Jose Mourinho’s side, who play Levante on Thursday, look likely to go on and face city rivals and 2010 runners-up Atletico, who won their first leg at home to Espanyol 1-0. Mourinho said Brazil playmaker Kaka, who had knee surgery after the World Cup
and has not played this season, could get a run-out in Real’s La Liga match at neighbours Getafe later yesterday. “He won’t start against Getafe and he is still nowhere near being able to,” the Portuguese told a news conference. “He could give us 15 or 20 minutes of his super quality but no more.” In other last 16, second legs, Villarreal host Valencia on Thursday after the pair drew 0-0 at the Mestalla, Malaga are looking to overturn a 5-3 defeat by holders Sevilla and Almeria will attempt to defend a 4-3 lead at Real Mallorca. —Reuters
Bahrain face daunting task
GUANGZHOU: A picture dated Nov 16, 2010 shows India’s football team members singing the national anthem before competing against Japan at the men’s football 1/8 final match 44 during the 16th Asian Games. —AFP
India have little hope in Qatar DOHA: It has taken India 27 years to qualify for its third Asian Cup and few are expecting any fireworks from a massive country that has never realised its footballing potential. India are in Qatar courtesy of winning the eight-nation AFC Challenge Cup as hosts in 2008 — a tournament of lower-tier Asian teams. It will be their first outing at the Asian Cup since 1984 where they failed to make any impact, in contrast to their maiden appearance in 1964 when they finished runners-up. A repeat of that performance is highly unlikely with Bobby Houghton’s squad more concerned with preventing any embarrassing scorelines, with the might of Australia, South Korea and Bahrain awaiting them in a tough Group C. If recent results are any indication, they could be seriously out of their depth having lost 2-0 to Iraq, 9-1 to Kuwait and 5-0 to the UAE in November. That match againt UAE on November 18 was the last one they have played and they go into the tournament clearly under-prepared. They have also been hit by controversy with manager Pradeep Chowdhury walking out on the team in December after an Matches on TV (Local Timings) English Premier League Blackpool v Birmingham ... 23:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 4 Fulham v West Brom .......... 23:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 1 Man United v Stoke .......... 23:00 Abu Dhabi Sports HD 2
apparent spat with Houghton, with players accusing him of deserting them. English journeyman Houghton, who used to play for Fulham and has previously coached China and Uzbekistan, admitted they face an uphill task. “I don’t know what is realistic. We are 144 in the world and Australia and South Korea have just played the World Cup. That is a very tough group,” he recently told goal.com. Houghton, who has been in charge of India since 2006, has also been struggling with a spate of injuries to key players, including captain and striker Baichung Bhutia, although he has been named in their squad. The 63-year-old has been around long enough to know that a thrashing in Qatar will spell the end of the road for him, despite having a contract that runs until 2013. “You have to be realistic. If India goes out of the Asian Cup with no points there’s going to be an enormous outcry to sack the coach. Sometimes decisions are taken out of your hands.” The 1950s and 60s was India’s golden era, with the national team winning the Asian Games gold medals in 1951 and 1962 while becoming the first Asian nation to make it to the Olympics semi-finals at Melbourne in 1956. But since those glory days, football has gone backwards, with infrastructure for its development poor compared to other countries in the region. Currently ranked a lowly 144th in the world, recent successes have been limited to the South Asian region with victories in the Nehru Cup in 2007 and 2009 before their AFC Challenge Cup heroics handed them a ticket to Doha. Asian Football Confederation chief Mohamad bin Hammam recently blasted India’s almost stagnant development in the sport, saying it was important that they start showing their potential. —AFP
DOHA: Bahrain failed to get into the knockout rounds at the last Asian Cup in 2007 and with Australia and South Korea awaiting them in Doha a similar fate could be on the cards. Avoiding last place in Group C must be their priority as they come into the tournament riding a poor run of form. Their outcome is in the hands of former international Salman Sharida, who recently took over when Austrian Josef Hickersberger quit to return to his previous club Al Wahda of United Arab Emirates. But Sharida, who lacks international experience, has enjoyed little success so far, and with failure at the tournament often seeing heads roll, he has his work cut out. Under Sharida, Bahrain were held goalless by Uganda in November, followed by a 2-0 loss at the hands of fellow Asian Cup finalists Syria. They were then held 1-1 in the Gulf Cup opener by Oman before losing 3-2 to Iraq, the defending Asian Cup champions. The Gulf Cup turned into a disaster with the team only managing a point from their group-emphasizing the difficulty of their task in Qatar. A 1-1 draw in a warm-up game with Uzbekistan last week failed to lift the gloom before they bounced back to beat Jordan 2-1 in another friendly for a muchneeded morale boost. While Bahrain, who are in their third consecutive Asian Cup, haven’t made too many footballing headlines recently, they were plastered over the papers in September when they found themselves at the centre of an elaborate scam. That beat Togo 3-0 in Manama in a warm-up to the West Asian Football
ADEN: A picture dated Nov 29, 2010 shows Bahrain’s national team posing for a group picture before the start of their 20th Gulf Cup football match against UAE in the southern Yemeni city of Aden. —AFP Federation Championship only to find that the visitors were a fraud, masquerading as the national squad. Amusing as it was, it came at a cost with several people, including an ex-Togo sports minister, being detained. There is no chance of that happening in Doha with Australia and South Korea boosting top-rated teams full of European-based stars. Bahrain open their campaign against the Koreans at Al Gharafa Stadium on
January 10 before facing a must-win match against group minnows India, who are under the tutlege of English journeyman Bobby Houghton. India have qualified for the first time in 24 years and if Bahrain can’t get three points in this match then their bid for the knockout round would appear doomed. They complete their group games against the Socceroos on January 18, with only the top two progressing. With goals a priority, Bahrain will be
relying heavily on dangerous striker Ismaeel Abdullateef, while fellow forward Jaycee John features after his Turkish club Eskisehirspor released him-they refused to do so for the Gulf Cup. Sharida will also pin hopes on his overseas players who are mostly based in Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. They include Faouzi Aaish and Abdulla Al Marzooqi (Al Silia, Qatar), Mohammed Hussain (Um Salal, Qatar) and Hussain Baba (Al Wehda, Saudi Arabia). —AFP
South Korea fired up despite Park blow
DURBAN: A picture dated June 22, 2010 shows members of South Korea’s football team posing before the start of the Group B first round 2010 World Cup football match between Nigeria and South Korea. —AFP
DOHA: South Korea attempt to land their first Asian Cup in 51 years this month but their hopes have been hit hard by the withdrawal of key striker Park Chu-Young. The 2002 World Cup semi-finalists are one of the pre-tournament favourites but start their Group C matches against Australia, Bahrain and India without a man who has scored more goals than anyone else in the squad. Park, who played up front as the sole striker during last year’s World Cup, hurt his knee while celebrating an injury-time winner for his French club Monaco against FC Sochaux on December 23. Doctors have ruled him out for up to four weeks with cartilage damage, with coach Cho Kwang-Rae drafting in Hong Jung-Ho, a defender, as a replacement. It is a major blow but Cho is confident his team can still perform. “I have faith in our players’ capabilities,” he told reporters.
“We can’t keep worrying about Park Chu-Young’s injury. Football is not an individual sport, and if each of the 23 players can come together, we can overcome this problem.” Without him, South Korea’s front line features Ji Dong-Won, Kim ShinWook, and Yoo Byung-Soo. But Cho, who took over from Huh Jung-Moo after the South Africa World Cup, also has Celtic duo Cha Du Ri and Ki Sung-Yeung at his disposal. They both scored in their final match before jetting out to Qatar when the Scottish giants beat St Johnstone 2-0. He also has hugely influential captain, Manchester United’s Park JiSung, on board after Alex Ferguson agreed to release the midfielder for international duty. Park missed the last tournament four years ago with injury and has suggested the 2011 showpiece could be his international swansong. —AFP
Despres rides to second stage win at Dakar Rally
Tendulkar, Gambhir, lead Indian fightback
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
Flyers clip Red Wings in NHL action Page 15 DOHA: In this photo issued by ATP showing Rafael Nadal of Spain (left) and Roger Federer of Switzerland as they play tennis on a specially designed aquatic tennis court, set up in the Gulf Sea to promote the upcoming Qatar ATP Open Tennis tournament. —AP
Federer, Nadal set to resume rivalry DOHA: Roger Federer will be looking to bounce back from a string of Grand Slam defeats in 2010 while his biggest rival, topranked Rafael Nadal, is hoping to resume the dominant form that saw him capture the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles. Spectators can expect to see much of the pair in 2011, starting with the season-opening Qatar Open in Doha which begins Monday. A taste of their long-running rivalry was also on display in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, when Nadal edged Federer 7-6, 7-6 to defend his title at the invitational World Tennis Championships. Before leaving for Doha, the No. 2-ranked Federer said he saw Abu Dhabi and Doha as a chance to try out new shots, adding that he was looking forward to resuming his duel with Nadal that will get its first big test at the Australian Open where the 29-year-old Swiss is the defending champion. “It’s a special Australian Open with me being the defending champion,” Federer said. “Obviously the focus is going to be on the two of us. Tennis is really going to be exciting down in Australia.” Nadal said he doesn’t feel any pressure ahead of this year’s Australian Open, even though a tournament victory there would make him the first man to win four major titles in a row since Rod Laver pulled off a calendar Grand Slam by claiming all four in 1969. “It’s not extra pressure, for me it’s extra
motivation,” Nadal said, who lost in the Doha final last year to Russian Nikolay Davydenko. “The pressure is everyday to play well and keep winning matches and I don’t think (about) winning (the) Australian Open immediately,” Nadal said. “You never know what’s going to happen since it’s going to be a very difficult tournament.” For Nadal, staying healthy will be his top priority. He still grimaces at the memories of last year’s Australian Open _ where he retired from his quarterfinal with a knee injury, the lone blemish on his 25-1 Grand Slam record in 2010. “Health. That’s the most important thing. For myself and everybody that’s the most important thing,” Nadal said after winning in Abu Dhabi. “Without that, the rest of the things are just impossible.” In Doha, Federer and Nadal are the top seeds, ahead of Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Fourth-seeded Davydenko is hoping to find his form after a year in which he has dropped from sixth to 22nd in the rankings. “It’s good to be back here in Doha as the defending champion, although I’m no longer the favorite here,” Davydenko said. “I’m keen to make my presence felt ... I’m now ranked 22nd and have to make amends.” In their first round matches, Federer plays a qualifier while Nadal plays the 103rd-ranked Karol Beck of Slovakia.—AP
Sharapova sends Brianti packing AUCKLAND: Maria Sharapova underlined her pulling power yesterday with Auckland Classic organisers confirming they had sold out all of the day sessions for the entire tournament just minutes before she stepped on court for her first round match. A limited number of tickets for the three night sessions were left available, though all of Sharapova’s matches will be played during the day and organisers said it was the first time the tournament, with a total prize pool of just $220,000, had been effectively sold out by the first day. Sharapova, making her first appearance in New Zealand, received an enormous cheer from the 3,200 fans packed around the revamped centre court, before the former world number one overcame a nervous start to beat Alberta Brianti 6-2 6-3. The 23-year-old Russian, who will now meet Renata Voracova of the Czech Republic in the second round, said she had been pleased at the Auckland public’s reaction to the tournament. “I was surprised yesterday when I came to practice even all the people with the qualifying matches,” she told reporters after her victory over the Italian. “From a player’s perspective that’s really exciting ... it’s my first time here and I didn’t know what to expect, but it has been really great.” —Reuters
Americans too good for France PERTH: The United States cruised to victory over France in their Group B tie at the mixed teams Hopman Cup yesterday, as Great Britain suffered an unexpected early exit at the hands of Italy. The unseeded US pairing of Bethanie Mattek-Sands and John Isner won both singles matches to secure the tie, before completing a clean sweep by claiming the mixed doubles against French duo Kristina Mladenovic and Nicolas Mahut. The talking point of the clash was the singles rematch between Wimbledon marathon men Isner and Mahut. In their first on-court meeting since that famous 11-hour, three-day epic that ended with the American winning 70-68 in the third set in the longest match in tennis history, the pair played for a paltry 90 minutes as Isner sealed the tie for the US. After Mattek-Sands had overcome a slow start against the teenage Mladenovic to win 3-6, 6-3, 61, the 19th-ranked John Isner fired down 17 aces to win in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5). Isner said it was joy to
play Mahut again, the pair bonded forever by their Wimbledon experience. “It is just a lot of fun playing Nicolas,” he said. “Since that match we have become really, really close friends and it is great to share the court with him.” The Americans won the mixed doubles 2-6, 6-3, 10-8. Earlier yesterday, heatstricken Scot Andy Murray dismissed concerns about his health despite struggling through Great Britain’s unexpected 2-1 loss to Italy ’s Potito Starace and Francesca Schiavone in their Group B tie. The world number four beat Starace in the men’s singles 7-5, 6-1 to level the tie after Schiavone beat 16-yearold Laura Robson, herself battling a heavy cold, 7-5, 6-3 in the women’s singles. The Italians then claimed the tie by coming from a set down to win the deciding mixed doubles rubber in a match tiebreak, 6-7 (1/7), 7-6 (8/6), 10-2, with both of the British players appearing to tire late in the match. Murray admitted he was feeling the effects of his first outings of the year, having arrived in Perth only on
PERTH: John Isner of the United States plays Nicolas Mahut during their Saturday, but said it was nothing to be worried about. “I’m a bit stiff, which is to be expected after so long travelling and the doubles was very long,” he said. “The conditions were tough, but it is normal I think.” Murray said the combination of the oppressive heat and tiredness caused him some problems, but added that it was all valuable preparation for the upcoming Australian Open in Melbourne later this month. —AFP
Rusty Stosur eases through in Brisbane
AUCKLAND: Maria Sharapova of Russia plays a forehand to Alberta Brianti of Italy during their match at the ASB Classic tennis tournament. —AP
SYDNEY: Top-seeded Australian Sam Stosur kicked off her 2011 season by easing through to the Brisbane International second round with a 7-6 6-1 win over Czech qualifier Lucie Hradecka yesterday. The world number six was broken in the first game and had to save a set point before rattling through the tiebreaker 7-1 at Pat Rafter Arena. Having shaken off the rust, the 26-year-old breezed through the second set and next faces fellow Australian Jarmila Groth at the warm-up tournament for the Jan. 17-30 Australian Open. “Obviously she was winning on the scoreboard, but she was hitting the ball very well and she’s got a huge serve so at the start it was maybe a bit hard to read that,” French
Open runner-up Stosur, her country’s best chance of ending a 32-year wait for a home grand slam champion, told reporters. “I didn’t panic, I didn’t start freaking out and thinking I had to play unbelievable to try and get back. I just took it point by point and slowly started getting it back.” Defending men’s champion Andy Roddick began his year with a comfortable 6-3 6-2 firstround win over local wildcard Marinko Matosevic. The world number eight, seeded second behind Robin Soderling, took just 72 minutes to blast Matosevic off the court as he started his build-up to the first grand slam of the year. Roddick said winning the title in Brisbane last year had been a significant factor in him reaching the Australian Open quarterfinals, where he lost to Marin Cilic.—Reuters
Tsonga makes winning return in Qatar DOHA: Third-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga began his season with a crushing 6-2, 6-0 win over Spain’s Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo in the first round of the Qatar Open. Tsonga had not played since October because of a knee injury, but he showed no signs of rust as he broke serve twice in the first set and three times in the second to complete a one-sided win. “Yeah, I played a good match,” Tsonga said. “Everybody’s friendly with me here. I feel really good. “I’m completely fit. I’m maybe healthier than before, and, you know, I just enjoy every moment on the court, and that’s it. I hope it will continue.” Tsonga will face Sergei Bubka in the second round after the Ukrainian wildcard entry, who is the son of the former Olympic and world champion pole-vaulter of the same name, upset Spain’s Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-0, 6-3. Also on Monday, fourth seed and defending champion Nikolay Davydenko of Russia eased past Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-1, 6-4 in 63 minutes. Playing an aggressive baseline game, punctuated with solid returns, Davydenko, who beat Rafael Nadal of Spain in last year’s final, broke Fognini in games two and four to take the first set in 25 minutes. Employing similar tactics, the 29-year-old Russian wasted little time in taking the second set. Davydenko fired six aces, and did not face a break point in the entire match. Top-ranked Rafael Nadal plays his first ATP match of the season against Karol Beck of Slovakia on Tuesday, when two-time champion Roger Federer of Switzerland also plays Dutch qualifier Thomas Schoorel. Nadal beat Federer in straight sets on Saturday at an invitational event in Abu Dhabi.—AP
Business
Remal Real Estate lists on KSE Page 22
What to expect in 2011 for GCC markets Page 23
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
No immediate plans to merge Fiat, Chrysler: CEO Page 26
Singapore looks to tourism, casinos to fuel growth
SINGAPORE: The financial skyline is lit while the newly opened Marina Bay Sands casinos, left, tower over the bay area as they await New Year’s day countdown. Singapore’s two huge casino resorts, Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa, which together cost more than $10 billion to build, are the crowning jewels of a decade-long effort to diversify the island’s economy toward services such as tourism and away from low-end manufacturing. — AP SINGAPORE: Wear red if you want to win at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands casino, but sport white to boost your luck at rival Resorts World Sentosa. So says feng shui expert Danny Cheong, who has seen demand for his skills soar thanks to last year’s opening of the citystate’s first two casino resorts. “Before I would occasionally get clients who asked for help with playing the horses or the lottery,” said Cheong, a 50-year-old Singaporean trained in Hong Kong. “Now everybody wants advice about the casinos.” Singapore’s two huge casino resorts, which together cost more than $10 billion to build, are at the center of a decade-long effort to diversify the island’s economy toward services such as tourism and finance and less on manufacturing. The casinos have created more than 20,000 jobs, helped attract record visitors and fueled 14.7 percent economic growth last year, likely the second-highest in the world behind Qatar. Singapore is also benefiting from strong economic growth in Asia, led by China. Almost all the growth of tourist arrivals last year came from regional neighbors and, for the first time, Chinese demand for Singapore’s exports likely surpassed that of the US in 2010. To woo Chinese visitors, the resorts incorporated feng shui and other Chinese beliefs in their design and operation. Resorts World opened its casino at 8:28 am on Feb. 14 while Marina Bay Sands opened March 27 at 3:18 pm because eight is considered a lucky number in Chinese culture. Its strong economic ties in the region, particularly with China, put Singapore in a favorable position to ride the current wave of growth from Asia, said DBS economist Irvin Seah. Gross domestic product rose 12.5 percent in the fourth quarter from a year ago, compared with 10.5 percent in the third quarter, the Trade and Industry Ministry said yesterday. The economy grew an annualized, seasonally adjusted 6.9 percent in the fourth quarter after contracting 18.9 percent in the third, the ministry said. Singapore in recent decades lost much of its lowwage manufacturing to regional emerging
economies like China and Vietnam, and it has focused on exporting more valueadded products such as semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. Manufacturing soared 28 percent in the fourth quarter from the previous year while services gained 8.8 percent and construction slumped 1.2 percent, the ministry said. This year, the resorts should contribute about 1.7 percentage points of GDP growth to an economy that Singapore’s DBS bank expects will slow, but still grow a healthy 7 percent. The government is forecasting economic growth of between 4 percent and 6 percent for 2011. Services will overtake manufacturing as the key contributor to growth, and gaming will overtake pharmaceuticals as the fastest growing sector, Seah said. Singapore, which has a population of 5 million and is about the size of New York City, saw visitor arrivals average about 1 million per month and jump 20 percent in the first 11 months of last year from the same period in 2009. The resorts also plan to expand this year. Marina Bay Sands, owned by Las Vegas Sands Corp., is scheduled to open the world’s first ArtScience Museum in February while Genting Bhd’s Resorts World will open its Maritime Xperiential Museum by midyear, with two more hotels and a marine life park later. Retailers, at the resorts and at Singapore’s famous Orchard Road shopping malls, have also benefited from the tourism boom, with spending by visitors soaring 47 percent to SG$13.7 billion in the third quarter from the previous year. Other winners include feng shui masters such as Cheong, who for 22 years has advised companies such as Pizza Hut, Renault and Robinson’s department store on the finer points of attracting the right kind of qi, or energy. Gamblers are now paying 500 Singapore dollars ($380) for “wealth achievement” sessions — advice on how to beat the casinos where Cheong analyzes the date and time of a client’s birth to dole out tips about lucky clothes and the direction to face at a card table. Some Singaporeans have misgivings about the embrace of casinos, however. — AP
US manufacturing grows, bolsters 2011 outlook JOB outlook still troublesome NEW YORK: US manufacturing grew for a 17th straight month in December, a report showed yesterday, extending a recent run of encouraging economic data and suggesting US growth could accelerate further in 2011. A separate report showed construction spending hit a five-month high in November, adding to evidence that the US economy picked up steam in the final quarter of last year after growing at a 2.6 percent rate between July and September. Most promising for investors was the Institute for Supply Management’s national factory activity index, which rose for the 17th straight month in December. The report showed new orders rose, suggesting momentum for growth ahead,
though factory sector employment slipped to a nine-month low. Still, the data dovetailed with strong readings on employment and consumer spending over the last three months of 2010, prompting economists to predict a fragile US recovery may this year finally turn into self-sustaining growth. “We’re (starting) off the new year on a strong foot,” said Zach Pandl, US economist at Nomura Securities, adding the report “suggests the economy is accelerating and growth should be 3 percent in the first quarter.” The US manufacturing sector grew at a slightly faster pace in December, marking its 17th straight month of expansion. US stock indexes held their gains after the data while the dollar pared gains against the
euro and benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell in price. A caveat for the sunny outlook remains the unemployment rate, which stood at 9.8 percent in November and is expected to remain high for much of the year. The government’s closely watched employment report due Friday is expected to show employers added 140,000 jobs last month, not enough to make much of a dent in the jobless rate. Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, warned as well that the ISM index tells investors little about the health of small businesses and has tended to overstate the pace of economic growth over the last three quarters. Economists at Goldman Sachs, however,
said they now think signs of stronger US growth will at least dissuade the Federal Reserve from adding to a $600 billion bondbuying program when it ends in mid-2011. The bank’s economics team had predicted the bond-buying scheme, aimed at boosting growth and holding down long-term interest rates, could swell to as much as $2 trillion, but have since “beaten a hasty retreat.” “If real GDP grows at a 3-1/2 percent to 4 percent pace in the first half of 2011, it is hard to see” additional bond purchases, they wrote in a note to clients. Goldman still expects inflation to remain low and said the Fed is likely to hold shortterm interest rates near zero all year and possibly through 2012. — Reuters
Qatar soars on growth, dividends optimism
LONDON: A man boards a bus after purchasing a television on Oxford Street, central London yesterday. With the VAT rate in the UK set to rise from 17.5% to 20%, many people are taking advantage of the last day to buy larger items. — AFP
Moody’s cuts Dubai Holding unit bonds on credit deal DUBAI: Credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded the bonds of Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group (DHCOG) yesterday, citing a deal with lenders to convert a $555 million revolving credit facility into a five-year term loan. Moody’s downgraded the notes of conglomerate Dubai Holding’s main unit by one notch to B3, while maintaining a review for possible downgrade of the company’s B2 corporate family rating (CFR). The rating action followed a statement by DHCOG on Dec. 30 that the company had reached a deal with lenders to convert the $555 million revolving credit facility into a five-year term loan. DHCOG, Dubai Holding’s loss-making hospitality and property arm, had extended for a third time the loan due Nov. 30, to Dec. 30. “Despite the limited information so far
regarding the new terms, Moody’s believes that the banks may now be in a preferential position vis-a-vis bondholders,” said Martin Kohlhase, analyst at Moody’s in Dubai. “Moody’s has accordingly reflected this by downgrading the debt instruments’ ratings to B3,” Kohlhase said. Moody’s maintained its review for possible downgrade of the medium term note (MTN) ratings and the probability of default rating (PDR). Moody’s said it was maintaining the PDR at B3 to indicate continued high default risk until the capital market debt is refinanced over the next 14 months. The agency said DHCOG had a $240 million MTN maturing in July 2011 and a $500 million MTN in February 2012. Moody’s had downgraded DHCOG in June to B2 from B1 over the challenges in Dubai’s real estate market. —Reuters
DUBAI: Qatari stocks climbed to a high of action and focusing on high dividend yieldmore than two years yesterday following ing stocks.” In Egypt, a church bombing that killed strong growth figures and on hopes of generous dividends, while regional bourses 21 people at the weekend dented a reputation for stability that has boosted Egypt’s were mixed. Qatar Navigation jumped 7 percent economy. The index fell 0.1 percent to close while Qatar National Bank rose 3.2 percent at 7,073 points after touching a sevenand Industries Qatar added 2.6 percent. month high of 7,142 points on Thursday. “Any investor would be worried. It is norThe index climbed 1.5 percent to 8,873 points, its highest close since September mal since this is a major incident that harms anyone in Egypt,” said Hisham 2008. “Qatar navigation results are expected Metwalli of Arab Finance Brokerage. to be better than 2009, after the merger “Protests and clashes that followed the with Qatar Shipping,” said Hani Girgis, assis- attack also raised concerns on stability.” tant chief dealer with Dlala Brokerage. “The Rising oil prices helped lift major stocks in profit for Qatar Saudi Arabia, Shipping will including be better (and heavyweight MIDEAST STOCK MARKETS benefit Qatar Saudi Basic Navigation). Industries Corp Some of the (SABIC) which stocks which are gaining are also because rose 1.4 percent. they pay good dividends to investors.” Mohammad Al Mojil Group jumped 4.7 Yesterday, Qatar Statistics Authority percent after saying it signed a $52.5 milreleased third-quarter nominal gross lion contract with South Korea’s Hyundai domestic product data showing a 21.1 per- Engineering and Construction Co to build cent rise on an annual basis and a 13.1 per- an engine oil factory in Abu Dhabi. cent increase from the previous quarter. But Shuaa Capital warned of possible Abu Dhabi’s index and Oman’s bench- difficulties ahead for Mojil, saying new conmark also advanced, with the latter rallying tracts were coming in slower than expecton optimism over a $78 billion five-year ed. “While we view this breakthrough in government development plan. Galfar Abu Dhabi as a positive, we are of the view Engineering advanced 1.8 percent and that the company is still facing many diffiOman Cables Industries gained 2.1 percent. culties with the growth outlook deteriorat“Galfar is amongst gainers as investors ing faster than expected through 2010,” believe that the company will be benefici- said an analyst note from Shuaa Capital. ary of increasing government spending,” The Saudi index ended 0.3 percent highsaid Gunjan Gupta, head of research at er. Dubai’s index fell 0.3 percent on profitOman Arab Bank. taking following the previous session’s 2.3 “Institutional investors are back in percent gain. — Reuters
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
BUSINESS
Remal-Real Estate lists on KSE Firm eyeing local property deals KUWAIT: Chairman of the board for Remal RealEstate Company M ohammad Al-Nassar announced here yesterday that the company would be listed today on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE). Al-Nassar said in a symposium that the company had made some profits during its last year’s real-estate activities, revealing that the group had purchased a number of real-estate projects worth KD 52.8 million. He noted that the group also acquired some financial facilities worth $100 million from a local bank in 2010, affirming that such reflected the strong financial grounds which the company is standing on.
On upcoming ventures, Al-Nassar pointed out that Remal was studying a number of local realestate deals. He also said that an economic report revealed that the company’s assets had reached $70 million by September 30, 2010 with around 94 percent of such assets being for investments purposes. Kuwait Remal Real Estate is a Kuwaiti shareholding company established in 2007, with a share capital of KD 20 million. The major business activities of the company include developing, managing, operating, investing and renting commercial and mixed use real estate projects in and outside Kuwait. — KUNA
KUWAIT: Chairman of the board for Remal Real-Estate Company Mohammad Al-Nassar addressing a symposium yesterday. — Photo by Yasser Al-Zayyat
Oman Air Appoints Chief Officer, Hotel & Catering Oman Air has recently appointed Richard Hodges as Chief Officer Hotels & Catering. Richard Hodges brings with him entrenched expertise in Hotels and In-flight Catering, which meets the Company’s rapid expansion in this regard. Hodges has over 30 years of experience in the hotel and catering industry, and has over the years held many international and corporate operating positions. Some of his former appointments include: Vice President of Business Development of Regal Hotels International, General Manager of Regal Airport Hotel in Hong Kong, and Vice President of hotel projects in San Diego, California, USA. Hodges had been the Chairman of Hong Kong Airpor t Managers Association, a member of the Executive Committee
Tariq Abdulsalam
KIPCO names new Investment CEO KUWAIT: KIPCO - the Kuwait Projects Company - has appointed Tariq Abdulsalam as Chief Executive Officer Investment. AbdulSalam joined the United Real Estate Company (URC) in 2006 as CEO, and in 2010 he became Chairman and CEO. He will continue to hold the position of Chairman after joining KIPCO. Abdulsalam joined KIPCO in 1992 and became in charge of KIPCO’s Investment Division from 1996 to 1999. He then became the General Manager of KIPCO Asset Management Company (KAMCO). He was also the Chairman of Burgan Bank and held a board position at KAMCO, United Gulf Bank, Kuwait Bahrain Insurance Company, and GIC. He is also the Vice Chairman of Kuwait Clearing Company and a board member of the Jordan Kuwait Bank. He holds a BSc in Accounting from Kuwait University. Faisal Al-Ayyar, KIPCO’s Vice Chairman, said Abdulsalam’s experience
of Hong Kong Hotels Association, besides the Sub-committee of The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. Expressing his contentment on his appointment, Richard Hodges said: “I am thrilled to join Oman Air and take on this immense and rewarding challenge which lies ahead of me. Oman Air is in a phase where the leisure and hospitality sec tor is poised for a symbiotic growth. As the airline is expanding its wings further afield, and the awareness on Oman is reaching across to a global audience, I am sure this can be translated into fruitful business ventures, with the support and guidance from Oman Air’s management team and the board of directors.” A couple of years back, Oman Air
made its initial foray into a new area of business with its acquisition of the Golden Tulip Hotel in Muscat. Situated in close proximity to the Muscat International Airport, the hotel opens up viable synergies for Oman Air not only in terms of the leisure aspect, but also through the services offered to other airlines and passengers. In order to tap the full potential of this developing business area, which is one of the six strategic business units of Oman Air, it was decided then by the management to appoint a Chief Officer for this unit reporting directly to the CEO. Hodges’ experience in the business development of airport hotels and hospitality industry in general is sure to aid him in achieving the desired results for Oman Air in growing the Hotels & Catering Business.
Richard Hodges
BAHRAH TRADING CO (AL SAYER GROUP)
would be invaluable as KIPCO continues to implement its strategies: “KIPCO’s different projects have been thriving despite the global economic crisis. The many years of experience that Abdulsalam brings with him will be an asset to KIPCO as it continues to implement its long-term investment strategy and expand its presence throughout promising MENA markets.” “As part of the restructuring of KIPCO, the management is seeking to utilize the expertise of its veterans in implementing the company’s long-term strategies and to supervise the operations of its different business sectors.” In April 2010, KIPCO announced that it had appointed Masaud Hayat as CEO - Banking. Abdulsalam said: “KIPCO is one of the region’s largest investors, and I am happy to be back on board to participate in the implementation of the company’s ambitious strategy to expand its presence and investments in the regional market.”
INTEGRATING DOOSAN PORTABLE POWER / INGERSOLL RAND KUWAIT: In their constant efforts to provide their valuable customers with excellent value added products, Bahrah Trading Company join force with Doosan portable power, affiliate of the renowned international conglomerate Doosan Infracore. This heralds a strategic partnership that is poised to serve clients in Kuwait by supplying premium quality products covering INGERSOLL RAND Portable Compressors, Construction tools, Light compaction equipments like Vibratory plate compactors, Walk behind Rollers, Up right Rammers, and Portable lighting towers etc. Ingersoll Rand, with a proud history that spans more than a centur y, is well recognized world over for their quality products that have been instrumental in forming the core activities in construction, industrial and defense sectors.
Bahrah Trading recently have had the pleasure of receiving the visiting Nick Verbeek, Director, Portable Power, Europe. Middle East and Africa accompanied by Hazeem El Naqeeb District Manager, Middle East. The visiting delegation had meeting with Steve Shaw, Senior GM and Hamza Melakandy, GM, Operations of Bahrah Trading, discussed matters of mutual concern and plans for future strategy in emerging Kuwait market scenario. Addition of Doosan portable power / Ingersoll Rand to the Bahrah product range is certain to contribute independently and collectively in fulfilling their long term goals and stated mission to achieve highest level of customer satisfaction by providing business solutions thru’ supply of premium products, backed by excellent after sales support.
EXCHANGE RATES Commercial Bank of Kuwait US Dollar/KD GB Pound/KD Euro Swiss francs Canadian Dollar Australian DLR Indian rupees Sri Lanka Rupee UAE dirhams Bahraini dinars Jordanian dinar Saudi riyals Omani riyals Philippine peso Egyptian pounds
.2730000 .4320000 .3690000 .2960000 .2800000 .2830000 .0045000 .0020000 .0759460 .7399160 .3900000 .0730000 .7253550 .0045000 .0480000
CUSTOMER TRANSFER RATES US Dollar/KD .2797500 GB Pound/KD .4348430 Euro .3719420 Swiss francs .2991500 Canadian dollars .2820630 Danish Kroner .0499040 Swedish Kroner .0416200 Australian dlr .2855970 Hong Kong dlr .0359830 Singapore dlr .2176870 Japanese yen .0034430 Indian Rs/KD .0000000 Sri Lanka rupee .0000000 Pakistan rupee .0000000 Bangladesh taka .0000000 UAE dirhams .0762660 Bahraini dinars .7422390 Jordanian dinar .0000000 Saudi Riyal/KD .0746200 Omani riyals .7268120 Philippine Peso .0000000
Al-Muzaini Exchange Co. Japanese Yen Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Srilankan Rupees Nepali Rupees Singapore Dollar Hongkong Dollar Bangladesh Taka
ASIAN COUNTRIES 3.470 6.284 3.277 2.528 3.941 219.110 36.166 3.969
.2860000 .4430000 .3780000 .3060000 .2880000 .2910000 .0075000 .0035000 .0767090 .7473520 .4100000 .0780000 .7326450 .0072000 .0560000 .2818500 .4381080 .3747340 .3013950 .2841800 .0502780 .0419330 .2877410 .0362540 .2193210 .0034690 .0063340 .0025510 .0033060 .0040260 .0767570 .7478110 .3986560 .0751800 .7322680 .0064940
Philippine Peso Thai Baht Irani Riyal - Transfer Irani Riyal - Cash
6.415 9.378 0.271 0.273
Indonesia Iranian tuman Iraqi dinar Japanese yen Jordanian dinar Lebanese pound Malaysian ringgit Morocco dirham Nepalese Rupees New Zealand dollar Nigeria Norwegian krone Omani Riyal Pakistani rupees Philippine peso Qatari riyal Saudi riyal 75.030 Singapore dollar South Africa Sri Lankan rupees Sterling pound Swedish krona Swiss franc Syrian pound Thai bhat Tunisian dollar UAE dirham U.S. dollars Yemeni Riyal
GCC COUNTRIES 74.985 77.262 730.550 746.860 76.674
Saudi Riyal Qatari Riyal Omani Riyal Bahraini Dinar UAE Dirham
ARAB COUNTRIES Egyptian Pound - Cash 52.000 Egyptian Pound - Transfer 48.429 Yemen Riyal 1.319 Tunisian Dinar 201.490 Jordanian Dinar 397.090 Lebanese Lira 187.000 Syrian Lier 6.074 Morocco Dirham 34.195 EUROPEAN & AMERICAN COUNTRIES US Dollar Transfer 281.080 Euro 374.960 Sterling Pound 438.480 Canadian dollar 284.490 Turkish lire 181.800 Swiss Franc 301.810 Australian dollar 286.590 US Dollar Buying 280.095 GOLD 271.000 137.000 70.000
20 Gram 10 Gram 5 Gram
COUNTRY Australian dollar Bahraini dinar Bangladeshi taka Canadian dollar Cyprus pound Czek koruna Danish krone Deutsche Mark Egyptian pound Euro Cash Hongkong dollar Indian rupees
SELL CASH 291.000 747.300 4.220 286.500 551.900 14.100 51.300 167.800 51.650 378.500 36.840 6.510
219.920 44.930 2.677 441.500 42.700 303.800 6.200 9.720 198.263 76.760 281.400 1.360
0.032
397.180 0.189 93.800 3.950 220.200
Sterling Pound US Dollar
219.920 44.930 2.528 439.500 302.300 6.200 9.540 76.570 281.000
TRAVELLER’S CHEQUE 439.500 281.000
Dollarco Exchange Co. Ltd
SELL DRAFT 289.500 747.300 3.968 285.000
219.900 48.436 377.000 36.690 6.285
Rate for Transfer US Dollar Canadian Dollar Sterling Pound Euro Swiss Frank Cyprus Pound Bahrain Dinar UAE Dirhams Qatari Riyals Saudi Riyals Jordanian Dinar Egyptian Pound
Selling Rate 281.800 284.215 434.705 372.180 295.771 691.257 745.860 76.700 77.380 75.115 397.641 48.541
Indian Rupees Pakistani Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Pesso Japanese Yen Thai Bhat Syrian Pound Nepalese Rupees
6.257 3.289 2.531 4.000 6.413 3.415 9.330 6.147 3.899
Kuwait Bahrain Intl Exchange Co. 729.730 3.295 6.430 77.300 75.030
GOLD 1,496.400
10 Tola
Bahrain Exchange Company
0.032 0.262 0.251 3.550 399.060 0.190 93.800 46.200 4.400 221.700 1.911 49.100 729.910 3.380 6.690 77.730
Currency US Dollar Pak Rupees Indian Rupees Sri Lankan Rupees Bangladesh Taka Philippines Peso UAE Dirhams Saudi Riyals Bahraini Dinars Egyptian Pounds Pound Sterling Indonesian Rupiah Nepali rupee Yemeni Riyal Jordanian Dinars Syrian Pounds Euro Candaian Dollars
Rate per 1000 (Tran) 281.200 3.285 6.300 2.540 3.980 6.460 76.650 75.195 747.560 48.475 443.300 0.00003280 3.950 1.550 399.500 5.750 382.200 288.400
Al Mulla Exchange Currency Transfer Rate (Per 1000) US Dollar 280.550 Euro 376.200 Pound Sterling 438.250 Canadian Dollar 283.400 Japanese Yen 3.470 Indian Rupee 6.280 Egyptian Pound 48.420 Sri Lankan Rupee 2.527 Bangladesh Taka 3.960 Philippines Peso 6.420 Pakistan Rupee 3.278 Bahraini Dinar 747.000 UAE Dirham 76.450 Saudi Riyal 74.950 *Rates are subject to change
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
business
What to expect in 2011 for GCC markets KUWAIT: After severely underperforming Emerging Market peers in 2009, GCC markets performed more on par with the same in 2010; the S&P GCC index has gained 11% YTD versus about 13% for MSCI EM (MSCI BRIC remains an underperformer with a gain of just 3%). A recent report released by Kuwait Financial Centre "Markaz", "What to expect in 2011", points out that there was no perceptible difference in the scale and magnitude of issues that haunted the market post financial crisis. Companies are still busy repairing their balance sheets and image, while governments are busy spending with nothing specific to write home about regarding regulatory reforms. The report notes that while oil prices did not spring any negative surprise in 2010, it was not enough to propel the market. In the wake of mounting pressures in the form of weak earnings, ultra weak liquidity and ever present volatility, stable oil price alone is not sufficient to lift the markets to heights that investors are used to in the past. One possible reason for the ultra poor liquidity is that retail investors (constituting the backbone) are still busy putting their house in order while sources of traditional funding for stock market (bank lending) has come to a complete halt. Earnings destruction in certain cyclical sectors like the investment sector has been too severe to stage a meaningful comeback. Even the elephant among the sectors i.e., banking, continued to surprise investors with high levels of provisioning. Given firmer oil prices and a better global economic environment, the GCC is set to show stronger growth going forward despite slower private investment/credit growth continuing to be a drag on economic growth. Private demand is expected to remain weak in the intermediate term until investor confidence returns more fully and bank balance sheets return to a healthier state. Overall, the authors remain optimistic in the New Year with positive outlooks for Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Oman while neutral for others. There are several interesting investment themes at play. We reiterate our strong belief that high volatility should be a source of portfolio strategy rather than a problem. We also provide some ideas in the space of defensives and cyclicals. We believe that GCC is a good yield play. Watching analysts' coverage can provide some important clues to stock picking. Strategies that benefit in a low liquidity environment are also emphasized. Finally, it is time to remove the wheat from the chaff through the lenses of corporate governance. COUNTRY VIEWS Saudi Arabia - Neutral The report has a Neutral outlook on Saudi Arabia for 2011 due to moderate economic activity and expensive valuation (inflation is a factor to be watched in addition to the struggling real estate sector). Positive factors arise in the corporate earnings segment in addition to the geopolitical and regulatory arenas. Following the global financial crisis, real GDP growth in the Kingdom was forecasted to push past 4% in 2010; however,
Markaz Economic Report
continued uncertainty in the region led to the growth rate falling a bit short. Real GDP is estimated to have grown between 3.4% - 3.7% in 2010, a significant improvement from the 0.6% logged in 2009. Healthy crude oil prices are expected to offer some support to fiscal and current balances, despite increased government spending aimed at enhancing growth in the coming years; real GDP growth is expected to be between 4%-4.5% in 2011. Market liquidity remains a concern for all GCC markets; in the Kingdom, value traded is down by 54% in 2010 (up to November). However, the market remains fairly open to foreign investors and the regulatory structure is relatively sound with active capital market/monetary regulatory bodies. Kuwait - Positive The authors are Positive on Kuwait in 2011 due to positive economic indicators and corporate earnings health. One area of concern is in valuations as the market is trading at a PE (TTM) of 20x which seems excessive in our view. Market liquidity, or lack thereof, is also a concern.Kuwait's economy is slated to have grown at about 3% in 2010, which would be half the historical average; this growth is expected to bump up to 4.5% in 2011 on high commodity prices, which will maintain the fiscal balance at about 21.5% of GDP. Additionally, the country has enacted a $107 bn, 5 year economic development
meant to stimulate various economic sectors. On the corporate earnings side, after the turnaround story of 2010, corporate earnings are expected to resume a more stable course, growing at about 32%. Value traded is down 55% so far in 2010, a further contraction from the 44% decline seen in 2009. UAE - Abu Dhabi: Positive, Dubai: Neutral The authors have segregated their UAE outlook and are Positive on Abu Dhabi while being Neutral on Dubai. The economy fell short of its 3% real GDP growth for 2010 and managed an estimated growth of about 2.4%, which is expected to increase to 3.2% in 2011. Inflation was at 2% in 2010 and is expected to bump up to between 2.5% - 2.8% in 2011 as economic growth picks up. Additionally, the geopolitical and regulatory arenas are considered to be stable. However, lack of liquidity remains a problem as value traded in the UAE continues to dry up. The debt issues in the UAE will continue to be a drag on economic growth as banks provision against possible losses and remain wary of funding new projects. Dubai has over $42 bn in debt obligations due in 2011/2012 and an additional $55 bn beyond that, the service of which will be monitored very closely for signs of possible duress. As the more economically robust emirate, Abu Dhabi will also be watched closely in terms of its support of
Dubai. On the other hand, corporate earnings should return to growth in 2011; after declining by an estimated 6% in 2010, growth is expected at 24% in 2011. Qatar - Positive The authors have a Positive outlook on Qatar owing to its high economic growth prospects, healthy banking sector and heavy government support. Qatar's GDP is expected to have grown 16% in 2010; 2011 growth is expected to be between 15%-18%. High fiscal expenditure and preparations for the 2022 World Cup should lead to a boost in economic activity going forward through government-mandated, large-scale infrastructure projects which would boost the construction and real estate sectors over the coming few years. Qatar, like the rest of the GCC, is facing lower liquidity as value traded so far in 2010 has fallen over 50% versus a decline of 46% in 2009. Oman - Positive The outlook on Oman is Positive due to relatively healthy and sustained economic growth and positive corporate earnings. Areas of vulnerability remain in the geopolitical arena, investor sentiment and market liquidity. Bahrain - Neutral The report gives a Neutral outlook on Bahrain, as the economy continues to
Whiff of optimism in markets for 2011 World economy seen growing at 4% KUWAIT: Markets are entering 2011 with optimism at a notch higher for the world economy. This improved sentiment, built in 4Q10, is the result of more positive data from the major economies; a tax cut package and QE2 in the US, and the financial rescue of Ireland by the EU and the IMF. Of course, earlier concerns of a double-dip recession were further alleviated by these developments. World economies and balance sheets recovered further in 2010 though are by no means totally healed. *2 + 6 = 4. The market consensus view now is for emerging markets to outperform and grow near 6% while advanced economies grow 2%, for a global world growth of 4% (real GDP basis). Better than last year, and subject to perhaps moderate upward revisions, again in light of the positive developments above. The stronger data reassures that current growth is sustainable. The recent Irish bailout reaffirms the EU's commitment to save the euro and to avoid sovereign defaults (or restructuring, to use the more polite term). The extension of the Bush tax cuts in the wake of QE2 reaffirms the US authorities' commitment to avoid, at all costs, a double-dip and/or deflation. * The determination of governments in the major economies to act as they did is certainly a major "plus" for financial markets. There
NBK ECONOMIC BRIEF are significant caveats however. The euro zone's sovereign debt problems (Greece, Ireland, Portugal, etc.) are still with us and awaiting more permanent solutions. The US tax deal extends lower tax rates for 2 years, reduces the payroll tax for salaried workers, and extends unemployment benefits. Thus, 2011 will see added fiscal stimulus (over USD 200 billion) instead of fiscal contraction. However, all that comes at a cost: even higher deficits and public debt ahead and no credible plan to reduce future deficits. Moody's recently said it may re-examine the rating of US debt in light of the new tax package. * In the US, retail sales, confidence, manufacturing, exports all posted encouraging numbers in 2H10, while housing and employment lagged behind. In November, the US economy added only 39K new jobs and unemployment rose to 9.8%. Real GDP growth was revised to 2.6% in 3Q10 and appears headed for growth of over 3.0% in 4Q. The market expectation should be near 3.0% for 2011 GDP growth with the new tax cut deal. However, the latter could push the 2011 fiscal deficit back up toward 10% of GDP. Inflation remains contained and the Fed should be satis-
fied that 10-year inflationar y expectations are now at 2.3% up from 1.5% (and sinking) back in August. Falling inflation was the primar y reason the Fed announced, and embarked on, QE2. * QE2 entails buying $600 billion of additional Treasury debt into 2Q11 by the Fed, or an average of $75 billion per month. One purpose of QE2 was to keep long term rates low. Ironically the announcement briefly took the 10year rates to new lows, near 2.3%, but 10-year interest rates have since jumped to 3.5% and higher on stronger data and forecasts, and on the credibility-busting tax deal. * In Europe the core (Germany, France...) continue to outperform the periphery, most of which is dogged by debt woes. Recent fiscal austerity cuts Europe-wide are expected to slow down the region's economy. Contagion fears remain for Portugal, and the much larger Spain and I taly, where spreads have come under pressure, the Ireland rescue plan notwithstanding. * Observers seem to be positive on the world economy in 2011, with an eye on the risks above. The large emerging economies are
growing but are expected to slow somewhat from their 2010 pace, in part because of tighter money linked to higher inflation (China, India). The slowdown is however from high rates of GDP growth (over 9% in 2010 to around 8% in the cases of India and China). * Oil and other commodities have been firm and have, among others, shored up the prospects for the GCC economies, where stock markets have outperformed in 2010. With the exception of Qatar, with double digit real GDP growth, the remaining GCC countries, including Kuwait, are expect to grow at 4-5% in 2011. Growth should be helped by the world recovery, but also by ambitious large government projects in most GCC countries.
grow while corporate earnings remain healthy. Corporate earnings are expected to show a growth of 28% in 2010 due to strength in banks, but mitigated by telecom weakness. In 2011, the banking sector is expected to grow by about 28% pushing aggregate growth to 26%. The report provides an outlook for 2011 by using the six forces framework which includes 1. Economic Factors, 2. Valuation Attraction, 3. Earnings Growth Potential, 4. Investor Sentiment,. 1. Economic Factors: GDP Growth: According to the latest economic forecasts from the IIF, Real GDP across the GCC is likely to show a growth of 4% in 2010 followed by a growth of 4.6% in 2011; these rates remain below the historical average for the region as credit growth and private demand remain weak in some countries. Growth in Saudi Arabia is expected to increase to 4.5% in 2011 as credit growth picks up. Kuwait is expected to witness a growth of 4.4% in 2011 versus about 2% in 2010 while Qatar's real GDP growth is expected at 18%. Inflation: Inflation has been relatively well contained in the region as economic growth has been subdued in addition to weak real estate sectors which have brought down rents. Saudi witnessed a surge in inflation, from about 3.5% in late 2009 to 5.5% in mid-2010; however, this is expected to be sustained at that rate
through 2011. Fiscal Deficits: Fiscal balances are tightening as countries increase spending to spur economic growth; Saudi fiscal balance is expected to decline from 4% of GDP in 2010 to 2% in 2011. Kuwait, which had planned for a decline in fiscal spending in 2010, is expected to have a fiscal balance equal to 22% of GDP in 2011. Current Account Balance: Current account balances are relatively healthy across the region's largest economies; the highest balance is in Kuwait at 36% of GDP in 2010 to grow to 38% of GDP in 2011. Broad Money Growth: Money supply growth has been nothing short of abysmal for the GCC in 2010; Saudi Arabia's M2 growth has been 4% in 2010 (up to October) versus an average of 15% between 2003-2009. Kuwait has fared even worse, with virtually no growth in broad money, up just 1.8% in 2010 (November). The rest of the GCC has seen their broad money growth halve from the 5 yr average. 2. Valuation Attraction: Earnings weakness in 2010 pushed up PE valuations as markets remained somewhat stagnant. A resumption of healthier corporate growth in 2011 should bring down valuations. Earnings growth is expected at 22% for 2010 (based on annualized 9M10 results). As for 2011, growth in GCC earnings is expected at 22%, which coupled with recovering markets, would bring GCC PE to about 12x, down from about 15x in 2010. 3. Earnings growth potential: Earnings are expected to grow another 22% in 2011 (following an estimated 22% growth in 2010) for the GCC mainly due to more stable growth in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and a return to positive growth in Oman and the UAE. Among sectors, banks are expected to show a growth of 13% in 2010, led by a turnaround in Kuwait (growing 68% in 2010) followed by a growth of 28% as credit lines loosen and economic activity picks up across the region 4. Market Liquidity: Liquidity has been drying up across the GCC markets at an accelerating rate. Total value traded declined 41% in 2009 before shrinking by a further 55% so far in 2010. With an average monthly value traded of just $25 bn, the full year figure should be around $255bn, which would be half that of 2009 (up to November 2010, GCC Value Traded is at $229 bn).
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business
Banking sector helps; Kuwait stocks mixed GLOBAL DAILY MARKET REPORT KUWAIT: The Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) ended the first trading session in 2011 on a mixed note. The bullish performance of the banking sector was the major characteristic of the day. Global General Index (GGI) closed 0.51 points up (0.23 percent), at 224.04 point as the Market capitalization increased reaching KD36.38mn. On the other hand, Kuwait Stock Exchange Price Index closed in the red zone shedding 7.90 points (0.11 percent) from its value and closed at 6,947.60 point. Market breadth During the session, 109 companies were traded. Market breadth was skewed towards decliners as 38 equities advanced versus 44 that retreated. Volume of shares traded on the exchange increased by 34.22 percent to reach 205.33mn shares, the value of shares traded decreased by 3.58 percent to stand at KD30.74mn. The Services Sector was the volume leader yesterday, accounting for 36.07 percent of total shares and the Services Sector was the value leader, with 33.24 percent of total traded value. Company-wise, Al Safwa Holding Group was the volume leader, with a total traded volume of 29.28mn shares. changing hands. Livestock Transport & Trading Co. was the value leader, with a total traded value of KD10.22mn. In terms of top gainers, Alafco Aviation Lease & Finance Co was the biggest gainer for the day, adding 7.81 percent and closed at KD0.345. On the other hand, Nafais Holding Co came in as the biggest decliner, dropping by 8.47 percent and closed at KD0.054. Sector-wise Sector-wise, four out of the
eight sectors edged higher during the day. Buying interest was observed in the banking, investment, and real estate sectors. The G l o b a l B a n k i n g I ndex led t he pack of advancers, producing 1.07 percent in gains. Burgan Bank repor ted a 1.89 percent improvement. Investment stocks performed robustly yesterday with the sector index adding 0.64 percent. The second biggest percentage advancer during the day was First Investment Co, claiming an 6.25 percent jump. Global Investment House picked up where it left off last year, housing a 5.77 percent climb. National I nvestment Co m p a ny a n d N oo r Fi nanc i al Investment Co were up by 3.30
percent and 5.59 percent respectively. Companies embracing the Islamic Sharia in their activities edged higher by 2.24 percent on Saturday. Kuwait Finance House (KFH) saw its share value appreciate by 3.45 percent yesterday. Food and insurance stocks pulled back by 1.98 percent and 111 percent respectively during t he day. Wet haq Tak af ul Insurance Co, recoiled by 5.21 percent on a solitary trade.
each, will be providing direct and indirect food services to restaurants, hospitals, schools, companies, cinemas, clubs, theaters, etc, the newspaper’s recent edition stated. YIACO Medical Company has made a clarification about the news published in a local paper as regards having submitted the lowest bid for a KD5.5mn worth of tender. The company negated the news, adding that it had not made a bid for such a tender.
Corporate news The closed shareholding “Aquabor Food” was established with a paid-up capital of KD1mn, Kuwait’s official gazette Al-Kuwait Al-Youm said. The company, with its 10mn shares wor th 100fils
Oil news The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $88.99 a barrel on Friday, compared with $89.47 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations.
Oil extends rally above $92, eyes more growth LONDON: Oil extended a rally above $92 a barrel yesterday, spurred by expectations economic recovery will fuel energy demand and as market bulls set their sights on $100 a barrel. US crude was trading 70 cents higher at $92.08 a barrel by 1325 GMT, off a session high of $92.30, its highest since October 2008. It settled at $91.38 on Friday, marking an annual gain of around 15 percent and the highest year-end price since 2007 when the market had embarked on its ascent to the all-time high of nearly $150 a barrel touched in July 2008. Brent was up 97 cents a barrel at $95.72, off an intraday peak of $96.07, also the highest since early October 2008. Trade was thinned by a public holiday in the United Kingdom but could take direction later on Monday from a survey by the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) — a measure of US national factory activity. It was expected to show a slight expansion in the manufacturing sector, reinforcing the view the economy in the world’s largest oil consumer is strengthening, which could drive up energy demand. “Traders will be looking at the string of US economic numbers coming out this week to see if they can sustain the strong price moves in December. Overall, we expect the market to be well bid. How bid? Well, it depends on the data,” said Geoff Howie, markets strategist at MF Global in Singapore. Data for Asia and Europe showed factory growth eased slightly in Asia in December, while export orders picked up in Europe. Commodities as a whole embarked on a
compelling rally in September. It continued throughout the final months of last year, driven by expectations of quantitative easing and a weakened US dollar, which tends to boost dollar-denominated commodities. The dollar rose against a basket of currencies yesterday, partly offsetting the bullish implications for the oil market of a possible economic recovery in the United States. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries helped to stoke bullish sentiment by saying the market was still well supplied and that it would not implement any formal change in output unless it saw a convincing shift in the balance of supply and demand. Some analysts agreed the rally was speculative. “It does not make sense on a fundamental basis,” said Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix. “The structure of the market is telling a different story from the flat price.” US crude futures have been stuck in a stubborn contango, whereby prompt oil is cheaper than that for later delivery, a market condition that encourages storage. Traders, however, said there was momentum to move higher as new money was expected to enter the market at the start of the year and that in the short term there was little choice but to follow it. “The answer is to go with it or you’ll lose money,” said one trader who could not be named. Prices could still falter before the next move higher, possibly correcting to $83.85 per barrel, based on a wave pattern and a channel technique, according to Wang Tao, Reuters market analyst for commodities and energy technicals. —Reuters
Tata Motors in bid to boost Nano’s sales MUMBAI: The world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, will now see “open sales” across India, Tata Motors said in a statement yesterday, in an effort to boost sales. The snub-nosed, jelly-bean shaped car, whose monthly sales in November were its lowest since its launch in July 2009, has until now been sold directly from showrooms in only 12 of 28 Indian states. “We are announcing open sales for the Nano in all states,” Tata Motors said, which means customers can buy the car directly from any of the company’s 874 sales outlets
across India, instead of having to book and wait for delivery. The Nano sold 5,784 units in December, latest sales data showed, up 60 percent from a year ago, but up from only 509 units in the previous month. Concerned with flagging sales, Tata Motors last month announced a “happiness guarantee” offer for new buyers and existing owners, who will get a free four-year or 60,000-kilometre (37,000mile) warranty. November’s slump in monthly sales came after Tata was forced to offer free safety upgrades when around half a dozen of the cars caught fire. —AFP
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Factory output surges; exports aid euro-zone India, China dip; overheating worries ease LONDON/MUMBAI: Factory output growth eased only slightly in Asia in December and offered an upbeat end to a fraught 2010 for the eurozone, with signs that growth in export orders was filtering through to the region’s periphery. Surging new orders and a fast-improving labor market helped quicken the expansion of the single currency area’s manufacturing sector for the fourth month running, purchasing managers’ indexes showed yesterday.
FRANKFURT: Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn during a press conference in Frankfurt, Germany. German automaker Volkswagen AG said yesterday its board has agreed to extend the contract of chief executive Martin Winterkorn through the end of 2016. — AP
Asian, EU carmakers look to 2011 growth PARIS/SEOUL: South Korean automakers predicted rising 2011 sales on US and China growth, while France’s car market ended a negative 2010 on a high note, with drivers flocking to bag scrapping bonuses before they ran out. Carmakers are increasingly relying on growth in high-profile emerging markets like China, Brazil, Russia and India, while the US market is gradually recovering. In Spain, car sales fell for the sixth consecutive month in December, with a 23.9 percent drop. For the fullyear, sales rose 3.1 percent. A 0.7 percent slide in French car sales in December brought the year’s decline there to 2.2 percent, but the French car market saw 2010 out with a bang in terms of new orders, as the final scrapping bonuses spurred drivers to buy new cars. Orders placed in the final weeks of 2010 mean the French car market will have a strong start to 2011, although beyond the first quarter, uncertainty reigns. “We have good visibility for the first quarter of 2011,” said Flavien Neuvy, head of the automobile industry research department at French consumer credit organization Cetelem. “With the orders from the end of the year we know that the first three months of 2011 overall will be good ... afterwards, there is real
uncertainty,” said Neuvy. He added that the end of 2011 could be difficult, and that there would be a “payback” effect in the second half of the year when the benefits of scrapping ran out once and for all. In the short term, Neuvy sounded a note of caution about margins, as carmakers offered hefty additional discounts to encourage buyers in the last weeks of the scrappage scheme. “Certainly they made a lot of marketing efforts, so we can think that will have an effect on vehicle margins. They have focused on volumes-in France what is really important for carmakers is defending their market share.” French car sales fell 2.2 percent to 2.25 million units in 2010, carmakers’ association CCFA said yesterday. “December orders were very good,” said a CCFA spokesman, “but that is not necessarily reflected in sales.” Car sales or registration figures lag behind orders as customers register their cars when they are delivered a few weeks after the order is placed. “The first quarter of 2011 should be rather good,” the CCFA spokesman added, as orders taken in the final months of 2010 would show up then. France originally offered a scrapping bonus of 1,000 euros ($1,339), but it was
gradually reduced to 500 euros before finally ending on New Year’s Eve. “It was an absolutely phenomenal month: we had a market of orders for 370,000 cars, which allows us to start the year with a very comfortable order book,” Renault’s commercial director for France, Bernard Cambier, told BFM radio yesterday. The French car market saw 370,000 orders registered in December, 30 percent more than the same month last year, he said, adding that Renault itself saw orders rise “almost 46 percent” year-on-year in December. December car sales figures showed a 5.7 percent increase for the PSA Peugeot Citroen group, while Renault group sales fell 4.6 percent last month, CCFA data showed. US RECOVERY Hyundai Motor Group and its affiliate Kia Motors aim to boost vehicle sales by 10 percent this year after robust December sales, as the sector shows a gradual recovery, led by China and the United States. US car sales figures are due out on Tuesday, and December is expected to be the third straight month that US auto sales hold above 12 million vehicles on an annualized basis, capping a year of gradual recovery for the auto sector, analysts said. — Reuters
BofA to take $2bn charge to settle home loan claims CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: Bank of America Corp will take an approximately $2 billion charge in its fourth quarter as it settles buyback claims on home loans sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The bank said yesterday that it also expects to take a provision of about $3 billion in the quarter related to repurchase obligations on the home loans. Bank of America shares jumped 4.4 percent in premarket trading on the news. On Friday Bank of America, which is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, paid Fannie Mae $1.34 billion and Freddie Mac $1.28 billion as part of the settlements. The deals with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are tied to Countrywide Financial Corp residential mortgage loans. Bank of America bought Countrywide in July 2008. Buyback claims are an ongoing issue for the financial industry, with Ally Financial Inc. announcing last week that it would pay $462 million to settle buyback claims on $292 billion in home loans that it sold to Fannie Mae. And in mid-December a group of eight investors including Freddie Mac, Pimco Investment Management, Blackrock Financial Management and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York extended talks with Bank of America over the group’s demands that the bank buy back soured mortgages sold to them.
The investors argue that Countrywide’s practice of modifying loans found to have faulty paperwork or those written outside of normal underwriting standards breached signed agreements with the investors. By continuing to service bad loans rather than speeding up foreclosures, the group claims, Countrywide ran up servicing fees, enriching itself at the expense of investors. Bank of America, however, has described the loan modifications as the “proper response to an unprecedented housing crisis and in furtherance of the stated policy of the federal government.” The deals with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae don’t cover loan servicing obligations, other contractual obligations or loans contained in private label securitizations. But the agreements are a sign that the bank is working quickly to deal with buyback claims. “These actions resolve substantial legacy issues in the best interest of our shareholders,” Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan said in a statement. Fannie Mae said in a statement that the Bank of America deal was a “fair and responsible resolution” of the outstanding claims. The company said the agreement accounts for about 44 percent of the $7.7 billion in repurchase requests outstanding with all of its seller servicers as of Sept. 30, 2010. In premarket trading, Bank of America shares rose 58 cents to $13.92. — AP
In fast-growing China and India, manufacturing expanded robustly though at a slower pace than previously, easing some concerns about possible overheating in Asia. South Korea’s factories posted their biggest surge in seven months. Powerhouses Germany and France continued to lead the 16-nation single currency zone’s industrial recovery. But output also grew faster in much of the area’s periphery where debt concerns continued to drive financial markets on the first trading day of 2011 — as export orders revived following steady declines in the value of the euro. “Germany remained the star performer, seeing nearrecord growth, followed by France, where the PMI slipped only slightly from November’s ten-year peak,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist of index compiler Markit. “However, (there were) welcome signs ... in the periphery, where export sales helped boost output growth in all cases except Greece, where the rate of decline at least moderated.” The US purchasing managers’ index (PMI) due to be released later is forecast to rise slightly to 56.9 in December from 56.6 the previous month, which would provide further evidence that the country’s recovery is gaining traction, leaving Japan and the euro zone as the global economy’s prime laggards. Europe’s holidaythinned markets showed little reaction to the PMI data. With investors bracing for a heavy quarter of euro zone debt issuance, safe-haven German government bonds rose while the euro resumed its slide against the dollar. “There’s the question of whether things are going to blow up again with everyone having so much issuance to do and that will lead to more stresses on the periphery,” a London-based fixed-income trader said. The Markit Eurozone PMI, which records manufacturing activity across all the major euro area economies, rose to 57.1 in December, revised higher from a preliminary reading of 56.8 and up from 55.3 in November and nearing April’s 46-month high. In Germany, manufacturers boosted their workforces at the fastest rate in at least 14 years and the headline index rose to a revised 60.7, its highest level since July. Ireland’s PMI hit its highest level since May and Spain’s index rose off the back of its strongest monthly surge in foreign orders in over a decade, though factory output in recessionmired Greece remained in the doldrums. The growth outlook for Europe remains modest, with cuts in public finances expected to weigh for years. Analysts polled by Reuters last month expected quarter-on-quarter growth in the euro zone to peak at 0.5 percent over the next two years. —-Reuters
DOUAIS: Vehicles produced by French carmaker Renault stand parked in the factory plot in Douais, northern France. Automakers have registered 370,000 orders for new cars in France in December 2010, or 30% more than during the same period last year, announced Renault France’s sales manager, Bernard Cambier yesterday. —AFP
Macau gaming industry hit record jackpot in 2010 HONG KONG: Casinos in Macau cashed in a record $23.5 billion last year, according to official figures yesterday which analysts said trumped the Las Vegas Strip by about four times. The revenue figure was a 57.8 percent increase over 2009, cementing the former Portuguese colony as the world’s biggest gaming hub, thanks largely to the millions of mainland Chinese punters who descend on it each year. But the governments of China and its special region of Macau are growing worried about the vast sums of money flowing into the city’s economy and have already imposed several restrictions to try and cap its runaway growth. Macau’s huge jackpot comes even as regional rivals including Singapore have opened glitzy new casinos to grab a chunk of the massive Asian market. Some industry experts have predicted Asia will eclipse the entire US gaming market over the next
few years. Macau’s casinos raked in 188.3 billion patacas ($23.5 billion) in 2010, compared with 119.3 billion patacas in 2009, the city’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau said. That total is about fourtimes higher than the $6 billion that gamblers are thought to have spent on the Las Vegas Strip in 2010, according to Hong Kongbased brokerage CLSA. The Chinese territory also set a new monthly record in December, raking in 18.88 billion patacas, about 66.4 percent higher than a year earlier. “We were not expecting it to be so strong in December,” Aaron Fischer, a CLSA gaming analyst, told AFP. “We thought it would fall off a bit in the last few weeks (of the month) but it didn’t. Historically, Christmas is not a big gambling time.” The gaming boomtown’s revenue is driven largely by high-roller gamblers, including many
wealthy Chinese tourists who have been riding high on the country’s surging economy, he said. “It’s not just a Macau or gaming thing,” Fischer added. “There are a huge amount of mainland Chinese travelling and spending money.” Macau has posted a sharp revenue increase since mid-2009, continuing to smash monthly records as it shrugs off a downturn during the global financial crisis. Handed back to China in 1999, Macau is the only Chinese city where casino gambling is allowed and has seen its fortunes steadily soar since opening up to foreign competition in 2002. The most recent yearly figures are about four times higher than the 46 billion patacas in gaming revenue which Macau recorded in 2005. But that growth has caused the Chinese and Macau governments to express concerns about the city’s gambling-dependent economy
and skyrocketing rents, with Beijing imposing visa restrictions on mainland citizens in 2009. Macau has also tightened restrictions on immigrant labor due to pressure from home-grown labor groups, including banning foreigners with only tourist visas from working in the city. That has caused headaches for casino operators, including US operator Las Vegas Sands, which has seen a $4.1 billion project on the city’s lucrative Cotai strip repeatedly delayed. In March, the Macau government said it would cap the number of gambling tables in the city’s casinos, making expansion plans more difficult. Macau’s government last month rejected separate applications from a Sands unit and local casino tycoon Stanley Ho’s SJM Holdings to develop another Cotai site, saying it would no longer grant land for casinos without a public tender. — AFP
Macau’s gaming revenue hit a record $23.5 billion in 2010, according to official figures released yesterday, outpacing the Las Vegas Strip by about four-fold. —AFP
Gold climbs above $1,420/oz as 2011 gets underway LONDON: Gold rose above $1,420 an ounce in Europe yesterday, within 1 percent of its record high, and silver and palladium hit multi-year peaks, driven by pent-up demand on the first trading day of 2011. While a firm dollar limited gains, expectations for more bad news on euro zone debt, concerns over potential inflation in developing economies and an increased focus on the US deficit are set to maintain surging demand for gold, analysts said. Pradeep Unni, a senior analyst at Richcomm Global Services in Dubai, said fresh highs in gold were likely this year, with an initial target seen at $1,455-$1,480, after trade in the metal was becalmed over the Christmas
holidays. “The fundamentals are driving the price, and those fundamentals remain fear-driven,” he said. “Gold (steps) into the New Year with all its current fundamentals intact ... sovereign debt risk, macro uncertainty, concerns over currency stability, medium-term inflation fears as the US Federal Reserve implements Quantitative Easing II, geopolitical tensions and low interest rates.” Spot gold was bid at $1,420.10 an ounce at 1230 GMT, against $1,419.45 late in New York on Friday. The precious metal had hit a record $1,430.95 an ounce in December. European trade is expected to remain quiet, with London still
on holiday. US gold futures for February delivery eased 50 cents an ounce to $1,420.90. While gold was little changed in early trade yesterday, US data due later in the session-November construction spending and December
Commodities market ISM non-manufacturing numbers at 1500 GMT-may influence later trade. The euro fell 0.5 percent against the dollar early in the day, reversing year-end gains on persistent concerns about euro-zone debt.
These worries can work both ways for gold. A weaker euro, and consequently stronger dollar, typically pressures gold prices, but concerns over sovereign debt are set to support demand for the metal as a haven from risk. “(We look) for the gold market to start out 2011 on a strong note,” said MF Global in an end-of-year report. “Support may come from a resumption of investment inflows and a renewed focus on European sovereign debt issues. “Background support will be offered by quantitative ease, and improved (jewelry) demand,” it added. “Negative factors will linger in the background as well but should be
shelved in the midst of fresh investment this week.” The strong inverse relationship between gold and the dollar weakened to such an extent last year that gold prices managed to rise nearly 30 percent at the same time that the dollar rose more than 6.5 percent against the euro. Among other precious metals, silver hit its highest since 1980 at $31.17 an ounce against $30.86 as investors continued to pick up the metal as a cheaper proxy for gold. “At over $31 a troy ounce at the beginning of the new year, silver ... continues its high-altitude flight,” said Commerzbank in a note. “Ongoing strong demand, e.g. for
silver ETFs (exchange-traded funds), could push the price up further. Alone the world’s largest silver ETF, iShares Silver Trust, increased its holdings last year by 15 percent or 1,429 to 10,922 tons.” Platinum was at $1,774.65 an ounce against $1,767.50, and palladium at $799.75 against $799.50, having earlier touched its highest since March 2001 at $803 an ounce. Palladium and silver were among the best-performing precious metals last year, up 97 percent and 83 percent respectively. Autocatalyst metal palladium is seen as the surer bet for 2011, however, on expectations its market balance will tighten. — Reuters
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Bangladesh garment scraps head for Western living rooms HATIBANDHA, Bangladesh: Every year, Bangladesh’s garment sector produces billions of dollars worth of highstreet clothes for major western brands-and generates mountains of fabric offcuts in the process. While an informal recycling sector has sprung up to deal with the scraps of leftover jeans and T-shirts churned out by the country’s 4,500 garment factories, it produces only low-value products for domestic consumption. But one Bangladeshi entrepreneur has found a new, more lucrative way of dealing with the estimated 100,000 tons of scrap fabric the garment sector
produces each year: making rag-rugs for export. “The rags produced by the garment factories are seen as worthless waste but I saw that they could be a way to build a business-then Kik picked up my products and everything started to take off,” Tauhid Bin Salam told AFP. Tauhid set up his company, Classical Handmade Products Bangladesh, in 2008 and has now built it into a successful business with an annual turnover of 80 million taka ($1.2 million) and a workforce of 530, mostly women. Tauhid’s first buyer, German compa-
ny Kik Textilien, is one of Europe’s largest textile discounters with a presence in six European countries. It primarily sources its low-cost goods in China and Bangladesh. His four factories are stretched across the impoverished north of Bangladesh, where nonagricultural work is scarce and his ragrug factories provide a valuable source of jobs, especially for rural women. Traditional garment waste processing units tend to be concentrated in Dhaka, where nearly 11,000 people are believed to work in the informal sector, recycling garment factory waste into cheap clothes for domestic sale.
Tauhid’s factories are now producing some 80,000 rugs a month, all of which are exported and sold in Germany, where Kik is preparing for the usual Christmas surge in sales at its stores. “We are now planning to increase the volume of our orders and begin selling those rag-rugs in other European countries such as Austria and Slovenia,” Petra Katzenberger, Kik’s corporate social responsibility manager, told AFP. The rugs have proved a big hit in Germany, as they are cheap, unique, handmade and environmentally-
friendly, said Daniel Seidl from the Bangladesh German Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “Nearly three percent of all Germans now own one of these rugs,” Seidl told AFP, adding that this was about two million people. Tauhid uses only 100-percent cotton scraps from the best quality clothes to produce his rugs, saying that the company could easily expand as there is so much scrap waste to use up thanks to Bangladesh’s booming garment sector. Fabric scraps are collected in huge bales from garment factories, taken to Tauhid’s factories where they are sorted into different
colors and trimmed into long, thin strips of cloth. These strips of cloth are then woven by hand into rugs using a traditional wooden hand loom, and while the size — 60 cm by 90 cm (about two feet by three feet) — is uniform, each rug’s pattern is unique. “Every year, a large garment factory will produce enough scrap material to make one million rugs,” Tauhid said. There are up to 600 large garment factories in Bangladesh-defined as a factory which employs over 1,000 people-out of a total 4,500 factories overall. —AFP
Merger of Fiat, Chrysler not now: Marchionne Italian automaker may boost stake in Chrysler to 51%
MILAN: Fiat tractors are parked outside the stock exchange in Milan, Italy, yesterday. —AP
US wheat at new 5-month top on Australia floods SINGAPORE/PARIS: US wheat futures started 2011 with a new five-month high yesterday as floods in Australia hampered grain shipments and reinforced the global supply concerns that had sent grain markets surging last year. In 2010 Chicago wheat posted its first annual gain in three years by rising 47 percent, and many analysts expect grains to test all-time highs this year because of weather worries, robust demand and investor interest. Soybean and corn futures also recorded hefty gains last year on the back of tightening supply and Chinese-driven demand, although they eased on Monday under pressure from a firm dollar. Chicago Board of Trade March wheat was up 1.23 percent at $8.04 a bushel by 1131 GMT, after earlier climbing to $8.103/4, a new high for front-month prices since Aug. 6. “There is supporting news from Australia as it seems that Australia is not going to recover from floods soon,” said Ker Chung Yang, an investment analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore. “ They are one of the major wheat exporting countries and news from there is driving the market.” Floods in Australia’s Queensland could disrupt grain supplies for weeks, top grains handler GrainCorp Ltd said on Monday, further delaying the transportation to market of the country’s waterlogged wheat crop. Even ahead of the latest deluge, Australia’s wettest spring on record had damaged the crop quality in the world’s fourth largest wheat exporter, contributing to highs on global wheat markets at the end of 2010. Last year’s gains for spot prices allowed Chicago wheat to erase a 42 percent combined loss for 2008 and 2009, when ample global supplies weighed on prices and pulled them back from all-time highs seen
in 2007/08. European milling wheat futures also started the year on a firm footing, setting the latest in a series of contract highs as the market stayed at levels last seen in March 2008. January milling wheat rose 0.59 percent to 254.00 euros a ton after reaching earlier a new high of 255.50 euros, while the more active March reached a fresh contract high of 252.00 euros. “The market remains on a bullish trend,” a European futures broker said. “There is still concern about Australia and Argentina.” Operators said movements could also be driven at the start of the year by investment flows linked to index reweighting, as well as a closely watched grains supply/demand report from the US government on Jan. 12. Dry conditions in Argentina are threatening to stress corn and soybean crops and could add to tensions in world supply after a severe drought in Russia, the rains in Australia and ongoing dryness in US wheat-growing areas. Parched, hot conditions caused by the La Nina weather phenomenon are threatening corn yields in Argentina, the world’s No 2 exporter of the cereal, and rains are urgently needed, the government said on Friday. The situation in Argentina underpinned corn and soy futures, which had risen 52 percent and 34 percent respectively in 2010, but a stronger dollar pushed prices down a touch yesterday. Corn for March delivery lost 0.2 percent to $6.27-3/4 a bushel, and soybeans for January eased 0.20 percent to trade at $13.91. The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up 0.3 percent. A stronger dollar makes US commodities less competitive in the international market. —Reuters
US jobs trickle in; Whither workers? GLOBAL ECONOMY WEEK AHEAD WASHINGTON: US private employers have recorded 11 consecutive months of job gains, yet the number of people who are so discouraged that they have given up searching for work stands at an all-time high. Friday’s employment report is expected to show the pace of payroll growth accelerated last month after a disappointing showing in November. However, consumers’ assessment of the job market deteriorated in December, according to the Conference Board’s latest consumer confidence survey. This disconnect is symptomatic of the state of the labor market. Yes, it is recovering, but at a pace that can hardly keep up with population growth, let alone quickly bring down the 9.8 percent unemployment rate. Private employment increased by an average of 106,000 per month through November. At that rate, it would take more than 6 years just to replace the jobs lost during the latest recession. There is reason to believe hiring will pick up in 2011. Many economists have raised economic growth forecasts, in part because of a tax deal that keeps in place lower rates enacted under President George W Bush, and planned job cuts are down 60 percent from a year ago. However, that may not make job hunting much easier, said John Challenger, chief executive of job placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas in Chicago. “The job market could be even more
competitive as improving job prospects entice people who abandoned their job searches out of frustration to re-enter the labor pool,” he said. The labor pool looks like it has sprung a leak. In a civilian labor force 154-million strong, only 64.5 percent were either working or looking for a job in November, a rate that matched October as the lowest since the early 1980s. If workers come pouring back into the labor market more quickly than employers want to hire, the jobless rate will rise. The Labor Department counts people as unemployed only if they are actively looking for work, so those discouraged workers-nearly 1.3 million of them as of November-are excluded. A look at the gender breakdown offers some signs that the dropout rate could stay high even if hiring improves. Nearly two-thirds of the discouraged workers were men, perhaps a reflection of sharp declines in male-dominated industries such as construction and manufacturing, where jobs are expected to remain scarce. Ethan Harris, an economist with Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, said the economic healing process will be faster for women than for men, in part because women are more likely to go to college and obtain the skills needed to find a job. Among 18- to 24-year-olds, about 41 percent were enrolled in college or graduate school, according to Census data. —Reuters
MILAN: Fiat and Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne said he had no immediate plans to merge the two automakers as shares in a new stripped-down Fiat began trading on the stock exchange yesterday. But Fiat may raise its stake in Chrysler, which it saved from bankruptcy, to 51 percent if the troubled US automaker returns to the stock market this year, he added. “I have no plans to merge Fiat and Chrysler today,” Marchionne told journalists at a ceremony organized at the Milan stock exchange for the first listing of spin-off Fiat Industrial, which contains the conglomerate’s non-automotive elements. “I think we have done a relatively decent job in the last 18 months” in terms of “industrial integration” of Fiat and Chrysler, he said, adding “a legal merger is not going to change our lives.” Italy’s largest private employer, created by the legendary Agnelli family and a symbol of the country’s postwar industrialization, owns 20 percent of Chrysler. In the biggest reorganization in Fiat’s history, it took operational control of Chrysler in June 2009 after the US automaker nearly went bankrupt. Marchionne said it was “possible” Fiat may boost the holding to 51 percent before a planned IPO by the Chrysler Group this year. “I think it is possible, I don’t know whether it is likely, but it is possible that we will go over the 50 percent if Chrysler decides to go to the market in 2011,” he said. In September 2010 Fiat shareholders approved the Italian auto giant’s plan to separate its car and non-car making activities as part of a drive to increase its global clout. In the spin off, which took effect on January 1, Fiat’s truckmaker Iveco and CNH agricultural and construction equipment manufacturer became part of the new Fiat Industrial. Its shares opened at 9.00 euros and had slid to 8.87 euros as of 0930 GMT. Fiat, whose carmaking operations include the Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Maserati brands, opened at 6.9 and had climbed to 7.01 euros. Marchionne has set ambitious financial targets for the two carmakers, saying that Fiat’s turnover should double from 32 billion euros to 64 billion euros by 2014 while Fiat Industrial’s should grow by 19 billion euros to 29 billion euros. Marchionne has said the Fiat and Chrysler companies combined should produce six million vehicles by 2014. Analysts expect the new structure to help Fiat not only integrate with Chrysler but also to form other alliances as new players come onto the scene from emerging economies such as Russia and India. When the spin-off was first announced in April, the CEO said he hoped it would resolve one of the “strategic issues” that over the past years “has been a thorn in Fiat’s side.” The car and non-car activities have different strategies, markets and capital needs. The Italian-Canadian Marchionne, who is credited with rescuing Fiat from the brink of collapse, became Chrysler’s chief executive in the deal under which Fiat contributed its small-car and green technology and the US carmaker opened the door to its sprawling distribution network. —AFP
MILAN: Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne is surrounded by reporters at the stock exchange in Milan yesterday. —AP
Asian stocks rise as 2011 trading opens HONG KONG: World stock markets were higher on the first trading day of 2011, with investor confidence boosted by signs that China’s efforts at keeping a lid on inflation may be working. Oil prices rose to near $92 a barrel yesterday in Asia as traders mulled how high crude can go before it sparks inflation. In currencies, the dollar was higher against the yen and the euro. In early European trade, France’s CAC-40 rose 1.2 percent to 3,851.15 and Germany’s DAX added 1.2 percent to 6,992.39. Wall Street was set to open higher, with Dow futures up 68 points, or 0.6 percent, at 11,581.00. Broader S&P futures gained 7.3 points, or 0.6 percent, to 1,260.30. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 400.60 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 23,436.05, while South Korea’s Kospi rose 19.08 points, or 0.9 per-
cent, to finish at 2,070.80. A monthly survey released over the weekend indicated that manufacturing in China slipped for the first time in five months. The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said that its purchasing managers index, or PMI, dipped in December, though it was still the 22nd month of expansion. That eased investor fears that authorities would take further steps to cool inflation, including by raising interest rates further, which could hurt economic growth. “It may indicate that the mainland government may not need to further tighten monetary policy because it is already slowing down,” said Kenny Tang, an executive director at Redford Asset Management. Tang said fund managers returning from the holidays are also “reshuffling their portfolios to buy the lagging markets.” Hong Kong
stocks were also boosted by Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., a conglomerate forming part of billionaire Li Kashing’s business empire, which surged 5.2 percent after it announced the purchase of assets from China Resources (Holding) Co. in a deal worth 5.7 billion Hong Kong dollars ($733 million). Singapore’s benchmark rose 1.3 percent while those in Taiwan and India also posted gains. Markets in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, mainland China, Thailand and Britain were closed for the New Year’s holiday. In currencies, the dollar rose 0.6 percent against the yen to 81.35. The euro fell 0.8 percent to 1.3272. Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 19 cents to $91.57 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.54 on Friday to end the year at $91.38 per barrel. —AP
MANILA: Filipino traders hear mass during the opening of the first trading day at the Philippine Stock Exchange at the financial district of Makati, south of Manila, Philippines, yesterday. —AP
Spanish auto sales rose 3.1% in 2010 MADRID: Car sales in Spain rose 3.1 percent last year, after two years of double - digit declines, but were down in December for the six th straight month following the end of a government trade -in bonus scheme, manufacturers’ association Anfac said yesterday. Sales of new cars in the country plunged 23.9 percent in December over the same month last year to 68,942 units, bringing total sales for the year to 982,015 units, it said in a statement posted on its web site.
“ The year 2010 was marked by two distinct periods,” said Anfac. While sales were up 39.5 percent during the first half of the year, they have dropped by over 20 percent each month since the incentive program ended in July and the sales tax rose by two percentage points that month. Under the trade-in scheme introduced in May 2009, the government offered subsidies of up to 2,000 euros ($2,600) to help boost car sales. The program expired when the money set aside for it was
exhausted. New car sales fell 17.9 percent in 2009 after dropping by 28 percent in 2008, its biggest-ever annual decline as the collapse of a property bubble plunged the country into its worst recession in decades. The Spanish economy, Europe’s fifth-largest, emerged from recession with tepid growth of just 0.1 percent in the first quarter of 2010 and 0.2 percent in the second, but then stalled with zero percent growth in the third. —AFP
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
TECHNOLOGY
Toshiba to sell tablet with new upcoming Android OS SAN FRANCISCO: Toshiba Corp is hoping to lure consumers to its new tablet computer by including a screen that is slightly larger than the iPad and offering a version of Google Inc’s Android mobile operating software geared toward such devices. Tentatively called the Toshiba Tablet, the device will include a touch screen that measures 26 cm diagonally - compared with 25 cm on Apple Inc’s iPad. Toshiba’s device will also have the forthcoming version of Android, called Honeycomb. It will be more optimized for tablets than current, smartphone-focused versions of Android, by letting applications adjust to take advantage of the tablet’s larger screen.
PALO ALTO, California: This May 26, 2010 file photo shows Mark Zuckerberg speaking during a press conference at the Facebook headquarters. — AFP
Goldman Sachs values Facebook at $50 billion NEW YORK: Facebook has raised 500 million dollars from US investment bank Goldman Sachs and a Russian firm in a deal that values the social-networking website at 50 billion dollars, The New York Times reported yesterday. The investment makes Facebook worth more than fellow Internet companies eBay and Yahoo!, as well as media company Time Warner, the newspaper said, citing sources familiar with the deal. “The stake by Goldman Sachs, considered one of Wall Street’s savviest investors, signals the increasing might of Facebook, which has already been bearing down on giants like Google,” the daily said. Under the terms of the deal, Goldman has invested $450 million, and Digital Sky Technologies, a Russian investment firm that has already sunk about half a billion dollars into Facebook, invested 50 million dollars, people involved in the talks told the Times. The new money provides the privately held social-networking giant founded by Mark Zuckerberg more firepower to develop new resources, make acquisitions and lure away top employees as it increasingly competes more directly with Internet search giant Google. Goldman has the right to sell part of its stake, up to $75 million, to the Russian firm, the Times said. For Digital Sky Technologies, the new investment means its original investment in Facebook, at a valuation of $10 billion, has climbed fivefold, it noted. “As part of the deal, Goldman is expected to raise as much as 1.5 billion dollars from investors for Facebook at the 50 billion dollars valuation, people involved in the discussions said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the transaction was not supposed to be made public until the fund-raising had been completed,” the Times said. Representatives for Facebook, Goldman and Digital Sky Technologies all declined to comment, it added. Facebook surpassed Google, the world’s Internet search leader, in 2010 as the most-visited website in the United States, Internet research firm Experian Hitwise said last week. The social-networking giant has more than 500 million active users per month in the world, and according to comScore attracted 647.5 million unique visits in November, a jump of 48 percent from a year ago. The new investment deal may double the personal fortune of Zuckerberg, the Times said. According to Forbes, Zuckerberg was worth $6.9 billion when Facebook was valued at $23 billion. — AFP
The Japanese computer and flat-screen TV maker is set to unveil the tablet at the annual International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week. It won’t be the only one: A handful of tablets were released in 2010, but many more are expected to be shown off at CES and hit store shelves later this year. Since Apple unveiled its iPad last January, consumers have been clamoring for the sleek computing device, and manufacturers have started churning out competing products in an effort to capitalize on the iPad’s popularity. Toshiba’s Tablet won’t be the company’s first, nor its first Android tablet, but it will be the first time Toshiba is releasing such a product in the US. Toshiba expects to roll out the tablet by the end of June. A price has not yet been set, but the company believes it will be competitive with the iPad, which costs $499 to $829, depending on its memory capacity and wireless capabilities. Showing off a nonworking prototype of the tablet to AP in December, Phil Osako, Toshiba’s director of product marketing, said the device will be the first in a family of tablets the company plans to release. That device has a black, glossy face and rubberized back. The Tablet’s screen will be able to show high-definition videos in 1080p resolution, the highest offered on current TVs, and it includes an HDMI port to connect it to a high-definition television. It will also play Flash videos - something Samsung Electronics Co’s Galaxy Tab can do as well, but the iPad cannot. Although details of Honeycomb have not yet been announced by Google, Google’s mobile head, Andy Rubin, said at a December conference that Honeycomb will enable applications to have multiple views and present information differently depending on whether they’re running on a phone or a tablet. The Tablet will have an Nvidia Tegra 2 mobile processor and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chatting and a 5-megapixel rear camera. Osako said it will include Wi-Fi for getting online but won’t
initially have the ability to access wireless carriers’ data networks, as the Galaxy Tab and the more expensive version of the iPad can. Toshiba may eventually work
An image provided by Toshiba shows the Toshiba Tablet. — AP
online market, Toshiba Places, for downloading content such as games, movies and music. It will have the Toshiba BookPlace e-reader and BookPlace marketplace for buying e-books. Toshiba expects the tablet to be slightly more than half an inch thick and weigh less than 1.7 pounds. This would be a hair chubbier than the iPad, which is half an inch thick and weighs slightly less at 1.5 pounds or 1.6 pounds, depending on the model. Osako said the company is looking to include a battery that provides seven hours of video playback. The iPad, by comparison, promises as much as 10 hours of Web surfing over Wi-Fi or video watching. Over the past few years, Toshiba has been a player in the market for netbooks small, low-cost, portable laptops with less computing power than standard laptops and Osako doesn’t believe the Toshiba Tablet signals the demise of that category. He said tablets are a quick, easy way to access entertainment content. But tablets have on-screen keyboards, and the regular keyboard on a netbook makes it better suited for more text-intensive things such as writing lots of emails and instant messages, he said. “I think this is going to grow the market for mobile devices rather than taking away from it,” he said. — AP
with carriers to add their wireless service to the device, he said. The Tablet will have GPS and Bluetooth technologies and include a USB port, mini USB port and SD memory card slot. Besides supporting Google’s Android Marketplace for downloading apps, the Tablet will include access to Toshiba’s own
Apple woes continue as some sleep in Asia, Europe
CHICAGO: In this photo taken Dec 1, 2010, Chicago Cut steakhouse managing partner Matt Moore browses the restaurant’s wine list on an iPad. The restaurant is just one eatery of several across the US that have started uploading menus and wine lists to the digital devices. — AP
HONG KONG/HELSINKI: Some iPhone users in Asia and Europe complained of malfunctioning alarms on the first working day of 2011, even after Apple reassured users that its phones’ built-in clocks will work from Monday. Bloggers, Facebook and Twitter users complained they missed flights or were late to arrive at work, as the alarm built into Apple’s iPhone failed to go off for a third straight day for some users. “My iPhone alarm didn’t work again,” user Sueannlove from Singapore tweeted on the social networking site. “Time to dig out (the) old school alarm clock.” Similar messages were sent by iPhone users in Britain, Netherlands and other European countries. The problem was not limited only to the iPhone, with some owners of other Apple products, such as its iPod music players, also complaining of a similar problem with their alarms. “Apple certainly needs to fix it as soon as possible, but I doubt this will impact sales or reflect negatively on Apple itself,” said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. Apple was not immediately available for comment in Asia and Europe, but it said on Jan 2 that it was aware of the problem with non-recurring alarms and that the iPhone’s alarm will begin functioning normally again on Jan 3. Some users said their alarms worked properly on Jan 3. “This is not a major issue for Apple, but it is sad that they have the same error on vital dates,” said John Strand, founder and chief of Danish telecoms consultancy Strand Consult. The iPhone alarm system failed to recognise changes in daylight savings time in 2010, causing some users to sleep in an hour longer, according to media reports. The last time Apple was embroiled in publicity problems was in July last year after the launch of the iPhone 4, when reports about bad reception snowballed and forced the company to call a news conference to address the issue, dubbed “antennagate”. This had no visible impact on Apple’s sales as the firm sold more than 14 million iPhones in JulySeptember quarter, more than ever before, and is now the world’s second largest smartphone manufacturer behind Nokia. — Reuters
Taking a break from social networks HAMBURG: It only takes a few clicks to set up a profile in a social network. Getting rid of a profile is altogether more difficult. Facebook and its ilk will do everything in their power to hold on to members, even if it means playing with your emotions. “It was a big change for my friends,” says Frauke Luepke-Narberhaus. As part of a personal experiment, this Hamburg native got rid of all her accounts with social networks. Saying goodbye wasn’t hard for the 27year-old: “After all, there is still email and mobiles.” The bigger problem was deregistering. “The exit was emotionally dramatized. Plus, it’s well hidden.” Anyone who wants to cut ties to a social network has some hurdles ahead of him. Patrick Wassel, who is with a working group on social media with the German Federal
Association of Digital Business, says there are good reasons to deactivate or delete a profile. Anyone taking his first steps into the professional world might no longer want his school-time exploits available online, for example. But anyone tired of being in a social network can delete his profile - and has the right to do so - says Munich-based lawyer Jan Christian Seevogel. That ’s because using personal data requires the active approval of anyone affected by the dissemination of that data. Users give that permission when they register with a social network. But that data has to be deleted as soon as there is no justification for its continued storage. “The permission of the user for data use generally ends with the deactivation of the account,
which is the same as cancellation of the user contract with the social network,” says Seevogel, who runs his own social media platform on legal topics. There shouldn’t be any technical hurdles to canceling an account, says Carsten Ulbricht, another German lawyer who specializes in internet questions. Users also should be told at registration about their right to revoke permissions for the use of personal data. But the networks don’t make it easy. StudiVZ, a popular German network, warns you that “all your friends will miss you - and so will we” if one tries to leave. The message comes along with the image of a crying woman. To make it even more challenging, directions for leaving are well hidden by most networks, although they all do have a page
explaining the way to quit. There are also other websites out there devoted entirely to telling people how to quit, with stories from those who have already taken the plunge. Facebook, the market leader, makes a distinction between canceling and deactivating an account. But once you delete your data, it can never be summoned up again. However, the company notes that it can take 14 days for the entire cancellation process to complete. Deactivation, on the other hand, simply freezes the account in place and makes it invisible - until that is, you happen to decide to log back in, in which case all functions are automatically activated again. For many people, par ticularly younger people, belonging to an online network is of major importance and forms
a key link to one’s peer group, says Stefan Drewes, chairman of the school psychology group with the German Professional Association of Psychologists. Thus, getting out of a social network shouldn’t be a step taken without careful consideration or in a moment of rage over changes in data privacy guidelines. Taking the plunge could suddenly mean you’re cut off from your entire social circle, creating isolation. “De-registering is, in this case, similar to homesickness after leaving one’s hometown,” explains Drewes. — dpa
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health & science
Blood test to spot cancer gets big boost from J&J Boston scientists join forces to bring test to market BOSTON: A blood test so sensitive that it can spot a single cancer cell lurking among a billion healthy ones is moving one step closer to being available at your doctor’s office. Boston scientists who invented the test and healthcare giant Johnson & Johnson were to announce that they are joining forces to bring it to market. Four big cancer centers also will start studies using the experimental test this year. Stray cancer cells in the blood mean that a tumor has spread or is likely to, many doctors believe. A test that can capture such cells has the potential to transform care for many types of cancer, especially breast, prostate, colon and lung. Initially, doctors want to use the test to try to predict what treatments would be best for each patient’s tumor and find out quickly if they are working. “This is like a liquid biopsy” that avoids painful tissue sampling and may give a better way to monitor patients than periodic imaging scans, said Dr. Daniel Haber, chief of Massachusetts General Hospital’s cancer center and one of the test’s inventors. Ultimately, the test may offer a way to screen for cancer besides the mammograms, colonoscopies and other less-than-ideal methods used now. “There’s a lot of potential here, and that’s why there’s a lot of excitement,” said Dr. Mark Kris, lung cancer chief at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. He had no role in developing the test, but SloanKettering is one of the sites that will study it this year. Many people have their cancers diagnosed through needle biopsies. These often do not provide enough of a sample to deter-
mine what genes or pathways control a tumor’s growth. Or the sample may no longer be available by the time the patient gets sent to a specialist to decide what treatment to prescribe. Doctors typically give a drug or radiation treatment and then do a CT scan two months later to look for tumor shrinkage. Some patients only live long enough to try one or two treatments, so a test that can gauge success sooner, by looking at cancer cells in the blood, could give patients more options. “If you could find out quickly, ‘this drug is working, stay on it,’ or ‘this drug is not working, try something else,’ that would be huge,” Haber said. The only test on the market now to find tumor cells in blood — CellSearch, made by J&J’s Veridex unit — just gives a cell count. It doesn’t capture whole cells that doctors can analyze to choose treatments. Interest in trying to collect these cells soared in 2007, after Haber and his colleagues pub-
lished a study of Mass General’s test. It is far more powerful than CellSearch and traps cells intact. It requires only a couple of teaspoons of blood and can be done repeatedly to monitor treatment or determine why a drug has stopped working and what to try next. “That’s what got the scientific community’s interest,” Kris said. Doctors can give a drug one day and sample blood the next day to see if the circulating tumor cells are gone, he explained. The test uses a microchip that resembles a lab slide covered in 78,000 tiny posts, like bristles on a hairbrush. The posts are coated with antibodies that bind to tumor cells. When blood is forced across the chip, cells ping off the posts like balls in a pinball machine. The cancer cells stick, and stains make them glow so researchers can count and capture them for study. The test can find one cancer cell in a billion or more healthy cells, said Mehmet Toner, a
Harvard University bioengineer who helped design it. Researchers know this because they spiked blood samples with cancer cells and then searched for them with the chip. Studies of the chip have been published in the journals Nature, the New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine. It is the most promising of several dozen that companies and universities are rushing to develop to capture circulating tumor cells, said Bob McCormack, technology chief for Veridex. The agreement announced Monday will have Veridex and J&J’s Ortho Biotech Oncology unit work to improve the microchip, including trying a cheaper plastic to make it practical for mass production. No price goal has been set, a company official said, but the current CellSearch test costs several hundred dollars. The companies will start a research center at Mass General and will have rights to license the test from the hospital, which holds the patents. In a separate effort, Mass General, Sloan-Kettering, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston will start using the test this year. They are one of the “dream teams” sharing a $15 million grant from the Stand Up to Cancer telethon, run by the American Association for Cancer Research. Already, scientists have been surprised to find that more cancer patients harbor these stray cells than has been believed. In one study, the test was used on men thought to have cancer confined to the prostate, “but we found these cells in two-thirds of patients,” Toner said. This might mean that cancer cells enter the
blood soon after a tumor starts, or that more cancers have already spread but are unseen by doctors. Or it could mean something else entirely, because researchers have much to learn about these cells, said Dr. Minetta Liu, a breast cancer specialist at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. She led a session on them at the recent San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and has been a paid speaker for Veridex. She hopes the cells will someday aid cancer screening. “ The dream is, a woman comes in for her mammogram and gets a tube of blood drawn,” so doctors can look for cancer cells in her blood as well as tumors on the imaging exam, she said. That’s still far off, but Mass General’s test already is letting doctors monitor patients without painful biopsies. Like Greg Vrettos, who suffered a collapsed lung from a biopsy in 2004, when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. “It had spread to both lungs and they couldn’t operate,” said Vrettos, 63, a nonsmoker and retired electrical engineer from Durham, N.H. Tests from the biopsy showed that he was a good candidate for the drug Iressa, which he has taken ever since. He goes to Boston every three months for CT scans and the blood test. “They could look at the number of cancer cells and see that it dropped over time. It corresponded with what the scans were showing,” Vrettos said of doctors looking at his blood tests. The test also showed when he had a setback last January and needed to have his treatment adjusted. “I think it’s going to be revolutionary,” he said of the test. —AP
Spanish hotels quick in adapting to smoking ban MADRID: Spanish bars and restaurants were quick in adapting to a smoking ban which entered into force on Sunday, bar employees, clients and media reports said yesterday. “ This is wonderful, because I now breathe easier and my eyes no longer become watery” from smoke, a Madrid waitress named Cristina, 31, told the German Press Agency dpa.
The Spanish parliament toughened the country’s anti-smoking legislation in late December, putting Spain in line with the strictest anti-smoking countries in Europe. The law banned smoking in bars, restaurants and discotheques, as well as in outdoor public areas such as playgrounds, schoolyards or hospital entrances. A 2006 law had already prohibited smoking at workplaces, schools, hospitals, shop-
ping centres or railway stations. The new law entered into force on January 2 in order not to spoil New Year celebrations on January 1. At midnight, waiters told smoking clients to extinguish their cigarettes or to go outside to light up. Many establishments had put up signs asking their clients to help them apply the law, and removed ashtrays to make it easier for them to comply. Some establishments took measures to help smokers cope with the cold weather outside. Outdoor terraces, where smoking is allowed, were equipped with heaters. Some establishments even distributed blankets to their clients. The overwhelming majority of clients reacted with understanding. Some replaced their cigarettes with lollipops, praising the new law as an opportunity for them to quit smoking. Others, however, complained about the law treating smokers like “criminals.” “Our government has exaggerated, like always,” said a young woman smoking on the street outside a Madrid bar. Society now had so many rules that “soon they will not
even allow us to live anymore,” a cigar fan named Antonio complained at a Barcelona bar terrace. The law initially faced strong opposition from bar and restaurant owners fearing it would make them lose large numbers of clients. Cristina, however, said the number of clients had not gone down significantly in her bar. “We have even received some new clients, who come because they no longer need to suffer from smoke,” she observed. The law was being applied “normally,” Health Minister Leire Pajin said. However, the law was being broken at some hospital entrances where people continues smoking. The consumers’ organization Facua received hundreds of complaints from people reporting violations of the smoking ban on a website set up for the purpose. Smoking kills more than 50,000 people in Spain annually, including up to 5,000 passive smokers, such as waiters inhaling smoke. Those violating the ban can face fines as high as 600,000 euros ($800,000). —dpa
Fresh air and sunlight help you stay healthy COLOGNE: Too much time spent in the warm indoors, too little exercise in the fresh air and too little sunlight can make you tired and susceptible to illness. Professor Ingo Froboese from the Centre for Health at the German Sports High School in Cologne offers the following advice: “Even when it’s dark and overcast all day long, you should make use of the daylight hours of the day to tank up on sunlight and get some fresh air into your lungs.” Daylight is excellent for keeping you immune system in top shape. “You should get between 15 and 20 minutes of sunlight a day so your body can develop vitamin D which is very important for our immune systems,” says Froboese. Sunlight converts the precursor form of vitamin D, which is produced in cer tain cells in the body, into active vitamin D. That encourages our immune cells to build anti-microbial Cathelicidin which plays an impor tant role in our body ’s response to bacterial infection. “ That means sunlight can help you stay healthy,” says Froboese. “And it does
not always have to be direct sunlight, which is in short supply at this time of year.” Even on an overcast day enough scattered light penetrates the clouds to have a positive effect on our immune systems. “You should also get at least 30 minutes of exercise a day in the fresh air,” advises Froboese. “It can be in the form of sport but even an extended walk can be great for filling your lungs with oxygen.” Oxygen is important for keeping the energy-generating mitochondria in our cells and organs in good condition. Exercise also keeps our immune system in shape by ensuring that immune cells stay active and effective. Light and oxygen also help you feel good about yourself. —DPA
TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
news in brief British govt unveils healthy-eating plan LONDON: The British government unveiled a 250 million pound ($390 million) industr yfinanced plan to promote good eating on Sunday under which millions of people will receive vouchers offering discounts on healthy foods. The coalition government is promoting the scheme as part of its Change4Life program, aimed at combating Britain’s high obesity rate by encouraging people to eat healthier food and exercise more.
Red meat may raise women’s stroke risk NEW YORK: Women who eat a lot of red meat may be putting themselves at increased risk of stroke, a new study in more than 30,000 Swedish women hints. The study team found that those in the top tenth for red meat consumption, who ate at least 102 grams or 3.6 ounces daily, were 42 percent more likely to suffer a stroke due to blocked blood flow in the brain compared to women who ate less than 25 grams (just under an ounce) of red meat daily.
Family alcoholism and obesity risk CHICAGO: People with a family history of alcoholism may be turning to high-calorie treats instead of booze to satisfy their addiction, US researchers say, a change that could be fueling the obesity epidemic. Because alcohol and bingeing on junk foods stimulate the same parts of the brain, it may be that people with a predisposition to alcoholism are replacing alcohol with junk foods, says the team from Washington University in St. Louis.
Denying smoking among pregnant women NEW YORK: Overall, about one in four women who smoke while pregnant deny it, a new study hints. The numbers could be even higher in certain groups of women, like those in their early 20s. In the United States, smoking by moms-tobe is one of the most common preventable causes of illness and death among infants, Dr. Patricia Dietz from the division of reproductive health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, and colleagues note in their report.
Alcohol use disorders in Australia NEW YORK: Proposed revisions to formal criteria for alcohol abuse and dependence would label significantly more people as problem drinkers, a new study from Australia shows. “Our analyses show that the proposed changes would lead to about a 60 percent increase in the diagnosis of alcohol use disorders in Australia, from 6.0 percent to 9.7 percent,” Louise Mewton, from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Center, University of New South Wales in Sydney, told Reuters Health by e-mail.
Blood clot risk with hormone patch NEW YORK: Women who treat menopause symptoms with hormone patches rather than pills may not have an increased risk of blood clots in the legs or lungs-even when they have a history of such clots, a new study suggests. The findings, published in the journal Menopause, add to evidence that skin patches can be a safer alternative to pills for women who want to treat their bothersome menopause symptoms with hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Medical care and Americans NEW YORK: Traveling to foreign countries for medical procedures, treatments or surgeriesso-called ‘medical tourism’-may not be as cost saving or as popular among US residents as previously thought, suggests a new survey of companies promoting the practice. The international travel of wealthy patients from poor countries to prestigious US medical centers is well known. In recent years, however, another trend has emerged: people living in wealthy countries traveling afar to find lower cost care, or even procedures that may not be available domestically.
Smoking tied to miscarriage risk NEW YORK: A new study may offer women one more reason to kick the smoking habit before becoming pregnant: a potentially reduced risk of early miscarriage. In a study of nearly 1,300 Japanese women with a past pregnanc y, researchers found that those who smoked heavily early in pregnancy were more than twice as likely as non-smokers to suffer a miscarriage in the first trimester.
Canada warnings on cigarettes OTTAWA: Canada will slap larger and enhanced warning labels on cigarette packs, the government announced on Thursday, in a step critics said was unduly delayed because of lobbying by tobacco companies. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the new warnings will cover three-quarters of the front and back of cigarette packs, up from one-half. —Reuters
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health & science
Natural disasters killed 295,000 in 2010
RIO DE JANEIRO: More than 200 people were killed and about 4,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes following massive floods and mudslides that crippled the southern region of Brazil early 2010. —AP File
Obama signs health bill for 9/11 responders KAILUA, Hawaii: US President Barack Obama signed into law on Sunday a bill to compensate emergency responders sickened in the rubble of the September 11 attacks, the White House said. “We will never forget the selfless courage demonstrated by the firefighters, police officers, and first responders who risked their lives to save others,” Obama said after the signing. “I believe this is a critical step for those who continue to bear the physical scars of those attacks.” The president is currently in Hawaii, where he spent the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, and was expected back in Washington on Tuesday. The US Congress on December 22 approved a 10-year, four-billiondollar program to help police, firefighters and other workers made ill by the fumes left in the wake of the worst terrorist attack on US soil.
The Senate and then the House of Representatives passed the measure after a last-minute compromise ended a Republican blockade in one of the final acts of the Democrat-led US Congress. The measure offers health care and compensation to firefighters, police officers and other first responders who rushed to the scene of the World Trade Center attack in 2001. Some of the emergency workers who survived the collapse of the Twin Towers have become sick and even died from cancer and other ailments in the nine years since, purportedly from toxic substances contained in the wreckage. Almost 3,000 people died on September 11, 2001 when planes hijacked by Al-Qaeda suicide operatives were flown into the World Trade Center, as well as the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. —AFP
FRANKFURT: The Haiti earthquake and floods in Pakistan and China helped make 2010 an exceptional year for natural disasters, killing 295,000 and costing $130 billion, the world’s top reinsurer said yesterday. “The high number of weather-related natural catastrophes and record temperatures both globally and in different regions of the world provide further indications of advancing climate change,” said Munich Re in a report. The last time so many people died in natural disasters was in 1983, when 300,000 people died, mainly due to famine in Ethiopia, spokesman Gerd Henghuber told AFP. A total of 950 natural disasters were recorded last year, making 2010 the second worst year since 1980. The average number of events over the past 10 years was 785. And in terms of economic cost, insured losses amounted to approximately $37 billion, putting 2010 among the six most loss-intensive years for the insurance industry since 1980. “2010 showed the major risks we have
to cope with. There were a number of severe earthquakes. The hurricane season was also eventful,” said Torsten Jeworrek, the firm’s chief executive. The earthquake in Haiti in January was by far the worst disaster in terms of human cost, killing 222,570 people, Munich Re said. Some 56,000 died in a combination of heatwaves and forest fires in Russia, it said. The other most destructive events were an earthquake in China in April that killed 2,700, floods in Pakistan between July and September that cost 1,760 lives and August floods in China in which 1,470 perished. Although the Haiti earthquake resulted in human devastation on a “staggering scale”, it cost the industry very little as very few people in the poverty-stricken country can afford insurance. However, an earthquake in Chile that hit over a month later was the world’s most expensive natural disaster last year, with overall losses of $30 billion and insured losses of $ billion. The second most expensive disaster for
the insurance industry was a series of earthquakes that rattled New Zealand, which cost an estimated $3.3 billion but caused no deaths. The global distribution of natural catastrophes in 2010 was however “comparable to that of previous years,” Munich Re said. Most disasters, 365, occurred on the American continent, with 310 in Asia. A total of 120 natural disasters were recorded in Europe, 90 in Africa and 65 in Australia and Oceania. In 2009, considered a “benign” year due to the absence of major catastrophes and a less severe than usual hurricane season in the North Atlantic, there were 900 “destructive natural hazard events”, costing some 60 billion dollars. Around 11,000 people lost their lives in natural disasters in 2009, well below the average of 77,000. Last month, another major reinsurer, Swiss Re, reported that man-made and natural disasters generated worldwide economic losses of $222 billion in 2010, more than three times the figure for the previous year. —AFP
Arkansas bird carcasses being sent for testing BEEBE, Arkansas: Wildlife experts are trying to solve an apocalyptic-type mystery: Why did nearly 3,000 red-winged blackbirds tumble from the Arkansas sky on New Year’s Eve? The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says laboratories in Arkansas, Georgia and Wisconsin would examine some carcasses starting yesterday. Results could be back in a week. Commission spokesman Keith Stephens says the birds fell in an area about a mile long and a half-mile wide (1 1/2 kilometers long and 800 meters wide). Commission ornithologist Karen Rowe says the flock could have been hit by lightning or high-altitude hail, or may have been startled by fireworks. It’s not the first time birds have dropped from the Arkansas sky. Lightning killed ducks at Hot Springs in 2001 and hail knocked birds from the sky at Stuttgart in 1973 on the day before hunting season. —AP
Dead birds sit in a bucket after being collected by workers with United States Environmental Services LLC in Beebe, Ark. Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011. Wildlife officials are trying to determine what caused more than 1,000 blackbirds to die and fall from the sky over the Arkansas town. —AP
Too much work is bad for you BERLIN: What many people long suspected has now been found to be true: too much work is bad for you. People who work more hours a week suffer disproportionately from sleep disturbances, back pain and heart problems, according to the German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, which has conducted multiple studies on the topic. About one in four workers who puts in more than 60 hours a week complains about sleeping problems, reports the group citing two Germany-wide studies. On the other hand, only one in five full-time workers putting in between 35 and 44 hours a week has similar complaints. Meanwhile, only one in 10 of people working part-time (less than 19 hours a week) suffered from any of the health problems. Shift work or flexible hours that meant working some evenings increased the frequency of health complaints, since this doesn’t just affect health, but one’s social life. The more hours workers put in, the more they claim that the job is bad for their family and hard to juggle with free time. Flexible scheduling only mildly allays some of these negative effects, said the group. —DPA
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Diamond exhibition opens in Kuwait U
nder auspices and with attendance of Sheikh Duaij Al-Khalifa, actress Amal Abbas and Wafa Al-Shemmari also known as the Mother Kind Hearts on people with special needs, the Masa (Diamond) exhibition was recently opened at Selayel Al-Jahra Hotel and Resort with participation of various Kuwaiti companies.
Aware center holds diwaniya presentation
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oday diwaniya presentation will be given on “Women Rights in Islam,” for the first time by Iman Martin at 7pm at the Aware center in South Surra area. The theme of the presentation will explain that Islam considers a woman to be equal to a man as a human being and as his partner in this life. Islam does not blame Eve alone for the mistake she and Adam committed. In the Islamic Law, a woman is an independent, unique individual in her own right. Women have the right to education, employment and protection, etc. The presentation will also touches questions like how were women treated in Arabia before, the advent of Prophet Muhammad amd how Prophet Muhammad treated women.
Arpan Kuwait annual general meeting
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rpan Kuwait will hold its annual general meeting on Friday January 7, 2010. The meeting will elect officebearers for the year 2011. The AGM will take place at Sevadarshan Hall, Salmiya from 10:30am onwards. All the members are requested to attend the meeting.
After 27 years in Kuwait going home to India “I am going home to relax and take care of my place in my home town of Mangalore” By Wendy Clayton KUWAIT: Dioge Fernandez looks back on his life after spending the last 27 years working for the Austrian Embassy in Kuwait. December 31, 2010 was the last day of Fernandez’s working life and he is looking forward to living out the rest of his life in India. Fernandez began his work life at the Indian Navy based in Bombay, India. A chance of a lifetime saw him working for the Kuwait Embassy in Iran where Fernandez spent five years in Tehran, Iran working for the Kuwait Embassy before the then Ambassador was ordered to close the embassy due to the rising tensions within Iran. “At the time the Sultan was in charge in Iran but the civil tensions and ensuing war meant we had to leave,” Fernandez remembers. There were four Indians working for the Kuwait embassy at the time but only two were selected to return to Kuwait with the Kuwaiti Ambassador. Fernandez was one of the lucky ones to be selected. “The Ambassador had planned to take me with him to his next posting in Libya but the Libyan government refused. They said that all local positions in embassies had to be filled with Libyan nationals,” said Fernandez. This then meant Fernandez needed to find
work here in Kuwait or else go back home to India. A chance meeting with an Austrian business woman, saw Fernandez being introduced to the Austrian Ambassador. A letter of reference from the Kuwaiti Ambassador helped to secure Fernandez with a three month trial period at the Austrian Embassy as an office boy. “The Austrian Ambassador said he would give me a chance because of my previous embassy work and my defense background,” said Fernandez. “I only needed to wait two months though before I was fully accepted and received the authority from the Austrian Government in Vienna”. Fernandez was soon moved into the visa section where he trained as a Visa Officer and learned to answer the telephone properly. “This new position was wonderful” reflects Fernandez. “I was very happy. I had a good job, my family was here and life was good in Kuwait”. Although it was a step-up from office boy, Fernandez says it was high pressure in the beginning learning a new job. “If I made a mistake I had to fix it up,” said Fernandez. “At the time we had many visas to process because it was the time before the Schengen States and there were fewer restrictions on the applications”. Looking back over his time in Kuwait Fernandez says he remembers not liking Kuwait when he first came here. “I enjoyed
being in Iran so much. I missed Iran,” explains Fernandez. “I found the weather in Kuwait very difficult to live in also.” Fernandez explained that Iran was very different to Kuwait. He says the Kuwait Ambassador made all the staff feel like they were part of the Kuwait family. Every Friday the Ambassador would gather all the staff and take them to a special garden were they would spend the day together having a picnic. “When I first came to Kuwait, I thought I have lost my Iran. I was very upset,” said Fernandez. “After I got the job with the Austrian Embassy life changed for the better, though. It has been God’s gift that I have stayed so long in this wonderful country”. Fernandez says the best part of Kuwait for him and his family has been the good life. “I like Kuwait because it has been good money, a good job, and good accommodation,” said Fernandez. “We are so central to everything here. It is a good place for eating out if you don’t want to cook. There is no tension at all”. After going home to India Fernandez plans to take time out and enjoy his retirement. “I am going home to relax and take care of my place in my home town of Mangalore,” said Fernandez. “I have a little bit of land with a house on it and we have some coconut trees. Although I have enjoyed my time here in Kuwait, I am looking forward to going home”.
Austrian Konsul Martin Burker (left) presents Dioge and Lucy Fernandez with a gift of appreciation
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EMBASSY OF BANGLADESH The Embassy of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait has taken up an initiative to update the database of Bangladesh nationals residing in the State of Kuwait. For inclusion in the database all the Bangladesh nationals are requested to collect the Registration Form from the Labour Wing of the Embassy. The forms can also be collected sending request to [email protected] e-mail address. The filled-in forms can also be submitted by hand, by email or by fax (number 2491-3204). EMBASSY OF CANADA The Embassy of Canada is open from 07:30 to 15:30 Sunday through Thursday. Consular Services for Canadian Citizens are provided from 09:00 until 12:00 on Sunday through Wednesday. The Embassy of Canada is located at Villa 24, Al-Mutawakel St., Block 4 in Daíaiyah. Please visit our website at www.Kuwait.gc.ca. Canada offers a registration service for all Canadians travelling or living abroad. This service is provided so that Consular Officials can contact and assist Canadians in an emergency in a foreign country, such as a natural disaster or civil unrest, or inform Canadians of a family emergency at home. The Embassy of Canada encourages all Canadian Citizens to register online through the Government of Canada Travel Website at www.voyage.gc.ca. The Canadian Embassy in Abu Dhabi provides visa and immigration services to residents of Kuwait. Individuals who are interested in visiting, working or immigrating to Canada are invited to visit the website of the Canadian Embassy to the UAE at www.uae.gc.ca.
Gust hosts Ambassador of Italy
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he Gulf University for Science and Technology’s (GUST) Humanities and Social Sciences Department welcomed the Italian ambassador in Kuwait, Enrico Granara, at the university on December 29th, to attend a presentation entitled ‘Brothers in Faith’ which reflects the early versus modern Ethiopian migration to Italy and the question of European racism. Dr Matteo Salvadore, assistant professor in the department, gave this presentation and spoke about his research on Ethiopian/Italian relations during
the early - modern period. He began the lecture with an anecdote asking students what was the first thing that came to their minds with regards to the African/European relations. The answer was the slave trade, which Salvadore emphasized on by talking about Ethiopian history, European history, what discrimination is and if Europeans laid the foundation to what is perceived as prejudice and racism. Throughout the lecture a series of paintings were displayed to give the audience a visual to the words he spoke, showing
Ethiopian migration and its impact on Europe. Salvadore shared his view as discrimination is as old as mankind. The presentation revolved around the relations of two different groups and how they were united by a common faith. He also gave an explanation as to how discrimination can be found in every society and it was not Europeans who created the idea of prejudice. He, however, noted that Europeans certainly developed a fixation
with color in the early-modern era. The presentation had a great turnout of students and fellow colleagues. Following the presentation Granara was taken to the grand meeting room for a small reception in his honor with Salvadore and many other faculty members. Robert Cook, Vice President for Academic Affairs was also present to greet the Ambassador. After the reception, the Ambassador was given a grand tour of the contemporary university campus and its notable facilities.
EMBASSY OF INDIA The Embassy of India has further revamped and improved its Legal Advice Clinic at the Indian Workers Welfare Center, and made the free service available to Indian nationals on all five working days, i.e. from Sunday to Thursday every week. Kuwaiti lawyers would be available at the Legal Advice Clinic daily from Monday to Thursday, while Indian lawyers would be available on Sundays. Following are the free welfare services provided at the Indian Workers Welfare Center located at the Embassy of India: [i] 24x7 Helpline for Domestic Workers: Accessible by toll free telephone no. 25674163 from anywhere in Kuwait, it provides information and advice exclusively to Indian domestic sector workers (Visa No. 20) as regards their grievances, immigration and other matters. [ii] Help Desk: It offers guidance to Indian nationals on routine immigration, employment, legal, and other issues (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iii) Labour Complaints Desk: It registers labor complaints and provides grievance redressal service to Indian workers (Embassy premises; 9 AM to 1 PM and 2 PM to 4.30 PM, Sunday to Thursday); (iv) Shelters: For female and male domestic workers in distress; (v) Legal Advice Clinic: Provides free legal advice to Indian nationals (Embassy premises; Kuwaiti lawyers 3 PM to 5 PM, Monday to Thursday; Indian lawyers 2 PM to 4 PM on Sunday); and (vi) Attestation of Work Contracts: Private sector worker (Visa No. 18) contracts are accepted at the Embassy; 9 AM to 1 PM; Sunday to Thursday; Domestic sector worker (Visa No. 20) contracts are accepted at Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), Hawally, Al-Othman Street, Kurd Roundabout, Al-Abraj Complex, Office No 9, Mezzanine Floor; 9 AM to 9 PM, Saturday to Thursday; 5 PM to 9 PM on Friday. Embassy of India would like to inform that application forms for passport/visa services and labor contracts that are on its website, www.indembkwt.org, have been upgraded to include the facility for online data entry. Affidavit forms on the embassy website have had this facility since May 6, 2009. EMBASSY OF THE US The United States Department of State announces the increase in various visa fees to ensure sufficient resources to cover the increasing cost of processing nonimmigrant visas (NIVs). US law requires the Department to recover the cost of processing non-immigrant visas through the collection of the application fees. The increased fees are to take effect June 4, 2010. Under the new rule, applicants for all visas that are not petition-based, including B1/B2 tourist and business visitor visas and all student and exchange-visitor visas, will pay a fee of $140. Applicants for petition-based visas will pay an application fee of $150, as each of the below categories requires a review of extensive documentation and a more in-depth interview of the applicant than other categories, such as tourists. These categories include: H visa for temporary workers and trainees L visa for intra-company transferees O visa for aliens with extraordinary ability P visa for athletes, artists and entertainers Q visa for international cultural exchange visitors R visa for religious occupations The application fee for K visas for fiance(e)s of US citizens will be $350. The fee for E visas for treaty-traders and treatyinvestors will be $390. EMBASSY OF GERMANY The German Embassy wishes to extend and update its information base on German business in Kuwait. Therefore all Kuwaiti companies representing German companies are invited to register at the embassy. For more information on the registration, please visit www.kuwait.diplo.de. EMBASSY OF UK The Consular Section will be closed on the same dates above. The opening hours of the Visa Application Centre are from 0930 to 1630 hrs. Application forms remain available online from the UKBA www.ukvisas.gov.uk: or from the Visa Application Centreís website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com. And also, from the UK Visa Application Centre located at: 4W First Floor, Al Banwan Building, (Burgan Bank Branch Office Building) Al Qibla area, opposite Central Bank of Kuwait Kuwait City For any further inquiries, please contact the Visa Application Centre: Website: www.vfs-uk-kw.com ; E-mail: [email protected]; Telephone: 22971170. For information On the British Embassy services, visit the British Embassy website: www.ukinkuwait.fco.gov.uk
Awami League Kuwait Observes Victory Day of Bangladesh
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n Thursday, Dec 23 Awami League Kuwait Chapter held a function to commemorate the great Victory Day of Bangladesh which took place on Dec 16, 1971. After a 9 months long blood spattered war with Pakistan, Bangladeshis achieved their independence. To mark this great day, a speech delivery session along with a colorful cultural event were lined up. A huge number of people attended the program and enjoyed themselves with an extraordinary celebration. The function was presided over by the President of Kuwait Awami League Mohammed Sadeq Hussain while Acting General Secretary Asrak Ali Ferdous conducted the function. The Chief Guest of the function was the Ambassador of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh in Kuwait Sayed Shahed Reza while his accompanying delegation DA of Bangladesh Embassy Kuwait Brdg Gen Aminul Hasan NDC, PSC, Councilor Nurul Islam, and Nur E Hilali Saifur Rahman, the Labour Secretary K.M. Ali Reza, Advisor of Kuwait A.L. Emadul Hoque Khan, distinguished businessman Shaheed Islam Papul, Vice President of Kuwait A L Fayez Kamal, Shafiqul Alam Shafi, Ataul Gani Mamum. Abdu) Kashem and Abdul Hay Marnun shared the stage as guests of honour. The function started with the recitation of Holy Quran by Muhtasim khan Shuhan followed by one minute silence to pay tribute to Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and those brave freedom fighters who sacrificed their lives during the 1971 independence war. Flower garland was put on the portrait of Bangabandhu by the Chief Guest His Excellency the Ambassador Sayed Shahed Reza accompanied with the Vice President of A L. A number of political activists from different sister concern organizations of ALK delivered their speech on this auspicious day focusing on great Victory Day and Independence of Bangladesh, General Secretary of Awami Shechashehok League Shamsul Uoque, President of Jatio Sramik
League Mohd Hanif Miah, President of Awami Foundation Rafiqul Islam Bulu. General Secretary of Awami Jube League Harun ur Rashid, Ali Abdul Waheed, Harun ur Rashed, Golan Mowla Babul. Ataul Gani Mamum. Fayez Kamal of Awami League, CEO of Marafi Kuwaitia International
Shaheed Islam Papul and adevisor of ALK Emadul Hoque Khan also graced the event. A large victory cake was cut by chief guest along with President Advisor Emadul Hoque Khan and Shima Islam the secretary of female affaires followed by the concluding speech by the President.
IIS wishes a Happy New Year
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he principal of the Indian International School (IIS) Principal, FM Basheer Ahmed greets every child on this joyous occasion of the beginning of New Year and calls to realize their potential to dream for the stars and walk on the road of excellence. Basheer passes his message as every child is nature’s greatest miracle. Since the beginning of time never has there been another child with his mind
and heart. Every child is different from others. Every child is unique. Every child is the end product of thousands of years of evolution and therefore he is better equipped in both mind and body than all the emperors and wise men who preceded him. Every child is born for a purpose and that purpose is to grow as a mountain, not to shrink as a grain of sand. He passes his wish as, “I confidently believe the New Year 2011 will bring
success, stability and security for the teaching community, society and Gulf Countries in general. I hope this New Year will bring economic development and provide a positive outlook to women for empowering themselves and unfurl reasonable amendments to Civil Service Law and Expatriates Residency Law so that everyone will have a dignified joyous life in the New Year to strengthen our land so as to make the land of opportunities.”
The second episode of a colorful cultural event started with a number of well known singers who played the most popular patriotic songs for the audience conducted by Sadika Yasmin Rachna and assisted by Eng Fayjur Rahman and Rubina.
Write to us Send to What’s On upcoming events, birthdays or celebrations by email: [email protected] Fax: 24835619 / 20
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TV PROGRAMS
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The Ellen Degeneres Show Good Morning America Alias Treme Cold Case Good Morning America5 Parenthood Law And Order The Ellen Degeneres Show Cold Case Cold Case Law And Order Parenthood Live Good Morning America Alias The Ellen Degeneres Show Law And Order In Plain Sight Lie To Me Alias Treme
ANIMAL PLANET 00:50 Untamed & Uncut 01:45 Tigers Attack 02:40 Dogs 101 03:35 Incredible Journeys with Steve Leonard 04:30 Max’s Big Tracks 05:25 Human Prey 06:20 Untamed & Uncut 07:10 Cats of Claw Hill 07:35 Cats of Claw Hill 08:00 Meerkat Manor 08:25 Planet Wild 08:50 Corwin’s Quest 09:40 Breed All About It 10:10 Project Puppy 10:35 Project Puppy 11:05 Daniel and Our Cats 12:00 Animal Precinct 12:55 Wildlife SOS 13:20 Wildlife SOS 13:50 Animal Cops Houston 14:45 RSPCA: Have You Got What it Takes? 15:10 E-Vets: The Interns 15:40 The Animals’ Guide to Survival 16:30 Breed All About It 17:00 Planet Wild 17:30 Baby Planet 18:25 Animal Crackers 18:50 Animal Crackers 19:20 Incredible Journeys with Steve Leonard 20:15 Escape to Chimp Eden 20:40 Snake Crusader with Bruce George 21:10 Dogs 101
00:30 00:55 01:25 02:10 03:05 03:35 04:05 04:35 04:50 05:10 05:25 05:40 05:55 06:00 06:15 06:35 06:50 07:10 07:20 07:25 07:40 08:00 08:20 08:40 08:50 08:55 09:10 09:30 09:50 10:10
Ideal Keeping Up Appearances The Weakest Link Holby City Eastenders Doctors Keeping Up Appearances Gigglebiz Balamory Forget Me Not Farm Fimbles The Large Family The Adventures Of Spot Gigglebiz Balamory Forget Me Not Farm Fimbles The Large Family The Adventures Of Spot Gigglebiz Balamory Tweenies Fimbles The Large Family The Adventures Of Spot Gigglebiz Balamory Tweenies Fimbles The Large Family
10:20 10:25 10:40 11:10 11:40 12:25 13:20 13:50 14:20 15:10 15:40 16:10 16:40 17:30 18:15 18:45 19:15 20:10 21:00 21:45 22:15 22:45 23:40 Fallen
The Adventures Of Spot Gigglebiz Keeping Up Appearances Keeping Up Appearances The Weakest Link Bleak House Doctors Eastenders Holby City Keeping Up Appearances Keeping Up Appearances Keeping Up Appearances Bleak House The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Holby City Bleak House The Weakest Link Doctors Eastenders Holby City Spanish Flu - The Forgotten
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New Scandinavian Cooking Celebrity Masterchef 10 Years Younger Come Dine With Me Design Rules Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt New Scandinavian Cooking Celebrity Masterchef 10 Years Younger Daily Cooks Challenge Cash In The Attic 10 Years Younger Cash In The Attic Antiques Roadshow Design Rules Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt New Scandinavian Cooking Celebrity Masterchef Design Rules Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt New Scandinavian Cooking Come Dine With Me Design Rules Design Rules Cash In The Attic Bargain Hunt
01:30 Frenzy-PG15 03:30 No One Knows About Persian Cats-PG15 05:30 End Of The Spear-PG15 07:30 Shadows In The Sun-PG15 09:00 A Shine Of Rainbows-PG15 11:00 Georgia O’Keeffe-PG15 13:00 Sins Of The Mother-PG15 15:00 Barton Fink-PG15 17:00 The Loss Of A Teardrop Diamond-PG15 19:00 The Firm-PG15 21:00 Cabaret-PG15 23:15 The Unloved-18
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Overhaulin’ Dirty Jobs Man Vs Fish With Matt Watson Discovery Project Earth Mythbusters How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? Dirty Jobs Discovery Project Earth American Chopper How Do They Do It? How Do They Do It? Mythbusters Cake Boss Overhaulin’ Ultimate Survival Mythbusters Miami Ink Dirty Jobs Overhaulin’
16:55 Ultimate Survival 17:50 Mythbusters 18:45 Cake Boss 19:10 Border Security 19:40 The Gadget Show 20:05 How Do They Do It? 20:35 How Machines Work 21:00 Monsters Inside Me 21:55 La Ink 22:50 Police Women Of Maricopa County 23:45 Serial Killers
00:40 01:30 01:55 02:45 03:35 04:25 04:50 05:45 06:40 07:10 08:00 08:55 09:50 10:45 11:10 11:40 12:30 12:55 13:45 14:15 15:05 15:55 16:20 17:10 18:00 18:25 18:50 19:40 20:30 21:20
Mega World The Gadget Show The Future Of... World’s Biggest Airliner Superships How Does That Work? Scrapheap Challenge Robocar Weird Connections Nextworld Da Vinci’s Machines Ten Ways World’s Biggest Airliner Stunt Junkies The Gadget Show Nextworld How Does That Work? Da Vinci’s Machines Weird Connections World’s Biggest Airliner Superships Savage Planet The Future Of... Mega World The Gadget Show How Does That Work? Brainiac Ecopolis Discovery Project Earth How It’s Made
00:00 Jonas 00:20 Wizards Of Waverly Place 00:45 Suite Life On Deck 01:10 Fairly Odd Parents 01:35 Replacements 02:00 Phineas & Ferb 02:25 Little Einsteins 02:45 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Y1 (Cema) 03:10 Handy Manny 03:35 Lazytown 04:00 Jonas 04:25 Suite Life On Deck 04:50 Wizards Of Waverly Place 05:15 Hannah Montana 05:40 Sonny With A Chance 06:00 Higglytown Heroes 06:10 My Friends Tigger And Pooh 06:35 Handy Manny 07:00 Special Agent Oso 07:20 Lazytown 07:45 Lazytown 08:10 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Y1 (Cema) 08:35 Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Y1 (Cema) 09:00 Handy Manny 09:25 Special Agent Oso 09:45 Brandy & Mr Whiskers 10:10 Fairly Odd Parents 10:35 Hannah Montana 11:00 I Got A Rocket 11:25 Wizards Of Waverly Place 11:45 Phineas & Ferb 12:10 Suite Life On Deck 12:35 Replacements 12:55 American Dragon 13:20 Kim Possible 13:40 Famous Five 14:05 Fairly Odd Parents 14:30 Phineas & Ferb 14:55 Replacements 15:15 I Got A Rocket 15:40 Wizards Of Waverly Place 16:00 Hannah Montana 16:25 Sonny With A Chance 16:45 Fairly Odd Parents 17:10 Phineas & Ferb 17:35 Suite Life On Deck
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Wizards Of Waverly Place Hannah Montana The Replacements Splits Jonas Suite Life On Deck Sonny With A Chance Hannah Montana Wizards Of Waverly Place The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Suite Life Of Zack & Cody The Replacements Splits American Dragon Kim Possible Famous Five Fairly Odd Parents Phineas & Ferb
00:15 Kendra 00:40 The Soup 01:05 Chelsea Lately 01:30 Ths 03:15 25 Most Stylish 04:10 Sexiest 05:05 Battle Of The Hollywood Hotties 05:30 Streets Of Hollywood 06:00 15 Most Shocking Political Sex Scandals 07:45 Behind The Scenes 08:10 Behind The Scenes 08:35 E! News 09:25 Giuliana And Bill 09:50 Ths 11:05 Ths 12:00 E! News 12:50 Extreme Close-Up 13:15 Extreme Close-Up 13:40 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 14:05 Kendra 14:30 Ths 15:25 Ths 16:15 Behind The Scenes 16:40 Behind The Scenes 17:10 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 17:35 Kourtney And Khloe Take Miami 18:00 E! News 18:50 Extreme Close-Up 19:15 Extreme Close-Up 19:40 E!es 20:30 Style Star 20:55 Chelsea’s Big Interview Special 21:45 Then And Now 22:10 E! News
00:00 Throwdown with Bobby Flay 00:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 01:00 Chopped 02:00 30 Minute Meals 02:30 Tyler’s Ultimate 03:00 Food Network Challenge 04:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics 04:30 Unwrapped 05:00 Iron Chef America 06:00 Good Eats - Special 06:30 Guy’s Big Bite 07:00 Chopped 08:00 Paula’s Best Dishes 08:25 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 08:50 Guy’s Big Bite 09:15 Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics 09:40 Everyday Italian 10:05 30 Minute Meals 10:30 Tyler’s Ultimate 11:00 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 11:30 Barefoot Contessa 12:00 Unwrapped 12:30 Paula’s Party 13:30 Good Eats - Special 14:00 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 14:30 Paula’s Best Dishes 15:00 Barefoot Contessa - Back to Basics 15:30 Everyday Italian 16:00 30 Minute Meals 16:30 Guy’s Big Bite 17:00 Chopped 18:00 Barefoot Contessa 18:30 Unwrapped 19:00 Paula’s Best Dishes 19:30 Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives 20:00 Good Eats - Special 20:30 Good Deal with Dave Lieberman 21:00 Iron Chef America 22:00 Barefoot Contessa 22:30 Everyday Italian 23:00 Chopped
00:30 Dream Team Season 9 01:30 Golf Channel - TBA 02:00 Golf Central International 02:30 Golf Channel - TBA 03:00 NHL Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals 04:30 ATP Champions Tour Paris 05:00 NHL Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings 08:00 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Michigan State at Northwestern 10:00 ACC Sunday Night Hoops LSU at Virginia 12:00 Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Arizona at Oregon St. 14:00 Golf Central International 14:30 PGA Tour: Year in Review 15:30 FEI Equestrian World 16:00 Figure Skating Stars on Ice 17:00 ACC Sunday Night Hoops Gonzaga at Wake Forest 19:00 NHL Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings 22:00 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Michigan State at Northwestern
Explicit Ills on Show Movies
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Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghost Lab A Haunting Serial Killers FBI Case Files Dr G: Medical Examiner Ghosthunters Ghost Lab Mystery Diagnosis Forensic Detectives On The Run Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Disappeared FBI Files
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On The Case With Paula Zahn Undercover Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls Disappeared Forensic Detectives On The Run FBI Files Mystery Diagnosis Real Emergency Calls Real Emergency Calls On The Case With Paula Zahn Undercover True Crime With Aphrodite
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The January Man War Party Heat(Cannon) L.A. Bounty Cornbread, Earl And Me Breakheart Pass It Runs In The Family Haunted Honeymoon Movers And Shakers Sibling Rivalry Nothing Personal Sleepover Three Ninjas Comes A Horseman
Solved
00:30 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 01:30 Passport To Wine 02:30 Meet The Natives 03:30 Treks In A Wild World 04:00 Banged Up Abroad 04:30 Passport To Wine 05:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 05:30 Passport To Wine 06:30 Meet The Natives 07:30 The Frankincense Trail 08:30 62 Days At Sea 09:30 Banged Up Abroad 10:00 Treks In A Wild World 10:30 Bondi Rescue 11:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 11:30 Passport To Wine 12:30 Long Way Down 13:30 Lonely Planet- Roads Less Travelled 14:30 Don’t Tell My Mother 15:30 Banged Up Abroad 16:00 Treks In A Wild World 16:30 Bondi Rescue 17:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 17:30 Passport To Wine 18:30 Long Way Down 19:30 Lonely Planet- Roads Less Travelled 20:30 Don’t Tell My Mother 21:30 Banged Up Abroad 22:00 Treks In A Wild World 22:30 Bondi Rescue 23:00 David Rocco’s Dolce Vita 23:30 Passport To Wine
00:00 Two And A Half Men 00:30 Til Death 01:00 The Daily Show Global Edition 01:30 The Colbert Report Global Edition 02:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 03:00 Comedy Central Presents 03:30 Comedy Central Presents 04:00 South Park 04:30 How To Make It In America 05:00 How To Make It In America 05:30 Malcolm In The Middle 06:00 Hope And Faith 06:30 The Drew Carey Show 07:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 08:00 Til Death 08:30 Malcolm In The Middle 09:00 Hope And Faith 09:30 The Drew Carey Show 10:00 Rita Rocks 10:30 Billable Hours 11:00 Malcolm In The Middle 11:30 Hope And Faith 12:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 13:00 Til Death 13:30 Malcolm In The Middle 14:00 Hope And Faith 14:30 Two And A Half Men 15:00 Billable Hours 15:30 The Daily Show Global Edition 16:00 The Colbert Report Global Edition 16:30 The Drew Carey Show 17:00 Late Night With Jimmy Fallon 18:00 Til Death 18:30 Rita Rocks 19:00 My Boys 19:30 Two And A Half Men 20:00 The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 21:00 The Daily Show With Jon Stewart 21:30 The Colbert Report 22:00 The Cleveland Show 22:30 Party Down
01:00 Deuce Bigalow: Male GigoloPG15 03:00 Alvin And The Chipmunks : The Squeakquel-FAM 05:00 Hellboy II: The Golden ArmyPG15 07:00 Up-FAM 09:00 The Princess And The Frog-FAM 11:00 Con Air-PG15 13:00 The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor-PG 15:00 America’s Sweethearts-PG15 17:00 The Princess And The Frog-FAM 19:00 Yes Man-PG15 21:00 Forgetting Sarah Marshall-18
00:30 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00 05:30 06:30 07:30 08:00 09:00
Coronation Street Lost The Event Desperate Housewives Lost The Office White Collar The Ellen Degeneres Show Coronation Street The Event Desperate Housewives
Obsessed on Super Movies 10:00 11:00 11:30 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 16:30 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 23:30
The Ellen Degeneres Show The Office Coronation Street White Collar Lost Special The Event Desperate Housewives The Office Coronation Street The Ellen Degeneres Show White Collar Psych Royal Pains Parenthood Lost The Office The Ellen Degeneres Show
00:00 02:00 04:00 06:00 08:00 10:00 12:15 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:15 22:00
Road Trip: Beer Pong-18 Explicit Ills-PG15 The Elder Son-PG15 Max And Co.-PG School Of Rock-PG15 The Express-PG Cairo Time-PG15 Morning Light-PG School Of Rock-PG15 The Vintner’s Luck-PG15 Sleuth-18 Avatar-PG
01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00
The Faculty-18 Battle In Seattle-18 Alien Raiders-18 Bionicle: The Legend RebornHeaven’s Fall-PG15 Mean Machine-18 The Least Of These-PG15 Heaven’s Fall-PG15 Jesse Stone: No Remorse-PG15 The Bleeding-18 Timeline-PG15 Into The Blue 2: The Reef-18
00:00 The Matchmaker-PG15 02:00 The Last Shot-PG15 04:00 Madagascar 2-PG 06:00 Will You Merry Me-PG15 08:00 Meet The Applegates-PG15 10:00 Adventures Of Power-PG15 12:00 Mad About Mambo-PG15 14:00 The Good Girl-PG15 16:00 The Matchmaker-PG15 18:00 Working Girl-18 20:00 Marci X-PG15 22:00 How To Lose Friends And Alienate People-PG15
00:00 Babar: King Of The ElephantsFAM 02:00 The Pagemaster-PG 04:00 Pocahontas II: Winter Of The Rocky Mount-FAM 06:00 Christopher Columbus-PG 08:00 Scruff In Midsummer Night’s Dream-FAM 10:00 Pocahontas II: Winter Of The Rocky Mount-FAM 12:00 Alexander The Great-FAM 14:00 The Pagemaster-PG 16:00 The Jungle Book I-FAM 18:00 Hotel For Dogs-FAM 20:00 Ghatothkach - Master Of Magic 22:00 Alexander The Great-FAM
00:00 01:00 02:00 03:00 04:00 05:00
C.S.I. Miami Desperate Housewives The Martha Stewart Show Heroes The View What’s Good For You
06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 18:30 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
Emmerdale Coronation Street Heroes The Martha Stewart Show What’s Good For You Heroes The View Emmerdale Coronation Street The Martha Stewart Show C.S.I. Miami Desperate Housewives What’s Good For You The View Emmerdale Coronation Street Justified Defying Gravity Heroes The View What’s Good For You
00:00 Aviva Premiership 02:00 Scottish Premier League Highlights 02:30 Live Ashes Test Cricket 09:30 Goals On Monday 10:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights 11:00 PDC Darts World Championship 15:00 Ashes Test Cricket 22:00 PDC Darts World Championship
02:00 Goals On Monday 03:00 Scottish Premier League 05:00 Aviva Premiership 07:00 Goals On Monday 08:00 PDC Darts World Championship 12:00 Extreme Sailing 12:30 Pool World Cup 13:30 Aviva Premiership 15:30 Goals On Monday 16:30 Premier League Darts 20:30 Brazil League Highlights 21:00 Futbol Mundial 21:30 Scottish Premier League 23:30 Scottish Premier League Highlights
00:00 UFC 125 03:00 FIA GT1 World Championship 04:30 Full Throttle 05:00 UFC Unleashed 06:00 UFC Unleashed 07:00 WWE NXT 08:00 WWE SmackDown 10:00 Full Throttle 10:30 FIA GT1 World Championship 12:00 WWE Bottom Line 13:00 Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge 14:00 Red Bull X-Fighters 15:00 UAE National Race Day 16:00 FIA GT1 World Championship 17:30 Air Sports World 18:00 WWE Bottom Line 19:00 WWE SmackDown 21:00 UFC 125
01:00 03:00 05:00 07:00 09:00 11:00 13:00 15:00 17:00 19:00 21:00 23:00
Growing Op-PG15 Obsessed-PG15 Car Babes-PG15 Charlotte Gray-PG15 Obsessed-PG15 Racing For Time-PG15 Operating Instructions-PG15 Disco-PG A Number-PG15 Balibo-PG15 The Stepfather-PG15 Vicky Cristina Barcelona-PG15
00:55 Kings Go Forth-PG 02:45 The Charge Of The Light Brigade-PG 05:00 Screening Room, The Animation Special-PG 05:30 Get Carter-18 07:25 Screening Room, The - Asian Pacific...-PG 08:00 It Happened At The World’s FairFAM 09:45 The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn-FAM 11:30 Ben-Hur-PG 14:55 Kings Go Forth-PG 16:45 Boys’Town-PG 18:15 Elvis On Tour-PG 19:45 Key Largo-PG 21:25 American Friends-PG 23:00 Pat Garrett And Billy The Kid-
00:30 01:20 02:10 02:35 03:00 03:30 03:55 04:50 05:40 06:30 07:20 08:10 08:35 09:00 09:30 09:55 10:50 11:40 12:30 13:20 14:10 14:35 15:00 15:30 15:55 16:50 17:40 18:30 19:20 20:10 20:35 21:00 21:30 21:55 22:50 23:40
MonsterQuest Fleeing the Reich Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Sliced Sliced Deep Sea Salvage Tales of the Gun Man Moment Machine MonsterQuest Fleeing the Reich Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Sliced Sliced Deep Sea Salvage Tales of the Gun Man Moment Machine MonsterQuest Fleeing the Reich Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Sliced Sliced Deep Sea Salvage Tales of the Gun Man Moment Machine MonsterQuest Fleeing the Reich Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Pawn Stars Ax Men 2 Prehistoric Mega Storms Life After People
00:00 01:00 02:00 02:30 03:00 04:00 05:00 06:00 06:30 07:00 08:00 08:30 09:00 09:30 10:00 11:00 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 15:00 15:30 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 20:30 21:00
Mel B: It’s A Scary World Jerseylicious Fashion Avenue Fashion Avenue How Do I Look? Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? Homes With Style Area Clean House Big Boutique Big Boutique Homes With Style Homes With Style Whose Wedding Is It Anyway? How Do I Look? Fashion Avenue Fashion Avenue Big Boutique Big Boutique Clean House Clean House Comes Clean Fashion Avenue Jerseylicious Ruby Mel B: It’s A Scary World My Celebrity Home Fashion Avenue Fashion Avenue Clean House
e niv rsar n
Classifieds TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
Years
Mind games Give your brain a workout with these fun and challenging titles. — Vickie An
‘SUPER SCRIBBLENAUTS’ By Debbie Alfaro, Oscar Mancia, Dinora Monroy and Edita Quinteros (age 10), Newsday
Q: Can you deQ: What was it like to We recently scribe yourself? be in the movie met actress and A: I’m goofy, “Akeelah and the singer Keke Palmer, Bee”? outgoing, I’m A: It was aweloud sometimes, 17, who stars in the I’m sensitive, Nickelodeon TV series some! Some people I’m passionate, started noticing me. “True Jackson, VP.” I’m loving, I The movie had such Read on to find out could sometimes a great message, and what she had be a little bit of a I felt proud to be part know-it-all. of something like that. to say.
Q: How does it feel to be on television? A: I never like to watch myself; I get embarrassed when I watch myself. But it feels kind of cool. Q: And performing in front of other people? A: Exciting. It gets my energy pumping. It makes me want to do very well because I know people are watching me.
Q: How did it feel to win a small role in the film “Barbershop 2: Back in Business” at age 9? A: It was really fun. It was my first thing ever so I just felt really privileged, like, “Oh my gosh I get to do a movie with Ice Cube and Queen Latifah!”
Q: How do you make your per-
formances so remarkable that you earned the NAACP Image Award nomination for Best Actress? (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People awards the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts.) A: I don’t know really how I did that. I worked really hard. I think I put my heart into it and I took one scene at a time. I think that’s the best thing you can do, put your all in every scene ...
Q: You must be very busy. Do
you ever get spare time to do what you like? A: Every now and then I get time to hang out with my friends, stuff like that. When I get a break I go to the movies, talk on the phone or go to the Santa Monica pier. Just normal teenage stuff.
Sharing accommodation available in Abbassiya for couple with fully furnished C-A/C new flat with car parking with Keralite family. Contact: 66013882. (C 2950) 2-1-2011
‘NAT GEO CHALLENGE! WILD LIFE’ Now families can explore the desert, trek through the jungle and venture to the depths of the ocean, all from the comfort of their living rooms. “Nat Geo Challenge! Wild Life” is the first video game from the National Geographic brand, known for its stunning nature photography and unmatched film footage. The game’s breathtaking visuals — which include more than 2,000 wildlife images and 90 minutes of video — come from the company’s award-winning library. Players can show what they know about the planet with 15 different interactive trivia challenges. Who’s the nature expert in your family? Take the challenge today and find out! For Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, $29.95, Rated E
Q: Does being a teenage star hinder your education? What about college? A: I definitely have plans to go to college. I just graduated. It’s really hard to do both acting and school, but my mom and dad made sure I got the best teacher I could, and I thank them for that. But I think maybe in a year or so I’ll go to a junior college for two years and then I’ll go to a four year (school).
FOR SALE Toyota Corolla 1.8 XLi, model 2005, color golden beige, 81,000 km done, excellent condition, cash price KD 2,350. Contact: 66211779. (C 3004) Mitsubishi Space Wagon,
2004, 107000 km, dual A/C, 7-seater, metallic maroon, in excellent condition, KD 1700 O.N.O, Contact: 99775373. (C 3001) Quality household goods and furniture for sale. Sofa set, baby cot, wardrobes, full size pool table, pots/plants and BBQ set. Tel: 97209669. (C 3005) Toyota Corolla 2006 model, excellent condition. Contact: 99668534. (C 3006) 4-1-2011 Toyota Corolla 1.6, model 2009, color gray, low mileage, excellent condition with CD and sensor, cash price KD 3,650. Contact: 99934965. (C 2939)
CHANGE OF NAME Panutala Emilian Venkateswarlu. holder of Indian Passport E8759241 hereby change my name to Emilian Gonsalues. (C 3003) 4-1-2011
SITUATION WANTED Chartered Accountant having many years of experience in Finance, Accounting, Auditing and presently working in Kuwait as Finance Manager/Controller available for immediate appointment. Contact: [email protected] (C 2948) 4-1-2011
No: 14959
© 2011 Time Inc. All Rights Reserved. TIME FOR KIDS and Timeforkids.com are registered trademarks of Time Inc.
Q: What is your favorite game to play like sports? A: I love double dutch and I love volleyball. I’ve played a little bit of basketball. I’ve played football. I had to do a movie about it so I played some. I play volleyball with my sister and then I played doubledutch. I did a film about that.
MCT ILLUSTRATION, PHOTO COURTESY NICKELODEON
M A RT Y W E S T M A N / M C T
Q: Do you ever dream of having another career? A: Sometimes. This would definitely be my first choice, but if I had to do something else, I would be a doctor. Q: What are your hobbies? A: I read. I try to do my own music on my computer with Logic, but it’s really hard to learn. I’ve tried though, but I’m not that good at it.
Q: We read you like to help people in need of food and clothes. What do you do to help? A: Yes, I definitely do. Whenever I get rid of my clothes I usually give them to Goodwill ... I work with Urban Farming. We go and plant in neighborhoods where many people don’t have enough money to buy vegetables. We plant gardens near their homes so they can go out and get healthy fruits and vegetables to eat. And I’m also involved with the Boys and Girls Club, and an organization called Be Smart. Telling kids it’s OK to be smart ... to let the light shine and not be afraid to use their minds.
Sharing, C-A/C big room available for executive bachelor with small Indian Goan Hindu family, Amman street Salmiya. Please call 99408202. (C 2946) 3-1-2010
A N S W E R S : S N O W, S C A R F, C A R R OT, C O A L , H AT
Q: Are you like your character True Jackson? A: We are similar sometimes. True is a perfectionist like I am. She’s also an optimist. That’s a quality I have. She’s hard working. I’d like to say I was hard-working. She also has qualities I don’t have. She gets a lot of things done in a quicker time than I can. But all around she’s a great character. I’m not as great.
Q: Do you have any siblings and do you get time to spend with your family? A: Yes, I do have an older sister. She’s 21 and then a little brother and sister that are 9 — I spend as much time as I can with them ... And my older sister, she’s actually in college right now. But when she comes (home) we talk — I talk to her about everything that’s going on with her in school and boys and stuff like that.
Maxwell, the puzzlesolving hero of Scribblenauts, is back for another super-sized adventure. The mission of “Super Scribblenauts” is the same: Type in a word for an object that you think will help Maxwell solve the challenge and win the Starite. What’s the “super” part? Now, you can boost your creativity with the use of adjectives. With a bank of more than 10,000 adjectives available in the “Super Scribblenauts” dictionary, you can change the size, color and behaviors of any object. Watch as the angry purple panda or the polka-dotted golden moose you summoned springs to life onscreen. It’s the perfect way to let your imagination run wild. For Nintendo DS, $29.99, Rated E10+
Sharing accommodation available for executive bachelor in C-A/C room with small Keralite family near German clinic in front of Bobuyan travels, from Jan 15th. Contact: 97264624. (C 3002) 4-1-2011
FLIGHT SCHEDULE FOR AIRPORT INFORMATION 161 In case you are not travelling, your proper cancellation of bookings will help other passengers to use seats Airlines JZR GFA ETH WAN THY UAE DHX QTR FDB ETD JZR JZR KAC AFR JZR KAC BAW KAC JZR FCX KAC FDB KAC KAC KAC UAE KAC QTR ABY ETD GFA IRA IRA JZR MHK JZR KAC MSR KAC FDB UAL SVA KAC KAC JZR QTR KAC
Flt 267 211 620 306 772 853 370 138 67 305 529 207 544 6700 503 416 157 412 555 201 206 53 302 332 676 855 286 132 123 301 213 605 619 121 711 165 382 610 672 57 982 500 562 284 257 134 746
Arrival Flights on Tuesday 4/1/2011 Route BEIRUT BAHRAIN ADDIS ABABA CAIRO ISTANBUL DUBAI BAHRAIN DOHA DUBAI ABU DHABI ASSIUT DAMASCUS CAIRO PARIS LUXOR JAKARTA / KUALA LUMPUR LONDON MANILA / BANGKOK ALEXANDRIA BAHRAIN ISLAMABAD DUBAI MUMBAI TRIVANDRUM DUBAI DUBAI CHITTAGONG DOHA SHARJAH ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ISFAHAN LAR BAHRAIN BAGHDAD / NAJAF DUBAI DELHI CAIRO DUBAI DUBAI WASHINGTON DC DULLES JEDDAH AMMAN DHAKA BEIRUT DOHA ABU DHABI / DAMMAM
Time 0:45 1:40 1:45 1:50 2:15 2:35 2:45 2:45 3:05 3:10 3:45 3:50 4:40 4:45 5:20 6:25 6:40 6:45 7:00 7:00 7:40 7:45 7:55 8:05 8:10 8:30 8:35 9:05 9:05 9:30 9:35 9:45 10:35 11:10 11:15 11:20 12:45 12:55 13:25 13:50 14:10 14:30 14:40 14:55 15:00 15:00 15:05
KAC WAN MLR ETD UAE GFA WAN SVA JZR JZR RJA JZR ABY ALK JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC KAC WAN SIA VOS FDB OMA WAN JAI SYR KAC DHX GFA WAN MEA QTR UAE KLM KAC IAC JZR MSR JZR UAL DLH PIA
546 304 403 303 857 215 402 510 213 777 800 239 127 227 177 542 618 786 614 674 166 104 774 552 642 458 93 61 647 612 572 341 512 372 217 104 402 136 859 443 502 981 157 612 135 981 636 205
ALEXANDRIA CAIRO COLOMBO / DUBAI ABU DHABI DUBAI BAHRAIN BEIRUT RIYADH DEIREZZOR JEDDAH AMMAN AMMAN SHARJAH COLOMBO / DUBAI DUBAI CAIRO DOHA JEDDAH BAHRAIN DUBAI PARIS / ROME LONDON RIYADH DAMASCUS VIENNA SINGAPORE / ABU DHABI KANDAHAR / DUBAI DUBAI MUSCAT ISTANBUL MUMBAI DAMASCUS TEHRAN BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI BEIRUT DOHA DUBAI AMSTERDAM BEIRUT CHENNAI / AHMEDABAD / HYDERABAD DOHA CAIRO BAHRAIN BAHRAIN FRANKFURT LAHORE / PESHAWER
15:30 16:20 16:40 16:50 16:55 17:05 17:15 17:20 17:25 17:30 17:30 17:40 17:45 18:10 18:15 18:50 18:55 19:10 19:20 19:25 19:30 19:35 19:40 19:45 19:50 20:00 20:00 20:05 20:10 20:15 20:15 20:20 20:55 21:00 21:15 21:15 21:20 21:35 21:40 21:40 22:00 22:05 22:10 22:45 22:55 23:00 23:35 23:55
Airlines TAR UAL IAC PIA BBC DLH ETH KAC THY KAC DHX FDB UAE ETD QTR AFR JZR RJA GFA JZR FDB WAN KAC BAW JZR KAC KAC KAC KAC UAE ABY WAN QTR ETD GFA IRA WAN IRA KAC JZR JZR KAC JZR MHK KAC
Flt 328 981 576 240 44 637 620 283 773 381 371 68 854 306 139 6700 164 803 212 120 54 641 545 156 256 671 745 561 101 856 124 303 133 302 214 604 611 618 165 212 776 541 238 712 785
Arrival Flights on Tuesday 4/1/2011 Route DUBAI / TUNIS WASHINGTON DC DULLES GOA / CHENNAI SIALKOT DHAKA FRANKFURT BAHRAIN / ADDIS ABABA DHAKA ISTANBUL DELHI BAHRAIN DUBAI DUBAI ABU DHABI DOHA DUBAI / HONG KONG DUBAI AMMAN BAHRAIN BAHRAIN DUBAI VIENNA ALEXANDRIA LONDON BEIRUT DUBAI DAMMAM / ABU DHABI AMMAN LONDON / NEW YORK DUBAI SHARJAH CAIRO DOHA ABU DHABI BAHRAIN ISFAHAN ISTANBUL LAR ROME / PARIS DEIREZZOR JEDDAH CAIRO AMMAN NAJAF / BAGHDAD JEDDAH
Time 0:25 0:45 0:50 1:10 1:15 1:30 2:30 2:40 3:15 3:30 3:45 3:45 3:50 4:00 4:55 6:30 6:55 7:00 7:15 8:20 8:25 8:40 8:50 8:55 9:00 9:00 9:05 9:20 9:35 9:40 9:45 9:45 10:00 10:20 10:20 10:45 11:30 11:35 11:45 11:45 12:00 12:00 12:10 12:30 13:40
Directorate General of Civil Aviation Home Page (www.kuwait-airport.com.kw)
JZR MSR KAC FDB KAC WAN UAL KAC SVA KAC KAC KAC KAC QTR MLR ETD VOS GFA UAE RJA ABY JZR SVA ALK WAN WAN JZR KAC FDB KAC JZR KAC OMA JAI SYR SIA KAC DHX KAC GFA MEA JZR FCX QTR KLM KAC UAE JZR JZR MSR KAC
176 611 551 58 673 401 982 617 501 501 613 773 511 135 404 304 82 216 858 801 128 156 511 228 305 305 134 361 62 351 528 343 648 571 342 457 543 373 677 218 403 206 102 137 443 301 860 502 554 613 411
DUBAI CAIRO DAMASCUS DUBAI DUBAI BEIRUT BAHRAIN DOHA JEDDAH BEIRUT BAHRAIN RIYADH TEHRAN DOHA DUBAI / COLOMBO ABU DHABI BAGHDAD BAHRAIN DUBAI AMMAN SHARJAH DOHA RIYADH DUBAI / COLOMBO CAIRO CAIRO BAHRAIN COLOMBO DUBAI COCHIN ASSIUT CHENNAI MUSCAT MUMBAI DAMASCUS ABU DHABI / SINGAPORE CAIRO BAHRAIN DUBAI / MUSCAT BAHRAIN BEIRUT DAMASCUS BAHRAIN DOHA BAHRAIN / AMSTERDAM MUMBAI DUBAI LUXOR ALEXANDRIA CAIRO BANGKOK / MANILA
13:50 13:55 14:20 14:35 15:10 15:15 15:25 15:35 15:45 16:15 16:20 16:25 16:25 16:30 17:40 17:40 18:00 18:05 18:10 18:15 18:25 18:30 18:35 19:10 19:15 19:15 20:05 20:20 20:50 20:55 21:00 21:05 21:10 21:15 21:20 21:25 21:55 22:00 22:10 22:15 22:20 22:20 22:30 22:35 22:40 22:45 22:50 23:00 23:45 23:45 23:55
34
s ta rs Calvin
CROSSWORD 189
Aries (March 21-April 19) Shift a negative to a positive by changing your surroundings or your mind. Group meetings can be confusing if they are not organized—you could help with the organizing. This would be a good time to make notes and write up your synopsis of the meeting as well as your thoughts in order to bring about an improvement to group gatherings. Remember that you may not be able to change things overnight; just keep your notes and all the facts together. Today you will have an opportunity to use your great wit. Your practical vision and common sense will create recognition in your career. Community needs keep coming to your attention and you may find an interest in involving yourself more and more with a new library or some useful citizen’s project.
Taurus (April 20-May 20) You love to visit a music store or a bookstore during your noon breaks—today is no exception. The friends you have made during your visit to these places are quite enjoyable. You talk over philosophy, religion and all that is mystical and you enjoy playing or listening to music. Your value system and the way you care for others may shoot up a notch to a higher plane because of these days. A hot topic in the workplace may have your blood pressure up this afternoon—wait, give someone else a chance; this is their issue. You stay with your own itinerary this afternoon. At home this evening, you may not want to go out again—a friend’s phone conversation may surprise you and you could forget about the time as the conversations are quite fun.
Pooch Cafe ACROSS 1. The cry made by sheep. 4. United States writer of poems and plays about racial conflict (born in 1934). 10. A lipoprotein that transports cholesterol in the blood. 13. A Kwa language spoken by the Yoruba people in southwestern Nigeria. 14. A port city in southwestern Iran. 15. A constellation in the southern hemisphere near Telescopium and Norma. 16. A flexible container with a single opening. 17. Someone who pays rent to use land or a building or a car that is owned by someone else. 18. An adult male person (as opposed to a woman). 19. The blood group whose red cells carry both the A and B antigens. 21. The outermost (and toughest) of the 3 meninges. 23. The seventh month of the Moslem calendar. 25. A federal agency established to regulate the release of new foods and health-related products. 26. The branch of computer science that deal with writing computer programs that can solve problems creatively. 27. New Zealand conifer. 30. A white metallic element that burns with a brilliant light. 32. A rounded thickly curled hairdo. 35. A republic in southeastern Europe on the Adriatic coast of the Balkan Peninsula. 39. The wife of a sheik. 41. (computer science) A coding system that incorporates extra parity bits in order to detect errors. 42. Imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy. 43. An associate degree in applied science. 46. A vast treeless plain in the arctic regions between the ice cap and the tree line. 53. An associate degree in nursing. 55. A hard gray lustrous metallic element that is highly corrosionresistant. 56. Loose-fitting nightclothes worn for sleeping or lounging. 58. A sock with a separation for the big toe. 62. A small cake leavened with yeast. 63. An organization of countries formed in 1961 to agree on a common policy for the sale of petroleum. 64. Wood of a sumac. 66. (British) Your grandmother. 67. The arch of bone beneath the eye that forms the prominence of the cheek. 68. A partly sheltered anchorage. 69. A loose sleeveless outer garment made from aba cloth.
Gemini (May 21-June 20) In-depth discussions and probing conversations find you at your mental best. Others are able to follow your lead and much can be accomplished in your work world. Your mind could be quite clear and natural for giving instructions, helping or teaching. A love for the unusual may show itself in the way you express yourself—you are most original. If you are speaking to a crowd today, you will be expressive and meaningful. Because of your enthusiasm, people listening in the back of the room are already figuring out how to put their own ideas to work; perhaps, like you did. A volunteer group that you are usually involved with may want you to join them once again this year. It is through helping others that we gain much satisfaction.
Non Sequitur
Cancer (June 21-July 22) Learn how to handle interruptions and avoid overwork that leads to stress. Enthusiastic people like yourself will accept the stress as a challenge to show off your problem-solving abilities. What if you are in a position to have no outside interruptions? You may be competing with your own time schedule. You cannot avoid stress but you can handle it. Your success this month will be large in measure. This day may be a bit taxing. After a meal, the pressures seem to ease a great deal. It would be a good idea to walk outside for a short time of exercise. Tonight brings clear communication with your loved ones. Forgiveness and understanding arouse deep feelings and a healing is possible where needed. Family scenes at your house are positive these days.
Leo (July 23-August 22) Be aware that although this month can be rather slow, the rest of the year will be faster than most of us can keep up with easily. Fight the urge to try new things just now. Make this a time of planning instead of action. Take advantage of this time to plan your goals for work, play, health regimen, finances and do not leave out romance! Get rid of anything that has outlived its purpose and can no longer give you pleasure or serve you. This is a way to clear a space for new and wonderful growth coming your way soon. Figuring out ways to make your nest egg grow can be a preoccupation with family members this evening. There are some good choices; vote on one and get prepared to follow through with the decision. Romance is in the air.
Zits
DOWN 1. An imaginary elephant that appears in a series of French books for children. 2. Jordan’s port. 3. The month following July and preceding September. 4. Nocturnal mouselike mammal with forelimbs modified to form membranous wings and anatomical adaptations for echolocation by which they navigate. 5. In bed. 6. A cyst on the underside of the tongue. 7. The sixth month of the civil year. 8. Valuable fiber plant of East Indies now widespread in cultivation. 9. (prefix) Opposite or opposing or neutralizing. 10. A Tibetan or Mongolian priest of Lamaism. 11. Any of numerous low-growing cushion-forming plants of the genus Draba having rosette-forming leaves and terminal racemes of small flowers with scapose or leafy stems. 12. An island of central Hawaii. 20. A river in southeastern Australia that flows generally northwest to join the Darling River. 22. Large burrowing rodent of South and Central America. 24. A soft silvery metallic element of the alkali earth group. 28. A landlocked desert republic in north-central Africa. 29. A state in midwestern United States. 31. Used of a single unit or thing. 33. The federal agency that insures residential mortgages. 34. Shattered or torn up or torn apart violently as by e.g. wind or lightning or explosive. 36. A chronic inflammatory collagen disease affecting connective tissue (skin or joints). 37. Being nine more than ninety. 38. A radioactive element of the actinide series. 40. A river in north central Switzerland that runs northeast into the Rhine. 44. A mountain peak in the Andes in Bolivia (21,391 feet high). 45. A metrical unit with unstressed-stressed syllables. 47. A city in central New York. 48. A silvery soft waxy metallic element of the alkali metal group. 49. A metric unit of length equal to 1000 meters (or 0.621371 miles). 50. A woody climbing usually tropical plant. 51. Cubes of meat marinated and cooked on a skewer usually with vegetables. 52. (Hindu) A manner of sitting (as in the practice of Yoga). 54. Plant with an elongated head of broad stalked leaves resembling celery. 57. (Babylonian) God of storms and wind. 59. A logarithmic unit of sound intensity equal to 10 decibels. 60. A change in the electrical properties of the skin in response to stress or anxiety. 61. A Nilotic language. 65. A soft silver-white ductile metallic element (liquid at normal temperatures).
Virgo (August 23-September 22) After a long holiday, you know that many people could stay with the celebration spirit, so as you get on the freeway this week, be observant and try not to prove a point with your vehicle; you will be safe. Your creative insights can enrich your business affairs today and tomorrow. You may decide a new direction or addition to your business expertise is needed at this time. This may call for added education. There are good energies around whatever you set out to accomplish. A good investment at this time will bring many profits later. An advisor may be necessary with this regard. Having had many adventures in life a friend may call for your advice. This may involve travel. Whatever the scenario, you will be able to help make your friend’s life better.
Libra (September 23-October 22)
Mother Goose and Grimm
This morning is full of wonderful sights. It may be the weather or it may be a new life form. Whatever the case, a situation that is easy to observe and absorb goes with your spirit throughout the day. When a friend or work partner is not as energetic to learn or accomplish new things, you just seem to understand that they are not as excited about life as you are energized. A situation today will uncover and explain a previous misunderstanding. You may be reminded in subtle ways, thank goodness, that it is good to be humble. You will find that an after-work gathering of friends is quite enjoyable. Sharing interests, experiences and ideas boosts the spirit for all participants. Unconventional romantic and social connections are likely this evening.
Scorpio (October 23-November 21) Finding the truth of a matter will help you put a closure on some long-term issue. Gulp down your pride now and a healing will be created. Your mental focus is good and ideas will come easily. Others appreciate your suggestions and enjoy complimenting you—perhaps, because you seem so modest. If there are decisions that need to be made, today is a good day to make wise choices. Trust in yourself. There is a tendency to rush things, but you will be happier with the results if you can pace yourself. The evening could be devoted to your hobby as your hand and eye coordination are in fine shape. Keep up with these fun activities as you are more able to be successful in your work when you mind is occasionally otherwise occupied.
Sagittarius (November 22-December 21) There is a need to do your own thing today, and if allowed to do so, you will make a great deal of progress. You will have insight into your path of progress. Perhaps you will be able to ease up on the pressure you have put yourself through lately. You will soon be paying a debt from last year and clearing away old paperwork as well. Old business that was not finished at the end of last year can be completed. New ways to communicate will make themselves clear; conversations and interactions go well. A dialogue with an older person may take place this afternoon and lessons are learned. New insight is coming to help you in caring for your health. This may take the form of a new book by a new author. Good luck surrounds you today.
Yesterday’s Solution
Aquarius (January 20- February 18)
Yesterday’s Solution To
INTERNATIONAL CALLS Kuwait Qatar Abu Dhabi Dubai Raas Al Khayma Al-Shareqa Muscat Jordan Bahrain Riyadh Makkah - Jeddah Cairo Alexandria Beirut Damascus Allepo
00965 00974 009712 009714 009717 009716 00968 009626 00973 009661 009662 00202 00203 009611 0096311 0096321
Tunisia Rabat Washington New York Paris London Madrid Zurich Geneva Monaco Rome Bangkok Hong Kong Pakistan Taiwan Bonn
0021610 002127 001212 001718 00331 004471 00341 00411 004122 0033 00396 00662 00852 0092 00886 0049228
Wonderful ideas could benefit you and others if you could write them down as they come to you. New technologies are difficult to learn, but you will discover new ways to learn. Whether you are in your own business or working for someone else—you will make great progress today. You have an opportunity to give advice to young people today. When you answer questions, you are good at making people feel comfortable and the little humor you add endears you to many. People remember your concerns and want to help you with your special project. Tonight you may try to encourage creativeness among the members of your household. Do not become too frustrated if an older person has a change of mind after getting you deeply involved. holiday break.
You turn a negative to a positive quickly today. Find a blank sheet of paper, start writing out what you are grateful for and keep this list with you during the day. Before commenting on how you feel, look at where the truth has stopped and emotions have begun. Stay with the truth—listen to music or get busy with some project. Of course, if you are in a workplace, consider a walk at the noon break or visit a pet store, music store or library—any place that will help you to move into a positive awareness. You could come up with new discoveries, creative ideas or inventions when you return to the workplace. You feel positive and creative this evening. Your passions are high and an intimate time with your loved one can be sensational.
Pisces (February 19-March 20)
Word Sleuth Solution
Conversations with co-workers are fun, but may be short today. There is a lot of work set out for you, but you are happy there is plenty of work. Harmonious times with the family are available at home this afternoon. Everyone goes to his or her own corner to do homework, read, work on a hobby or tend to responsibilities. There may be a block meeting tonight in your neighborhood that will help to eventually eliminate some community problems this year. Be sure to attend this meeting because you will be able to offer a different slant to a subject matter. Did you ever think of the kitchen as a place of awareness? You and a loved enjoy uninterrupted conversations in the kitchen this evening. Perhaps new scheduling is in order for the family to run more smoothly.
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4732263
Fintas
THE PUBLIC AUTHORITY FOR CIVIL INFORMATION Automated enquiry about the Civil ID card is 1889988 AIRLINES Kuwait Airways Wataniya Airways Jazeera Airways Jet Airways Qatar Airways KLM Air Slovakia Olympic Airways Royal Jordanian Reservation British Airways Air France Emirates Air India Sri Lanka Airlines Egypt Air Swiss Air Saudia Middle East Airlines Lufthansa PIA Alitalia Balkan Airlines Bangladesh Airlines Czech Airlines 22417901/2433141 Indian Airlines Oman Air Turkish Airlines
PHARMACIES ON 24 HRS DUTY GOVERNORATE Ahmadi
PHARMACY Sama Safwan Abu Halaifa Danat Al-Sultan
ADDRESS Fahaeel Makka St Abu Halaifa-Coastal Rd Mahboula Block 1, Coastal Rd
PHONE 23915883 23715414 23726558
Fahad Al-Salem St Khaldiya Coop
22436184 24833967
New Shifa Ferdous Coop Modern Safwan
Farwaniya Block 40 Ferdous Coop Old Kheitan Block 11
24734000 24881201 24726638
Tariq Hana Ikhlas Hawally & Rawdha Ghadeer Kindy Ibn Al-Nafis
Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St Salmiya-Amman St Hawally-Beirut St Hawally & Rawdha Coop Jabriya-Block 1A Jabriya-Block 3B Salmiya-Hamad Mubarak St
25726265 25647075 22625999 22564549 25340559 25326554 25721264
Hawally
3900322
EMERGENCY 112
Dr. Abidallah Al-Mansoor Dr. Samy Al-Rabeea Dr. Masoma Habeeb Dr. Mubarak Al-Ajmy Dr. Mohsen Abel Dr Adnan Hasan Alwayl Dr. Abdallah Al-Baghly
25622444 25752222 25321171 25739999 25757700 25732223 25732223
Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT): Dr. Ahmed Fouad Mouner 24555050 Ext 510 Dr. Abdallah Al-Ali 25644660 Dr. Abd Al-Hameed Al-Taweel 25646478 Dr. Sanad Al-Fathalah 25311996 Dr. Mohammad Al-Daaory 25731988 Dr. Ismail Al-Fodary 22620166 Dr. Mahmoud Al-Booz 25651426 General Practitioners: Dr. Mohamme Y Majidi 24555050 Ext 123 Dr. Yousef Al-Omar 24719312 Dr. Tarek Al-Mikhazeem 23926920 Dr. Kathem Maarafi 25730465 Dr. Abdallah Ahmad Eyadah 25655528 Dr. Nabeel Al-Ayoobi 24577781 Dr. Dina Abidallah Al-Refae 25333501 Urologists: Dr. Ali Naser Al-Serfy 22641534 Dr. Fawzi Taher Abul 22639955 Dr. Khaleel Abidallah Al-Awadi 22616660 Dr. Adel Al-Hunayan FRCS (C) 25313120 Plastic Surgeons: Dr. Mohammad Al-Khalaf 22547272 Dr. Abdal-Redha Lari 22617700
Dr. Abdel Quttainah
Dr. Sohail Qamar Dr. Snaa Maaroof Dr. Pradip Gujare Dr. Zacharias Mathew
Family Doctor: Dr Divya Damodar 23729596/23729581
22621099 25713514 23713100 24334282
(1) Ear, Nose and Throat Psychiatrists Dr. Esam Al-Ansari Dr Eisa M. Al-Balhan
25722291 22666288
Rheumatologists: Dr. Adel Al-Awadi 25330060 Dr. Khaled Al-Jarallah 25722290
(2) Plastic Surgeon 22635047 22613623/0
Gynaecologists & Obstetricians: Dr Adrian Harbe 23729596/23729581 Dr. Verginia s.Marin 2572-6666 8321 Dr. Fozeya Ali Al-Qatan 22655539 Dr. Majeda Khalefa Aliytami 25343406 Dr. Ahmad Al-Khooly 25739272 Dr. Salem soso 22618787 General Surgeons:
Dr. Amer Zawaz Al-Amer Dr. Mohammad Yousef Basher
Dr. Deyaa Shehab Dr. Musaed Faraj Khamees
22610044 25327148
Internists, Chest & Heart: Dr. Adnan Ebil 22639939 Dr. Mousa Khadada 22666300 Dr. Latefa Al-Duweisan 25728004 Dr. Nadem Al-Ghabra 25355515 Dr. Mobarak Aldoub 24726446 Dr Nasser Behbehani 25654300/3 Paediatricians: Dr. Abd Al-Aziz Al-Rashed 25340300 Dr. Zahra Qabazard 25710444
Dr. Abdul Mohsin Jafar, FRCS (Canada)
25655535 Dentists:
Endocrinologist: Dr. Abd Al-Naser Al-Othman
25339330
25658888
Dr. Kamal Al-Shomr 25329924 Physiotherapists & VD:
Internist, Chest & Heart: DR.Mohammes Akkad 24555050 210 Dr. Mohammad Zubaid MB, ChB, FRCPC, PACC Assistant Professor Of Medicine Head, Division of Cardiology Mubarak Al-Kabeer Hospital Tel: 25339667 Dr. Farida Al-Habib MD, PH.D, FACC Consultant Cardiologist Tel: 2611555-2622555 Inaya German Medical Center Te: 2575077 Fax: 25723123 Psychologists/Psychotherapists Soor Center Tel: 2290-1677 Fax: 2290 1688 [email protected] www.soorcenter.com Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, Ph.D. 2290-1677 Susannah-Joy Schuilenberg, M.A. 2290-1677 William Schuilenberg, RPC 2290-1677 Zaina Al Zabin, M.Sc. 2290-1677
22433377 24379900 177 22924455 22423888 22425747 22434940 22420002/9 22418064/5/6 22433388 22425635 22430224 22425566 22438184 22424444 22421578 22421516 22426306 22423073 22422493 22421044 22414427 22416474 22452977/8 22456700 22412284/5 22453820/1
INTERNATIONAL CALLS
22434064 22435865 22544200 22547133 22515277 22616662 25714406 22530801
Ext
Afghanistan 0093 Albania 00355 Algeria 00213 Andorra 00376 Angola 00244 Anguilla 001264 Antiga 001268 Argentina 0054 Armenia 00374 Australia 0061 Austria 0043 Bahamas 001242 Bahrain 00973 Bangladesh 00880 Barbados 001246 Belarus 00375 Belgium 0032 Belize 00501 Benin 00229 Bermuda 001441 Bhutan 00975 Bolivia 00591 Bosnia 00387 Botswana 00267 Brazil 0055 Brunei 00673 Bulgaria 00359 Burkina 00226 Burundi 00257 Cambodia 00855 Cameroon 00237 Canada 001 Cape Verde 00238 Cayman Islands 001345 Central African Republic 00236 Chad 00235 Chile 0056 China 0086 Colombia 0057 Comoros 00269 Congo 00242 Cook Islands 00682 Costa Rica 00506 Croatia 00385 Cuba 0053 Cyprus 00357 Cyprus (Northern) 0090392 Czech Republic 00420 Denmark 0045 Diego Garcia 00246 Djibouti 00253 Dominica 001767 Dominican Republic 001809 Ecuador 00593
Egypt 0020 El Salvador 00503 England (UK) 0044 Equatorial Guinea 00240 Eritrea 00291 Estonia 00372 Ethiopia 00251 Falkland Islands 00500 Faroe Islands 00298 Fiji 00679 Finland 00358 France 0033 French Guiana 00594 French Polynesia 00689 Gabon 00241 Gambia 00220 Georgia 00995 Germany 0049 Ghana 00233 Gibraltar 00350 Greece 0030 Greenland 00299 Grenada 001473 Guadeloupe 00590 Guam 001671 Guatemala 00502 Guinea 00224 Guyana 00592 Haiti 00509 Holland (Netherlands) 0031 Honduras 00504 Hong Kong 00852 Hungary 0036 Ibiza (Spain) 0034 Iceland 00354 India 0091 Indian Ocean 00873 Indonesia 0062 Iran 0098 Iraq 00964 Ireland 00353 Italy 0039 Ivory Coast 00225 Jamaica 001876 Japan 0081 Jordan 00962 Kazakhstan 007 Kenya 00254 Kiribati 00686 Kuwait 00965 Kyrgyzstan 00996 Laos 00856 Latvia 00371 Lebanon 00961 Liberia 00231
y
lifestyle G o s s i p
Liam Neeson
loves fly fishing
always helps her friends
he ‘Taken’ actor - who has two sons with his late wife Natasha Richardson - has left his partying days in Hollywood behind him and now prefers to spend his spare time on the water, but admits he hasn’t had many opportunities to indulge in his hobby lately. He said: “There’s a lot of nonsense in Hollywood. I’ve been a part of that years ago and gotten the t-shirt. I was even president of the club at one stage. “I love doing the work but then when I’m not working I love my other life which is being with my kids and fly fishing as much as I can. “I haven’t been out since the end of August when I took my kids to Wyoming and we caught a few trout.” Liam is such a fan of fly fishing that he has even taken part in a program about his hobby. He explained: “In America there’s a program called ‘Fly Fishing the World’ and I’ve done about five of them. The last one I did was in New Zealand for about ten days and I brought my best friend. We had two cameras up our noses the entire time but they’re great fun.”
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eira Knightley always helps her friends in crisis. The 25-year-old actress again teamed with her ‘Pride and Prejudice’ co-star Carey Mulligan on their latest movie ‘Never Let Me Go’ and her pal was delighted when she signed up for the film because they get along so well. Carey who split from boyfriend Shia LaBeouf earlier this year- said: “I was so happy when she came on to the film. We met playing sisters and we are like family to each other, so that bond was there to recreate on the film. “Keira is the friend I call when I’m in trouble or suffering from a broken heart. She’ll meet me in the bar with a mojito and be there for me.” Carey also insisted her friend is not as reserved as she is perceived to be. She added: “She reserves herself for the people she cares about but when she comes to my birthday parties - and she’s never missed one since we met - she’s the first to get up and dance and the last to leave.”
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Abba to reform for one-off show bba could reform after more than 30 years apart. Agnetha Faltskog - one fourth of the group alongside AnniFrid Lyngstad, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson - has confirmed she would like to “chat” with her former bandmates about the possibility of doing a one-off show, despite previously hinting she did not want to revisit the past.
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er lar was fo rrified aft was left te rmer ‘Baywatch’ st erpool Lime n o rs e d iv n fo L amela A r on a train. The man at e young e part in a fronted h g a platform by th in the city taking w. The o n t lo in sh a fter a st lowed theatre ngland, a British Christmas auty along carE , n o ti a old be etting Street st e - a traditional e 43-yearim from g pantomim d male followed th anaged to stop h . A statement m y e unidentifi e train, but police with pepper spra me verbally abua th im c h e in b g s n e in riag halt e ma ritish read: “Th to her by a ticket. B too close Transport Police sked to produce iolent and v a sh from Briti staff when he was the man became ere forced to use d w il sive to ra olice attended an rrested. “Officers - who was playP a la Transport n officer and was ed arrest.” Pame in’ at Liverpool’s st a d assaulted ray as the man resi e version of ‘Alad - was said to be n im o sp d m n re to o n tu L a London cap ep k to ding bac m train to enie in th ing the G atre, and was hea urce on the 8.48p spayed him he Empire T the incident. A so mped on him and was shaken up, by ” n gs. “She f them ju “shake : “A load o by his arms and le ing happened.” id sa n o st ff o Eu yth uling him before an before ha was taken away e h but glad
file she was a young adult. She told Swedish magazine M: “I am uninterested in appearing in newspapers and on television. Many people think that I am striking a pose - that I want to create a sense of shyness. But it’s just not something I want to do. “I overdosed. When I was 15 I became a fulltime singer in a band. At 18 I made my first record. When I was 25, Abba was formed. After Abba I made three solo albums. Maybe I have been productive
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Berry would quit acting for her daughter he Oscar-winning actress - who has a two-year-old daughter Nahla with former boyfriend Gabriel Aubry says her priorities have changed since becoming a mother and she is no longer so focused on her career. Halle said: “Children shift your priorities and now I have a greater purpose for being here. I love making movies but I would give it all up to be with my daughter if I had to because she’s the love of my life. “She’s made me a better person because everything I do and say, everything I want and don’t want, I think first, ‘Will this be best for her?’ “When you have children you get to see things all over again. So I’ve never laughed as hard, I’ve never done more silly things, and I go to great lengths to make her laugh. She’s awakened a childlike side of me. The 44-yearold beauty - who is currently dating Kylie
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Minogue’s former boyfriend, actor Oliver Martinez - also admitted Nahla has also influenced her taste in men. She explained to the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Every choice I make now, and that includes who I choose to spend personal time with as a partner, is not just about me anymore, it’s about what’s best for her.” However the ‘Gothika’ star is happy in her new relationship and revealed things have never been better for her. She said: “I am just a girl who met a boy; a girl who liked a boy; a boy liked the girl and then that’s what happened. “I’ve wanted this for so long and I feel happier than ever before. “I’m happy and fulfilled and I’m in a really good space in my life. I’ve survived many highs and many lows and I think I have it all in perspective now - never get too high and never get too low.”
Arquette checks into rehab avid Arquette has checked himself into rehab. The 39-year-old actor - who has attracted attention with his partying since announcing in October he had separated from wife Courteney Cox Arquette - decided to enter the facility in California on Saturday after a wild New Year’s Eve . A friend said: “He was drinking too much. Once he drank too much, he became somebody he didn’t like.” Another friend added the star is struggling to cope since his marriage broke down and revealed no one is surprised at his decision to seek help. The pal said: “He is in there for drinking and depression, not hard drugs. Rehab was inevitable. He is dealing with a broken heart. He can’t handle all the changes in his life. All his inner demons came out.” Former ‘Friends’ star Courteney - who has a six-yearold daughter, Coco, with David - praised his decision to seek help for his problems. She is quoted by People magazine as saying: “I really admire David and his choice to take charge and better his life. I love and support him.” David recently admitted he was finding the split traumatic and had turned to alcohol to cope. He said: “I’ve been drinking a lot. But I don’t want to go into all that, because it’s really a personal, traumatic thing. “Everybody’s worried and concerned about me. When I drink, I become a maniac. “This is the hardest thing anyone has to go through. You wake up and the reality hits you.”
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The 60-year-old Swede said: “I feel it would be fun to meet, chat about the old days and perhaps perform together. “We would not get together again for a tour like the Rolling Stones and some other old bands do. But I think we would all consider a one-off reunion, maybe for a good cause.” Agnetha who has made three solo albums since splitting with the ‘Waterloo’ hitmakers added she was “uninterested” in the idea of any further fame because of how high-pro-
enough.” In December, it was claimed the band - who rose to fame on the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 - would perform at the royal wedding of Prince William and his fiance Kate Middleton on April 29. Bookmakers Ladbrokes put odds of 1/2 the Swedish group would perform at least one concert before 2015 and 66/1 they would sing at the wedding.
Barat becomes father arl Barat has become a father for the first time. The 32-year-old musician confirmed on twitter his girlfriend Edie Langley gave birth to a boy named Eli over the festive period. He wrote on his twitter page: “Mehreh Christmas one and all. I am the devastatingly proud father of a boy, who’s name is Eli. X(sic)” The Libertines rocker had formerly predicted he would be spending the holidays with his new baby, who was due on Christmas Day. He said: “How will I spend Christmas? Well, I’m having a baby so I don’t know. Maybe we’ll end up spending it in a manger. Or a maternity ward. “She’s due around Christmas Day. I’ll probably be in a maternity ward, although there’s all kinds of Christmas metaphors you can make. “I’ve got a plethora of wise men on standby.” Discussing his highlights of 2010, Carl added the baby and the reformation of The Libertines with Pete Doherty were peaks of his year. He added: “My personal highlight, I guess my baby. Apart from that, The Libertines reunion. But my baby comes first. “With the
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Libertines, all those years of doubts and potentially falling through the many vortexes and pitfalls of speculation and conjecture regarding the band, their mythology and their actuality, I think it was withdrawn from any negatives and I felt so happy to be at the centre of something so many people were using as a catalyst for such joy.” —Bang Showbiz
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Pete Postlethwaite dead at 64
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File photo shows Lindsay Lohan arrives for a probation violation hearing at Beverly Hills Courthouse in Beverly Hills, Calif.—AP
After rehab release, more uncertainty for Lohan
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indsay Lohan was scheduled to be released from the Betty Ford rehab center in Palm Springs sometime yesterday, only to face an uncertain career and looming legal issues. For months, the actress has been haunted by her inability, or unwillingness, to shake a 3 1/2 year old drunken driving case that resulted in two rehab stints and two trips to jail in 2010 alone. And now she also remains under investigation for alleged misdemeanor battery on a Betty Ford worker and needs to satisfy a criminal judge that she’s been in compliance with her probation terms during her threemonth stint at the Ford center. Still, experts say Lohan has a good shot at recovery. Provided, of course, that she wants it, changes her party girl lifestyle and remains in continued therapy. If a New Year’s Day message posted on her Twitter account is any indication, the “Mean Girls” star seems ready to do just that. “Today is the first day of the rest of my life,” it said. ‘“The future depends on what we do in the present.’ -Mahatma Gandhi... One step at a time...” Her father, Michael Lohan, is expressing confidence as she begins her next chapter. “She has taken the right steps and put the right people back in her life that she had at the best part of her life, to really use it as a springboard,” Lohan said during an interview Monday on CBS television. But he also sounded a familiar alarm, identifying “one imperative key element that is missing.” He said that if his ex-wife Dina Lohan “can’t resolve the differences she believes that we have, it’s going to be a never-ending battle for Lindsay.” —AP
ritish actor Pete Postlethwaite, who earned an Oscar nomination for his role in “In the Name of the Father”, has died aged 64 following a lengthy illness, a friend announced yesterday. Journalist and friend Andrew Richardson said he died peacefully in hospital in Shropshire, west central England, on Sunday. Postlethwaite had been receiving treatment for cancer. One of Britain’s top character actors, he starred in films such as “The Usual Suspects”, “The Lost World: Jurassic Park”, and was a highly-acclaimed theatre and television performer. Peter William Postlethwaite was born to a working-class Catholic family in the northwest English town of Warrington in February 1946, the youngest of four children. He trained as a teacher but gave it up by the age of 24 to train as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic theatre, taking a job as a sheet metal worker making beer kegs to get by. Honing his skills on stage with Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre, he then joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in the mid-1980s, meeting Queen Elizabeth II after a performance of “Taming Of The Shrew”. “My mother always thought that acting was a phase,” he said. “But when she saw me with the Queen, she finally accepted that I was serious about it.” His first film appearance was a minor part in the “The Duellists” (1977), directed by Ridley Scott. However, his leading role as a terrifying father in the 1988 British movie “Distant Voices, Still Lives”-considered by some an overlooked masterpiece brought him wider recognition. He broke into Hollywood, appearing alongside Mel Gibson in “Hamlet” (1990),“Alien 3” (1992) and “The Last of the Mohicans” in the same year. His performance as quiet, devoted parent Giuseppe Conlon in “In the Name of the Father” (1994), was one of his finest and earned him an Oscar nomination. The movie was about the wrongful convictions of the so-called Guildford Four for an Irish Republican Army bomb attack. He went on to appear as the mysterious Kobayashi in “The Usual Suspects” (1995), in the British hit film “Brassed Off” (1996) and director Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet” (1996). Postlethwaite appeared in atwo 1997 films Photo from files showing Sophia Loren and Pete Postlethwaite during a photocall for the film directed by Steven Spielberg, “The Lost World: Between Strangers at the 59th International Venice Film Festival, Terrazza del Casino in Lido, Jurassic Park” and “Amistad”. —AFP Venice, Italy.—AFP
‘X Factor’ winner stays top of UK singles chart
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inger Matt Cardle, winner of ITV’s “The X Factor” talent show, notched a third week at the top of the British pop charts on Sunday but fell short of achieving the biggest selling single of 2010. Cardle’s debut single “When We Collide” kept R&B singer Rihanna at No 2 for the third week in a row with “What’s My Name,” featuring Canadian rapper Drake, the Official Charts Company said. But Rihanna was the featured artist on the biggest selling single of the year, Eminem’s “Love The Way You Lie,” which sold 854,000 copies in Britain during 2010. “When We Collide” followed with 815,000 copies, ahead of Bruno Mars’ “Just The Way You Are (Amazing)” with 766,000. Cardle, 27, a former painter and decorator, performed “When We Collide” during the X Factor final. It is a renamed version of the song “Many of Horror” by the Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro. The Black Eyed Peas stayed at No 3 on the week’s singles chart with “The Time (Dirty Bit),” while British singer Ellie Goulding moved up one place to No 4 with her version of Elton John’s “Your Song.” In the album chart, Rihanna’s “Loud” overtook Take That’s “Progress”-the year’s biggest release-to claim the No1 spot. British rapper Plan B’s “The Defamation Of Strickland Banks” soared 18 places to No 3. “Progress” sold 1.8 million copies last year, well ahead of Michael Buble’s “Crazy Love” with 1.2 million and Lady Gaga’s “The Fame” with 1.1 million.—Reuters
In this photo suplied by Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary, Brad Pitt, front second from right, and Angelina Jolie, front fifth from right, with their children and owners and staff of the Naankuse Wildlife Sanctuary where Pitt and Jolie spent Christmas with their six children.—AP
Jolie, Pitt donate $2 million to African wildlife
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ngelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are donating $2 million to the Namibian sanctuary where they spent Christmas with their kids.The donation to the Naankuse Lodge and Wildlife Sanctuary was made through the Jolie-Pitt Foundation in the name of their daughter Shiloh, who was b o r n i n N a m i b i a . I n a s t a te m e n t re l e a s e d ye s te rd ay, Angelina said “We want her to be very involved and grow up with the understanding of her country of birth.”
Zsa Zsa Gabor to have part of leg amputated
File photo shows Zsa Zsa Gabor responds to a question during a news conference at her home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles.—AP
“Avatar” and “The Blind Side.” The weak performance brought the curtain down on a disappointing year for Hollywood, when higher prices for 3D movies failed to offset a decline in attendance. The number of tickets sold in 2010 slid about 5.4 percent from 2009, according to box office analysts at Hollywood.com. It marked the biggest percentage drop since 2005 when attendance tumbled 8.1 percent. Overall ticket sales were flat at about $10.6 billion, marking the first time since 2008 that sales failed to improve upon the previous year, Hollywood.com said. Studios charged moviegoers an extra few dollars to see films in 3D ranging from the hit “Alice in Wonderland” to the bomb “Piranha.” But fans and critics carped that the picture quality for some 3D movies did not justify the premium pricing, while parents faced an even steeper tab for a family outing. All three of the 3D movies in the weekend top 10 — “Tron: Legacy,” “Yogi Bear” and Disney’s Rapunzel cartoon “Tangled”- were aimed at families, although only “Tangled” is a big hit with sales to date of $168 million.—Reuters
Fockers, True Grit lead soft new year box office
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sa Zsa Gabor was hospitalized Sunday to undergo surgery to have part of her right leg amputated because gangrene was setting in, a representative said. Doctors examined a lesion on Gabor’s leg that had gone from just over an inch to about a foot and was growing gangrenous, publicist John Blanchette said. “They’re going to have to amputate part of her leg,” Blanchette said. “They said if they didn’t, she could lose her life.” He said the amputation would likely be below the knee, Gabor was taken to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and had been prepared for surgery Sunday night, Blanchette said. Her husband Prince Frederic von Anhalt was with her. The 93year-old former actress broke her hip and had replacement surgery in July, and has been hospitalized several times since for swelling in her legs and blood clots throughout her body. She was in critical condition and asked for a priest to read her last rites during a hospital visit in August, but recovered and returned home. Gabor has used a wheelchair since she was partially paralyzed in a 2002 car accident, and had a stroke in 2005. Gabor retreated from the spotlight after the accident. She liked staying home and watching soap operas, game shows and old movies, von Anhalt told reporters in July 2010. She detested having her picture taken by the papparazi while she was in her wheelchair. “She wants people to remember her as she was years ago,” he said. A Hungarian-born sex symbol of the 1950s and 1960s, Gabor had a brief and unremarkable film career, appearing in films ranging from “Moulin Rouge” in 1952 to “Queen of Outer Space” in 1958, and had no regular television role like her sister Eva had on “Green Acres.” Her primary role was herself-appearing on TV specials and game shows, as a guest on several television series, and in real-life dramas like her slapping of a Beverly Hills policeman in 1989 that led to a brief jail term.—AP
A n g e l i n a s a i d t h e ow n e r s o f t h e s a n c t u a r y a re o l d friends. “We continue to be impressed by their hard work and dedication to the people and conser vation of the land and wildlife of Namibia,” she said. The family spent Christmas together at the lodge, where staff say the children helped to feed and care for orphaned baby baboons a n d f oxe s a n d s a w a l e o p a r d r e l e a s e d b a c k i n t o t h e wild.—AP
he commercially underwhelming comedy “Little Fockers” narrowly held its lead at the North American box office during the holiday weekend, as Hollywood’s prolonged slump spilled over into the new year. According to studio estimates issued Sunday, “Little Fockers” earned $26.3 million in the three days beginning Dec 31, followed by “True Grit” with $24.5 million and “Tron: Legacy” with $18.3 million. The movies, all either sequels or remakes, were unchanged in rank from last weekend. “Little Fockers,” the third entry in the dueling in-laws franchise starring Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro, has earned $103.2 million after 12 days. Its predecessor, “Meet the Fockers,” released exactly six years earlier, had pulled in almost $163 million after the same period. The Jeff Bridges Western remake “True Grit,” one of the few hits of the holiday season, has earned $86.8 million after 12 days. But with a $38 million budget, the Coen brothers’ drama cost about one-third of “Little Fockers” and is expected to hold up well as awards season plays out. Internationally, “Little Fockers” earned $22.5 million, taking its total to $72 million. It ranked No 3 overseas behind the domestic dud “Gulliver’s Travels” and “Tron: Legacy,” which each earned about $24 million over the weekend. Overall sales in North America fell for the eighth consecutive weekend compared with the year-ago period, when business In this film publicity image released by Universal Pictures, Robert De Niro, left, and Daisy Tahan are shown in a scene from “Little Fockers”.—AP was driven by such hits as
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
lifestyle T r a v e l
Lover’s Beach is located on the Sea of Cortez side of Land’s End at Cabo San Lucas.—MCT
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By Luaine Lee
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hile the rest of Mexico is in turmoil, the good times keep on rollin’ at Cabo San Lucas. Landing at the tourist destination at the very southern tip of Baja California, it seems like you’re in a parallel world. Here’s an Applebee’s, a downtown mall, a Home Depot and pristine
The famous arch at the southern tip of Baja California at Cabo San Lucas.
beaches as far as you can see. With only 4 percent unemployment, Cabo is safe compared to much of the rest of the country. And there are myriads of recreational activities, from snorkeling with the dolphins to zip lining over the foamy waves of the Sea of Cortez, but there also are unexplored areas to visit.
By Hugo Martin
Highlights could be a jaunt to the quaint town of Todos Saltos, about 45 miles from Cabo and the location of the Eagles’ song “Hotel California.” Or, even better, take a back-country trip down rough river beds and dirt roads that are frequented by burros, cows, goats, chipmunks, snakes, iguanas, horses and exotic birds like the peregrine, Mexican hawk and eagle. One such trail-the old road to La Pazpasses the tiny village of La Calenderia, the home of 75 people who enjoy electricity only twice a day-two hours in the morning and two hours at night. The neighborhood was offered a full-time connection but refused, reportedly arguing that it would seduce the children into watching television all day. In this town sits an immaculate little church, profuse plumeria trees and friendly residents. If you take one of these side trips you’ll need a sturdy crossover utility vehicle like the Mitsubishi Outlander Sport or the KIA Sportage to make it through the sand traps and Mars-like terrain. Of the 110 species of cactus on the peninsula, you’ll easily spot the elephant, barrel and nopal cactus, the honey Manzanita, used for grilling, and the giant fig with its massive roots. Cabo is famous for its party times. And you can do that until you drop from exhaustion. The “in” places to go include the Pink Kitty, Mandala, Baja Jonkie, Cabo Wabo (owned by rocker Sammy Hagar), Passion Club at the ME Cabo hotel on Medano Beach, the Office, known for its daytime beach parties, and Squid Roe. Most of these clubs don’t solicit a cover charge. The places
in a life-or-death battle. The Kong attraction will be one stop on the park’s back lot studio tour ride. During a recent preview of the technology, a dirty, battle-scarred Kong stared menacingly out from two 180-footlong by 40-foot-tall screens that wrap around the trams that will carry visitors. In another scene, a 35-foot-tall T. rex steps over the trams, turns to the audience and bares its massive teeth. “You are really going to be immersed in every part of the show,” Universal Studios
start rocking around 11 pm. There’s great Mexican food here, especially seafood. Not only is Cabo a popular sport fishing venue, the fish served at local restaurants is superb. For Mexican fare try the mediumpriced La Fonda. For fine dining there’s La Frida, and a local favorite is Mariscos Mazatlan for an inexpensive evening out. There are dozens of great golf courses (not for the beginner) that stretch along the emerald coastline. One of the favorites is Palmilla at the Palmilla Resort, 25 minutes from Cabo. (800) 637-2226. Another less rugged trek is the trip north on Highway 1 to Buena Vista, where the sea views are beautiful and the beaches are vacant. This road (which serves the airport) is a toll road, 28 pesos per car, and along this route you’ll cross over the Tropic of Cancer. Hotels cluster along the coastline, the closer to the southern tip of Baja (known as Land’s End) the better. For top service and accommodations try the ME Cabo, right on the sea with a fabulous view of the famous granitic arch and rugged outcrops that define Land’s End. Prices run from $190 to $1,800, depending on the season ([email protected]). The Costa Costa Azul runs $175 to $245, the Westin Resort & Spa starts at $165. A trip to the rocky formations is recommended. Accessible by water taxi or small boats, the bay side is fine for swimming, but the water is too rough to negotiate on the Pacific side.—MCT Barrell cactus grows on the back road out of Cabo San Lucas.
show producer Valerie Johnson-Redrow said during the preview for employees and advertising sponsors last week. The new digital Kong represents the lastest trend in theme park attractions: the increased use of movie magic to thrill and entertain park visitors, including 3-D effects, holograms and pyrotechnics. The new Kong replaces a seventon, 30-foot-tall mechanical ape that was built in 1986 and considered for many years to be one of the most complex animatronic figures in the world. The old Kong was also an icon,
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fter nearly 19 months away from the spotlight, a new King Kongmore grizzled and, definitely, ferocious-is preparing to return to Universal Studios Hollywood. Since the old animatronic Kong was destroyed in a fire on the theme park’s back lot, Hollywood’s top visual effects wizards have been tinkering away in a giant hangar in Playa Vista to create a new, more realistic ape to terrify visitors who take the park’s signature back lot studio tour. Inside the humongous drab-green building, Academy Award-winning director Peter Jackson has led a team of film and theme park ride experts in creating a 3-D version of the hairy ape to replace the Kong that died in the June 2008 fire. The new Kong attraction, described by Universal Studios as the largest 3-D exhibit in the world, will debut this summer at the height of tourist season. If the new technology works as designed, park visitors will not only see Kong in three dimensions but will smell his banana breadth, feel the gust of wind as he jumps over the guests and sense the ground quake when the ape engages a Tyrannosaurus rex
eep sea year: m fishing: Fish a arlin, sa vailable ilfi w t www.p ahoo, shark. P sh, dorado, ye his time of icantes icante S ll ow-fin t po p www.m una, inervas rtfishing.com ortfishing, .com. ; Minerv a’s Baja Tours a Tackle, n Baja in d excursions A : www.b ction, www.ba Baja Bora, ww w ajaoutb ja ack.com inaction.com .bajabora.com ; Baja O ; . utback, Curren cy: App roximat ely 12 p esos to the doll ar.
(From Left) Jamie Glastein, Jenn DeCrescenzo and Sheri Bain wear 3D glasses during a short tour of The King Kong ride setup inside a hangar for testing in Playa Vista, California. — MCT
used by Universal Studios in television commercials and print ads to draw visitors. It is unclear if the loss of the attraction hurt attendance at the park because the economic recession that took hold in 2008 cut theme park attendance nationwide. Within months of the fire, executives began forming plans to rebuild and improve the attraction. Park officials quickly agreed that film technology had advanced much faster than robotics, and so decided Kong would return in digital form. Although they declined to discuss the price tag for the 3-D production, theme park officials said the cost will be more than six times the price of rebuilding the destroyed mechanical Kong. “After the 2008 fire, we knew he had to bring him back to the back lot studio tour, but in a way that has never been experienced before,” said Universal Studios Hollywood President Larry Kurzweil. But the concept of a 3-D King Kong was born long before the fire killed off the animatronic ape. After Jackson completed the 2005 Academy Award-winning film “King Kong” for Universal Pictures, some of his visual effects experts converted scenes from the movie into a 3-D visual format. “We saw it and we said we wish we had done the whole movie in 3-D,” said Joe Letteri, the visual effects supervisor for the film. Since then Jackson and his team of visual effects experts at Weta Digital have honed the 3-D technology on this year’s Golden Globewinning film “Avatar.” Many of the technological advances developed for “Avatar” will be used in the Kong attraction, Letteri said. “It’s going to feel like ‘Avatar’ but it will be happening all around you,” he said. Last year, park officials announced the
partnership with Jackson to create the attraction, formally titled “King Kong 360 3D, created by Peter Jackson.” The new ape will resemble the Kong from the 2005 film, right down to the broken canine tooth and the scars over its right eye. Other creatures and scenes from the movie, including caves, giant bats and dinosaurs from Skull Island will also appear on the four-stor y-tall screens. When the attraction is complete, guests on the studio tour will board a tram that will enter a 200-foot-long soundstage, said Johnson-Redrow. Guests must don 3-D glasses for the 2 {-minute attraction. Inside the building, the tram will stop over a “tram-mover” system, powered by massive air bags that will lift, shake and drop the tram, giving guests the feeling of being jolted during the battle between Kong and the T. rex, she said. The 180-footlong screens will curve around the tram so the 3-D images seem to surround the viewers. A system of fans, sprayers and other devices installed in the building will spew park visitors with air, water and odors to bring the images to life, she said. Jackson, Letteri and others have been putting the final touches on the attraction in the same 281,000-square-foot hangar in Playa Vista where aviation legend Howard Hughes built the 200-ton plane known as the Spruce Goose in the 1940s. The few test scenes shown during a preview last week were taken from the 2005 “King Kong” movie but Johnson-Redrow said tour-takers will see original material, created by Jackson, specifically for the attraction. “We are going to bring you to Skull Island,” she said. “We are going to bring you right in the middle of a knock-down, drag-out fight with a T-Rex.” — MCT
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 2011
lifestyle T r a v e l
Earl Young remodeled this house with signature stone exterior in Charlevoix. — MCT photos This diminutive 1936 Earl Young one-bedroom cottage is on the property of a larger home called the Panama House along Lake Michigan. By Ellen Creager
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ast summer, 760 lucky people got to walk through eight Earl Young houses. It was the first tour of interiors ever offered. “We could have put through 1,200 at least; the phone was ringing off the hook for tickets,” says David Miles, codirector of the Harsha House Museum, part
Earl Young’s 1928 house, Boulder Manor, is for sale for $1.25 million. of the Charlevoix Historical Society. When tickets ran out, “we had tears. We had people upset. We had people arrive from at least 20 states. We had no idea of the interest nationwide. What I didn’t know is the
emotional attachment to these houses, because a lot of people have been coming to Charlevoix since they were children.” Earl Young tourism is a Charlevoix specialty. The quirky builder erected 30 stone homes in town between 1918 and the 1950s, all so unusual they are often compared to works of art. Some look like mushroom houses, with undulating roofs capping boulder walls. Some are tiny. Some are enormous. Most have incredible detaildoorways of stone, window frames made of boulders, chimneys that look frosted by a giddy cake decorator. The early houses are arts and crafts or chalet style, but the later homes are rounded and organic, part Tolkien, part Keebler elf. And each summer, busloads of tourists drive down Park Avenue, Clinton Street and Boulder Avenue, snapping photos and ringing doorbells. “We are used to it,” says Jennie Silva, who owns 304 Clinton, for which Earl Young did the exterior. “It is a piece of art that is livable. He oddly had a sense of humor.” Karen Stankovich, who owns a Cotswold-style Earl Young house at 14915 Boulder Avenue, lives in the 1929 main house but in summer rents out a diminutive stone house that appears to have sprouted on her property. “It was originally a place for the maid and gardener,” she says. “Now I’m the maid and gardener.” Despite demand, the next Earl Young interiors home tour won’t be at least two or three years from now, says Mona Bergeon, historical society president. “We need to let the owners indicate when they are going to be ready again.” But that does not mean you can’t do your own Earl Young tour, any time of year. Here’s what I’d suggest: ◗ Come off-season. Summer is crowded in Charlevoix, so try winter, when houses are snug against the piles of snow. Virtually every photo ever taken shows Young’s houses with gentle green trees and grass. But in winter, you can see the icicle side of the sturdy northern
Michigan cottages. Stay in an Earl Young house. At least three of them are vacation rentals. ◗ Pick up the free self-guided tour brochure “A Guide to Earl Young Structures in Charlevoix, the Beautiful.” Get it at the Chamber of Commerce office or Harsha House Museum, 103 State Street. Many houses in town have stone exteriors, but only some are genuine Earl Young houses. This shows you which are which. ◗ Visit Harsha House Museum’s Earl Young exhibit. Start with a virtual tour at the museum’s website, www.chxhistory.com. Or book a tour with David Miles (exteriors only, $50 an hour, 231547-0373). ◗ Buy the 2009 book “Mushroom Houses of Charlevoix” by photographer Mike Barton (Boulder Press, $19.95). It has amazing photos and all the stories. Of which there are many. Like all local characters, Earl Young, who died in 1975, was larger than life and often brusque. One local architect, Jack Begrow, 80, knew Young and has done many interior renovations and even additions to Young houses, which tended to have irrationally tiny kitchens, closets and bedrooms. Young’s appeal endures because “he had a feeling for the little cottages,” Begrow says. The houses, which Begrow calls “early Mother Goose,” are happy and serene, “and a little goofy,” he says. Begrow gives some credit to Young’s wife, who was an artist, for helping her husband make his ideas a reality. Did Young mind Begrow doing remodeling work on the houses? No, because “he figured I had his spirit,” he says, and he was meticulous in not disturbing the exterior originality. Although many people come to Charlevoix believing they have seen other Young houses around the country, it’s not true. Young built every one of his houses in ◗
Charlevoix except for one in Alma. People who describe elfin houses in Carmel-bythe-Sea, Calif, for example, aren’t seeing Earl Young design. To people in Charlevoix, the houses are pieces of art-and you have to come here to see them. “People ask if the homeowners mind tourists coming by, but I say, if you buy an Earl Young house, it
◗
round. Castle Farms, a 1918 castle/mansion just outside town, used for weddings and gatherings, offers self-guided tours year round (www.castlefarms.com, 231237-0884). — MCT
Charlevoix, Michigan, is known for its “mushroom houses,” designed by Earl Young, but this lovely house, built in 1948 for gasoline company president William Sucher, is on a larger scale. The house recently was featured in Martha Stewart Living magazine. —MCT comes with the territory,” says Miles. “It’s an astonishing legacy for one man to have left our city.”
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Other attractions: The Charlevoix Lighthouse was repainted its original red in 2009 (from white) and now is a stand-out photo op year-
Plenty of people have seen summer photographs of Charlevoix, Michigan’s most famous Earl Young house, the “mushroom house”, built 1951-52. But in winter, it looks like a white-capped storybook house.
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1958 Sir Jacob Epstein St Michael's Victory over the Devil b New York1880 - d London, 1959. British sculptor of American birth. Although he spent his childhood in New York, Epstein defined his identity as an artist only after moving to London in 1905. http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/epstein1.html
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History of Coventry
Did you know ...
in 1828, Hillfields became the first suburb of Coventry to be located outside of the city walls marking the beginning of a large expansion for the city?
Riley started as a bicycle manufacturer in Coventry in 1890, and produced its last motorcar in 1969?
More interesting facts on Coventry
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For other uses, see Coventry (disambiguation) .
City of Coventry
View of Coventry from Baginton
Coventry shown within England
38.1 sq mi (98.64 km2)
Population (2006 est)
2.4% East Asian and Other
Website
Coventry (pronounced /ˈkɒvəntri/ or /ˈkʌvəntri/
(
listen )
[1] ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England . Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. [2] It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands , after Birmingham , with a population of 300,848, [3] although Leicester and Nottingham have larger urban areas. The population of Coventry has risen to 309,800 as of 2008.
Coventry is situated 95 miles (153 km) northwest of London and 19 miles (30 km) east of Birmingham, and is farthest from the coast of any city in Britain . Although harbouring a population of almost a third of a million inhabitants, Coventry is not amongst the English Core Cities Group due to its proximity to Birmingham.
Coventry was also the world's first 'twin' city when it formed a twinning relationship with the Russian city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd ) during World War II. The relationship developed through ordinary people in Coventry who wanted to show their support for the Soviet Red Army during the Battle of Stalingrad . [3] The city is now twinned with Dresden and with 27 other cities around the world.
Coventry Cathedral is one of the newer cathedrals in the world, having been built following the World War II bombing of the ancient cathedral by the Luftwaffe . Coventry motor companies have contributed significantly to the British motor industry , and it has two universities, the city centre-based Coventry University and the University of Warwick on the southern outskirts.
Contents
Main article: History of Coventry
Early history
Coventry is an ancient city, which predates many of the large cities around it including Birmingham and Leicester. It is likely that Coventry grew from a settlement of the Bronze Age near the present-day city centre where Coventry's bowl shape and, at that time large flowing river and lakes, created the ideal settlement area, with mild weather and thick woods: food, water and shelter would have been easily provided.
Roman period
The Romans settling in Baginton founded another settlement and another formed around a Saxon nunnery, founded ca. AD 700 by St Osburga, [4] that was later left in ruins by King Canute's invading Danish army in 1016. Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Lady Godiva built on the remains of the nunnery and founded a Benedictine monastery in 1043 dedicated to St Mary. [5] [6] In time, a market was established at the abbey gates and the settlement expanded.
Middle ages
By the 14th century, Coventry had become an important centre of the cloth trade, and throughout the Middle Ages was one of the largest and most important cities in England. The bishops of Lichfield were often referred to as bishops of Coventry and Lichfield, or Lichfield and Coventry (from 1102 to 1541). Coventry claimed the status of a city by ancient prescriptive usage , was granted a charter of incorporation in 1345, and in 1451 became a county in its own right. [7] [8]
Civil war
Hostile attitudes of the cityfolk towards Royalist prisoners held in Coventry during the English Civil War are believed[citation needed] to have been the origin of the phrase " sent to Coventry ", which in Britain means "to be ostracised"; although their physical needs were catered for, the Royalist prisoners were literally never spoken to by anybody[citation needed].
Industrial revolution
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Coventry became one of the three main UK centres of watch and clock manufacture and ranked alongside Prescot , near Liverpool and Clerkenwell in London. [9] [10] As the industry declined, due mainly to competition from Swiss made clock and watch manufacturers, the skilled pool of workers proved crucial to the setting up of bicycle manufacture and eventually the motorcycle, automobile , machine tool and aircraft industries.
Transport industry
In the late 19th century, Coventry became a major centre of bicycle manufacture, with the industry being pioneered by Rover . By the early 20th century, bicycle manufacture had evolved into motor manufacture, and Coventry became a major centre of the British motor industry . While over 100 different companies have produced motor vehicles in Coventry, car production came to an end in 2006 as the last car rolled off the lines at Peugeot 's Ryton plant. Production was transferred to a new plant near Trnava , Slovakia , with the help of EU grant aid to Peugeot: this made Peugeot deeply unpopular in the city. The design headquarters of Jaguar Cars is still in the city at their Whitley plant and although they ceased vehicle assembly at their Browns Lane plant in 2004, they still continue some operations from there.
A 1972 Hillman Avenger Tiger, produced in Coventry by Chrysler Competitions Department.
Coventry precinct with spire of ruined cathedral in the background.
World War II and the Coventry Blitz
Coventry suffered severe bomb damage during World War II, most notoriously from a massive Nazi German Luftwaffe air raid (the " Coventry Blitz ") on 14 November 1940. This led to severe damage to large areas of the city centre and Coventry's historic cathedral was ravaged by firebombs leaving only a shell and the spire. Aside from London, Hull and Plymouth , Coventry suffered more damage than any other British city during the Luftwaffe attacks, with huge fires devastating most of the city centre. The city was probably targeted due to its high concentration of armaments, munitions, aircraft and aero-engine plants which contributed greatly to the British war effort, although there have been claims that Hitler launched the attack as revenge for the bombing of Munich by the RAF six days before the Coventry blitz and chose the Midlands city because its medieval heart was regarded as one of the finest in Europe. Following the raids, the majority of Coventry's historic buildings could not be saved as they were in ruinous states or were deemed unsafe for any future use, although several were later demolished simply to make way for modern developments.
Postwar years
In the postwar years Coventry was largely rebuilt under the general direction of the Gibson Plan, gaining a new pedestrianised shopping precinct (the first of its kind in Europe on such a scale) and in 1962 Sir Basil Spence's much-celebrated new St Michael's Cathedral (incorporating one of the world's largest tapestries) was consecrated. Its pre-fabricated steel spire was lowered into place by helicopter. In 1967, the Eagle Street Mosque opened as Coventry's first mosque.
Major expansion to Coventry had taken place previously, in the 1920s and 1930s, to provide housing for the large influx of workers who came to work in the city's booming factories. The areas which were expanded or created in this development included Radford , Coundon , Canley , Cheylesmore and Stoke Heath .
Coventry's motor industry boomed during the 1950s and 1960s and Coventry enjoyed a 'golden age'. During this period the disposable income of Coventrians was one of the highest in the country and both the sports and the arts benefited. A new sports centre, with one of the few Olympic standard swimming pools in the UK, was constructed and Coventry City football club reached the First Division of English Football. The Belgrade Theatre was also constructed along with the Herbert Art Gallery. The 1970s, however, saw a decline in the British motor industry and Coventry suffered badly. By the early 1980s, Coventry had one of the highest unemployment rates in the country. In recent years, the city has recovered with newer industries locating there, although the motor industry continues to decline. In 2008, only one motor manufacturing plant is operational, that of LTI Ltd, producing the popular TX4 taxi cabs.
City boundaries
Unlike other major UK cities, Coventry does not have an extensive 'greater' urban area. This is partly because the city boundaries were drawn so as to include practically all of its suburbs, and partly because Coventry has comparatively little in the way of contiguous satellite towns and dormitory settlements.
The M6 motorway directly to the north of Coventry acts as an artificial boundary which precludes expansion into the Bedworth - Nuneaton urban area, as does the protected West Midlands Green Belt which surrounds the city on all sides. This has circumvented the expansion of the city into both the administrative county of Warwickshire and the metropolitan borough of Solihull , and has helped to prevent the coalescence of the city with surrounding settlements such as Kenilworth , Leamington Spa , Warwick , Rugby , Meriden and Balsall Common .
Suburbs or areas
Cathedrals
The ruins of the old Cathedral
St. Michael's Cathedral is Coventry's best-known landmark and visitor attraction. The original 14th century cathedral was largely destroyed by German bombing during World War II, leaving only the outer walls and spire. At the time of the bombing, the Spire of St. Michael's was the third tallest in Britain, Ely and Salford cathedrals being taller. Due to the architectural design (it was the tallest standing spire and not constructed as part of the roof, as is the case with the neighbouring Holy Trinity Church ), it survived the destruction of the main Cathedral. The new Coventry Cathedral was opened in 1962 next to the ruins of the old. It was designed by Sir Basil Spence . The cathedral contains the tapestry Christ in Glory by Graham Sutherland . The bronze statue St Michael's Victory over the Devil by Jacob Epstein is mounted on the exterior of the new cathedral near the entrance. Benjamin Britten 's War Requiem , regarded by some as his masterpiece, was written for the opening of the new Cathedral. [11]
The spire of the ruined cathedral forms one of the Three Spires which have dominated the city skyline since the 14th century, the others being those of Christ Church (of which only the spire survives) and Holy Trinity Church (which is still in use).
Two of Coventry's "three spires"
Art gallery and museums
The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum is a major art gallery in the city centre. About four miles from the city centre and just outside Coventry in Baginton is the Lunt Fort , a reconstructed Roman fort. The Midland Air Museum is situated just within the perimeter of Coventry on land adjacent to Coventry Airport and near Baginton .
Another major visitor attraction in Coventry city centre is the free-to-enter Coventry Transport Museum , which has the largest collection of British-made road vehicles in the world. The most notable exhibits are the world speed record-breaking cars, Thrust2 and ThrustSSC . The museum received a major refurbishment in 2004 which included the creation of a striking new entrance as part of the city's Phoenix Initiative project. The revamp saw the museum exceed its projected five-year visitor numbers within the first year alone, and it was a finalist for the 2005 Gulbenkian Prize .
Coventry was one of the main centres of watchmaking during the 18th and 19th centuries and as the industry declined the skilled workers were key to setting up the cycle trade. A group of local enthusiasts are in the process of setting up a museum in Spon Street. [9]
The city's main police station in Little Park Street also hosts a museum of Coventry's Police Force. The museum, based underground, is split into two sections - one representing the history of the city's police force, and the other compiling some of the more unusual, interesting and grisly cases from the force's history. The museum is funded from charity donations - viewings can be made by appointment.
Coventry City Farm was a small farm in an urban setting. It was mainly to educate city children who might not get out to the countryside very often. The farm closed in 2008 due to funding problems. [12]
Football stadium
Since 2005, Coventry City Football Club have been playing at their new home, the Ricoh Arena , a 32,500 capacity stadium in Foleshill in north Coventry. Their football academy is now based at The Alan Higgs Centre , a leisure centre in south-east Coventry opened in 2004. The Highfield Road stadium has been demolished, making way for new housing and a small green.
Redevelopment
The "Whittle Arch" outside the Transport Museum, named after Sir Frank Whittle .
Millennium Square by night, showing the Time Zone Clock designed by Francoise Schein with the Whittle Arch soaring above
Major improvements continue to regenerate the city centre. The Phoenix Initiative, which was designed by MJP Architects , reached the final shortlist for the 2004 RIBA Stirling Prize and has now won a total of 16 separate awards. It was published in the book 'Phoenix : Architecture/Art/Regeneration' in 2004. [13] Further major developments are potentially afoot, particularly the Swanswell Project, which is intended to deepen Swanswell Pool and link it to Coventry Canal Basin , coupled with the creation of an urban marina and a wide Parisian-style boulevard. A possible second phase of the Phoenix Initiative is also in the offing, although both of these plans are still on the drawing-board. The redevelopment of the Belgrade Theatre is currently in progress, and the building of IKEA 's first city centre multi-storey store has recently been completed and was opened to the public on 16 December 2007. [14]
The River Sherbourne runs under Coventry's city centre; the river was paved over during the rebuilding after World War II and is not commonly known. When the new rebuild of Coventry city centre takes place 2009 onwards, it is planned that river will be re-opened, and a river walk way will be placed along side it in parts of the city centre. [15]
Twinning with other cities; "city of peace and reconciliation"
Coventry and Stalingrad (now Volgograd ) were the world's first 'twin' cities when they established a twinning relationship during World War II. The relationship developed through ordinary people in Coventry who wanted to show their support for the Soviet Red Army during the Battle of Stalingrad . [3] The city was also subsequently twinned with Dresden , as a gesture of peace and reconciliation following World War II. Coventry is now twinned with 27 other cities around the world.
Coventry Cathedral is notable for being one of the newest cathedrals in the world, having been built following the World War II bombing of the ancient cathedral by the Luftwaffe . Coventry has since developed an international reputation as one of Europe's major cities of peace and reconciliation, [16] centred around its Cathedral, and holds an annual Peace Month. [17]
Education
See also: List of schools in Coventry
The Alan Berry building, Coventry University.
Coventry has two universities; Coventry University is situated on a modern city centre campus while the University of Warwick lies 3.5 miles (5.5 km) to the south of the city centre within Coventry near the border with Warwickshire . The University of Warwick is one of only five universities never to have been rated outside the top ten in terms of teaching excellence and research and is a member of the prestigious Russell Group . A team from the University won the BBC TV University Challenge trophy in April 2007. Coventry University is one of only a handful of universities to run a degree course in automotive design (it is second only to the Royal College of Art course in prestige).[citation needed]
Coventry also has three further education colleges within city boundaries, City College , Henley College and Hereward College.
Many of the secondary schools in and around Coventry are specialist colleges, such as Finham Park School , which is a Mathematics and IT college, a teacher training school and the only school in Coventry to offer studying the International Baccalaureate, and Coventry Blue Coat Church of England School which has recently become a specialist college of Music, one of only a few in the country. Bishop Ullathorne RC School became a specialist college in Humanities in 2006. Woodlands School in Coventry is now also a sports college, which has a newly built sport centre. Ernesford Grange School , in the South East, is a specialist science college. Coundon Court School is a Technology college. Pattison College , a private school opened in 1949, specialises in the performing arts. There is also Caludon Castle School, a business and enterprise school, which has been rebuilt over 2005-2007. Exhall Grange School and Science College is in the North of the City, although, its catchment area is north Warwickshire. There is also Cardinal Newman Catholic School and specialist arts college.
The Coventry School Foundation comprises the independent schools King Henry VIII School and Bablake School together with Coventry Preparatory School .
The Woodlands School, which is an all-boys' school, and Tile Hill Wood School are the only single-sex schools left in Coventry. However, their sixth forms have merged to form the "West Coventry 6th Form", whose lessons take place in mixed classes on both sites.
The Westwood School, which is a Technology College, close to The University of Warwick. It is the only school in Coventry that is a CISCO Academy and prides itself on its links with other educational establishment, industry and the local community.
Sherbourne Fields School is a Educational Special Needs School for young people with Physical Disabilities and is located in the Coundon area. It opened in the 1960s and there is now discussions as to whether to close this school.
Arts and culture
Godiva Festival , a major event on the Coventry arts and culture calendar
Literature and drama
During the early 19th century, Coventry was well-known due to author George Eliot who was born near Nuneaton . The city was the model for her famous novel Middlemarch (1871).
The Coventry Carol is named after the city of Coventry. It was a carol performed in the play The Pageant of The Shearman and Tailors, written in the 15th century as one of the Coventry Cycle Mystery Plays . These plays depicted the nativity story, the lyrics of the Coventry Carol referring to the Annunciation to the Massacre of the Innocents, which was the basis of the Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. These plays were traditionally performed on the steps of the (old) Cathedral, and the plays are believed to have been performed for both Richard III in 1484 and Henry VII in 1584. The Belgrade Theatre brought back the Coventry Mystery Plays in 2000 to mark the city's millennium celebrations: the theatre now produces the Mystery Plays every three years.
The Belgrade Theatre was Britain's first purpose-built civic theatre, opened in 1958. In 1965 the world's first Theatre-in-Education (TiE) company was formed to develop theatre as a way of inspiring learning in schools. The TiE movement spread worldwide, the theatre still offers a number of programmes for young people across Coventry and has been widely recognised as a leader in the field.
Music and cinema
During the late-1970s and early-1980s, Coventry was the centre of the Two Tone musical phenomenon, with bands such as The Specials and The Selecter coming from the city, spawning several major hit singles and albums. The Specials achieved two UK #1 hit singles between 1979–1981, namely "Too Much Too Young" and "Ghost Town". Notable singles by The Selecter included "On My Radio" and "Three Minute Hero".
Today Coventry is recognised for its range of music events including one of the UK's foremost international jazz programmes, the Coventry Jazz Festival, and the award-winning Godiva Festival . On the Saturday of the Godiva Festival, a carnival parade also starts in the city centre and makes its way to the War Memorial Park where the festival is held.
In the film The Italian Job , the famous scene of Mini Coopers being driven at speed through Turin 's sewers was actually filmed in Coventry, using what were then the country's biggest sewer pipes, that were accessible because they were being installed. More recently various locations in Coventry have been used in the BAFTA nominated film "Bouncer" starring Ray Winstone , All in the Game , also starring Ray Winstone (Ricoh Arena), the medical TV series Angels (Walsgrave Hospital), the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances (Stoke Aldermoor and Binley Woods districts) and in August 2006 scenes from " The Shakespeare Code ", an episode of the third series of Doctor Who , were filmed in the grounds of Ford's Hospital.
Venues
Warwick Arts Centre in Warwick University Campus
Theatre, art and music venues in Coventry include:
The Warwick Arts Centre : situated at the University of Warwick , Warwick Arts Centre includes an art gallery, a theatre, a concert hall and a cinema. It is the second largest arts centre in the UK, after London's Barbican .
The College Theatre: the city's main community theatre, housed at the Butts Centre of City College Coventry . It's a fully functioning theatre with flying scenery, full sound and lighting boxes.
The Belgrade Theatre : one of the largest producing theatres in Britain, the 866-seat Belgrade was the first civic theatre to be opened in the UK following World War II. The theatre underwent a huge redevelopment and reopened in September 2007; in addition to refurbishing the existing theatre the redevelopment included a new 250-seat studio auditorium known as B2, a variety of rehearsal spaces and an exhibition space that traces the history of theatre in Coventry.
Also currently being built is the Belgrade Plaza .
The Ricoh Arena : located 3.5 miles (5.6 km) north of the city centre, the 32,000 capacity Coventry City FC stadium is also used to hold major rock concerts for some of the world's biggest acts, including Oasis and Bon Jovi . The adjacent Ricoh Exhibition Hall is a 6,000-seat events venue for hosting a multitude of other acts.
The SkyDome Arena , which is a 3,000 capacity sports auditorium, and has played host to artists such as Girls Aloud, Paul Oakenfold, Judge Jules and Paul Morrell. It is the home ground for Coventry Blaze ice hockey club, and has also hosted professional wrestling events such as International Showdown.
The War Memorial Park , which holds various festivals including the Godiva Festival and the Coventry Caribbean Festival, every year.
Coombe Country Park Coventry City Councils only country park
Sport
The Ricoh Arena
In football, Coventry City have been in existence since the late 19th century, but did not reach the top flight of the Football League until 1967, when they were promoted as Second Division champions. Their highest league position so far is sixth place in the First Division in 1970, when they qualified for the European Fairs Cup (now the UEFA Cup ) in 1970-71. Their only major trophy to date is the FA Cup which was won in 1987 with a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley . Coventry were founder members of the Premier League in 1992, but currently play in the Football League Championship , the second tier of English football, where they have been since 2001, following relegation after 34 successive seasons of top flight football. Their current stadium is the 32,600 capacity Ricoh Arena , which opened at Foleshill in the north of the city in 2005, replacing 106-year-old Highfield Road to the east of the city centre. Notable former players include Willie Carr , Dion Dublin , Stuart Pearce , Gerry Francis , Kevin Gallacher , Terry Gibson , Mark Hateley , Ian Wallace , Tommy Hutchison , Robbie Keane , Gary McAllister , Reg Matthews , David Speedie , Steve Ogrizovic , Colin Stein and Terry Yorath . Notable former managers include Jimmy Hill , Noel Cantwell , Dave Sexton , John Sillett , Bobby Gould , Phil Neal , Ron Atkinson , Gordon Strachan , Peter Reid , Gary McAllister , Micky Adams and Iain Dowie .
The Coventry Bees are based at Coventry Stadium (formerly Brandon Stadium) to the east of the city. The stadium has operated both sides of World War II. The Bees started in 1948 and have operated continuously ever since. They started out in the National League Division three before moving up to the Second Division and, later to the top flight. They have operated at this level ever since. Amongst the top speedway riders who have represented Coventry teams are Tom Farndon , Jack Parker , Nigel Boocock , Kelvin Tatum , Chris Harris and three World Champions, Ole Olsen , Hans Nielsen and Jack Young. Between 1998 and 2000, Coventry hosted the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain at Brandon Stadium.
In 2007, the Bees won the domestic speedway treble of Elite League, Knock-out Cup and Craven Shield, whilst Chris Harris won both the Speedway Grand Prix of Great Britain and the British Championship.
The Bees retained the Craven Shield in 2008.
Before World War II speedway also operated for a short time at Foleshill Stadium, off Lythalls Lane in the City.
In 2003, Coventry Blaze won the British National League and Playoffs. In 2007, Coventry Blaze won the Elite League and the British Challenge cup and narrowly missed out on the treble by losing in the semi-finals of the playoffs.
Coventry Bears are the major rugby league team in the city now playing in the Rugby League Conference . In 2002 they won the Rugby League Conference , and took the step up to the national leagues. In 2004 they won the National Division 3 title and have appeared in the Challenge Cup.
2005 was a good year for sport in Coventry. Not only did it become the first city in the UK to host the International Children's Games, [18] but three of the city sports teams won significant honours. The Blaze won the treble consisting of Elite League , playoff and Challenge Cup ; the Jets won the BAFL Division 2 championship and were undefeated all season; and the Bees won the Elite League playoffs.
Major sports teams in Coventry
Club
Statue commemorating James Starley
History and politics
Coventry is well-known for the legendary 11th century exploits of Lady Godiva who, according to legend, rode through the city naked on horseback in protest at high taxes being waged on the cityfolk by her husband Leofric, Earl of Mercia . According to the legend the residents of the city were commanded to look away as she rode, but one man didn't and was allegedly struck blind. He became known as Peeping Tom thus originating a new idiom, or metonym, in English. There is a Grade II* listed statue [19] of her in the city centre, which for 18 years had been underneath a much-maligned Cathedral Lanes shopping centre canopy, removed in October 2008. [20] There is also a bust of Peeping Tom looking out from a bridge that crosses one branch of the shopping precinct, and across the road from the statue of Godiva there is a clock where, at every hour, Lady Godiva appears on her horse while being watched by Peeping Tom.
The Labour politician Mo Mowlam was educated in Coventry; trade union organiser Tom Mann and National Socialist Movement leader Colin Jordan also came from the city.
Science and technology
Coventry has been the home to several pioneers in science and engineering. Frank Whittle , the inventor of the jet engine , was from the city, as was the inventor James Starley , instrumental in the development of the bicycle and his nephew J.K. Starley , who worked alongside his uncle and went on to found car company Rover . Cyborg scientist Kevin Warwick is also a Coventrian. George Singer , manufacturer of Singer bicycles also lived in Coventry, his Victorian home has now been converted into Coundon Court School and Community College . Coventrians who established successful businesses from very humble beginnings were known as "Coventry Kids".
The arts
Coventrians in the arts include the highly acclaimed poet Philip Larkin , actors Billie Whitelaw , Nigel Hawthorne and Clive Owen , and the author Lee Child . Many notable musicians originated in Coventry, including Delia Derbyshire , Jerry Dammers , Terry Hall , Neville Staple , Hazel O'Connor , Clint Mansell , Julianne Regan , Lee Dorrian , Jen Ledger , Taz (lead singer of the band Stereo Nation), and Panjabi MC . 2 Tone music developed in and around Coventry in the 1970s and two of the genre's most notable bands, The Specials and The Selecter are both from the city. Other Coventry bands include The Primitives , Adorable , Fun Boy Three , The Colourfield , King , Jigsaw , The Sorrows , and The Enemy . Record producer Pete Waterman is also from the city and is president of Coventry Bears . Broadcasters Brian Matthew and Richard Keys , theatre producer Dominic Madden , and pornographic actress Debee Ashby are also Coventrians.
Sport
Notable Coventrian sportsmen include speedway rider Tom Farndon ; footballer Reg Matthews ; cricketers Tom Cartwright and Ian Bell ; rugby union players Ivor Preece , David Duckham , Neil Back , Danny Grewcock and Geoff Evans ; boxer Errol Christie ; sprinter Marlon Devonish ; distance runners Brian Kilby and David Moorcroft ; show jumper Nick Skelton and fencer Kevin Reilly.
Economy
Coventry's skyline (view from the footbridge over the railway by Central 6 shopping centre). The three spires are: Holy Trinity (left), remaining spire of the ruined (bombed) cathedral and the remaining spire of the ruined Christ Church (right).
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Coventry at current basic prices by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling: [21]
Year
Includes energy and construction
Includes financial intermediation services indirectly measured
Coventry has long been a centre of motor and cycle manufacturing, dating from 1896. Starting out with some less familiar names such as Coventry Motette, Great Horseless Carriage Co, Swift Motor Company and more familiar names like Humber , Riley , Francis-Barnett and Daimler and the Triumph motorcycle having its origins in 1902 in a Coventry factory. The Massey-Ferguson tractor factory was situated on Banner Lane, Tile Hill, until it closed in the late 1990s. Although the motor industry has declined almost to the point of extinction, the Jaguar company has retained its corporate and research headquarters in the city (at Allesley and Whitley), and Peugeot still have a large parts centre in Humber Road. The famous London black cab taxis are produced in Coventry by LTI and these are now the only vehicles still wholly built in Coventry.
The manufacture of machine tools was once a major industry in Coventry. Alfred Herbert Ltd became one of the largest machine tool companies in the world. Unfortunately in later years the company faced tough competition from foreign machine tool builders and ceased trading in 1983. Another famous Coventry machine tool manufacturer was the A. C. Wickman company. The last Coventry machine tool manufacturer was Matrix Churchill which was forced to close in the wake of the Iraqi Supergun (Project Babylon) scandal. It had been owned by the Saddam Hussein government, via front companies, and closed amidst much controversy and bad feeling.
Coventry's main industries include: cars, electronic equipment, machine tools, agricultural machinery, man-made fibres, aerospace components and telecommunications equipment. In recent years, the city has moved away from manufacturing industries towards business services, finance, research, design and development, creative industries as well as logistics and leisure.
Coventry motor companies once contributed significantly to the British motor industry but that role is now much diminished.
Transport
An overview of Coventry railway station .
Coventry Canal Basin
Coventry is near the M6 , M69 , M45 and M40 motorways . It is also served by the A45 and A46 dual carriageways. Coventry has a much used inner ring road opened in the 1960s (approx.). Phoenix Way , a dual carriageway running north – south opened 1998 (approx.), has improved traffic flows through the city.
For rail, Coventry railway station is served by the West Coast Main Line , and has regular rail services between London and Birmingham (and stations beyond). It is also served by railway lines to Nuneaton via Bedworth . There is a line linking it to Leamington Spa and onwards to the south coast. Coventry also has two Suburban Rail stations in Canley and in Tile Hill .
Bus service operators in Coventry include National Express Coventry , Travel de Courcey and Stagecoach in Warwickshire . Pool Meadow Bus Station is the main bus and coach interchange in the city centre. Two park and ride sites exist in the city, one at War Memorial Park and one at Courthouse Green.
The nearest major airports are Birmingham International Airport , some 17 km (11 miles) to the west of the city and Coventry Airport in Baginton , located 8 km (5 miles) south of the city centre.
The Coventry Canal terminates near the city centre at Coventry Canal Basin and is navigable for 61 km (38 miles) to Fradley Junction in Staffordshire .
Waste management
Incineration plant, Coventry
Coventry has a large incineration plant which burns rubbish from both Coventry and Solihull , producing electricity for the National Grid and some hot water that is used locally. Some rubbish is still put into landfill .
Coventry City Council is assisting recycling as part of their waste management strategy in line with national trends:
many areas of Coventry have kerb-side plastic, metal (tins and cans), and paper recycling . Garden-green rubbish is also collected and composted.
a wide range of waste materials can be taken by car to the recycling depot, which is adjacent to the incineration unit.
there are many recycling points throughout the City for paper, glass recycling and metal / tin can recycling.
In October 2006, Coventry City Council signed the Nottingham Declaration , joining 130 other UK councils in committing to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions of the council and to help the local community do the same.
In November 2009, out of the biggest 20 cities in Britain the Forum for the Future ranked Coventry in 11th place based on environmental performance, quality of life, and readiness for the future. [22] Coventry was ranked 14th in 2008, and 17th in 2009. [23] [24]
Politics
The Council House, Coventry
Traditionally a part of Warwickshire (although it was a county in its own right for 400 years), Coventry became an independent county borough in 1889. It later became a metropolitan district of the West Midlands county under the Local Government Act (1974), even though it was entirely separate to the Birmingham conurbation area (this is why Coventry appears to unnaturally "jut out" into Warwickshire on political maps of the UK). In 1986, the West Midlands County Council was abolished and Coventry became administered as an effective unitary authority in its own right.
Coventry is still strongly associated with its traditional county, Warwickshire. This may be because of its geographical location, forming a large protrusion into the county.
Coventry is administered by Coventry City Council. The city is divided up into 18 Wards each with three councillors . Coventry has usually been controlled by the Labour Party over the past few decades, and at times they appeared to be in safe control. However the Conservatives held control for a short time in the 1970s, and they have also been in control since June 2004. (For a time they held control on the casting vote of the Lord Mayor, but they won clear control at the local elections of 4 May 2006).
The leader of the controlling Conservative group is Ken Taylor, who has held the post of Leader of the Council since 2004. The leader of the opposition Labour group is John Mutton.
Certain local services are provided by West Midlands wide agencies including the West Midlands Police , the West Midlands Fire Service and the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive (Centro) which is responsible for public transport .
In 2006, Coventry and Warwickshire Ambulance Service was merged with the West Midlands Ambulance Service . The Warwickshire and Northamptonshire Air Ambulance service is based at Coventry Airport in Baginton.
Coventry is represented in Parliament by three MPs all of whom are Labour. These are:
Geoffrey Robinson - ( Coventry North West )
Up until 1997, Coventry was represented by four Members of Parliament, whereupon the Coventry South West and Coventry South East constituencies were merged to form Coventry South.
At the Annual Meeting of the City Council on 20 May 2009, Councillor Jack Harrison was elected as the new Lord Mayor of Coventry. Councillor Harrison has been a Labour councillor for 13 years representing the Lower Stoke Ward. Councillor Harrison's wife, Jill, is Lady Mayoress. [25] [26] The Deputy Lord Mayor is Councillor Brian Kelsey. He has been a Conservative councillor in Bablake Ward since 1999. [27] [28]
The Bishop of Coventry since April 1998 has been the Rt Revd. Colin James Bennetts , who retired from the post on 31 January 2008. The Reverend Canon Dr Christopher John Cocksworth BA, PhD, PGCE was nominated Bishop of Coventry on 3 March 2008. The Queen then approved the nomination of the Reverend Canon Christopher John Cocksworth BA, PhD, PGCE, for election as Bishop of Coventry .
Demographics
Like most major British cities, Coventry has a large ethnic minority population, making up 25.2% of the population as of 2006 estimates. [29] The ethnic minority population is concentrated in the Foleshill and the St. Michael's wards.
The composition of the ethnic minority population is not typical of the UK. Sikhs are the largest non- Christian religion , with significant numbers of other South Asians . The Black population is 3.1%, only slightly above the British average, and lower than some other cities.
8.2% of the population identify as ethnically Indian , 2.2% as Pakistani , 0.8% as being from other South Asian groups , and 0.7% as Bangladeshi .
White Irish people constitute 2.8%, and 2.9% of the city's population identify as " White Other " (non-Irish, non-British white groups).
1.7% of the population are Black African , 1.2% Black Caribbean , and 0.2% from other black groups.
1.5% are ethnically Chinese and the remaining 0.9% is mainly composed of East Asians .
People reporting two or more ethnicities make up 2.1% of the population. [29]
Year and Current Total Population [30]
1801 - 21,853
Balsall Common , about 7 miles west
Fillongley , about 7 miles north
Wolston , about 7 miles southeast
Brinklow , about 7 miles east
Bubbenhall , about 7 miles southeast
Meriden , about 8 miles west
Bramcote , about 8 miles northeast
Princethorpe , about 10 miles southeast
Stretton-on-Dunsmore , about 10 miles southeast
Wolvey , about 10 miles northeast
Postcodes
Postal districts CV1 to CV6 inclusive cover the city of Coventry and its immediate suburbs . Postal districts CV7 to CV47 cover almost all of the surrounding administrative county of Warwickshire , with the exception of those areas around Coleshill , Polesworth , Alcester and Studley in western Warwickshire, which have Birmingham (B) postcodes instead. However, Coventry remains the post town for settlements within the CV7 postcode, even though they do not form part of the city.[citation needed]
Twin cities
Coventry was the first city to "twin" with another city ( Volgograd , Russia) and hence began the now common worldwide practice of twinning . It continued after World War II when Coventry twinned with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, both cities having been very heavily bombed during the war. Each twin city country is represented in a specific ward of the city and in each ward has a peace garden dedicated to that twin city.
Coventry is now twinned with 26 places across the world:
Flag
1971
Accent
Coventry in a linguistic sense looks both ways, towards both the 'West' and 'East' Midlands. [32] One thousand years ago, the extreme west of Warwickshire, what today we would designate Birmingham and the Black Country was then separated from Coventry and east Warwickshire by the forest of Arden , with resulting inferior means of communication. [32] The west Warwickshire settlements too were smaller in comparison to Coventry which, by the 14th century, was England's third city. [32] Even as far back as Anglo-Saxon times Coventry, situated as it was along Watling Street was a trading and market post between King Alfred's Saxon Mercia and Danelaw England with a consequent merging of dialects. [33] Phonetically the accent of Coventry is similar to Northern English in that it eliminates the long a /ɑː/, so cast is pronounced [kæst] rather than [kɑːst]. [33] Yet the clipped, flatter vowels in the accent also contain traces of Estuary English (T-glottaling), increasingly so amongst the young since 1950. [33] One notable feature which television producers have been apt to overlook is the distinction between Coventry and Birmingham accents. In Birmingham and the Black Country 'Old' and 'cold' may be pronounced as "owd" and "cowd", this linguistic feature stops starkly as one moves beyond Solihull in the general direction of Coventry, a possible approximation of the 'Arden Forest' divide perhaps. [34] The prosody in the voice has none of the see-saw of traditional 'Brummie', being more 'flat' in its terminal sentence tags. [32] The common Birmingham inflection of the phonetic feature 'ɒɪ' in words such as 'price'-becoming similar in sound to the word 'choice' is almost absent in Coventry. Yet accents alter briskly in this particular part of the Midlands, North Warwickshire (Bedworth & Nuneaton) displays increased East Midlands dialect features. [32] Then again, just to the south, the general Southern English feature of the longer 'a' in words such as "bath" and "path" (becoming "barth" and "parth") starts to occur regardless of class or geodemographic grouping across an east to west band of settlements somewhere between Southam and Banbury, positioning Coventry right at the edge of England's phonetic crossroads. [33]
Dramatic representations on film have been very uneven down the years, ranging from Yorkshire sounding builders visiting the Queen Vic in Eastenders [1987] to Black Country sounding factory workers in the Jeffrey Archer adaptation 'First Among Equals' (1984). [35] The BBC's 2009 documentary 'The Bombing of Coventry' contained useful phonetic data on the 'Coventry Accent' in the form of interviews with Coventrians. A recent performance from the actress Becci Gemmell, playing Coventry character Joyce in the BBC drama Land Girls , also gave a more accurate phonetic representation of the accent. [36]
Honours
A minor planet 3009 Coventry discovered by Soviet astronomer Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh in 1973 is named after the city. [37]
2008 bomb scare
On 12 March 2008 an unexploded World War II Luftwaffe bomb was discovered at 12 noon on a building site in Coventry's city centre, [38] a British Army bomb disposal unit was called in and subsequently called in experts from Cambridge. A controlled explosion was conducted at approximately 02:40 GMT on the morning of March 13. [39]
At first areas in close range of the bomb were evacuated (including a school and a hospital), however, as the day progressed larger parts of the city were closed off. Later, a cordon of 500 metres was enforced. The event attracted mass media coverage throughout the West Midlands region.
See also
Coventration
Further reading
Smith, Albert & Fry, (1991) The Coventry We Have Lost. 2 vols. Berkswell: Simanda Press, 1991, 1993 ISBN 0-9513867-1-9; ISBN 0-9513867-2-7
References
^ Roach, Peter; Hartman, James; Setter, Jane et al., eds (2006). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (17th ed.). Cambridge: CUP. ISBN 978-0-521-68086-8.
| i don't know |
What was the first book to be written by Charles Dickens, completed in 1837? | Charles Dickens Timeline of Important Dates
Dickens enrolls in classes at a school next door to his family's home.
1823
Hard Times
Owing to John Dickens's numerous debts, he is unable to afford to send his son Charles back to school. His mother opens her own girls' school in an effort to earn more money for the family, but is unable to attract even a single student.
Feb 9, 1824
Starts Work
Two days after his twelfth birthday, Charles Dickens starts a job labeling jars of shoe polish in a factory.
Feb 23, 1824
Father Imprisoned
Despite a desperate attempt on behalf of his family to raise the money to keep him out of jail, John Dickens is committed to a debtor's prison for his failure to repay a debt of 40 pounds. The Dickens family pawns everything they own, Elizabeth Dickens and the four youngest children move in to John's prison cell. Charles takes a room at a boarding house, using his income from the boot-black factory to pay his room and board.
May 28, 1824
Father Released from Prison
After earning a small inheritance, John Dickens is able to negotiate with his creditors and secure his release from jail. The family moves into the boarding house where Charles had been living.
Jun 1824
Charles enrolls at Wellington House Academy.
1826
Financial Problems
Another round of financial troubles forces Charles and his elder sister Fanny to withdraw from school. Soon after, the Dickens family is evicted from their London home.
May 1827
Law Work
Charles takes a job as a law clerk to bolster the family's income. He also starts spending time around London's theater – excuse us, theatre – district.
Nov 1828
Launches Journalism Career
Dickens leaves his job at a law office to work as a freelance reporter. Over the next few years, he writes for several London newspapers.
1830
Falls in Love
Dickens falls in love with a young woman named Maria Beadnell. Her well-to-do parents disapprove of the relationship and send her to school in Paris to keep her away from Dickens.
Apr 28, 1833
Stage Performances
Dickens, by now a major theater buff, stars in and also stage-manages three amateur plays. His three-year romance with Maria Beadnell ends a month later.
Dec 1833
Published
Dickens' first piece of writing, the short story "A Dinner at Poplar Walk," appears anonymously in Old Monthly Magazine. He publishes several more stories in the magazine over the next several months.
Sep 26, 1834
Street Sketches
Noticing his talent for writing, Dickens's editor at the Morning Chronicle newspaper encourages him to write more observational pieces. He publishes the first of his "Street Sketches," vignettes of life in London.
Feb 1836
Sketches by Boz and The Pickwick Papers
Dickens begins publishing his Sketches by Boz, a collection of written pieces. The following month, he publishes the first installment of the serial novel The Pickwick Papers, which runs until November 1937.
Apr 2, 1836
Dickens marries Catherine Hogarth, the daughter of a colleague at the Morning Chronicle.
1837
The couple's first child, a son named Charles but called "Charley," is born.
Feb 1837
Oliver Twist
The first installment of Dickens's serial novel Oliver Twist is published in Bentley's Miscellany, which Dickens now edits. It runs in 24 installments over two years.
1838
The couple's daughter, Mamie Dickens, is born.
1839
The couple's third child, Kate, is born.
Mar 1839
Dickens's serial novel highlighting the miserable conditions in schools for poor children begins publication.
1840
Dickens begins another serial novel in the magazine Master Humphrey's Clock, which he edits.
1841
Son Born
The fourth Dickens child, a son named Walter, is born. Dickens leaves the editor position at Master Humphrey's Clock.
1843
Two Famous Novels
Dickens publishes two novels this year: The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit and A Christmas Carol. The latter is the well-known Christmas tale that turns out to be one of his most beloved stories.
1844
Fifth Child Born
The couple's son, Francis, is born while the Dickens family is living abroad in Genoa, Italy.
1845
Sixth Child Born
Catherine Dickens gives birth to the couple's sixth child, a son named Alfred Tennyson Dickens. The poet Lord Alfred Tennyson is the baby's namesake and godfather. Dickens also begins performing this year with his own theater company.
Oct 1846
Dickens begins serializing the novel Dombey and Son.
1847
The Dickens have their seventh child, son Sydney.
1849
Son Henry Fielding Dickens is born.
May 1849
Dickens begins serializing David Copperfield, the most autobiographical of his novels.
1850
Catherine Dickens gives birth to a daughter, Dora.
1851
A Tragic Year
The Dickens family suffers numerous hardships this year. Catherine endures a nervous breakdown. Charles's father, John, dies. Sadly, the couple's nine-month-old daughter, Dora, dies as well.
1852
Tenth Child Born
The couple has their tenth (and final) child: a son named Edward. Dickens also begins writing the novel Bleak House.
1854
Hard Times
Dickens' novel about the dark side of the Industrial Revolution is serialized in Household Words magazine.
1857
Meets Nelly Ternan
Dickens meets the actress Ellen "Nelly" Ternan, who is working on a production of one of his plays. They begin a romantic relationship that lasts for the rest of Dickens's life. Dickens and his wife Catherine agree to separate the following year.
Dec 1857
Serialization begins of Little Dorrit, a novel about the consequences of debt.
Apr 1859
A Tale of Two Cities
The first installment of Dickens's novel set amid the French Revolution appears in the magazine All the Year Round. (Spoiler alert! The two cities are London and Paris.) Dickens takes over editorship of All the Year Round, a position he holds for the rest of his life.
Dec 1860
The first installment of Dickens's classic novel is published.
1863
Two Losses
In the same year, Dickens loses his mother, Elizabeth, as well as his fourth child, Walter, who is a soldier in Calcutta.
Nov 1865
Our Mutual Friend
Dickens completes work on Our Mutual Friend, the last novel he finishes before his death. He begins work on The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a mystery novel planned in twelve installments. He is only able to complete six installments.
Jun 9, 1870
Charles Dickens Dies
Charles Dickens dies at the age of 58 after spending the day working on his novel The Mystery of Edwin Drood. He is buried in Poet's Corner at London's Westminster Abbey.
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"""The 59th Street Bridge Song"" was an early successful recording by Simon and Garfunkel. What is its better known alternative title?" | The Top 10 Charles Dickens Books
The Top 10 Charles Dickens Books
By Robert Gottlieb |
Nov 30, 2012
Great Expectations: The Sons and Daughters of Charles Dickens is an outstanding biography of the writer with an eye toward his children, including the scandalous possible existence of an 11th child, born to Dickens's mistress. Robert Gottlieb, former Knopf editor, New Yorker editor, and lifelong Dickens reader, gives us the 10 best books from the master. For more on the book, check out our Q&A with Gottlieb .
Charles Dickens left us fifteen novels, and in an ideal world everyone would read all of them. (Well, maybe not – Barnaby Rudge is a tired and tiresome historical novel that the young Dickens kept putting off writing until contractual obligations forced him to finish it.) His first published book was Sketches by Boz – a collection of short pieces that brought him considerable attention. By the time he was finished with his second book – The Pickwick Papers, serialized between March, 1836 and October, 1837 – he was, at twenty-five, the best-known writer in England, and such he remained until his death, at fifty-eight, in 1870. The energy, the fun, the power, the compassion of his work is unmatched in English literature, with the obvious.
How do you rate works of genius? Partly by personal inclination, partly by accepted wisdom, partly by popularity. Perhaps his most widely known works are A Christmas Carol and A Tale of Two Cities, and both are wonderful, but they don’t make my own top ten list. Instead:
1. Great Expectations - With its thrilling story that is also a profound look at the moral education of a boy who has been persecuted and deceived but whose essential goodness of heart eventually rescues him from snobbery and delusion. Everything is in harmony in this almost perfect novel: the character of Pip himself, and his interaction with the immense figures of the convict Magwitch, the embittered and half-mad Miss Havisham, and the beautiful, cold Estella. This is Dickens’s most finely crafted book, and his most moving.
2. Our Mutual Friend - His final complete novel, with its vast panoply of characters, its emotional generosity, its violent drama, its rich humor – and its author’s most likeable (because imperfect) heroine, Bella Wilfer. I’ve actually read this book aloud twice, and still find it irresistible.
3. David Copperfield - Of course – the book closest to Dickens’s heart (it’s not by accident that the hero’s initials reverse Dickens’s own). The first-person narrative sweeps you along, and the characters -- from the wicked Murdstones and conniving Uriah Heep to the warm-hearted if feckless Micawbers, from Aunt Betsey Trotwood, Little Em’ly, and Steerforth, her seducer and betrayer, to the stout-hearted Peggoty and the silly lovable Dora, whom David marries – are indelibly printed on our literary consciousness. (Among its greatest admirers: Tolstoy, Kafka, and Virginal Woolf.)
4. Bleak House - With its vastly complicated plot and its immense cast of characters swirling around the case of Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce that has been grinding away in the Court of Chancery for decades, Bleak House is for many readers Dickens’s greatest novel. An assault on the legal system, a satire on foolish philanthropy, a gripping melodrama, and an interesting use of point of view (told in both the third and first persons), it is a perpetual fascination.
5. Little Dorrit - In some ways Dickens’s most personal if not autobiographical novel, it has an autumnal quality, given its aging hero and quiet, staunch heroine. Its central characters not only prevail but mature, and its situations – even its comedy – resonate for its readers in countless affecting ways.
6. Oliver Twist - With its larger-than-life villainies and its endless excitements, is the perfect book to begin with. Who will ever forget the supremely wicked Fagin who co-opts homeless boys into a life of crime, the murderous Bill Sikes, the brave young Oliver himself, however idealized? No wonder it had such an immense triumph as successor to the benign and lovable Pickwick!
7. Nicholas Nickleby - Perhaps the most high-spirited of all Dickens’s novels, yet also a grim, devastating attack on the Yorkshire schools to which unwanted children were dispatched. The comically radiant picaresque adventures of young Nicholas with the Crummles traveling theatrical troupe provide a wonderful contrast to the tragedy of the boy Smike, the saddest victim of the Squeers family who run the unspeakable school called Dotheboys Hall.
8. Dombey and Son - A powerful tragedy of a distant, cold businessman who comes to realize too late the value of his worthy daughter, Florence, after the death of his beloved son, Paul – Dickens’s most famous death scene after that of the famous Little Nell of The Old Curiosity Shop.
9. The Pickwick Papers - And, yes, Pickwick itself – not quite a novel (it started out as a series of sketches to be illustrated) but filled with glorious characters – the benign, naïve Pickwick himself, his cockney valet Sam Weller (who steals the book; the Sancho Panza to Pickwick’s Don Quixote), the rascally Jingle – and hilarious episodes like Pickwick’s trial for breach of promise. The most decisive debut in English fiction.
10. The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens - Finally, not a work of fiction but the recently published The Selected Letters of Charles Dickens, edited by Jenny Hartley from the twelve volumes of the monumental Pilgrim Edition of Dickens’s correspondence. Here you find in Dickens the man, all the fun, acuity, sensitivity, and tough realism that characterize Dickens the supreme novelist.
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Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame as a member of the Beatles, widely regarded as one of the most popular and influential acts in the history of rock music; his songwriting partnership with Lennon is one of the most celebrated of the 20th century. After the band's break-up, he pursued a solo career and later formed Wings with his first wife, Linda, and Denny Laine.McCartney has been recognized as one of the highest-selling composers and performers of all time, with 60 gold discs and sales of over 100 million albums and 100 million singles of his work with the Beatles and as as solo artist. More than 2,200 artists have covered his Beatles song "Yesterday", more than any other copyrighted song in history. Wings' 1977 release "Mull of Kintyre" is one of the all-time best-selling singles in the UK. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in March 1999, McCartney has written, or co-written 32 songs that have reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and as of 2014 he has sold more than 15.5 million RIAA-certified units in the United States. McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Starr received MBEs in 1965, and in 1997, McCartney was knighted for his services to music.McCartney has released an extensive catalogue of songs as a solo artist and has composed classical and electronic music. He has taken part in projects to promote international charities related to such subjects as animal rights, seal hunting, landmines, vegetarianism, poverty, and music education. He has married three times and is the parent of five children.1957–1960: the QuarrymenAt the age of fifteen, McCartney met Lennon and his band, the Quarrymen, at the St Peter's Church Hall fête in Woolton on 6 July 1957. The Quarrymen played a mix of rock and roll and skiffle, a type of popular music with jazz, blues and folk influences. The band invited McCartney to join soon afterwards as a rhythm guitarist, and he formed a close working relationship with Lennon. Harrison joined in 1958 as lead guitarist, followed by Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe on bass, in 1960. By May 1960 the band had tried several names, including Beatals, Johnny and the Moondogs and the Silver Beetles. They adopted the name the Beatles in August 1960 and recruited drummer Pete Best shortly before a five-engagement residency in Hamburg.1960–1970: the BeatlesInformally represented by Allan Williams, the Beatles' first booking was for a series of performances in Hamburg, starting in 1960. In 1961, Sutcliffe left the band and McCartney reluctantly became their bass player. They recorded professionally for the first time while in Hamburg, credited as the Beat Brothers, as the backing band for English singer Tony Sheridan on the single "My Bonnie". This brought them to the attention of Brian Epstein, a key figure in their subsequent development and success. He became their manager in January 1962. Ringo Starr replaced Best in August, and the band had their first hit, "Love Me Do", in October, becoming popular in the UK in 1963, and in the US a year later. Their fans' hysteria became known as "Beatlemania", and the press sometimes referred to McCartney as the "cute Beatle".In August 1965, the Beatles released the McCartney composition "Yesterday", featuring a string quartet. Included on the Help! LP, the song was the group's first recorded use of classical music elements and their first recording that involved only a single band member. "Yesterday" became the most covered song in popular music history. Later that year, during recording sessions for the album Rubber Soul, McCartney began to supplant Lennon as the dominant musical force in the band. Musicologist Ian MacDonald wrote, "from [1965\] ... [McCartney\] would be in the ascendant not only as a songwriter, but also as instrumentalist, arranger, producer, and de facto musical director". Critics described Rubber Soul as a significant advance in the refinement and profundity of the band's music and lyrics. Considered a high point in the Beatles catalogue, both Lennon and McCartney claimed lead authorship for the song, "In My Life". McCartney said of the album, "we'd had our cute period, and now it was time to expand." Recording engineer Norman Smith stated that the Rubber Soul sessions exposed indications of increasing contention within the band: "the clash between John and Paul was becoming obvious ... [and\] as far as Paul was concerned, George [Harrison\] could do no right—Paul was absolutely finicky."In 1966, the Beatles released the album Revolver. Featuring sophisticated lyrics, studio experimentation, and an expanded repertoire of musical genres ranging from innovative string arrangements to psychedelic rock, the album marked an artistic leap for the Beatles. The first of three consecutive McCartney A-sides, the single "Paperback Writer" preceded the LP's release. The Beatles produced a short promotional film for the song, and another for its B-side, "Rain". The films, described by Harrison as "the forerunner of videos", aired on The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops in June 1966. Revolver also included McCartney's "Eleanor Rigby", which featured a string octet. According to Gould, the song is "a neoclassical tour de force ... a true hybrid, conforming to no recognizable style or genre of song". Except for some backing vocals, the song included only McCartney's lead vocal and the strings arranged by producer George Martin.The band gave their final commercial concert at the end of their 1966 US tour. Later that year, McCartney completed his first musical project apart from the group—a film score for the UK production The Family Way. The score was a collaboration with Martin, who used two McCartney themes to write thirteen variations. The soundtrack failed to chart, but it won McCartney an Ivor Novello Award for Best Instrumental Theme.Upon the end of the Beatles' performing career, McCartney sensed unease in the band and wanted them to maintain creative productivity. He pressed them to start a new project, which became Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, widely regarded as rock's first concept album. Inspired to create a new persona for the group, to serve as a vehicle for experimentation and to demonstrate to their fans that they had musically matured, McCartney invented the fictional band of the album's title track. As McCartney explained, "We were fed up with being the Beatles. We really hated that fucking four little mop-top approach. We were not boys we were men ... and [we\] thought of ourselves as artists rather than just performers."Starting in November 1966, the band adopted an experimental attitude during recording sessions for the album. According to engineer Geoff Emerick, "the Beatles were looking to go out on a limb, both musically and sonically ... we were utilising a lot of tape varispeeding and other manipulation techniques ... limiters and ... effects like flanging and ADT." Their recording of "A Day in the Life" required a forty-piece orchestra, which Martin and McCartney took turns conducting. The sessions produced the double A-side single "Strawberry Fields Forever"/"Penny Lane" in February 1967, and the LP followed in June. McCartney's "She's Leaving Home" was an orchestral pop song. MacDonald described the track as "[among\] the finest work on Sgt. Pepper — imperishable popular art of its time." Based on an ink drawing by McCartney, the LP's cover included a collage designed by pop artists Peter Blake and Jann Haworth, featuring the Beatles in costume as the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, standing with a host of celebrities. The heavy moustaches worn by the Beatles reflected the growing influence of hippie style trends on the band, while their clothing "spoofed the vogue in Britain for military fashions", wrote Gould. Scholar David Scott Kastan described Sgt. Pepper as "the most important and influential rock-and-roll album ever recorded".Epstein's death in August 1967 created a void, which left the Beatles perplexed and concerned about their future. McCartney, stepping in to fill that void, gradually became the de facto leader and business manager of the group Lennon had once led. His first creative suggestion after this change of leadership was to propose that the band move forward on their plans to produce a film for television, which was to become Magical Mystery Tour. The project was "an administrative nightmare throughout", according to Beatles' historian Mark Lewisohn. McCartney largely directed the film, which brought the group their first unfavourable critical response. However, the film's soundtrack was more successful. It was released in the UK as a six-track double extended play disc (EP), and as an identically titled LP in the US, filled out with five songs from the band's recent singles. The only Capitol compilation later included in the group's official canon of studio albums, the Magical Mystery Tour LP achieved $8 million in sales within three weeks of its release, higher initial sales than any other Capitol LP up to that point.In January 1968, EMI filmed the Beatles for a promotional trailer intended to advertise the animated film Yellow Submarine, loosely based on the imaginary world evoked by McCartney's 1966 composition. Though critics admired the film for its visual style, humour and music, the soundtrack album issued seven months later received a less enthusiastic response. By late 1968, relations within the band were deteriorating. The tension grew while recording The Beatles, commonly known as the White Album. Matters worsened the following year during the Let It Be sessions, when a camera crew filmed McCartney lecturing the group: "We've been very negative since Mr. Epstein passed away ... we were always fighting [his\] discipline a bit, but it's silly to fight that discipline if it's our own".In March 1969, McCartney married Linda Eastman, and in August, the couple had their first child, Mary, named after his late mother. For Abbey Road, the band's last recorded album, Martin suggested "a continuously moving piece of music", urging the group to think symphonically. McCartney agreed, but Lennon did not. They eventually compromised, agreeing to McCartney's suggestion: an LP featuring individual songs on side one, and a long medley on side two.On 10 April 1970, in the midst of business disagreements with his bandmates, McCartney announced his departure from the group. He filed suit for the band's formal dissolution on 31 December 1970. More legal disputes followed as McCartney's attorneys, his in-laws John and Lee Eastman, fought Lennon, Harrison, and Starr's business manager, Allen Klein, over royalties and creative control. An English court legally dissolved the Beatles on 9 January 1975, though sporadic lawsuits against their record company EMI, Klein, and each other persisted until 1989. They are widely regarded as one of the most popular and influential acts in the history of rock music.1970–1981: WingsAfter the Beatles' break-up in 1970, McCartney continued his musical career with his first solo release, McCartney, a US number-one album. Apart from some vocal contributions from Linda, McCartney is a one-man album, with Paul providing compositions, instrumentation and vocals. In 1971, he collaborated with Linda and drummer Denny Seiwell on a second album, Ram. A UK number one and a US top five, Ram included the co-written US number-one hit single "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey". Later that year, ex-Moody Blues guitarist Denny Laine joined the McCartneys and Seiwell to form the band Wings. McCartney had this to say on the groups's formation: "Wings were always a difficult idea ... any group having to follow [the Beatles'\] success would have a hard job ... I found myself in that very position. However, it was a choice between going on or finishing, and I loved music too much to think of stopping." In September 1971, the McCartneys' daughter Stella was born, named in honour of Linda's grandmothers, both of whom were named Stella.Following the addition of guitarist Henry McCullough, Wings' first concert tour began in 1972 with a debut performance in front of an audience of seven hundred at the University of Nottingham. Ten more dates followed as they travelled across the UK in a van during an unannounced tour of universities, during which the band stayed in modest accommodation and received pay in coinage collected from students, while avoiding Beatles songs during their performances. A seven-week, 25-show tour of Europe followed, during which the band played solely Wings and McCartney solo material except for a few covers, including the Little Richard hit "Long Tall Sally", the only song McCartney played during the tour that had previously been recorded by the Beatles. McCartney wanted the tour to avoid large venues; most of the small halls they played had capacities of fewer than 3,000 people. Of his first two post-Beatles tours, McCartney said, "The main thing I didn't want was to come on stage, faced with the whole torment of five rows of press people with little pads, all looking at me and saying, 'Oh well, he is not as good as he was.' So we decided to go out on that university tour which made me less nervous ... by the end of that tour I felt ready for something else, so we went into Europe."In March 1973, Wings achieved their first US number-one single, "My Love", included on their second LP, Red Rose Speedway, a US number one and UK top five. Paul's collaboration with Linda and former Beatles producer Martin resulted in the song "Live and Let Die", which was the theme song for the James Bond film of the same name. Nominated for an Academy Award, the song reached number two in the US and number nine in the UK. It also earned Martin a Grammy for his orchestral arrangement. Music professor and author Vincent Benitez described the track as "symphonic rock at its best".After the departure of McCullough and Seiwell in 1973, the McCartneys and Laine recorded Band on the Run. The album was the first of seven platinum Wings LPs. It was a US and UK number one, the band's first to top the charts in both countries and the first ever to reach Billboard magazine's charts on three separate occasions. One of the best-selling releases of the decade, it remained on the UK charts for 124 weeks. Rolling Stone named it Album of the Year for 1974, and in 1975 it won Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary/Pop Vocal and Best Engineered Album. In 1974, Wings achieved a second US number-one single with the title track. The album also included the top-ten hits "Jet" and "Helen Wheels", and earned the 413th spot on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.Wings followed Band on the Run with the chart-topping albums Venus and Mars (1975) and Wings at the Speed of Sound (1976). In 1975, they began the fourteen-month Wings Over the World Tour, which included stops in the UK, Australia, Europe and the US. The tour marked the first time McCartney performed Beatles songs live with Wings, with five in the two-hour set list: "I've Just Seen a Face", "Yesterday", "Blackbird", "Lady Madonna" and "The Long and Winding Road". Following the second European leg of the tour and extensive rehearsals in London, the group undertook an ambitious US arena tour that yielded the US number-one live triple LP Wings over America.In September 1977, the McCartneys had a third child, a son they named James. In November, the Wings song "Mull of Kintyre", co-written with Laine, was quickly becoming one of the best-selling singles in UK chart history. The most successful single of McCartney's solo career, it achieved double the sales of the previous record holder, "She Loves You", and went on to sell 2.5 million copies and hold the UK sales record until the 1984 charity single, "Do They Know It's Christmas?".London Town (1978) spawned a US number-one single ("With a Little Luck"), and was Wings' best-selling LP since Band on the Run, making the top five in both the US and the UK. Critical reception was unfavourable, and McCartney expressed disappointment with the album. Back to the Egg (1979) featured McCartney's collaboration with a rock supergroup dubbed "the Rockestra". Credited to Wings, the band included Pete Townshend, David Gilmour, Gary Brooker, John Paul Jones and John Bonham. Though certified platinum, critics panned Back to the Egg. Wings completed their final concert tour in 1979, with twenty shows in the UK that included the live debut of the Beatles songs "Got to Get You into My Life", "The Fool on the Hill" and "Let it Be".In 1980, McCartney released his second solo LP, the self-produced McCartney II, which peaked at number one in the UK and number three in the US. As with his first album, he composed and performed it alone. The album contained the song "Coming Up", the live version of which, recorded in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1979 by Wings, became the group's last number-one hit. By 1981, McCartney felt he had accomplished all he could creatively with Wings and decided he needed a change. The group disbanded in April 1981 following disagreements over royalties and salaries.1982–1990In 1982 McCartney collaborated with Stevie Wonder on the Martin-produced number-one hit "Ebony and Ivory", included on McCartney's Tug of War LP, and with Michael Jackson on "The Girl Is Mine" from Thriller. The following year, he and Jackson worked on "Say Say Say", McCartney's most recent US number one as of 2014. McCartney earned his latest UK number one as of 2014 with the title track of his LP release that year, "Pipes of Peace".In 1984, McCartney starred in the musical Give My Regards to Broad Street, a feature film he also wrote and produced which included Starr in an acting role. Disparaged by critics, Variety described the film as "characterless, bloodless, and pointless". Roger Ebert awarded it a single star and wrote, "you can safely skip the movie and proceed directly to the soundtrack". The album fared much better, reaching number one in the UK and producing the US top-ten hit single "No More Lonely Nights", featuring David Gilmour on lead guitar. In 1985, Warner Brothers commissioned McCartney to write a song for the comedic feature film Spies Like Us. He composed and recorded the track in four days, with Phil Ramone co-producing. McCartney participated in Live Aid, performing "Let it Be", but technical difficulties rendered his vocals and piano barely audible for the first two verses, punctuated by squeals of feedback. Equipment technicians resolved the problems and David Bowie, Alison Moyet, Pete Townshend and Bob Geldof joined McCartney on stage, receiving an enthusiastic crowd reaction.McCartney collaborated with Eric Stewart on Press to Play (1986), with Stewart co-writing more than half the songs on the LP. In 1988, McCartney released Choba B CCCP, released only in the Soviet Union, which contained eighteen covers; recorded over the course of two days. In 1989, he joined forces with fellow Merseysiders Gerry Marsden and Holly Johnson to record an updated version of "Ferry Cross the Mersey", for the Hillsborough disaster appeal fund. That same year, he released Flowers in the Dirt; a collaborative effort with Elvis Costello that included musical contributions from Gilmour and Nicky Hopkins. McCartney then formed a band consisting of himself and Linda, with Hamish Stuart and Robbie McIntosh on guitars, Paul "Wix" Wickens on keyboards and Chris Whitten on drums. In September 1989, they launched the Paul McCartney World Tour, his first in over a decade. The following year, he released the triple album, Tripping the Live Fantastic, which contained select performances from the tour. In 1990, the US publication Amusement Business presented McCartney with an award for the highest grossing show of the year; his two performances at Berkeley earned over $3.5 million. He performed for the largest paying stadium audience in history on 21 April 1990, when 184,000 people attended his concert at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.1991–2000McCartney ventured into orchestral music in 1991, when the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Society commissioned a musical piece by him to celebrate its sesquicentennial. He collaborated with composer Carl Davis, producing Liverpool Oratorio. The performance featured opera singers Kiri Te Kanawa, Sally Burgess, Jerry Hadley and Willard White, with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the choir of Liverpool Cathedral. Reviews were negative. The Guardian was especially critical, describing the music as "afraid of anything approaching a fast tempo", and adding that the piece has "little awareness of the need for recurrent ideas that will bind the work into a whole". The paper published a letter McCartney submitted in response in which he noted several of the work's faster tempos and added, "happily, history shows that many good pieces of music were not liked by the critics of the time so I am content to ... let people judge for themselves the merits of the work." The New York Times was slightly more generous, stating, "There are moments of beauty and pleasure in this dramatic miscellany ... the music's innocent sincerity makes it difficult to be put off by its ambitions". Performed around the world after its London premiere, the Liverpool Oratorio reached number one on the UK classical chart, Music Week.In 1991, McCartney performed a selection of acoustic-only songs on MTV Unplugged and released a live album of the performance titled Unplugged (The Official Bootleg). During the 1990s, McCartney collaborated twice with Youth of Killing Joke as the musical duo "the Fireman". The two released their first electronica album together, Strawberries Oceans Ships Forest, in 1993. McCartney released the rock album, Off the Ground, in 1993. The subsequent New World Tour followed, which led to the release of the Paul Is Live album later that year.Starting in 1994, McCartney took a four-year break from his solo career to work on Apple's Beatles Anthology project with Harrison, Starr and Martin. He recorded a radio series called Oobu Joobu in 1995 for the American network Westwood One, which he described as "widescreen radio". Also in 1995, Prince Charles presented him with an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal College of Music—"kind of amazing for somebody who doesn't read a note of music", commented McCartney.In 1997, McCartney released the rock album Flaming Pie. Starr appeared on drums and backing vocals in "Beautiful Night". Later that year, he released the classical work Standing Stone, which topped the UK and US classical charts. In 1998, he released Rushes, the second electronica album by the Fireman. In 1999, McCartney released Run Devil Run. Recorded in one week, and featuring Ian Paice and David Gilmour, it was primarily an album of covers with three McCartney originals. He had been planning such an album for years, having been previously encouraged to do so by Linda, who had died of cancer in April 1998.In 1999, he continued his experimentation with orchestral music on Working Classical. In 2000, he released the electronica album Liverpool Sound Collage with Super Furry Animals and Youth, using the sound collage and musique concrète techniques that had fascinated him in the mid-1960s. He contributed the song "Nova" to a tribute album of classical, choral music called A Garland for Linda (2000), dedicated to his late wife.2000–2010Having witnessed the 11 September 2001 attacks from the JFK airport tarmac, McCartney was inspired to take a leading role in organising the Concert for New York City. His studio album release in November that year, Driving Rain, included the song "Freedom", written in response to the attacks. The following year, McCartney went out on tour with a band that included guitarists Rusty Anderson and Brian Ray, accompanied by Paul "Wix" Wickens on keyboards and Abe Laboriel, Jr. on drums. They began the Driving World Tour in April 2002, which included stops in the US, Mexico and Japan. The tour resulted in the double live album Back in the U.S., released internationally in 2003 as Back in the World. The tour earned a reported $126.2 million, an average of over $2 million per night, and Billboard named it the top tour of the year.In July 2002, McCartney married Heather Mills. In November, on the first anniversary of George Harrison's death, McCartney performed at the Concert for George. He participated in the National Football League's Super Bowl, performing "Freedom" during the pre-game show for Super Bowl XXXVI in 2002 and headlining the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005. The English College of Arms honoured McCartney in 2002 by granting him a coat of arms. His crest, featuring a Liver Bird holding an acoustic guitar in its claw, reflects his background in Liverpool and his musical career. The shield includes four curved emblems which resemble beetles' backs. The arms' motto is Ecce Cor Meum, Latin for "Behold My Heart". In 2003, the McCartneys had a child, Beatrice Milly.In July 2005, he performed at the Live 8 event in Hyde Park, London, opening the show with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (with U2) and closing it with "Drive My Car" (with George Michael), "Helter Skelter", and "The Long and Winding Road". In September, he released the rock album Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, for which he provided most of the instrumentation. In 2006, McCartney released the classical work Ecce Cor Meum. The rock album Memory Almost Full followed in 2007. In 2008, he released his third Fireman album, Electric Arguments. Also in 2008, he performed at a concert in Liverpool to celebrate the city's year as European Capital of Culture. In 2009, after a four-year break, he returned to touring and has since performed over 80 shows. More than forty-five years after the Beatles first appeared on American television during The Ed Sullivan Show, he returned to the same New York theatre to perform on Late Show with David Letterman. On 9 September 2009, EMI reissued the Beatles catalogue following a four-year digital remastering effort, releasing a music video game called The Beatles: Rock Band the same day.McCartney's enduring fame has made him a popular choice to open new venues. In 2009, he played three sold-out concerts at the newly built Citi Field—a venue constructed to replace Shea Stadium in Queens, New York. These performances yielded the double live album Good Evening New York City later that year. In 2010, McCartney opened the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.2011–presentIn July 2011, McCartney played two sold-out concerts at the new Yankee Stadium. A New York Times review of the first concert reported that McCartney was "not saying goodbye but touring stadiums and playing marathon concerts." In September 2011, having been commissioned by the New York City Ballet, McCartney released his first score for dance, a collaboration with Peter Martins called Ocean's Kingdom. Also in 2011, McCartney married Nancy Shevell. He released Kisses on the Bottom, a collection of standards, in February 2012; that same month the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences honoured him as the MusiCares Person of the Year, two days prior to his performance at the 54th Grammy Awards.As of 2013, McCartney remains one of the world's top draws. He played to over 100,000 people total during two performances in Mexico City in May, the shows grossing nearly $6 million. In June 2012, McCartney closed Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee Concert held outside Buckingham Palace, performing a set that included "Let It Be" and "Live and Let Die". He closed the opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on 27 July, singing "The End" and "Hey Jude" and inviting the audience to join in on the coda. Having donated his time, he received £1 from the Olympic organisers. On 12 December, McCartney performed with three former members of Nirvana: Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl, and Pat Smear during the closing act of 12-12-12: The Concert for Sandy Relief, seen by approximately two billion people worldwide. On 28 August 2013, McCartney released the title track of his upcoming studio album New, which was released in October 2013.A primetime entertainment special celebrating the legacy of seven-time Grammy-winning group the Beatles and their groundbreaking first performance on The Ed Sullivan Show, featuring Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, was taped 27 January 2014 at the Ed Sullivan Theater with a 9 February 2014 CBS airing. The show, titled The Beatles: The Night That Changed America – A Grammy Salute, featured 22 classic Beatles songs as performed by various artists, including McCartney and Starr.Creative outletsWhile at school during the 1950s, McCartney thrived at art assignments, often earning top accolades for his visual work. However, his lack of discipline negatively affected his academic grades, preventing him from earning admission to art college. During the 1960s, he delved into the visual arts, explored experimental cinema, and regularly attended film, theatrical and classical music performances. His first contact with the London avant-garde scene was through artist John Dunbar, who introduced McCartney to art dealer Robert Fraser. At Fraser's flat he first learned about art appreciation and met Andy Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Peter Blake, and Richard Hamilton. McCartney later purchased works by Magritte, using his painting of an apple for the Apple Records logo. McCartney became involved in the renovation and publicising of the Indica Gallery in Mason's Yard, London, which Barry Miles had co-founded and where Lennon first met Yoko Ono. Miles also co-founded International Times, an underground paper that McCartney helped to start with direct financial support and by providing interviews to attract advertiser income. Miles later wrote McCartney's official biography, Many Years From Now (1997).McCartney became interested in painting after watching artist Willem de Kooning work in de Kooning's Long Island studio. McCartney took up painting in 1983, and he first exhibited his work in Siegen, Germany, in 1999. The 70-painting show featured portraits of Lennon, Andy Warhol and David Bowie. Though initially reluctant to display his paintings publicly, McCartney chose the gallery because events organiser Wolfgang Suttner showed genuine interest in McCartney's art. In September 2000, the first UK exhibition of McCartney's paintings opened, featuring 500 canvases at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol, England. In October 2000, McCartney's art debuted in his hometown of Liverpool. McCartney said, "I've been offered an exhibition of my paintings at the Walker Art Gallery ... where John and I used to spend many a pleasant afternoon. So I'm really excited about it. I didn't tell anybody I painted for 15 years but now I'm out of the closet". McCartney is lead patron of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, a school in the building formerly occupied by the Liverpool Institute for Boys.When McCartney was a child, his mother read him poems and encouraged him to read books. His father invited Paul and his brother Michael to solve crosswords with him, to increase their "word power", as McCartney said. In 2001, McCartney published Blackbird Singing, a volume of poems and lyrics to his songs for which he gave readings in Liverpool and New York City. In the foreword of the book, he explains: "When I was a teenager ... I had an overwhelming desire to have a poem published in the school magazine. I wrote something deep and meaningful—which was promptly rejected—and I suppose I have been trying to get my own back ever since". His first children's book was published by Faber & Faber in 2005, High in the Clouds: An Urban Furry Tail, a collaboration with writer Philip Ardagh and animator Geoff Dunbar. Featuring a squirrel whose woodland home is razed by developers, it had been scripted and sketched by McCartney and Dunbar over several years, as an animated film. The Observer labelled it an "anti-capitalist children's book".In 1981, McCartney asked Geoff Dunbar to direct a short animated film called Rupert and the Frog Song; McCartney was the writer and producer, and he also added some of the character voices. In 1992, he worked with Dunbar on an animated film about the work of French artist Honoré Daumier, which won them a BAFTA award. In 2004, they worked together on the animated short film Tropic Island Hum. The accompanying single, "Tropic Island Hum"/"We All Stand Together", reached number 21 in the UK.McCartney also produced and hosted The Real Buddy Holly Story, a 1985 documentary featuring interviews with Keith Richards, Phil and Don Everly, the Holly family, and others. In 1995, he made a guest appearance on the Simpsons episode "Lisa the Vegetarian" and directed a short documentary about the Grateful Dead.BusinessSince the Rich List began in 1989, McCartney has been the UK's wealthiest musician, with an estimated fortune of £680 million in 2013. In addition to an interest in Apple Corps and MPL Communications, an umbrella company for his business interests, he owns a significant music publishing catalogue, with access to over 25,000 copyrights, including the publishing rights to the musicals Guys and Dolls, A Chorus Line, Annie and Grease. He earned £40 million in 2003, the highest income that year within media professions in the UK. This rose to £48.5 million by 2005. McCartney's 18-date On the Run Tour grossed £37 million in 2012.McCartney's music has appeared on several record labels. In January 1962, Polydor Records issued the first commercially released recording of the Beatles, a single called "My Bonnie". Credited to Tony Sheridan and the Beat Brothers, Decca Records issued the track in the UK in April 1962. The following year, Parlophone released the band's singles "Please Please Me"/"Ask Me Why" and "From Me to You"/"Thank You Girl" in the UK. Vee-Jay Records released them in the US. Also that year, Swan Records released the group's UK Parlophone single "She Loves You"/"I'll Get You" in the US. From then until July 1968, EMI's Capitol (US) and Parlophone (UK) labels released the band's music. Starting with the August 1968 release "Hey Jude"/"Revolution", their new material would be issued with Apple labels, logos and sleeves, but with Parlophone or Capitol serial numbers.Following the break-up of the Beatles, McCartney's music continued to be released by Apple Records under the Beatles' 1967 recording contract with EMI which ran until 1976. Following the formal dissolution of the Beatles' partnership in 1975, McCartney re-signed with EMI worldwide and Capitol in the US and Canada. In 1979, McCartney signed with Columbia Records in the US and Canada—reportedly receiving the industry's most lucrative recording contract to date, while remaining with EMI for distribution throughout the rest of the world. McCartney returned to Capitol in 1985 and from 1985 until 2006, Parlophone released McCartney's music in the UK and Capitol in the US. In 2007, McCartney signed with Hear Music, becoming the label's first artist. He remains there as of 2012's Kisses on the Bottom.In 1963, Dick James established Northern Songs to publish the songs of Lennon–McCartney. McCartney initially owned 20% of Northern Songs, which became 15% after a public stock offering in 1965. In 1969, James sold a controlling interest in Northern Songs to Lew Grade's Associated Television (ATV) after which McCartney and John Lennon sold their remaining shares although they remained under contract to ATV until 1973. In 1972, McCartney re-signed with ATV for seven years in a joint publishing agreement between ATV and McCartney Music. Since 1979, MPL Communications has published McCartney's songs. McCartney and Yoko Ono attempted to purchase the Northern Songs catalogue in 1981, but Grade declined their offer and decided to sell ATV in its entirety to businessman Robert Holmes à Court. Michael Jackson subsequently purchased ATV in 1985. In 1995, Jackson merged his catalogue with Sony for a reported £59,052,000 ($95 million), establishing Sony/ATV Music Publishing, in which he retained half-ownership. McCartney has criticised Jackson's purchase and handling of Northern Songs over the years. Now formally dissolved, in 1995 it became absorbed in the Sony/ATV catalogue. McCartney receives writers' royalties which together are 33? percent of total commercial proceeds in the US, and which vary elsewhere between 50 and 55 percent. Two of the Beatles' earliest songs—"Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You"—were published by an EMI subsidiary, Ardmore & Beechwood, before signing with James. McCartney acquired their publishing rights from Ardmore in the mid-1980s, and they are the only two Beatles songs owned by MPL Communications.DrugsMcCartney first used drugs in the Beatles' Hamburg days, when they often used Preludin to maintain their energy while performing for long periods. Bob Dylan introduced them to marijuana in a New York hotel room in 1964; McCartney recalls getting "very high" and "giggling uncontrollably". His use of the drug soon became habitual, and according to Miles, McCartney wrote the lyrics "another kind of mind" in "Got to Get You into My Life" specifically as a reference to cannabis. During the filming of Help!, McCartney occasionally smoked a joint in the car on the way to the studio during filming, and often forgot his lines. Director Richard Lester overheard two physically attractive women trying to persuade McCartney to use heroin, but he refused. Introduced to cocaine by Robert Fraser, McCartney used the drug regularly during the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and for about a year total but stopped because of his dislike of the unpleasant melancholy he felt afterwards.Initially reluctant to try LSD, McCartney eventually did so in late 1966, and took his second "acid trip" in March 1967, with Lennon, after a Sgt. Pepper studio session. He later became the first Beatle to discuss the drug publicly, declaring, "It opened my eyes ... [and\] made me a better, more honest, more tolerant member of society." He made his attitude about cannabis public in 1967, when he, along with the other Beatles and Epstein, added his name to a July advertisement in The Times, which called for its legalisation, the release of those imprisoned for possession, and research into marijuana's medical uses.In 1972, a Swedish court fined McCartney £1,000 for cannabis possession. Soon after, Scottish police found marijuana plants growing on his farm, leading to his 1973 conviction for illegal cultivation and a £100 fine. As a result of his drug convictions, the US government repeatedly denied him a visa until December 1973. Arrested again for marijuana possession in 1975, in Los Angeles, Linda took the blame, and the court soon dismissed the charges. In January 1980, when Wings flew to Tokyo for a tour of Japan, customs officials found approximately 8 ounces (200 g) of cannabis in his luggage. They arrested McCartney and brought him to a local jail while the Japanese government decided what to do. After ten days, they released and deported him without charge. In 1984, while on holiday in Barbados, authorities arrested McCartney for possession of marijuana and fined him $200. Upon his return to England, he stated: "cannabis is ... less harmful than rum punch, whiskey, nicotine and glue, all of which are perfectly legal ... I don't think ... I was doing anyone any harm whatsoever." In 1997, he spoke out in support of decriminalisation of the drug: "People are smoking pot anyway and to make them criminals is wrong."Vegetarianism and activismPaul and Linda were vegetarians for most of their 30-year marriage. They decided to stop consuming meat after Paul saw lambs in a field as they were eating a meal of lamb. Soon after, the couple became outspoken animal rights activists. In his first interview after Linda's death, he promised to continue working for animal rights, and in 1999 he spent £3,000,000 to ensure Linda McCartney Foods remained free of genetically engineered ingredients. In 1995, he narrated the documentary Devour the Earth, written by Tony Wardle. McCartney is a supporter of the animal-rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. He has appeared in the group's campaigns and, in 2009, he narrated a short factory farm exposé titled "Glass Walls." McCartney has also supported campaigns headed by the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International, the World Society for the Protection of Animals, and the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation.Following McCartney's marriage to Mills, he joined her in a campaign against landmines, becoming a patron of Adopt-A-Minefield. He wore an anti-landmines T-shirt during some of the Back in the World tour shows. In 2006, the McCartneys travelled to Prince Edward Island to raise international awareness of seal hunting. The couple debated with Danny Williams, Newfoundland's then Premier, on Larry King Live, stating that fishermen should stop hunting seals and start seal-watching businesses instead. McCartney also supports the Make Poverty History campaign.McCartney has participated in several charity recordings and performances, including the Concerts for the People of Kampuchea, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Live Aid and the recording of "Ferry Cross the Mersey". In 2004, he donated a song to an album to aid the "US Campaign for Burma", in support of Burmese Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. In 2008, he donated a song to Aid Still Required's CD, organised as an effort to raise funds to assist with the recovery from the devastation caused in Southeast Asia by the 2004 tsunami.In 2009, McCartney wrote to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, asking him why he was not a vegetarian. As McCartney explained, "He wrote back very kindly, saying, 'my doctors tell me that I must eat meat'. And I wrote back again, saying, you know, I don't think that's right ... I think he's now being told ... that he can get his protein somewhere else ... It just doesn't seem right – the Dalai Lama, on the one hand, saying, 'Hey guys, don't harm sentient beings ... Oh, and by the way, I'm having a steak.'"MeditationIn August 1967, McCartney met the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi at the London Hilton and later went to Bangor in North Wales to attend a weekend initiation conference, where he and the other Beatles learned the basics of Transcendental Meditation. He said, "The whole meditation experience was very good and I still use the mantra ... I find it soothing." In 2009, McCartney and Starr headlined a benefit concert at Radio City Music Hall, raising three million dollars for the David Lynch Foundation to fund instruction in Transcendental Meditation for at-risk youth.FootballMcCartney has publicly professed support for Everton, and also shown favour for Liverpool. In 2008, he ended speculation about his allegiance when he said, "Here's the deal: my father was born in Everton, my family are officially Evertonians, so if it comes down to a derby match or an FA Cup final between the two, I would have to support Everton. But after a concert at Wembley Arena I got a bit of a friendship with Kenny Dalglish, who had been to the gig and I thought 'You know what? I am just going to support them both because it's all Liverpool.'"GirlfriendsDot RhoneMcCartney's first serious girlfriend in Liverpool was Dot Rhone, whom he met at the Casbah club in 1959. According to Spitz, Rhone felt that McCartney had a compulsion to control situations. He often chose clothes and make-up for her, encouraging her to grow her hair out like Brigitte Bardot's, and at least once insisting she have it re-styled, to disappointing effect. When McCartney first went to Hamburg with the Beatles, he wrote to Rhone regularly, and she accompanied Cynthia Lennon to Hamburg when they played there again in 1962. The couple had a two-and-a-half-year relationship, and were due to marry until Rhone's miscarriage; according to Spitz, McCartney, now "free of obligation", ended the engagement.Jane AsherMcCartney first met British actress Jane Asher on 18 April 1963, when a photographer asked them to pose at a Beatles performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The two began a relationship, and in November of that year he took up residence with Asher at her parents' home at 57 Wimpole Street, London. They had lived there for more than two years before the couple moved to McCartney's own home in St. John's Wood, in March 1966. He wrote several songs while living at the Ashers', including "Yesterday", "And I Love Her", "You Won't See Me" and "I'm Looking Through You", the latter three having been inspired by their romance. They had a five-year relationship and planned to marry, but Asher broke off the engagement after she discovered he had become involved with Francie Schwartz.WivesLinda EastmanLinda Eastman was a music fan who once commented, "all my teen years were spent with an ear to the radio." At times, she skipped school to see artists such as Fabian, Bobby Darin and Chuck Berry. She became a popular photographer with several rock groups, including the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Grateful Dead, the Doors and the Beatles, whom she first met at Shea Stadium in 1966. She commented, "It was John who interested me at the start. He was my Beatle hero. But when I met him the fascination faded fast, and I found it was Paul I liked." The pair first properly met in 1967 at a Georgie Fame concert at The Bag O'Nails club, during her UK assignment to photograph rock musicians in London. As Paul remembers, "The night Linda and I met, I spotted her across a crowded club, and although I would normally have been nervous chatting her up, I realised I had to ... Pushiness worked for me that night!" Linda said this about their meeting: "I was quite shameless really. I was with somebody else [that night\] ... and I saw Paul at the other side of the room. He looked so beautiful that I made up my mind I would have to pick him up." The pair married in 1969. About their relationship, Paul said, "We had a lot of fun together ... just the nature of how we are, our favourite thing really is to just hang, to have fun. And Linda's very big on just following the moment." He added, "We were crazy. We had a big argument the night before we got married, and it was nearly called off ... [it's\] miraculous that we made it. But we did."The two collaborated musically after the Beatles' break-up, forming Wings in 1971. They faced derision from some fans and critics, who questioned her inclusion. She was nervous about performing with Paul, who explained, "she conquered those nerves, got on with it and was really gutsy." Paul defended her musical ability: "I taught Linda the basics of the keyboard ... She took a couple of lessons and learned some bluesy things ... she did very well and made it look easier than it was ... The critics would say, 'She's not really playing' or 'Look at her—she's playing with one finger.' But what they didn't know is that sometimes she was playing a thing called a Minimoog, which could only be played with one finger. It was monophonic." He went on to say, "We thought we were in it for the fun ... it was just something we wanted to do, so if we got it wrong – big deal. We didn't have to justify ourselves." Former Wings guitarist McCullough said of collaborating with Linda, "trying to get things together with a learner in the group didn't work as far as I was concerned."They had four children—Linda's daughter Heather (legally adopted by Paul), Mary, Stella and James—and remained married until Linda's death from breast cancer at age 56 in 1998. After her death, Paul stated in The Daily Mail, "I got a counsellor because I knew that I would need some help. He was great, particularly in helping me get rid of my guilt [about wishing I'd been\] perfect all the time ... a real bugger. But then I thought, hang on a minute. We're just human. That was the beautiful thing about our marriage. We were just a boyfriend and girlfriend having babies."Heather MillsIn 2002, McCartney married Heather Mills, a former model and anti-landmines campaigner. In 2003, the couple had a child, Beatrice Milly, named in honour of Mills' late mother, and one of McCartney's aunts. They separated in April 2006 and divorced acrimoniously in March 2008. In 2004, he commented on media animosity toward his partners: "[the British public\] didn't like me giving up on Jane Asher ... I married [Linda\], a New York divorcee with a child, and at the time they didn't like that".Nancy ShevellMcCartney married New Yorker Nancy Shevell in a civil ceremony at Old Marylebone Town Hall, London, on 9 October 2011. The wedding was a modest event attended by a group of about 30 relatives and friends. The couple had been dating since November 2007. Shevell is vice president of a family-owned transportation conglomerate which owns New England Motor Freight. She is a former member of the board of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.BeatlesJohn LennonThough McCartney had a strained relationship with Lennon, they briefly became close again in early 1974, and played music together on one occasion. In later years, the two grew apart. While McCartney would often phone Lennon, he was apprehensive about the reception he would receive. During one call, Lennon told him, "You're all pizza and fairytales!" In an effort to avoid talking only about business, they often spoke of cats, babies or baking bread.On 24 April 1976, the two were watching an episode of Saturday Night Live together at Lennon's home in The Dakota, during which Lorne Michaels made a $3,000 cash offer for the Beatles to reunite. While they seriously considered going to the SNL studio a few blocks away, they decided it was too late. This was their last time together. VH1 fictionalised this event in the 2000 television film, Two of Us. McCartney's last telephone call to Lennon, days before Lennon and Ono released Double Fantasy, was friendly; he said this about the call: "[It is\] a consoling factor for me, because I do feel it was sad that we never actually sat down and straightened our differences out. But fortunately for me, the last phone conversation I ever had with him was really great, and we didn't have any kind of blow-up."Reaction to Lennon's murderOn 9 December 1980, McCartney followed the news that Lennon had been murdered the previous night, his death creating a media frenzy around the surviving members of the band. That evening, as he was leaving an Oxford Street recording studio surrounded by reporters who asked him for his reaction, he responded: "It's a drag". The press quickly criticised him for what appeared to be a superficial response. He later explained, "When John was killed somebody stuck a microphone at me and said: 'What do you think about it?' I said, 'It's a dra-a-ag' and meant it with every inch of melancholy I could muster. When you put that in print it says, 'McCartney in London today when asked for a comment on his dead friend said, "It's a drag".' It seemed a very flippant comment to make." He described his first exchange with Ono after the murder, and his last conversation with Lennon:I talked to Yoko the day after he was killed, and the first thing she said was, "John was really fond of you." The last telephone conversation I had with him we were still the best of mates. He was always a very warm guy, John. His bluff was all on the surface. He used to take his glasses down, those granny glasses, and say, "it's only me." They were like a wall you know? A shield. Those are the moments I treasure.In 1983, McCartney said, "I would not have been as typically human and standoffish as I was if I knew John was going to die. I would have made more of an effort to try and get behind his "mask" and have a better relationship with him." He said that he went home that night, watched the news on television with his children and cried most of the evening. In 1997, he admitted the ex-Beatles were nervous at the time that they might also be murdered. He told Mojo magazine in 2002 that Lennon was his greatest hero. In 1981, McCartney sang backup on Harrison's tribute to their ex-bandmate, "All Those Years Ago", which featured Starr on drums. McCartney released "Here Today" in 1982, a song Everett described as "a haunting tribute" to McCartney's friendship with Lennon.George HarrisonDiscussing his relationship with McCartney, Harrison said, "Paul would always help along when you'd done his ten songs—then when he got 'round to doing one of my songs, he would help. It was silly. It was very selfish, actually ... There were a lot of tracks, though, where I played bass ... because what Paul would do—if he'd written a song, he'd learn all the parts for Paul and then come in the studio and say (sometimes he was very difficult): "Do this". He'd never give you the opportunity to come out with something."After Harrison's death in November 2001, McCartney issued a statement outside his home in St. John's Wood, calling him "a lovely guy and a very brave man who had a wonderful sense of humour". He went on to say, "We grew up together and we just had so many beautiful times together – that's what I am going to remember. I'll always love him, he's my baby brother." On the first anniversary of his death, McCartney played Harrison's "Something" on a ukulele at the Concert for George. He also performed "For You Blue" and "All Things Must Pass", and played the piano on Eric Clapton's rendition of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps".Ringo StarrStarr once described McCartney as "pleasantly insincere", though the two generally enjoy each other's company, and at least once went on holiday together in Greece. Starr recalled, "We couldn't understand a word of the songs the hotel band were playing, so on the last night Paul and I did a few rockers like "What'd I Say". There was at times discord between them as well, particularly during sessions for the White Album. As Apple's Peter Brown recalled, "it was a poorly kept secret among Beatle intimates that after Ringo left the studio Paul would often dub in the drum tracks himself ... [Starr\] would pretend not to notice". In August 1968, the two got into an argument over McCartney's critique of Starr's drum part for "Back in the U.S.S.R.", which contributed to Starr temporarily leaving the band. When Starr returned in September, he found bouquets of flowers on his drum kit. Starr commented on working with McCartney: "Paul is the greatest bass player in the world. But he is also very determined ... [to\] get his own way ... [thus\] musical disagreements inevitably arose from time to time."McCartney and Starr collaborated on several post-Beatles projects starting in 1973, when McCartney contributed instrumentation and backing vocals for "Six O'Clock", a song McCartney wrote for Starr's album Ringo. McCartney played a kazoo solo on another track from the album, "You're Sixteen". In 1976, McCartney sang backing vocals on another song he wrote for Starr, "Pure Gold", from Ringo's Rotogravure. In 1981, McCartney produced and performed on three songs from Starr's Stop and Smell the Roses, two of which McCartney composed. Ringo appeared in the video for McCartney's 1983 song So Bad (from the Pipes of Peace album). He would also appear the following year in an acting role in McCartney's film Give My Regards to Broad Street.Starr played drums and sang backing vocals on "Beautiful Night" from McCartney's 1997 album, Flaming Pie. The pair collaborated again in 1998, on Starr's Vertical Man, which featured McCartney's backing vocals on three songs, and instrumentation on one. In 2009, the pair performed "With a Little Help From My Friends" at a benefit concert for the David Lynch Foundation. They collaborated on Starr's album, Y Not, in 2010. McCartney played bass on "Peace Dream", and sang a duet with Starr on "Walk with You". On 7 July 2010, Starr was performing at Radio City Music Hall in New York with his All-Starr Band in a concert celebrating his seventieth birthday. After the encores, McCartney made a surprise, last minute appearance, coming out and performing the Beatles' song "Birthday" backed by members of Starr's band.AchievementsInducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in March 1999, in 1979 Guinness World Records described McCartney as "the Most Successful Composer and Recording Artist of All Time", with 60 gold discs (42 with the Beatles, 17 solo and 1 with the Beatles and Billy Preston) and sales of 100 million albums, 100 million singles, and a writer's credit on forty-three songs that have sold over one million copies each.According to Guinness, he is "the most successful songwriter" in UK singles chart history and "the most successful musician of all time". He has written or co-written "188 charted records, of which 129 are different songs. Of these records, 91 reached the Top 10 and 33 made it to number 1. In total, the songs have spent 1,662 weeks in the charts (up to the beginning of 2007)."McCartney has written, or co-written 32 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: twenty with the Beatles; seven solo and/or with Wings; one as a co-writer of "A World Without Love", a number-one single for Peter and Gordon; one as a co-writer on Elton John's cover of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"; one as a co-writer on Stars on 45's "Medley"; one as a co-writer with Michael Jackson on "Say Say Say"; and one as a co-writer with Stevie Wonder on "Ebony and Ivory". As of 2014, he has sold 15.5 million RIAA certified units in the United States.Credited with more number ones in the UK than any other artist, McCartney has participated in twenty-four chart topping singles: seventeen with the Beatles, one solo, and one each with Wings, Stevie Wonder, Ferry Aid, Band Aid, Band Aid 20 and "The Christians et al." He is the only artist to reach the UK number one as a soloist ("Pipes of Peace"), duo ("Ebony and Ivory" with Wonder), trio ("Mull of Kintyre", Wings), quartet ("She Loves You", the Beatles), quintet ("Get Back", the Beatles with Billy Preston) and as part of a musical ensemble for charity (Ferry Aid)."Yesterday" is the most covered song in history with more than 2,200 recorded versions, and according to the BBC, "the track is the only one by a UK writer to have been aired more than seven million times on American TV and radio and is third in the all-time list ... [and\] is the most played song by a British writer [last\] century in the US". His 1968 Beatles composition, "Hey Jude", is also a career highlight. It achieved the highest sales in the UK that year, topping the US charts for nine weeks, longer than any other Beatles single. It was also the longest single released by the band, and at seven minutes eleven seconds, the longest ever number one to that point. "Hey Jude" is the best-selling Beatles single, achieving sales of over five million copies soon after its release.In July 2005, McCartney's performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with U2 at Live 8 became the fastest-released single in history. Available within forty-five minutes of its recording, hours later it had achieved number one on the UK Official Download Chart.AwardsIn June 1965, McCartney, Lennon, Harrison and Starr, were made Members of the Order of the British Empire. In 1990, the IAU's Minor Planet Center named the planet 4148, "McCartney" in his honour. In March 1997, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for services to music. In May 2000, the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors awarded him a Fellowship. In 2008, he received a BRIT award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, as well as an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University. In 2010, President Barack Obama honoured McCartney with the Gershwin Prize for his contributions to popular music. He returned to the White House later that year as a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors. McCartney won two Grammy awards with Wings, and two as a solo artist. In 2012, he became the last Beatle to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On 8 September 2012, during a ceremony in Paris, French President François Hollande decorated McCartney with the Légion d'Honneur, with a rank of officer, for his services to music.
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| We All Stand Together |
What is the name of the American student who was convicted of the murder of Meredith Kercher, along with her Italian boyfriend and released in 2011 after an appeal? | Bill Harry. "The Paul McCartney Encyclopedia"
BILL HARRY. THE PAUL MCCARTNEY ENCYCLOPEDIA
Dahner, Bert
One of Paul's cousins. He devised crosswords for the now defunct Club Sandwich magazine. He also compiled crosswords for the Daily Telegraph, the Guardian and The Times newspapers. He died on 4 March 2002. He was 75 years old. Paul wrote to the Daily Telegraph thanking them for their obituary, saying, 'All of us in the family loved Bert and were very proud of his achievements.'
Dallas
One of the most successful American television soap operas of all time. Produced by Lorimer Productions, Dallas was the saga of an oil-rich family called the Ewings who lived in a sprawling ranch called Southfork, situated on the outskirts of the Texas city of Dallas. In the 1980s, due to the popularity of another American soap opera, the Dallas spin-off Dynasty, the producers of Dallas began looking for internationally known celebrities to appear in the series. Late in 1984, they offered Paul McCartney almost one million pounds to make a series of appearances in the role of a wealthy British landowner, spread over eight episodes at £110,000 each. Paul declined saying that he didn't want to be separated from his children.
Quite frankly, if Paul wanted to be reduced to appearing in soap operas to make money, the Beatles might as well have appeared in a string of second-rate movies in the 1960s as Elvis did. No, the legend would surely have suffered a severe blow if Paul had actually accepted that Dallas role.
Daniel, Jeffrey
An American singer, a former member of the group Shalamar. He made his screen debut in Give My Regards To Broad Street and commented:
'That's all about Paul's real life versus his unconscious dream life. I play myself in one of the dream sequences.'
He appeared as the robot dancer prior to the 'Silly Love Song' sequence.
Daumier's Law
A 15-minute animated short directed by Geoff Dunbar, and produced by MPL's Juggler Films Company. It was premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in March 1992. The short was based on the works of French artist Honore Daumier, who lived from 1808 to 1879. Basically re-creating the drawings of Daumier, the animation was in six acts, telling the tale of an Everyman who is abused and discarded by a tyrannical system.
Paul and Linda had been working on the project for four years. Paul wrote and produced the musical score for the film, performing himself and recording it in December 1989. He also co-wrote the short with Dunbar and it was to win the top prize at the British Academy of Film And Television Arts in 1992.
David Frost At The Phonograph
A radio series on the BBC Light Programme. Paul was the show's guest and recorded the programme on Monday 1 August 1966 at Broadcasting House in London's West End. Frost interviewed him in Studio B14 and the programme was transmitted a few days later on Saturday 6 August from 12 noon to 1.30 p.m.
The series took one personality and interviewed them on various matters, in between playing specific records.
David Symonds Show, The
A BBC Radio One show hosted by disc jockey David Symonds. Symonds interviewed Paul for the show following the appearance by Wings at the New Theatre, Oxford on Saturday 12 May 1973. During the interview Symonds mentioned that his daughter referred to Paul as 'Paul McCarpet'.
Davis, Carl
An American composer, born in Brooklyn, New York on 28 October, 1936. He is married to Liverpool actress Joan Boht, the star of the sitcom Bread.
A classically-trained composer, Davis originally arrived in Britain in 1959 to appear at the Edinburgh Festival with a revue he'd co-written called Diversions. As a result he was offered a commission by Ned Sherrin to compose music for the TV series That Was The Week That Was. Other commissions poured in for radio, stage and film work and he settled in Britain in the early 1960s. He composed for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, worked with artists such as Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud, wrote the scores for films such as The French Lieutenant's Woman and for numerous other film and television productions.
He was even the musical director of the American made-for-TV film The Birth Of The Beatles.
Paul read an article about Carl in 1988 in which the composer said, 'If it moves, I can score it.' Paul was impressed.
A short time later, when Davis was conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in a performance of his and Carla Lane's Pigeon's Progress, featuring his wife Joan, Paul and Linda sent a good luck message.
Brian Pidgeon, the general manager of the RLPO then had an idea that resulted in Davis approaching Paul on his behalf to write a composition for the 150th anniversary celebrations of the orchestra.
Paul and Carl were then officially commissioned to compose the work that became Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio. The two sat down and spent hundreds of hours at their respective homes writing, scoring and re-scoring over a two-year period.
Although Paul had written around 400 recorded songs, he had no musical training, but Carl had studied in the classical tradition, which led Paul to comment, 'I prefer to think of my approach to music as primitive, rather like the primitive cave artists, who drew without training. Hopefully, the combination of Carl's classical training and my primitivism will result in a beautiful piece of music. That was always my intention.'
When he was asked how working with Carl differed from working with John Lennon, Paul replied, 'I bossed Carl around more than I bossed John.'
On Tuesday 12 May 1992 Davis was in America where he conducted the Boston Pops in a performance of Linda's Appaloosa and Paul's Meditation. The performance was filmed by PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) and screened in America in August of that year.
Davis, Meta
The meter maid who claims to have inspired Paul's song 'Lovely Rita.' She retired after nineteen years as a traffic warden on Wednesday 4 September 1985, when the media gave her story maximum coverage. She appeared on both BBC and ITV news programmes that evening, pictured walking across the Abbey Road zebra crossing and discussing how she gave Paul his ticket (although she called him Paul 'McCarthy' in the interviews).
In 1967 Miss Davis, who lived in St John's Wood before her death, was once giving Paul's car a ticket in Garden Road, when he turned up. She comments: 'He saw that my name was Meta and he laughed and said "That would make a nice jingle, I could use that." We chatted for a few minutes and then he drove off. I didn't think any more of it, but
later the song came out and although I knew the record was about me I never bought a copy.'
Paul didn't recognise her when, a few years later, she met him in the reception room of the local vet where she'd taken her cat. Paul was there with his dog and Meta says: 'We chatted about animals and he didn't recognise me out of uniform and I didn't tell him who I was.'
When the record was originally released in Australia it included Meta's name in the lyrics, but this was changed to Rita in other versions.
Day In The Life, A
A collaboration between Paul and John, but one in which they each wrote separate parts, John penning the beginning and end of the number and Paul composing the middle section.
Paul had already written some of the lyrics for another song, but decided to incorporate them into the number that John had been writing. There is a long chord at the end of the song that lasts for 42 seconds and it has been suggested that it was only intended to be heard by Martha, Paul's dog!
John's section was inspired by two separate items: the death in a car crash of Guinness heir пїЅпїЅпїЅпїЅ Browne, a friend of the Beatles, and a story that he'd read in the Daily Mail newspaper concerning holes in the roads in Blackburn, Lancashire.
Paul's rather cheery section, according to Stephen Norris, a former schoolmate who became Conservative MP for Oxford East, was based on a bus journey they used to take to school together. In a Daily Mirror interview in 1985, Norris commented: 'Everyone says that "A Day In The Life" was about drugs, but Paul always claimed it was about catching the bus to school. I agree. It's exactly what we used to do. "Went upstairs and had a smoke, somebody spoke and I went into a dream." That's just how I remember it. Getting sleepily out of bed, dragging a comb across your head, then going out and catching the bus, upstairs to the top deck like we all did, still not properly awake and having an untipped Woodbine.'
In fact, it was only ever John's part of the song that was said to be about drugs. The BBC banned it nonetheless. It has never been clear why they assumed a drug connection - one suggestion was that they thought the holes in the road referred to holes caused by a drug addict's hypodermic needle.
The number, which has a classical 'feel' and was recorded with 42 musicians from the London Philharmonic Orchestra, first appeared on Sgt Pepper and was also included on The Beatles 1967-1970 compilation.
Paul was to say, 'We were being influenced by avant-garde composers. For "A Day In The Life", I suggested we should write all but fifteen bars properly so that the orchestra could read it, but where the fifteen bars began we would give the musicians a simple direction: "Start on your lowest note and eventually, at the end of the fifteen bars,
be at your highest note." How they got there was up to them, but it all resulted in a crazy crescendo. It was interesting because the trumpet players, always famous for their fondness for lubricating substances, didn't care, so they'd be there at the note ahead of everyone. The strings all watched each other like little sheep: "Are you going up?" "Yes." "So am I." And they'd go up. "A little more?" "Yes." And they'd go up a little more, all very delicate and cosy, all going up together. You listen to those trumpets. They're just freaking out.'
Daytime Nighttime Suffering
A number penned by Paul that was 3 minutes and 19 seconds in length. It had been written over a weekend break and recorded in Replica Studios, situated in the basement of MPL. During the sessions Linda had stepped into the mike range and the sound of baby James McCartney giving a cry is heard.
The number was issued as the flipside to 'Goodnight Tonight' in March 1979.
Dazzlers, The
One of the names, along with Turpentine that Paul considered calling the band he eventually named Wings.
De Doelen, Rotterdam
A venue in Rotterdam where Wings played the first of four concert dates in Holland during their 1972 European tour. A concert planned for Breda was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. The group travelled around Europe on a brightly painted double-decker bus (WNO 481).
The group's repertoire on the concerts were: 'Eat At Home', 'Smile Away', 'Bip Bop', 'Mumbo', '1882', 'I Would Only Smile', 'Give Ireland Back To The Irish', 'Blue Moon Of Kentucky', 'The Mess', 'Best Friend', 'Soily', 'I Am Your Singer', 'Seaside Woman', 'Henry's Blues', 'Say You Don't Mind', 'Wild Life', 'Mary Had A Little Lamb', 'My Love', 'Maybe I'm Amazed', 'Hi, Hi, Hi' and 'Long Tall Sally'.
There have been various bootleg releases of recordings of this particular concert.
De Kooning, Willem
A Dutch artist based in New York. He and his wife, the painter Elaine De Kooning, lived at the Springs, East Hampton, close to the Long Island home of Linda's father, Lee, who was De Kooning's attorney. Paul first met him in the late 1970s. Paul also visited him in his studio in 1981 and Linda took a photograph of them together. The picture was used on the cover of the issue of Art News magazine in which Paul discussed De Kooning during an interview. He was to say, 'I saw him draw Linda and her brother and her two sisters, for a present to give to their dad on his sixtieth birthday. We went round to his studio and they knew him well enough to say, "Would you do us a quick drawing to give to Lee?" and he did.'
At one time, De Kooning offered Paul the pick of the paintings in his studio and Paul picked a modest work that he particularly liked.
It was obviously the influence of De Kooning that led Paul to work on his first oil painting while he was staying at Long Island.
Dear Boy
A song Paul co-wrote with Linda for the Ram album. The song was about Paul finding Linda as an important part of his life, although John Lennon thought it might have been an attack in song against him. Paul was to use the song during memorial services to Linda in 1998.
Dear Friend
A song written about John Lennon and included on the Wild Life album. Paul had been upset by all the disagreements and when John began to slag him off in public he considered his response. Instinctively he felt he shouldn't play tit for tat and begin to slag John off in public, so he wrote 'Dear John' as a message saying that they should 'lay the guns down, let's hang up our boxing gloves'. It was recorded in New York in April 1971.
Death Of Variety, The
A concept Paul had during the Apple days, prior to Allen Klein joining the company. He thought of organising something similar to a 'battle of the bands' at the Royal Albert Hall with a rock and roll orchestra competing with a classical orchestra. Paul approached Sir Lew Grade with the idea and also discussed it with Glyn Johns (see Johns, Glyn), but it didn't come to fruition. He eventually utilised part of the idea when he created the Rockestra, a collection of leading British guitarists and drummers.
Defeat of the Dog, The
One of two avant-garde films that Paul made in 1966; the other was called The Next Spring Then, Paul screened the films for journalist Patrick Skene Catling and they were mentioned in his article, which appeared in Punch magazine on 23 November 1966.
Catling commented: 'They were not like ordinary people's home movies. There were over-exposures, double-exposures, blinding orange lights, quick cuts from professional wrestling to a crowded car park to a close-up of a television weather map. There were long still shots of a grey cloudy sky and a wet, grey pavement, jumping Chinese ivory carvings and affectionate slow-motion studies of his sheepdog Martha and his cat. The accompanying music, on a record player and faultlessly synchronised, was by the Modern Jazz Quartet and Bach.'
Paul was also to show the films to Italian movie director Michaelangelo Antonioni. Both films were lost when Paul's Cavendish Avenue house was burgled.
Degree of Frost, A
Paul appeared on this BBC Television programme, hosted by David Frost, discussing his song writing. It was transmitted on Monday 18 May 1964 and repeated on Tuesday 1 September 1964.
Deliver Your Children
A London Town album track, 4 minutes and 17 seconds in length, which was co-written by Paul and Denny Laine in 1978. It was the flip-side of the June 1978 single 'I've Had Enough'.
Dera, Joe
Paul's American publicist and spokesman, who has acted as press agent for over thirty years. Apart from Paul, his clients have included Elton John, David Bowie and Rod Stewart.
Dera originally represented Paul as a member of the American branch of the public relations company Rogers 8t Cowan. He left Rogers & Cowan to form his own company Dera and Associates Public Relations in 1989 and Paul moved with him.
Desert Island Discs
A popular British radio show conceived by Roy Plumley, who died in 1985, which has run for more than fifty years.
The show's format is deceptively simple: celebrities are asked to imagine being stranded on a desert island and to select the records they would take with them. In between their choices being played, they discuss their lives and give reasons for their record selection.
Paul McCartney was the first and only ex-Beatle to appear on the show: on Saturday 30 January 1982, he became the 1,629th castaway. Each castaway selects eight records and also identifies one particular record that they would keep if they were only allowed a single disc. They also have to suggest a luxury item and a book they would want with them on a desert island.
Paul's eight selections were: 'Heartbreak Hotel' by Elvis Presley; 'Sweet Little Sixteen' by Chuck Berry; 'Courtly Dances From Gloriana' by the Julian Bream Consort; 'Be Bop A Lula' by Gene Vincent; 'Searchin", by the Coasters; 'Tutti Frutti' by Little Richard; 'Walking In The Park With Eloise' by the Country Hams and 'Beautiful Boy' by John Lennon. The last became his special selection. His luxury was a guitar and the book he picked was Linda's Pictures.
When Paul appeared the host was Michael Parkinson who appears on the cover of Band On The Run.
When Paul was on his way to the BBC to record the programme, Paul Massey, an 18-year-old news photographer, attempted to take photographs of Paul. Paul gave him a fierce shove that knocked him to the ground. Paul regretted the incident and apologised, saying, 'I'm sorry I blew my top, mate. I knew there was only one way to stop you taking pictures and that was to lay into you.'
During his conversations on the programme, Paul said that the Silver Beetles had never been paid for their appearance when they backed Johnny Gentle on a tour of Scotland. As a result, impresario Larry Parnes filed a suit against Paul and the BBC for slander. Eventually, the matter was resolved when a formal apology was read out on the programme by Roy Plumley prior to the 28 July 1984 edition, also pointing out that Paul's comment had been made as a joke.
Paul appeared on the American edition of Desert Island Discs whilst in Los Angeles on Sunday 25 November 1990.
Devour The Earth
A 20-minute video produced by the Vegetarian Society in 1995 when Paul and Linda were patrons. The video looked at the impact of meat-eating on the environment. Paul provided the voice-over for the video and bought a number of copies that he sent to friends such as Prince Charles.
Paul was to comment, 'I'm convinced that the vegetarian way is the way for the future for many people and Linda and I are pleased to be part of it.'
DeWilde, Brandon
An American actor who appeared as the young boy in the classic Western Shane in 1953. Ten years later he appeared in another acclaimed film, Hud, with Paul Newman.
When the Beatles were filming Help! in the Bahamas, they stayed in a rented house and DeWilde was one of the visitors. He was fascinated when Paul began to compose the song 'Wait' in his presence.
DeWilde died in a car crash in June 1972 and Gram Parsons based his song 'In My Hour Of Darkness' on the actor.
Diary Of The Cannes Film Festival
An ITV television programme, hosted by American film critic Rex Reed. Reed interviewed Paul and Linda in Cannes while they were there for the screening of Seaside Woman on Friday 16 May 1980. The programme was sreened on Friday 18 July.
Reed asked Paul: 'Do you think there'll ever be the chance of another Lennon and McCartney song?'
Paul answered, 'Well, I wouldn't say there would be actually, 'cause the last time I spoke to John, I just happened to ask him about whether he was writing songs and stuff, just out of my curiosity, and he told me he was kind of finished doing that and that he's not really into that, which when you say it to people, they say, "Oh, it's a big disappointment," or "He must have gone crazy," but if you think about it, most of us do our jobs to arrive at a point where we no longer have to do our jobs and we can put our feet up and we can enjoy life for a change. I think John's probably reached that point.'
Didn't We Meet Somewhere Before?
A song recorded by Paul and Wings for the Ramones' film Rock V Roll High School. The number wasn't included on the soundtrack album of the film and is unavailable on disc.
147 Dinas Lane, Huyton, Liverpool
The address of Paul's Aunt Jin, where Paul's 21st birthday party was held in a marquee in the back garden on Tuesday 18 June 1963.
Paul had asked the Fourmost to play at the party and offered to pay them their normal performance fee, but they said they'd accept only fourpence halfpenny each - although they were never paid anything!
Other guests included the Shadows, who were currently appearing in Blackpool. Brian Bennett, Hank Marvin and Bruce Welch travelled from Blackpool by car and rendezvoused with Paul and Jane Asher outside the Empire Theatre, Liverpool and they all set off for Dinas Lane together.
During the course of the evening, John Lennon beat up Bob Wooler, the Cavern disc jockey. Wooler made a remark alluding that the recent trip John had made to Spain with manager Brian Epstein had been a 'Honeymoon'.
Billy J Kramer, one of the guests, said that John was very drunk and they had to pull him off Wooler, and that John had also tried to hit a girl.
Discography
Singles releases:
'Another Day'/'Oh Woman, Oh Why'. UK Apple R5889, 19 February 1971. US Apple 1826, 22 February 1971.
'Eat At Home'/'Smile Away'. Issued in Germany on Apple IC006-04864 in August 1971 and in France on Apple 2C006-04864M.
'Uncle Albert-Admiral Halsey'/'Too Many People'. Credited to Paul and Linda McCartney, issued in America on Apple 1827 on 2 August 1971.
'Back Seat Of My CarV'Heart Of The Country' by Paul and Linda McCartney, issued in the UK on Apple R5914 on 13 August 1971.
'Give Ireland Back To The Irish'/'Give Ireland Back To The Irish' by Wings. Issued in the UK on Apple R5936 on 25 February 1972 and in America on Apple 1847 on 28 February 1972.
'Mary Had A Little Lamb'/'Little Woman Love', a Wings single issued in the UK on Apple R5949 on 12 May 1972 and in America on Apple 1851 on 29 May 1972.
'Hi, Hi, Hi'/'C Moon'. A Wings single issued in the UK on Apple R5973 on 1 December 1972 and in America on Apple 1857 on 4 December 1972.
'My LoveV'The Mess'. A Paul McCartney and Wings single issued in the UK on Apple R5985 on 23 March 1973 and in America on Apple 1861 on 9 April 1973.
'Live And Let DieV'I Lie Around'. A Wings single issued in the UK on 1 June 1973 on Apple 5987 and in the US on Apple 1863 on 18 July 1973.
'Helen Wheels'/'Country Dreamer' by Paul McCartney and Wings. Issued in the UK on Apple R5987 on Friday 26 October 1973 and in the US on Apple 1869 on Monday 12 November 1973.
'Mrs Vandebilt'/'Bluebird', a single by Paul McCartney and Wings, was issued in Germany on EMI Electrola/Apple 1 C006-05529 in January 1974 and also in Spain on Apple IJ006-05529 and France on Apple 2C006-05529.
'Jet'/'Let Me Roll It' by Paul McCartney and Wings, was released in the UK on Apple R5987 on Friday 15 February 1974 and in the US on Apple 1871 on Monday 18 February 1974.
'Band On The Run'/'Zoo Gang', a single by Paul McCartney and Wings, was issued in the UK on Apple R5997 on Friday 28 June 1974. It was also issued in Spain on Apple C006-09683.
'Band On The Run'/'Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Eight' by Paul McCartney and Wings was issued in America on Apple 1873 on 8 April 1974 where it reached the No. 1 position in the charts. It was also issued in Germany on EMI Electrola/Apple 1C006-05635 in June 1974.
'Walking In The Park With Eloise'/'Bridge Over The River Suite' by the Country Hams was issued in the UK on EMI 2220 on Friday 18 October 1974 and in the US on EMI 3977 on Monday 2 December 1974.
'Junior's Farm'/'Sally G' by Paul McCartney and Wings was issued in the UK on Apple R5999 on Friday 25 October 1974 and in America on Apple 1876 on Monday 4 November 1974.
'Listen To What The Man Said'/'Love In Song', a single by Wings which was issued in the UK on Capitol R6006 on Friday 16 May 1975 and in America on Capitol 4091 on Friday 23 May 1975.
'Letting Go'/'You Gave Me The Answer', a single by Wings that was issued in the UK on Capitol R6008 on Friday 5 September 1975 and in the US on Capitol 4145 on Monday 29 September 1975.
'Venus And Mars - Rockshow (medley)'/'Magneto & Titanium Man' was a Wings single issued in the UK on Capitol R6010 on 28 November 1976 and in the US on Capitol 4175 on 27 October 1975.
'Silly Love Songe'/'Cook Of The House'. A Wings single issued in the UK on Capitol R6014 on Friday 30 April 1976 and in the US on Capitol 4256 on Thursday 1 April 1976.
'Let 'Em In'/'Beware My Love', a Wings single, was released in the UK on Capitol R6015 on Friday 23 July 1976 and in America on Capitol 4293 on Monday 28 June 1976.
'Maybe I'm Amazed'/'Soily' was issued in Britain on Capitol R6017 on 4 February 1977 and in the US on Capitol 4385 on 7 February 1977.
'Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey'/'Eat At Home' was issued in Britain on Regal Zonophone EMI 2594 on 22 April 1977.
'Seaside Woman,V'B Side To Seaside' by Suzy & the Red Stripes was released in America on Tuesday 31 May 1977 on Epic 3-50403.
'Mull Of Kintyre'/'Girls' School', by Wings, was issued in Britain on Capitol R6018 on Friday 11 November 1977 where it topped the charts and in the US on Capitol 4504 on Monday 14 November 1977 (the American version had the tracks reversed).
'With A Little Luck'/'Backwards Traveller - Cuff Link', was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6019 on Thursday 24 March 1978 and in the US on Capitol 4559 on Monday 20 March 1978.
'I've Had Enough'/'Deliver Your Children', a Wings single which was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6020 on Friday 16 June 1978 and in the US on Capitol 4594 on Monday 12 June 1978.
'London TownVTm Carrying' was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6021 on 11 August 1978 and in the US on Capitol 4625 on 21 August 1978.
'Goodnight Tonight'/'Daytime Nightime Suffering' was a Wings single issued in the UK on Parlophone R6023 on Friday 23 March 1979 and in the US on Columbia 3-109 39 on Thursday 15 March 1979. A 12" extended mix was issued in America on Monday 26 March 1979 and in the UK on Tuesday 3 April 1979.
'Old Siam Sir'/'Spin It Out', a single by Wings, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6026 On Friday 1 June 1979.
'Getting Closer'/'Spin It On', a single by Wings that was issued in the US on Columbia 3-11 020 on Tuesday 5 June 1979.
'Seaside Woman'/'B Side To Seaside', a single by Suzy And The Red Stripes (Linda McCartney and Wings), was issued by A&cM Records on AMS 7461 on Wednesday 10 August 1979.
'Arrow Through Me'/'OId Siam Sir', a single by Wings, was issued in the US on Columbia 3-11070 on Tuesday 14 August 1979.
'Getting Closer'/'Baby's Request', a single by Wings, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6027 on Thursday 16 August 1979.
'Wonderful Christmastime'/'Rudolph The Red Nosed Reggae', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6029 on Friday 16 November 1979 and in the US on Columbia 3-11162 on Tuesday 20 November 1979.
'Coming Up'/'Coming Up (Live At Glasgow)7'Lunch Box'/'Odd Sox' was a Paul McCartney single issued in the UK on Parlophone R6035 on Friday 11 April 1980 and in America on Columbia 1-11263 on Tuesday 15 April 1980.
'WaterfallsV'Check My Machine', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6037 on Friday 13 June 1980 and in America on Columbia 1-11335 1847 on Tuesday 22 July 1980.
'Seaside Woman'/'B-Side to Seaside' was issued in the UK on A&M AMS 7548 on 18 July 1980.
'Ebony And Ivory'/'Rainclouds' was a single by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder which was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6054 on Monday 29 March 1982 and in the US on Columbia 18-03018 on Monday 29 March 1982.
'Take It AwayVTll Give You A Ring', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6056 on Monday 21 June 1982 and in the US on Columbia 18-03018 on Saturday 3 July 1982.
'Tug Of War'/'Get It', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6057 on Monday 20 September 1982 and in the US on Columbia 38-03235 on Sunday 26 September 1982.
'Say Say Say'/'Ode To A Koala Bear', a single by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6062 on Monday 3 October 1983 and in the US on Columbia 38-04168 on Monday 3 October 1983.
'Pipes Of Peace'/'So Bad', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in Britain on Parlophone R6064 on Monday 5 December 1983. In America the A and B-sides were reversed when the single was issued on Columbia 39149 on the same day.
'No More Lonely Nights (ballad)V'No More Lonely Nights (playout version)' was issued in the UK on Parlophone E6080 on Monday 24 September 1984 and in the US on Columbia 38-04581 on Friday 5 October 1984.
'No More Lonely Nights (ballad)'/'No More Lonely Nights (Special Dance mix)' was issued in the UK on Parlophone 6080 on Monday 29 October 1984.
'We All Stand Together'/'We All Stand Together (humming version)', a single by Paul McCartney and the Frog Chorus which was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6086 on Monday 5 November 1984.
'We All Stand Together'/'We All Stand Together (humming version}' was issued in the UK on Parlophone RP 6086 on 3 December 1984.
'Spies Like Us'/'My Carnival' was a single by Paul McCartney issued in the UK on Parlophone R6118 on Monday 18 November 1985 and in the US on Capitol B-5537 on the same day.
'Spies Like UsV'CarnivaF, a shaped picture disc, was issued in the UK on Parlophone RP 6118 on 9 December 1985.
'Seaside Woman'/'B-Side to Seaside' was issued in Britain on EMI 5572 on 7 July 1986.
'Press'/'It's Not True', by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6118 on Monday 14 July 1986 and in the US on Capitol B-5597 on the same day.
'Pretty Little Head (Remix)'/'Write Away' was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6145 on Monday 27 October 1986.
'Stranglehold'/'Angry (Remix)' was issued in the US on Capitol B-5636 on Wednesday 29 October 1986.
'Only Love Remains (Remix)7'Tough On A Tightrope' was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6148 on Monday 1 December 1986 and in the US on Capitol B-5672 on Tuesday 17 January 1987.
'Long Tall Sally'/'I Saw Her Standing There' were live recordings of Paul performing at the Prince's Trust Concert on 20 June 1986. The single was issued in the UK as a free bonus with the album Prince's Trust Tenth Anniversary Birthday Party on A&M FREE 21 on Friday 24 April 1987.
'Once Upon A Long Ago'/'Back On My Feet' was a Paul McCartney single issued in the UK on Parlophone R6160 on Monday 16 November 1987.
'My Brave Face'/'Flying To My Home' was a single by Paul McCartney issued in the UK on Parlophone R6213 on Monday 8 May 1989 and in the US on Capitol B-44367 on Wednesday 10 May 1989.
'This One'/'The First Stone' was a single by Paul McCartney issued in the UK on Parlophone R6273 on Monday 17 July 1989 and in the US on cassette only on Capitol 4JM44438 on Wednesday 2 August 1989.
'This OneV'The Long And Winding Road' was issued in a limited edition in Britain on Parlophone RX 6223 on 24 July 1989.
'Figure Of Eight'/'Ou Est Le Soleil?', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6235 on 13 November 1989 and in the US on Capitol 4JM44489 (in cassette form only) on 15 November 1989.
'Party Party' was a one-sided single on vinyl on Parlophone R6238 that was issued as a bonus in a limited edition repackaging of the album Flowers In The Dirt (World Tour Pack) on Thursday 23 November 1989. It was issued in the US on Sunday 15 January 1990.
'Put It There'/'Mama's Little Girl' was a Paul McCartney single issued in the UK on Parlophone 6246 on Monday 5 February 1990 and in the US on Capitol 4JM44570 (in cassette form only) on Tuesday 1 May 1990.
'Birthday'/'Good Day Sunshine', a single by Paul McCartney, was released in the UK on Parlophone R6271 on Monday 8 October 1990 and in the US on Capitol 4JM44645 (in cassette version only) on Tuesday 16 October 1990.
'All My Trials'/'C Moon', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6278 on 26 November 1990.
'The Long And Winding RoadV'C Moon', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in Germany on Parlophone 066-2041747 on Friday 4 January 1991.
'Hope Of Deliverance'/'Long Leather Coat' by Paul McCartney was issued as a single in the UK on Parlophone R6330 on Monday 28
December 1992 and in the US on Capitol 41CM0777 74490443 in a cassette version only on Monday 18 January 1993.
'C'mon People'/'I Can't Imagine' was a single by Paul McCartney issued in the UK on Parlophone R6338 on 22 February 1993 and in the US on Monday 12 July 1993.
'Off The Ground'/'Cosmically Conscious' was a single by Paul McCartney, and was issued in America only on Capitol S7-17318 on Monday 6 April 1993.
'Biker Like An Icon'/'Things We Said Today' was originally to be issued in the UK on Parlophone CDRDJ 63471 on Monday 26 April 1993 in a 7" vinyl format, cassette and CD. It was issued as a vinyl single on Capitol/CEMA on Tuesday 20 April 1993.
'Young Boy'/'Looking For You', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone R6462/7243 8 8378673 on Monday 28 April 1997. One version was a picture disc, another was a jukebox issue.
'The World TonightV'Used To Be Bad', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone RP6472 on Monday 7 July 1997.
'Beautiful NightVLove Came Tumbling Down', a single by Paul McCartney, was issued in the UK on Parlophone RP 6489 on 15 December 1997.
'No Other Baby'/'Brown Eyed Handsome Man' was a Paul McCartney single issued in the UK on Parlophone R6527 on 24 October 1999.
'Run Devil Run' was part of an 8-single box set issued in the UK on Parlophone 523 221 on Monday 6 December 1999.
Album releases:
The Family Way. Released on 6 January 1967 on Decca SKL 4847 (UK) and 12 June 1967 on London MS 82007(US).
McCartney. Released on 17 April 1970 on Apple PCS 7102 (UK) and 20 April 1970 on Apple STAO 3363 (US).
Ram. Released on 17 May 1971 on Apple 33 (UK)and 28 May 1971 Apple PAS 10003 (US).
Wings' Wild Life. Released on 7 December 1971 on Apple PCS 7142 (UK) and 7 December 1971 on Apple SW 3386 (US).
Red Rose Speedway. Released on 4 May 1973 on Apple PCTC 251 (UK) and 30 April 1973 on Apple SMAL 3409 (US).
Band On The Run. Released on 7 December 1973 on Apple PAS 10007 (UK) and 5 December 1973 on Apple SO 3415 (US).
Venus and Mars. Released on 30 May 1975 on Capitol PCTC 254 (UK) and 27 May 1975 Capitol SMAS 11419 (US).
Wings At The Speed Of Sound. Released on 26 March 1976 on Capitol PAS 10010 (UK) and 25 March 1976 on Capitol SW 11525 (US).
Wings Over America. Released on 10 December 1976 on Capitol PCSP 720 (UK) and 10 December 1976 on Capitol SWCO 11593 (US).
Thrillington. Released on 29 April 1977 (UK) on EMI EMC 3175 and 17 May 1977 on Capitol ST 11642 (US).
London Town. Released on 31 March 1978 on Parlophone PAS 10012 (UK) and 31 March 1978 on Capitol SW 11777 (US).
Wings Greatest. Released on 1 December 1978 on Parlophone PCTC 256 (UK) and 27 November 1978 on Capitol S00-11905 (US).
Back To The Egg. Released on 8 June 1979 on Parlophone PCTC 257 (UK) and 11 June 1979 on Columbia FC 36057 (US).
McCartney II. Released on 16 May on Parlophone PCTC 258 (UK) and 26 May 1980 on Columbia FC 36511 (US).
Tug Of War. Released on 26 April 1982 on Parlophone PCTC 259 (UK) and 26 April 1982 on Columbia TC 37462 (US).
Pipes Of Peace. Released on 3 October 1983 on Parlophone 12R 6062 (UK) and 10 October 1983 on Columbia 44-04169 (US).
Give My Regards To Broad Street. Released on 22 October 1984 on Parlophone EL 260 278 (UK) and on 13 October 1984 on Columbia SC 396 13 (US).
Press To Play. Released on 1 September 1986 on Parlophone PCSD 103 (UK) and 25 August 1986 on Capitol PJAS-12475 (US).
All The Best. Released on 2 November 1987 on Parlophone PMTV 1 (UK) and 1 December 1987 on Capitol CLW-48287 (US).
Choba пїЅ пїЅпїЅпїЅпїЅ. Released on 31 October 1988 on Melodia A60 00415 006 (USSR), 30 September 1991 on Parlophone PCSD 117 (UK) and 29 October 1991 on Capitol CDP 7 97615 2 (US).
Flowers In The Dirt. Released on 5 June 1989 on Parlophone PCSD 106 (UK) and 6 June 1989 on Capitol Cl-91653 (US).
Flowers In The Dirt - Special Edition. Released on 1 March 1990 on EMI TOCP 6118/6119 (UK).
Tripping The Live Fantastic. Released on 5 November 1990 on Parlophone PCST 73461-3 (UK) and 6 November 1990 on Capitol Cl-9 4778 (US).
Tripping The Live Fantastic - Highlights. Released on 19 November 1990 on Parlophone CDPCSD 114 (UK) and 20 November 1990 on Capitol CDP 7 95379 2 (US).
Unplugged (The Official Bootleg). Released on 20 May 1991 on Hispa Vox PCSD 116 (UK) and 4 June 1991 on Hispa Vox 7964 131 (US).
Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio. Released on 7 October 1991 on EMI Classics LP PAUL 1 (UK) and 22 October 1991 on EMI Classics CDS 7 54371 2 (US).
Selections From Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio. Released on 5 October 1992 on EMI Classics 7 54642 2 (UK).
Off The Ground. Released on 1 February 1993 on Parlophone PCSD 125 (UK) and 9 February 1993 on Capitol CDP 7 80362 2 (US).
Off The Ground-The Complete Works. Released autumn 1993 on Parlophone CDEQ 5010 (UK).
Paul Is Live. Released on 8 November 1993 on Parlophone PCSD 147 (UK) and 16 November 1993 on Capitol CDP 8 27704 2 (US).
Strawberries Oceans Shops Forest. Released on 15 November 1993 on Parlophone PCSD 145 (UK) and 22 February 1994 on Capitol CDP 8 27167 2 (US).
Flaming Pie. Released on 5 May 1997 on Parlophone PCSD 171 (UK) and 15 July 1997 on Capitol Cl 56500 1 (US).
Standing Stone. Released on 1 December 1997 on EMI Classics 5 56484 1 (UK) and 23 Septembe 1997 on EMI Classics 5 56484 2 (US).
Rushes. Released on 21 September 1998 on Hydra 4 97055 1 (UK) and 20 October 1998 on Hydra 4 97055 2 (US).
Run Devil Run. Released on 4 October 1999 on Parlophone 5 223521 1 (UK) and 5 October 1999 on Capitol CDP 5 22351 2 (US).
Working Classical. Released on 6 December 1999 on EMI Classics 5 56897 1 (UK) and 19 October 1999 on EMI Classics CDQ 5 56897 2 (US).
Driving Rain. Released on 12 November 2001 on EMI 7243 5 35510 2 5 (UK) and 13 November 2001 on Capitol 7243 5 35510 25 (US).
Disney Time
A British television special that has been shown annually on BBC 1 in the UK during the Christmas/New Year holiday season for a great number of years. The show, hosted by British celebrities, features a selection of clips from Disney films, old and new, with a linking narrative from the celebrity. The 42-minute programme was recorded at Paul and Linda's house in Cavendish Avenue, St John's Wood, on Sunday 16 December 1973 with the two as hosts, surrounded by their children, Heather, Mary and Stella.
The programme was transmitted on Boxing Day, 26 December between 6.16 p.m. and 6.58 p.m.
There were clips from Pinocchio, Mary Poppins, Wild Geese Calling, Run Cougar Run, Bambi, The World's Greatest Athlete, 101 Dalmatians, Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs, Herbie and Robin Hood.
Incidentally, the Disney Channel's showing of 'Paul McCartney: Going Home' won the Ace Award (Cable TV's equivalent to the Emmy awards) for best musical special on 12 January 1992.
Distractions
A number by Paul lasting 4 minutes and 47 seconds, which was included on the Flowers In The Dust album.
Do They Know It's Christmas?
A charity single recorded as part of the project to raise money for the starving people of Ethiopia. Paul recorded a message on the flipside of the record. He also participated in singing along with the song at the finale of the 'Live Aid' concert on Saturday 13 July 1985.
'Do They Know It's Christmas?' was the single that overtook his own 'Mull Of Kintyre' as Britain's biggest-selling single of all time.
Docklands Arena
A venue in London, where Paul chose to hold a press conference, primarily to announce details of his New World Tour and his 18th solo album release Off The Ground. The event took place on Friday 5 February 1993.
The initial press conference began at 6.30 p.m. and lasted for 25 minutes, with Paul's press agent Bernard Doherty hosting the questions.
They covered various subjects from the drug Ecstasy to Eastern Europe. He was also asked whether the Beatles would re-form and in which places he would be touring.
Paul was asked: 'Why did you decide to go back to your roots in recording Off The Ground'.
He replied: 'I was talking to the co-producer of this album, and I'd remembered that the easiest and most pleasant days I'd ever had in a recording studio were in the mid-Beatles period. John and I would go in with a couple of guitars, and play the song we'd written to the guys.
'In about an hour we'd have a pretty decent version of it. We'd then use that live take to build upon. And it was good to have this very strong foundation of a good take, rather than what can happen these days with little (makes an onomatopoeic sound imitating drum machine noises) and everyone saying, "Don't worry, it'll sound great when we mix it." With that you never get the feel as you're recording it. That was why I went back to the roots.'
Another journalist asked him, 'What can you tell us about the songs on the album written in partnership with Elvis Costello?'
Paul replied: 'Of the two songs with Elvis, one of them was a recent collaboration, 'Mistress And Maid', which was originally supposed to be a sexy title, slightly kinky - but it turned out to be a feminist title. The other one is 'The Lovers That Never Were' which is the first song we actually wrote together. But it wasn't that easy to record - on the last album we made a record of it but it wasn't too good. I like the song, so I brought it back for this album.'
He was also asked, 'Why do you keep pushing green issues on your albums?'
He replied: 'Look at all these people here today. If I just came here and said, "Hey, great", and it was all very frivolous, I feel like I would have wasted this occasion. I think people like to hear people standing up for things like human rights and ecology, and against some of the disasters that we've got in the world. So I'll keep pushing them. If the governments sort it out, then I'll sit down, because I don't really want this job. It's just that as I've got all this attention from the media, I feel like I ought to use it wisely rather than just fritter it away.'
Another question was: 'Can you comment upon Michael Jackson owning Northern Songs and your attempts to buy back the company?'
Paul replied: 'When John and I were kids, probably under the age of twenty, we were signed to a song deal. We didn't know that you could own songs. It was a surprise to us. We thought they were just in the air. We could see how you could own a house, but not a song. I think the publisher saw us coming. We got signed to a very old-fashioned deal -pretty much a slave deal, which I'm still under to this day.
'My argument is that it should have been varied a bit because we've been rather successful for the company! Michael was able to buy the company because it was just up for sale on the open market. And he had a lot of money after the record Thriller. And in actual fact I advised him to get into music publishing. And he said, "I'm going to buy your songs." And I said, "Good joke!" I thought he was joking! And then someone rang and said, "yeah, he's bought them." So that's that.'
Following the press conference Paul and his group then began a 'rehearsal' before an audience of 3,000 people, comprising media, members of his fan club and 25 winners of a Daily Mirror competition.
Paul performed for ninety minutes with five of the thirteen numbers from his forthcoming Off The Ground album with his band, which comprised Linda, Hamish Stuart, Robbie Mclntosh, Paul 'Wix' Wickens and Blair. He began with 'Drive My Car' and followed with 'Coming Up', 'Get Out Of My Way', 'Another Day', 'All My Loving', 'Let Me Roll It', 'Peace In The Neighbourhood', 'Off The Ground' and 'I Wanna Be Your Man'. Then, while the group left the stage, Robbie Mclntosh played a guitar solo. Then Paul and the rest of the group rejoined him for a series of acoustic numbers: 'Good Rockin' Tonight', 'We Can Work It Out', 'And I Love Her', 'Every Night', 'Hope Of Deliverance', 'Michelle', 'Biker Like An Icon', 'Here, There And Everywhere' and 'Yesterday'.
Then, from beneath the floor rose Paul's baby grand piano and the performance continued with 'My Love', 'Lady Madonna', 'Live And Let Die' and 'Let It Be'. The encore was 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'.
Dom Sportova Hall
A venue in Zagreb, Yugoslavia where Paul appeared during his second 1976 European tour on Tuesday 21 September. This was the first show behind the 'Iron Curtain' by any member of the Beatles. Speaking on 'Tonight', a BBC documentary, Paul said that the appearance at the Dom Sportova Hall was 'the best show we've ever had'.
Don't Be Careless Love
A composition by Paul and Elvis Costello, 3 minutes and 17 seconds in length, which was included on the Flowers In The Dust album.
Don't Break The Promises
A number co-written by Paul and Eric Stewart during the time they were recording the Press to Play album, although it didn't appear on the finished album. The number was recorded by lOcc, who comprised Eric Stewart, Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme, in 1992 for their reunion album. This time the song included a credit for Gouldman, who had added to the number.
Don't Dig No Pakistanis
A number that was intended to be another of Paul's political statements in song. He initially wrote the lyrics using the tune of 'Get Back', He recorded it during the Let It Be sessions, but it was never released and eventually became 'Get Back'.
Don't Let It Bring You Down
Another song recorded in the Virgin Islands for the London Town album and another Paul McCartney/Denny Laine joint work. On the track both musicians play Irish whistles. It was 4 minutes and 34 seconds in length.
Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying
A song composed by Joe Greene that was originally recorded by Ray Charles. Gerry &c the Pacemakers popularised the number. Paul's version, lasting 4 minutes and 31 seconds, is the last track on the Tripping The Live Fantastic album and was recorded during the sound-check at the Forum, Montreal, Canada on 9 December 1989 during the 1989/90 World Tour.
Donald, Alistair
Paul's son-in-law, the husband of Paul's daughter Mary. He had been Mary's partner for three years before the marriage. Alistair is a TV producer and his projects for Paul included the documentary 'Wingspan' and Paul's solo project 'Anthology'.
Donald, Mary Alice McCartney
Paul and Linda McCartney's first child. She was born at the Marie Louise Hospital in London on Wednesday 28 August 1969 at 1.30 a.m. and weighed six pounds and eight ounces. Paul and Linda chose the hospital because it reflected the names of Mary's paternal and maternal grandmothers, Mary and Louise. In fact, Mary was named after Paul's mother who died of breast cancer when he was fourteen.
A picture of Mary appeared on the cover of Paul's first solo album McCartney.
Together with her sister Stella and younger brother James, she enjoyed an idyllic childhood on the family farm in Sussex. They were protected from publicity and Paul and Linda had ensured that despite their wealth and privileged position, their children would grow up to be 'ordinary'.
Rather than being steered towards academic careers, the children were encouraged in their artistic pursuits, resulting in Stella becoming a renowned fashion designer.
Mary began to work as her mother's personal photographic assistant in 1992. She studied her mother's techniques and supervised her photographic library. Yet she decided on a low-key approach to her career and enjoyed a degree of anonymity, even though she received an award and her photographs were displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.
Her boyfriends included musician Paul Weller and Giles Martin, son of George Martin.
She worked from MPL's Soho offices and her pictures have been featured in magazines around the world, including the Australian edition of Elle and the German edition of Vogue.
In April 1998, a few days after Mary had announced her plans to marry film director Alistair Donald, her mother died from breast cancer.
She married Alistair six months later on Saturday 26 September at a twelfth-century church near to the family home in Peasmarsh, near Rye, East Sussex. The Rev. Christopher Hopkins conducted the 40-minute ceremony. Mary and her TV producer fiance Alistair Donald had intended getting married in the same register office as her parents, the Marylebone Register Office. She had moved the date of her wedding to early summer 1998 in order for her mother to be present, but Linda died in April. They abandoned the idea of a Marylebone wedding and were married at St Peter and St Paul Church in Peasmarch. Mary was 29 years old at the time. The guests, who numbered almost a hundred, were transported to the church in two coaches. Paul and Mary drove up to the church in an antique blue Rolls Royce.
Mary wore a strapless rose-coloured dress made of linen with trimmed cream antique lace, designed by her sister Stella, and Stella and Heather both wore mint-green dresses. James was dressed in a brown suit, Paul in a grey suit and Alistair in a beige one.
Paul took her into the church along a path scattered with petals.
In April 1999 Mary gave birth to a son, Arthur, Paul's first grandchild. Paul was to say: 'He's brought a lot of joy into the family. A grandchild immediately ennobles a lot of people. He makes me into a granddad, he makes my son into an uncle and he makes my daughter into an auntie. He's really lovely, we're all really proud of him - he's a good looking boy.'
It was while Mary was engaged in fund-raising work for the charity Breast Cancer Care that she first met the British Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair in 1999. As a result, Mary was personally chosen by Mrs Blair to take photographs of her new baby, Leo, in May 2000.
Mary was thirty years old at the time and was to say: 'They (Tony and Cherie Blair) thought it would be nice to have a female photographer for these pictures and I was very complimented to be asked to take them. Leo was only 38 hours old when I took the pictures. He's a lovely baby and a gentle little soul.'
Publication fees for the photographs went to Breast Cancer Care and Sargent Cancer Care for Children.
Paul was obviously proud of the honour paid to Mary and commented, 'I'm really proud of Mary. It's a great tribute to her talent. Her mother would, to say the least, have been incredibly proud of her - and she probably is.'
She was the official photographer for the Brit Awards at Earls Court, London on 26 February 2001.
Mary was attacked and mugged in June 2002 near her home in Maida Vale. She was two months pregnant at the time when two attackers grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth to stifle her screams while one of them pulled out her diamond earrings and ripped off her engagement ring and watch.
After the attack she was taken to hospital for precautionary checks on her unborn child.
A friend commented, 'Mary never dresses in flash clothes or expensive jewellery. She likes the fact that she can walk around unrecognised. She had always avoided the public eye.'
Donovan
A singer/songwriter, born in Glasgow, who enjoyed a series of chart successes.
Paul made a guest appearance on Donovan's 'Atlantis' single playing tambourine and providing some backing vocals. He'd also dropped into the studio during Donovan's recording of 'Mellow Yellow'. A fifteen-minute session between the two artists, also from 1968, has been captured for all time on an American bootleg album No. 3 Abbey Road, NW8. The interlude was taken from a studio warm-up between Donovan and Paul and in their book The End Of The Beatles, authors Castleman and Podrazik mention that the two stars sat down together with acoustic guitars and exchanged songs-in-the-works, with Paul offering 'Blackbird' and 'Heather' and Donovan selecting numbers from what eventually became the album HMS Donovan.
In February 1968 it was announced that Donovan had written a script for a film to be made by Ingmar Bergman and that Paul had agreed to make a guest appearance in it. However, the film was never made.
Dorsey, Tony
The leader of the Wings horn section during the 1975/76 World Tour. The trombonist first worked for Paul in New Orleans during the recording of Venus and Mars. Paul asked him to lead the horn section for his next tour and Tony chose Steve Howard on trumpet and flugel-horn, Thaddeus Richard on soprano and alto saxophones, clarinet and flute, and Howie Casey on tenor saxophone. He played trombone in addition to writing the arrangements.
Drake's Drum
A racehorse that Paul bought for £1,200 as a present for his father's 62nd birthday on Monday 6 July 1964.
During that evening there was a private party following the premiere of A Hard Day's Night at the London Pavilion, attended by Princess Margaret and the Beatles. It was during the party that Paul told his father of the present. He was to say, 'My father likes a flutter - he is one of the world's greatest armchair punters.'
The horse came second on its very first race after the purchase. The most exciting moment occurred on Saturday 26 March 1966 when both Paul and his father were at Liverpool's famous Aintree Racecourse to watch Drake's Drum win the Hylton Plate, coming in at 20-1. Paul was particularly pleased at the pride his father felt, leading the horse into the winner's enclosure. In later years, Paul retired the horse to his High Park Farm in Scotland.
Drammeshalle
A theatre in Dramen, Norway. Immediately prior to his official world tour, Paul held a special pre-tour concert at the venue on Tuesday 26 September 1989.
Paul and his band performed 'Figure Of Eight', 'Jet', 'Rough Ride', 'Got To Get You Into My Life', 'Band On The Run', 'Ebony And Ivory', 'We Got Married', 'Maybe I'm Amazed', 'The Long And Winding Road', 'The Fool On The Hill', 'Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', 'Good Day Sunshine', 'Can't Buy Me Love', 'Put It There', 'Things We Said Today', 'Eleanor Rigby', 'Back In The USSR', 'I Saw Her Standing There', 'This One', 'My Brave Face', 'Twenty Flight Rock', 'Coming Up', 'Let It Be', 'Live And Let Die', 'Hey Jude' and 'Get Back'. For the encore he performed 'Golden Slumbers', 'Carry That Weight' and 'The End'.
Dream Baby
The first number by the Beatles to be performed on the radio. Paul sang lead vocal on this song during their radio debut on Teenager's Turn on 8 March 1962. A few weeks earlier Roy Orbison had released his version of the Cindy Walker penned number and other artists who had recorded it included Del Shannon and Bruce Channel.
Dreams
Paul revealed the nature of his dreams to journalist Alan Smith in July 1966, including a recent dream of his in which he was queuing up at the Labour Exchange to collect his dole money. His dreams sometimes included visions of violent death, plane crashes, various disasters, dreams of him being pursued. He also recalled that before the success of the Beatles he constantly had dreams of being on holidays.
Drive My Car
The opening track on the Rubber Soul album.
Paul said, 'I arrived at the studio with this fairly good tune, but it had crappy lyrics, like: "I can give you diamond rings, I can give you golden rings, I can give you anything," and John said, "Oh!" He didn't like them and we had a deep sad moment. So, I said to him, "I'll tell you what, let's have a cup of tea and a ciggie and we'll just relax for a minute." After that we just jollied up and I said, "I'll tell you what then, how about this girl in LA who wants a chauffeur?"'
George Harrison was to comment, 'We laid the track because, what Paul would do, if he had written a song, he'd learn all the parts for himself and then come into the studio and say, "Do this." He'd never give you the opportunity to come up with something. But, on "Drive My Car", I just played the line, which is really like a lick off "Respect", you know, the Otis Redding version. I played that line on the guitar and Paul laid that with me on bass. We laid the track down like that.'
The Beatles recorded the number on Wednesday 13 October 1965.
'Drive My Car' was also included on the 'Nowhere Man' EP, the compilations The Beatles 1962-1966 and Rock 'n' Roll Music and the American album Yesterday And Today.
A live version of the number lasting 2 minutes and 33 seconds, which was recorded in Kansas City on 31 May 1993, was included as a track on the Paul Is Live album.
Driving Rain (album)
A 15-track album released in Britain on Monday 12 November 2001 and in America on Tuesday 13 November 2001. It was Paul's first album of new songs in four years and he recorded it at Henson Studios in Los Angeles between March and July 2001 with a new band comprising three American musicians, Rusty Anderson, guitar, Gabe Dixon, keyboards and Abe Loboriel, drums. He also worked with a new producer David Kahne, who'd produced numerous major artists ranging from Tony Bennett to the Bangles. During the sessions he recorded 22 new songs, 15 of which were included on the album.
To keep the music fresh the album was recorded in two weeks and Paul said, 'We didn't fuss about it. I didn't even tell the producer or any of the guys what we were going to do until the morning of the day we were going to do it. Nobody knew what I was going to pull out of the hat. I just said, "OK, guys, what do you think of this one? Let's go do it."'
He had originally used the provisional title Blue Skies.
Paul was to comment: 'One of the things that began when we were doing Run Devil Run, the rock and roll album, was me remembering that I'm mainly the bass player. Talking about the old way the Beatles used to record brought that back to me. So although I've played a bit of guitar and stuff on the occasional track, I've basically been the bass player. That's my role. It's simple and satisfying. I sing and I play bass.'
He also explained the system of recording he employed, which was like the Beatles' recording technique and didn't include rehearsing. It was the method he'd employed with Run Devil Run.
'We did the same thing with this album; we came into the studio on Monday morning, I'd show them a song, and we'd start doing it. We recorded eighteen tracks in the first two weeks in February, and then I went back to LA in June and recorded another couple of tracks and mixed the album. So making the whole album from beginning to end has taken about five weeks. That's still pretty good going, but that is the kind of work rate we'd do in the Beatles.'
The cover of the album depicts Paul at a urinal in a photograph taken by him using a miniature camera built into his Casio watch.
The tracks were: 'Lonely Road (Nu Nu)', 'From A Lover To A Friend', 'She Given Up Talking', 'Driving Rain', 'I Do', 'Tiny Bubble', 'It Must Have Been Magic', 'Your Way', 'Spinning On An Axis', 'About You', 'Heather', 'Back In The Sunshine Again', 'Loving Flame', 'Riding Into Jaipur' and 'Rinse The Raindrops'.
Driving Rain (single)
The title track from the Driving Rain album, lasting 3 minutes and 26 seconds. It was recorded on 27 February 2001.
Drugs
Paul's flirtations with drugs began, as far as anyone can tell, with mild 'uppers' such as purple hearts, in Liverpool. In Hamburg, the Beatles were known to take similar stimulants, such as Preludin and Captogen, which could be obtained in local chemist's shops without a prescription, but which they used to buy from Rosa, the lavatory attendant at the Kaiserkeller and, later on, the Top Ten club.
Singer Bob Dylan introduced the Beatles to marijuana in 1964 and at the time Paul was quoted as saying: 'I'm thinking for the first time, really thinking.'
However, it was for his use of LSD that Paul first hit the headlines in connection with drugs. LSD or 'acid' is a chemical hallucinogenic and Paul was to admit that he'd taken it in an interview that appeared in Life magazine in America on 16 June 1967. This created such a furore that Paul was interviewed on the subject for a TV news programme broadcast on 19 June. The same day the Daily Mirror also published an interview in which Paul discussed taking LSD. The confession led to Evangelist Billy Graham declaring he would pray for Paul's salvation! The interview on television went as follows:
Q: Paul, how often have you taken LSD?
A: Er, four times.
Q: And where did you get it from?
A: Well, you know, I mean, if I was to say where I got it from, you know, it's illegal and everything, it's silly to say that so I'd rather not say it.
Q: Don't you believe that this was a matter which you should have kept private?
A: Well, the thing is, you know, that I was asked a question by a newspaper and the decision was whether to tell a lie or tell the truth, you know. I decided to tell him the truth but I didn't really want to say anything because if I'd had my way I wouldn't have told anyone because I'm not trying to spread the word about this but the man from the newspaper is the man from the mass medium. I'll keep it a personal thing if he does too, you know, if he keeps it quiet. But he wanted to spread it so it's his responsibility for spreading it. Not mine.
Q: But you're a public figure and you said it in the first place. You must have known that it would make the newspapers.
A: Yes, but to say it, you know, is only to tell the truth. I'm telling the truth. I don't know what everyone is so angry about.
Q: Well, do you think you have encouraged your fans to take drugs?
A: I don't think it will make any difference, you know, I don't think my fans are going to take drugs just because I did. But the thing is that's not the point anyway. I was asked whether I had or not and from then on the whole bit about how far it's going to encourage is up to the newspapers and up to you, you know, on television. I mean you're spreading this now at this moment. This is going into all the homes in Britain and I'd rather it didn't, you know. But you're asking me the question and if you want me to be honest, I'll be honest.
Q: But as a public figure, surely you've got a responsibility not to say any ...
A: No, it's you who've got the responsibility not to spread this now. You know I'm quite prepared to keep it as a very personal thing if you will too. If you'll shut up about it, I will!
However, it was his association with cannabis that continued to dog him. In August 1972, during the Wings tour of Europe, Paul found himself in trouble when the group appeared in Sweden. As soon as Wings had finished their set at the Scandinavian Hall, Gothenberg, the police stepped in and cut off the PA system. They were waiting to question Paul, Linda and Denny Seiwell and took them to the local police headquarters, together with Paul's secretary Rebecca Hinds.
Customs officers had apparently intercepted seven ounces of marijuana that had been sent from London addressed to Paul.
A senior police officer commented: 'We told them we had found the cannabis in a letter and at first they said they knew nothing about it. But after we had questioned them for about three hours they confessed and told the truth. McCartney, his wife and Seiwell told us they smoked hash every day. They said they were almost addicted to it. They said they had made arrangements to have drugs posted to them each day they played in different countries so they wouldn't have to take any drugs through the customs themselves.'
John Morris, the tour operator, said, 'Paul, Linda and Denny did admit to the Swedish police that they used hash. At first they denied it but the police gave them a rough time and started threatening all sorts of things. The police said they would bar the group from leaving the country unless they confessed.'
Gothenberg's public prosecutor, Lennart Angelin, released them after a preliminary fine of £1,000. He said: 'They were not arrested since it was obvious that they were going to use the cannabis for themselves and not pass it on.'
Paul, Linda and Denny were fined on 12 August 1972. Not too long after the Swedish incident a police constable, Norman McPhee, set off to Paul's two farms in Campbeltown ostensibly to check the security in Paul and Linda's absence. McPhee had been on a drugs identification course in Glasgow and when he visited High Park, one of Paul's farms, for some reason he checked one of the greenhouses where he said he became suspicious of some plants. He returned to his station, later to return to the farm with six other policemen. A thorough search turned up no further evidence and in December Paul was charged on three counts, including those of possessing cannabis and cultivating cannabis plants. Paul was asked to appear in court the following year, in March 1973. The hearing took place on Monday 8 March and the court was told that in September 1972 a crime prevention officer had gone to the farm to check that it was secure. He had noticed some plants in the greenhouse with the tomatoes and had returned to the station to consult a reference book. To the charge of knowingly cultivating the plants, Paul pleaded guilty. To the two other charges of possessing cannabis he pleaded not guilty - and the charges were dropped. His lawyer told the court how Paul had received the seeds in the post and, being interested in horticulture, had planted them. The Sheriff, convicting him on the first count, commented, 'I take into account that you are a public figure of considerable interest, particularly to young people, and I must deal with you accordingly. The fine will be £100.'
Paul said: 'I was planning on writing a few songs in jail. You have to be careful. I look on it like Prohibition but you have to recognise the law. I think the law should be changed - make it like the law of homosexuality with consenting adults in private. I don't think cannabis is as dangerous as drink. I'm dead against hard drugs.'
Due to the various drug convictions, Paul had been repeatedly refused an American visa, but was finally given one in December 1973.
The next drugs affair happened in 1975. Wings had begun recording Venus And Mars in America between January and April. They were using the Sea Saint Studios in New Orleans and the Wally Heider Studios in Los Angeles. One night, shortly after midnight, on their way home from the Wally Heider Studios to Malibu, the trouble began. It was Monday 3 March and Paul was driving a silver Lincoln Continental with Linda at his side and their three children in the back seat.
Driving along Santa Monica Boulevard, Paul failed to stop for a red light and a Highway Patrol motorcyclist flagged him down. The motorcyclist approached their vehicle and said that he smelled a strange substance as he put his head inside the car. He then found a smouldering joint on the floor and discovered a small amount of marijuana, between 16 and 18.5 grams, in Linda's purse. Linda immediately admitted that the joint had been hers and that Paul had no part in it. They were taken to West Los Angeles police station and Paul was told he was free to take the children home. Linda was detained for two hours before bail was arranged; in April she was taken to court after being charged with possession. In May, the judge, Brian Cuhan, said that he would be prepared to have the charges dropped if Linda agreed to have six sessions with a psychiatrist. She said she would and the case was dismissed. The judge also agreed that she could have the sessions in London. The arrangement was not unusual, as a Los Angeles police officer commented: 'After six months instruction by approved counsellors, first offence drug charges - like that facing Mrs McCartney - are usually dropped.'
Paul was later to comment: 'The only really unfortunate thing about it is that it starts to get you a reputation as a kind of druggie. It's really only a minor offence. It isn't something we take too seriously, and of course the press image is really far worse. We're not serious drug addicts or anything. The fact is that it's illegal, and if a thing's illegal you're liable to get caught doing it.'
A year later, Paul's convictions were to catch up with him. As part of the Wings World Tour of 1976, Paul intended to make appearances in Japan. These would be his first performances there for ten years, since the Beatles appeared at the Budo Kan Hall in Tokyo in July 1966.
All arrangements had been made and tickets for all the concerts had been sold out in advance, lavish programmes had been printed, but just as Paul and company were due to fly from Australia to Japan, they were told that Paul's visa had been cancelled at the last minute by Japan's Minister of Justice due to Paul's drug convictions in Sweden and Scotland in 1972 and 1973 respectively.
However, this incident was to prove minor in comparison with their next, horrific experience in Japan.
Wings had finally confirmed that they would be allowed to tour the world's second biggest record market and were to appear at eleven concerts in Japan in January 1980. Once again, all the tickets were sold out well in advance. All the main equipment for the tour had been sent on ahead to Japan and Paul, Linda and the children had gone to New York for Christmas to visit Linda's family. They set off from the Big Apple on a 14-hour flight to Tokyo with just their personal baggage. As they went through Customs at Narita airport, they were asked to open their luggage. In the first case opened there was a polythene bag which, when examined, was found to contain almost half a pound of marijuana.
Jo Jo Laine was to say: 'Linda had left twenty Thai sticks of grass in her make-up bags ... Paul took the rap.'
The Customs officials called the police and Paul was led away handcuffed. Narcotics officers questioned him and after five hours of interrogation he admitted that he had smoked pot for eleven years and had obtained the grass that had been found in his bag from a friend in America. Linda and the three children were taken to a hotel in Tokyo and the tour was cancelled, disappointing the 100,000 who had been lucky enough to obtain tickets.
Paul was told that he could be in jail for up to twenty days before being charged. He was initially shocked when Albert Marshall, the British Vice-Consul visited him on the first night. Paul believed the situation was a storm in a teacup until Marshall told him otherwise. Paul recapped: 'I thought, fantastic, good old consul, he is going to get me out. He just sat down and said, "Well, it could be eight years, you know".'
As he was not Japanese, Paul was allowed coffee and bread rather than the usual rice and green tea given to detainees. He had to sleep on a mat on the floor, Japanese style, and was awakened by a guard at 6 a.m. each morning. He also had to retire to bed each night at 8 p.m., was only allowed half an hour of exercise in his cell each day and was denied access to his guitar and writing material.
In all, Paul was to spend ten days in the Japanese prison. Linda was first able to visit him on the fifth day and told him that she was worried he might be sentenced to three months. She saw him again on the eighth day (she made three visits in all) when her lawyer brother John accompanied her. Linda brought Paul a cheese sandwich, some fruit and science-fiction books. Paul had been allowed a change of clothes and some blankets, but it was a week before he was able to take a bath. He was offered the option of bathing alone or in the communal prison bathhouse. He chose the latter. He commented: 'Life in jail isn't so bad. The prison wasn't the rat-infested hole I thought it was going to be. For the first few days I was worrying all the time. For eight days I didn't see any daylight at all. I had to eat seaweed and onion soup for breakfast. I shared a bath with a man who was in for murder and all because I didn't think.'
He also commented: 'At first I thought it was barbaric that they put handcuffs on me twice a day when I went to see the investigators. There seemed to be a different lot each time. I had made a confession on the night I was arrested and apologised for breaking Japanese law but they still wanted to know everything. I had to go through my whole life story, school, father's name, income, even my medal from the Queen. Perhaps they decided to deport me because I was totally frank with them.'
Paul was deported, carted off from prison directly to the airport, still in handcuffs and surrounded by twelve policemen.
Linda was to say that Paul had been released because of a loophole in the law - since his visa had been taken from him at the airport on arrival he was, in fact, an illegal alien. The Japanese authorities said that they released him because he showed signs of repentance. In fact, he did seem to repent his actions to reporters on his flight back home, via Anchorage, Alaska and Amsterdam, Holland.
On the plane to Alaska he told the press: 'I have been a fool. What I did was incredibly dumb. My God, how stupid I have been. I had just come from America and I still had the American attitude that marijuana isn't too bad. I didn't appreciate how strict the Japanese are about it. I was really scared thinking I might be in prison for so long. I've made up my mind. I've been smoking marijuana for more than eleven years and I'm never going to touch the stuff again.'
Despite this declaration, Paul again made the headlines after being busted in Barbados.
Paul, Linda, James and Stella had been staying at a luxury nineteenth-century villa on the holiday island. On the evening of Saturday 14 January 1984 three police cars arrived at the villa. Drug squad officers produced a search warrant and discovered 10 grams of marijuana. Alan Long, the local police inspector, commented, 'We received a tip-off that they were in possession of marijuana. Four uniformed officers went round to the McCartneys' holiday villa with a search warrant. Mr McCartney freely admitted his guilt and accompanied the officers to the police station.'
At the police headquarters in Bridgetown, the capital, they were questioned for two hours. Their passports, together with £1,000 in cash, were confiscated when they were released on bail for the sum of £1,400.
Paul and Linda were ordered to appear at Holetown Magistrate's Court the next day, where they both pleaded guilty to the charge.
Their defence attorney, David Simmons, told the magistrate: 'The male accused is of considerable international standing. He is a very talented and creative person. People who have this talent sometimes
need inspiration. I'm instructed that Mr McCartney and his wife obtained the vegetable matter from someone on Holetown Beach. They are not pushers.'
The Assistant Police Commissioner, Keith Whittaker, commented: 'The law is for everybody on the island - and that includes McCartney. We are treating this as a very serious case. I don't know if he'd be welcome here again,'
Police inspector Alan Long also commented, 'By their example the McCartneys are encouraging our young people to use drugs.'
Judge Haynes Blackman fined them 200 Barbados dollars each.
When he left the court, Paul said, 'I've got absolutely no grudges and no complaints. It was a small amount of cannabis and I intended to use it, but the police came to my place and I gave them 10 grams of cannabis. Linda had another small carton of cannabis in her handbag.'
When they arrived back in London on Tuesday 17 January Paul made a statement to the press at Heathrow Airport, commenting, 'This substance cannabis is a whole lot less harmful than rum punch, whisky, nicotine and glue, all of which are perfectly legal. I would like to see it decriminalised because I don't think, in the privacy of my own room, I was doing anyone any harm whatsoever.'
Paul and Linda then went to board a private aircraft when they were asked to return to the airport Customs hall where they were questioned and some marijuana was discovered in Linda's handbag. She was arrested but released on unconditional bail and was required to appear at Uxbridge Magistrate's Court on Tuesday 24 January.
The hearing lasted thirteen minutes during which Linda pleaded guilty to illegally importing 4.9 grams of marijuana. Mr Edwin Glasgow, Linda's defence counsel appealed to the magistrates, 'Linda is genuinely sorry, and wishes to make a genuine apology. I urge the court not to make an example of her just because she is famous. Linda is a thoughtful, likeable woman who has done far more for other people than those who sneer at her.'
She was fined £75.
The two busts so close together caused a furore in the British press, with many people airing their views on both sides of the marijuana question.
Paul's brother Mike, coming to their defence, said: 'As kids, Paul and I were taught moderation and toleration by my dad. Other people could do with the same lesson. The idea that marijuana leads to heroin is rubbish. It's like saying a few drinks makes you an alcoholic' Gerry Marsden, leader of Gerry and the Pacemakers, commented, 'Paul has said too much really. In any case I don't agree with him.' He added, 'Kids tend to do whatever people they admire are doing. He should set an example whether he wants to or not.'
In the edition of London's Time Out magazine, published on Friday 27 January 1984 there was a feature by Paul in which he expounded his reasons why he considered that cannabis should be legalised.
Denny Laine has made several statements in some newspaper articles regarding Paul's use of cannabis, claiming that Paul and Linda got through two ounces of cannabis each day, the equivalent of £1,000 worth of marijuana per week. He also claimed that they had once smuggled a small amount through customs in the hood of baby James's coat.
In an interview with New Statesman magazine in 1997, Paul commented about marijuana stating that he supported decriminalisa-tion. He said, 'People are smoking pot anyway and to make them criminals is wrong. You're filling up all the jails and yet it's when you're in jail that you really become a criminal. That's where you learn all the tricks. When I was jailed in Japan, there was no rehabilitation. They just stuck me in a box for nine days. Decriminalisation would take the sting out of the issue.'
Several national newspapers in Britian picked up his comments. Labour MP, Lin Golding, a member of the Commons Drugs Misuse Group commented, 'I've never seen a shred of evidence to suggest it would be safe to legalise cannabis. Soft drugs tempt youngsters to try other harder drugs. It could be very damaging to educate children about drugs.'
Dunbar, Geoff
A British animation specialist. He co-wrote a script with Paul for the Rupert Bear film and collaborated with Paul on other animated film ventures such as Rupert And The Frog Song, Daumier's Law and Tuesday.
Dunbar, John
A man who had a part to play in Paul's cultural education in London in the mid-1960s, particularly during the time that Paul was residing at the Ashers' house in Wimpole Street.
Dunbar was married to Marianne Faithfull and the couple lived at 20 Lennox Gardens where Paul and Jane were often invited. The couple were introduced to various people from the world of the arts and it was Dunbar who introduced Paul to Robert Fraser, the art gallery owner.
It was Dunbar, together with Peter Asher and Barry Miles, who opened Indica, the art gallery/bookshop, to which Paul provided some financial backing - and he was actually the bookstore's first customer.
Dunbar was also a link in the romance between John Lennon and Yoko Ono. It was Dunbar who organised Yoko's exhibition 'Unfinished Paintings and Objects' at the gallery.
Durband, Alan
A former head teacher at Liverpool Institute who was originally educated at Cambridge University, his tutor being F R Leavis. When
Paul was attending the Institute, Durband was his sixth-form English teacher. Paul claimed that he was the only teacher he liked and mentioned that he told the boys about books such as Lady Chatterley's Lover and Chaucer's The Miller's Tale, pointing out that they weren't dirty books but examples of good literature.
He was one of those unique teachers who actually made a difference to the lives of their pupils. He died in September 1994 at the age of 67.
A plaque was unveiled in his memory at the Everyman Theatre in Liverpool in a ceremony attended by playwright Willy Russell, whose plays were first presented at the theatre and who said that Durband was an 'extraordinary man'.
Durband was a board member of the Everyman Theatre and is credited with putting the theatre on the map. Paul was unable to attend the ceremony but said that he had always remembered Durband for his wit and wisdom.
Russell said, 'He was an inspiration to me; he was an inspiration to so, so many people.'
Another former pupil, Brian Jacques, who became a successful children's author, commented, 'I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Alan Durband. He was always interested in people and in talent. I gave him my first ever manuscript in a plastic Tesco bag. He went away and sent it to a publisher. He believed in me. He believed in passion.'
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On this day, 31st January , in 1943, the German army surrendered to the Russians. who was the Commander-in-Chief of the German forces who offerred the surrender? | 1000+ images about Paulus on Pinterest | Press photo, Marshalls and East germany
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General Friedrich Paulus der Panzertruppe (Oberbefehlshaber 6.Armee) discussions with two Sturm-Artillerie commanders who are under his command. On the left is Major Paul Gloger (Kommandeur Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 244), while on the right is Major Hans Zielesch (Kommandeur Sturmgeschütz-Abteilung 245). This photo was taken in the 21st or October 22, 1942 when the final plans were made to attack Factory krásný Oktyabr by 79.Infanterie-Division will be done the next day (October 23, 1942)
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During the Battle of Stalingrad who was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Red Arny forces? | Operation Barbarossa, Stalingrad and Leningrad Ryan Pitney, Ranjan Mithal, Alex Fleming, Sidney Hershey, Sanket Katta. - ppt download
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Operation Barbarossa, Stalingrad and Leningrad Ryan Pitney, Ranjan Mithal, Alex Fleming, Sidney Hershey, Sanket Katta.
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Presentation on theme: "Operation Barbarossa, Stalingrad and Leningrad Ryan Pitney, Ranjan Mithal, Alex Fleming, Sidney Hershey, Sanket Katta."— Presentation transcript:
1 Operation Barbarossa, Stalingrad and Leningrad Ryan Pitney, Ranjan Mithal, Alex Fleming, Sidney Hershey, Sanket Katta
2 Hitler forgot to pack a winter coat. The Short Version Paulus: “Mein Führer, maybe this wasn’t a good idea.” Hitler: “You’ll be fine, ja!”
3 Hitler’s pride in capturing Stalingrad was the reason he would lose it. When the Russian armies surrounded the city, he refused to allow his commander to retreat and concede ground to the Soviets, leading to the surrender of Nazi forces inside the city. This broke the momentum of Operation Barbarossa and created a turning point in the war that allowed the Russians to break through and continue their advance to Berlin, which led to an eventual Nazi defeat. The Long Version (Thesis)
4 And no one cared about Leningrad.
5 ● Erich von Manstein o “Perhaps the most talented German field commander in World War 2” o Commanded the 56th Panzer Corps o Nearly captured Leningrad ● Friedrich Paulus o The army he commanded attacked Stalingrad o Asked Hitler to let them retreat when Nazis were losing o Surrendered January 31st, 1943 Axis Leaders
6 ●Carl Gustaf Mannerheim ○ President of Finland ○ Commander-in-Chief during Winter War ○ Joined the Nazis to get back land from Russia ● Gerd von Rundstedt o Held commands on both Eastern and Western Fronts o Led the breakthrough that sealed France’s fate o One of the most able officers of Germany o Commanded the German southern wing ● Wilhelm von Leeb o Army group played a major part in defeating defenders in the Maginot line o Primary task was Leningrad More Axis Leaders
7 Don’t let them near your children. (Pitney Moses…) Carl Gustaf MannerheimGerd von RundstedtWilhelm von Leeb
8 Semyon Timoshenko ● Modernized Russian army ● Fought German forces at Leningrad Georgy Zhukov ● Saved Moscow in Barbarossa ● ‘Destroyed’ the German forces at Stalingrad Allied Leaders
9 We would hate being Russian Generals...
10 The German Advance
11 ● Codename for the Nazi Invasion of Soviet Russia. ● Commenced on June 22, 1941 ● Poor planning of the invasion was the biggest factor in Nazi defeat, i.e, winter. Operation Barbarossa
12 ● Went against the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact ● 3.6 million Axis troops were mobilized. Operation Barbarossa (contd.)
13 ➔ Jun. 22, 1941: Operation Barbarossa begins. ◆ Axis forces divided in 3 ➔ Jul. 3, 1941: Stalin orders a Scorched Earth. ➔ Jul. 17, 1941: 300,000 Russian troops near Smolensk are captured. ➔ Sep. 5, 1941: 4 Russian Armies are trapped in Kiev. ➔ Sep. 7, 1941: Russia withdraws from Kiev. ➔ Sep. 8, 1941: Leningrad encircled, siege begins. ➔ Sep. 26, 1941: “Operation Typhoon,” capture of Moscow. ➔ Oct. 23, 1941: Fins invade Russia on the side of the Nazis, but stopped after 15 days. ➔ Dec. 5, 1941: Russian counterattack launched. ➔ Dec. 9, 1941: First supplies enter Leningrad. Timeline ➔ May 15, 1942: Russians give up front in Crimea. ➔ Jun. 30, 1942: After 1 month of fighting, Sebastopol falls to the Germans. ➔ Aug. 19, 1942: Germans begin assaulting Stalingrad. ➔ Oct. 4, 1942: Fourth German assault. ➔ Oct. 14, 1942: Hitler orders a defensive stance on the Russian Front. ➔ Early Nov. 1942: Preparations for Plan Uranus ➔ Nov. 19, 1942: Russians begin to retake Stalingrad ➔ Nov. 23, 1942: Russians surround 330,000 German troops. ➔ Jan, 31, 1943: Field Marshal Paulus and the German VI Army surrender.
14 Simple Timeline
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What name is given to the flowers of Willow and Poplar trees? | poplar | tree | Britannica.com
Poplar
angiosperm
Poplar (genus Populus), genus of some 35 species of trees in the willow family (Salicaceae), native to the Northern Hemisphere. The poplar species native to North America are divided into three loose groups: the cottonwoods , the aspens , and the balsam poplars. The name Populus refers to the fact that the trees were often planted around public meeting places in Roman times. The wood of poplars is relatively soft and hence is mostly used to make cardboard boxes, crates, paper , and veneer .
European aspen (Populus tremula).
Quaking aspen, also known as trembling poplar (Populus tremuloides), is one of the most …
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The leaves and fruits of an eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides). Named for their …
Kitty Kahout—Root Resources/EB Inc.
Physical description
Poplars are rapid-growing but relatively short-lived trees. They are widely distributed throughout the northern temperate regions, ranging from North America through Eurasia and northern Africa. The leaves are alternate and oval or heart-shaped in outline, with finely to coarsely toothed margins (leaf edges). The leaves characteristically tremble in the breeze, because of their flat petioles (leaf stalks). In North America, aspens usually have nonsticky buds and smooth gray-to-green bark , whereas cottonwoods and balsam poplars have sticky buds and bark that is darker and deeply furrowed. Poplars are dioecious plants. Their male and female flowers grow on separate trees and bloom in drooping catkins (pendulous unisexual flower clusters) before the leaves emerge, to facilitate wind pollination. The fruits are small thick-walled capsules that contain many minute seeds clothed in cottony tufts of silky hairs. The seeds are often released in great quantities, and the fluffy seed hairs assist in wind dispersal.
Common species
Two well-known poplar species of Eurasia are the white and the black poplar. The white poplar (P. alba)—also known as silver poplar for its leaves, which have white felted undersides, and as maple leaf poplar for the leaves’ lobed margins—is widely spreading or columnar in form, reaching 30 metres (100 feet) in height. The gray poplar (P. ×canescens), a close relative of the white poplar, has deltoid (roughly triangular) leaves with woolly grayish undersides. The black poplar, or black cottonwood (P. nigra), has oval fine-toothed leaves, is long-trunked, and grows to a height of 35 metres (115 feet). Columnar black poplars are widely used in ornamental landscape plantings, particularly among the villas of Italy and elsewhere in southern Europe. White and black poplars are widely planted in the eastern United States and in Canada.
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The balsam poplar , or tacamahac (P. balsamifera), which is native throughout northern North America in swampy soil, is distinguished by its aromatic resinous buds. The buds of the balm of Gilead poplar (P. ×jackii), which is similar, are used to make an ointment. The western balsam poplar, also called black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa), grows some 60 metres (195 feet) tall and is one of the largest deciduous trees of northwestern North America.
The common European aspen (P. tremula) and the American quaking, or trembling, aspen (P. tremuloides) are similar trees and reach a height of about 27 metres (90 feet). Quaking aspen is distinguished by its leaves, which have more-pointed tips, and spreads by rhizomes (underground stems). The American big-tooth aspen (P. grandidentata) grows up to 18 metres (59 feet) and has larger, somewhat rounded, coarse-toothed leaves.
A stand of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) trees. Such stands are often clonal, as the …
Charles Hannum/EB Inc.
Cottonwood trees have distinctive deeply fissured bark and are exceptionally tolerant of flooding and erosion . Native to North America, the common, or eastern, cottonwood (P. deltoides) reaches nearly 30 metres (100 feet) tall and bears thick glossy leaves. The Fremont, or Alamo, cottonwood (P. fremontii) is the tallest of the cottonwoods and is found throughout southwestern North America.
The Fremont, or Alamo, cottonwood tree (Populus fremontii) is native to the …
Amy Gaiennie/National Park Service
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In an 1890 novel, Basil Hallward paints whose portrait? | Aspen Poplar |
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Aspen Poplar
Populus tremuloides – This tree was named because of the way the leaves flutter or tremble in even a light breeze.
Other names
In Latin: Populus tremuloides Michx.
Populus (people) refers to the practice of planting this tree in public city squares; Tremulus means “trembling”; odes means “appearing like”
In English: Aspen, trembling aspen, quaking aspen, quiver-leaf
In French: Peuplier faux-tremble, tremble, peuplier blanc
Taxonomy
SALICACEAE (Willow family)
Description
Aspen poplar is a slender deciduous tree that grows up to 30 m (100 ft.) tall. It is common in much of Canada’s parkland and boreal forest.
Bark: These trees have smooth, light green or whitish bark. Large trees can be blackish and fissured at the base.
Buds: Winter buds of poplars have several scales, unlike those of willows, which have a single bud scale. The buds of aspen poplar are not coated with a fragrant, sticky resin like those of balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera).
Leaves: In aspen, the leaf stalks (petioles) are vertically flattened. They attach to the leaf blade at right angles to the leaf surface. The leaf stalks are also relatively long. These characteristics make the leaves tremble or quake even in a light breeze. The leaves are light to medium green and relatively small – 3 cm – 7 cm (1 1/4 – 2 3/4 in.) long. They are almost round or broadly egg-shaped, except for the small, sharp tip. In contrast, the leaf stalks of balsam poplar are round and not flattened; and the leaf blades are much longer than they are wide. It is important to learn the difference between aspen and other poplars. Look beneath the tree for last year’s leaves, and check that their shape matches the sketch.
Trees: Poplar trees are either female or male. In spring, both “boy trees” and “girl trees” produce gray, woolly catkins, or dense clusters of tiny flowers. The catkins on male trees shed pollen, and those on female trees produce seeds.
Flowers: The catkins swell and lengthen in very early spring before the new leaves emerge. They look like soft caterpillars hanging down from the stems; blooming is completed before leaves emerge.
Male flowers: Fuzzy catkins on male trees emerge in late winter, and lengthen in early spring to about 6 cm (2 1/2 in.). As they lengthen, their colour changes from gray, to pinkish (color is from pink pollen sacs), then they turn pale yellow, and, finally, gray, once the pollen sacs have split to release the powdery,yellow pollen to the spring wind.
The spent, gray catkin gradually dries and falls off the tree.
Female flowers: Grey catkins (colour is from the hairy bracts) first turn reddish. Wind-blown pollen lands on the stigmas and pollination occurs. Very soon the catkin turns green as it grows and lengthens. It is fascinating to see the changes – use a magnifying lens, or dissecting microscope to see this.
The mature female catkin, about 10 cm (4 in.) long, holds many slender, green, conical capsules, 3 mm – 5 mm (1/8 – 1/5 in.) long and warty, each containing tiny, light brown seeds with white fluffy hairs. After flowering finishes, seeds take four to six weeks to develop. Then the seed capsules split, and the air carries the buoyant seeds, which can form puffy snow-like drifts that line forest trails.
Click here to view a larger image of female poplar catkins.
Distribution in Alberta
Habitat
Aspen poplar is found in a variety of habitats from low elevations up to the subalpine. It is a common tree of dry and moist woods and prairie parklands. It grows best in well-drained, moist but not wet, loamy soils. It is considered a pioneer species – the first species to appear after a disturbance such as fire or logging – and cannot tolerate shade.
How to Observe
For Plantwatch, it is important to know the difference between male and female trees. Only information on the flowers and leaves of male trees should be recorded.
How to recognize male and female trees before flowering:
In very early spring, locate several aspen poplar trees with low branches. Use masking tape and a permanent marker to label different trees (#1, #2, etc.).
Find a branch within reach on each tree that has already small catkins, or at least large buds. Remove a small branch and mark with tape with the correct tree number. For example, mark both the removed twig and another branch left on the tree as #1. Mark another tree as well as the twig removed from that tree as #2, and so on.
Place the removed twigs inside your house or school in a jar of water. Place a dark paper or cloth under the jar.
Soon the catkins will get longer and turn pinkish. If the branch is from a male tree the catkins will then turn pale yellow and shed yellow pollen at the slightest touch.
Outdoors, the wind quickly blows pollen away, so try this to be sure of your tree.
Female catkins do not have pollen. If the catkins on your outdoor tree eventually turn green, the tree is female, and the search for male trees continues!
(A suggestion from the McKinstry’s of Oyen, Alberta)
If you have a magnifying glass or dissecting microscope available, discover the beautiful structures inside the opening catkins!
How to Observe: Flowering
Poplar flowering is tricky to observe. Follow these steps to have successful poplar observations!
Once you are sure you have a male tree, start watching it when the catkins are about 1 cm (2/5 in.) long. If the temperature climbs above 10oC (50oF) for a few days, then check your tree daily. Please record the dates for both flowering and leafing. Watch for the first date when the catkins release a small cloud of yellow pollen if the branch is touched slightly. Flowering can be over in two or three days, so watch your trees carefully in early spring! Leafing occurs later than flowering.
Record the calendar dates for flowering, as follows:
First bloom: when the catkins on the male tree first start shedding pollen (in 3 different places on the tree).
Mid bloom: when 50% of the male catkins have lengthened and shed pollen (turned pale yellow)
There may be a few unextended catkins (some may later dry up without releasing pollen at all) and a few with unopened pink pollen sacs. At this stage there should be no dangling, dry or withered catkins on the tree.
Leafing: when the first leaves have emerged and unfolded completely in 3 different places on the tree.
photos by Pat Marlowe
Importance of Leafing Observations
Because aspen poplar leaf-out times (like flowering) are influenced by temperature, they can be used to monitor the biological effects of climate change. Additionally, with the help of satellites, leafing (or “green-up”) can be monitored over a much larger geographical area than can flowering (which requires on-the-ground observation). However, information that is received via satellite must be correlated with the leaf-out that is happening on the ground.
Life Cycle
Aspen poplar flowers are wind-pollinated. Spring winds, unhampered by tree leaves, carry pollen from male catkins to female catkins on another tree. The pollen fertilizes the ovules in the female catkins and seeds result.
The seeds are carried by the wind. Hairs on the seeds help carry them on their airborne journeys, up to 30 km (20 mi.) in storms. However, the seeds are viable only for a short period, from three days to three weeks. They require bare, wet soil for successful germination.
But aspen poplars don’t rely just on seeds to reproduce. They reproduce mainly by growing shoots (suckers) from the large root system. The resulting colonies or clones, some as old as 1000 years, can easily be identified in spring or fall because all the trees in a clone are genetically identical. (They all flower, leaf out and drop their leaves at the same time.)
Phenology
Aspen flowers and leafs out early in the growing season, and full bloom of aspen can be used to define the biological start of early spring. In much of Canada’s West, aspen is flowering when flocks of geese are pouring north, wood frogs are calling, mountain bluebirds are finding nest sites, and sharp-tail grouse are doing their dawn dances. Prairie crocus often starts blooming at the same time aspen does.
In autumn, leaves turn bright yellow, or occasionally, orange.
Ecology
Aspen poplar groves provide important wildlife habitat. The bark and leaves of this tree are the favourite food of beavers, which use the branches to build their lodges and dams. Young twigs and leaves are browsed by hoofed animals such as deer, moose and elk. (Aspen is one of the top six favourite non-aquatic foods for moose.) When other food supplies are low, these mammals will eat the bark. Snowshoe hares eat the bark, and grouse eat the winter buds.
This species is fast-growing but lives only a short time, up to 80 – 100 years. It regenerates quickly after fire or tree cutting by suckers from roots near the surface of the ground. Thus, aspen is an important fire-successional species in the boreal forest. Aspen matures in 60 – 80 years, and succession is often to white spruce as long as there is adequate soil moisture.
Forest fire is an important element in the establishment and maintenance of aspen stands. Aspen poplar forests appear to be stable communities that dominate large areas of the landscape. In fact, they are really transitional communities dependent on frequent fire for establishment and rejuvenation. A fire frequency of approximately 100-300 years is needed to keep aspen stands healthy. However, because aspen stands do not burn burn easily – they are sometimes called “asbestos forests” – researchers believe that in the past, burning conditions for such fires must have been very hot and intense.
Fire affects aspen in a variety of ways, depending on its intensity and on soil factors. Generally, most fires kill the above-ground parts of the plant. Even when they are not killed outright by fire, burnt trees have a greatly increased potential for wood rot. But the below-ground parts usually survive, and fire promotes suckering and sprouting from root crowns and stumps. Fires also result in increased soil temperatures and reduced competition, so that aspen stands often form the dominant vegetation type after fire.
Since the arrival of Europeans in North America, fire suppression and grazing have upset this natural cycle, and healthy aspen stands are decreasing in number.
Human Uses
First Nations People named the aspen poplar “the noisy tree” because of the sound of fluttering leaves. The buds, inner bark and leaves of this tree were important sources of natural curatives used by First Nations People such as the Cree and, through them, the early settlers.
The active ingredient in aspirin occurs in the inner bark of aspen. The Cree made a tea from the inner bark that was helpful in treating rheumatism, diarrhea, liver and kidney problems, and coughs. A similar tonic, with the addition of tree fungus, eased earaches. Aspen leaves relieved the itch of insect stings. On the sunny side of open-grown aspen trees, the photosynthetic bark produces a protective white powder, which was used by First Nations Peoples as a sunscreen. Canoe paddles and tipi poles were commonly made from aspen wood.
Now, aspen poplar is cut down for pulp and to make oriented-strand board. Wooden matches are made by steaming poplar logs and peeling the wood layers.
Horticulture (Use in the Garden)
Aspen is a great tree to grow on a rural property or in a large schoolyard. It is very hardy in drought and in extremes of heat and cold. It grows fast and is very persistent. It is the first tree to leaf out in the spring and the last to lose its leaves in the fall. A stand of aspen can also be an important habitat and food source for wildlife.
It can also be used for an average-sized yard, but for a small city garden there are some concerns. Although aspen is easily grown, it is susceptible to rot, insects and disease, and the roots can send up many suckers and grow to block sewer pipes if pipes are leaking.
Gardening Tip: Plant your potatoes when the leaves appear on aspen trees.
Quotes
“Aspen is probably North America’s most abundant tree, due to its widespread occurrence. Additionally, and less appreciated, aspens are probably North America’s and the world’s largest individual life forms. Due to the clonal habit, thousands of shoots (ramets) are linked together to form one individual covering tens of hectares. While there has been no systematic search for the largest aspen clone, one clone near Salt Lake City, Utah, named ‘Pando’ (Latin for ‘spread’) is estimated to exceed 5,000 tons, about 3 x greater than the largest giant sequoia tree. The aspen clones thus dwarf conifers and certainly whales. These clones also are bigger organisms than the forest fungi that have been recognized to be large life forms and were previously claimed to be the world’s ‘largest living thing’.”
From Dr. Stewart Rood – Poplar biologist and professor at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, 1997.
References
Brayshaw, T.C. 1996. The catkin-bearing plants of British Columbia. Royal British Columbia Museum, Victoria, British Columbia.
Craighead, F.C., Jr. 1994. For everything there is a season: the sequence of natural events in the Grand Teton-Yellowstone Area. Falcon Press, Montana.
Farrar, J. L. 1995. Trees in Canada. Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd., Markham, Ontario, and the Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Ontario.
Johnson, D., L. Kershaw, A. MacKinnon, and J. Pojar. 1995. Plants of the western boreal forest and aspen parkland. Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton, Alberta.
Parish, R., R. Coupe, and D. Lloyd. 1996. Plants of southern interior British Columbia. Lone Pine Publishing, Edmonton, Alberta.
Scoggan, H. J. 1978. Flora of Canada. Natural Museum of Natural Science Publications in Botany No. 7, Ottawa, Ontario.
Stettler R.F., H.D. Bradshaw, Jr., P.E. Heilman, and T.M. Hinckley, eds. 1996. Biology of Populus and its implication for management and conservation. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario.
Viereck, L.A., and E.L. Little. 1972. Alaska trees and shrubs. Forest Service, USDA, Washington, D.C.
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Bourbon Whisly is named after a county in which American state? | Kentucky Bourbon
Kentucky Bourbon
I. Identification
1. The Issue
Whiskey, which translates �water of life,� was brought to the New world by Irish settlers in the 18th century. It was in the western parts of Virginia, which would later become Kentucky, that the derivative known as bourbon was first created in late 1700's. Today, Kentucky Bourbon has evolved into one of the most known and respected distilled spirits traded worldwide. From the procedures of fermentation to the aging process, such stringent rules govern production that the United States has pursued a policy of protecting the cultural and environmental distinctiveness of this product. One may ask why Kentucky, and not Texas, and to that any bourbon distiller would say, it's as much about the land and crops as it is about culture and style.
2. Description
I. What is Bourbon?
While there are many types of whiskey, from Scotland and Ireland, to Canada and the US, bourbon is a special form created, distilled, and aged in the eastern United States, mainly in the state of Kentucky. It is classified as a distilled spirit made from a fermented mash, mainly consisting of corn, and aged in white oak barrels for at least two years. The unique nature of bourbon can be derived from the iron-free water used in the distillation process. Local distillers have used their resources to perfect a world class product with a distinct amber color, and natural flavor. Strict standards and regulations govern production and ensure excellence, but the bourbon story continues to be one of history and the pioneering spirit of early American colonies. For one thing, where did the name bourbon come from, for these and other bourbon facts, continue now on the journey through history, trade, and the environment.
III. The History
The American Colonies- In 1791, Alexander Hamilton imposed an excise tax on whiskey in western Pennsylvania. The farmers who lived on the frontier where mainly of Scottish and Irish descent and depended on whiskey as an important commodity produced from their excess corn and grain yields. They could transport the crops to Fort Pitt on the Ohio River (now Pittsburgh), but raids by Indians and the long distances between farms made whiskey production more practical. The new US government agreed and sent tax collectors to take their fair share, but settlers saw the situation as a mockery to the very principles of liberty and justice. They tarred and feathered the four tax collectors, and the Whiskey rebellion began in 1794. As a result, George Washington led an army of 13,700 men into Bedford, PA and quashed the rebellion. As a settlement, Washington offered incentives for pioneers to move southwest to the frontier of Virginia beyond the Allegheny mountains. However, in conjunction with this migration Thomas Jefferson offered sixty acres to his countrymen to "create a permanent structure and crops of native origin." [1] . This led to the foundation of Bourbon County in 1785, named after the French royal family (whose government helped the US defeat the British not long before). Bourbon was a rich agricultural area consisting of 34 modern day counties and around the turn of the nineteenth century, was on the main frontier of American westward expansion.
Bourbon County, KY- Kentucky was admitted to the union in 1792 and as farming region, was heavily dependent on two exports, hemp and whiskey. Trade was conducted at that time by water, and the closest outlet for the Bourbon region was the Ohio River on Kentucky's northern border. The Ohio flowed to the Mississippi, and eventually to the port of New Orleans on the Gulf of Mexico.
Upon the entrance of Kentucky into the union, Bourbon county was divided into smaller sub-regions, but economically speaking, products shipped from the area were still designated as coming from "Old Bourbon". Thus, whiskey shipped from the principal port of Limestone (now Maysville, KY) was designated "old bourbon whiskey" to refer to the origin of the product. After about 1840, the name was shortened to just bourbon [2] . Today, various styles, approaches, and theories govern the remaining distilleries which dot the Kentucky countryside. Various ratios of ingredients, subtleties in the distillation process, and the amount of aging yield different flavors of bourbons. In short, this process was one of experimentation, refinement and perfection in a brief, but rich history.
III. How Bourbon is Made
1. Grains- The main ingredient in bourbon is corn which varies from 51% to 79% depending on the brand. The other ingredients are rye, malted barley (10-15% each), and in some cases red winter wheat (10%). Distilleries are meticulous about selecting their crops, and once approved by quality control, the grains are stored in silos. The grains are ground in a hammer mille into a fine flour.
2. Mashing- The grain is placed in a mash cooker with iron-free water and cooked for approximately 30 minutes. The corn is cooked the longest at a temperature of 220 degrees Fahrenheit (F), the rye at 170F, and the barley 150F. The mix is then transported to a fermentation tank and it is called mash.
3. Fermentation- At this stage, the yeast is prepared by placing a nutrient solution below a pear or apple tree. Once the solution has collected the yeast, it is placed in an oven, bred, and then left in stasis at around 95-100F. Only a small amount is removed (a few grams) and added to a malt extract. A mixture of approximately two cups of yeast is added to a large storage container called the "Dona Tub". Once the mash has been cooled to 75-85F, the yeast is added to the fermentation tank. The yeast breaks down the sugar in the mash converting it to alcohol and carbon dioxide over a period of three days. The alcohol is actually beer which is 10% alcohol/volume (20 proof). It is drained from the fermenting tube into a beer well.
4. Distillation- To separate the whiskey, the beer is moved to the bottom of a still where it is heated at 200F. The liquid boils at the bottom and moves to the top in the form of a gas. The gas is filtered to a tank called a "thumper" where it is condensed. The liquid is called "low wine" and it is 45-65% alcohol/volume (90-130 proof). The liquid is then condensed again to further refine the flavor and it is now called "White Dog" or "high wine" (50-58% alcohol/volume or 100-116 proof). The White Dog is often sampled and then put in a barrel to mature.
5. Cooperage- Bourbon must be stored in new, white oak barrels. The wood is cut into staves which are super heated and bent into ovular form. The barrel is then "toasted" by sending it through a small fire for about 12 minutes to caramelize the sugar in the wood. Next, it is applied to a larger fire for 6 to 12 seconds to burn out the inside and produce a charcoal layer. The charring must cover the barrel evenly so the whiskey has a consistent flavor. Finally the barrel is closed by a "Bung" and transported to the distilleries. Once the barrels have been used, they are often re-sold to age Scotch.
6. Maturity- The barrels are transported to warehouses where they are placed using a series of elevators and moveable joints. Each barrel must stay for at least two years, and sometimes more depending on the position in the warehouse. A year consists of one cycle of expansion and contraction. When the temperature rises in the summer, the bourbon expands, and with lower temperatures in the winter, it contracts. This movement gives the bourbon its amber color and oak flavor. After a designated period, someone will open the barrel and taste if the whiskey is ready. If it meets the brand's standards, the barrel is opened, bottled, and shipped.
Source: http://www.thewhiskystore.de/beginner/tmbw.htm
For other bourbon facts, refer to the Frequently Asked Questions of straightbourbon.com
3. Related Cases
The bourbon case is part of the food and beverage industry related to intellectual property. For a complete index of all of the case studies refer to the Trade and Environment Database . The most similar cases to bourbon are:
Basmati - This case involved US patent rights despite the clear Indian origin of the rice. It highlights cultural piracy and the notion that a substitute can never be the same as the original product.
Budweis - This case involves the dual naming rights between the US and the Czech Republic. It relates to bourbon if other countries were to use the process and obtain a domestic patent.
Scotch and Feta - These cases involve labeling rights and geographic indication based on naming.
Tequila - This case discusses cultural identification and distinctiveness related to trade and the environment.
Grappa - This case involves a trade dispute between similar products claimed by two nations. It gets to the heart of how intellectual property is determined.
Other wine, beer, and distilled spirits cases:
II. Legal Clusters
5. Discourse and Status: Agreement and In progress
The Office of the United States Trade Representative has negotiated over the years to include Kentucky Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey in international trade agreements. In the class of distilled spirits, these products are strictly defined by US law, and are therefore easily incorporated into foreign legal frameworks requiring precision and accuracy in production. While the recognition of Bourbon as a distinct product has been the most important goal of US trade officials, the main effort has been to reduce or eliminate tariffs for distilled spirits imported into foreign countries.
6. Forum and Scope: US and Bilateral, Multilateral
I. Standards of Production
On May 4, 1964 bourbon whiskey was recognized under US statutory law as a distinct product that could only be produced following certain standards. Title 27 (Alcohol, Tobacco Products, and Firearms) of the Code of Federal Regulations, Section 5.22 outlines the standards of identity. The five criteria are:
Made from a fermented mash with a minimum of 51% and a maximum of 79% corn
Distilled at less than 80% alcohol/volume (160 proof)
Stored in a new, charred, white oak barrel at a maximum of 62.5% alcohol/volume (125 proof) for at least 2 years
The original color and flavor of the whiskey can not be filtered or altered in any way
Must be produced and stored (for at least one year of the aging) in Kentucky to be called Kentucky Bourbon
Also, the section clearly states "that the word 'bourbon' shall not be used to describe any whiskey or whiskey based distilled spirit not produced in the United States". These criteria provide the important guidelines for production, but in practicality, bourbon producers use a 70% corn mash, and the final bottling is somewhere between 40-50% alcohol/volume (80 to 100 proof).
II. Bottled-in-Bond
The Bottled-in-Bond Act of 1894 is another important legal measure that applies to the bourbon process. According to this law, bourbon can avoid federal excise taxes if it is "straight" as described in 27 CFR 5.22, aged at least 6 years, and 50% alcohol/volume (100 proof). The practical importance of this is it allows distilleries to bottle the bourbon and store it in a bonded warehouse until the tax is paid (at which time it may be sold). Here are some examples of Distilled Spirits Plant (DSP) designations:
7. Decision Breadth: Canada, Mexico, Chile, the EU, Australia (in progress), WTO members
Trade in distilled spirits has been one of the most progressive areas in negotiations for geographic indication and intellectual property. Consequently, several global agreements, both bilateral and multilateral have been negotiated by the US to protect bourbon.
I. Bilateral Agreements
A. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA-US, Canada, and Mexico)
NAFTA was enacted on January 1, 1994 and in general provides a stringent enforcement mechanism for member countries. In the agreement, Chapter 3, Annex 313 , titled "Distinctive Products", states that Canada and Mexico shall recognize both Bourbon Whiskey and Tennessee Whiskey as products of the US. In addition, these countries are committed to enforcing the standards of US law. In other words, they carry the burden of prohibiting sales of Bourbon and Tennessee whiskey within their own countries unless the products have been manufactured within the US according to 27 CFR 5.22. The US in turn afforded the same protection to Canadian Whiskey and Tequila and Mezcal for Mexico.
These provisions governing intellectual property are very important for an industry relying on brand recognition to maintain market share. This aspect of the NAFTA agreement effectively transplants US law through a treaty to Canada and Mexico. In practice, Mexico eliminated its 20% tariff on bourbon immediately following NAFTA's creation [3] .
B. US-Chile Free Trade Agreement
On June 6, 2003 the US entered its first comprehensive trade agreement with a South American country. The three benefits afforded to distilled spirits and bourbon in particular are:
The "zero-for-zero" initiative begun in the Uruguay Round prompted the US to eliminate virtually all tariffs on distilled spirits in exchange for equal treatment by other nations. This policy was included giving US spirits entering Chile the same status as Chilean exports to the US. It does however allow a two year period from the beginning of the agreement for Chile to eliminate tariffs from the current level of 6%.
Chile currently has free trade agreements with Mexico, Canada, and the EU. The US agreement will allow bourbon to compete equally with these countries' distilled spirits.
Similar to the NAFTA, Chile has agreed to provide distinct product status to Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey. This only permits production in the US based on the standards set forth in US law [4] .
C. US-EU Agreement on Nomenclature for Distilled Spirits
In June, 1994 the US and the European Union reached an agreement in which each side would exclusively recognize goods based on specific origin. The EU recognized Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey as products that must be produced in the US under the standards of US law. The EU law relating to this topic is EEC Council Regulation No 1576/89 , but the 1994 agreement entered as a new regulation, EEC 1267/94 .
In exchange, the US offered protection under its own naming standards in 27 CFR 5.22, giving EU law full weight in the US. The protected products are:
Brandy de Jerez (Spain)
D. US-Australia Free Trade Agreement
On February 8, 2004, the US and Australia released draft text for a free trade agreement that would eliminate tariffs on distilled spirits between the two nations. Australia currently has a 5% duty on all US spirit imports. Bourbon and Tennessee Whiskey also received the special protections afforded in the US-Chile Agreement. Once signed and approved, this agreement will be an important legal victory for both products which consist of about 80% of US distilled spirit exports to Australia in 2003 [5] .
For more on this agreement see the office of the US Trade Representative .
II. Multilateral Agreements
A. The World Trade Organization (WTO)
Geographical indication (GI) and intellectual property rights concerned with Bourbon are discussed in a multilateral forum in two places. The first is the WTO's Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIP's) Council established by the Uruguay Round in 1994. For distilled spirits, the US and the other 146 members (as of April 2004) are subject to Section 3, Article 23 of the Agreement on TRIPS which states that:
"Each member shall provide the legal means for interested parties to prevent use of a geographic indication identifying wines for wines not originating in the place indicated by the geographical indication in question, even where the true origin of the goods is indicated or the geographical indication is used in translation or accompanied by expressions such as 'kind, 'type', 'style', 'imitation', or the like." [6]
The EU in particular has advocated in the Doha Round to extend Article 23 protection to other areas, but the US and others are opposed since changes would focus on mandatory GI protection and registration of products. Bourbon protection under the WTO is legally sound, but enforcement may be limited in the future, especially in the developing world, if there is not a specific system to record product standards.
Click on the logo for further information on TRIP's.
B. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
The second forum is WIPO's standing committee on the law of trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications. WIPO is a member of the UN's specialized agency system and holds annual meetings dealing with GI. In July of 2003, the world symposium held in San Francisco, CA looked at how GI enhances a trademark. The conclusion was that GI not only differentiated a product, but it provided a "token a quality" incorporating the product's origin, environment, and "time-honored know-how" [7] .
Click on the logo for further GI information.
8. Legal Standing: Treaty
a. Geographic Domain: North America
b. Geographic Site: Eastern North America
c. Geographic Impact: United States
10. Sub-National Factors: Yes
The Blue Grass region of Kentucky is home to the distilleries which make about 9 out of every 10 bottles of bourbon in the US. The other 10% comes from Minnesota, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, California, Virginia, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.
However, what truly makes bourbon a product of Kentucky? Most distillers point to the limestone which forms the bedrock of this region. Kentucky was once a shallow, tropical ocean filled with shelled crustaceans that dried up over time, formed fossils, and subsequently, limestone. The principle minerals in limestone are calcium carbonate and magnesium which act as a base when put in contact with acid. Thus, if slightly acidic water is filtered through limestone, a high concentration of minerals is released into the ground soil, helping the crop yield, the water, and the nutrients needed for the yeast in the fermentation process. The better the yeast, the better the breakdown of the sugars to alcohol in the mash. [8] .
Another advantage of Kentucky's geography is the limestone breaks down overtime to form massive caves (read more on Kentucky Cave Formation ). The springs which flow from these caves provide iron-free water sources for the bourbon process. The Mammoth Cave in southern Kentucky is just one example, with the deepest passageway of any natural formation in the world. It is this combination of filtering, pure water, and rich agricultural conditions which make Kentucky the prime geographical location for production within the United States.
11. Type of Habitat: Temperate, limestone plateau with rolling hills
IV. Trade Clusters
12. Type of Measure: Intellectual Property; Culture
International sales of Kentucky bourbon have increased at a rapid pace in the last ten years in both the industrial and developing world. Lower tariff barriers, legal protection, and the creation of a world-class product have been some of the key factors in securing a growing market share. Out of US distilled spirits alone, bourbon accounted for 66.3% of the total value exported in 2003, with a $38.7 million increase in sales from 2002 to 2003. A spokesman from the Distilled Sprits Council of the United States notes that "Europeans, sophisticated Asians and those in the South Pacific and Australia and New Zealand have developed a very high-end taste for our products, and that is driving growth for the industry." [9] .
Kentucky distilleries account for 90% of the US bourbon produced, and with so few firms supplying the world demand, there is an ideal export market. The legal protection afforded in several agreements and the brand recognition that these firms have commanded continues to show promising results. Wild Turkey and Jim Beam in particular show a healthy dependence on trade with 40 and 35 percent of sales respectively consisting of exports. The only real competition that bourbon distilleries face is from international whiskey and Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey (the largest US distilled spirit export).
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) from the US International Trade Commission for 2004 categorizes whiskey imports other than Irish and Scotch types as #22083060. The Most Favored Nation duty rate is currently 0.0, indicating that free trade has been an effective policy for whiskey. In fact, in 2003, the US only imported whiskey from 9 countries, and 98.9% of the total amount was from Canada, at an impressive 265 million dollars. This is a clear indication that substitutes may exist, but the US domestic market for bourbon is still quite strong.
13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: Indirect
14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact: Directly Related to Product and Process
15. Trade Product Identification: Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
16. Economic Data
Top 10 Destinations for 2003 exports of bourbon
Country
20. Environmental Problem Type: N/A
21. Name, Type, and Diversity of Species
Name: Corn, barley, rye, red winter wheat, yeast
Type: Agricultural products and active yeast cultures
Diversity: Every bourbon recipe has a different culture
The yeast in Bourbon (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) contains the living microbes that initiate fermentation. Each distillery has its own culture which is the natural ingredient differentiating brands, and thus, a closely guarded secret by master distillers.
22. Resource Impact and Effect: Low and Product
In the future, global warming may affect the weather patterns which are essential in Kentucky for the aging process. The warehouses which dot the countryside depend on shifting seasons for the barrels to expand and contract. A barrel in the top along the side of the warehouse is exposed to more temperature variation than a similar barrel on the bottom floor. In fact, the cyclical fashion in which the seasons fluctuate gives bourbon the ability to effectively mature. In Florida, bourbon would not have the cold nights needed for the barrels to contract, and in Alaska, it would be difficult to reach the warm climate required for expansion. The south east United States provides the perfect median and highlights an important connection between production and the local environment.
23. Urgency and Lifetime: Low and 100's of years
24. Substitutes: Like Products
Bourbon is well regarded as a distinct product, but similar flavors can be found in blended or sour-mash whiskey (the latter is slightly milder in taste). In addition, Scotch is a good substitute for sipping while Cognac can be used for cooking. Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, while often considered the most popular brand, is in fact not bourbon because its original flavor is altered through the charcoal filtration process.
VI. Other Factors
25. Culture: Yes
Beyond its taste and character, bourbon has a rich tradition which helps define Kentucky's culture. The rolling hills boast rich green farmland known for competitive horse breeding, but when work is done folks take their bourbon just as seriously.
Jim Beam Distillery, Clermont, KY ----------------------------------- Maker's Mark Distillery, Loretto, KY
The Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History located in Bardstown, KY is a testament to the industry with documents and facts dating back to Kentucky's settlement. Copper stills from 1787, pre-Prohibition bottles, photographs of women in the early distilling process, and old myths are some of the things on display.
Today, people from all over the US come to Bardstown for the Kentucky Bourbon Festival which takes place annually in September. This exhibition, attracting local business and events, showcases the area for local enthusiasts and traveling connoisseurs.
Festivals, history, and pride, are a few of the elements of bourbon culture. If the pioneers who came to the Bluegrass region in late 1700's had only imagined how their creation would command international respect, the industry may have grown purely on business. While this is surely important, it leaves out the open porches and wandering streams that have inspired generations of master distillers. It is surely work the visit to see and experience the Bourbon Trail . Once you're there you can see that Kentucky is bourbon's source, and without bourbon, Kentucky would be a different place.
26. Trans-Boundary Issues: International Trade and Kentucky's cultural history
27. Rights: Intellectual Property
http://www.straightbourbon.com/ - Straight Bourbon: Makers, History, Brands, Tasting, Reviews, FAQ
Official Web site of the Kentucky Bourbon Distillers Association: http://www.kybourbon.com/
Old Rip Van Winkle History. http://www.oldripvanwinkle.com/newbs/vw/website3.nsf/PagesByName/History?opendocument&t=History .
[8] Reigler, Susan. Kentucky Rocks. The Courier Journal. http://www.courier-journal.com/features/2003/06/20030601.html .
Swaine, Margaret. Kentucky Bourbon. http://www.margaretswaine.com/bourbon.htm . (4/20/04).
The Trade Promotion Authority (International State and Sector statistics): http://www.tpa.gov/
The Whiskey Store- a German site with pictures and information. http://www.thewhiskystore.de/whisky_uk.htm . (4/30/04).
Tour of Buffalo Trace Distillery. (4/24/04).
Tour of Jim Beam Distillery. (4/24/04).
Tour of Maker's Mark Distillery. (4/24/04)
[5] US-Australia Free Trade Agreement- http://www.discus.org/mediaroom/2004/release.asp?pressid=140 . (4/26/04).
[4] US-Chile Free Trade Agreement- http://www.ustr.gov/new/fta/Chile/final/
US Code of Regulations. http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/ .
[3] US Department of Agriculture. Foreign Agricultural Service. http://www.fas.usda.gov/ . (4/26/04).
US Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/WTO/geoindications.htm . (4/26/04).
Vaughan, Mark. The Spirits of Kentucky: Small-Batch and Single-Barrel Bourbons Revive the Good Old Days of Whiskey. http://www.straightbourbon.com/history.html .
[6] WTO TRIP's Agreement. http://www.wto.org/english/docs_e/legal_e/27-trips_04b_e.htm#3 .
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"Which chemical element, a gas, derives its name from the Greek for ""sun""?" | How Kentucky Became the World’s Bourbon Capital - Hungry History
How Kentucky Became the World’s Bourbon Capital
August 17, 2015 By Christopher Klein
Credit: iStockphoto.com
How Kentucky Became the World’s Bourbon Capital
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How Kentucky Became the World’s Bourbon Capital
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There’s no law mandating that bourbon must be produced in Kentucky, although it might seem that way given the state’s dominance in distilling the distinctive corn-based, barrel-aged whiskey. According to the Kentucky Distillers’ Association, the Bluegrass State produces and ages approximately 95 percent of the world’s bourbon whiskey.
So is there something in Kentucky’s water that has caused the bourbon industry to flourish? In fact, there is. The state sits atop vast deposits of blue limestone, which filters out hard iron and imparts sweet-tasting calcium and magnesium. “To this day you can go to an open stream in Kentucky, and it will taste better than 90 percent of tap water in the country because the limestone filters out unwanted minerals,” says whiskey historian Fred Minnick, author of “Whiskey Women” and “Bourbon Curious: A Simple Tasting Guide for the Savvy Drinker.”
Kentucky’s wide temperature swings—from chilly winters to hot summers—are also conducive to producing bourbon because they cause the charred oak barrels, which give the spirit its amber color and distinctive taste, to alternately absorb and release the whiskey. “We have the ideal climate to age bourbon probably,” says Wild Turkey master distiller Jimmy Russell, a member of the Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame who grew up less than five miles from the distillery where he has worked since 1954. “You need the hot summers and cold winters so that the wood can breathe and the whiskey can move in and out of it.”
Another factor that makes Kentucky fertile ground for bourbon production is literally its fertile ground. The influx of settlers who crossed the Appalachian Mountains in the late 1700s soon learned the Kentucky soil was perfect for growing bourbon’s second main ingredient—corn. Drawn in part by Virginia’s 1776 Corn Patch and Cabin Rights Act, which offered 400 acres to any settlers who built cabins and planted corn in its then-territory of Kentucky, immigrants from Germany, Scotland and the north of Ireland were among those who arrived with the whiskey-distilling knowledge from their homelands in tow.
The ease of growing corn in Kentucky caused distillers who migrated from the East Coast to change their whiskey recipes. “Rye was the plentiful grain in Pennsylvania and Maryland,” Russell says, “but when distillers came over the Appalachians they found corn the dominant grain so they used corn instead of rye.”
By the 1780s a distinctive style of corn-based whiskey was being distilled in Kentucky, although Minnick says the story that Baptist minister Elijah Craig invented bourbon by accident after storing his whiskey in barrels charred by a fire is mere legend concocted by whiskey advocates to cloak the spirit in the spiritual. “Craig was a very powerful and important person, but we don’t have any credible records to indicate that he would have been a true inventor of bourbon,” Minnick says.
Whiskey increased in popularity after the American Revolution as the import of rum—which had been the most popular alcoholic drink in many American colonies—slowed with decline of the “triangle trade” with Great Britain. The lingering debt from the war, however, caused the federal government to levy a tax on liquor in 1791. Distillers in Maryland and Pennsylvania, in particular, bristled at the tax and led the Whiskey Rebellion, which was eventually quelled by thousands of federal troops dispatched by President George Washington in 1794.
Minnick notes, however, that the Whiskey Rebellion did not spark a mass migration of tax-dodging distillers to Kentucky and that an estimated 500 distilleries were already operating in the state at the time. However, he notes that to prevent a similar popular uprising Congress left whiskey largely tax-free until the Civil War, except briefly to pay for the War of 1812. “After the Whiskey Rebellion, Congress decided not to tax whiskey, but they added tariffs onto rum because there was a thought that money from rum would end up getting into the hands of the British.”
The high levies on rum and its key ingredient, molasses, contributed to soaring whiskey consumption in the early decades of the republic. Kentucky’s whiskey industry, in particular, thrived as slave labor assisted with production and distillers took advantage of the state’s plethora of navigable waterways—such as the Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers—that provided easy access to big cities such as Cincinnati and New Orleans.
In addition to Kentucky’s geographic advantages, Minnick says the state’s strong families who passed distilling down from generation to generation and sustained their businesses in bad economic times also allowed the bourbon industry to flourish. “Many major areas had significant distilling capacity, but the stronger families were here in Kentucky, and that sustained bourbon through the years. All the historical family names that you see on these old bourbon bottles were passionate. They developed a following, and for the most part these companies have been able to work together for the common good.”
Although the term “bourbon” began to appear in newspaper advertisements for Kentucky’s particular brand of whiskey by the 1820s, its origins are murky. Some historians believe the moniker was inspired by Kentucky’s Bourbon County—itself named after the French royal family in recognition of France’s support in the American Revolution. Bourbon County originally occupied a large section of central Kentucky, and local distillers stamped its name as the county of origin on whiskey barrels transported around the country. Minnick says another theory is the name derived from Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where the drink was popular in the French Quarter saloons. “There’s not enough good evidence one way or another,” he says.
There’s one fact about bourbon, though, that can’t be disputed according to Russell. “You can make bourbon anyplace in the country,” he says, “but if it’s not Kentucky bourbon, it’s not bourbon.”
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What title is used in Scotland for the chief magistrate or convener of a burgh council, the equivalent of a mayor in other parts of the English speaking world? | The Closes of Haddington by Lilian Main - issuu
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THE CLOSES OF HADDINGTON A WALKING TOUR:
Through the backstreets of History
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Think before you bin this guide! After reading, pass it on to someone else who might find it useful, or recycle it. For electronic copies visit www.visitscotland.com/info/ towns-villages/east-lothian
This booklet provides brief histories of the historic closes of Haddington. Each close is connected with a theme that expresses an aspect of cultural or historical life– they are colour coded and correspond with the map that comes as the jacket cover of this booklet. Remember, this only provides a brief snapshot of the burgh- please take your time to explore, experience and enjoy the town of Haddington- we’re sure you’ll keep returning for more!
“HADDINGTON IS ONE OF THE SEMI-SECRET JEWELS OF SCOTL AND.” SIR ALISTAIR GRANT
WELCOME TO HADDINGTON The Royal Burgh of Haddington, county town of East Lothian, with its medieval ‘herringbone’ street plan and Georgian architecture is centrally positioned in a county famous for agriculture. Nestling beneath the Garleton Hills on the banks of the River Tyne, Haddington is only 17 miles from Edinburgh. Haddington has been a settlement from early times, having been established as a royal burgh in the 12th century during the reign of King David I. It reached the peak of its prosperity in the 18th and early 19th centuries as a major market town. As you would expect of a burgh that is over 800 years old, it has many places of historic and architectural interest. Through this guide however, Haddington’s closes are used to serve as a fresh approach to the telling of Haddington’s history, uncovering stories of some of the town’s lesser known figures.
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ROUGHEAD CLOSE
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While all the closes have historical significance, many have drastically changed or even disappeared over time. A great deal of change has occurred throughout the 19th century, as older dilapidated properties were replaced, creating the townscape much as we see it today.
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A short history of Haddington Haddington has been a settlement from early times. There are many different explanations as to where the name Haddington came from. In the 5th century, Haden was a Saxon Chief. In Anglo-Saxon, Hadin-tin means ‘town of ordination or holy order’ and in Gaelic - heuedinge-town means ‘princes -town’. Today, almost 9000 people call Haddington home and it is recognised by many as one the most attractive, unspoilt market towns in Scotland. Haddington was established as a royal burgh in the 12th century during the reign of King David I, giving the town important trading privileges. Haddington became an important agricultural market town however when the main railway line by-passed the town, the trade of the burgh was reduced and a period of decline set in. After WWII, the town began to expand and the older part of the town was recognised as a conservation area.
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Etching of Haddington in 1693, By John Slezer
Before we get too up close and personal, let’s first establish a few definitions:
CLOSE: An entrance to a tenement, also sometimes providing access to the rear of the building. There is often a gate at the front entrance which is closed at night. WYND: A thoroughfare, open from end to end, often going up or down hill between high buildings, and linking streets at different levels. COURT: A courtyard surrounded on all sides by buildings. LAN D: A tenement block of flats. V ENNE L : A lane or passageway between the gables of two buildings P END : The original Scots word for a covered passageway through a building
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OPERA CLOSE
OPERA CLOSE
The origins of the name Opera Close are rooted in Haddington’s colourful history of musical performance...
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Cast of the first performance of The Mikado. The Margaret Pringle Collection, The John Gray Centre
THE HADDINGTON AMATEUR OPERATIC SOCIETY Mr Ewen was not only an opera The Haddington Amateur buff, but also a pioneering Operatic Society was Scottish Aviator. In 1911 he formed in 1910 after became the first person to cross the Firth of Forth in a formerly being known as monoplane. Mr W. H. Ewen’s Opera Company. the stage for several For their first official encores. presentation, the Operatic Society selected Gilbert More recently, the and Sullivan’s The Mikado which was performed at the Lammermuir Music Haddington Corn Exchange. Festival, held in This production was such a September each year, success that cast members continues to tempt were summoned back onto listeners to Haddington.
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SHIELL’S CLOSE
SHIELL’S CLOSE
Although East Lothian is mainly a rural county, it has also been home to many important and successful industries, which have played a significant role in the social and economic development of the area.
11 11
A label from Haddington’s Binnie Brewery that was located where Tyne Court is today.
Throughout the 17th century, brewing was an everyday domestic activity: most well-todo households brewed their own ale for family and servants. By the opening of the next century the production of ale had become a commercial practice, with specialist brewers being a vital part of the town’s economy.
WHO WAS WILLIAM SHIELLS? William Shiells was a Haddingtonian who established a tradition of brewing on this site, which continued to exist for many years. Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 16. Annual Registrar, 1824.
Although the original old house and close is long gone, we know it had an outshot projecting into Market Street, which, from its shape, was known as the “saut backet”. Here, William Shiells brewed “twopenny,” “groatum,” and strong ale. After Shiells, a brewery on the same site was carried on for a number of years. Although many of these historic brewers are now long gone, the great brewing tradition lives on in East Lothian.
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DICKSON’S CLOSE
DICKSON’S CLOSE
While the architecture of this humble tenement appears simple, the fabric incorporates material from almost every period of the history of the Burgh from its receiving of Royal Charter status from King David I in 1144.
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Drawings from the 1997 restoration by Simpson & Brown Architects with Addyman Archaeology www.simpsonandbrown.co.uk/architecture
During restoration work in the late 1990s drain and foundation trenches from the 12th and 13th centuries were uncovered- producing some of the earliest material discovered anywhere within the burgh. The walls are a mixture of medieval and post-medieval work. Part of the frontage was found to be a late example of the sort of plastered timber frame construction which was common in the 19th century but which is now extremely rare. The building was gutted in the 1950s when it became part of the Kilspindie knitwear factory. Dickson’s Close, shown on Wood’s Town map of 1819 was
re-established in the 1990s restoration, providing an important thoroughfare through to the busy supermarket which has replaced the medieval riggs (plots) behind. The building is finished as it would have been in the 19th century, with bright ocher lime-wash harling. The late 18th century Georgian sash windows were also restored and painted on the basis of evidence from the windows themselves, a bright nursery green. Breaking, for the first time the rule that was established in the 1960s that all windows in Haddington should be white.
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CLOSE
MITCHELL’S CLOSE
Mitchell’s Close has been occupied by merchants and craftsmen from medieval times. Their houses followed narrow strips of land (riggs) running perpendicular to the street so that the houses had their gable-ends facing the street.
15 15 Known as Sweeney’s Close up until the 1920s, Michell’s Close still remained a good example of a seventeenth century pantiled building and today, Mitchell’s Close continues to follow the original street pattern. The cobbled area, outside stair, dormer windows and crowstepped gables were typical of that period. In 1930, some of the housing was condemned, and the future of Mitchell’s close did not look bright. Luckily, this relic of another age was saved and restored in 1967 by East Lothian County Council.
RCAHMS http://canmore.rcahms.gov.uk
BURLEIGH’S WA’S
Haddington Old and New George Angus
17 17 Burleigh’s Wa’s (walls) originally ran through Kilpair Street to the old Tolbooth (the old jail, now long gone). This was the route taken by prisoners of the old wars, thieves, rogues and even those accused of witchcraft in the 16th century. From the banks of the Tyne they came up Gowl Close and crossed the Hardgate, up Burley’s Wa’s and thence to jail. By the 1720s the building had already fallen into disrepair. There are two schools of thought relating to the derivation of its name:
A ‘Burley’ or ‘Burleigh’ was a Yorkshire well-digger who was contracted to sink a well in Haddington in 1660. B Burley was a local drunk who was teased by youths who took delight in Burlin’ him round until he steadied himself against ‘Burley’s Wall’. The current sign reads as Burleigh’s. But which story do you believe?
BURLEIGH’S WA’S Burleigh’s Wa’s, a narrow lane which runs from Kilpair Street to Hardgate, has been a well-known mystery for Haddingtonians of all ages.
18SCRAN
GOWL CLOSE
GOWL C LOSE
The Gowl (windy) Close, leading down from Hardgate to the River Tyne, is a place of great antiquity. It is also known for having set the scene for an infamous great escape!
19 19 THE BEASTLY BOTHWELLS. In the middle of the 16th century (and indeed for some time before), the Bothwell family were suspiciously prominent in the affairs of Haddington. In 1559, Bothwell, who was hereditary Sheriff of Haddington apprehended John Cockburn of Ormiston who was conveying £3000 from Berwick. This money was intended for the Lords of the Congregation in their campaign against Mary Queen of Scots. In retaliation, Lord James Stewart arrived in Haddington with 200 horsemen, 100 footmen and 2 pieces of artillery with the intention of capturing Bothwell. But having being alerted to their arrival, Bothwell, allegedly dressed as a woman, escaped via “a lane called the Gowl” to the River Tyne. A prestigious and influential family, James Hepburn, the fourth Earl of Bothwell, was the most exalted personage at court. In 1567 he became the third husband of Mary Queen of Scots. In true form, a month later he was forced to flee the country.
It’s name means ‘Windy’ Close, although a ‘gow’ is also the Scots word for a narrow pass, usually between two hills.
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T YNE CLOSE T YNE CLOSE
Tyne Close would no doubt have been a place of considerable importance in former days and the site of many interesting characters and activities.
21 21 Tyne Close is a very ancient place of the burgh, leading to the river at Skinners’ Knowe (on the Western side of the River). The Skinners washed animal skins here as part of the preparation of leather. They were one of the nine trades of Haddington. The others were Baxters (Bakers), Hammermen, Masons, Wrights, Fleshers, Cordiners (Shoemakers), Tailors and Weavers. They’re commemorated in a line of nine lime trees on the approach to St Mary’s Church. A path by the riverside skirts the Episcopal Church, the site of a Franciscan Friary demolished at the Reformation, and leads on past one of the oldest bowling greens in Scotland to the Nungate bridge. The bridge dates from the 15th century and was the site of fierce action in the siege of Haddington. An English army occupying the town faced Scots and French forces for over eighteen months in 1548-49. A hook over the first arch was used by the hangman. THE CHARACTERS OF TYNE CLOSE It was the custom long ago for itinerant preachers to travel the county, and make a livelihood by preaching eccentric sermons in lofts, barns, and the open air. A somewhat popular one, called Weston, used frequently to visit Haddington, and held his meetings, which were numerously attended, in a loft in Tyne Close.
Nungate Bridge
THE RIVER WALK AND ST MARY’S CHURCH
T YNE CLOSE
Catch a moment of serenity as the River Tyne winds its way to the North Sea.
23 23 Although the route is muddy in places, it is largely flat so it is great for all the family! Take a moment, or stop here with your picnic in St Mary’s pleasance after taking in the sights of the beautiful St Mary’s Church. Features visible from the St Mary’s Collegiate Church outside: is well worth a visit. -The fine carving above the Dating ack to 1 with west door the proportions of a small - The impacts of musket balls athedral it was partially from the siege around the destroyed during the 1 north door. The choir was 9 siege of addington, to the skies from the only eing fully repaired in open siege right until the 1970s. the 19 0s. Lady Kitty’s Garden, entered just opposite the west door, is a fine place for picnics. If time allows, follow the river path round behind the church and admire the Poldrate Mill dating from the 15th century. Inside, on the Lauderdale Aisle, a magnificent tomb features some of the best Elizabethan alabaster carving, lying beneath a finely ornamented canopy. In stark contrast, a plain slab in the choir is inscribed with Thomas Carlyle’s tribute to his wife , Jane Welsh Carlyle; “Suddenly snatched away from him and the light of his life has gone out.”
24 In Cairns Close, there once was a curious old vaulted cellar which in former days was used, it is said, for concealing contraband gin and brandy! Miss Mysie Hamilton, a well-known, much respected Haddington person, lived in the first flat west of Cairns’s Close for many years. “She spoke with a loud man’s voice, that used to make us children take to our heels in terror when we heard it. I remember the Boys said Mysie was “a hermaphrodite” but what that was I hadn’t a notion, nor have yet!”
Jane Welsh Carlyle to Thomas Carlyle Sunny Bank / Sunday 26 July 1857.
Below Miss Hamilton’s house was the shop of William Aitken, clockmaker. He kept the same shop for over fifty years. Mr Aitken was town treasurer in 1845, and died in 1876, aged eighty-nine. This is one of his George III mahogany long-case clocks. Copyright © Bonhams 2001-2014
CAIRNS CLOSE
As with many of the Closes in Haddington, Carins Close has witnessed a great deal of change. CAIRNS CLOSE
25 This watercolor & ink painting is by Dorothea Nimmo Smith, initialed and dated 1949. The painting captures a typical Haddington close from the perspective of the drying green. Over the course of time subsidiary cottages, stores and workshops were built along the length of the rigg, starting from the rear of the street-side tenement and running down towards the garden. Dorothea Nimmo Smith was born in Haddington in 1889. An amateur artist, she painted scenes in and around Haddington. East Lothian Council Museum Service cares for a large collection of her work. This collection is a rich visual source for those who are interested in recent local history. See more at:
www.johngraycentre.com
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D OBSON’S CLOSE Not just used as walkways, these closes have served many purposes, and traditionally, would have smelt a little different too. DOBSON’S CLOSE
27 27 In 1863 a statement was made in the Haddington Courier to the effect that large number of closes were being neglected and that work was urgently necessary for public health.... 1863 THE HADDINGTON COURIER THE DRAINAGE EXPENSES “It would be well to make known that in future, the magistrate intended ‘to clean out all the back streets and closes. If they did so there could be no doubt that “the value of the manure would be greatly enhanced”. For instance, there were Carin’s Close and Dobson’s Close, which were never cleaned out and where an immense uantity of manure was allowed to accumulate at the expense of public health.”
Notice the bow and arrow decoration on the gates- this refers to The Butts at the foot of the close. This was where archery was historically practiced by townsfolk.
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ROSS’S CLOSE
ROSS’S CLOSE
On the south side of the High Street lies Ross’s Close, named after Tommy Ross (1860-1937). Well known locally as a cheery plumber, he was elected town councilor in 1903 and became Provost* in 1918.
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*Historically the Provost was the chief magistrate or convener of a Scottish burgh council, the equivalent of a mayor in other parts of the English-speaking world. Signature glazed handle and chain for a toilet cistern by T.M. Ross. The National Museum of Scotland Permanent Collection
The back gardens of houses at the foot of Ross’s Close, part of Langriggs. These houses were built to house overspill from Glasgow in the 1960s. The John Gray Centre Photo Collection (www.johngraycentre.org)
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ROUGHEAD CLOSE
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Mr Roughead’s spacious tenement had been long in his family. Well known as a famous seed establishment it was built by James Burns, a Haddington architect in 1806.
The Gardener’s magazine and register of rural & domestic improvement, Volume 16 Edited by John Claudius Loudon John Wood 1819 Plan of Haddington and Nungate. NLS
Up the close is Carlyle House, once the residence of Dr John Welsh, father of Jane Welsh Carlyle, the late wife of Thomas Carlyle. Dr Welsh was a skillful and eminent surgeon and physician in his day. He was also buried within the walls of the Collegiate Church of St Mary’s in Haddington along with his daughter.
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33 33 Recent works have been underway on number 1 Lodge Street. The removal of the render revealed that all the openings in the building were once arched and it has been speculated that they may once have been part of an arcade . The removal of the crumbly stonework and render also exposed a molded corbel, similar to that leading into the close. These discoveries were carefully documented and recorded revealing at least two primary phases to the building’s history- and a great deal more of historical character to this building than was first thought. Previously, the building has been termed as a ‘late 18th century’ building (by architectural styling and evidence from maps) but given these recent discoveries of earlier openings, 1 Lodge Street could infact have a much longer and secretive history.
PHOTO: Toby Williams
PHOTO: Toby Williams
34 John Knox (c.1514-1572). The Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation born in Haddington (although this is disputed, some say Morham, just outside the town) and was educated at Haddington Grammar School. A statue of him can be found on the Gothic Building, now known as John Knox Court. A tree, planted in the 19th century marks his birthplace in Giffordgate. Jane Welsh Carlyle (1801-1866) The wife of essayist Thomas Carlyle, Jane Welsh Carlyle (18011866) and has been cited as the reason for his fame and fortune. She was most notable as a letter-writer. Samuel Smiles (1812-1904) Born in Haddington, Samuel Smiles was a doctor, biographer, social reformer and railway enthusiast. Author of ‘Self Help’ and other books, he is commemorated by a plaque on the wall of 62 High Street, the house where he lived. Sir William George Gillies (1898–1973) was a renowned Scottish landscape and still life painter. Born in Haddington, he studied at Edinburgh College of Art and taught there after graduation for over 40 years. He was principal of the College from 1959 until his retirement in 1966. Sir Alistair Grant (1937- 2001) was educated in Haddington. He went on to become a prominent figure in Scottish business, public service and philanthropy.
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SIR WILLIAM GEORGE GILLIES, C.B.E., R.S.A. 1898-1973 NUNGATE BRIDGE, HADDINGTON oil on board
FAMOUS PEOPLE ASSO CIATED WITH HADDINGTON
In Memory of CLOSES that are no more... The names of these closes appear in historical records of Haddington. Some we know quite a lot about, others very little. TEMPLE CLOSE FISHMARKET CLOSE AFFLECK’S CLOSE CUNNINGHAM’S CLOSE Although still in existence, Opera Close has gone through many successive name changes. It has previously been known as: FAUNT’S CLOSE after Fred Faunt who had a fruit shop up the close CROWE’S CLOSE after Francis Crowe who had his plumbing business in the close WILSON’S CLOSE after Mr Thomas Wilson, a local grain merchant BEDLAM CLOSE (currently Sidegate Lane) “At the bottom of the vulgarly called, Bedlam Close, is an old smithy, which was long occupied by John Cochrane. His nickname was “Hinges,” owing to his universal toast at convivial meetings of the Hammermen’s Corporation, of which he was a member, “May the hinges of friendship never rust.” Reminiscences of the Royal Burgh of Haddington
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HOSPITAL CLOSE “The Hospital Close runs down from Hardgate to the Tyne, where stepping-stones were laid across the river to Gimmers Mills before the bridge was built. It was called the Hospital Close from there being at one time an hospital in it.” Reminiscences of the Royal Burgh of Haddington
SKINNER’S CLOSE Extract from THE HADDINGTON COURIER, 27TH OF AUGUST, 1915. More of Old Haddington Disappearing: Another portion of the Haddington of an older day is under demolition in Hardgate, where the quaint harled frontage of Skinner’s Close is being pulled down. The buildings clustered on the pretty extensive site have seen their day out, and must yield to the inevitable... As is usual, the old buildings in their later days, descended to meaner uses than those for which they were built, and they must now make way for newer things. There is, however, a satisfaction in knowing that their passing has been rendered necessary by sheer old age. The haddingtonian who appreciates the old world features of the burgh- so rapidly disappearing- will, however, view their disappearance with a regret which the promise of better things will not greatly palliate. The old buildings that were demolished were once a well known pub, known as the White Swan. The White Swan was the oldest public house in the burgh, above the entrance once were the lines: As swans do like the water clear, Step in here and drink good beer.
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PUBLIC TRANSPORT
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS HADDINGTON CONSERVATION AREA REGENERATION SCHEME (CARS) This project was part of the Haddington CARS (Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme), a grant programme supported by East Lothian Council and Historic Scotland. It provided funds for the regeneration and improvement of Haddington Town Centre through the repair and enhancement of its historic fabric. This project has further encouraged community engagement and provides information about Haddington’s unique heritage for locals as well as for visitors to Haddington.
EAST LOTHIAN COUNCIL www.eastlothian.gov.uk www.visiteastlothian.org THE JOHN GRAY CENTRE www.johngraycentre.org
HADDINGTON’S HISTORY SOCIETY HADDINGTON & DISTRICT COMMUNITY COUNCIL LOST HADDINGTON www.facebook.com/pages/Lost-Haddington Research, design and images (unless otherwise stated) by Lilian Tuohy Main
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T YNE C LO SE
DICKSON’S CLOSE
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"From which opera does the ""Humming Chorus"" come?" | City status in the United Kingdom - The Full Wiki
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Cathedral city" redirects here. For other uses, see Cathedral city (disambiguation) .
Historically, city status in England and Wales was associated with the presence of a cathedral , such as York Minster .
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions for the status are hard fought. The status does not apply automatically on the basis of any particular criteria, although in England and Wales it was traditionally given to towns with diocesan cathedrals . This association between having a cathedral and being called a city was established in the early 1540s when King Henry VIII founded dioceses (and therefore cathedrals) in six English towns and also granted them all city status by issuing letters patent .
City status in Ireland was granted to far fewer communities than in England and Wales, and there are only two pre-nineteenth-century cities in present-day Northern Ireland . In Scotland , city status did not explicitly receive any recognition by the state until the nineteenth century. At that time, a revival of grants of city status took place, first in England, where the grants were accompanied by the establishment of new cathedrals, and later in Scotland and Ireland.
In the twentieth century, it was explicitly recognised that the status of city in England and Wales would no longer be bound to the presence of a cathedral, and grants made since have been awarded to communities on a variety of criteria, including population size.
The abolition of some corporate bodies as part of successive local government reforms, beginning with the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 , has deprived some ancient cities of their status. However, letters patent have been issued for most of the affected cities to ensure the continuation or restoration of their status. At present, Rochester , Perth and Elgin are the only former cities in the United Kingdom.
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England and Wales
Ancient cities
Until the 16th century, a town was recognised as a city by the English Crown if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits. This means some cities today are very small, because they were unaffected by population growth during the Industrial Revolution —notably Wells (population about 10,000) and St David's (population about 2,000) (see List of smallest cities in the United Kingdom ). After the 16th century, no new dioceses (and no new cities) were created until the 19th century.
1836–1888
In 1836, Ripon was the first of a number of new dioceses to be created . Ripon Town Council assumed that this had elevated the town to the rank of a city, and started referring to itself as the City and Borough of Ripon. The next diocese to be created was Manchester , and the Borough Council began to informally use the title city. When Queen Victoria visited Manchester in 1851, the doubts surrounding the status of the town were raised. The situation was resolved when the borough petitioned for city status, which was granted by letters patent in 1854. This eventually forced Ripon to regularise its position; its city status was recognised by a local Act of Parliament in 1865. The Manchester case established a precedent that any municipal borough in which an Anglican see was established was entitled to petition for city status. Accordingly, Truro , St Albans , Liverpool , Newcastle upon Tyne and Wakefield were all officially designated as cities between 1877 and 1888. This was not without opposition from the Home Office , who dismissed St Albans as "a fourth or fifth rate market town" and objected to Wakefield's elevation on grounds of population. In one new diocese, Southwell , a city was not created, because Southwell was a village without a borough corporation and therefore could not petition the Queen. The diocese covered the counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, and the boroughs of Derby and Nottingham were disappointed that they would not be able to claim the title of city. [1]
1889–1907
Birmingham was the first English town without a cathedral to be granted city status. Birmingham City Council meets at the Council House .
The link with Anglican dioceses was broken in 1889 when Birmingham successfully petitioned for city status on the grounds of its large population and history of good local government. At the time of the grant, Birmingham lacked an Anglican cathedral, although the parish church later became a cathedral in 1905. This new precedent was followed by other large municipalities: Leeds and Sheffield became cities in 1893, and Bradford , Kingston upon Hull and Nottingham were honoured on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. The last three had been the largest county boroughs outside the London area without city status. [1]
Between 1897 and 1914, applications were received from a number of other boroughs, but only one was successful: in 1905, Cardiff was designated a city and granted a lord mayoralty as "the Metropolis of Wales".
The status of Westminster
In 1899, legislation was introduced that abolished the existing local authorities within the County of London and replaced them with 28 metropolitan boroughs . Among the bodies to be dissolved was the Court of Burgesses of the City of Westminster. William Burdett-Coutts , one of Westminster's Members of Parliament , brought forward an amendment to rename the proposed borough of Greater Westminster to City of Westminster. This was intended to give "recognition to the title which the area ... had possessed for over three and a half centuries". He felt that if the status was not retained for the new borough it "must necessarily disappear altogether". The amendment was rejected by the government, however, with the First Lord of the Treasury , Arthur Balfour , believing it would be "an anomaly which, I think, would be not unnaturally resented by other districts which are as large in point of population as Westminster, although doubtless not so rich in historical associations". [2] [3] The government eventually relented, with Balfour stating that "as soon as the necessary arrangements under the London Government Act have been completed, there will be conferred on the borough of Westminster, as constituted under the Act, the title of city, originally conferred in the time of Henry VIII". [4] [5] Letters patent were duly issued granting the title of "city" to the newly created Metropolitan Borough of Westminster . [6]
1907–1953
In 1907, the Home Office and King Edward VII agreed on a policy that future applicants would have to meet certain criteria. This policy, which was not at the time made public, had the effect of stemming the number of city creations.
The 1907 policy contained three criteria:
A minimum population of 300,000.
A "local metropolitan character"—this implied that the town had a distinct identity of its own and was the centre of a wider area.
A good record of local government. [1]
However, well into the twentieth century it was often assumed that the presence of a cathedral was sufficient to elevate a town to city status, and that for cathedral cities the city charters were recognising its city status rather than granting it. On this basis, the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica incorrectly said that Southwell and St Asaph were cities.
The policy laid down by Edward VII was continued by his successor, George V , who ascended the throne in 1910. In 1911, an application for city status by Portsmouth was refused. Explaining the Home Secretary 's reason for not recommending the King to approve the petition, the Lord Advocate stated:
...during the reign of his late Majesty it was found necessary, in order to maintain the value of the distinction, to lay down a rule as to the minimum population which should ordinarily, in connexion with other considerations, be regarded as qualifying a borough for that higher status. [7]
Following the First World War , the King made an official visit to Leicester in 1919 to commemorate its contributions to the military victory. The borough council had made several applications for city status since 1889, and took the opportunity of the visit to renew its request. Leicester had a population of approximately 230,000 at the previous census, but its petition was granted as an exception to the policy, as it was officially a restoration of a dignity lost in the past. [8] When the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent applied for city status in 1925, it was initially refused as it had only 294,000 inhabitants. The decision was overturned, however, as it was felt to have outstanding importance as the centre of the pottery industry. The effective relaxation of the population rule led to applications from Portsmouth and Salford . The civil servants in the Home Office were minded to refuse both applications. In particular, Salford was felt to be "merely a scratch collection of 240,000 people cut off from Manchester by the river". Salford's case, however, was considered favourably by the Home Secretary, William Joynson-Hicks , MP for a neighbouring constituency of Manchester. Following protests from Portsmouth, which felt it had better credentials as a larger town and as the "first Naval Port of the kingdom", both applications were approved in 1926. [1]
In 1927, a Royal Commission on Local Government was examining local-authority areas and functions in England and Wales. The question arose as to which towns were entitled to be called cities, and the chairman, the Earl of Onslow , wrote to the Home Office to seek clarification. The Home Office replied with a memorandum that read:
The title of a city which is borne by certain boroughs is a purely titular distinction. It has no connexion with the status of the borough in respect of local government and confers no powers or privileges. At the present time and for several centuries past the title has been obtained only by an express grant from the Sovereign effected by letters patent; but a certain number of cities possess the title by very ancient prescriptive right. There is no necessary connexion between the title of a city and the seat of a bishopric, and the creation of a new see neither constitutes the town concerned a city nor gives it any claim to the grant of letters patent creating it a city. [9]
In 1928, Plymouth submitted an application for city status. As the borough was larger than Portsmouth, and had recently absorbed Devonport and East Stonehouse , the King agreed to the request. However, he indicated that he had "come to an end of city making", and Southampton's application in the following year was turned down. [1]
The next city to be created was Lancaster as part of the coronation celebrations of King George VI . With a population of a little over 50,000, Lancaster was stated to be an exception due to the town's "long association with the crown" and because it was "the county town of the King's Duchy of Lancaster". Following the Second World War , members of Cambridge Borough Council made contact with Lancaster officials for assistance in their application. Cambridge became a city in 1951, again for "exceptional" reasons, as the only ancient seat of learning in the kingdom not a city or royal burgh and to coincide with the 750th anniversary of the borough's first charter of incorporation. [10] Croydon also applied in 1951, but failed as it was felt not to have a sufficient identity apart from Greater London, and reports on the conduct of local government in the town were unfavourable. [1]
1953–1974
It was anticipated that the coronation of Elizabeth II in 1953 would lead to the creation of a city, and Preston and Southampton made approaches. In the event, the only civic honour given was that of a lord mayoralty to Coventry . Derby and Southwark made unsuccessful applications in 1955.
The planned reorganisations by the Local Government Commissions for England and Wales from 1958 effectively blocked new city grants. Southampton lodged a petition in 1958. Initially refused in 1959, pending the decision of the Commission, it was eventually allowed in 1964. [11] In the meantime, the administration of London was reformed under the London Government Act 1963 . While the City of London was permitted to continue in existence largely unchanged, Westminster was merged with two neighbouring authorities to form a new London borough from 1 April 1965. [12] In December 1963 it was announced that a charter was to be granted incorporating the new authority as "Westminster", and that the Queen had accepted the advice of the Home Secretary to raise the London borough to the title and dignity of city. [13]
With the establishment of the Royal Commission on Local Government in England in 1966, city grants were again in abeyance in England. Attempts by Derby, Teesside and Wolverhampton to become cities were not proceeded with.
In Wales, Swansea campaigned for city status throughout the 1960s. The campaign came to a successful conclusion in 1969, in conjunction with the investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales . [14]
1974 reorganisation, and new cities
The Local Government Act 1972 abolished all existing local authorities (other than parish councils ) in England and Wales. This meant that the various local authorities that held city status ceased to exist on 1 April 1974. [15] To preserve city status, new letters patent were issued to the metropolitan-borough , non-metropolitan-district or successor-parish councils created by the 1972 Act. [16] There were three exceptions: charter trustees were established for the Cities of Lichfield and New Sarum (or Salisbury), and special letters patent preserved the City of Rochester as part of the new Borough of Medway. [17]
In 1977, as part of the celebrations of the Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II , the Home Office identified nine candidates for city status: Blackburn , Brighton , Croydon , Derby , Dudley , Newport , Sandwell , Sunderland and Wolverhampton . [1] Ultimately, Derby received the award as the largest non-metropolitan district not already designated a city. [18] In April 1980 a parish council was created for Lichfield, and the charter trustees established six years earlier were dissolved. City status was temporarily lost until new letters patent were issued in November of the same year. [19] In 1992, on the fortieth anniversary of the monarch's accession, it was announced that another town would be elevated to a city. An innovation on this occasion was that a competition was to be held, and communities would be required to submit applications. Sunderland was the successful applicant. [20] This was followed in 1994 by the restoration of the dignity to St David's , historic see of a bishop. [21]
Since 2000, city status has been awarded to four towns by competition on special occasions (see Modern practice of granting city status below). Three successful applicants in England have become cities, as well as one in Wales; these were Brighton and Hove and Wolverhampton in 2000, and Preston and Newport in 2002. [22] [23] [24]
Greater London
Other than the cities of London and Westminster , no local authorities in the Greater London area have been granted city status. The Home Office had a policy of resisting any attempt by metropolitan boroughs to become cities even when their populations, and other proposed claims as qualifying criteria, might otherwise have made them eligible. It was felt that such a grant would undermine the status of the two existing cities in the capital. The Metropolitan Borough of Southwark made a number of applications, but in 1955 the borough's town clerk was told not to pursue the matter any further. [1] Outside the boundaries of the county, the County Borough of Croydon made three applications, all of which were dismissed as it was not seen as being sufficiently separate from London. When the successor London Borough of Croydon applied in 1965 the Assistant Under Secretary of State summarised the case against Croydon: "...whatever its past history, it is now just part of the London conurbation and almost indistinguishable from many of the other Greater London boroughs". [1]
The same objections were made when the London Boroughs of Croydon and Southwark unsuccessfully entered the competition for city status to mark the millennium: Croydon was said to have "no particular identity of its own" while Southwark was "part of London with little individual identity". [1] When the most recent competition was held to mark the Golden Jubilee of 2002, Croydon made a sixth application, again unsuccessful. It was joined by the London Borough of Greenwich , which emphasised its royal and maritime connections, while claiming to be "to London what Versailles is to Paris". [1]
Scotland
Scotland had no cities by royal charter or letters patent prior to 1889. The nearest equivalent in pre-Union Scotland was the royal burgh . The term city was not always consistently applied, and there were doubts over the number of officially designated cities. The royal burghs of Edinburgh and Perth anciently used the title civitas, but the term city does not seem to have been used prior to the fifteenth century. Unlike the situation in England, in Scotland there was no link between the presence of a cathedral and the title of city. Aberdeen , Glasgow and Edinburgh were accepted as cities by ancient usage by the eighteenth century, while Perth and Elgin also used the title. [1] In 1856, the burgh of Dunfermline resolved to use the title of city in all official documents in the future, based on long usage and its former status as a royal capital. The status was never officially recognised. [1]
In 1889, Dundee was granted city status by letters patent. The grant by formal document led to doubts about the use of the title city by other burghs. In 1891, the city status of Aberdeen was confirmed when the burgh was enlarged by local Act of Parliament. The Royal Burgh of Inverness applied for promotion to a city as part of the Jubilee honours in 1897. The request was not granted, partly because it would draw attention to the lack of any charter granting the title to existing cities. [1] Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow were constituted "counties of cities" by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 . The Act made no statement on the title city for any other burgh. In 1969, the Home Secretary, James Callaghan , stated that there were six cities in Scotland (without naming them) and Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Elgin, Glasgow and Perth were the only burghs listed as cities in 1972. [1] [25]
The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 completely reorganised Scotland's local administration in 1975. All burghs were abolished, and a system of districts created. The four districts of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow had City included in their titles by the Act. The 1975 districts were replaced with the present council areas by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 in 1996, and the same four cities were designated.
Since the 1996 reorganisation, two more Scottish cities have been designated: Inverness as part of the millennium celebrations, and Stirling in 2002, to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee . In the case of both these cities, there are no city councils and no formal boundaries, and the letters patent simply state that the "town" has the status. In January 2008, a petition to matriculate armorial bearings for the City of Inverness was refused by Lord Lyon King of Arms on the grounds that there is no corporate body or legal persona to whom arms can be granted. [26]
Northern Ireland
City status in Ireland tended historically to be granted by royal charter. There are many towns in Ireland with Church of Ireland cathedrals that have never been called cities. In spite of this, Armagh was considered a city, by virtue of its being the seat of the Primate of All Ireland , until the abolition of Armagh's city corporation by the Municipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840 . The only historic city with a charter in present-day Northern Ireland is Derry , created a city in 1604, and renamed "Londonderry" by a subsequent charter of 1613. [27]
In 1887, the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria was celebrated, and the Borough of Belfast submitted a memorial to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland seeking city status. Belfast based its claim on its similarity to two English boroughs that had received the honour—the seaport of Liverpool and the textile centre of Manchester—and the fact that it had (at the time) a larger population than the City of Dublin . Following some legal debate, city status was conferred in 1888. The grant of the honour on the grounds of being a large industrial town, rather than a diocesan centre, was unprecedented. Belfast's example was soon followed by Birmingham and Dundee in England and Scotland respectively. [1]
In 1994, Armagh's city status was restored. [21] In 2002, Lisburn and Newry were two of the five towns in the UK that were granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II to mark her Golden Jubilee. In the case of Lisburn, the status extends to the entire local-government district. [28] Newry, like Inverness and Stirling in Scotland, has no formal boundaries or city council. The letters patent were presented to representatives of Newry and Mourne District Council on behalf of the city. [29]
Modern practice of granting city status
According to a Memorandum from the Home Office issued in 1927,
If a town wishes to obtain the title of a city the proper method of procedure is to address a petition to the King through the Home Office. It is the duty of the Home Secretary to submit such petitions to his Majesty and to advise his Majesty to the reply to be returned. It is a well-established principle that the grant of the title is only recommended in the case of towns of the first rank in population, size and importance, and having a distinctive character and identity of their own. At the present day, therefore, it is only rarely and in exceptional circumstances that the title is given. [9]
In fact, a town can now apply for city status by submitting an application to the Lord Chancellor , who makes recommendations to the sovereign. Competitions for new grants of city status have been held to mark special events, such as coronations , royal jubilees or the Millennium.
Lord Mayors
Main article: List of lord mayoralties and lord provostships in the United Kingdom
Some cities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland have the further distinction of having a Lord Mayor rather than a simple Mayor —in Scotland, the equivalent is the Lord Provost . Lord Mayors have the right to be styled "The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor". The Lord Mayors and Provosts of Belfast , Cardiff , Edinburgh , Glasgow , City of London and York have the further right to be styled " The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor" (or Provost), although they are not members of the Privy Council as this style usually indicates. The style is associated with the office, not the person holding it, so "The Right Worshipful Joseph Bloggsworthy" would be incorrect.
There are currently 66 recognised cities (including 30 Lord Mayoralties or Lord Provostships) in the UK: 50 cities (23 Lord Mayoralties) in England, five cities (two Lord Mayoralties) in Wales, six cities (four Lord Provostships) in Scotland and five cities (one Lord Mayoralty) in Northern Ireland.
In Ireland, as a historical result of English rule, the ceremonial head of the city government of Dublin is the Lord Mayor of Dublin . While previously retaining the formal title of Right Honourable, this was repealed in 2001. There is also a Lord Mayor of Cork .
In modern practice, competitions are held for cities that wish to gain the distinction of a Lord Mayor. The 2002 competition was entered by Bath , Cambridge , Carlisle , Chichester , Derby , Exeter , Gloucester , Lancaster , Lincoln , St Albans , St David's , Salford , Southampton , Sunderland , Truro , Wolverhampton and Worcester ; the successful candidate was Exeter. [30]
The former City of Rochester
Rochester was recognised as a city from 1211 to 1998. On 1 April 1974, the city council was abolished, becoming part of the Borough of Medway , a local-government district in the county of Kent. However, under letters patent the former city-council area was to continue to be styled the "City of Rochester" to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said city". [31] The city was unique, as it had no council or charter trustees and no mayor or civic head. In 1979, the Borough of Medway was renamed as Rochester-upon-Medway , and in 1982 further letters patent transferred the city status to the entire borough. [32] On 1 April 1998, the existing local-government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham were abolished and became the new unitary authority of Medway . Since it was the local-government district that officially held city status under the 1982 letters patent, when it was abolished, it also ceased to be a city. The other local-government districts with city status that were abolished around this time ( Bath and Hereford ) had decided to appoint charter trustees to maintain the existence of the city and the mayoralty. However, Rochester-upon-Medway City Council had decided not to. Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when, in 2002, they discovered that Rochester was not on the Lord Chancellor's Office 's list of cities. [33] [34]
Pretenders
Ballymena in Northern Ireland has been known informally as "The City of the Seven Towers" since the nineteenth century. [35]
The community council for Brechin is called City of Brechin & District Community Council. The local football team is known as Brechin City F.C. (they were formed at a meeting on City Road in the town).
Chelmsford 's cathedral dates only from 1914 (although the building is much older) and the town does not have city status; nevertheless, its local football team calls itself Chelmsford City F.C.
Dunfermline styles itself "A Twinned City" on the signs welcoming visitors to the town. [36] The area committee of Fife council is called City of Dunfermline Area Committee.
The community council for Elgin is called City and Royal Burgh of Elgin Community Council.
Letchworth Garden City and Welwyn Garden City are medium-sized New Towns in Hertfordshire established to reduce the overcrowding of London as part of the Garden city movement .
In its planning, the government of the day intended Milton Keynes , Buckinghamshire, to be a "new city" in scale, and it was referred to as such in contemporary supporting papers, but was gazetted in 1967 as a New Town. It has used the term "City Centre" on its buses and road signs for many years, mainly to avoid confusion with the centres of its pre-existing constituent towns.
The local council wards covering Perth are entitled Perth City Centre, Perth City North and Perth City South. [36]
After its unsuccessful attempts to gain city status, the town of Reading, Berkshire , started using the phrase "City Centre" on its buses and car-park signs. Reading's immediate urban area has in excess of 230,000 inhabitants, making it one of the 20 largest settlements in the UK and larger than many sizeable cities including Southampton , Portsmouth and Derby .
The town council for St Asaph is called City of St Asaph Town Council.
City councils
The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions for the status are hard fought.
Historically, city status could only be granted to incorporated towns . The grant was specifically awarded to the relevant local-government area such as a civil parish or borough. However, recent grants have used a looser wording, where the status is awarded to the "town". In most cases the "town" is held to be coterminous with the relevant local-government area, such that the city-status holder is the corporate body of the council. Examples include the Letters Patent awarded to the "Towns of Brighton and Hove ", the "Town of Wolverhampton " and the "Town of Newport in the County Borough of Newport". In each case the existing borough council became the city council.
This leads to the oddity whereby city status can be granted to areas that include more than one town. "Federal" cities of this type include Stoke-on-Trent , Sunderland and Brighton and Hove ; in all these cases a borough was formed to govern an area covering several towns and then city status was granted to the borough.
In some cases, like the cities of Stirling and Inverness , there was no existing corporate body. Stirling Council 's application for city status was specifically for the urban area of the (now former) Royal Burgh of Stirling and included proposed city boundaries. Thus, not all of the council area has city status, and there is no official city council.
Most cities, however, do have city councils, which have varying powers depending on the type of settlement. There are unitary authorities (including metropolitan and London boroughs ), which are responsible for all local-government services within their area. (The only London borough having city status is the City of Westminster ). Many cities have ordinary district councils , which share power with county councils . At the bottom end of the scale, some cities have civil-parish councils, with no more power than a village .
Some cities that used to have a city council but have subsequently had it abolished may have charter trustees , drawn from the local district council, who appoint the mayor and look after the city's traditions.
Most "cities" are not, in fact, cities in the traditional sense of the word (that is, a large urban area) but are local-government districts that have city status and often encompass large rural areas. Examples of this are the City of Canterbury and the City of Wakefield , while the City of Sheffield contains part of the Peak District National Park . The largest "city" district in terms of area is the City of Carlisle , which covers some 400 square miles (1040 km²) of mostly rural landscape in the north of England, and is larger than smaller counties such as Merseyside or Rutland . This is, however, merely a curiosity and has had no impact on the general usage of the word city in the UK, which has unambiguously retained its urban meaning in British English . Residents of the rural parts of the "City of Carlisle" and the like might be aware of the name of their local council, but would not consider themselves to be inhabitants of a city with a small c.
Equally, there are some cities where the local-government district is in fact smaller than the historical or natural boundaries of the city. Five examples of this are Manchester (where the traditional area associated includes areas of the neighbouring authorities of Trafford, Tameside, Oldham, Bury and the City of Salford), Kingston upon Hull (where surrounding areas and villages that are effectively suburbs, such as Cottingham , come under East Riding of Yorkshire Council), Glasgow (where suburban areas of the city are located in East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire), Wolverhampton (areas of the neighbouring authorities of Walsall, Dudley and South Staffordshire) and, most obviously, London (Greater London outside the City of London).
At each census, the government produces a report called "Key Statistics for Urban Areas", [37] which gives the population of the actual town or city. Another report gives the total population of the district controlled by the council bearing its name, from which the rural population figure may be derived.
Applications for city status
City-status grants have been used to mark special royal and other occasions. The first competition was held in 1992, to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Queen's reign. Sunderland was the winner. In 1994, two historic seats of Bishoprics— St David's and Armagh —were granted city status. They had been considered cities historically, but this status had lapsed.
For the city applications in 2000, held to celebrate the millennium , the following towns and boroughs requested city status:
Northern Ireland: Ballymena , Lisburn .
The three winners were Brighton and Hove, Wolverhampton and Inverness, which were subsequently dubbed "Millennium Cities". [38]
For the 2002 applications, held to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee, the entrants included all of the above towns except Southwark, together with Greenwich and Wirral in England, Dumfries in Scotland and Carrickfergus , Coleraine , Craigavon and Newry in Northern Ireland. There was controversy in the rest of the UK—especially in Wales—over the fact that two of the three winners of the 2000 competition were English towns, so 2002 was run as four separate competitions. The winners in Great Britain were Preston in England, Newport in Wales, and Stirling in Scotland. In Northern Ireland it was decided to award city status to two entrants: Lisburn (predominantly unionist) and Newry (predominantly nationalist) so that offence would not be caused to either community. Exeter was awarded Lord Mayoralty status in a separate application.
To mark the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II , another competition is to be launched for towns to bid for city status, including Lord Mayoralty or Provostship , with the competition set to begin in Spring 2010. [39 ]
City status conferment
City status is conferred by letters patent and not by a royal charter (except historically in Ireland). There are twenty towns in England and Wales that were recognised as cities by "ancient prescriptive right"; none of these communities had been formally declared a city, but they had all used the title since " time immemorial ", that is, prior to 3 September 1189. [1]
The holding of city status brings no special benefits other than the right to be called a city. All cities where a local-government unit that holds that status is abolished have to be re-issued with letters patent reconfirming city status following local-government reorganisation where that holder has been abolished. This process was followed by a number of cities since 1974, and York and Hereford 's status was confirmed twice, in 1974 and again in the 1990s. Failure to do so leads to the loss of city status as happened at Rochester in 1998 (see above ), and also previously in St David's and Armagh , although both of these latter have regained city status since losing it. All three of these had been cities since time immemorial before the loss of city status.
Charters originated as charters of incorporation , allowing a town to become an incorporated borough , or to hold markets . Some of these charters recognised officially that the town involved was a city. Apart from that recognition, it became accepted that such a charter could make a town into a city. The earliest examples of these are Hereford and Worcester , both of which received charters in 1189.
The formal definition of a city has been disputed, in particular by inhabitants of towns that have been regarded as cities in the past but are not generally considered cities today. Additionally, although the Crown clearly has the right to bestow "official" city status, some have doubted the right of the Crown to define the word city in the United Kingdom. In informal usage, city can be used for large towns or conurbations that are not formally cities. The best-known example of this is London , which contains two cities (the City of London and the City of Westminster ) but is not itself a city.
Officially designated cities
There are currently 66 officially designated cities in the UK, of which eight have been created since 2000 in competitions to celebrate the new millennium and Queen Elizabeth II 's Golden Jubilee in 2002. The designation is highly sought after, with over 40 communities submitting bids at recent competitions.
List of officially designated cities
City status has been applied to a variety of entities including towns, local-government districts and civil parishes.
See List of cities in the United Kingdom for a list of entities holding the status for each city.
England
Additionally, Llandaff , which is now part of the City of Cardiff local-government district, is home to Llandaff Cathedral .
The 1911 Encyclopeædia Britannica refers to Llandaff, Southwell and St Asaph as cities.
In total there are 16 English and Welsh towns that have city status but do not have Anglican cathedrals within their borders— Bath (a former cathedral), Brighton and Hove , Cambridge , Hull , Lancaster , Leeds , Nottingham , Plymouth , Preston , Salford , Southampton , Stoke-on-Trent , Sunderland , Swansea , Westminster (although Westminster Abbey was a cathedral briefly during the reign of Henry VIII) and Wolverhampton . [40]
Scotland
The national church of Scotland, the Church of Scotland , is presbyterian in governance with no bishops or dioceses , and thus has high kirks rather than cathedrals . However, the pre- Reformation dioceses do have extant cathedrals.
As noted above, both Perth and Elgin were recognised as cities prior to 1975. Additionally, five other pre-Reformation sees— Brechin , Dunblane , Dunkeld , Kirkwall and St Andrews —are often referred to as cities. Dornoch , Fortrose and Whithorn also possess pre-Reformation cathedrals.
Stirling , which was awarded city status in 2002, has never had a cathedral.
Northern Ireland
In Ireland, as noted above, possession of a diocesan cathedral has never (except in the anomalous case of Armagh) been sufficient to attain this status.
In spite of this, the 1911 Encyclopeædia Britannica refers to Armagh (Armagh had lost city status in 1840) and Lisburn as cities. Armagh subsequently regained city status formally in 1994 and Lisburn achieved city status in 2002.
There are four towns in Northern Ireland with Church of Ireland cathedrals that do not have city status— Clogher , Downpatrick , Dromore and Enniskillen .
Newry is the only city in Northern Ireland that does not have a Church of Ireland cathedral within its borders.
Large towns
As noted above, in ordinary discourse, city can refer to any large settlement, with no fixed limit.
There are certain towns with large urban areas that could qualify for city status on the grounds of population size. Some have applied for city status and had the application turned down. Northampton is one of the most populous urban districts not to be a London Borough, metropolitan borough, unitary authority or city; on this basis, the council claims that it is the largest town in England. [41]
The government-published "Key Statistics for Urban Areas 2001" [37] show that the following are the ten largest urban sub-areas outside London not a part of a city or having a city as a component:
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History
Until the 16th century, a town was recognised as a city by the English Crown if it had a diocesan cathedral within its limits. This means some cities today are very small, because they were unaffected by population growth during the industrial revolution — notably Wells (population about 10,000) and St David's (population about 2,000) (see Smallest cities in the United Kingdom). After the 16th century, no new dioceses (and no new cities) were created until the 19th century, but the practice was revived with the creation of the diocese of Ripon in 1836. A string of new dioceses and cities followed. This process was changed in 1888 to allow Birmingham and other large settlements that did not have cathedrals to become cities (Birmingham's parish church later became a cathedral).
The presence of a cathedral in a Scottish town before the Reformation led often, but not universally, to its recognition as a city. Dornoch, for instance, has never generally been called a city despite having had a pre-Reformation cathedral. The status of royal burgh was, in terms of privileges, more relevant in Scotland than the status of city. After the Reformation, city status crystallized and no changes were made until the nineteenth century.
City status in Ireland tended historically to be granted by royal charter. There are many towns in Ireland with Church of Ireland cathedrals which have never been called cities. In spite of this, the seat of the Primate of All Ireland , Armagh, was considered a city (despite its never having been granted a charter) until this status was lost in a local government reorganization in the nineteenth century. The only historic city with a charter in present-day Northern Ireland is Derry, which was renamed "Londonderry" by its city charter.
City status conferment
City status is conferred by letters patent and not by a royal charter (except historically in Ireland) but there are some cities in England and Wales that predate the historical monarchy, and have been regarded as cities since " time immemorial ".
The holding of city status brings no especial benefits other than the right to be called a city. All cities have to be re-issued with letters patent reconfirming city status following local government re-organisation where the original city has been abolished. This process was followed by a number of cities since 1974, and York and Hereford's status was confirmed in both 1974 and again in the 1990s. Failure to do so leads to the loss of city status as happened at Rochester in 1998 (see below), and also previously in St. David's and Armagh, although both of these latter have regained city status since losing it. All three of these had been cities since time immemorial before the loss of city status.
Charters originated as charters of incorporation, allowing a town to become an incorporated borough , or to hold markets . Some of these charters recognised officially that the town involved was a city. Apart from that recognition, it became accepted that such a charter could make a town into a city. The earliest examples of these are Hereford and Worcester, both of which date their city status to 1189.
The formal definition of a city has been disputed, in particular by inhabitants of towns that have been regarded as cities in the past but are not generally considered cities today. Additionally, although the Crown clearly has the right to bestow 'official' city status, some have doubted the right of the Crown to define the word "city" in the United Kingdom. In informal usage, "city" can be used for large towns or conurbations that are not formally cities. The best-known example of this is London , which contains two cities (the City of London , and the City of Westminster) but is not itself a city.
Officially-designated cities
There are currently 66 officially-designated cities in the UK, of which eight have been created since 2000 in competitions to celebrate the new millennium and Queen Elizabeth II 's Golden Jubilee . The designation is highly sought after, with over 40 communities submitting bids at recent competitions.
Modern practice of granting city status
Towns that became seats of bishoprics in the 20th century , such as Chelmsford, Guildford, and Blackburn, were not automatically granted city status. However, well into the 20th century it was often assumed that the presence of a cathedral was sufficient to elevate a town to city status, and that for cathedral cities the city charters were recognising its city status rather than granting it. On this basis, the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica said that Southwell (diocese established 1884) and St Asaph (an historic diocese) are cities. These towns were never granted letters patent recognising this by the Crown, and so when the letters patent became the important criterion they were no longer generally considered cities.
In 1911 an application for city status by Portsmouth was refused. Explaining the Home Secretary 's reason for not recommending the King to approve the petition, the Lord Advocate stated:
..during the reign of his late Majesty it was found necessary, in order to maintain the value of the distinction, to lay down a rule as to the minimum population which should ordinarily, in connexion with other considerations, be regarded as qualifying a borough for that higher status. [1]
In 1927 a Royal Commission on Local Government was examining local authority areas and functions in England and Wales. The question arose as to which towns were entitled to be called cities, and the chairman, the Earl of Onslow, wrote to the Home Office to seek clarification. The Home Office replied with a memorandum which read:
The title of a city which is borne by certain boroughs is a purely titular distinction. It has no connexion with the status of the borough in respect of local government and confers no powers or privileges. At the present time and for several centuries past the title has been obtained only by an express grant from the Sovereign effected by letters patent; but a certain number of cities possess the title by very ancient prescriptive right. There is no necessary connexion between the title of a city and the seat of a bishopric, and the creation of a new see neither constitutes the town concerned a city nor gives it any claim to the grant of letters patent creating it a city.
If a town wishes to obtain the title of a city the proper method of procedure is to address a petition to the King through the Home Office. It is the duty of the Home Secretary to submit such petitions to his Majesty and to advise his Majesty to the reply to be returned. It is a well-established principle that the grant of the title is only recommended in the case of towns of the first rank in population, size and importance, and having a distinctive character and identity of their own. At the present day, therefore, it is only rarely and in exceptional circumstances that the title is given. [2]
A town can now apply for city status by submitting an application to the Lord Chancellor , who makes recommendations to the sovereign. Such competitions are usually held to mark special events, such as coronations, royal jubilees or the Millennium .
Lord Mayors
Some cities in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland have the further distinction of having a Lord Mayor rather than a simple Mayor - in Scotland, the equivalent is the Lord Provost. Lord Mayors have the right to be styled "The Right Worshipful The Lord Mayor". The Lord Mayors and Provosts of Belfast, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, City of London , and York all have the further right to be styled " The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor" (or Provost), though they are not members of the Privy Council as this style usually indicates. The style is associated with the office, not the person holding it, so "The Right Worshipful Joe Bloggs" would be incorrect.
There are currently 66 recognised cities (including 30 Lord Mayoralties or Lord Provostships) in the UK: 50 cities (23 Lord Mayoralties) in England , five cities (two Lord Mayoralties) in Wales , six cities (four Lord Provostships) in Scotland and five cities (one Lord Mayoralty) in Northern Ireland .
In Ireland , as a historical result of English rule, the head of local government of Dublin is also the Lord Mayor of Dublin. The previously retained formal title of Right Honourable was repealed in 2001. In addition, there is also a Lord Mayor of Cork.
The former city of Rochester
Rochester was recognised as a city from 1211 to 1998. On 1April 1974 the city was abolished, becoming part of the Borough of Medway, a local government district in the county of Kent . However, under letters patent the area of the former city was to continue to be styled the "City of Rochester" to "perpetuate the ancient name" and to recall "the long history and proud heritage of the said city". [3] The city was unique, as it had no council or charter trustees and no mayor or civic head. In 1979 the Borough of Medway was renamed as Rochester-upon-Medway, and in 1982 further letters patent transferred the city status to the entire borough. [4] On 1 April 1998 , the existing local government districts of Rochester-upon-Medway and Gillingham were abolished and became the new unitary authority of Medway. Since it was the local government district that officially held city status under the 1982 letters patent, when it was abolished, it also ceased to be a city. The other local government districts with city status that were abolished around this time (Bath and Hereford) had decided to appoint Charter Trustees to maintain the existence of the city and the mayoralty. However, Rochester upon Medway City Council had decided not to. Medway Council apparently only became aware of this when, in 2002, they discovered that Rochester was not on the Lord Chancellor's Office's list of cities. [5] [6]
Pretenders
After its unsuccessful attempt to gain city status, the town of Reading, Berkshire started using the phrase "City Centre" on its buses and car park signs.
In its planning, the government of the day intended Milton Keynes to be a "new city" in scale, it was referred to as such in contemporary supporting papers, but was gazetted in 1967 as a New Town. It has used the term "City Centre" on its buses and road signs for many years, mainly to avoid confusion with the centres of its pre-existing constituent towns.
Chelmsford's cathedral dates only from 1914 (although the building is much older) and does not have city status: nevertheless its local football team calls itself Chelmsford City F.C. .
Dunfermline in Scotland styles itself "A Twinned City" on the signs welcoming visitors to the town: see note 10. (10)
Ballymena in Northern Ireland has been known informally as "The City of the Seven Towers" since the nineteenth century. [7]
List of officially-designated cities
The following are the officially-designated cities in the United Kingdom, as at 2004. Cities which have held such status since time immemorial are indicated with "TI" in the column headed "Year granted city status". The column headed "(Diocesan) cathedral" shows the applicable diocesan cathedrals that were the grounds for the granting of city status, ie cathedrals of the Church of England or the formerly established Church in Wales, or pre-Reformation cathedrals in the Church of Scotland, in the case of cities recognised prior to 1888. Certain cities also have Roman Catholic cathedrals, but these are not listed. As from 1888, the presence of a cathedral ceased to be a relevant factor in granting city status and all entries after this date are, therefore, marked not applicable. Cities which have acquired cathedrals since 1888 are Birmingham , Bradford, Derby, Leicester, Newport, Portsmouth, and Sheffield, while Llandaff Cathedral was included within the boundaries of the city of Cardiff in 1922 .
City
(5) :
Coventry has had three cathedrals: the first, St Mary's from 1043 to 1539; the second, St Michael's, from 1918 to 1940, when it was destroyed by German bombardment; and its replacement, also St Michael's, built alongside the old cathedral, consecrated in 1962.
(6) :
Note that the City of London covers only the "square mile", and is usually just referred to as "the City". The larger conurbation of Greater London has no city charter, and consists of the City of London, the City of Westminster and 31 other London boroughs . This can be compared to the City of Brussels, within Brussels.
(21) :
City status was conferred on Hereford Town Council October 11 , 2000 . [20] The status had previously been confirmed to the district council formed in 1974. When that council was abolished in 1996 charter trustees were formed for the City of Hereford. On the formation of a town council for Hereford in April 2000 the charter trustees were dissolved, and the city status temporarily lapsed.
(22) :
St. David's historically had city status because of the presence of St David's Cathedral. This status was lost in the 19th. century after local government reorganization. Letters Patent dated September 16 , 1994 ordained that the "Town of St. David's shall have the status of a City". [21]
(23) :
The title of City was used "by courtesy" after 1550 when Westminster ceased to be the see of a bishop. By Letters Patent dated October 27 1900 city status was conferred on the newly created Metropolitan Borough of Westminster from November 1 . [22] This status was continued on the creation of the City of Westminster as a london borough in 1965.
(57) :
The present council areas are designated "cities" by virtue of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 , which also reserves the post of Lord Provost for the convener of the four councils. The previous local government districts and district councils created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 enjoyed the same privileges.
Letters Patent dated January 14, 1889 [60]
City councils
The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and consequently, competitions for the status are hard fought.
Most cities have "city councils", which have varying powers depending upon the type of settlement. There are unitary authorities (including metropolitan and London boroughs) that are responsible for all local government services within their area. (The only London borough having city status is the City of Westminster). Many cities have ordinary district councils, which share power with county councils. At the bottom end of the scale, some cities have civil parish councils, with no more power than a village .
Some cities have no council at all. Where they used to have a city council but it has been abolished they may have Charter Trustees , drawn from the local district council, who appoint the mayor and look after the city's traditions.
Most "cities" are not, in fact, cities in the traditional sense of the word (that is, a large urban area) but are local government districts which have city status and which often encompass large rural areas. Examples are the City of Canterbury and City of Wakefield. The largest "city" district in terms of area is the City of Carlisle, which covers some 400 square miles (1040 km²) of mostly rural landscape in the north of England, and is larger than smaller counties such as Merseyside or Rutland . The City of Sheffield contains part of the Peak District National Park . This is however merely a curiosity and has had no impact on the general usage of the word "city" in the UK, which has unambiguously retained its urban meaning in British English. Residents of the rural parts of the "City of Carlisle" and the like might be aware of the name of their local council, but would not consider themselves to be inhabitants of a city with a small "c".
Equally, there are some cities where the local government district is in fact smaller than the historical or natural boundaries of the city. Four examples of this are Manchester (where the traditional area associated includes areas of the neighbouring authorities of Trafford, Tameside, Oldham, Bury, and the City of Salford), Glasgow (where suburban areas of the city are located in East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire and South Lanarkshire), Wolverhampton (areas of the neighbouring authorities of Walsall, Dudley, and South Staffordshire) and, most obviously, London (Greater London outside the City of London).
This contrasts with the situation in the United States, where the primary meaning of the word "city" is any area contained within city limits, completely disregarding whether or not that area is recognisable as a traditional "city".
Due to the widespread interest in information about towns and cities, and for comparisons between urban populations and with those living outside towns, the Government at each census produces a report Key Statistics for Urban Areas that separates the population of the actual town or city from the population of the area controlled by the council bearing its name.
Applications for city status
City status grants have been used to mark special royal and other occasions. Swansea was granted city status in 1969 to mark the investiture of Charles, Duke of Cornwall as Prince of Wales. At the Queen 's Silver Jubilee in 1977 , Derby was granted the honour. The use of formal competitions for city status is a recent practice. The first competition was held in 1992, to mark the fortieth anniversary of the Queen's reign. Sunderland was the winner. In 1994 two historic seats of Bishoprics — St David's and Armagh — were granted city status. They had been considered cities historically, but this status had lapsed. For the city applications in 2000, held to celebrate the millennium, the following towns and boroughs requested city status:
England: Blackburn, Blackpool, Bolton, Brighton & Hove, Chelmsford, Colchester, Croydon, Doncaster, Dover, Guildford, Ipswich, Luton, Maidstone, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Northampton, Preston, Reading, Shrewsbury and Atcham, Southend-on-Sea, Southwark, Stockport, Swindon, Telford and Wrekin, Warrington, Wolverhampton.
Scotland: Ayr, Inverness, Paisley, Stirling.
Wales: Aberystwyth, Machynlleth, Newport, Newtown, St Asaph, Wrexham.
Northern Ireland: Ballymena, Lisburn.
The three winners were Brighton & Hove, Wolverhampton, and Inverness, which were subsequently dubbed "Millennium Cities".
For the 2002 applications, held to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee , the entrants included all of the above towns except Southwark, together with Greenwich and Wirral in England, Dumfries in Scotland, and Carrickfergus, Coleraine, Craigavon, and Newry in Northern Ireland. There was controversy in the rest of the UK — especially in Wales — over the fact that two of the three winners of the 2000 competition were English towns, so 2002 was run as four separate competitions. The winners in Great Britain were Preston in England, Newport in Wales, and Stirling in Scotland. In Northern Ireland it was decided to award city status to two entrants: Lisburn (predominantly unionist) and Newry (predominantly nationalist) so that offence would not be caused to either community. Exeter was awarded Lord Mayoralty status in a separate application.
Cathedral towns
England, Wales, and Northern Ireland
In relation to the fact that being the seat of a Church of England diocese is no longer sufficient or necessary to gain city status, a number of cathedral towns exist. In Ireland, as noted above, possession of a diocesan cathedral has never (except in the anomalous case of Armagh) been sufficient to attain this status. Towns with cathedrals may nevertheless be referred to as "cities" by their inhabitants — particularly in the case of St Asaph and Rochester.
Place
St Asaph Cathedral
historic
Additionally Llandaff, which is now part of the City of Cardiff local government district, is home to Llandaff Cathedral.
The 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica refers to Llandaff, Southwell, and St Asaph as cities, along with Armagh and Lisburn in Northern Ireland . (The latter two achieved city status formally in 1994 and 2002 respectively.)
There are four towns in Northern Ireland with Church of Ireland Cathedrals that do not have city status — Clogher, Downpatrick, Dromore, and Enniskillen.
In total there are 17 English, Welsh and Northern Ireland towns that have city status but do not have Anglican cathedrals within their borders - Bath (a former cathedral), Brighton & Hove, Cambridge, Hull, Lancaster, Leeds, Newry, Nottingham, Plymouth, Preston, Salford, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Swansea, Westminster (but Westminster Abbey was a cathedral briefly during the reign of Henry VIII), and Wolverhampton.
Scotland
The national church of Scotland , the Church of Scotland, is presbyterian in governance with no bishops or dioceses, and thus has high kirks rather than cathedrals. However the pre- Reformation dioceses do have extant cathedrals.
Perth is often called a city, the fair city of Perth. Additionally, St. Andrews, Brechin, and Elgin are often referred to as cities, as they have (ruined) pre-Reformation cathedrals. In the past Elgin, Brechin, and Perth were all cities.
Stirling, which was awarded city status in 2002, has never had a cathedral.
Large towns
As noted above, in ordinary discourse, "city" can refer to any large settlement, with no fixed limit.
There are certain towns which have large urban areas, which could qualify for city status on the grounds of their population size. Some have applied for city status and had the application turned down. Northampton is one of the most populous urban districts not to be a London Borough, metropolitan borough, or city; on this basis the council claims that it is the largest town in England.
At every census the government produces the report Key Statistics for Urban Areas which shows that the following were in 2001 the largest ten urban sub-areas outside London not a part of a city or having a city as a component:
Reading — 232,662
See List of English cities by population for further such examples in England.
It should be noted that city status is usually granted not to urban areas, but to local government areas such as civil parishes and boroughs, the boundaries (and hence populations) of which are not necessarily the same. The City of Stirling and the City of Inverness provide counterexamples here. Stirling Council's application for city status was specifically for the urban area of the (now former) Royal Burgh of Stirling - proposed city boundaries were included, and so not all of the council area has city status.
This leads to the oddity whereby city status can be granted to areas that are not generally regarded as towns. Historical or "federal cities" of this type would be Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland and Brighton & Hove - in all these cases the borough was formed and then city status granted to it afterwards.
The largest local authorities to have applied for city status in the recent competitions are
London Borough of Croydon — 330,587
Metropolitan Borough of Wirral — 312,293
Metropolitan Borough of Doncaster — 286,866
Metropolitan Borough of Stockport — 284,528
Metropolitan Borough of Bolton — 261,037
Borough of Medway — 249,488
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In the war in Afghanistan many lives have been lost due to IEDs planted by the Taliban. What is an IED ? | How the IED changed the U.S. military
How the IED changed the U.S. military
Homemade bombs caused death, agony for troops and prompted changes in military equipment
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How the IED changed the U.S. military
Gregg Zoroya , USA TODAY Published 5:23 p.m. ET Dec. 18, 2013 | Updated 10:29 a.m. ET Dec. 19, 2013
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November marked 10 years since the first U.S. death in Afghanistan blamed on an improvised explosive device on Nov. 14, 2003. Video by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY
Homemade bombs caused death and agony for troops and prompted changes in military equipment.
Lt. George Lopez, left, and Staff Sgt. Tim McNiel inspect a bridge.
(Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)
Story Highlights
The IED has killed more than 3,000 U.S. troops and wounded 33,000
A weapon that costs a few hundred dollars each spawned a multibillion-dollar American response
Elaborate equipment now protects troops, but doesn't guarantee their safety
ZABUL PROVINCE, Afghanistan — Three sets of eyes peer out of a massively armored U.S. truck rolling slowly down Highway 1.
From inside their reinforced cocoon — constructed layer upon layer with ways to protect the human cargo inside — three Arizona National Guard Army engineers scan highway edges. They look for signs of digging, suspicious debris or any other anomaly in the dirt that hints at a buried explosive.
The rate of Americans dying or becoming dismembered by improvised explosive devices (IEDs), for 10 years the tormentor of U.S. forces, has dropped sharply as coalition troops withdraw from the battlefield. But lives still depend on what soldiers see or don't see. It's an enduring legacy of the homemade bomb that has created more American casualties over a decade and two wars than any other weapon.
What someone didn't see in the dirt along this same highway just 12 weeks earlier was a buried IED weighing hundreds of pounds. It killed 1st Lt. Jason Togi, 24, of Pago Pago, American Samoa, and an Afghan interpreter on a similar convoy mission riding in the same type of RG-31 armored truck.
"There's certain catastrophic explosions that it does not matter if you're in some sort of titanium ball," said Col. William Ostlund, commander of U.S. troops in this province.
So in the cramped quarters of the RG-31 this day, amid the smell of beef jerky and the cases of Burn and Rip It energy drinks, there lurks in the recesses of every soldier's mind one thought. Spc. Kyle Esplin, 22, who waits tables in Tucson; Spc. Brody Crane, 24, a part-timer at a Bass Pro Shop in Mesa, Ariz.; and Sgt. 1st Class Ramon Gomez, 33, who has a 5-month-old son, Emilio, back in Tucson, know that everything in their world could end in a violent millisecond.
"You don't want to think about it," Crane says over the vehicle intercom system.
Somewhere between more than half to two-thirds of Americans killed or wounded in combat in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been victims of IEDs planted in the ground, in vehicles or buildings, or worn as suicide vests, or loaded into suicide vehicles, according to data from the Pentagon's Joint IED Defeat Organization or JIEDDO.
That's more than 3,100 dead and 33,000 wounded. Among the worst of the casualties are nearly 1,800 U.S. troops who have lost limbs in Iraq and Afghanistan, the vast majority from blasts, according to Army data.
A LETHAL WEAPON
Last Slide Next Slide
When one of the first Americans serving in Iraq, 25-year-old Pfc. Jeremiah Smith, 25, of Odessa, Mo., died in an explosion under his vehicle in May 26, 2003, six weeks after the U.S. invasion ended, the military wasn't even sure what to call the thing that killed him.
The Defense Department inadvertently applied an oxymoron, saying he was "hit by unexploded ordnance." Officials couldn't possibly know at the time that this weapon — what would come to be called in military parlance an improvised explosive device, a term now in common usage by those in and out of uniform — would be the most destructive of two wars.
The terror of the weapon continues to this day. Even as American forces leave Afghanistan, small numbers of U.S. soldiers gamble their lives on bomb-ridden roads or pathways.
November marked 10 years since the first U.S. death in Afghanistan blamed, when it happened, on an IED: Sgt. Jay Blessing, an Army Ranger, killed when the "thin-skinned" or unarmored Humvee he was driving was hit by a buried bomb Nov. 14, 2003.
The military has since gone back to identify a few earlier cases that technically qualify as IED attacks, including the death of Navy SEAL Matthew Bourgeois, 35, of Tallahassee, from a land mine wired to homemade bombs near Kandahar on March 28, 2002.
The IED, made for as little as a few hundred dollars each and produced by the thousands yearly first in Iraq and then Afghanistan, has changed the arc of how America wages war and how military medicine cares for the wounded.
It is a considerable feat for a triggering device made of wood and wire. Displayed at an IED investigative office at Bagram Air Base, they look like junior high workshop projects.
CASUALTIES: Behind the numbers
The bombs radically affected how the American military could move around the war zone, creating a heavy reliance on helicopters and other aircraft in order to avoid roads, says Army Lt. Gen. John Johnson, JIEDDO director.
"They've caused us a lot of pain ... a lot of effort and a lot of treasure," Johnson says.
Hundreds of millions in research dollars have been spent on understanding, identifying and treating the twin invisible maladies most often associated with these bombs: traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. Military and private researchers estimate the number of uniformed victims in the hundreds of thousands.
The IED has given rise to a multibillion-dollar industry in vehicle and body armor, robots, ground-penetrating radar, surveillance, electrical jamming, counterintelligence, computer analysis and computerized prostheses.
The Government Accountability Office says it's impossible to estimate the total U.S. cost of fighting the bombs over two wars. But the Pentagon has spent at least $75 billion on armored vehicles and tools for defeating the weapons.
In 2007, when American troops were losing limbs from blasts about every other day on average, the word IED — a military acronym for "improvised explosive device" — was so widely used it formally entered the American lexicon, accepted into Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
Fours year later, at the height of the Afghanistan War, the pace of U.S. troops suffering major amputations increased to one every 36 hours.
SURVIVING A BLAST
They call it "going boom." The first time for Spec. Leif Skoog, 23, a roofer back in Phoenix, was Oct. 3. He and Crane were in an RG-31 that was pushing an 8,000-pound roller in front of the vehicle, a device designed to detonate anything buried before the truck passes over it.
That's exactly what happened. The roller was destroyed, but the RG-31 survived. For those inside, there was the shock of the explosion, painful ear pressure, air made black with billowing dirt and dust, and a chemical smell that burned the nostrils.
Skoog, closer to the blast in the driver's seat, was stunned and disoriented. "It's not a physical wound," he recalls. "It's more like something doesn't feel right."
He showed signs of a mild traumatic brain injury from blast exposure, what scientists call the signature wound of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. With dizziness, headaches and minor concentration problems, Skoog was kept out of combat for two weeks.
Understanding the frequency of these wounds in a war where body and vehicle armor block shrapnel but the IED blast wave can still damage the brain was one of the hardest lessons learned by military medicine from modern wars.
"It was like a slow awakening for everybody," says Chris Macedonia, a doctor and former adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, now-retired admiral Michael Mullen. "There were phenomena that were happening, particularly related to IEDs, that just didn't match what the education and teaching were before."
Doctors found that repeated mild brain injuries from blasts — without allowing the brain time to heal — can cause permanent neurological damage, risking later onset of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's or the even more debilitating chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
A RAND Corp. report estimated in 2008 that perhaps 320,000 troops, even at that early date, had suffered concussions or mild brain injuries, mostly from blast exposure. Pentagon officials the next year put the number at 360,000.
Most were never diagnosed when the wounds occurred and sent right back into combat, and no one knows the accurate number today, says Terri Tanielian, a RAND senior research analyst.
Not until 2010, nine years into the fighting, did three military leaders — Mullen; retired general Peter Chiarelli, then-Army vice chief of staff; and Marine Commandant James Amos — push through sweeping battlefield treatment changes requiring blast-exposed troops to be pulled from combat until, as with Skoog, symptoms go away.
"It took us a long, long time," Macedonia says. "Too long."
MORE PROTECTION FOR TROOPS
As early as 2003, U.S. field commanders in Iraq began demanding for their troops something other than the boxy Humvees that were being ripped apart by this new weapon.
Soldiers and Marines had taken it upon themselves to add so-called Hillbilly armor to their vehicles or pile sandbags on the floorboards.
The Pentagon initially rushed kits to retrofit Humvees with better protection in 2003 and 2004. But the trucks remained vulnerable because of their "flat bottom, low weight, low ground clearance and aluminum body," a Pentagon inspector general report found.
A Bush administration certain the Iraq War would be short-lived failed to supply large numbers of new Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) trucks like the RG-31 until 2007. In the meantime, more than 1,400 U.S. troops died in IED blasts and 13,000 were wounded, according to JIEDDO data.
It was a USA TODAY story about the effectiveness of a limited number of MRAPs in saving the lives of Marines that led then-Defense secretary Robert Gates to order a crash program to churn out 27,000 of the trucks, including an all-terrain version for Afghanistan.
2007 STORY: Battlefield commanders pressed Pentagon for help
The Pentagon says the trucks, featuring heavy armor and V-shaped hulls for deflecting blasts, saved thousands of lives.
About $2 billion was spent training troops in dealing with IEDs, with elaborate exercises involving actors, explosions and fake gore set up in the California desert at Fort Irwin to mimic combat in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Another $7 billion went for intelligence operations to dismantle networks financing, producing and placing IEDs.
Today in the twilight of American involvement in Afghanistan, commanders are cutting the chance of death by IED even further.
Missions to clear roads, among the last going "outside the wire," are pulling back to paved highways where burying bombs is harder. Clearance convoys are shadowed by Apache attack helicopters. Night missions, peripheral lights ablaze, look like roving football stadiums.
And bomb-defeating technology on board has reached a crescendo.
The trucks are wrapped in netting that can deflect rocket-propelled grenades. Inside, soldiers wearing helmets, body armor, protective goggles and fortified underwear sit on shock-absorbing seats and track potential IED hot spots on computer screens.
From inside their armored vehicles, they can remotely inspect and probe suspicious ground with long metal arms. They can deploy robots big and small. They have electronic jammers, ground-penetrating radar and giant IED-uncovering rakes.
"There's been some crazy devices that we're not even going to use," Spc. Crane says about the many inventions provided to them.
An Obama administration eager to put the IED chapter behind it has pledged to avoid long-term operations where the bombs are a threat. And as troops come home, the Pentagon is gradually turning much of its MRAP fleet in Afghanistan into scrap.
STAYING ALIVE
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22nd Engineer Clearance Co. combat engineer soldiers talk about their mission to find and defeat improvised explosive devices. Video by Jack Gruber, USA TODAY
When Arizona National Guard engineers were clearing roads in Zabul province on Nov. 17, Staff Sgt. Alex Viola, 29, of Keller, Texas — a Green Beret on foot patrol in nearby Kandahar province advising Afghan troops — stepped on an IED and was killed.Four days earlier, another Green Beret — Staff Sgt.Richard Vazquez, 28, of Seguin, Texas — was killed by an IED on the same type of mission.
Afghan civilians and troops are now suffering the brunt of IED attacks. But the bombs still kill and maim Americans, says Navy Capt. Dan Gramins, a vascular surgeon at a U.S. hospital in Kandahar, where a trickle of U.S. casualties from IEDs arrive each month.
It was at this facility that Army Cpl. Joshua Hargis, a Ranger who lost both legs to an IED blast on Oct. 6, delivered the "salute seen around the world" from his hospital bed after receiving a Purple Heart that later went viral.
If a soldier devastated by an IED can survive to reach a hospital, military doctors have become extremely proficient at saving them. "We're good at keeping them from dying," says Gramins. "But I think as long as we're fighting IEDs, we're going to continue to have multiple amputees."
The Arizona National Guard Army engineers will finish their 10-month deployment before Christmas. So there's a giddiness when a mission is over, as soldiers tumble out of their armored containers and bear-hug one another with exaggerated glee.
Inside the wire, they know where they step is safe.
"All of us know that when you go outside the wire," says Spec. Crane, "the threat is there."
Contributing: Tom Vanden Brook and Paul Overberg
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The northern extremity of Offa's Dyke is in which Welsh town? | Afghan Civilians | Costs of War
Social & Political
Afghan Civilians
Afghan villagers sit near the bodies of children who were reported to have been killed during a NATO airstrike in Kunar province on April 7, 2013. (Photo: Reuters)
The war in Afghanistan continues destroying lives, due to the direct consequences of violence and the war-induced breakdown of public health, security, and infrastructure. Civilians have been killed by crossfire, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), assassinations, bombings, and night raids into houses of suspected insurgents. Even in the absence of fighting, unexploded ordnance from previous wars and United States cluster bombs continue to kill.
Hospitals in Afghanistan are treating large numbers of war wounded, including amputees and burn victims. The war has also inflicted invisible wounds. In 2009, the Afghan Ministry of Public Health reported that fully two-thirds of Afghans suffer from mental health problems.
Prior wars and civil conflict in the country have made Afghan society extremely vulnerable to the indirect effects of the current war. Those war effects include elevated rates of disease due to lack of clean drinking water, malnutrition, and reduced access to health care. Nearly every factor associated with premature death — poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation, lack of access to health care, environmental degradation — is exacerbated by the current war.
While Afghanistan has benefited from investments in health care that may ameliorate some of the effects of war, the results are mixed, with improvement in some areas, such as infant mortality, balanced by continuing or growing needs in other elements of public health.
About 104,000 people have been killed in the Afghanistan war since 2001. More than 31,000 of those killed have been civilians. An additional 41,000 civilians have been injured since 2001.
Key Findings
As of August 2016, more than 31,000 civilians are estimated to have died violent deaths as a result of the war.
Many Afghans dealing with ill health and war wounds find it difficult to get to hospitals and clinics because violence makes roads unsafe.
The war has exacerbated the effects of poverty, malnutrition, poor sanitation, lack of access to health care, and environmental degradation on Afghans’ health.
Recommendations
The US government should ensure that civilian deaths and injuries are included in public reporting of war deaths. It should include a tally of children killed.
(Page updated as of August 2016)
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The southern extremity of Offa's Dyke is in which Welsh town? | Offa's Dyke | UK trekking | Walking Tour of the southern section
Walking the Boundary of King Offa’s Mercia
Historic Castles and Abbeys Dating From 1066
Border Country of England and Wales
Walking in the Wye Valley
Trip Summary
Once upon a time in the 8th century, there was a ruthless King of Mercia called Offa. Such trouble had he from Welsh marauders nibbling at the toes of his kingdom, that once and for all he decided to define his territory and built a huge earthwork to do so, generally following the high ground with commanding views into the mountains and down into the valleys. Today the remaining 80 miles of embankment forms Britain’s longest archaeological monument and the basis of a famous walk: Crossing the border between England and Wales more than 10 times, the Offa’s Dyke National Trail path follows some of the finest scenery in both countries for 177 miles (285 km). Our walk follows the southern half of this trail from Chepstow to Knighton, (about half this walking distance in total). It is a journey packed with interest through patchworks of fields, over windswept ridges, across infant rivers, by ruined castles and into the old border market towns. Traditional farming methods have more or less remained intact and the hedgerows, oak woods and hay meadows form good wildlife habitats, home of buzzards and the rare Red Kite. You might even discover the even rarer Welsh Red Dragon!
Suitability
Moderate. Some long days and steep climbs and descents. Generally however undulating. Mixed weather can be expected. We would not recommend the route for first time walkers.
Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive Chepstow
Make your own way to Chepstow. Located in Monmouthshire Wales, adjoining the border with Gloucestershire located on the River Wye, Chepstow is lovely to explore. If there is time, visit the ruins of Chepstow Castle, Town Gate and Wye Bridge, constructed in 1816. Accommodation: Your first hotel was a 16th century coaching Inn. The rooms are ensuite and there is an award winning restaurant offering Welsh menus. Bar meals are also available.
Meals: Nil
Day 2 Chepstow to Redbrook 22.5 km/14 miles
This morning, the route starts from the mud flats of the River Severn at Sedbury. The trail then climbs quite steeply in places up to follow the sheer valley side of the River Wye with some fantastic viewpoints. As you head towards the Tintern Abbey meander, you will notice that you are actually walking on the Offa' s Dyke. You can really marvel at the meandering river, the cliffs and the little settlements. Descend to Redbrook, a 19th century industrial village, or up and over the hills again to the famous border town of Monmouth. Accommodation: We stay at a simple guesthouse in this village where there are two options for evening meals. You may instead be staying in Monmouth at a variety of guesthouses or B&Bs. Monmouth has a greater selection of pubs and restaurants. If you would prefer to stay in Monmouth, please let us know at the time of booking.
Meals: B
Day 3 Redbrook 26 km/16 miles or Monmouth 21 km/13 miles to Llangattock Lingoed
From Redbrook, climb up to “naval temple” for one of the best views of the entire route. Head down to Monmouth for a mid morning refreshment, crossing the 13th century gatehouse bridge. Next climb through boggy King’s Wood and then cross the Trothy River. The countryside becomes quite domesticated. The views to the north are dominated by the shapes of Skirrid and Sugfarloaf Hills. Stop in at Llantillo Crosseny village with its fine 13th century church. The village pub has features dating from the 15th century. The next stop is White Castle a 12th century Norman Castle built to protect the route from Monmouth into Wales. It is in a picturebook setting with intact walls and a little moat. Descending from the castle, bypass the village of Llanvetherine and undulate the last couple of miles along to Llangattock Lingoed. Accommodation: We stay in an attractive 17th century property which stands in an acre of garden, in this unspoilt rural hamlet that nestles in the Welsh border countryside.
Meals: B
Day 4 Llangattock Lingoed to Longtown 14.5 km/9 miles
The trail continues via Pandy where you leave the lowland farms and rivers and climb up onto the Hatterrall Ridge and into the Black Mountains. The ridge in the main follows the border of England and Wales and the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Spectacular views all around. Accommodation: Our B&B accommodation dates back to 1751.
Meals: B
Day 5 Longtown to Hay on Wye 20 km/12.5 miles
Morning steep ascent to regain the Hatterrall Ridge and then over the Cats Back and up to the highest point to the path near Red Darren at 2306 feet (703m). The ridge ends at Hay Bluff, a great northerly viewpoint towards Hay and the Wye Valley, the Hills of Radnorshire and also the Black Mountains to the west and parts of the Brecon Beacons. Next drop off the ridge and stroll via a set of five kissing gates into Hay on Wye, the capital of the second hand book trade. The town with its 12th century Keep was the site of the Anglo – Welsh power struggles in the 13th century. Accommodation: We use, an 18th century cottage guesthouse with ensuite rooms.
Meals: B
Day 6 Hay on Wye to Kington 23.5 km/14.5 miles
Crossing the River Wye, today’s walk rises into the Radnorshire Hills. The walking undulates past sites of Roman encampments until you reach Glades try for a lunchtime pub break. For the last few miles today you have to climb up and walk along the Hergest Ridge amongst thyme, gorse and Welsh ponies. Eventually drop down to Kington, actually situated in Herefordshire with its 13th century church and the parallel lanes and long back gardens that may preserve the pattern of the strips in the former open field system. Accommodation: You stay in a private home. Rooms are not ensuite however the property holds a silver award for Green Tourism.
Meals: B
Day 7 Kington to Knighton 22 km/13.5 miles
Some say this is the finest walk of the whole path, with Offa’s Dyke as your constant companion. First pass the highest golf course in England on Bradnor Hill. The trail then undulates spectacularly, but is never too steep. Beautiful westward panoramas open up across the Radnor Valley. On a clear day you get views 30 miles in each direction, over both the Brecon Beacons and The Malverns. The route climbs over a hill called Ffridd, before descending very steeply to Knighton (town of the horsemen) or Tref y Clawdd in Welsh (Town on the Dyke) as the town is on The Shropshire / Powys border. It is a very busy little market town. The market place has mainly 17th century shops and enough general entertainment to keep you amused for an evening. Accommodation: 18th century coaching inn, which has now been restored into a very comfortable guesthouse.
Meals: B
| Chepstow |
In 20-20 cricket what is the name of the Lancasshire team? | Treks
Offa�s Dyke
Offa�s Dyke (Southern Section)
Once upon a time in the 8th century, there was a ruthless King of Mercia called Offa. Such trouble had he from Welsh marauders nibbling at the toes of his kingdom, that once and for all he decided to define his territory and built a huge earthwork to do so, generally following the high ground with commanding views into the mountains and down into the valleys.
Today the remaining 80 miles of embankment forms Britain's longest archaeological monument and the basis of a famous walk: Crossing the border between England and Wales more than 10 times, the Offa's Dyke National Trail path follows some of the finest scenery in both countries for 177 miles (285 km). Our walk follows the southern half of this trail from Chepstow to Knighton, (about half this walking distance in total). It is a journey packed with interest through patchworks of fields, over windswept ridges, across infant rivers, by ruined castles and into the old border market towns. Traditional farming methods have more or less remained intact and the hedgerows, oak woods and hay meadows form good wildlife habitats, home of buzzards and the rare Red Kite. You might even discover the even rarer Welsh Red Dragon.
General Information
Duration of tour: 8 days (seven nights)
Season: April to October. Not between 26 May � 4 June (Hay on Wye festival).
Starting point: Chepstow (Wales)
End of tour: Knighton (Wales)
Grading
Moderate. Some long daysand steep climbs and descents. Generally however undulating. Mixed weather can be expected. We would not recommend the route for first time walkers.
Waymarking
National Trail Acorn marks often attached to posts and stiles. But you will have to use map interpretation especially in times of low visibility, so you should be accustomed to using map and compass.
Accommodation
Night 1: In the centre of Chepstow your first hotel was a 16th Century coaching Inn. The rooms have T.V. bathrooms and tea and coffee making facilities. There is an award winning restaurant offering Welsh menus. Bar meals are also available. There is private parking at the rear of the hotel. It may be possible to leave cars for the duration of the walk on arrangement with the hotelier.
Night 2: In Redbrook we stay at a simple guesthouse in this village. (non ensuite). Mrs. Evans is very friendly. There are two pubs close by for dinner or that real Ale experience.
Night 3: Near Llanvetherine the accommodation is a Welsh working farm (an endangered species?) dating back to the 15th century. A warm welcome will be had from the sheep and cattle there. There is a relaxed atmosphere with good home cooking available.All bedrooms have tea and coffee facilities and there is a T.V and games room. The bedrooms are not ensuite but there are washbasins in each of the rooms.
Night 4: Our accommodation tonight in the Olchon Valley is at a Cottage Farm, which has been carefully converted from a stone barn and once the home of film actor Robert Newton. The Olchon brook borders the fields where the sheep happily wander with free-range chickens and ducks. There is a nice Lounge with an Inglenook fireplace and comfortable bedrooms with beams and either ensuite or with an attached shower room.
Night 5:Once in �Booky� Hay on Wyethe guesthouse we use, an 18th century cottage, has ensuite rooms, tea and coffee, T.V etc. Look forward in the morning to a full cooked, Welsh Breakfast. For dinners there are plenty of pubs and restaurants in the town.
Night 6: Our accommodation for tonight is situated in the small market town of Kington. An attractivesmall hotel with ensuite, bar and restaurant, T.V.hospitality tray and even ironing facilities.
Night 7: Our final night is spent in a 16th Century weather boarded coaching Inn in Knighton. There has been a lot of restoration work to preserve the old beams and there is a magnificent galleried staircase. Try out the King Offa�s restaurant and the bars have traditional ales as well as bar snacks. Bedrooms have private facilities.
PLEASE NOTE: It is generally normal practice when staying in hotels that you check-in on or after 2pm and checkout by 11am the following morning. Guesthouses/bed & breakfast establishments are normally check-in on or after 4pm and checkout by 11am.
Itinerary
Day 1 Chepstow
Travel to start point. Reasonable connections from London via coach or train, around 2.5-3 hours. Or slightly slower ones from the midlands via Shrewsbury. If you arrive early enough you could start the walk(which actually starts atSedbury Cliffs to the south of Chepstow) and save yourself 2 miles tomorrow.
Day 2 Chepstow to Redbrook
The route starts from the mud flats of the River Severn atSedbury. Join the Wye valley with great views of Chepstow with its Norman Castle. The way climbs high above the Wye Valley with views then down to TinternAbbey. You can really marvel at the meanderingriver, the cliffs and the littlesettlements. Eventually descend to Redbrook, a 19th century industrial village with three pubs all with four letter names, all beginning with the letter �B�.
Day 3 Redbrook to Llanvetherine
(16 miles / 26km) climb up to �naval temple� for one of the best views of the entire route. Head down to Monmouth for a mid morning pint or a coffee, crossing the 13th Century gate house bridge. Next climb through boggy King�s Wood and then crosse the Trothy River. The countryside becoming quite domesticated. The views to the north are dominatedby the shapes of Skirrid and Sugfarloaf Hills. Another pause and a pint might be worthwhile in Llantillo Crosseny village with its fine 13th Century church. The village pub has features dating from the 15th Century.The next stop is White Castle a 12th Century Norman Castle built to protect the route from Monmouth into Wales. It is in a picturebook setting with intact walls and a little moat around it. Another mile brings you into Llanvetherine.
Day 4 Llanvetherine to Longtown
The trail continues via Llangattock-Lingoed and Pandy where we at last leave the lowland farms and rivers and climb up onto the Hatterrall Ridge and into the Black Mountains. The ridge in the main follows the border of England and Wales and the edge of the Brecon Beacons National Park. Spectacular views all around in good weather. After a few miles along the ridge you will need to drop down to your nice farm accommodation in the Olchon Valley.
Day 5 Olchon Cottage (Long town) to Hay on Wye
Morning steep ascent to regain the Hatterrall Ridge, and thenover the Cats Back and up to thehighest point to the path near Red Darren at2306 feet (703m). The ridge ends at Hay Bluff, a great northerly viewpoint towards Hay and the Wye Valley, the Hills of Radnorshire and also the Black mountains to the west and parts of the Brecon Beacons. Next drop off theridgestroll viaa set offivekissing gates into Hay on Wye, the capital of the second handbook trade. The townwith its 12th Century Keep was thesite ofthe Anglo � Welshpower struggles in the 13th Century.
Day 6 Hay on Wye toKington
Crossing the River Wye, today�s walk rises into the Radnorshire Hills. The walking undulates past sites of Roman encampments until you reach Glades try maybe for a lunchtime pub break. Don�t drink too much though, for thelast few miles today you haveto climb up and walk along theHergest Ridge amongst Thyme, gorse and Welsh Ponies. Eventually drop down to Kington, actually situated in Herefordshire with 13th Century Church and the parallel lanes and long back gardens that may preserve the pattern of the strips in the former open field system.
Day 7 Kington to Knighton
Some say this is the finest day�s walk of the whole path, with Offa�s Dyke as your constant Companion. First pass the highest Golf course in England on Bradnor Hill. The trail then undulates spectacularly, but is never too steep. Beautiful westward panoramas open up across the Radnor Valley.On a clear day you get views of 30 miles in each direction, over both the Brecon Beacons and The Malverns. The route finally climbs over a hill called Ffridd, before descending very steeply to Knighton (town of the horsemen) or Tref y Clawdd in Welsh (Town on the Dyke) as the town is on The Shropshire / Powys border. It is a very busy little Market town. The market place has mainly 17th century shops, and enough general entertainment to keep you amused for an evening.
Day 8 End of tour!
After breakfast, head off perhaps on the delightful Border Railway.
What�s Included
Bed and breakfast with mostly en-suite facilities. (2 nights however without). A mixture of hotels, guesthouses and farmhouses are used. Luggage transfers from Inn to Inn. Trail Book (containing maps) and basic notes on the accommodations are provided in your package.
Extending your stay
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What nationality was the artist Frida Khalo? | Frida Kahlo Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works | The Art Story
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"I've done my paintings well... and they have a message of pain in them, but I think they'll interest a few people. They're not revolutionary, so why do I keep on believing they're combative?"
Synopsis
Frida Kahlo's work was influenced by traumatic physical and psychological events from her childhood and early adulthood, including a crippling accident and the infidelity of her husband. In addition to personal issues, Kahlo's often brooding and introspective subject matter also deals with questions of national identity. Her mixed ancestry - Mexican and German - provided a rich source of subject matter, particularly during the Second World War, when Kahlo changed the spelling of her first name to one that was less Germanic. Her works are often categorized as Surrealist because of her sometimes bizarre and disturbing themes, but unlike the Surrealists, Kahlo was not interested in subject matter derived from dreams or the subconscious - her art was almost always starkly autobiographical. In later life, she was forced to rely on painkillers that affected the quality of her output. She has now become a cultural icon and is especially revered in her home country for her focus on her Mexican identity, or Mexicanidad.
Key Ideas
Using her personal tragedies - both physical and psychological - combined with a realistic painting style, Kahlo produced images that were emotionally raw and visually disturbing. Her artistic output was dominated by self-portraits that often show the artist suffering.
Kahlo's interest in her own mixed German-Mexican ancestry in conjunction with the influence of her husband's strong nationalism in his own art meant that many of Kahlo's works dealt with combined issues of national identity, her husband's looming presence as an artist in his own right, and/or her role as La Mexicana, the traditional Mexican woman and wife.
Though not an official member of Surrealism, Kahlo's bizarre imagery along with her linear style was reminiscent of Surrealists such as Salvador Dalí with the difference being that Kahlo's subject matter was deeply personal rather than humorous or intellectual. She was not interested in automatic writing, biomorphism, dreams or the subconscious, all of which provided a focus for Surrealism.
Most Important Art
The Two Fridas (Las dos Fridas) (1939)
This double self-portrait is one of Kahlo's most recognized compositions, and is symbolic of the artist's pain during her divorce from Rivera and the subsequent transitioning of her constructed identity. On the right, the artist is shown in modern European attire, wearing the costume she donned prior to her marriage to Rivera. Throughout their marriage, given Rivera's strong nationalism, Kahlo became increasingly interested in indigenism and began to explore traditional Mexican costume, which she wears in the portrait on the left. It is the Mexican Kahlo that holds a locket with an image of Rivera. The stormy sky in the background, and the artist's bleeding heart - a fundamental symbol of Catholicism and also symbolic of Aztec ritual sacrifice - accentuate Kahlo's personal tribulation and physical pain. Symbolic elements frequently possess multiple layers of meaning in Kahlo's pictures; the recurrent theme of blood represents both metaphysical and physical suffering, gesturing also to the artist's ambivalent attitude toward accepted notions of womanhood and fertility.
Oil on canvas - Museum of Modern Art, Mexico City, Mexico
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Biography
Childhood
Frida Kahlo (Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo Calderon) was born in what is now known as Casa Azul in Coyoacan, a town on the outskirts of Mexico City. Her father, Wilhelm Kahlo, was German, and had moved to Mexico at a young age where he remained for the rest of his life, eventually taking over the photography business of Kahlo's mother's family. Kahlo's mother, Matilde Calderon y Gonzalez, born of mixed Spanish and Indian ancestry, was Wilhelm's second wife, and raised Frida and her five sisters in a strict and religious household. Aside from her mother's rigidity and tendency toward hysteric outbursts, several events in Kahlo's childhood affected her psyche for the rest of her life. At age six, Kahlo contracted polio and was forced to remain in bed for nine months, walking with a limp after recovery. Wilhelm, with whom Kahlo was very close, enrolled his daughter at the German College in Mexico City and introduced Kahlo to the writings of European philosophers such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Friedrich Schiller, and Arthur Schopenhauer. Kahlo's mixed European and Mexican heritage permanently affected the artist's approach to her life and artwork. Following the Mexican Revolution and Minister of Education Jose Vasconcelos's new education policy, in 1922, Kahlo was one of 35 girls admitted to the National Preparatory School, where she planned to study medicine, botany, and the social sciences. The artist befriended a dissident group of students known as the Cachuchas, who confirmed Kahlo's rebellious spirit and her interest in poetry and literature. In 1925, Kahlo was involved in a nearly fatal bus accident, where she suffered multiple fractures throughout her body and a crushed pelvis. She spent nine months in the hospital, immobile and bound in a plaster corset. During her long recovery she began experimenting in small-scale autobiographical portraiture, permanently abandoning her medical pursuits.
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Early Training
Kahlo's early training was drawn from an eclectic mix of influences. As a child in her father's photography studio, she learned to work in a small format with a meticulous attention to minute details. This acute pictorial realism influenced the artist's intensity of approach to psychological portraiture. During her years at the National Preparatory School, Kahlo also took drawing lessons in Fernando Fernandez's studio where she acquired training in draftsmanship. At age 15, Kahlo witnessed Diego Rivera painting the Creation mural (1922) in the amphitheater of the Preparatory School, a moment of infatuation and fascination for the young artist that she would pursue later in life. But, despite these directions, Kahlo's most influential early experimentation with painting was during the months of convalescence at home after her bus accident. Gifted with a set of paints from her father, Kahlo spent hours studying herself, and more importantly, confronting existential questions raised by her trauma such as dissociation from identity, death, and interiority. The duality of autobiographical content - both the physical experience and interiority of the person - evolved as the central qualities of Kahlo's painting practice. In 1927, slowly recovering, Kahlo was forced to contribute to her family's expenses and her medical bills. In contact with her friends from the Cachuchas group, Kahlo began to familiarize herself with the artistic and Communist circles in Mexico City, including figures such as the militant photo-journalist Tina Modotti and the Cuban revolutionary Julio Antonio Mella. In 1928, having officially joined the Mexican Communist Party, Kahlo sought out Diego Rivera in order to discuss a possible career as an artist. One year later, the two married and moved to Cuernavaca where Kahlo devoted herself to indigenous themes in painting, at times even embodying Mexican folkloric rituals wearing a traditional Tehuana costume for her spouse.
Mature Period
By the early 1930s, Kahlo's painting evolved to include a more assertive sense of Mexican identity, a facet of her artwork that stemmed from her exposure to the modernist indigenist movement in Mexico and her interest in preserving the revival of Mexicanidad during the rise of fascism in Europe. Kahlo's interest in distancing herself from her Germanic roots is evidenced in her change of name from Frieda to Frida. Concurrently, two failed pregnancies in the early 1930s, in addition to the revival of Mexican folkloric expression such as the ex-voto, contributed to Kahlo's simultaneously harsh and beautiful representation of the female experience through symbolism and autobiography. Throughout the 1930s, life in Mexico was tense for Kahlo: Rivera was an unfaithful husband and the revolutionary climate leading up to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War made for an explosive atmosphere. Kahlo separated from Rivera in 1935, renting a flat in Mexico City, and began a short-lived affair with the Japanese sculptor Isamu Noguchi. The following year, Kahlo joined the Fourth International and returned to the Casa Azul, which became a meeting point for international intellectuals, artists, and activists and where she ensured the safety of Leon Trotsky and his wife. Several of Kahlo's masterpieces, including The Two Fridas (1939), were painted in the late1930s and early 19s and reflect the difficulty of this period. In a visit to Mexico City in 1938, the founder of Surrealism, André Breton, was enchanted with Kahlo's painting, and hosted the artist's first exhibition in Paris in 1939 at Galerie Renou et Colle. The show was enormously successful; however, the Western, romanticized vision of pastoral Mexico by members of the European bourgeois disgusted Kahlo, though she would exhibit with the Surrealists in the Mexico City exhibition Apparition: the Great Sphinx of the Night in January 1940, which was considered the first international exhibition of Surrealism in the Americas.
Late Years and Death
Following Trotsky's assassination, Kahlo joined Rivera in San Francisco in September of 1940. Kahlo had fallen ill, and was treated by her private doctor, Dr. Eloesser. Kahlo remarried Rivera shortly after, and, returned to Mexico City, where the two maintained separate flats. Kahlo continued to dote on her muse, sending him love notes wherever he was working. Throughout the 1940s, the artist's work grew in notoriety and acclaim from international collectors, and was included in several group shows in Mexico. In 1946, Kahlo received a national prize for her painting Moses, and the year after she was offered a teaching position at La Esmeralda. Meanwhile, the artist grew progressively ill from from the long-term effects of her childhood traumas. By June 1946, Kahlo could no longer remain upright and underwent an unsuccessful bone-graft operation on her spine in New York. In 1950, Kahlo was again hospitalized for nine months at the English Hospital in Mexico. Kahlo continued to paint in her final years while also maintaining her political activism, protesting nuclear testing by Western powers. Kahlo exhibited one last time in Mexico in 1953 at Lola Alvarez Bravo's gallery, the artist's first solo show in Mexico. She was brought to the event in an ambulance and had her four-poster bed placed at the center of the gallery. Kahlo died on July 13, 1954 at Casa Azul, which is today the Frida Kahlo Museum.
Legacy
A strong individualist who was disengaged from any official artistic movement, Kahlo's artwork has been associated with primitivism, indigenism, and Surrealism. Posthumously, Kahlo's artwork has grown profoundly influential for feminist studies and postcolonial debates, while Kahlo has become an international cultural icon. The artist's celebrity status for mass audiences has resulted in the compartmentalization of the artist's work as representative of interwar Latin American artwork at large, distanced from the complexities of Kahlo's deeply personal subject matter. Recent exhibitions, such as Unbound: Contemporary Art After Frida Kahlo (2014) at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago have attempted to reframe Kahlo's cultural significance by underscoring her lasting impact on the politics of the body and Kahlo's challenge to mainstream aesthetics of representation.
Influences and Connections
| Mexico |
In the cartoon series 'Asterix the Gaul' what is the name of the chief druid of Asterix's Gaulish village who makes all of the potions and medicines? | Frida Kahlo, Biography, Bio, Diego Rivera
"The only thing I know...is that I paint because
I need to. "
"I never painted dreams.... I painted my own reality.
I paint what ever
passes through my head without any other consideration. "
"I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone... because I am the subject I know best. "
"I've done my paintings well, not quickly but patiently, and they have a
message of pain in them. "
"I am not sick
I am broken... but I am happy to be alive
as long as I can paint.... "
....Frida Kahlo
As a young woman, becoming a painter was not a part of Frida's career goals. Her goal in life was to become a doctor but a tragic accident at age 18 changed the course of her life forever.
Frida's life began where it ended
in the "Blue House" built by her father in Coyoacán, Mexico, then a suburb of Mexico City. Her official birth certificate says she was born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Calderon at 8:30am on July 6th, 1907. But, in later years, Frida proudly claimed to have been born at 1:00am on July 7th, 1910, to coincide with the date the Mexican Revolution began, but actually she changed the date to simply make herself younger. She later changed the German spelling of her name from "Frieda" to "Frida". She was the third of four daughters born to a Hungarian/German-Jewish father and a mother of Spanish and Mexican Indian descent: Matilde (1898-1951), Adriana (1902-1968), Frida (1907-1954) and Cristina (1908-1964).
Frida's father, Wilhelm Kahlo , was the son of jeweler Jakob Heinrich Kahlo and Henriette Kaufmann. He arrived in Mexico in 1891 at the age of 19 with little money and "No Hablo Español". Once in Mexico, he changed his German name, Wilhelm Kahlo, to a more Spanish name "Guillermo Kahlo", traded his Jewish religion for atheism, and never looked back. He found employment at a fashionable jewelry store in Mexico City that was owned by the Diener brothers. Soon after his arrival in Mexico, he married Maria Cardena and had three girls with her, the second of which died days after her birth and his wife Maria herself died following the birth of their third infant, leaving Guillermo alone with his two young daughters, Maria Luisa (b. 1894) and Margarita (b.1898). Kahlo himself was not a well man, he suffered from epilepsy throughout his entire life.
On the night of Maria Cardena's death in 1898, Guillermo asked for the hand of Frida's mother, Matilde Calderón y Gonzalez , a 24 year old fellow worker at the jewelry store where Guillermo was employed. Guillermo married Matilde who was a devout Catholic and a native born "mestizo" Mexican (Matilde's mother was Spanish and her father of Mexican/Indian descent ). The Calderon-Kahlo marriage was not a match made in heaven. Matilde later confessed to her young daughter Frida that she did not love Guillermo. She only married Guillermo because he was German and he reminded her of a previous young German lover, Luis Bauer, who had committed suicide in her presence. Shortly after the marriage, Guillermo's two young daughters from his previous marriage were sent away to a nun's school. It was from Matilde's father that Guillermo learned the trade of photography and he set himself up in business as a professional photographer.
When Matilde became pregnant with Frida, she had just lost her only son who died of pneumonia just days after birth. After giving birth to Frida, Matilde was too ill to care for or even to feed her newborn daughter. Frida had to be breastfed by an Indian wet-nurse whom the Kahlo's hired for that specific purpose. This may be the reason that Frida never formed a strong mother-daughter bond with her mother. Frida's wet-nurse experience was the inspiration for her 1937 painting "My Nurse & I" . The wet-nurse was eventually fired for drinking on the job.
At age 6, Frida was struck with polio affecting the use of her right leg. Her leg grew very thin, and her foot was stunted in its growth. During her nine month convalescence, her father made sure that she regularly exercised the muscles in her leg and foot. Despite their efforts, her leg and foot remained deformed. Frida attempted to hide it by wearing pants, long skirts or two pairs of socks on her right foot. She was cruelly nicknamed "peg-leg Frida" by her childhood classmates.
In 1922, after completion of her primary education at the Colegio Aleman, Mexico's German school, Frida enrolled at the Escuela National Preparatoria school, where she hoped to become a doctor. The school was located in Mexico City, an hour bus ride from Coyoacan. Frida was one of only 35 girls to attend this prestigious school of 2000 students. Frida's mother did not approve of sending Frida to a school so far from home and further thought it was unnecessary for a young woman to acquire such a formal education. After all, she had taught Frida to cook, sew and clean
all of the skills a woman of those days needed. But Frida's father had great hopes for his "favorite daughter" and was determined to see that she got the best education possible.
At first, Frida thrived on the intellectual and cultural stimulation at the school. By age 16 Frida was able to read not only in Spanish but English and German as well. But Frida soon became bored with the teachers, classes and her classmates and often skipped classes. She became a member of a political group of intellectual bohemians that supported socialist-nationalist ideas and devoted themselves intensively to literature and mischief. They named thier group "Cachuchas" after the type of hats they wore. The group consisted of 7 boys and 2 girls. The leader of the group was Alejandro Gomez Arias, a law student, journalist and later Frida's first lover. The group would often play pranks on unsuspecting students and teachers. For one of the more serious pranks, Frida was expelled but quickly managed to get the suspension revoked before her family learned of the incident.
During this same period, the "Mexican Renaissance" movement began. The government sponsored local artists to paint murals in churches, schools, libraries, and public buildings. It was at the Preparatioria school that Frida first learned of Diego Rivera, who was painting his mural "Creation" at the school's Simon Bolivar auditorium. Although students were forbidden to enter the auditorium while "El Maestro" was working, Frida would hide in the back and watch him for hours. She became fascinated by the "larger than life" man whom she nicknamed "Panzon" (fat belly). One day she shocked a friend by telling her that she one day wanted to have a child by Diego Rivera.
In September of 1925, Frida was in her senior year and looking forward to graduation and already making plans to attend medical school. But, September 17, 1925 would become the day in which Frida's destiny was changed forever. On that day, Frida and her boyfriend, Alejandro, got onto the bus to head home from school. Shortly afterwards, the bus was stuck broadside by a trolley car. Frida sustained multiple injuries; a broken pelvic bone, spinal column, and other severe injuries, leading doctors to doubt whether she would survive. She spent the next several months in bed recovering from the accident. Little did she know at the time that she would endure some 30 operations throughout her lifetime in an attempt to correct the damage sustained in that accident. Doctor's told Frida that she would probably never be able to carry a child to full term. This accident changed the course of her life forever. It was during her months of convalescence that Frida began to take painting seriously. Her only previous artistic tuition had been a few drawing lessons from the commercial printmaker Fernando Fernandez, for whom Frida worked part-time as a paid apprentice.
Frida's father, an amateur artist, gave Frida his paints and brushes and her mother had a carpenter constructed an easel that sat on her bed. A large mirror was mounted on the underside of the bed canopy so Frida could see herself. She began by painting portraits of herself, friends and still life. Throughout Frida's short life, she created 151 paintings, most of which were self-portraits and still life. Frida feared that after her death she would be forgotten and self-portraits were her way of immortalizing herself.
After the bus accident, Frida's relationship with Alejandro began to crumble. There were fewer and fewer visits. In late December of 1925, Frida started to regain the use of her legs. Her first journey was to Mexico City to visit Alejandro. She arrived at his home and knocked on the door but he never came out to meet her.
In 1926, Frida painted her first self-portrait: "Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress" , her first serious work and the first of many self-portraits to come. It was painted as a gift for her boyfriend, Alejandro, who had left her suspecting her of infidelities. Alejandro admired Italian Renaissance art and would often give Frida reproductions of Old Masters paintings. "Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress" is Frida's interpretation of Botticelli's "Venus" which Alejandro admired.
Frida started the self-portrait in March of 1926 and finished it in September. Prior to sending the painting to Alejandro she wrote him a note of apology:
"Within a few days the portrait will be in your house. Forgive me for sending it without a frame. I implore you to put it in a low place where you can see it as if you were looking at me."
In March of 1927, Alejandro's parents sent him on a four month tour of Europe with his uncle
.mainly to separate him from Frida of whom they did not approve. By then Alejandro had also grown tired of Frida and wanted to escape from her "possessive" grip. While he was away, Frida wrote to him often to express her feelings and love for him. Alejandro was supposed to return in July but July came and went and Alejandro was still in Europe. When he finally returned in November there was a brief reconciliation with Frida but soon their relationship diminished and they drifted apart.
By the end of 1927, Frida's health had recovered to the extent that she was once more living a largely "normal" life. Although her school friends had already graduated and moved on to the university, she resumed contact with them and joined the Young Communist League.
At the start of 1928, a friend from her school days introduced her to a group of young people centered around the Cuban Communist Julio Antonio Mella, who was currently in exile in Mexico. One of the group members was the photographer and silent film star Tina Modotti, the lover of Mella and an acquaintance of Diego Rivera. It was at a party hosted by Modotti that Frida finally met Diego Rivera face-to-face for the first time. Frida described their first encounter as distant until Diego pulled his pistol and shot the phonograph. It was then she said: "
that I began to be interested in him although I was also afraid of him". Frida left the party that night without ever speaking to Diego.
Soon after, Frida showed Diego some of her paintings and asked him what he thought of her own efforts and whether he considered her talented. "You have talent..." Diego told her and encouraged her to continue painting. Diego was not only impressed by her paintings but with Frida herself and began courting her...he became a frequent visitor on Sundays. It was during their courtship that Diego suggested Kahlo begin wearing traditional Mexican clothing, which consisted of long, colorful dresses and exotic jewelry.
Diego incorporated a portrait of Frida into his "Ballad of the Revolution" mural in the Ministry of Public Education. She appears in a panel he called "Frida Kahlo Distributes the Weapons". Dressed in a black skirt and red shirt, and wearing a red star on her breast, she is shown as a member of the Mexican Communist Party, which she in fact joined in 1928. Rivera continued to be a frequent visitor at the "Blue House".
On August 21, 1929, in a civil ceremony in the town hall of Coyoacán, Frida Kahlo married Diego Rivera . She wore a long skirt and a blouse borrowed from her Indian maid and draped herself in a red reboso shawl. Diego wore a plain gray suit, his Stetson hat and a Colt revolver at his side. Diego was 42 years old, 6' 1" and 300 pounds; Frida was 22, 5'3" and just 98 pounds. Frida's mother did not approve of the union and did not attend the wedding ceremony. She said that Diego was too old, too fat and worse yet he was a Communist and an atheist. She described the marriage as being: "
the marriage between an elephant and a dove." Frida's father however, an atheist himself, was less resistant to the marriage and did attend the wedding ceremony. He understood that Diego had the financial means to provide for his daughter's medical needs. On one of Diego's frequent visits to the Kahlo home, Frida's father took Diego aside and said, "My daughter is sick and always will be
.she's intelligent but not pretty
I see that you are interested in my daughter
eh..?" When Rivera replied that he was, Kahlo said, "She is a devil". "I know
" Diego replied. "Well, I've warned you," Kahlo said and left the room. Frida's father was the only one to attend the wedding ceremony. Some of Frida's friends were shocked by her choice while others saw it as a way to advance her own career as an artist.
The local newspaper, La Prensa, described the wedding as "
modest, without ostentation, without pompous and unpretentious". The article started by identifying Frida as "
.one of his [Diego's] disciples" and then went on to describe her attire as "
very simple street clothes". After the wedding Frida moved out of the Blue House to live with Diego in the center of the city.
At the wedding reception that followed, Diego proceeded to get obnoxiously drunk. In a drunken rage he broke another mans little finger, broke several items on the table and brandished his pistol. Frida was furious at his behavior. They argued and Frida left in tears. She did not move in with Diego until several days later.
Frida soon became pregnant but had to undergo an abortion because the fetus was incorrectly positioned due to her fractured pelvis. Frida disparately wanted a child but Diego did not want children partly because his painting commissions obligated them to travel a great deal.
Shortly after their marriage, Diego was expelled from the Communist Party after accepting another commission from the Mexican government to paint a series of murals at the Cortes Palace in Cuernavaca, South of Mexico City. As a result of Diego's expulsion, Frida, demonstrating her loyalty to him, also left the Communist Party. Although they distanced themselves from the Party, they did not abandon the goals of Communism and continued to support the Party from the sidelines
During this period, the North Americans were very interested in the cultural development of the so-called "Mexican Renaissance" movement in Mexico. The United States represented a powerful magnet for Mexican artists to profit from its more strongly developed art market. Rivera was determined to capitalize on the opportunity and accepted a commission to paint murals for the San Francisco Stock Exchange and the California School of Fine Arts.
On November 10th, 1930, the newly-wed couple left Mexico for a three-year sojourn in the United States. Their first stop was San Francisco where Diego was commissioned to paint murals in the San Francisco Stock Exchange Luncheon Club and the California School of Fine Arts (San Francisco Art Institute). They moved into a large studio at 716 Montgomery Street that belonged to Ralph Stackpole, San Francisco's leading artist in the 1920s and 1930s. Although they arrived at the beginning of the "Great Depression", there always seemed to be money for murals and lavish welcoming parties. San Francisco's elite society idolized Diego but scrutinized Frida as just an object of curiosity. Other than her trips to China Town where she fell in love with the Chinese children, Frida was unimpressed with San Francisco. She avoided the people whom she described as "boring" and "...they all have faces like unbaked rolls". In a letter to her friend, Isabel Campos, Frida wrote: "I have no women friends
and that's why I spend my time painting".
Up to this point, Frida had painted only to amuse herself and never considered herself to be an artist. She would often accompany Diego to his worksite and paint small paintings on pieces of tin or board. In 1931, while in San Francisco, Frida painted "Frieda and Diego Rivera" , a folkloric style double-portrait that may have been based on a wedding photograph. The painting, shown at the "Sixth Annual Exhibition of the San Francisco Society of Women Artists", was the first public showing of her work. A San Francisco newspaper article described the work as being "
valuable only because it was painted by the wife of Diego Rivera".
The couple remained in San Francisco while Diego worked on the commissioned murals. Diego selected the beautiful tennis star Helen Moody as his model for one of the panels in the Pacific Stock Exchange mural "Allegory of California". As was his usual practice, he began an affair with the tennis beauty. In retaliation, Frida began a sexual affair with Christina Hastings, the wife of one of Diego's assistances. During this time, the pain and deformity in Frida's right leg worsened and she was hospitalized. There she met Dr. Leo Eloesser, a well-known surgeon. He diagnosed her physical problems as being stress related and recommended bed rest and a healthy diet. Dr Eloesser became Frida's friend and most trusted medical advisor for the rest of her life. Frida painted his portrait as an expression of her gratitude for his friendship and medical advice.
In a letter to her friend Isabel Campos, Frida wrote: "I have no women friends
.that's why I spend my life painting". The Rivera's planed to return together to Mexico on June 8th after Diego finished the murals. Frida, however, bored with "Gringolandia", left in May. Diego left on June 8th as scheduled. While back in Mexico, Frida met the Hungarian born photographer Nickolas Muray who was vacationing in Mexico and visiting friends. Muray was a well known and socially prominent fashion photographer from New York. They were immediately attracted to one another and began a secret "on-again/off-again" love affair that would last for nearly 10 years.
In November the Rivera's sailed aboard the Morro Castle to New York to attend the opening of Diego's retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art on December 22. Upon their arrival in New York, the couple was greeted by New York's rich and famous but the spotlight again was on Diego. Frida was simply referred to as "the young Mexican girl on the arm of Diego Rivera" and described as "shy" and "...did a bit of painting herself". In New York, as in San Francisco, Frida was ignored as an artist and had no identity of her own. She continued to be referred to only as "Mrs. Rivera". Diego's exhibit consisted of 150 works and 8 mural panels. The show was an over whelming success...only adding to Diego's popularity and status.
In April of 1932, the couple moved to Detroit where Rivera had been awarded a commission from the Ford Motor Company to paint a mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts. While in Detroit, they stayed in a one-bedroom furnished apartment in the Wardell, a large residential hotel. The hotel was conveniently located at 15 Kirby East and Woodward Avenue, across the street from the Detroit Institute of Arts where Diego would be working. Having lived in cosmopolitan New York, Frida was not impressed with Detroit....she referred to it as "a shabby old village". Frida became pregnant once again but after only three and a half months her second pregnancy ended in miscarriage at the Henry Ford Hospital. Diego never wanted children and Frida knew it. She took quinine in an attempt to abort, but it did not happen right away. On July 4th, Frida was hospitalized with severe hemorrhaging and later suffered a miscarriage. She spent the next 13 days recovering in the hospital. Her painting "Henry Ford Hospital" documents every aspect of the tragic event.
In early September of 1932, Frida received word that her mother was gravely ill. She and her friend Lucienne Bloch returned to Mexico. On September 8th they arrived in Coyoacán and on September 15th, Frida's mother died after suffering from breast cancer and gall-bladder surgery just two days earlier. Despite Frida's attempts to bond with her mother, they always remained distant. She referred to her mother as "El Jefe" (The Boss). Frida recalled that "I have my father's eyes and my mother's body". Frida was her father's favorite daughter. "She is the most intelligent of all my daughters and the most like me" he would say.
On October 21, Kahlo and Bloch returned to Detroit where Diego continued work on his murals.
Diego worked long hours in an effort to complete the Detroit murals on schedule
he had little time for Frida. To combat boredom, Frida began to paint. One day while painting in her hotel room, a local newspaper reporter came to Frida's room and asked if she could interview her for a featured column about "visiting homes of interesting people". Of course in the interview Frida was her own witty self and played the role of the innocent "adoring wife". When the article was published the heading read: "Wife of Master Mural Painter Gleefully Dabbles in Works of Art"... but in the article Frida proclaimed that "Of course he [Diego] does pretty well for a little boy, but it is I who am the big artist."
After completing the Detroit murals in March of 1933, Diego and Frida traveled to New York City where Rivera was commissioned to paint a mural in the Rockefeller Center. While Diego painted the mural, Frida began work on her painting "My Dress Hangs There"
a painting that expressed her discontentment with the United States, its social decay and its fundamental human values. In this painting, Frida expresses her dim view of the United States which is just the opposite view of Diego's who was expressing his approval of the industrial progress in his own mural. Frida was homesick and wanted to return to Mexico but Diego insisted that it was for the best if they stayed in the United States.
In early May, Rockefeller confronted Rivera about the use of Lenin's portrait in the mural. Rockefeller pleaded with Rivera to paint over the portrait but Rivera refused, reminding Rockefeller that he had reviewed the preliminary sketches and approved them. As a compromise, Rivera offered to include a bust of Abraham Lincoln...but no deal. On May 9th, 1933, Rivera's Rockefeller Center commission was abruptly terminated and the unfinished mural was destroyed. Four days later, General Motors canceled the Chicago World's Fair commission.
In June, Rivera accepted a mural commission for the New Worker's School. After its completion in December, Diego was out of work. Despite all the controversy over his New York mural, Diego liked America and wanted to stay but Frida could think of nothing else but returning to her beloved Mexico. Finally, when Diego realized they were broke, he conceded and agreed to return to Mexico. Close friends of the Rivera's took up a collection to pay for their passage back to Mexico. On December 20, 1933, they boarded the Oriente for Havana and then on to Veracruz, Mexico.
Upon their return they move into a new double studio-house in San Angel designed and built for them by Juan O'Gorman. The house consisted of two separate structures and each side consisted of a studio and living quarters...one side for Frida and the other larger side for Diego. The two structures were joined on the top level by a foot bridge. Frida devoted most of her time to decorating her new abode although she did find time to finish the painting she started in New York: " My Dress Hangs There ".
In early 1934, after being pregnant for 3 months, Frida's third pregnancy and health was again in trouble. She underwent an appendectomy, an abortion, and an operation on her foot in which three toes were removed. At the time Frida was having an affair with the Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi so it's possible that the aborted child was his. Shortly afterwards Frida learned that Diego was having an affair with her younger sister Christina. Although Cristina was married, her husband had abandoned her and their two children. Cristina had become Diego's favorite models and she began appearing in his murals. Frida suspected Diego was having yet another affair but never ever considered the fact that "the other woman" might be her own sister. Frida was devastated by the discovery and the couple separated. She felt betrayed by the two people she loved most of all....she said she felt "murdered by life". Frida left the house in San Angel for several months and took her own apartment at 432 Avenida Insurgentes in central Mexico City. Distraught over the affair with Christina and her separation from Diego, Frida painted nothing during that year. The following year she painted "A Few Small Nips" in which she projects her emotional pain onto another woman's misfortune. She occupied her time away from Diego with alcohol, parties and frequenting the cantinas in Mexico City and the local pulquerias.
By the end of 1935 Frida returned to the house in San Angel and she and Diego reconciled. Although reconciled, they lead separate lives
.Frida kept to herself on one side of the duplex structure and Diego on the other. Although the two separate quarters were connected on the top level by a foot bridge, the door leading to Frida's side could be, and alsays was, locked from the inside.
Despite all of the physical and emotional pain in Frida's life, she was an outgoing person who used many 4 letter words in her conversations. She loved to smoke, drink tequila and sing off color songs to guests at the many parties she hosted. She loved telling dirty jokes just to shock her guests. People were taken by her beauty and everywhere she went, people stopped in their tracks to stare at her. Men wanted her and women wanted to be her. Beautiful, intelligent, and immensely talented, Kahlo was considered one of the most desirable women of her day. She was romantically linked with movie stars, artists, and politicians of many nationalities, many of whom came to visit her at the "Blue House" in Coyoacán. During her separation from Diego, Frida engaged in several affairs with both men and women. Diego overlooked her relationships with other women but was infuriated by her affairs with other men....Frida was careful to keep those escapades a secret.
In 1936, the Spanish Civil War erupted. Frida and Diego worked together on behalf of the Republicans, raising money for Mexicans fighting against Franco's forces. In January of 1937, Leon Trotsky and his wife, Natalia Sedova, arrived in Mexico, where Leon had been granted political asylum, largely through Diego's intervention. They took up residence with Frida's father Guillermo in the "Blue House" in Coyoacán. Shortly after their arrival, Frida and Trotsky became close and engaged in a secret relationship. Trotsky's political status and Diego's admiration for him made him a prime target for an affair that would give Diego a few more "nips" for his affair with Cristina. Frida and Trotsky would converse only in English, a language which was still foreign to his wife Natalia. They would pass love notes to each other hidden in books that they would loan each other. Sexual encounters between the two followed. Their affair some how went unnoticed by Diego but Natalia knew her womanizing husband and didn't have to understand English to notice Frida's not so subtle advances towards her husband. But Frida soon grew tired of "the old man" as she called him, and the affair ended in July. After their relationship ended, Frida painted a self-portrait and gave it to Trotsky who hung it on the wall in his study. When the Trotsky's moved from the Blue House in April of 1939, Trotsky, at the request of his wife, left the painting behind.
During 1937 Frida again began to paint and it was during this period that she produced some of her best work. Four of Frida's paintings, " My Grandparents, My Parents and I " and three other paintings, were included in a group exhibition at the Galleria de Arte at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Although she considered this exhibit to be "
small and in a rotten place", her goal was to become financially independent of Diego through the sale of her paintings. In a letter to her friend Lucienne Bloch she wrote: "I send them there without any enthusiasm..." Little did Frida know that this show would be her lucky break. During the exhibit, Frida's work caught the eye of the New York gallery owner Julien Levy. He later wrote to Frida to ask her if she would be interested in an exhibit of her works in his gallery in Manhattan. Of course Frida enthusiastically replied "YES" and sent him photographs of other paintings. Levy requested that she send 30 paintings for a November show. For the next year Frida worked long hours to complete several new paintings for the exhibition. When Diego learned of the proposed show, he encouraged her, claiming it would be good for her and her career.
In April of 1938, French poet and surrealist André Breton and his wife, the painter Jacqueline Lamba, visited Mexico in order to meet Leon Trotsky. They stayed with Guadalupe Marin, Diego River's previous wife, and meet the Kahlo-Riveras. When Breton saw Kahlo's unfinished "What the Water Gave Me" , the metaphorical self-portrait of what life had given her...floating on the water of her bathtub...he immediately labeled her a "surrealist", and offered to show her work in Paris. "I never knew I was a surrealist" Frida said, "till Andre Breton came to Mexico and told me I was." In later years in a letter to a friend she wrote: "Some critics have tried to classify me as a Surrealist; but I do not consider myself to be a Surrealist
..Really I do not know whether my paintings are Surrealist or not, but I do know that they are the frankest expression of myself
I detest Surrealism."
In October, Frida traveled to New York for her first one-person exhibition at the Julien Levy Gallery, (November 1 - 15). Frida was reluctant to go but Rivera encouraged her by saying it would be good for her art career. That proved to be true but Rivera's real motive was to punish her for her "not so secret" affair with Trotsky in 1937. With her she carried letters of introduction from Diego to his friends and acquaintances in the "high society" of New York's art world. This time Frida had achieved the status of "artist" and was no longer referred to as just "the wife of Diego Rivera". But not everyone was so quick and enthusiastic to receive "Señora Rivera, the artist". The poisoned pen art critics lay in wait taking aim to fire at will. However, when the smoke cleared, her exotic presence, her costumes, and her bold attitude had charmed them all. She was an immediate sensation. On opening night she rubbed elbows with New York's elite and was the "belle of the ball". Frida had finally arrived. Twenty-five of Frida's paintings were exhibited and the show was a great success. About half of the paintings sold and she also managed to acquire a few commissions as well. American collector and film actor Edward G. Robinson purchased four of Frida's paintings prior to the opening and then lent them to Levy for the exhibit.
While in New York for her solo exhibition, Frida continued her relationship with the Hungarian born photographer Nickolas Muray . They had previously met while Muray was visiting Mexico from New York. While in Mexico, he and Frida worked together to produce and publish a catalogue for her New York show. Muray was an extremely handsome and self-confidant man and, without Diego lurking around in the background, the romance was free to flourish...and it did.
In January of 1939, Kahlo traveled to Paris where Breton had promised her a show. However, upon her arrival, she learned that no arrangements for her show had been made and her paintings were still being held in customs. Frida quickly lost her patience with the Parisians and in a letter to a friend she refers to Breton as "
the S.O.B. who organized the show
." and the Parisian Surrealists as "coo-coo lunatic sons of bitches". Shortly after her arrival in Paris, Frida was hospitalized for a kidney inflammation. Once released from the hospital, she left the Breton's residence and moved into the apartment of Mary Reynolds, a close friend of Marcel Duchamp.
Marcel Duchamp helped to arrange Frida's entry into the " Mexique " exhibition being held at the "Pierre Colle", a gallery known for "surrealist" exhibitions. The exhibition featured examples of Mexican painting, sculpture, photography and popular art. After seeing Kahlo's paintings, the exhibit curator declared all but two of Kahlo's paintings too "shocking" for public view. Eventually the curator allowed 17 of her paintings to be shown. The exhibit opened on March 10th and included the work of photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Breton's own collection of Mexican popular art and Frida's paintings. Among her paintings was the self-portrait " The Frame " which was purchased by The Louvre
the first work by a 20th Century Mexican artist to be purchased by the Louvre. Unfortunately, that was her only sale.
While in Paris, Frida herself did not go unnoticed. Dressed in her native Mexican Tehuana costumes, she became the center of attention where ever she went. The fashion designer Madame Elsa Schiaparelli created a dress, "La Robe Madame Rivera", based on her exotic apparel and the French Vogue magazine featured Frida on its cover.
Frida was not at all impressed with the French and could not wait to leave. After "Mexique", she had had enough of the Parisian people and on March 25th of 1939, Frida sailed back to New York to pursue her relationship with Muray. Upon her arrival she learned that Muray was having an affair with another woman and they were engaged to be married. Muray wanted to marry Frida, but when it became apparent that Frida wanted Muray as a lover and NOT as a husband, Muray ended the affair and married his new fiancé. He and Kahlo remained good friends until her death in 1954.
Broken hearted, disgusted with the French, exhausted from her travels and in poor health, in April Frida returned to Mexico and took up residence in the "Blue House" in Coyoacán. During that summer, Frida and Diego's relationship continued to deteriorate. Frida now felt deserted and betrayed by all of the men in her life. All that remained was a fragmented relationship with Diego, bound together only by the unspoken terms of their separation. Frida was now desperate to restore some sense of "normal" in her life. Over the years of marriage to Diego, Frida had learned that she received the most attention and affection from Diego when she was ill or in physical pain
.whether it be real or imagined. Desperate to save their relationship, Frida once again played the "sympathy" card and complained of severe back pain. But this time Diego trumped her hand with the "Divorce" card. Diego filed for divorce and on November 6th, 1939, the Kahlo/Rivera divorce was finalized.
Devastated by the divorce, Frida once again turned to painting to express her emotions. The painting "Las Dos Fridas" (The Two Fridas) portrays two Fridas sitting side-by-side and hand-in-hand
.one is the Frida that Diego rejected and the other the Frida that he loved.
Rivera's rejection made Frida more open about her affairs, particularly her affairs with women. In the past Diego had many sexual affairs with other women and justified them to Frida by saying "it was just sex
like a handshake
nothing else
". At this point Frida began to view sex as just another form of entertainment. "Have sex
take a bath
and have sex again
" was her new attitude.
In early 1940, Frida's reputation as an artist began to soar and her paintings were shown at exhibitions in New York and San Francisco. In September of 1940 while in San Francisco, Frida sought a second opinion from Dr. Eloesser regarding her physical condition. Dr. Eloesser rejected the Mexican doctor's recommendation for more surgery. His tests on Frida revealed a severe kidney infection, anemia, exhaustion and alcoholism. He immediately checked her into the St. Luke's Hospital for extended bed rest, other treatments and therapies and to "dry out".
Dr. Eloesser was also a close friend of Diego who was also in San Francisco at the time. While Frida was recuperating, Dr. Eloesser convinced Rivera to reconcile and remarry Frida. Frida agreed to remarry Diego under two conditions: No Sex and No Money. There would be no sex between the two of them and Frida would not accept any money from Diego
she would pay her own way to include half of the expenses of maintaining the residence they shared. On December 8th, Diego's 54th birthday, Frida and Diego were married for a second time in a civil ceremony. This time Frida took a pragmatic approach to their marriage by saying: "Diego is not anybody's husband and never will be, but he is a great comrade". Shortly after the wedding, Frida returned to Mexico. Diego, wanted by Mexican authorities for questioning in the attempted assassination of Leon Trotsky, had to remain in the United States. In February, no longer under suspicion, Diego returned to Mexico.
On April 14th, 1941, Frida's father died of a heart attack. The Rivera's returned to the "Blue House" in Coyoacán to live and Diego used the house in San Angel only as his studio. Over the course of the next two years Frida's notoriety continued to grow and her paintings were shown in exhibitions in Mexico City, New York, Boston and Philadelphia.
After the death of her father, Frida's physical decline became more acute over the next few years. She underwent spinal taps, confinement in a series of 28 corsets, and, over the next decade, several radical operations on her back and leg which she said did more damage than good. She became very depressed and in 1944 she began keeping a diary to document her emotional feelings in text and drawings. She continued to make entries in the diary until her death ten years later. This diary would later become the key to better understanding the woman and her art.
Despite her pain and heavy use of painkillers, Frida continued to paint and her works were shown in group exhibitions in Mexico. As yet Frida had not had a solo exhibition of her work in Mexico.
In late 1948, Rivera began an affair with the actress Maria Felix that caused a public scandal. Maria had a weakness for ugly men that no one understood. The press nicknamed the couple "Beauty and the Beast". Convinced that the actress would marry him, Diego asked Frida for a divorce. Thinking that it was all just a big joke she agreed
but it was no joke. Diego told Frida that he had come to pack his clothes and was moving in with Maria. Frida was devastated. The Rivera/Kahlo relationship was always in crisis: if it wasn't their love that was in question, it was their health, their finances or something else
but this was too much. Her uncontrollable jealousy and desire to possess Diego drove her into a fit of rage and revenge. She called the newspapers to tell them of the "illicit" relationship between Diego and Maria. The next day the story broke on the front page creating a flaming scandal among the Catholic Mexicans who frowned on such affairs. They sided with Frida and to save her career, Maria quickly ended the affair. Strangely enough, but typical of Frida, the relationship between Frida and Maria continued.
In 1950, Kahlo was hospitalized due to recurring spinal problems. She underwent a total of 7 operations on her spine during that year. Her hospitalization was due in part to a severe infection in a bone graft she received the previous year in New York. She spent most of the year in the hospital and most nights Diego slept in a room next to hers. "When I leave this place [hospital]", Frida said, "there are three things that I want to do
.paint
paint
and paint". She spent a total of nine months in the hospital.
Following her discharge from the hospital in 1951, she was confined to her bed for much of the time. Full-time nurses were hired to care for her and give her injections of pain killers. She continued to paint but was only able to do so for short periods of time. Over the next 2 years she completed about 15 paintings, most of which were Still Life paintings of fruits and vegetables that she arranged on her bedside table.
Realizing that Frida was near death, Lola Alvarez Bravo wanted to honor her during her lifetime with her first solo exhibition in Mexico. Lola proposed the idea to Diego and together they broke the news to Frida. Frida was delighted and started designing and creating the invitations herself. Her health actually seemed to improve as she began planning and thinking about the event. The 1953 exhibition ran from April 13th through the 27th at the Galería de Arte Contemporáneo. Frida's doctor told her she was not well enough to attend the opening and she was not to leave her bed. The day before the exhibition opening, Frida's health took a turn for the worse but Frida was determined to attend the opening. Her bed was loaded into the back of a truck, driven to the exhibition opening and set up in the center of the gallery. Minutes before the scheduled opening, Frida arrived in an ambulance accompanied by a motorcycle escort. Upon arrival, Frida made her "Grand Entrance"
.she was carried into the gallery on a stretcher and placed in her bed. Although heavily sedated, Frida's presence turned the opening into a display of personal sentiment and emotion, rather than an artistic celebration....she became a part of her exhibit. The exhibit was a great success for Frida and the gallery as well.
In August of 1953, the gangrene on Frida's right foot worsened and doctors were forced to amputate her right leg below the knee. She was fitted with a wooden leg but her addiction to pain killers and alcohol left her balance unstable making it hazardous for her to walk with the prosthetic. In her diary, Frida drew a sketch of her amputated leg with the caption: "Feet
what do I need them for if I have wings to fly." Frida's physical and emotional condition worsened. Before the amputation, Frida told her friend Gisele Freund that "should her leg be amputated, she would kill herself: 'I am suffering so much...I know I don't have much longer to live'." After three months Frida did learn to walk short distances and that lifted her spirits enough to start painting again. She eventually grew accustom to the prosthetic leg and would twirl in front of her friends to show off her new freedom of movement. She told a friend "These marvelous legs
and how well they work for me!".
In April of 1954, Frida contracted pneumonia and was hospitalized for two months. On July 2nd, while still convalescing, and against the advice of her doctors, she, in a wheelchair, and Diego took part in a four hour street demonstration against North-American intervention in Guatemala. This would be her last public appearance.
July 7th was Frida's 47th birthday. That morning, dressed in a traditional white Yalalag huipil with a lavender tassel, make-up on and flowers in her hair, Frida was carried down the stairs into the dining room. There she entertained more than 100 guests throughout the day. At 8 o'clock in the evening she was taken back upstairs to rest but continued to hold court.
The night before Frida died she was critically ill with pneumonia. Diego sat beside her bed until 2:30 am. That night Frida gave Diego a ring that she had bought for him as a gift for their 25th anniversary....still seventeen days away. When asked why she was giving it to him so early Frida replied "Because I feel I am going to leave you very soon".
Frida was a strong woman but in a weak body....and in the early morning of Tuesday, July 13th, 1954, Frida died in the "Blue House" where she was born 47 years earlier. The cause of death was officially reported as "pulmonary embolism". Suicide was suspected but never confirmed. Diego refused to believe that she was actually dead claiming that she still showed signs of life. To prove to him that she was really dead, a doctor cut open a vein and she did not bleed. Later that morning, a group of women came to the Blue House and lovingly dressed their friend in her favorite huipil from the Yalalag district. They braided her hair and adorned her with jewels. Friends came throughout the day to pay their last respects.
Frida's old schoolmate from the Preparatoria, Andrés Iduarte, now the director of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, gave Diego permission for Frida's body to lie in state in the huge high-ceiling hall. Andrés' only request was that there would be no political banners or speeches.....referring to Frida and Diego's affiliation with the Communist Party. Diego agreed. But, later that afternoon, one of Frida's former students and fellow "Cachuchas", Arturo Garcia Bustos, burst from the crowd and ran to Frida's coffin where he quickly draped it in a red Communist flag. Horrified by his actions, Andrés demanded that the flag be removed but Diego refused. That night, dressed in Tehuana attire and over accessorized with jewelry, Frida's body lay in state in the foyer of the Palacio de Bellas Artes, with Diego at her side the whole night. By noon the next day more than 600 mourners had passed by her coffin to pay their last respects.
Once when asked what to do with her body when she dies, Frida replied: "Burn it
I don't want to be buried. I have spent too much time lying down
just burn it!".
The following afternoon, Diego and five others hoisted Frida's coffin onto their shoulders and carried it down the marble steps to the hearse waiting in the rain. A procession of more than 500 mourners followed behind the hearse as it slowly made its way to the crematorium at the Panteón Civil de Dolores cemetery. The coffin was taken inside and Diego and family members lovingly lifted Frida's body out of the coffin and onto the crematorium trolley. Lead by Diego, the mourners sang Lenin's funeral march and other political songs. At 1:50pm, the doors to the oven were opened and the crowd began to sing farewell ballads. As the trolley slowly moved towards the open oven doors mourners held on to Frida's hand, threw themselves on top of her and began to strip her of her jewelry just so they could have something that belonged to her. As the cries of her admirers filled the room, a sudden blast of heat from the open incinerator doors caused her body to bolt upright. Her hair, now on fire from the flames, blazed around her head like a halo. Frida's lips seemed to break into a seductive grin just as the doors closed. ( View Funeral Photos )
Her ashes were placed in a pre-Columbian urn which is on display in the "Blue House" that she shared with Diego. On November 24, 1957, Diego Rivera died of heart failure in his San Angel studio. He had requested that he be cremated and his ashes commingled with those of Frida. However, Diego's two daughters and his wife at the time refused to respect his last wishes. They felt that it was in the best interest of the nation for him to be buried in the "Rotunda of Famous Men" in Mexico City. One year after Frida's death, Diego gave the Casa Azul to the Mexican government to become a museum. On July 12th, 1958, the Blue House was officially opened as the Museo Frida Kahlo.
"Larga Vida a Nuestra Frida"
(Long Live Our Frida)
| i don't know |
"""Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel"" is a famous quote written by whom?" | How to understand Samuel Johnson's famous quote “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel” - Quora
Quora
How do I understand Samuel Johnson's famous quote “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel”?
I am seeing at least 3 possible interpretations:
1. A scoundrel often uses patriotic pretenses to carry on his agenda;
2. The last way for a scoundrel to vindicate himself, all else failing, is to become a true patriot;
3. The scoundrel, William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (or Edmund Burke , v. Edit), uses patriotic pretenses to carry on his agenda.
The reading (1) is the one most often accepted, but (2) linguistically is as likely a reading as (1). If (1) is true, then (3) as a subtext might also likely be true, given the political context of the time.
Edit: It has also been suggested ( http://www.samueljohnson.com/qot... ) that the scoundrel may have been Edmund Burke.
Written Nov 27, 2015
Version 2 does not work. Version 1 is correct. Yes, version 3 could be a specific case of version 1 and could be the one he had in mind.
The line relies on the irony of saying that something generally perceived as good is a refuge for someone bad. It's ironic because the person is still bad, and is, in effect, just in disguise. You have to stop for a second and realize that this is actually a criticism of patriotic proclamations. That's where it gets its zing.
Under version 2, that irony would disappear and the saying would simply be "under enough pressure scoundrels can eventually reform and become good, if influenced by patriotism." There is nothing interesting or ironic about saying that some good, principled thing can have a positive effect on someone's character.
Also, the word "refuge" makes version 2 not just pointless, but also an untenable read. "Refuge" is not "reform". There us no hint that the person has been transformed in any way.
| Samuel Johnson |
What name is given to the flat, oven-baked Italian bread, related to, but different from Pizza? It is usually seasoned with olive oil, salt and sometimes herbs. | Samuel Johnson - Wikiquote
Samuel Johnson
Ye Fops, be silent : and ye Wits , be just .
Samuel Johnson ( 18 September 1709 [7 September O.S. ] – 13 December 1784 ) was a British author , linguist and lexicographer . He is often referred to as simply Dr. Johnson in the history of literature and is regarded as the greatest man of letters in English history.
Contents
Still to the lover 's long-expecting arms
To-morrow brings the visionary bride.
But thou, too old to hear another cheat,
Learn , that the present hour alone is man's.
It is always observable that silence propagates itself, and that the longer talk has been suspended, the more difficult it is to find any thing to say.
I am inclined to believe that few attacks either of ridicule or invective make much noise , but by the help of those they provoke.
I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read .
He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.
It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentional lying , that there is so much falsehood in the world .
The fountain of content must spring up in the mind , and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition , will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove.
By Numbers here from Shame or Censure free,
All Crimes are safe, but hated Poverty.
This, only this, the rigid Law persues,
This, only this, provokes the snarling Muse.
Of all the Griefs that harrass the Distrest,
Sure the most bitter is a scornful Jest
This mournful truth is ev'rywhere confessed —
Slow rises worth, by poverty depressed.
Unmoved though Witlings sneer and Rivals rail,
Studious to please, yet not ashamed to fail.
He scorns the meek address, the suppliant strain.
With merit needless, and without it vain.
In Reason, Nature, Truth, he dares to trust:
Ye Fops, be silent: and ye Wits, be just.
The Tragedy of Irene (1749), Prologue
A thousand horrid Prodigies foretold it.
A feeble government, eluded Laws,
A factious Populace, luxurious Nobles,
And all the maladies of stinking states.
The Tragedy of Irene (1749), Act I, Sc. 1
To-morrow's action! Can that hoary wisdom,
Borne down with years, still doat upon tomorrow!
That fatal mistress of the young, the lazy,
The coward, and the fool, condemn'd to lose
A useless life in waiting for to-morrow,
To gaze with longing eyes upon to-morrow,
Till interposing death destroys the prospect
Strange! that this general fraud from day to day
Should fill the world with wretches undetected.
The soldier, labouring through a winter's march,
Still sees to-morrow drest in robes of triumph;
Still to the lover's long-expecting arms
To-morrow brings the visionary bride.
But thou, too old to hear another cheat,
Learn, that the present hour alone is man's.
The Tragedy of Irene (1749), Act III, Sc. 2
There Poetry shall tune her sacred voice,
And wake from ignorance the Western World.
The Tragedy of Irene (1749), Act IV, Sc. 1
It is always observable that silence propagates itself, and that the longer talk has been suspended, the more difficult it is to find any thing to say.
The Life of Sir Thomas Browne (1756)
Liberty is, to the lowest rank of every nation, little more than the choice of working or starving.
"The Bravery of the English Common Soldiers" . Note: This essay was "added to some editions of The Idler, when collected into volumes, but not by Dr. Johnson" — vide The Works of Samuel Johnson, Vol. 2 (London, 1806), footnote on p. 427
Nature has given women so much power that the law has very wisely given them little.
Letter from Johnson to John Taylor, 18 August 1763. The Yale Book of Quotations edited by Fred R. Shapiro, pg 400.
I have always suspected that the reading is right, which requires many words to prove it wrong; and the emendation wrong, that cannot without so much labour appear to he right.
The Plays of William Shakespeare, Vol. I (1765), Preface
The only end of writing is to enable the readers better to enjoy life, or better to endure it.
A Review of Soame Jenyns' A Free Enquiry into the Nature and Origin of Evil, published in the first volume of Miscellaneous and Fugitive Pieces (London, 1774), p. 23
Whatever withdraws us from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings.
That man is little to be envied whose patriotism would not gain force upon the plain of Marathon, or whose piety would not grow warmer among the ruins of Iona.
A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775), Inch Kenneth
There will always be a part, and always a very large part of every community, that have no care but for themselves, and whose care for themselves reaches little further than impatience of immediate pain, and eagerness for the nearest good.
How is it that we hear the loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes?
Taxation No Tyranny (1775)
There is no wisdom in useless and hopeless sorrow; but there is something in it so like virtue, that he who is wholly without it cannot be loved.
Letter to Hester Thrale (12 April 1781) [1]
I am inclined to believe that few attacks either of ridicule or invective make much noise, but by the help of those they provoke.
Letter to Hester Thrale (5 July 1783) [2]
Every man naturally persuades himself that he can keep his resolutions, nor is he convinced of his imbecility but by length of time and frequency of experiment.
Prayers and Meditations, No. 1770 (1785)
This world, where much is to be done and little to be known.
Prayers and Meditations, Against Inquisitive and Perplexing Thoughts (1785)
Here closed in death th' attentive eyes
That saw the manners in the face.
Epitaph on Hogarth (1786)
Catch then, O! catch the transient hour,
Improve each moment as it flies;
Life's a short Summer — man a flower,
He dies — alas! how soon he dies!
Winter, An Ode. The works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. (1787), p. 355
He who praises everybody praises nobody.
Johnson's Works (1787), vol. XI, p. 216; This set included the Life of Samuel Johnson by Sir John Hawkins
Books that you may carry to the fire, and hold readily in your hand, are the most useful after all.
From Sir John Hawkins 's Life of Johnson, Apothegms (1787)
Fly fishing may be a very pleasant amusement; but angling or float fishing I can only compare to a stick and a string, with a worm at one end and a fool at the other.
Attributed in Instructions to Young Sportsmen (1824) by Colonel Peter Hawker
Round numbers are always false.
Quoted in the "Apophthegms, Sentiments, Opinions and Occasional Reflections" of Sir John Hawkins (1787-1789) in Johnsonian Miscellanies (1897), vol. II, p. 2, edited by George Birkbeck Hill
I never desire to converse with a man who has written more than he has read.
Quoted in the "Apophthegms, Sentiments, Opinions and Occasional Reflections" of Sir John Hawkins (1787-1789) in Johnsonian Miscellanies (1897), vol. II, p. 6, edited by George Birkbeck Hill
A man is in general better pleased when he has a good dinner upon his table, than when his wife talks Greek.
Quoted in the "Apophthegms, Sentiments, Opinions and Occasional Reflections" of Sir John Hawkins (1787-1789) in Johnsonian Miscellanies (1897), vol. II, p. 11, edited by George Birkbeck Hill
Abstinence is as easy to me as temperance would be difficult.
Quoted in Anecdotes of Johnson by Hannah More in Johnsonian Miscellanies (1897), vol. II, p. 197, edited by George Birkbeck Hill. More had quoted this remark in a letter to her sister (April 1782)
He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man.
Quoted in "Anecdotes of the Revd. Percival Stockdale" (1809) in Johnsonian Miscellanies (1897), vol. II, p. 333, edited by George Birkbeck Hill; also quoted in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson , in the Avenged Sevenfold song " Bat Country ", and in Kingdom S02E04.
From Thee, great God: we spring, to Thee we tend,
Path, motive, guide, original, and end.
Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 257
Let me rejoice in the light which Thou hast imparted; let me serve Thee with active zeal, humbled confidence, and wait with patient expectation for the time in which the soul which Thou receivest shall be satisfied with knowledge.
Reported in Josiah Hotchkiss Gilbert, Dictionary of Burning Words of Brilliant Writers (1895), p. 613
A desire for knowledge is the natural feeling of mankind; and every human being, whose mind is not debauched, will be willing to give all he has to get knowledge.
Dr. Johnson’s Table Talk (London: 1807), p. 64
It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentional lying , that there is so much falsehood in the world .
Dr. Johnson’s Table Talk (London: 1807), p. 67
The richest author that ever grazed the common of literature.
Of John Campbell , as quoted by Joseph Wharton; reported in "John Campbell", Encyclopedia Britannica (1911)
English superiority and American obedience.
As quoted in The Life of Samuel Johnson (1994), by Robert DeMaria, Jr., Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 252–256.
There can be no friendship without confidence, and no confidence without integrity.
The fountain of content must spring up in the mind, and he who hath so little knowledge of human nature as to seek happiness by changing anything but his own disposition, will waste his life in fruitless efforts and multiply the grief he proposes to remove.
Prologue at the Opening of Drury Lane Theatre (1747)[ edit ]
When learning's triumph o'er her barb'rous foes
First reared the stage, immortal Shakespeare rose;
Each change of many-colored life he drew,
Exhausted worlds, and then imagined new:
Existence saw him spurn her bounded reign,
And panting Time toiled after him in vain.
Cold approbation gave the ling'ring bays,
For those who durst not censure, scarce could praise.
Declamation roared, while Passion slept.
Ah! let not Censure term our fate our choice,
The stage but echoes back the public's voice;
The drama's laws the drama's patrons give,
For we that live to please must please to live.
Vanity of Human Wishes (1749)[ edit ]
Let observation with extensive view
Survey mankind, from China to Peru.
Line 1; comparable to: "All human race, from China to Peru, Pleasure, howe’er disguis’d by art, pursue", Thomas Warton , Universal Love of Pleasure
But, scarce observ'd, the knowing and the bold
Fall in the gen'ral massacre of gold.
Line 21
Deign on the passing world to turn thine eyes,
And pause a while from learning to be wise.
There mark what ills the scholar's life assail —
Toil, envy, want, the patron, and the jail.
Line 157
A frame of adamant, a soul of fire,
No dangers fright him, and no labors tire.
Line 193
He left the name at which the world grew pale,
To point a moral, or adorn a tale.
Line 221
"Enlarge my life with multitude of days!"
In health, in sickness, thus the suppliant prays:
Hides from himself his state, and shuns to know
That life protracted is protracted woe.
Line 255
An age that melts in unperceiv'd decay,
And glides in modest innocence away.
Line 293
Superfluous lags the vet'ran on the stage.
Line 308
Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise!
From Marlb'rough's eyes the streams of dotage flow,
And Swift expires, a driv'ler and a show.
Line 316
Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate,
Roll darkling down the torrent of his fate?
Line 345
For patience, sov'reign o'er transmuted ill.
Line 362
With these celestial Wisdom calms the mind,
And makes the happiness she does not find.
Line 367
All the performances of human art , at which we look with praise or wonder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance ...
Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect .
Men more frequently require to be reminded than informed.
No. 2 (24 March 1750)
A transition from an author's book to his conversation, is too often like an entrance into a large city, after a distant prospect. Remotely, we see nothing but spires of temples and turrets of palaces, and imagine it the residence of splendour, grandeur and magnificence; but when we have passed the gates, we find it perplexed with narrow passages, disgraced with despicable cottages, embarrassed with obstructions, and clouded with smoke.
No. 14 (5 May 1750)
All the performances of human art, at which we look with praise or wonder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance: it is by this that the quarry becomes a pyramid, and that distant countries are united with canals. If a man was to compare the effect of a single stroke of the pick-axe, or of one impression of the spade, with the general design and last result, he would be overwhelmed by the sense of their disproportion; yet those petty operations, incessantly continued, in time surmount the greatest difficulties, and mountains are levelled, and oceans bounded, by the slender force of human beings.
It is therefore of the utmost importance that those, who have any intention of deviating from the beaten roads of life, and acquiring a reputation superior to names hourly swept away by time among the refuse of fame, should add to their reason, and their spirit, the power of persisting in their purposes; acquire the art of sapping what they cannot batter, and the habit of vanquishing obstinate resistance by obstinate attacks.
No. 43 (14 August 1750)
The student who would build his knowledge on solid foundations, and proceed by just degrees to the pinnacles of truth, is directed by the great philosopher of France to begin by doubting of his own existence. In like manner, whoever would complete any arduous and intricate enterprise, should, as soon as his imagination can cool after the first blaze of hope, place before his own eyes every possible embarrassment that may retard or defeat him. He should first question the probability of success, and then endeavour to remove the objections that he has raised.
No. 43 (14 August 1750)
He that would pass the latter part of life with honour and decency, must, when he is young, consider that he shall one day be old; and remember, when he is old, that he has once been young.
No. 50 (8 September 1750); often misattributed to Joseph Addison
Frugality may be termed the daughter of Prudence, the sister of Temperance and the parent of Liberty.
No. 57 (2 October 1750)
Hope is necessary in every condition. The miseries of poverty, of sickness, or captivity, would, without this comfort, be insupportable; nor does it appear that the happiest lot of terrestrial existence can set us above the want of this general blessing; or that life, when the gifts of nature and of fortune are accumulated upon it, would not still be wretched, were it not elevated and delighted by the expectation of some new possession, of some enjoyment yet behind, by which the wish shall at last be satisfied, and the heart filled up to its utmost extent.
No. 67 (6 November 1750)
As it is necessary not to invite robbery by supineness, so it is our duty not to suppress tenderness by suspicion; it is better to suffer wrong than to do it, and happier to be sometimes cheated than not to trust.
No. 79 (18 December 1750)
There are, in every age, new errors to be rectified, and new prejudices to be opposed.
No. 86 (12 January 1751)
To convince any man against his will is hard, but to please him against his will is justly pronounced by Dryden to be above the reach of human abilities.
No. 93
In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it.
No. 96 (16 February 1751)
Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect.
No. 103 (12 March 1751)
No man is much pleased with a companion, who does not increase, in some respect, his fondness for himself.
No. 104 (16 March 1751)
No place affords a more striking conviction of the vanity of human hopes than a public library.
No. 106 (23 March 1751)
Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom we cannot resemble.
No. 135 (2 July 1751)
No oppression is so heavy or lasting as that which is inflicted by the perversion and exorbitance of legal authority.
No. 148 (17 August 1751)
That he delights in the misery of others no man will confess, and yet what other motive can make a father cruel?
No. 148 (17 August 1751)
The unjustifiable severity of a parent is loaded with this aggravation, that those whom he injures are always in his sight.
No. 148 (17 August 1751)
Avarice is generally the last passion of those lives of which the first part has been squandered in pleasure, and the second devoted to ambition.
No. 151 (27 August 1751).
Every man is rich or poor according to the proportion between his desires and his enjoyments; any enlargement of wishes is therefore equally destructive to happiness with the diminution of possession, and he that teaches another to long for what he never shall obtain is no less an enemy to his quiet than if he had robbed him of part of his patrimony.
No. 163 (8 October 1751)
But, perhaps, the excellence of aphorisms consists not so much in the expression of some rare or abstruse sentiment, as in the comprehension of some obvious and useful truth in few words.
No. 175 (19 November 1751)
A Dictionary of the English Language (1755)[ edit ]
CLUB — An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.
I am not yet so lost in lexicography, as to forget that words are the daughters of earth, and that things are the sons of heaven. Language is only the instrument of science, and words are but the signs of ideas: I wish, however, that the instrument might be less apt to decay, and that signs might be permanent, like the things which they denote.
Preface
It is the fate of those, who toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by the fear of evil, than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censure, without hope of praise; to be disgraced by miscarriage, or punished for neglect, where success would have been without applause, and diligence without reward. Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dictionaries, whom mankind have considered, not as the pupil, but the slave of science, the pioneer of literature, doomed only to remove rubbish and clear obstructions from the paths through which Learning and Genius press forward to conquest and glory, without bestowing a smile on the humble drudge that facilitates their progress. Every other author may aspire to praise; the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach, and even this negative recompense has been yet granted to very few.
CLUB — An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.
ESSAY — A loose sally of the mind; an irregular indigested piece; not a regular and orderly composition.
EXCISE — A hateful tax levied upon commodities, and adjudged not by the common judges of property, but wretches hired by those to whom excise is paid.
GRUBSTREET — The name of a street near Moorsfield, London, much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems.
LEXICOGRAPHER — A writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge.
NETWORK — Any thing reticulated or decussated, at equal distances, with interstices between the intersections.
OATS — A grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.
PATRON, n. One who countenances, supports or protects. Commonly a wretch who supports with insolence, and is repaid in flattery.
PENSION — An allowance made to any one without an equivalent. In England it is generally understood to mean pay given to a state hireling for treason to his country.
Full text online
It is commonly observed, that when two Englishmen meet, their first talk is of the weather; they are in haste to tell each other, what each must already know, that it is hot or cold, bright or cloudy, windy or calm.
No. 11 (June 24, 1758)
Slavery is now no where more patiently endured, than in countries once inhabited by the zealots of liberty.
No. 11 (June 24, 1758)
Among the calamities of war may be justly numbered the diminution of the love of truth, by the falsehoods which interest dictates and credulity encourages.
No. 30 (November 11, 1758)
I know not whether more is to be dreaded from streets filled with soldiers accustomed to plunder, or from garrets filled with scribblers accustomed to lies.
No. 30 (November 11, 1758)
The joy of life is variety; the tenderest love requires to be renewed by intervals of absence.
No. 39 (January 13, 1759)
Advertisements are now so numerous that they are very negligently perused, and it is, therefore, become necessary to gain attention by magnificence of promises, and by eloquence sometimes sublime and sometimes pathetick. Promise, large promise, is the soul of an advertisement.
No. 40 (January 20, 1759)
He is no wise man that will quit a certainty for an uncertainty.
No. 57 (May 19, 1759)
Pleasure is very seldom found where it is sought. Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks. The flowers which scatter their odours from time to time in the paths of life, grow up without culture from seeds scattered by chance. Nothing is more hopeless than a scheme of merriment.
No. 58 (May 26, 1759)
Merriment is always the effect of a sudden impression. The jest which is expected is already destroyed.
No. 58 (May 26, 1759)
It is seldom that we find either men or places such as we expect them. ... Yet it is necessary to hope, though hope should always be deluded, for hope itself is happiness, and its frustrations, however frequent, are yet less dreadful than its extinction.
No. 58 (May 26, 1759)
He that thinks with more extent than another will want words of larger meaning; he that thinks with more subtilty will seek for terms of more nice discrimination; and where is the wonder, since words are but the images of things, that he who never knew the original should not know the copies?
Yet vanity inclines us to find faults any where rather than in ourselves. He that reads and grows no wiser, seldom suspects his own deficiency; but complains of hard words and obscure sentences, and asks why books are written which cannot be understood?
No. 70 (August 18, 1759)
The act of writing itself distracts the thoughts, and what is read twice is commonly better remembered than what is transcribed.
No. 74 (September 15, 1759)
We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know, because they have never deceived us.
No. 80 (October 27, 1759)
The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia (1759)[ edit ]
Ye who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with eagerness the phantoms of hope ; who expect that age will perform the promises of youth, and that the deficiencies of the present day will be supplied by the morrow; attend to the history of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia .
Nothing … will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must be first overcome.
Example is always more efficacious than precept .
There is no people , rude or learned, among whom apparitions of the dead are not related and believed .
Ye who listen with credulity to the whispers of fancy, and pursue with eagerness the phantoms of hope ; who expect that age will perform the promises of youth, and that the deficiencies of the present day will be supplied by the morrow; attend to the history of Rasselas, Prince of Abyssinia .
Chapter 1
"I fly from pleasure ," said the prince, "because pleasure has ceased to please; I am lonely because I am miserable, and am unwilling to cloud with my presence the happiness of others."
Chapter 3
Nothing … will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must be first overcome.
Chapter 6
To a poet nothing can be useless.
Chapter 10
[The poet] must write as the interpreter of nature and the legislator of mankind , and consider himself as presiding over the thoughts and manners of future generations, as a being superior to time and place.
Chapter 10
Human life is everywhere a state in which much is to be endured and little to be enjoyed.
Chapter 11
A man used to vicissitudes is not easily dejected.
Chapter 12
Few things are impossible to diligence and skill.
Chapter 12
Knowledge is more than equivalent to force . The master of mechanicks laughs at strength .
Chapter 13; variant with modernized spelling: Knowledge is more than equivalent to force. The master of mechanics laughs at strength.
I live in the crowd of jollity, not so much to enjoy company as to shun myself.
Chapter 26
Many things difficult to design prove easy to performance.
Chapter 26
Marriage has many pains, but celibacy has no pleasures.
Chapter 26
The first years of man must make provision for the last.
Chapter 27
But it is evident, that these bursts of universal distress are more dreaded than felt; thousands and ten thousands flourish in youth, and wither in age, without the knowledge of any other than domestic evils, and share the same pleasures and vexations, whether their kings are mild or cruel, whether the armies of their country pursue their enemies or retreat before them.
Chapter 28
Example is always more efficacious than precept .
Chapter 29
Such is the common process of marriage. A youth and maiden meeting by chance, or brought together by artifice, exchange glances, reciprocate civilities, go home, and dream of one another. Having little to divert attention, or diversify thought, they find themselves uneasy when they are apart, and therefore conclude that they shall be happy together. They marry, and discover what nothing but voluntary blindness had before concealed; they wear out life in altercations, and charge nature with cruelty.
Chapter 29
“That the dead are seen no more,” said Imlac, “I will not undertake to maintain against the concurrent and unvaried testimony of all ages and of all nations . There is no people, rude or learned, among whom apparitions of the dead are not related and believed. This opinion , which perhaps prevails as far as human nature is diffused, could become universal only by its truth : those that never heard of one another would not have agreed in a tale which nothing but experience can make credible. That it is doubted by single cavillers can very little weaken the general evidence, and some who deny it with their tongues confess it by their fears .
“Yet I do not mean to add new terrors to those which have already seized upon Pekuah. There can be no reason why spectres should haunt the Pyramid more than other places, or why they should have power or will to hurt innocence and purity . Our entrance is no violation of their privileges: we can take nothing from them; how, then, can we offend them?”
Chapter 31
Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.
Chapter 41
The endearing elegance of female friendship.
Chapter 46
The world is not yet exhausted: let me see something to-morrow which I never saw before.
Chapter 47
"Some," answered Imlac, "have indeed said that the soul is material, but I can scarcely believe that any man has thought it, who knew how to think; for all the conclusions of reason enforce the immateriality of mind , and all the notices of sense and investigations of science , concur to prove the unconsciousness of matter.
Chapter 48
[Imlac continues] "It was never supposed that cogitation is inherent in matter, or that every particle is a thinking being. Yet, if any part of matter be devoid of thought, what part can we suppose to think? Matter can differ from matter only in form, density, bulk, motion, and direction of motion: to which of these, however varied or combined, can consciousness be annexed? To be round or square, to be solid or fluid, to be great or little, to be moved slowly or swiftly one way or another, are modes of material existence, all equally alien from the nature of cogitation. If matter be once without thought, it can only be made to think by some new modification, but all the modifications which it can admit are equally unconnected with cogitative powers."
Chapter 48
Full text online
It ought to be deeply impressed on the minds of all who have voices in this national deliberation, that no man can deserve a seat in parliament, who is not a patriot. No other man will protect our rights: no other man can merit our confidence.
A patriot is he whose publick conduct is regulated by one single motive, the love of his country; who, as an agent in parliament, has, for himself, neither hope nor fear, neither kindness nor resentment, but refers every thing to the common interest.
Let us take a patriot, where we can meet him; and, that we may not flatter ourselves by false appearances, distinguish those marks which are certain, from those which may deceive; for a man may have the external appearance of a patriot, without the constituent qualities; as false coins have often lustre, though they want weight.
Some claim a place in the list of patriots, by an acrimonious and unremitting opposition to the court. This mark is by no means infallible. Patriotism is not necessarily included in rebellion. A man may hate his king, yet not love his country.
The greater, far the greater number of those who rave and rail, and inquire and accuse, neither suspect nor fear, nor care for the publick; but hope to force their way to riches, by virulence and invective, and are vehement and clamorous, only that they may be sooner hired to be silent.
A man sometimes starts up a patriot, only by disseminating discontent, and propagating reports of secret influence, of dangerous counsels, of violated rights, and encroaching usurpation. This practice is no certain note of patriotism. To instigate the populace with rage beyond the provocation, is to suspend publick happiness, if not to destroy it. He is no lover of his country, that unnecessarily disturbs its peace. Few errours and few faults of government, can justify an appeal to the rabble; who ought not to judge of what they cannot understand, and whose opinions are not propagated by reason, but caught by contagion. The fallaciousness of this note of patriotism is particularly apparent, when the clamour continues after the evil is past.
The true Genius is a mind of large general powers, accidentally determined to some particular direction.
The Life of Cowley [3]
Those writers who lay on the watch for novelty, could have little hope of greatness; for great things cannot have escaped former observation.
The Life of Cowley
Language is the dress of thought.
The Life of Cowley
Self-confidence is the first requisite to great undertakings.
The Life of Pope [4]
New things are made familiar, and familiar things are made new.
The Life of Pope
Whoever wishes to attain an English style, familiar but not coarse, and elegant but not ostentatious, must give his days and nights to the volumes of Addison.
The Life of Addison
Poetry is the art of uniting pleasure with truth, by calling imagination to the help of reason.
The Life of Milton
'Paradise Lost' is one of the books which the reader admires and lays down, and forgets to take up again. None ever wished it longer than it is.
The Life of Milton
He that thinks himself capable of astonishing may write blank verse: but those that hope only to please must condescend to rhyme.
The Life of Milton
It is not by comparing line with line, that the merit of great works is to be estimated, but by their general effects and ultimate result. It is easy to note a weak line, and write one more vigorous in its place; to find a happiness of expression in the original, and transplant it by force into the version: but what is given to the parts may be subducted from the whole, and the reader may be weary, though the critick may commend. Works of imagination excel by their allurement and delight; by their power of attracting and detaining the attention. That book is good in vain, which the reader throws away. He only is the master, who keeps the mind in pleasing captivity; whose pages are perused with eagerness, and in hope of new pleasure are perused again; and whose conclusion is perceived with an eye of sorrow, such as the traveller casts upon departing day.
The Life of Dryden
Of every friendless name the friend.
Stanza 2
In misery's darkest cavern known,
His useful care was ever nigh
Where hopeless anguish pour'd his groan,
And lonely want retir'd to die.
Stanza 5
And sure th' Eternal Master found
His single talent well employ'd.
Stanza 7
Then with no throbs of fiery pain,
No cold gradations of decay,
Death broke at once the vital chain,
And freed his soul the nearest way.
Stanza 9
No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.
The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides with Samuel Johnson, LL.D. by James Boswell
A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing .
A lawyer has no business with the justice or injustice of the cause which he undertakes, unless his client asks his opinion, and then he is bound to give it honestly. The justice or injustice of the cause is to be decided by the judge. Consider, sir; what is the purpose of courts of justice? It is, that every man may have his cause fairly tried, by men appointed to try causes. A lawyer is not to tell what he knows to be a lie: he is not to produce what he knows to be a false deed; but he is not to usurp the province of the jury and of the judge, and determine what shall be the effect of evidence — what shall be the result of legal argument.
August 15, 1773
If lawyers were to undertake no causes till they were sure they were just, a man might be precluded altogether from a trial of his claim, though, were it judicially examined, it might be found a very just claim.
August 15, 1773
I fancy mankind may come, in time, to write all aphoristically, except in narrative; grow weary of preparation, and connection, and illustration, and all those arts by which a big book is made.
August 16, 1773
A man may write at any time, if he will set himself doggedly.
August 16, 1773
No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned ... A man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company.
August 31 and September 23, 1773
Also quoted in Boswell's Life of Johnson
I have, all my life long, been lying till noon; yet I tell all young men, and tell them with great sincerity, that nobody who does not rise early will ever do any good.
September 14, 1773
Wickedness is always easier than virtue; for it takes the short cut to everything.
September 17, 1773
Gratitude is a fruit of great cultivation; you do not find it among gross people.
September 20, 1773
A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing.
October 5, 1773
Recounted as a common saying of physicians at the time.
Come, let me know what it is that makes a Scotchman happy!
October 23, 1773
Towering is the confidence of twenty-one.
January 9, 1758
No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned.
March 1759, p. 97
Small debts are like small shot; they are rattling on every side, and can scarcely be escaped without a wound; great debts are like cannon, of loud noise but little danger.
Letter to Joseph Simpson, circa 1759
Hope is itself a species of happiness , and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords.
Letter, June 8, 1762 [to an unnamed recipient], p. 103
Nothing is little to him that feels it with great sensibility.
July 20, 1762
A man of genius has been seldom ruined but by himself.
December 21, 1762
Great abilities are not requisite for an Historian; for in historical composition, all the greatest powers of the human mind are quiescent. He has facts ready to his hand; so there is no exercise of invention. Imagination is not required in any high degree; only about as much as is used in the lower kinds of poetry.
July 6, 1763, p. 120
Norway, too, has noble wild prospects; and Lapland is remarkable for prodigious noble wild prospects. But, Sir, let me tell you, the noblest prospect which a Scotchman ever sees, is the high road that leads him to England!
July 6, 1763, p. 120
A man ought to read just as inclination leads him; for what he reads as a task will do him little good.
July 14, 1763, p. 121
But if he does really think that there is no distinction between virtue and vice, why, Sir, when he leaves our houses let us count our spoons.
July 14, 1763, p. 123
I remember very well, when I was at Oxford, an old gentleman said to me, "Young man, ply your book diligently now, and acquire a stock of knowledge; for when years come upon you, you will find that poring upon books will be but an irksome task."
July 21, 1763, p. 126
Hume, and other sceptical innovators, are vain men, and will gratify themselves at any expence. Truth will not afford sufficient food to their vanity; so they have betaken themselves to errour. Truth, Sir, is a cow which will yield such people no more milk, and so they are gone to milk the bull. If I could have allowed myself to gratify my vanity at the expence of truth, what fame might I have acquired.
July 21, 1763, p 514
Sherry is dull, naturally dull; but it must have taken him a great deal of pains to become what we now see him. Such an excess of stupidity, sir, is not in Nature.
July 28, 1763, p. 128
Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hinder legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.
July 31, 1763, p. 132. [Several editions have the variant "hind legs".]
I [Boswell] happened to say, it would be terrible if he should not find a speedy opportunity of returning to London, and be confined in so dull a place.
JOHNSON: "Don't, Sir, accustom yourself to use big words for little matters. It would not be terrible, though I were to be detained some time here."
August 6, 1763, p. 134
I refute it thus.
August 6, 1763, p. 134
Said as he kicked a stone, speaking of Berkeley 's "ingenious sophistry to prove the non-existence of matter".
Why, Sir, it is difficult to settle the proportion of iniquity between them.
Feb. 15, 1766, p. 145
Said of Rousseau and Voltaire
So far is it from being true that men are naturally equal, that no two people can be half an hour together, but one shall acquire an evident superiority over the other.
Feb. 15, 1766, p. 145
Shakspeare never has six lines together without a fault. Perhaps you may find seven: but this does not refute my general assertion.
October 19, 1769, p. 170
It matters not how a man dies, but how he lives. The act of dying is not of importance, it lasts so short a time.
October 26, 1769, p. 174
That fellow seems to me to possess but one idea, and that is a wrong one.
1770, p. 181
Johnson observed, that "he did not care to speak ill of any man behind his back, but he believed the gentleman was an attorney."
1770, p. 181
A gentleman who had been very unhappy in marriage, married immediately after his wife died: Johnson said, it was the triumph of hope over experience.
1770, p. 182
A decent provision for the poor is the true test of civilization.
1770, p. 182
A cow is a very good animal in the field; but we turn her out of a garden.
April 14, 1772, p. 201
Read over your compositions, and wherever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out.
Recalling "what an old tutor of a college said to one of his pupils" April 30, 1773, p. 217
Attack is the reaction; I never think I have hit hard unless it rebounds.
April 2, 1775
A man will turn over half a library to make one book.
April 6, 1775
Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.
April 18, 1775, p. 258
There is now less flogging in our great schools than formerly, but then less is learned there; so that what the boys get at one end they lose at the other.
1775, p. 273
There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.
March 21, 1776, p. 287
This is one of the disadvantages of wine, it makes a man mistake words for thoughts.
May 1776 , p. 313
When a man is tired of London , he is tired of life ; for there is in London all that life can afford.
Life admits not of delays; when pleasure can be had, it is fit to catch it. Every hour takes away part of the things that please us, and perhaps part of our disposition to be pleased.
September 1, 1777
I [Boswell] was somewhat disappointed in finding that the edition of The English Poets, for which he was to write Prefaces and Lives, was not an undertaking directed by him: but that he was to furnish a Preface and Life to any poet the booksellers pleased. I asked him if he would do this to any dunce's works, if they should ask him.
JOHNSON: "Yes, Sir, and say he was a dunce."
September 14, 1777, p. 341
Depend upon it, Sir, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.
September 19, 1777, p. 351, often misquoted as being hanged in the morning.
When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.
September 20, 1777, p. 356
Here's to the next insurrection of the negroes in the West Indies.
September 23, 1777, p. 363
A toast made by Johnson, as Boswell states, "when in company with some very grave men at Oxford".
It must be agreed that in most ages many countries have had part of their inhabitants in a state of slavery; yet it may be doubted whether slavery can ever be supposed the natural condition of man. It is impossible not to conceive that men in their original state were equal; and very difficult to imagine how one would be subjected to another but by violent compulsion. An individual may, indeed, forfeit his liberty by a crime; but he cannot by that crime forfeit the liberty of his children.
September 23, 1777, p. 363
It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentional lying, that there is so much falsehood in the world.
March 31, 1778, p. 372
All argument is against it; but all belief is for it.
On the subject of ghosts, March 31, 1778, p. 373
It is man's own fault, it is from want of use, if his mind grows torpid in old age.
April 9, 1778
Every man thinks meanly of himself for not having been a soldier, or not having been at sea.
April 10, 1778
Every state of society is as luxurious as it can be. Men always take the best they can get.
April 14, 1778
A country governed by a despot is an inverted cone.
April 14, 1778
I am willing to love all mankind, except an American.
April 15, 1778, p. 392
Pleasure of itself is not a vice.
April 15, 1778
All theory is against the freedom of the will; all experience for it.
April 15, 1778, p. 393
As the Spanish proverb says, "He, who would bring home the wealth of the Indies, must carry the wealth of the Indies with him." So it is in travelling; a man must carry knowledge with him, if he would bring home knowledge.
April 17, 1778, p. 396
It is better to live rich, than to die rich.
April 17, 1778
The insolence of wealth will creep out.
April 18, 1778, p. 400
All censure of a man's self is oblique praise. It is in order to shew how much he can spare.
April 25, 1778, p. 403
Wine makes a man more pleased with himself. I do not say that it makes him more pleasing to others.
April 28, 1778, p. 404
Were it not for imagination, Sir, a man would be as happy in the arms of a chambermaid as of a Duchess.
May 9, 1778, p. 409
I would rather be attacked than unnoticed. For the worst thing you can do to an author is to be silent as to his works.
March 26, 1779
Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy.
April 7, 1779
A man who exposes himself when he is intoxicated, has not the art of getting drunk.
April 24, 1779, p. 424
Worth seeing? yes; but not worth going to see.
October 12, 1779
On the Giant's Causeway . A similar opinion was expressed by the English traveller Richard Twiss in 1775 in A Tour of Ireland , p. 157
If you are idle, be not solitary; if you are solitary, be not idle.
Letter to James Boswell, October 27, 1779, p. 433
Greek, sir, is like lace; every man gets as much of it as he can.
1780
No man was more foolish when he had not a pen in his hand, or more wise when he had.
The applause of a single human being is of great consequence.
1780
Mrs. Montagu has dropt me. Now, Sir, there are people whom one should like very well to drop, but would not wish to be dropped by.
March 1781, p. 465
Classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world.
May 8, 1781
My friend was of opinion that when a man of rank appeared in that character [as an author], he deserved to have his merit handsomely allowed.
May 1781
A jest breaks no bones.
June 4, 1781
I have two very cogent reasons for not printing any list of subscribers; — one, that I have lost all the names, — the other, that I have spent all the money.
1781, p. 477, Referring to subscribers to his edition of The Plays of William Shakespeare, with Notes (1765)
Always, Sir, set a high value on spontaneous kindness. He whose inclination prompts him to cultivate your friendship of his own accord, will love you more than one whom you have been at pains to attach to you.
1781, p. 479
To let friendship die away by negligence and silence, is certainly not wise. It is voluntarily to throw away one of the greatest comforts of this weary pilgrimage.
March 20, 1782
Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it makes some virtues impracticable, and others extremely difficult.
Letter to James Boswell, December 7, 1782, p. 494
A man may be so much of every thing, that he is nothing of any thing.
1783, p. 500
There is a wicked inclination in most people to suppose an old man decayed in his intellects. If a young or middle-aged man, when leaving a company, does not remember where he laid his hat, it is nothing; but if the same inattention is discovered in an old man, people will shrug up their shoulders, and say, "His memory is going."
1783, p. 501
A man might write such stuff for ever, if he would abandon his mind to it.
1783, p. 501
Sir, there is no settling the point of precedency between a louse and a flea.
When asked by Maurice Morgann whom he considered to be the better poet — Smart or Derrick, 1783, p. 504
I never have sought the world; the world was not to seek me.
March 23, 1783
It is strange that there should be so little reading in the world, and so much writing. People in general do not willingly read, if they can have any thing else to amuse them.
May 1, 1783, p. 513
As I know more of mankind, I expect less of them, and am ready now to call a man a good man, upon easier terms than I was formerly.
1783, p. 519
It might as well be said, "Who drives fat oxen should himself be fat."
In response to a line of a tragedy that went 'Who rules o'er freemen should himself be free." June 1784
It is as bad as bad can be: it is ill-fed, ill-killed, ill-kept, and ill-drest.
Of roast mutton served to him at an inn, June 3, 1784, p. 535
Milton, Madam, was a genius that could cut a Colossus from a rock; but could not carve heads upon cherry-stones.
In response to Hannah More wondering why Milton could write Paradise Lost but only poor sonnets. June 13, 1784, p. 542
Courage is a quality so necessary for maintaining virtue that it is always respected, even when it is associated with vice.
June 1784, p. 526 [5]
Sir, I have found you an argument; but I am not obliged to find you an understanding.
June 1784, p. 545
Sir, I look upon every day to be lost, in which I do not make a new acquaintance.
November 1784, p. 566
How small of all that human hearts endure,
That part which laws or kings can cause or cure!
Still to ourselves in every place consigned,
Our own felicity we make or find.
With secret course, which no loud storms annoy,
Glides the smooth current of domestic joy.
Lines added to Goldsmith's Traveller
Trade's proud empire hastes to swift decay.
Line added to Goldsmith's Deserted Village
Words are men's daughters, but God's sons are things.
Boulter's Monument. (Supposed to have been inserted by Dr. Johnson, 1745.)
To be of no church is dangerous. Religion, of which the rewards are distant, and which is animated only by faith and hope, will glide by degrees out of the mind unless it be invigorated and reimpressed by external ordinances, by stated calls to worship, and the salutary influence of example.
Life of Milton
The trappings of a monarchy would set up an ordinary commonwealth.
Life of Milton
I am glad that he thanks God for anything.
1755
Sir, I think all Christians, whether Papists or Protestants, agree in the essential articles, and that their differences are trivial, and rather political than religious.
1763
Sir, your levellers wish to level down as far as themselves; but they cannot bear levelling up to themselves.
1763
I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly will hardly mind anything else.
1763
This was a good dinner enough, to be sure, but it was not a dinner to ask a man to.
1763
A very unclubable man.
1764
I do not know, sir, that the fellow is an infidel; but if he be an infidel, he is an infidel as a dog is an infidel; that is to say, he has never thought upon the subject.
1769
I am a great friend to public amusements; for they keep people from vice.
1772
Much may be made of a Scotchman if he be caught young.
1772
Let him go abroad to a distant country; let him go to some place where he is not known. Don't let him go to the devil, where he is known.
1773
Was ever poet so trusted before?
1774
I never take a nap after dinner but when I have had a bad night; and then the nap takes me.
1775
In lapidary inscriptions a man is not upon oath.
1775
Questioning is not the mode of conversation among gentlemen.
1776
All this [wealth] excludes but one evil,—poverty.
1777
Employment, sir, and hardships prevent melancholy.
1777
He was so generally civil that nobody thanked him for it.
1777
Goldsmith, however, was a man who whatever he wrote, did it better than any other man could do.
1778
Johnson said that he could repeat a complete chapter of "The Natural History of Iceland" from the Danish of Horrebow, the whole of which was exactly thus: "There are no snakes to be met with throughout the whole island." 62 [Chap. lxxii.]
1778
The true, strong, and sound mind is the mind that can embrace equally great things and small.
1778
I remember a passage in Goldsmith's "Vicar of Wakefield," which he was afterwards fool enough to expunge: "I do not love a man who is zealous for nothing."… There was another fine passage too which he struck out: "When I was a young man, being anxious to distinguish myself, I was perpetually starting new propositions. But I soon gave this over; for I found that generally what was new was false."
1779
The potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice.
1780?
He is not only dull himself, but the cause of dullness in others.
1784
You see they'd have fitted him to a T.
1784
Blown about with every wind of criticism.
1784
As with my hat upon my head
I walk'd along the Strand,
I there did meet another man
With his hat in his hand.
George Steevens, 310
The limbs will quiver and move after the soul is gone.
Northcote, 487
Hawkesworth said of Johnson, "You have a memory that would convict any author of plagiarism in any court of literature in the world."
Kearsley, 600
His conversation does not show the minute-hand, but he strikes the hour very correctly.
Kearsley, 604
Hunting was the labour of the savages of North America, but the amusement of the gentlemen of England.
Kearsley, 606
I am very fond of the company of ladies. I like their beauty, I like their delicacy, I like their vivacity, and I like their silence.
Seward, 617
Misattributed[ edit ]
Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original and the part that is original is not good.
"Many people believe Samuel Johnson said it, but no one seems to have found it anywhere in his works or letters, or, for that matter any of the biographies of him by his contemporaries. I'm basing that on what's been included in Primary Source Media's CD-ROM of Johnson and Boswell. The CD-ROM includes all of Johnson's writings in the canon, Boswell's Life of Johnson and Tour of the Hebrides, as well as accounts from Hester Thrale, Sir John Hawkins, Fanny Burney, plus O.M. Brack's 'Early Biographies.' In short, practically nothing from the 18th Century has been left out. In addition, I've also consulted 'The Beauties of Johnson,' an 18th Century collection of Johnson quotations."
Indeed, the freedom with which Dr. Johnson condemns whatever he disapproves of is astonishing.
Fanny Burney [Mme D’Arblay] (1752-1840), Diary, 23rd August 1778
Dr. Johnson was observed by a musical friend of his to be extremely inattentive at a concert, whilst a celebrated solo player was running up and down the divisions and subdivisions of notes upon his violin. His friend, to induce him to take greater notice of what was going on, told him how extremely difficult it was. 'Difficult, do you call it, Sir?' replied the Doctor; 'I wish it were impossible.'
Anecdotes by William Seward, F.R.S. printed in Johnsonian Miscellanies, (1897), vol. II, page 308, edited by George Birkbeck Hill
I called on Dr. Johnson one morning, when Mrs. Williams, the blind lady, was conversing with him. She was telling him where she had dined the day before. "There were several gentlemen there," said she, "and when some of them came to the tea-table, I found that there had been a good deal of hard drinking." She closed this observation with a common and trite moral reflection; which, indeed, is very ill-founded, and does great injustice to animals—"I wonder what pleasure men can take in making beasts of themselves." "I wonder, Madam," replied the Doctor, "that you have not penetration to see the strong inducement to this excess; for he who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man."
Anecdotes of the Revd. Percival Stockdale; collected in "Johnsonian Miscellanies," edited by G.B. Hill Ballade of Soporific Absorption J.C. Squires
| i don't know |
What name is given to the branch of Christianity followed by Jews in Israel and the U.S.A.? | Judaism or Christianity? Law of Moses or Gospel of Jesus?
Judaism or Christianity:
The Law of Moses or the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
Judaism or Christianity: Which is the true religion of God? Should Jews follow the Law of Moses or the Gospel of Jesus? Are Jesus and the New Testament a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah and His kingdom? Did Jesus do miracles like Moses and other prophets? How should a Christian treat those who hold the Jewish faith?
Introduction:
Judaism is a major world religion, and the Jewish race is widely known throughout the world. In the 1990's there were over 18 million Jews in the world, of whom only about 5 million lived in the nation of Israel. The rest are scattered throughout all the nations of the world.
The purpose of this study is to examine the religion of Judaism.
What do Jews today believe? How does Judaism differ from Christianity? Should we follow the Law of Moses or the Gospel? Are Jesus and the New Testament a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah and His kingdom? How should a Christian treat those who hold the Jewish faith?
Judaism may be defined as the religion that believes in worshiping one God based on the teachings of the Law of Moses as interpreted by Jewish traditions, and on the belief that God still has special blessings for the descendants of Jacob.
There are today three main branches:
1) Orthodox Jews are the strictest in following the Old Testament and Jewish traditions.
2) Progressive (Reformed) Jews are loosest in interpreting and following the Old Testament.
3) Conservative Jews are midway between Orthodox and Progressive Jews.
Zionism is a Jewish movement to restore the nation of Israel, and it includes people of all Jewish branches.
Despite the changes in Judaism, the major differences between modern Jews and Christians are basically the same as in the first century.
Christians can know how to relate to Jews by following the example of Jesus and the first-century church.
Consider the teachings of Judaism regarding the following subjects:
I. Teaching Regarding the New Testament
vs. the Old Testament
Jews reject the inspiration of the New Testament, claiming we should still follow the Law of Moses. They believe God intended the Old Law to be binding for all time, never to be removed and replaced by the New Testament.
A. Evidence for the Temporary Nature of the Old Testament
Old Testament evidence that God intended to remove and replace it.
Jeremiah 31:31-34 - In the Old Testament itself, God promised to make a new covenant not according to the one given at Mt. Sinai. Hebrews 8:7-13 quotes Jeremiah, claiming it was fulfilled when the New Testament of Jesus replaced the law given at Sinai (cf. 10:15-17).
Psalm 110:4; Zechariah 6:12,13 - Christ was prophesied to be a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Under the Law of Moses, priests had to be of the tribe of Levi, but the Christ was also prophesied to be a descendant of David of the tribe of Judah (2 Sam. 7:14f; cf. Matt. 22:42).
Hence, if the Christ would be a priest, yet of the tribe of Judah, God must have intended all along to change the Law of Moses. This is argued in Heb. 7:11-18. (Note: If the Levitical priesthood was adequate to meet the needs of man, why did God promise a different priest?) [Cf. Hag. 2:6 to Heb. 12:26-28]
These Old Testament passages show that God never intended the Laws of Moses to be permanent. He said all along that they would someday be replaced by a different system.
New Testament statements about the replacement of the Old Testament
Since Jews do not accept the authority of New Testament teachings, we will first show what the New Testament claims. Then we will present evidence to validate those claims.
Hebrews 10:9,10 - Hebrews gives a detailed comparison between the Old Testament ("first will") and the New Testament ("second will"). It claims that God sent Jesus to "take away" the first and "establish" the second. It then shows the benefits of the New Testament and why we should accept it as the replacement of the Old.
Romans 3:20 - Why then did God gave the Old Testament? It was given, not to justify men, but to give men the knowledge of sin. It showed that "all have sinned" (v23). This is proved by numerous quotes from the Old Law itself (v9-18).
Galatians 3:22-29 - The law gave regulations showing people were sinners, but it had no means to forgive sins permanently (Hebrews 10:3,4). It proved that all are sinners, confined under the guilt of sin, so all need forgiveness. This should lead people to accept a system of real forgiveness when it came. Hence, the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.
This forgiveness is offered by Jesus' death on the cross through the teachings of the gospel (New Testament). Since this system of faith has now come, we are no longer under the schoolmaster (Old Law). By accepting the New Testament, Jews are inheriting the blessing God promised to Abraham's descendants.
These are the claims of the New Testament. Now consider:
[Cf. Rom. 7:1-7; Eph. 2:11-19; Col. 2:14-17; 2 Cor. 3:7-11.]
B. Evidence that the New Testament Was Revealed from God
Jews must first be challenged to consider the basis on which they conclude that the Law and the Prophets were inspired by God. When they recognize their reasons for accepting the Old Testament as being a valid revelation from God, then we can show that identical evidence exists to prove that the New Testament is also a valid revelation from God.
Historical accuracy
The Old Testament is a reliable historical record, and the same is true of the New Testament.
The Jewish historian Josephus, together with other secular historians, confirm the accuracy of the New Testament on over 40 different points (Paley's Evidences of Christianity, pp. 271-287).
Charles Pfeiffer: "Naturally, archaeological support is not available for every Biblical event. Yet it is true to say that it has corroborated the substantial historicity of the Biblical record from the patriarchal age to the apostolic age" (The Biblical World, p. 65).
The book of Acts, in particular, was confirmed to be accurate by Sir William Ramsay. As a skeptic, he sought to disprove the historical accuracy of Acts. His efforts so completely convinced him of the accuracy of the book that he became a believer in it (Archaeology and Bible History, Free, p. 317).
We must accept the historical accuracy of the New Testament just as surely as we do the Old Testament. This being true, it is valid for us to cite the New Testament as historic fact.
The evidence of miracles
The purpose of miracles
Exodus 4:1-8; 14:31; 1 Kings 18:36-39 -- Moses, Joshua, Elijah, Daniel, and other Old Testament prophets proved they were true spokesman for God by doing great miracles. Miracles were supernatural acts which men could accomplish only if God truly was working through them. This is valid reason to accept their teachings as being inspired by God.
But the same kind of evidence just as convincingly demonstrates that Jesus and the New Testament apostles and prophets were inspired by God.
Consider some examples of their miracles:
John 8:17,18; Deuteronomy 19:15; 17:6 - Old and New Testaments both teach that events are established as historic fact on the basis of the testimony of witnesses. Consider the testimony of witnesses about the miracles done by Jesus and His apostles:
* Raising the dead - John 11:17-44; Matthew 9:18-26; Acts 9:36-42; 20:9-12
* Casting out demons - Matthew 9:32-34; 17:14-18; Acts 16:16-18
* Walking on water and calming a storm - Matthew 14:22-33; 8:23-27
* Feeding thousands of people with a boy's lunch, and having more food left over at the end than existed at the beginning - Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39
* Instantaneously and completely healing all kinds of diseases, including obvious, incurable diseases such as leprosy, lameness, blindness, deafness, and missing limbs - John 4:46-54; 5:1-9; 9:1-11; Acts 19:11f; 3:1-12; 14:8-10
Remember that the New Testament writers can be trusted as historically accurate, just as the Old Testament writers can. And the New Testament accounts constitute the testimony of eyewitnesses, just like the Old Testament required.
Not even the Jews of the first century could prove these miracles to be frauds.
Even those who did not believe the gospel still admitted the validity of the miracles of Jesus and His apostles.
John 11:47,48 - The Jewish leaders admitted regarding Jesus that "this man works many signs."
Acts 4:16 - They likewise admitted, regarding the healing of a lame man by Peter and John, "For, indeed, that a notable miracle has been done through them is evident to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it."
Many New Testament miracles actually fulfilled Old Testament prophecies (cf. Joel 2:28-32 to Acts 2:17-21).
There is at least as much evidence for believing in the validity of New Testament miracles as there is for Old Testament miracles. If Jews accept Old Testament prophets on the basis of miracles, they must also accept Jesus and New Testament prophets as being from God.
The evidence of fulfilled prophecy
On many occasions Old Testament writers predicted the future, and those predictions came true. This is one of the strongest proofs of the validity of the Old Testament. It proves God was working through these men, else they could never have known about these future events.
However, in order to see the fulfillment of these Old Testament prophecies, often we must turn to the New Testament. Specifically, as we will study in more detail later, Jesus fulfilled all the prophecies concerning the Messiah.
Likewise, Jesus and His apostles and prophets often predicted future events and those predictions came true just like with Old Testament prophets.
Hence, the evidence of fulfilled prophecy supports the inspiration of the New Testament just as certainly as it does the Old Testament. In fact, any Jew who would attempt to disprove that the New Testament is a revelation from God, would with equal force disprove his Old Testament.
The inspiration of the Old Testament stands or falls together with the inspiration of the New Testament. The evidence for one is equally as valid as the evidence for the other. You cannot consistently accept the inspiration of one and not the other.
II. Teaching about Oral Tradition
In addition to the Old Testament, Jews accept oral traditions as religious authority. These traditions were supposed to have been handed down by word of mouth from the time of Moses throughout many generations till the third to sixth centuries A.D., at which time they were written down, along with the comments of rabbis, in the Talmud. The rabbis also give official interpretations of these traditions and even modify them to adapt them to changing times, and the people are expected to accept these teachings.
A. The Old Testament Itself Condemned Human Tradition as Authority.
Matthew 15:1-9 - One of Jesus' major criticisms of the Jews was their adherence to the traditions of the elders. He said it made their worship vain, because it was based on man-made laws. But Jesus here quoted Isaiah 29:13, where the Old Testament itself said God is displeased if we fear Him on the basis of commands of men.
Deuteronomy 4:2 (12:32) - Men are forbidden to add to or take from God's revealed commands. Only God has the right to change His commands, and we have seen that eventually He did so. But men have no such right.
Leviticus 10:1-3 - Nadab and Abihu illustrate God's attitude when men presume to modify His instructions. They were slain because they took the fire for the incense from someplace other than where He instructed. [cf. Prov. 30:5,6]
Servants of God must always have valid Divine authority for their practices. Over 1700 years passed from the time Moses lived till the time oral tradition was written down. What proof is there that these traditions are really of divine authority? And what right do religious teachers have making changes in God's law and then binding them on others?
B. Traditions Sometimes Plainly Contradict the Old Testament.
First-century examples
Matthew 15:1-20 - Contrary to the Law, Jews justified people who refused to care for their elderly parents, provided they made a contribution to the temple service. [Ex. 20:12; Deut. 5:16; Lev. 20:9]
Matthew 12:9-14 - Contrary to the true meaning of the Law, the Jews condemned Jesus for doing good to others on the Sabbath. Jesus had not violated the law, but only man-made tradition about the law. [John 5:16-18; 7:22,23]
Modern-day examples
Since the temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, Jews have offered no animal sacrifices, nor have they kept the feast-days, etc. Yet the Old Law plainly commanded these as conditions of forgiveness of sins. [Lev. 4-6,16,17,23; Num. 15:28f]
Violation of the Sabbath and many other acts were capital crimes under the Law, yet Jews do not kill people today for violating those laws. [Ex. 31:15; chap. 21; etc.]
Other examples demonstrate that, Jewish traditions constitute man-made laws that are added to God's law or in some cases flatly contradict it. This is true today, as it was in Jesus' day.
III. Teaching about the Nation of Israel
Jews believe that, for all time, they will remain Gods chosen people according to the covenant with Abraham. In particular, they look forward to the reign of the Messiah on earth, during which time Jews will always have a favored status over non-Jews. Non-Jews may receive some benefits of the Messiahs kingdom, but never as fully as Jews do. Jews must always receive dominant blessings.
Non-Jews can receive eternal reward after the Messianic age, if they meet certain conditions; but Jews are born to receive that destiny. Jews reject any doctrine which gives Gentiles equal standing with Jews in the Messianic kingdom or which affirms Jews and Gentiles will receive their eternal rewards on the basis of the same conditions.
Consider the Bible teaching about these points.
A. The Old Testament Prophesied that Gentiles Would Receive the Blessings Offered by the Messiah.
As is characteristic of prophecy, these truths are not stated as clearly as in the New Testament fulfillment. But when viewed in light of first-century events, the meaning of the prophecies is clear.
Isaiah 49:6 - The servant (Messiah) who would restore Israel, would also be a light to the Gentiles and extend salvation throughout the earth. This is cited in Acts 13:47 showing the blessings of Jesus were for Gentiles too.
Amos 9:11,12 - When God restores the tabernacle of David (i.e., his family would rule as king), all nations (not just one nation) will be called by God's name. This is quoted in Acts 15:13-18 to show Gentiles could be saved on the same conditions as Jews.
Genesis 26:4 - God made great promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (12:3; 22:18; 28:14). He said their descendants would become a great nation and receive the land of Canaan, and also that through their descendants all nations would be blessed.
This is fulfilled in Jesus who came as the Messiah and offered forgiveness to all people of all nations (Gal. 3:8,16; Acts 3:25f). Note that this blessing was to come through Abraham's descendants, but it was to come to people of all nations.
This was the last of the three promises to Abraham. When it was fulfilled at Jesus' death, there was no longer any reason for Israel to have any special status in God's plan. All promises to national Israel have been fulfilled.
Matthew 28:19f; Mark 16:15f - Salvation is now available to all people from all nations in the whole world on the basis of the same conditions. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.
Isaiah 2:2,3 - When the Lord's law went forth from Jerusalem and His house would be established, all nations would flow into it. This is fulfilled in the New Testament church, which is the Lord's house (1 Tim. 3:15). Gentiles as well as Jews may enter (Eph. 2:11-20). [Hos 2:23; 1:9,10; cf. Rom. 9:25,26; 1 Pet. 2:10]
[Also cf. Isa. 42:1ff to Matt. 12:18ff; Isa. 65:1 and Deut. 32:21 to Rom. 10:19f; Isa. 11:10; Psa. 18:49; 2 Sam. 22:50; Deut. 32:43: Psa. 117:1 with Rom. 15:9-12; Luke 4:24-34]
B. The Conversion of Gentiles in the New Testament Was Expressly Confirmed by Miracles.
As discussed previously, the purpose of miracles was to confirm teachings as being revealed by God. God expressly sent numerous miracles expressly to confirm the doctrine that Gentiles can receive the blessings of salvation by the gospel on the same conditions as Jews.
Acts 10 & 11 -- The first Gentile convert of the New Testament was told God is no respecter of persons. He will accept people of all nations if they will fear Him and work righteousness (10:34,35). God gave several miracles to confirm this conclusion to Peter and the Jews with him. Peter cited these miracles to confirm his action of baptizing Gentiles (11:4-18):
* Peter received a vision teaching him not to call unclean those things that God had cleansed (11:5-10)
* The Holy Spirit expressly told Peter to go with the messengers sent from Cornelius (11:11,12).
* An angel appeared to Cornelius and told him to send for Peter who would tell him what to do to be saved (11:13,14).
* The Holy Spirit came on Cornelius and his household, granting them miraculous powers (11:15-17).
The conclusion was that these miracles proved God granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life (v18). To reject this conclusion would be to withstand the revelation of God (v17). This is exactly what is done by Jews today, when they reject the salvation of Gentiles according to the gospel.
Acts 15:1,5,7-13 - The first-century Christians debated the question of whether Gentiles could be saved on the basis of obedience to the gospel. The issue was settled on the basis of the Old Testament prophecies previously cited and on the basis of the miracles that confirmed the work of Peter and Paul in converting Gentiles.
The Jewish nation served a very important role in bringing Christ into the world. All people should appreciate this. But this work has been completed, and salvation is now available to all people of all nations on the same basis. We are now in the Messianic age, and there is no favoritism for Jews now nor in the future.
[2 Chronicles 19:7; Deut. 10:17; Rom. 4:6-13; Isa. 10:22f; 1:9 with Rom. 9:27,29; Isa. 65:2 with Rom. 10:21; 1 Kings 19:10,18 with Rom. 11:2-4; Isa. 29:10; Deut. 29:4; Psa. 69:22f with Rom. 11:8-10; see also the Jews' rejection of Jesus below]
IV. Teaching about the Kingdom of the Messiah
Jews anticipate a Messianic age sometime in the future. Some believe the Messiah will be a person who reigns; others think Old Testament references to the Messiah are just symbolic references to a coming age.
In this kingdom Israel will be an earthly nation richly blessed as it was under David and Solomon. The dead will be raised and temptation to sin will end. God will protect Israel from all foreign oppression and give her revenge over her enemies. This age will last for a limited period of time and afterward men will receive eternal rewards. Current events in the state of Israel are taken as signs this Messianic age may be about to begin.
This concept is basically the same as was held by Jews in the first century. Hence, we can respond to it in the same way that Jesus and His apostles did then. It is also similar to premillennial doctrine among professing Christians, so we can respond to it much as we would to that doctrine.
The New Testament teaches that Jesus is the Messiah and His kingdom now exists. It is the church, which is a spiritual or religious rulership (Col. 1:13; Matt. 16:16-19). Old Testament prophecies are not as clear regarding the nature of the Messianic kingdom as is the New Testament fulfillment. Nevertheless, several Old Testament passage confirm the spiritual nature of the kingdom and are difficult to harmonize with the Jewish view.
A. The Messiah Would be A Prophet and a Priest
Deuteronomy 18:15,18,19 predicts a prophet like Moses. This is fulfilled in Jesus (Acts 3:22,23). If the Messiah were also a prophet, this would imply a spiritual aspect to His work. Note that any who would reject this prophet (as Jews have done) would be held accountable by God.
Psalm 110:4; Zechariah 6:12,13 - The Messiah would be a priest while He was king, a priest after the order of Melchizedek. Melchizedek was both king and priest at the same time (Gen. 14:18). This clearly prophesies a kingdom that would be spiritual in emphasis. It is fulfilled in Jesus (Heb. 5:6-10; 6:20; 7:17). [Note that the reference to the "Branch" is Messianic - Zech. 3:8; Isa. 53:2; 11:1; Jer. 23:5; 33:15]
B. The Jewish People Would Reject Their Messiah When He Came.
Isaiah 53:3 - He would be despised, rejected, and not esteemed by His people. [49:7]
Psalm 22:6-8 - He would be reproached, despised, mocked [cf. Matt. 27:41-43].
Psalm 118:22,23 - He is compared to God's chief cornerstone, yet the builders would reject Him. This was fulfilled when the Jews rejected Jesus (Acts 4:11). [Matt. 21:42; Mark 12:10f; Luke 20:17; 1 Peter 2:7]
Instead of picturing a rulership with great honor to the Jews and victory over their enemies, the prophecies say the Jews would actually reject their own Messiah when He did come. This is exactly what they did and still do to Jesus.
C. The Messiah Would Suffer and Be Killed.
Rather than the victorious earthly king that the Jews expect, many prophecies picture a suffering, dying Messiah.
Zechariah 12:10 - They would look on Him whom they pierced (the context is Messianic). This was fulfilled (John 19:37).
Zechariah 13:7 - A sword would be turned against the shepherd. He would be smitten and His sheep scattered. The was fulfilled according to Matt. 26:31. [Isa. 40:11; Ezek. 34:23f; 37:24; Micah 5:2,4]
Isaiah 53 - He would be as a lamb led to the slaughter (v7), cut off out of the land of the living (v8). His grave would be with the wicked and with a rich man in His death (v9). He would pour out His soul to death (v12). The whole context describes one who dies as a sacrifice for the sins of others (v5-12). It is applied to Jesus in Luke 22:37; Acts 8:32ff.
One of the main reasons Jews reject Jesus is that they cannot believe in a Messiah who suffers and dies instead of reigning gloriously over an earthly kingdom. Yet this is exactly what their Scriptures predicted. It also shows the spiritual purpose of His coming and His kingdom.
D. The Messiah Was Greater than Any Mere Man.
Psalm 110:1 - The Messiah would be David's lord.
Matthew 22:41-46 - Jesus asked the Jews of His day how this could be. They believe the Messiah is just a descendant of David who would be a king like David. Why then would David call him his master or ruler? First-century Jews could not answer, and neither can modern Jews.
The New Testament shows that the Christ was Divine. He was not just an earthly man, a descendant of David. He was also the Son of God, the eternal Creator, God in the flesh (John 1:1,14; 20:28). Hence, He was both David's son (descendant) and David's Master ("lord").
It is true that some Old Testament passages, if taken literally, could be viewed as prophesying a literal, earthly kingdom. But it must be remembered that many prophecies were never intended to be taken literally but figuratively or symbolically.
All the passages we have cited conflict with the Jews' view about the Messianic kingdom. And all these passages harmonize with the New Testament concept of a spiritual or religious reign. The New Testament gives an inspired interpretation of these Old Testament prophecies, showing their fulfillment in Jesus. And remember that the New Testament teaching was confirmed by the miracles done by Jesus, His apostles, etc.
V. Teaching about Jesus
Jews generally reject Jesus as the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament. Some accept Him as a great teacher, even a prophet. But none accept His miracles, resurrection, Deity, or that He was Messiah. Their reasons for rejecting Him are:
* He established a spiritual kingdom, not an earthly one.
* He claimed Deity.
* He suffered and died.
* He rejected and violated the Jews' oral traditions.
* He taught that forgiveness and the blessings of the kingdom are the same for all men, with no favoritism for Jews.
* He taught that the Law of Moses would be removed.
* He rebuked the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, who then became jealous of His following (Matt. 6:1-18; 13:10-15; chap. 23; 27:18; John 7:7ff; 12:42f; etc.).
We have dealt specifically with nearly all these points elsewhere in this study. Consider now Jesus' claims and the evidence that they are true.
A. Jesus' Claims
* He claimed He would rise from the dead (Matt. 16:21 and other verses below).
* He accepted worship (Matt. 28:9; cf. 4:10).
* He claimed power to forgive sins (Mark 2:1-12).
* He claimed to perform miracles (Matt. 9:1-8; 11:2-6; 12:22-37; 17:1-8; John 5:1-18,36; 9:1-41; 10:37f; 11:47; etc. - see previous notes on miracles).
* He blessed people for calling Him God and the Son of God (John 20:28-31; Matt. 16:15-18).
* He claimed that people must believe in Him as the savior of mankind or they would die in sin (Luke 19:10; John 8:24).
* He claimed to be the Messiah/Christ (Matt. 16:16f; Luke 4:16-21).
Jews deny all these claims. Therefore, they cannot consistently accept Him as even a good man or great teacher. Either His claims are true and He is who He claimed, or else His claims are false and He is a fraud, a liar, an impostor, and a blasphemer.
John 8:17,18; Deuteronomy 19:15; 17:6 - Remember the principle that a man's guilt or innocence must be determined on the testimony of witnesses. Consider the testimony of the witnesses for Jesus' claims.
B. Jesus' Miracles
We earlier discussed the evidence for Jesus' miracles, thereby validating His claims on the basis of eyewitness testimony. The evidence for Jesus' miracles is stronger than that for any other prophet, including Moses, Elijah, and other Old Testament prophets. If Jews deny Jesus' miracles, they may as well deny the miracles of all their own prophets.
But the purpose of miracles was to confirm that a prophet really was speaking by the guidance of God. If we grant Jesus' miracles are true, then we must admit the truthfulness of every one of His claims.
C. Jesus' Fulfilled Prophecies
John 5:39 - Jesus claimed that He fulfilled Old Testament prophecies and therefore His claims must be true. Here are a few of the prophecies He fulfilled:
* Born in Bethlehem - Micah 5:2 (Matt. 2:1,6)
* A descendant of David - 2 Sam. 7:14f (Acts 13:22f)
* Born of a virgin - Isa. 7:14 (Matt. 1:23; Luke 2:26ff)
* A prophet to prepare His way - Isa. 40:3ff; Mal. 3:1 (Matt. 3:3; 11:10; Luke 3:4,5; John 1:23)
* A prophet Himself - Deut. 18:15-19 (Acts 3:22,23)
* A priest - Psa. 110:4 (Heb. chap. 5-7)
* Perform miracles - Isa. 53:4 (Matt. 8:17)
* Deity - Psa. 45:6; 110:1; 97:7 (Heb. 1:6-8,13; Matt. 22:42-46; John 1:1,14; 20:28)
* Triumphal entry into Jerusalem - Zech. 9:9 (Matt. 21:5; John 12:15).
* Betrayed by a friend for 30 pieces of silver - Psa. 41:9; Zech. 11:12f (John 13:18; Matt. 27:9,10).
* Killed (including many details of His death) - Zech. 13:7; 12:10; Isa. 53; Psa. 22:18; Ex. 12:46; Num. 9:12; Psa. 34:20 (John 19:36,37,24; Matt. 26:31; Luke 22:37; Acts 8:32f)
* Raised from the dead - Psa. 16:10 (Acts 2:25-28; 13:33-35)
* Rejected by the Jews (see previous notes).
In addition, Jesus Himself made many predictions, which came true (Matt. 16:21; chap. 24; 26:33-35; John 13:21-30).
The Jews' own Scriptures confirm Jesus' claims to be true. How could He fulfill all these prophecies and not be the Messiah? If the Jewish Scriptures are true, then Jesus is the Messiah. To deny He is Christ is to deny the truthfulness of Old Testament Scriptures.
D. Jesus' Resurrection
The apostles preached everywhere that Jesus was raised from the dead (Rom. 1:4; Acts 2:14-36; etc.). If Jesus really was raised from the dead, then this is surely a great miracle, which validates His claims. Consider the strength of the testimony regarding His resurrection. And remember that the Law itself clearly teaches that historic fact is determined on the testimony of witnesses.
The number of accounts
The following New Testament accounts testify about the events surrounding Jesus' death:
* Matthew 27,28
* Acts 1,2,9 (and other sermons by the apostles)
* 1 Corinthians 15
The number of eyewitnesses
1 Corinthians 15:3-8 lists a number of appearances to various eyewitnesses. The accounts listed above give additional appearances. Altogether over 500 people saw Jesus alive after He had died.
The nature of the accounts
These accounts are presented calmly with many historical details. Jesus appeared to people, spoke to them, ate with them, and let them touch Him. The tone is completely factual, not fanatical or imaginative.
These appearances were to individuals and to large groups under various conditions and in various places. The witnesses were skeptical and inquiring, not gullible. They did not believe till after conclusive proof was given.
Since the truthfulness is determined on the basis of eyewitness testimony (Deut. 19:15; etc.), how can this testimony be explained away? Can the witnesses be proved incompetent? If not, then on the basis of the principles of their own law, Jews must accept Jesus' claims as valid.
The empty tomb
It cannot be denied that Jesus' body was gone from the tomb. If it had not been, the Jews would have produced it and disproved the disciples' claims as soon as they began to preach Jesus was raised.
How can the empty tomb be explained? What happened to the body?
The lack of contradictory evidence in the first century
The disciples began to preach the resurrection within a few weeks of the event. Many enemies disbelieved the claim and who would have gladly disproved it if they could. If it could be disproved, those who were present at that time would have been in the best position to do so. They had at least as much reason to try to disprove it as modern Jews do.
Yet the only attempt they ever made to disprove the evidence was to claim the disciples stole the body while the guards slept (Matt. 28:11-15). Yet how could the men know what happened while they slept? Since the penalty for losing a prisoner while sleeping on guard was death, why would the guards admit this if it really were true? Why would the disciples preach the resurrection and then suffer and die for it without ever retracting it, if they knew it was a lie?
Instead of disproving the resurrection, many first-century Jews accepted it and became Christians. The others simply persecuted the Christians to try to keep them quiet. But no one ever disproved the claim of the resurrection. If people then could not disprove it, how could anyone today even hope to disprove it?
The Jews' reasons for rejecting it
We should not be surprised that Jews rejected Jesus' claims. Their rejection of Him was prophesied (see passages already cited). And throughout their history they have rejected God's messengers (Isa. 6:9f; Matt. 23:29-37; Acts 7:38-41,51-53). The surprising thing is not that they rejected Jesus. The amazing thing would have been if they had accepted Him!
The Jews' rejection of Jesus does not prove He was not the Messiah. It just proves the Jews were true to the practices of past generations! Honest Jews need to open their hearts to consider the evidence for who Jesus is, not just reject Him because Jews have traditionally done so.
VI. Teaching about Forgiveness of Sins
Jews generally admit that they violate their law from time to time. How can they be forgiven of these sins?
They are not forgiven by the sacrifice of their Messiah.
Jesus died to save Jews as well as all other people. But the Jews reject Him and the sacrifice He offered, so they cannot be forgiven by it (John 8:24; Mark 16:16). Furthermore, they deny that their Messiah will die for their sins when He does come. Hence, they cannot be forgiven by their Messiah's sacrifice.
They are not forgiven by Old Testament animal sacrifices.
Ezekiel 18:20 - The soul who sins would die. The Old Testament condemns all who did not keep it sinlessly. The only way to avoid condemnation under that law was to keep it perfectly (Lev. 18:5). [Gal. 3:10,12; Deut. 27:26; Rom. 10:5; Gen. 2:17]
Romans 3:10-18,23 quotes numerous Old Testament passages showing the Jews did not keep their law sinlessly. Hence, all were condemned by it.
Jeremiah 31:34 predicted that, unlike the Old Testament, the New Testament would provide a way by which sins would never again be held against the people. As the New Testament explains, the sins of the people under the Old Testament were remembered every year (Heb. 10:3-6,17).
So even if the Jews offered animal sacrifices, their sins would not be permanently removed. By seeking to stay under that system, they attempt to continue a system that condemns them for their sins and gives no solution to the problem!
In fact, they do not even offer the animal sacrifices any more.
Since the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, no sacrifices have been offered at all. Jews today believe that offerings are not needed; rather they believe they can be forgiven simply by repenting and praying.
Yet the law, which they claim is still in effect, clearly required the sacrifices (see Scriptures listed previously). By failing to offer them, the Jews leave themselves with no means of forgiveness. In fact, they even compound their sin by disobeying the commands to offer the sacrifices.
Leviticus 17:11 explains that atonement requires the shedding of blood. Sin requires death as a punishment (as described above). God allows one who is innocent to die in the place of the one who is guilty. But the life is in the blood, so shedding of blood is necessary for forgiveness (Heb. 9:22).
The animal sacrifices were only a symbol looking forward to Jesus' perfect sacrifice. But without a sacrifice there is no forgiveness, and the Jews are without a sacrifice.
Every Jew stands condemned by the very law to which he claims allegiance. It condemns his sins but offers no permanent forgiveness. Jews no longer attempt to attain even the temporary forgiveness the law offered, and they reject the sacrifice of the Messiah. Hence, Jews are condemned by their own law to be sinners with no means of forgiveness!
Conclusion
The differences Christians have with Jews today are the same differences we have always had. Therefore, we must offer Jews the same evidence we have always offered them. Only by accepting the gospel can they receive the real blessings their law offers.
The gospel fulfills the Old Testament. It promises that all men, Jew and Gentile, can be saved by the sacrifice of Jesus.
Isaiah 59:20 - "The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," says the Lord. But to be saved, Jews must believe in that redeemer (Isa. 28:16). These prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus. All Jews who want forgiveness can have it freely through Him. But those who do not believe will die in their sins (John 8:24).
Every Jew on earth ought to rejoice to accept the gospel of Jesus. Their Messiah has come. Let them accept Him and rejoice!
[Rom. 11:26f; 9:33; Hab. 2:4; Gal. 3:11]
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"Which cabinet minister made the following apology in 2011? ""I simply wanted to make sure that the pieces of paper were not weighing me down. I have to apologise because on reflection I shouldn't have disposed of them in that way""" | God and the Nation of Israel : Christian Courier
God and the Nation of Israel
by Wayne Jackson
Premillennialism is the notion that Jesus will return to this earth before he commences a one thousand-year reign on David’s throne in Jerusalem.
Premillennialism, and its theological sister, dispensationalism, argue that in connection with the second coming of Christ, God intends to reestablish a Jewish kingdom in Palestine. The doctrine contends that there is yet a purpose to be served by physical Israel.
Dispensationalists allege that in the “seven-year tribulation period,” just prior to Christ’s “millennial reign,” God will restore the Jews to Palestine, and a national conversion of the Hebrew people will occur. It is not claimed that every Jew will be won to Christ; however, such vast multitudes will be saved—numbers proportionate to Israel’s tragic fall—that it is appropriate to refer to the phenomenon as a “national” conversion.
One writer describes this so-called “restoration” as follows:
The same prophets who predicted the world-wide exile and persecution of the Jews also predicted their restoration as a nation ... This restoration was to come about in the general time of the climactic seven-year countdown and its finale—the personal appearance of the Messiah to deliver the new state from destruction (Lindsey 1970, 37-38).
The foregoing theory is quite erroneous in that it repudiates numerous fundamental Bible truths. Further, it is exceedingly dangerous in that it offers a false hope to Jews. Walvoord, a millennialist, says that: “This hope of restoration has sustained the Jews through nineteen hundred years of struggle” (1974, 76). This “hope” has been grossly misplaced—thanks, in part at least, to millennialists.
Israel in the Divine plan
A balanced study of the nation of Israel must include at least four elements: the selection, testing, rejection, and replacement of the Jewish people.
Selection
Almost two thousand years before the birth of Christ, Jehovah selected Abraham to be the founder of a new nation. It was declared that through him a seed would come by whom all peoples of the earth would be blessed (cf. Gen. 12:1-3; 22:17-18).
Several centuries later, Abraham’s offspring were delivered from an era of bondage in Egypt. They were given a special law and ritualistic system of worship which were designed to separate them from the other nations of the world (Ex. 19:5-6; cf. Eph. 2:14). All of this, of course, was in view of the coming Messiah (cf. Gal. 3:24-25; Heb. 9:1-10).
Testing
For some fifteen hundred years the Lord God attempted to cultivate the nation of Israel in preparation for the first advent of the Lord Jesus. It was a constant struggle to get the Hebrews to maintain a semblance of fidelity.
They grossly violated the law, frequently went after “strange gods,” and they viciously persecuted the prophets that Jehovah sent to call them to repentance. Jeremiah summarized the history of the Israelite people when he charged that they did “nothing” of all that Jehovah commanded them (Jer. 32:23).
Rejection
Because of the accelerating rebellion of the nation, consummated by the murder of Jesus Christ, God rejected the Hebrew people. Inexcusably, the Jews rejected their own Messiah; accordingly, Jehovah repudiated that nation and determined to scatter them as dust (Matthew 21:44). Thus, in the providence of God, the Roman armies came against Palestine in A.D. 70, and Judaism was destroyed (cf. Mt. 22:7; 24:1-34); the Jewish “vessel” was smashed, and it cannot be put back together (cf. Jer. 19:11).
According to Josephus, some 1.1 million Hebrews were slaughtered, and thousands were taken into slavery. All Jewish records were lost in that holocaust.
Today, there is not a single Jew who knows his tribal ancestry (McClintock and Strong 1969, 771). The physical nation of Israel is dead. The “Jews” that make up the State of Israel today (less than twenty-five percent of the world Jewish population) cannot legitimately be called a “nation.”
Replacement
As a consequence of Israel’s rejection of the Messiah, God has replaced physical Israel with a new nation, spiritual Israel. Today, the “Jew” is not one who is so physically, but one who is so inwardly, i.e., spiritually (Rom. 2:28-29).
In this age, those who submit to the gospel plan of redemption—whether Jew or Gentile (Rom. 1:16)—become children of God, and thus are constituted as the true “seed of Abraham” (Gal. 3:26-29).
Errors of the Premillennial View Regarding the Nation of Israel
In view of the foregoing considerations, the following factors clearly indicate that the premillennial view of the nation of Israel is erroneous, and it should be rejected by conscientious students of the Bible.
God is impartial
First, it is a reflection upon the benevolent character of Jehovah to suggest that he intended to perpetually favor one nation over all others.
Such a notion is at variance with the multiple Bible affirmations which assert the universal love of God, and his just, impartial disposition with reference to the whole human family (cf. Gen. 12:3; Psa. 145:9; Acts 10:34-35).
Nation of Israel was prepratory
Second, the premillennial dogma ignores the fact that God’s initial selection of the Hebrew people, and the acquisition of the land of Canaan, was preparatory to the coming Christ. Jehovah employed the Jewish nation as a medium for the introduction of Christ into the world.
Now that the Messianic mission has been accomplished, the role of “national Israel” no longer exists (cf. Gal. 3:24-25). That “middle wall of partition,” designed to isolate Israel from the nations, has been broken down (Eph. 2:14). It was abrogated at the cross (Col. 2:14). From the divine viewpoint, old physical Israel has passed away. It has been superseded by a new Israel.
Nation of Israel’s favor was conditional
Third, the Old Testament makes it abundantly clear that Israel’s favor with Jehovah, even under the Mosaic regime, was conditional.
And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of Jehovah thy God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that Jehovah thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth (Deut. 28:1).
The Hebrews were constantly warned of the consequences of disobedience (cf. Deut. 28:15ff). They could be disinherited as a nation (Num. 14:12), and disfranchised of their land (Josh. 23:13, 16).
The truth is, there are about as many Old Testament warnings to Israel as there are promises!
No Promise of Israel’s restoration after Pentecost
Fourth, there is not a solitary New Testament passage which speaks of the restoration of national Israel and the reinstitution of Judaistic ritualism, etc.
The Old Testament prophecies which predict the literal return of the Hebrews to Palestine were fulfilled in the Jews’ release from political captivity (cf. Jer. 29:10; Ezr. 1:1).
Other predictions, which speak of a “restoration” of Israel, refer to a spiritual restoration (to God, not Palestine—cf. Isa. 49:5) through Jehovah’s servant, Christ. Sometimes this spiritual restoration to God, through the redemptive work of Christ, is symbolically viewed in terms of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, etc. (cf. Jer. 31:38-40).
This blessing was for Jew and Gentile alike. Study carefully Isa. 49:5ff, and note Paul’s use of this context in the New Testament (Acts 13:47; 2 Cor. 6:2).
Tragic future predicted for Israel
Fifth, there are many New Testament passages which portray a tragic future for physical Israel, with no hint of a national restoration. Consider the following dark prophecies.
Prophetic Pronouncements Concerning Israel
When one carefully considers the testimony of the New Testament, it becomes clear that the future of physical Israel is bleak.
The axe lieth at the root ...
Like modern millennialists, there were Jews of old who felt that there was intrinsic virtue in being a physical descendant of Abraham (cf. Jn. 8:39).
John the Baptizer informed them, however, that God was able to use stones in raising up seed to the patriarch. He then warned: “And even now the axe lieth at the root of the trees” (Mt. 3:10).
The context focuses upon a threatened “wrath to come” (Mt. 3:7), which would find its nearest application in the destruction of the Jewish nation by the Romans in A.D. 70.
Now here is a vital point. When a tree is cut down, there is hope that it will sprout again, provided its stump or roots remain (cf. Job 14:7, 8; Isa. 11:1). But when the axe is laid at the root, where is the hope of restoration? There simply is none!
The cursed fig tree
Christ once pronounced a curse upon a barren fig tree near Jerusalem. The tree served as an apt illustration of fruitless national Israel. Jesus declared: “Let there be no fruit from thee henceforth for ever” (Mt. 21:19). Where is the hope in that?
Later, on that same Tuesday, just prior to Friday’s crucifixion, the Lord announced to the Jews,
“The kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and shall be given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof” (Mt. 21:43).
In other words, barren national Israel would be replaced by fruitful spiritual Israel, the church (cf. 1 Pet. 2:9; Gal. 6:16).
Parables of destruction
In the parable of the marriage of the king’s son, Jesus spoke concerning those who spurned the royal invitation. It was prophesied that the king (God) would send his armies (the Romans), and destroy those murderers (the Jews), and burn their city (Jerusalem).
Why? They “were [imperfect tense—a sustained state] not worthy” (Mt. 22:1-8). Is there any suggestion of restoration there?
Later, in Matthew 23:38, Christ warned: “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” The term “house,” as Bloomfield notes, refers not merely to the temple alone, but to the whole Jewish nation, especially its metropolis (1837, 116). “Left desolate” has a note of finality about it.
In the parable of the barren fig tree (Lk. 13:6-9), it is suggested that fruitless Israel would be soon cut down. “This parable gives Israel to know that its life is only a respite, and that this respite is nearing its end” (Godet 1879, 119).
There is no suggestion that the “tree” would spring up again. Strange indeed—if millennialism is true.
In another parable, uttered shortly before his death, Jesus depicted himself as a nobleman who was going into a far country (heaven) to receive for himself a kingdom (the church). Later, he would return (the second coming).
However, while he was in that distant land, his citizens (the Jews) hated him (imperfect tense—an abiding hatred) and sent this message to him: “We will not [present tense—a continued determination] that [you] reign over us” (Lk. 19:14).
Even millennialists admit that this refers to the Jewish rejection of Christ (Martin 1983, 252). Without the remotest suggestion that there would be an alteration of this hateful Jewish disposition, the nobleman, “when he was come back” (Lk. 19:15), characterized these citizens as his “enemies,” and commanded they be slain (Lk. 19:27).
The language describes “the state of rejection in which [the Jews] are plunged till the Lord’s return” (Godet 1879, 223; emphasis added).
In yet another parable, Jesus foretold Israel’s rejection of the gospel, and the subsequent success of the kingdom of heaven among the Gentiles. Of those stubborn Jews, he declared: “[N]one of those men who were bidden shall taste of my supper” (Lk. 14:24).
This refers, of course, to the Jewish majority that refused the gospel (a remnant accepted the invitation—cf. Rom. 11:5). Why did not the Lord give some clue that eventually there would be a massive Jewish acceptance of his invitation?
Christ’s predictions
In Luke’s account of the Olivet discourse, Christ, alluding to Jerusalem’s impending destruction, declared that the city would be “trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Lk. 21:24).
The term “trodden down” is a present tense participle, suggesting prolonged hardships (though not necessarily uninterrupted) for Jerusalem (and what she represented—the nation).
This oppression was to continue until the “times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” The phrase “times of the Gentiles” is an expression for the current age.
It implies a “times of the Jews” (i.e., the Mosaic period). For fifteen centuries the Hebrews were Jehovah’s special people—an era which might be appropriately termed “the times of the Jews.”
When they rejected the Messiah, that age of prominence (called a “reign”—Mt. 21:43) ended. It was superseded by “the times of the Gentiles”—the Christian age.
It is clear that Israel is to be the recipient of divine retribution throughout the Christian era.
Millennialists argue, however, that Jerusalem was to be trodden down only “until” the times of the Gentiles is fulfilled. After that time, they contend, Jerusalem will be exalted to her former glory.
The key word in their argument is “until” (Greek, achri). Premillennialists assume the term has a temporal implication in Luke 21:24, thus implying a reversal of events after the time specified.
But the assumption is unwarranted. The term achri frequently has a terminal thrust in the New Testament.
Consider, for example, Revelation 2:25, where Christ sought to encourage the saints at Thyatira:
“[T]hat which ye have, hold fast till I come.”
Does this suggest that these Christians will relinquish their blessings when he comes? Of course not.
Similarly, just because the Lord declared that Jerusalem would be trodden down until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, that does not imply that, following “the times of the Gentiles,” the city would be restored to some sort of divine glory. Proof for such a theory will have to be found somewhere other than in the word “until.”
The truth of the matter is, God’s wrath has come upon Israel “to the uttermost” (1 Thessalonians 2:16).
Paul’s commentary on Israel’s hardened heart
In his letter to the Romans, Paul contends that “a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Rom. 11:25).
There are several important matters that need to be noted here.
First, the “hardening” was the Jewish disbelief in Christ.
Second, the “in part” suggests that this lack of faith was characteristic of only a portion of the nation; there was a remnant that did believe (cf. Rom. 9:27; 11:5, 14).
Third, the verb “hath befallen” is a perfect tense form, stressing the abiding nature of that hardness—until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in.
Fourth, “fulness of the Gentiles” simply denotes the accomplishment of Jehovah’s purpose among the Gentiles (or the “nations”). In other words, Israel’s hardness will remain until the end of the present dispensation. As B.M. Christiansen comments: “This partial hardening will continue throughout the time of the Gentiles, i.e., until Christ’s return” (cf. Lenski 1961, 174).
Since the hardening of Israel was not total, but only “in part,” there is still hope that many Jews may be saved.
But how will the Jews be saved? They will be saved by their acceptance of the gospel (Rom. 10:12-16), and their surrender to the Deliverer from Zion (Rom. 11:26).
This provides the correct meaning of “so all Israel shall be saved.” The word “so” is an adverb of manner, meaning, “in this way.” Hence, it is in this way (the way of obeying Christ) that all Israel (who are saved) shall be saved. This passage does not affirm a nation-wide conversion of the people of Israel.
The theory that Paul expected a mass conversion of Israel is flawed on several accounts:
It contradicts his entire line of argument in Romans 9-11.
It leaves as inexplicable the throbbing anguish for his brethren in the flesh, which saturates this entire section.
For instance, Paul writes: “For I could wish [potential imperfect—”I kept being on point of wishing"] that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren’s sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh" (Rom. 9:3).
Why—if he knew that a national conversion of Israel was an ultimate reality?
Conclusion
The premillennial concept of the nation of Israel is clearly erroneous. There is no promise of a national conversion of Israel in the Bible.
The gospel is still God’s power to save both Jew and Greek (Rom. 1:16), and all who possess hearts that are “honest and good” (Lk. 8:15) will accept it. The only “hope” for Israel is in the cross of Christ (see Acts 26:6-23).
References
Bloomfield, S. T. 1837. The Greek Testament with English Notes. Vol. 1. Boston, MA: Perkins & Marvin.
Godet, F. 1879. Commentary on the Gospel of Luke. Vol. 2. Edinburgh, Scotland: T. & T. Clark.
Lenski, R. C. H. 1961. St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House.
Lindsey, Hal. 1970. The Late Great Planet Earth. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Martin, John A. 1983. Luke. The Bible Knowledge Commentary. John Walvoord and Roy Zuck, eds. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
McClintock, John and James Strong. 1969. Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, & Ecclesiastical Literature. Vol. 3. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
Walvoord, John F. 1974. Armageddon, Oil and the Middle East Crisis. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Scripture References
Genesis 12:1-3, 22:17-18; Exodus 19:5-6; Ephesians 2:14; Galatians 3:24-25; Hebrews 9:1-10; Jeremiah 32:23; Matthew 21:44; Matthew 22:7, 24:1-34; Jeremiah 19:11; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 1:16; Galatians 3:26-29; Genesis 12:3; Psalm 145:9; Acts 10:34-35; Colossians 2:14; Deuteronomy 28:1; Deuteronomy 28:15; Numbers 14:12; Joshua 23:13, 16; Jeremiah 29:10; Ezra 1:1; Isaiah 49:5; Jeremiah 31:38-40; Acts 13:47; 2 Corinthians 6:2; John 8:39; Matthew 3:10; Matthew 3:7; Job 14:7, 8; Isaiah 11:1; Matthew 21:19; Matthew 21:43; Galatians 6:16; Matthew 22:1-8; Matthew 23:38; Luke 13:6-9; Luke 19:14; Luke 19:15; Luke 19:27; Luke 14:24; Romans 11:5; Luke 21:24; Revelation 2:25; 1 Thessalonians 2:16; Romans 11:25; Romans 9:27, 11:5, 14; Romans 10:12-16; Romans 11:26; Romans 9-11; Romans 9:3; Luke 8:15; Acts 26:6-23
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"Which cabinet minister made the following apology in 2011? ""I have always believed that all rape is extremely serious and must be treated as such. I am sorry if my comments gave you any other impression or upset you""." | Ken Clarke clarifies 'serious rape' remarks - BBC News
BBC News
Ken Clarke clarifies 'serious rape' remarks
18 May 2011
From the section UK Politics
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Media captionKen Clarke has spent the day at the centre of a media storm, after remarks he made about rape on Radio 5 live caused controversy.
Ken Clarke has declined to apologise after he appeared to suggest that some rapes were less serious than others.
It followed a BBC interview about sentencing proposals in which he referred to "serious rape".
The justice secretary later returned to TV studios to stress that "all rape is a serious crime" and that he had used the "wrong choice of words".
Labour leader Ed Miliband had said he should quit for effectively suggesting there were "other categories of rape".
The row began on Wednesday morning with remarks Mr Clarke gave in an interview with BBC Radio 5 live about proposals under consultation to halve jail terms for people who plead guilty early, including rapists.
Ken Clarke was defending his plans to cut in half the sentences of criminals who plead guilty long before they get to court
Nick Robinson
In full: Ken Clarke interview Ken Clarke: Regret but no apology
Mr Clarke has not apologised for his remarks in general, but he has written to a victim of attempted rape, who also featured on the show, saying: "I have always believed that all rape is extremely serious, and must be treated as such.
"I am sorry if my comments gave you any other impression or upset you."
'Proper punishment'
At present, a defendant entering an early guilty plea can earn up to a third off their sentence. But proposals to halve sentences are outlined in a Green Paper on sentencing in England and Wales.
In an interview with Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Radio 5 live, Mr Clarke argued that pushing for an early guilty plea would stop rapists denying charges and would relieve the victim of "going through the whole ordeal again and of being called a liar" in court.
He dismissed suggestions rapists could be out in 15 months - calculated by halving the average sentence of five years, then allowing for the time someone would be allowed to serve on licence - as "total nonsense".
On being told that the five-year figure came from the Council of Circuit Judges, Mr Clarke said: "That includes date rape, 17-year-olds having intercourse with 15 year olds...
"A serious rape with violence and an unwilling woman - the tariff is longer than that."
Media captionJustice Secretary Ken Clarke watched Ed Miliband call for his resignation during PMQs while he was on the set of the Daily Politics, but suddenly left
When BBC interviewer Victoria Derbyshire interrupted to say "Rape is rape, with respect", Mr Clarke replied: "No it's not, if an 18-year-old has sex with a 15-year-old and she's perfectly willing, that is rape. Because she is under age, she can't consent... What you and I are talking about is we are talking about a man forcibly having sex with a woman and she doesn't want to - a serious crime."
He also said date rapes were included in the figures adding: "Date rape can be as serious as the worst rapes but date rapes... in my very old experience of being in trials [from his time as a practising lawyer]... they do vary extraordinarily one from another, and in the end the judge has to decide on the circumstances."
He later admitted he had confused "date rape" with sex with a willing but underage girl.
'Real disgrace'
BBC home affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said Mr Clarke had, in any case, not been correct to suggest consensual sex with a 15-year-old would be rape - under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 children under 13 are presumed to be incapable of giving their consent to sex. Sex with a 15-year-old would amount to another sexual offence which carries a lower penalty.
In a separate interview with Sky News, Mr Clarke denied he was cutting sentences. He said the proposal applied to every single criminal offence, adding: "Rape has been singled out as an example mainly to add a bit of sexual excitement to the headlines."
At Prime Minister's Questions, Mr Miliband said Mr Clarke's comments had implied there were "serious rapes and other categories of rape" adding: "The justice secretary can't speak for the women of this country when he makes comments like that."
David Cameron told MPs rape was "one of the most serious crimes that there is and it should be met with proper punishment" and the "real disgrace" was that only 6% of reported rape cases ended in a conviction.
He said there was already a plea bargaining system in the UK and the government was only consulting on whether to extend it - and had not yet decided what crimes it should include.
The prime minister said he had not heard the interview but Mr Miliband told him to go back and listen to it, adding: "The justice secretary should not be in his post at the end of today."
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said Mr Clarke "has to go if he stands by these comments because they are absolutely appalling".
Media captionRape sentence comments: no apology from Ken Clarke
In later interviews Mr Clarke said the "most extraordinary spin" had been put on his comments and he had been responding to average sentence figures that were put to him.
But he told BBC political editor Nick Robinson: "My view is all rape is a serious crime and if I have given the impression that is not my view then that is wrong, a wrong choice of words."
Asked if he had been ordered to apologise following the row, Mr Clarke said he had not - and he had not apologised: "I apologise if an impression has been given which is not my view and which I don't think I stated."
He added: "Nobody has had to tell me anything - I have always believed from the days I was a young lawyer that rape is a very serious crime - all rape."
The prime minister's spokesman said it was "clearly regrettable" if anybody had been offended by Mr Clarke's comments but said the PM had confidence in him.
He added there had been some misconceptions about what has been said, but added: "The prime minister has not spent the day watching Ken Clarke interviews."
He said both Mr Cameron and Mr Clarke had thought it important he "went out and clarified the position".
| Kenneth Clarke |
What name is given to the branch of Christianity followed in Egypt? | Kenneth Clarke promises to 'choose words more carefully' - Telegraph
Politics
Kenneth Clarke promises to 'choose words more carefully'
Kenneth Clarke, the Justice Secretary, has promised to "choose my words more carefully in the future" and brushed off calls for an apology after suggesting that not all rapes were serious.
By Robert Winnett , and Christopher Hope
10:31PM BST 18 May 2011
Comments
Mr Clarke infuriated victims after seeking to defend a proposal to halve rapists’ prison sentences if they pleaded guilty. The Coalition is now on the brink of abandoning the policy.
His comments created a political storm and there were calls for his resignation after a sexual assault victim broke down in tears during a now-controversial radio interview.
Mr Clarke subsequently invited Gabrielle Browne, the victim of the attempted rape, to meet him next week to discuss her concerns about the criminal justice system's treatment of victims of sex crime.
However, leaving for work this morning, he insisted he was simply explaining a "long-standing factual situation".
He said: "I've always said that all rape is serious and I've no intention of changing the sentencing guidelines on rape, which always attracts serious imprisonment, quite rightly.
Related Articles
Rape victim breaks down in tears
18 May 2011
"Different rapes get different lengths of sentences from judges and always have, and they now follow sentencing guidelines which explain the different degrees of sentences.
"If I caused genuine offence to anybody by explaining that long-standing factual situation, then I must have made a very poor choice of words, so I will try to choose my words more carefully in the future."
Yesterday, in a radio phone-in, the Justice Secretary repeatedly insisted that some rapes were not as “serious” as others. He indicated that not all involved an “unwilling woman” and when challenged over whether “rape is rape”, he replied: “No, it is not.”
Mr Clarke admitted that he had made the “wrong choice of words” but, during a series of hastily-arranged broadcast interviews, initially laughed off calls for him to apologise.
However, he is thought to have been ordered to express regret by David Cameron and later wrote to Mrs Browne, who had confronted him on the phone-in, to apologise.
Downing Street aides described the episode as “regrettable” and indicated that the sentence-cutting plan would be scrapped. “Ken Clarke knows that he got his tone quite wrong,” said a source close to the Prime Minister. “This policy was a kite being flown before it had ever been agreed.”
Last night, police chiefs demanded that the policy of offering serious violent criminals, including rapists, up to 50 per cent off prison terms if they pleaded guilty soon after being arrested, be abandoned. A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers said: “We do support reduced tariffs for early pleas but not in violent crimes.”
Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, demanded during Prime Minister’s Questions that Mr Clarke be removed from his post.
He said: “The role of the Justice Secretary is to speak for the nation on matters of justice and crime. This morning the Justice Secretary was on the radio suggesting that there were serious rapes and other categories of rapes. The Justice Secretary should not be in his post at the end of today.”
Mr Cameron was left looking flat-footed and had to admit that he had not heard the broadcast. The row then consumed much of his afternoon, overshadowing his trip to Dublin to celebrate the Queen’s historic visit.
Although the Prime Minister rejected calls to sack Mr Clarke, it is widely expected that the Justice Secretary will lose his position in the next Cabinet reshuffle. There was already growing irritation in Downing Street at his department’s apparently soft approach. The row began after Crispin Blunt, a junior justice minister, indicated to MPs on Tuesday that rapists would be eligible for discounted sentences, partly to save costs.
In the phone-in yesterday morning, Mr Clarke appeared to support the plan before attacking suggestions that a rapist could be freed after just 15 months.
He sought to distinguish between “serious” and date rapes. No distinction exists in sentencing guidelines. He made a series of remarks about “classic” rapes and rape in the “conversational sense” and asked why rape sentences were on average only five years, he said: “That includes date rape, 17 year-olds having intercourse with 15 year-olds.”
He added: “ Date rape can be as serious as the worst rapes but date rapes, in my very old experience of being in trials, they do vary extraordinarily one from another and in the end the judge has to decide on the circumstances.” During the programme, Mr Clarke was confronted by Mrs Browne, a mother of two. Speaking afterwards, she called his comments “disgraceful”.
She told The Daily Telegraph: “Ken Clarke didn’t listen. His comment about not all rapes really being rape was disgraceful for a man in his position, a man of previous ministerial experience and previous experience as a barrister. He did not show empathy or understanding. If he can’t open his eyes and ears and listen and see life from a victim’s perspective then he should resign.
“If he sticks to his view that not all rape is rape; that the violation of the human body isn’t the same dependent on age or circumstances then he shouldn’t be involved in justice.” Last night, Mr Clarke announced that he had written her a letter.
It said: “I have always believed that all rape is extremely serious, and must be treated as such.
“I am sorry if my comments gave you any other impression or upset you.”
Mrs Browne agreed to meet Mr Clarke next week.
She told LBC Radio that she would "reserve judgment" on whether Mr Clarke should resign until after the meeting, adding that she did not know whether the letter of apology she received was simply a result of "all the media pressure that calls for him to resign".
Sarah Hanner, another victim of a serious sexual assault, also condemned the sentencing plan. “I can’t help but think Ken Clarke has a patronising view in 'saving the poor women’ from the ordeal of a trial,” she said.
“I would never give sex attackers the convenience of a reduced sentence for pleading guilty.”
Bridget Phillipson, a Labour MP who previously ran a refuge for victims of domestic violence, said: “For the Justice Secretary to say that in effect he is on the side of rapists and not on the side of victims sends out absolutely the wrong message.” One senior Conservative MP said that Mr Cameron’s refusal to sack Mr Clarke called his authority into question.
In recent weeks, Mr Cameron has also resisted pressure to dismiss ministers including Vince Cable, Chris Huhne and Dr Liam Fox, all of whom have challenged his policies.
“It’s all very well saying you’re not going to panic or react to headlines, but eventually that starts to look like weakness,” the MP said.
The Prime Minister has made increasing rape convictions a priority. Currently, only six per cent of those accused of rape are found guilty.
Mr Cameron said: “Anyone who has ever met a rape victim and talked to them about what that experience means to them and how it stays with them for the rest of their life can only want to have the most serious punishment possible.”
| i don't know |
"Which word, beginning with S and originally German, has now been adopted into English with a meaning of ""pleasure in another's misfortune""?" | ‘Noodle’. Ein deutsches Wort? German loanwords in the English language - Terminology Coordination Unit [DGTRAD] - European Parliament
‘Noodle’. Ein deutsches Wort? German loanwords in the English language
April 2, 2015 10:00 am
English is a West Germanic language that is spoken almost everywhere. It was first spoken in early medieval England and now is a global language, official of almost 60 sovereign states and is known as the most common language spoken around the world. It is widely learned as a second language and is an official language of the European Union and of the United Nations, as well as of many world organisations.
But how has English become widespread globally? What has been its interaction with other languages and which of them has enriched English, turning it into a language with one of the biggest vocabularies?
In every language many words have their roots in other languages. Cultural links, historical events, the dominance of some cultures may all influence vocabularies. It is known that there are many terms borrowed from Italian in classical music, and a lot of words in the field of medicine originate from Greek and Latin. But another language which English has borrowed words from is German. Certainly, there are German loanwords that are being used daily in the English vocabulary. Actually, ‘loanword’ itself is a calque or loan translation of the German Lehnwort (Lehn from leihen= ‘lend’ + Wort = ‘word’).
Some of the loan terms may be better known than others and many have become a natural part of everyday English vocabulary. Some of them are more obvious than others. It is the case of ‘muesli’ and other foodie words like ‘pretzel’, which is originally German but while any German will know what you mean when you ask for a Pretzel, the German standard spelling is actually Brezel. Other popular German loanwords in English are lantern, cockroach, kindergarten, or more recent borrowings from the last century, linked to the history of countries and which reflect the traumatizing experience of the Second World War. It is the case of führer (now used to describe a tyrannical leader) and blitzkrieg (literally “fast war”) to explain the systematic bombings of cities in World War II.
More classic examples of words of German origin commonly used in English would be:
–wunderkind: (Wunder + ‘wonder’ + Kind = child) for some reason ‘wunderkind’ is used instead of ‘wonderchild’.
–schadenfreude: pleasure derived from another person’s misfortune.
–zeitgeist: spirit of a period in history to explain social norms, trends and beliefs of the time.
–weltschmerz: feeling of melancholy and word-weariness.
–achtung: Attention! Watch out!
–scheisse: Shit!
Also the word über, which means above or over, is sometimes used in English to mean ‘extremely’ or ‘too much’ as an adjective, as in for example: ‘über intelligent’.
Anyway, Hamburguer may be the best known German loanword to the English language in the world. This term comes directly from Germany’s second city of Hamburg, where at the beginning of the 19th century thousands of Germans emigrated to the USA, taking food delicacies with them, including the ‘Hamburg’ steak, known now as the popular ‘Hamburger’.
In contrast, the German origin of the word ‘noodle’ could be not so easily recognizable. It did enter the English language in the late 18th century via the German Nudel, but unfortunately the origin of the German word in unknown.
On the other hand, some loanwords are primarily from professional, scientific, literary and intellectual fields (Waldsterben, Weltanschauung) or used in special areas such as gestalt in psychology or aufeis and loess in geology.
In addition, other interesting German loanwords are:
– feierabend: (literally ‘party evening’). It means the time when you finish work, as well as the rest of the evening after you’ve left work. It’s also used colloquially to say I’ve had enough / enough of this: Jetzt ist aber Feierabend!
– fachidiot: A ‘subject idiot’, someone who knows an awful lot about one subject, but doesn’t have too many capabilities outside this particular area.
– Doppelgänger: It is an identical double of an individual with no relation to each other. Doppelgänger is German for ‘double walker’ which in folklore is the paranormal double of a living person; in English it literally maintains its meaning without the folklore.
– wanderlust. It means ‘yearn to travel’. A modern German equivalent for wanderlust is fernweh, that means ‘crave for travel’.
– Diesel: The fuel Diesel is derived from the German ‘Dieselmotor’ named after its German inventor in 1892. This term would then go on to power much of the world’s transport including cars and trains.
The loanwords work in the other way around as well, and the increasing borrowing of words from English shows the enormous importance of the English language in today’s globalized world. This happens especially with English business terms and technology terms, which are used in so many languages (in case of German an example would be brainstorming sessions). Here are some examples of English terms adopted around the world like Internet, email or login (we hardly know them if not in English!).
However, it is advisable to be careful with some of these words because they might not mean exactly the same. An example of a false friend would be the German use of Handy for ‘mobile phone’. German learners of English could fall into a trap like this.
Sources:
| Schadenfreude |
"""Rank is but the guinea's stamp, the man's the gold for all of that"" is a famous quote written by whom?" | Language
as well as the Austrian state of Tyrol.
Due to their isolated location from the rest of Austria, the people in
..... Click the link for more information. , is an Alemannic Alemannic is an Upper Germanic dialect family of the German language.
Alemannic comprises the following dialects:
Swiss German (mostly in Switzerland), also called High Alemannic (the other dialects listed here are Low Alemannic).
Alsatian (in Alsace, in France)
Swabian (mostly in Schwaben, in Germany)
Alem�n Coloneiro (in Venezuela)
Walser (originally in the Wallis Canton of Switzerland)
..... Click the link for more information. dialect similar to Swiss German Swiss German (Schweizerdeutsch, Schwyzerd�tsch, Schwiizerd�tsch, Schwyzert�tsch) is any of the High German dialects spoken in Switzerland. The term Hochdeutsch (High German) is, in a Swiss context, often reserved for Standard German, which is imported from Germany and thus not a Swiss German dialect.
Unlike most dialects in modern Europe,
..... Click the link for more information. .
The two southern provinces of Styria Styria (Steiermark in German, �tajerska in Slovenian) can refer to:
Styria - a federal state of Austria
Styria - an informal province in Slovenia
Styria - a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire and crownland of Austria-Hungary
..... Click the link for more information. (Steiermark) and Carinthia
Carinthia (German K�rnten, Slovenian Koro�ka) is a federal state or Bundesland, located in the south of Austria.
It covers an area of 9,536 km� with 559,404 inhabitants (2001).
It consist mostly of a basin inside the Alps, with the Carnian Mountains making up the border to Italy and Slovenia. The Tauern mountains divide it from Salzburg. To the East lies the state of Styria and it makes up a continuous valley with the eastern part of the Tirol to the West. Its lakes are a major tourist attraction. The main river is the Drau.
..... Click the link for more information. (K�rnten) speak variations of the Southern Austro-Bavarian dialect range similar to the common tyrolean dialect which originates near Innsbruck Innsbruck (population 120,000) is a city in southwest Austria, and the capital of the Tirol province. Located on the Inn River, it is a famous winter sports centre.
The Olympic Winter Games were held in Innsbruck twice, first in 1964, then in 1976 when the city replaced Denver, Colorado as the venue after Colorado voters rejected a bond to finance the games.
Live-cam Maria-Theresien-Strasse
virtual-tour Tirol/Innsbruck
..... Click the link for more information. (but it has to be said that Tyrol Tyrol was a county of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, and a crownland of Austria-Hungary until it dissolved in 1918.
The southern part of Tyrol was occupied by Italian forces at the end of World War I and was subsequently ceded to Italy. The northern part is today a federal state of Austria called Tyrol, while the South Tyrol today constitutes the Italian province of Bozen-Bolzano.
..... Click the link for more information. has many dialects).
Simple words in these dialects are very similar, but pronunciation is distinct for each and it is very easy for an Austrian after a few spoken words to judge which kind of dialect of Austria someone speaks, and most dialect words are understood but if it goes into the dialects of the deeper valleys of Tyrol Tyrol was a county of the Holy Roman Empire until its dissolution in 1806, and a crownland of Austria-Hungary until it dissolved in 1918.
The southern part of Tyrol was occupied by Italian forces at the end of World War I and was subsequently ceded to Italy. The northern part is today a federal state of Austria called Tyrol, while the South Tyrol today constitutes the Italian province of Bozen-Bolzano.
..... Click the link for more information. , sometimes even other Tyroleans are hopeless to understand the dialect.
A good reference for the Austrian, Bavarian and other German dialects are the dialect ("Mundart") editions of Asterix Asterix (originally Ast�rix) is the fictional hero of a series of comic books created by Ren� Goscinny and Albert Uderzo in France. The books have been translated into many languages (including Latin and ancient Greek) and are available in most countries. It's probably the most popular French comic in the world.
Setting and characters
Asterix lives around 50 BC in a fictional village in northwest Gaul (
..... Click the link for more information. and Obelix Obelix (originally Ob�lix) is a fictional character, a sidekick with superhuman strength in the Asterix comic books. His job when not bashing Romans is as a menhir delivery man. He has a little dog named Idefix (Dogmatix in English editions).
Unlike all other Gauls in the village, Obelix has no need to drink the druid's magic potion, because he fell into the cauldron as a baby, making its effect upon him permanent.
..... Click the link for more information. comic books which are available in Wienerisch (three editions with different dialects from inside Vienna
Alternate meanings: See places and things called after Vienna
Vienna (German official name: Wien, Hungarian: B�cs, Croatian: Beč, Czech: V�deň, Serbian Beč, Slovak: Viedeň, Slovene: Dunaj) is the capital of Austria, and also one of Austria's nine federal states (Bundesland Wien). It is situated on the river Danube, and is surrounded by the Austrian federal state of Lower Austria. With a population of about 1.5 million, Vienna is the largest city and the cultural and political centre of Austria.
..... Click the link for more information. ) and at least one for the common Tyrolean dialect and one for a deep Styrian dialect.
The people of Graz Graz (Slovenian: Gradec, pronounced "grahts" in German), with a population of about 240,000 is the second-largest city in Austria and capital of the province of Styria. The city is situated on the Mur river, in the southeast of Austria.
Graz was probably established in the 12th century, and it is built around the Schlossberg.
The name Graz is derived from the Slovenian word grad, meaning castle.
..... Click the link for more information. , the capital of Styria Styria (Steiermark in German, �tajerska in Slovenian) can refer to:
Styria - a federal state of Austria
Styria - an informal province in Slovenia
Styria - a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire and crownland of Austria-Hungary
..... Click the link for more information. , speak yet another dialect which is not very Styrian and more easily to understand for people from other parts of Austria than other Styrian dialects, e.g. from western Styria Styria (Steiermark in German, �tajerska in Slovenian) can refer to:
Styria - a federal state of Austria
Styria - an informal province in Slovenia
Styria - a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire and crownland of Austria-Hungary
..... Click the link for more information. .
preview not available. Click the link for more information.
Language
History Of The German Language
The Germanic languages departed from the other Indo-European languages by a shift in sounds called the First Germanic Sound Shift, and by other distinguishing features as well. More detail can be found here .
The language we now call German departed from the other Germanic languages (mainly English, Dutch, Scandinavian and the now extinct Gothic) by a shift in sounds called the Second Germanic Sound Shift. Its effect can still be seen by comparing modern German words with their English cognates: pound->Pfund, pipe->Pfeife, hope->hoffen, apple->Apfel, plant->Pflanze, tide->Zeit, cat->Katze, heart->Herz, hate->hassen, make->machen, weak->weich.
The rules for this sound shift are:
p->f, pp->pf, t->ss, tt->ts (written [t]z), k->ch, kk->kch, where initial p, t and k are treated like their doubled counterparts. The p->(p)f shift is quite regular, and so is the t->(t)s shift, which is somewhat blurred by the later differentiation between tz and ss. The k->(k)ch shift, however, is fully in effect only in Swiss German; in standard German and in most of its dialects we find kk (written [c]k) instead of kch. (The characters in square brackets are not written initially in a syllable.)
The Second Sound Shift divides Germany into a smaller Northern part (without the sound shift) and a larger central and Southern part (with the sound shift). The border between the two regions approximates a line passing through Cologne (K�ln) and Berlin, but there is a more or less fuzzy region of more than a hundred kilometres width south of that line where the language underwent the Seconds Sound Shift only partially. In Western Germany, for instance, the non-initial t (e.g. dat and wat instead of das and was) reaches much farther south than most of the other non-shifted sounds. There are several central German dialects that have neither initial p nor pf, but f instead. The other countries where German is spoken are all south of this line. More
Language borrowing
Young children attend a Kindergarten (children's garden). Gesundheit doesn't really mean "bless you," it means "health" -- the good variety being implied. Psychiatrists speak of Angst (fear) and Gestalt (form) psychology, and when something is broken, it's kaputt. Although not every English-speaker knows that Fahrvergn�gen is "driving pleasure," most do know that Volkswagen means "people's car." Musical works can have a Leitmotiv. Our cultural view of the world is called a Weltanschauung by historians or philosophers. Such terms are commonly understood by most well-read English-speakers.
More English words borrowed from German:
(Notice how many have to do with food!) - blitz, blitzkrieg, cobalt, dachshund, delicatessen, ersatz, frankfurter, glockenspiel, hinterland, infobahn (for "information highway"), kaffeeklatsch, Munster and Limburger (cheeses named for German cities), pilsner (glass, beer), pretzel, quartz, rucksack, sauerkraut, schnaps, (apple) strudel, waltz, wiener. From Low German: brake, dote, tackle.
Germanic cognate terms:
(Shared in common; mostly family-related words, parts of the body, and old basic words) - der Arm, der Ball, der Bruder, die Hand, das Haus, das Ende, das Gold, gut (good), der Finger, lang, der Mann, die Maus, Montag (Monday), die Mutter, der Vater, die Schwester (sister), der Sohn, die Tochter (daughter), das Wasser, das Wort (word).
English in German:
The following German words have been borrowed from English. Usually the only difference is the use of the German article (the - der, die, or das - masc., fem., neu.) and the capitalization used for all German nouns. The pronunciation is usually similar to English, but sometimes with a unique German twist. They are usually German's more recent borrowings. English terms: das Baby, der Babysitter, babysitten (to babysit), das Bodybuilding, das Callgirl, der Clown, der Cocktail, der Computer, fit (in good shape), die Garage, das Golf (der Golf is "the gulf" or a VW model), das Hobby, der Job, joggen (to jog), der Killer, killen (to kill), der Lift (elevator), der Manager, managen (to manage), das Musical, der Playboy, der Pullover, der Rum, der Smog, der Snob, der Streik, das Team, der Teenager, das Ticket, der Tunnel, der Trainer (coach), der Waggon (train car).
Loan Words from French (Franz�sisch)
The following German words look like English words, but they are actually words from French that both English and German have adopted. They are more recent than the Latin borrowings below. French borrowings include: das Abenteuer (adventure), die Armee, das Ballett, die Chance, fein (fine), galoppieren, der General, die Infanterie, die Kanone, die Lanze (lance), der Offizier, die Parade, die Parole (saying, motto),der Platz (place, square), der Preis (prize, price), der Prinz, die Prinzessin, der Tanz (dance), die Uniform.
Loan Words from Latin (Latein)
Both English and German have borrowed heavily from Latin. Latin was the language of the universities in Germany and the rest of Europe during the Middle Ages. Because such words are very old and have undergone changes over the centuries, some are not very obvious equivalents. For example, the German word Birne comes from Latin pirum which gave us the English word pear. Some other Latin loan words: aktiv, der Altar, der Atlas, die Disziplin, der Esel (ass, donkey), das Examen, die Feige (fig), das Fieber (fever), der Kaiser (Caesar, emperor), die Kammer (chamber), die Kamera, der Kanzler (chancellor), der Keller (cellar), das Klima, das Kloster (cloister), das Kreuz (cross), die Lilie (lily), der Markt (market), die Meile (mile), das M�nster (minster, church), die M�nze (money, coin), opfern (to offer, sacrifice), die Pforte (portal), das Pfund (pound), die Rose, der Student/die Studentin, die Tafel (tablet), der Wein (wine).
The German Umlaut ("diaeresis" in English)
The two dots sometimes placed over the German vowels a, o, and u are known as an Umlaut. The umlauted vowels �, � and � (and their capitalized equivalents �, �, �) are actually a shortened form for ae, oe and ue respectively. At one time the e was placed above the vowel, but as time went by the e transformed into just two dots. In telegrams and in plain (ASCII) computer text the umlauted forms still appear as ae, oe and ue. A German typewriter or computer keyboard includes separate keys for the three umlauted characters (plus the �, the so-called "sharp s" character). The umlauted letters are distinct from plain a, o, or u, and they are pronounced differently.
The Swiss-Germans have managed to get along just fine without the � for many years, and with the new spelling reforms being introduced in all three German-speaking countries, Switzerland may not be alone much longer. For more about Rechtschreibreform see the New German Spelling Rules from a German Web site.
From About.com
It's a doozy!
The English expression "doozy" (also "doozie") -- as in "Man, that one was a real doozy!" -- comes from the name of German-American car maker Frederick S. Duesenberg (1877-1932, born in Lippe, Germany) and his luxurious high-powered Duesenberg roadster. The American-built Duesenberg SJ could reach speeds of 130 mph (210 km/h). The Duesenberg Motor Company produced its streamlined, elegant motor cars from 1917 to 1937 to compete with similar expensive roadsters such as the Italian Bugatti.
On a related but different note, "Dear Doosie" by Werner Lansburgh (Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag) is a humorous love story that plays off of the German Du / Sie problem -- hence the title. Written in an interesting mix of English and German, the book can be read by anyone with at least an intermediate command of German and a good German-English dictionary. Written in the form of a series of letters, "Dear Doosie" has fun with the hazards of learning another language, in this case, a German learning English. But the book is also helpful for English-speaking learners of German -- and an amusing read besides.
NOTE: This book may be available from Amazon.de .
The Germans have a word for it
English may have more vocabulary than any other language, but that doesn't mean it has a word for everything. Every language has words and expressions that are unique and very difficult or impossible to translate into another language. The Eskimos, contrary to popular legend, do NOT really have fifty words for snow, but German gem�tlich takes several words to explain in English: cozy, comfortable, warm, inviting, and hospitable. Sometimes these words or expressions are adopted wholesale into another language -- Kindergarten and Gesundheit (health), for example, from German into English. But more often the word is just unknown in other languages. German is a rich language that has words and turns of phrases that have no equal in English. (The reverse is just as true, of course.)
German makes certain distinctions that English does not. For English "to know" German has two words, each reflecting the difference between knowing something through understanding (wissen) and knowing something through recognition (kennen). A German can also understand immediately from the use of one of two distinct verbs whether an object has been "put" on a surface in a standing (stellen) or a lying (legen) position. When it comes to eating, animals and humans in German have two different words: fressen is used for non-humans, while people essen.
Some German expressions, such as Schadenfreude (a malicious pleasure or gloating over another's misfortune), don't really have an English equivalent. ("Crocodile tears" -- Krokodiltr�nen -- aren't really the same thing.) The adjective �berfragt (lit., "over-asked," as in "Da bin ich �berfragt." "You've got me there. I don't have the answer.") has no one-word English equivalent either.
German slang and colorful expressions
One common mistake made by beginning language learners is to assume that expressions can be translated word-for-word from one language into another. (See "A Dictionary Can Be a Dangerous Thing" above.) They'll take an expression such as "to bite the dust" and render it into something like "zu beissen den Staub." Besides its word order problems (the phrase would go "den Staub beissen" in German), this literal translation makes absolutely no sense to a German-speaker. In the German language, when one "bites the dust," one actually "bites into the grass" (ins Gras beissen), perhaps because Germany is much greener than the wild West associated with this expression in English, although the German expression goes all the way back to the 16th century. More
Colorful Expressions
Cognates These are words which mean the same in German as in English. There is probably a slight difference in pronunciation. But the words are the same in both languages. By working on lists like this, vocabulary in a foreign language increases dramatically.
Additional resources with things which may be familiar to you:
| i don't know |
What name is given to the sweet French bread, enriched with a high egg and butter content? It is commonly eaten with breakfast or as a snack, and has numerous uses in cuisine. | Free Flashcards about FOOD & DRINK
PASSED AWAY IN 2004, SHE WAS THE HOST OF THE FRENCH CHEF FROM 1963-1973
JULIA CHILD
ONE OF THE IRON CHEFS, HE SPECIALIZES IN ITALIAN CUISINE
MARIO BATALI
NICKNAMED "THE NAKED CHEF", HE SPECIALIZES IN FRENCH AND ORGANIC CUISINE
JAMIE OLIVER
HOST OF SHOWS "HELL'S KITCHEN" AND "KITCHEN NIGHTMARES"
GORDON RAMSAY
AUSTRIAN CHEF, HAS RESTRAUNTS AND HIS LICENSED FOOD GOODS ARE SOLD IN STORES
WOLFGANG PUCK
FOOD NETWORK STAR WHO HOSTS SHOWS SUCH AS "THROWDOWN!" AND "BOY MEETS GRILL"
BOBBY FLAY
HOSTS HIS OWN COOKING SHOW, HIS SIGNATURE CATCHPHRASE IS BAM!
EMERIL LAGASSE
HOST OF "30 MINUTE MEALS" AND "$40 A DAY" ON THE FOOD NETWORK
RACHEL RAY
BEST KNOWN FOR HER "SEMI-HOMEMADE" COOKING STYLE WHICH IS 70% STORE-BOUGHT AND 30% FRESH MADE
SANDRA LEE
KNOWN FOR HER SOUTHERN COOKING, OWNS THE LADY AND SONS RESTURAUNT
PAULA DEEN
HOSTED "FOOD 911" AND "HOW TO BOIL WATER" ON THE FOOD NETWORK
TYLER FLORENCE
ITALIAN AMERICAN CHEF, HOSTS THE SHOW "EVERYDAY ITALIAN" AND WROTE A BOOK OF THE SAME TITLE
GIADA DE LAURENTIS
AUTHOR OF "THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA", AND BRANDED THAT NAME TO PRODUCT AND TV
INA GARTEN
FRENCH CHEF CONSIDERED ON OF THE FINEST OF THE 20TH-C.; COOKING AWARD NAMED AFTER HIM
PAUL BOCUSE
HOST OF THE SHOW "NO RESERVATIONS" ON THE FOOD NETWORK
ANTHONY BOURDAIN
CHEF OF FRENCH CUISINE WHO'S LANDMARK RESTERAUNT "THE FRENCH LAUNDRY" IN NAPA VALLEY
THOMAS KELLER
BEST KNOWN FOR HIS STINTS ON BOTH THE JAPANESE AND AMERICAN VERSIONS OF "IRON CHEF", HE IS KNOWN FOR HIS JAPANESE FUSION STYLE COOKING
MASAHARU MORIMOTO
AUSTRIA: VEAL FRIED IN BREADCRUMBS
WIENER SCHNITZEL
GERMANY: SALTED AND FERMENTED SHREDDED CABBAGE
SAUERKRAUT
FRANCE: GOOSE OR DUCK LIVER
FOIE GRAS
SPAIN: CHILLED TOMATO-BASED SOUP WITH VEGETABLES AND HERBS
GAZPACHO
ITALY: RICE DISH COOKED IN BROTH, OFTEN WITH SAFFRON
RISSOTO
JAPAN: SLICED RAW FISH (WITHOUT RICE)
SASHIMI
MIDDLE EAST (EGYPT): PUREE OF EGGPLANT AND GROUND SESAME SEED PASTE. GARNISHED WITH MINT OR PISTACHIOS
BABA GHANOUSH
UNITED KINGDOM : MINCED LAMB PIE WITH A POTATO CRUST
SHEPHERD'S PIE
MEXICO: FILLINGS COATED WITH MASA DOUGH AND WRAPPED IN A CORN HUSK
TAMALE
INDIA: YOGURT DRINK FLAVORED WITH FRUIT OR SPICES
LASSI
TURKEY: FRIED OR BAKED PHYLLO PASTRY WITH A SAVORY FILLING
BOREK
HUNGARY: MEAT & VEGETABLE STEW OR SOUP, SEASONED WITH PAPRIKA
GOULASH
RUSSIA: THINLY SLICED BEEF FILLET SAUTEED WITH MUSHROOMS AND SOUR CREAM OVER NOODLES
BEEF STROGANOFF
UKRAINE: BEET SOUP WITH SOUR CREAM
BORSCHT
NORTH AFRICA (MOROCCO): SPHERICAL SEMOLINA WHEAT GRANULES
COUSCOUS
SWITZERLAND: HOT DISH OF MELTED CHEESE FOR DIPPING BREAD, MEAT, OR FRUIT
FONDUE
GREECE: MEAT, TOMATO, ONION, AND TZATZIKI SAUCE ON PITA BREAD
GYRO
CHINA: ROAST DUCK WITH THIN, CRISPY SKIN
PEKING DUCK
DON'T WONDER, NAAN, ROTI & PURI ARE TYPES OF THIS IN INDIA
BREAD
MEAL AT WHICH YOU'D NORMALLY SERVE MUESLI
BREAKFAST
IF YOU MAKE IT RIGHT, YOUR SALSA VERDE SHOULD BE THIS COLOR
GREEN
A MEAT-FILLED TORTILLA IN A CHILI SAUCE, ITS NAME IS FROM THE SPANISH FOR "TO SEASON WITH CHILI"
ENCHILADA
THIS STYLE OF TOPPING MAY SOUND GOOD, BUT ITS NAME IS FROM THE FRENCH FOR "WITH THE BURNT SCRAPINGS"
AU GRATIN
IN GERMANY, THIS BEVERAGE IS MADE OF MALT, HOPS, YEAST, AND WATER AND NOTHING ELSE
BEER
THIS MEXICAN DISH MADE WITH MASHED AVACADOS CAN BE USED AS A DIP, A SAUCE, OR A TOPPING
GUACAMOLE
THIS DISH WHOSE NAME COMES FROM FRENCH FOR "TO PUFF UP" MUST BE SERVED THE INSTANT IT COMES OUT OF THE OVEN
SOUFFLE
RISOTTO ALLA MILANESE GETS ITS GOLDEN COLOR FROM THIS EXPENSIVE SPICE
SAFFRON
THIS ENGLISH BLUE CHEESE IS NAMED FOR A SMALL VILLAGE IN HUNTINGDONSHIRE WHERE IT WAS FIRST SOLD
STILTON
CHLODNIK, A POLISH SOUP MADE FROM BEETS, IS A SUMMER VARIETY OF THIS RUSSIAN SOUP
BORSCHT
SERVED WITH SAUSAGE, WHAT THE ENGLISH CALL "MASH" IS MADE FROM THIS VEGETABLE
POTATOES
THIS SPANISH DISH OF SAFFRON-FLAVORED RICE AND SHELLFISH TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE PAN IT'S COOKED IN
PAELLA
TYROPITTA IS A GREEK PASTRY MADE OF FETA CHEESE STUFFED INTO THIS FLAKEY DOUGH
PHYLLO
FROM THE ITALIAN FOR "TO SERVE", THIS SOUP COULD BE SERVED TO A MINISTER
MINESTRONE
A FILLED TORTILLA, ITS NAME IS FROM SPANISH FOR A YOUNG DONKEY
BURRITO
IT'S A NORTH AFRICAN STEAMED SEMOLINA DISH
COUSCOUS
IN JEWISH COOKERY, IT'S A BAKED PASTRY, USUALLY WITH A MEAT OR POTATO FILLING
KNISH
MEANING "SLICE-BROIL", IT'S A JAPANESE DISH OF MEAT, BEAN CURD, AND VEGETABLES COOKED IN SOY SAUCE AND SUGAR
SUKIYAKI
KOMBU, A FLAVORFUL TYPE OF THIS MARINE ALGAE, IS SAVORED IN JAPAN
SEAWEED
TENNESSEE WILLIAMS COULD HAVE TOLD YOU THIS LIZARD IS A TASTE TREAT IN MEXICO; IT'S EVEN FOUND IN TAMALES
IGUANA
THIS "ORANGE" FISH, A FAVORITE IN NEW ZEALAND, MIGHT BE LESS POPULAR IF KNOWN BY ITS OTHER NAME, SLIMEHEAD
ROUGHY
MOROCCAN MARKETS SELL HAMED M'RAKAD, WHICH ARE THESE SOUR FRUITS PICKLED IN SALT AND THEIR OWN JUICE
LEMONS
IT'S NOT A REAL "DUCK", IT'S A BUMMALO FISH IMPREGNATED WITH A SAFETIDA PLANT RESIN AND SERVED WITH CURRY
BOMBEGA
THE MIDDLE EAST'S POPULAR POCKET BREAD
PITA
16TH-C. DEVELOPMENT OF A PIG MUZZLE WAS A LANDMARK IN HARVESTING THIS FUNGUS
TRUFFLE
A SMALL ORIENTAL ORANGE OF A DIVISION OF CHINESE CUISINE
MANDARIN
CITY WIENER SCHNITZEL IS NAMED FOR
VIENNA
THE "COQ" IN COQ AU VIN
CHICKEN
A BRITISH VARIETY IS CALLED "BANGERS", A MEXICAN VARIETY, "CHORIZO"
SAUSAGE
JEWISH CREPE FILLED WITH CHEESE
BLINTZ
FRENCH FOR A TOOTHSOME CUT OF BEEF SERVED TO A TWOSOME
CHATEAUBRIAND
PREP & LINE ARE TYPES OF THIS 4-LETTER JOB
CHEF/COOK
"TOP CHEF" AND "THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF NJ" ARE FOUND ON THIS CABLE NETWORK
BRAVO
IN 1963, JULIA CHILD BECAME A STAPLE ON PBS, HOSTING THIS LONG-RUNNING SHOW
THE FRENCH CHEF
IN 1946 THIS CHEF BECAME THE FIRST TO HOST A COOKING INSTRUCTION SHOW ON TELEVISION
JAMES BEARD
SCHOOL FOR ASPIRING CHEFS
CULINARY SCHOOL
THE JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION'S CELEBRITY CHEF TOUR ALSO BRINGS ALONG A MASTER THIS, WO YOU DON'T GET TOO THIRSTY
SOMMELIER
SULLIVAN UNIVERSITY OFFERS THE USA'S FIRST DIPLOMA FOR PERSONAL THESE, WHO CAN WHIP YOU UP A NICE TERRINE DE CANARD
CHEF
THE NAMESAKE OF THIS BRAND OF CANNED PASTA WAS AN ITALIAN IMMIGRANT WHO GOT A JOB COOKING AT NYC'S PLAZA HOTEL
CHEF BOYARDEE
THE FETTUCINE DISH BECAME FAMOUS WHEN MARY PICKFORD AND DOUGLAS FAIRBANKS CROWNED THE CHEF THE KING OF THE NOODLES
FETTUCINE ALFREDO
POPULAR MAGAZINES FROM FOOD NETWORK CHEFS INCLUDE "COOKING WITH PAULA DEEN" AND EVERY DAY WITH..."HER
RACHEL RAY
A FAVORITE OF CHEFS, THIS TYPE OF CHOCOLATE CONTAINS AT LEAST 35% CHOCOLATE LIQUOR
BITTERSWEET
"IRON CHEF" CHEN KENICHI OF PRAWNS IN CHILI SAUCE FAME, IS THE SON OF THE MAN WHO BROUGHT THIS SPICY CHINESE STYLE TO JAPAN
SZECHUAN
FAMOUS CULINARY ARTS SCHOOL FOUNDED IN PARIS IN 1895
CORDON BLEU
THIS JAMIE OLIVER NICKNAME REFERS TO HIS MINIMALIST STYLE OF COOKING
THE NAKED CHEF
ETHNICITY OF THE "MUPPET SHOW" CHEF, WHOSE LITTLE SONG ENDED, "BORK, BORK, BORK"
SWEDEN
THIS FOOD NETWORK CHEF HOSTED "FOOD 911" AND "HOW TO BOIL WATER"
TYLER FLORENCE
"MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK", BUT "TOO MANY COOKS SPOIL" THIS
THE SOUP
MOST CHEF SALADS CONSIST IN PART OF CHEESE AND MEAT CUT IN THIS STYLE THAT BEARS A WOMAN'S NAME
JULIENNE
THIS CHEF WAS BORN IN AUSTRIA IN 1949
WOLFGANG PUCK
THIS ROTUND P.I.'S HOUSEHOLD INCLUDES CHEF FRITZ BRENNER AND "ORCHID NURSE" THEODORE HORSTMANN
NERO WOLFE
SUSHI WAS FIRST SERVED TO THIS WARRIOR CLASS
SAMURAI
A CHEF AT DELMONICO'S IN NY NAMED THIS DESSERT IN HONOR OF A BIG PURCHASE THE U.S. MADE FROM RUSSIA
BAKED ALASKA
FOR HIS PREGNANT WIFE WHO HAD LOST HER APPETITE, A CHEF NAMED ALFREDO CREATED A CREAMY DISH USING THIS PASTA
FETTUCINE
REMY, A RODENT WHO WORKS IN A PARIS BISTRO, LONGS TO BECOME A CHEF IN THIS ANIMATED FILM
RATATOUILLE
THE DISNEY CHANNEL: THIS TITLE KID IS "IN THE (WHITE) HOUSE WHEN HIS DAD IS MADE EXECUTIVE CHEF
CORY
MEANING "THRIFTY", IT DESCRIBES GOURMET TV CHEF JEFF SMITH
FRUGAL
A BEEF AND SOUR CREAM DISH BEARS THE NAME OF THIS NOBLE FAMILY; IT WAS CREATED BY THEIR CHEF
BEEF STROGANOFF
THE "ESSENCE OF" THIS CHEF FROM FALL RIVER, MA. IS THAT HE LIKES TO "KICK IT UP A NOTCH"
EMERIL LAGASSE
THIS IRMA ROMBAUER COOKBOOK HAS A 75TH-ANNIVERSARY EDITION, REVISED BY IRMA'S DAUGHTER MARION
THE JOY OF COOKING
THIS MAN WROTE "THE JOY OF WOKKING"
MARTIN YAN
THIS HOST OF THE FOOD NETWORK'S "EVERYDAY ITALIAN" WAS BORN IN ROME, AND IS THE GRANDDAUGHTER OF FILM PRODUCER DINO
GIADA DELAURENTIS
IN 1984 HE PUBLISHED HIS "LOUISIANA KITCHEN COOKBOOK"
PAUL PRUDHOMME
VERNON RANDOLPH USED A SECRET RECIPE FROM A NEW ORLEANS CHEF TO BEGIN SELLING THE KRISPY KREME BRAND OF THESE
DOUGHNUTS
TALL, CLOSE-FITTING WHITE HAT WORN BY CHEFS
TOQUE
IT'S SAID THIS EMPEROR'S CHEF CREATED CHICKEN MARENGO FOR HIM RIGHT ON THE BATTLEFIELD
NAPOLEON
THIS CONFECTION OF SUGAR-COATED ALMONDS IS NAMED FOR THE FRENCH ARMY OFFICER WHOSE CHEF FIRST PREPARED IT
PRALINE
IT'S THE FRENCH WORD FOR HEAD, BOSS, TOP MAN
CHEF
IN 1982 THIS AUSTRIAN-BORN CHEF OPENED SPAGO ON SUNSET BLVD.
WOLFGANG PUCK
CELEBRITY CHEF MARIO BATALI SAYS A SANDWICH OF THIS SMOKE MEAT FROM KATZ'S "IS WHAT'S BAD AND GOOD ABOUT FOOD"
PASTRAMI
FRENCH CHEFS TURN THIS FRESHWATER CRUSTACEAN INTO MOUSSE D'CREVISSE
CRAWFISH
THIS CHEF, WHO DIED AT AGE 91 IN 2004, EARNED A HISTORY DEGREE FROM SMITH IN 1934
JULIA CHILD
IT'S A SCIENTIFIC FACT, YOUR EGG WHITES WILL BEAT HIGHER IN A BOWL MADE OF THIS METAL PRIZED BY CHEFS
COPPER
THOUGH FRENCH CHEFS MOST OFTEN MAKE SOUP FROM THIS REPTILE, ITS FLIPPERS MAY BE BRAISED AND SERVED IN SAUCE
TURTLE
PEACH MELBA WAS ONE OF THE CREATIONS OF THIS FAMOUS FRENCH CHEF
ESCOFFIER
FRENCH CHEFS COOK THESE IN BUTTER AND SPRINKLE THEM WITH BRANDY; IN A NURSERY RHYME, THEY WERE "BAKED IN A PIE"
BLACKBIRDS
CAJUN CHEFS HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO COOK NUTRIA, A FURRY MEMBER OF THIS ORDER OF MAMMALS
RODENTS
THIS FRENCH TERM CAN DESCRIBE A CHICKEN, HAM & CHEESE DISH, OR THE MASTER CHEF WHO PREPARED IT
CORDON BLEU
CHEF WHOSE WIFE, K, IS THE "K" IN "K-PAUL'S LOUISIANA KITCHEN"
PAUL PRUDHOMME
LIVING FROM 1846 TO 1935, THIS CELEBRATED FRENCHMAN WAS KNOWN AS "THE KING OF CHEFS AND THE CHEF OF KINGS"
ESCOFFIER
IMMIGRATING TO THE U.S. AT AGE 17, HE COOKED AT THE PLAZA IN NYC AND CATERED PRESIDENT WILSON'S WEDDING RECEPTION IN 1915
CHEF BOYARDEE (ETTORE BOIARDI)
THE DINNER MENU AT COMMANDER'S PALACE IN NEW ORLEANS HAS THIS DU JOUR AS WELL AS SOUP DU JOUR
GUMBO
THIS SAUSAGE WITH A FRENCH ORIGIN IS TRADITIONAL IN SPECIALTIES LIKE CORNBREAD STUFFING
ANDOUILLE
FOR SAFETY, RATHER THAN THE TRADITIONAL PLASTIC BABY, YOU CAN SUBSTITUTE A PECAN IN THIS MARDI GRAS TREAT
KING CAKE
CAN'T GET MORE NEW ORLEANS THAN CRAWFISH TAILS IN THE BATTER FOR THESE DEEP-FRIED DOUGH TREATS, SAVORY OR SWEET
BEIGNETS
IN MAKING OYSTER DRESSING FOR HOLIDAY TURKEY, RESERVE THE CLEAR JUICE OF THE OYSTERS, CALLED THIS
LIQUOR
TAVERN ON THE GREEN OPENED AS A RESTAURANT IN 1934; THIS NYC MAYOR OPENED THE DOOR WITH A BRASS KEY AND SAMPLED THE CUISINE
LA GUARDIA
BRATWASH, A LIQUID FOUND AT WISCONSIN TAILGATE PARTIES, IS THIS TO THE REST OF US
BEER
SAKE IS MADE BY KNEADING, THEN HEATING AND FERMENTING THIS
RICE
THIS DEEP-FRIED DISH WAS INTRODUCED TO JAPAN BY THE PORTUGUESE
TEMPURA
MEANING "PULL-NOODLE", THIS FAST-COOKING NOODLE DISH IN BROTH IS HARD TO TOP FOR A QUICK MEAL
RAMEN
THE MOST VALUABLE PART OF THE TUNA IS THE FATTY BELLY MEAT KNOWN BY THIS JAPANESE NAME
TORO
ASPARAGUS HAS LONG BEEN THOUGHT TO HELP IN THIS ROMANCE DEPT.; FOR VARIETY, TRY THE EUROPEAN WHITE TYPE, GROWN IN DARKNESS SO THEY LACK THIS PIGMENT
CHLOROPHYLL
STURGEON FROM THIS BODY OF WATER PRODUCES THE HIGHEST-QUALITY CAVIER
CASPIAN SEA
TOP A STEAK WITH THIS EGGY SAUCE NAMED FOR AN OLD PROVINCE OF SOUTHWESTERN FRANCE
BERNAISE
THESE SEDUCTIVE CHOCOLATE TREATS GOT THEIR NAME BECAUSE THEY LOOKED LIKE A CERTAIN FUNGUS
TRUFFLES
THIS FERMENTED LEGUME PRODUCT IS THE MOST VERSATILE AND IMPORTANT VEGETARIAN INGREDIENT IN CHINESE CUISINE
TOFU
SPICE UP YOUR LIFE WITH CHICKEN PAPRIKASH, A FAMOUS DISH FROM THIS COUNTRY
HUNGARY
SOME FOLKS MAKE WELSH RAREBIT WITH MILK INSTEAD OF THIS TRADITIONAL LIQUID; HOMER SIMPSON WOULD BE OUTRAGED
BEER
BLAA MAY NOT SOUND APPEALING, BUT IT'S A NICE FLOURY BREAD FROM WATERFORD IN THIS COUNTRY
IRELAND
MANY THINGS MAY BE STUFFED TO MAKE THIS TRADITIONAL GREEK DISH, BUT STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES ARE THE MOST POPULAR
DOLMAS
BLACK PEPPER IS A LEADING INGREDIENT IN THESE COOKIES WHOSE NAME IS GERMAN FOR "PEPPERNUTS"
PFEFFERNUESSE
"CRAIG CLAIBORNE'S SOUTHERN COOKING" RECIPES INCLUDING DIXIE, GEORGIA, AND BOURBON VERSIONS OF THIS CLASSIC PIE
PECAN
YOU CAN ADD A LITTLE CRUNCH TO YOUR CORNBREAD USING THESE CRISPY PIECES OF PORK OR POULTRY FAT AFTER IT'S BEEN RENDERED
CRACKLINS'
SOME SAY THIS BLACK-EYED PEAS AND RICE DISH WAS NAMED FOR A SERVANT WHO KEPT ON HIS TOES WHILE DISHING IT OUT
HOPPIN' JOHN
FROM FRENCH FOR "TO SUFFOCATE", IT'S A POPULAR CAJUN STEW OF CRAWFISH AND VEGETABLES SERVED OVER WHITE RICE
ETOUFFEE
SIMILAR TO STEAK TARTARE, KITFO IS A COLD GROUND BEEF DISH THAT IS SERVED THIS WAY
RAW
TEJ IS A TYPE OF THIS ETHIOPIAN DISH MADE WITH HONEY; ETHIOPIANS THINK IT WAS ONCE SHARED BY SOLOMON AND THE QUEEN OF SHEBA
A MEAD
FOR ETHIOPIAN MEALS, COFFEE IS USUALLY SERVED IN THESE SMALL CUPS, FROM THE FRENCH FOR "HALF-CUP"
DEMITASSE
TEFF, SIMILAR TO MILLET, IS A TYPE OF THIS THAT COMES FROM A GRASS GROWN IN ETHIOPIA
GRAIN
SIMILAR TO THE INDIAN GHEE, NITER KIBBEH IS A CLARIFIED SPICE-INFUSED TYPE OF THIS & IS USED IN MANY DISHES
BUTTER
NAMED FOR A FORMER SOVIET CITY, THIS BUTTER-FILLED FRIED CHICKEN DISH IS OFTEN SERVED IN RUSSIAN CUISINE
CHICKEN KIEV
THIS WORD FOR ANY STYLE OF COOKING IS FROM THE FRENCH FOR "COOKING"
CUISINE
LANCASHIRE HOT POT IS A HOT STEW FROM THIS COUNTRY
ENGLAND
BEANS OF THIS COLOR ARE A SIGNATURE INGREDIENT OF THE FRENCH DISH CASSOULET
WHITE
MADE WITH CHEESE AND NUTS, PASKHA IS A TRADITIONAL RUSSIAN TREAT FOR THIS SPRING HOLIDAY
EASTER
THERE ARE MANY VARIATIONS OF THIS LAYERED GREEK DISH, BUT YOU PROBABLY KNOW THE ONE MADE WITH MEAT AND EGGPLANT
MOUSSAKA
SEEN IN SOUPS, STELLINE IS AN ITALIAN PASTA WHOSE NAME MEANS "LITTLE..." THESE
STARS
PANETTONE, A TRADITIONAL ITALIAN TREAT FOR THIS HOLIDAY, CAN BE BAKED IN A COFFEE CAN
CHRISTMAS
IF YOU'VE LIVED THE HIGH LIFE IN THIS LOW COUNTRY, YOU'VE PROBABLY DINED ON WATERZOOI, A CLASSIC STEW
BELGIUM
GREEK FOOD IS OFTEN ACCOMPANIED BY THIS TYPE OF WINE FLAVORED WITH PINE RESIN
RETSINA
BASED ON ALMONDS, NOT TOMATOES, AJO BLANCO IS A WHITE VERSION OF THIS CHILLED SOUP
GAZPACHO
THIS LATE, GREAT POLE WAS FOND OF A PASTRY CALLED KREMOWKA, ABOUT WHICH HE REMINISCED ON HIS 1999 VISIT HOME
POPE JOHN PAUL II
NAUTICAL NAME FOR A SANDWICH MADE FROM A LONG ROLL CUT HORIZONTALLY
SUBMARINE
THE POPULAR SNACK KNOWN AS "ANTS ON A LOG" IS MADE WITH RAISINS, PEANUT BUTTER, AND THIS VEGETABLE
CELERY
THE NAME OF THIS ITALIAN APPETIZER MEANS "BEFORE THE FOOD"
ANTIPASTO
IN ITALIAN CUISINE, THIS MEAT IS TRADITIONALLY THE MOST POPULAR TO COOK "CACCITORE" OR "HUNTER STYLE"
CHICKEN
VITELLO TONNATO IS THIS MEAT COOKED IN A TUNA AND MAYONNAISE PUREE
VEAL
NO GREEK SALAD IS COMPLETE WITHOUT THIS CHEESE WHOSE NAME MEANS "SLICE"
FETA
GREEK LAMB DISH, SIMILAR TO SHASHLIK, WHOSE NAME COMES FROM GREEK FOR "SKEWER"
SOUVLAKIA
THIS ANISE-FLAVORED GREEK LIQUEUR IS CLEAR, BUT WHEN YOU MIX WATER AND ICE, IT TURNS OPAQUE AND MILKY
OUZO
TO MAKE BAKLAVA, YOU'LL NEED SOME OF THESE TISSUE-THIN LAYERS OF PASTRY DOUGH, WHOSE NAME IS FROM THE GREEK FOR "LEAF"
PHYLLO
THIS GREEK DISH, MADE WITH SPINACH, CHEESE, AND ONIONS IS ALMOST AS MUCH FUN TO SAY AS TO EAT
SPANAKOPITA
SLYDERS AND CHEESE STICKS ARE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CUISINE OFFERED AT THIS HAMBURGER CHAIN
WHITE CASTLE
HUNGARIAN CUISINE USES THIS ORANGE-RED SPICE AS A MAINSTAY FLAVORING
PAPRIKA
UNDER VARIOUS NAMES, THIS ITEM IS PART OF THE CUISINE OF MUCH OF EUROPE; IN JEWISH COOKING, IT'S CALLED THIS
A BLINTZ
MEALIE IS THE AFRICAN NAME FOR THIS CEREAL PLANT THAT IS USED TO MAKE MUSH AND BATTERS
CORN
BILTONG FROM THIS COUNTRY IS AFRIKAANS FOR RUMP AND TONGUE... IT'S FROM THE RUMP AND TASTES LIKE SMOKED TONGUE
SOUTH AFRICA
ANGOLA'S CUISINE IS INFLUENCED BY THIS EUROPEAN COUNTRY THAT BROUGHT INGREDIENTS FROM ITS BRAZILIAN COLONY
PORTUGAL
DORO WAT, STEWED CHICKEN OVER INJERA BREAD, IS A NATIONAL DISH OF THIS EAST AFRICAN COUNTRY
ETHIOPIA
GRANULAR SEMOLINA GOES BY THIS NAME WHICH IS ALSO THE NAME OF A STEW MADE IN MOROCCO, ALGERIA, AND TUNISIA
COUSCOUS
THE YANGTZE FLOWS THROUGH THIS PROVINCE THAT'S CHINA'S MOST POPULOUS AND KNOWN FOR ITS SPICY CUISINE
SZECHUAN
P.F. CHANG'S IS AN UPSCALE BISTRO SPECIALIZING IN THE CUISINE OF THIS COUNTRY
CHINA
WHEN MAKING THIS CLASSIC CHINESE SOUP, BE SURE TO REMOVE THE TWIGS, FEATHERS, AND INSECTS FIRST
BIRD'S NEST SOUP
TO ENJOY THIS NATIONAL SWISS DISH, YOU'D BETTER LIKE CHEESE, LOTS OF IT, MELTED IN WINE
FONDUE
THE SEAFOOD IN THIS MEXICAN DISH IS "COOKED" NOT BY HEAT, BUT BY THE ACID IN LIME JUICE
CEVICHE
THIS GREEK DISH TYPICALLY CONSISTS OF LAYERS OF EGGPLANT AND GROUND LAMB OR BEEF TOPPED WITH A WHITE SAUCE
MOUSSAKA
ON AN ITALIAN MENU THIS TERM DESCRIBES PASTA WITH A SAUCE OF EGGS, CREAM, PARMESAN & BACON
CARBONARA
THIS STYLE OF CUISINE INCLUDES THE BETTER-KNOWN DISHES OF VARIOUS WESTERN EUROPEAN NATIONS
CONTINENTAL
IN CHINESE CUISINE, PANCAKES KEPT IN A STEAMER ARE OFTEN CALLED THESE, LIKE SMALL ORNAMENTAL MATS
DOILYS
KULCHA, NAN, & PARATHA ARE TYPES OF THIS FROM INDIA
BREAD
A TYPE OF THIS IS THE QUESO IN A QUESADILLA
CHEESE
IT'S THE TYPE OF PASTRY DOUGH YOU USE WHEN YOU WHIP UP SOME GREEK FLOYERES
PHYLLO
TO MAKE THIS CLASSIC GERMAN DISH, POUND A VEAL CUTLET, COAT IT WITH CRUMBS, THEN BROWN IT IN FAT
WIENERSCHNITZEL
IN ASIAN CUISINE, SPROUTS ARE FROM BEANS, AND SHOOTS ARE USUALLY FROM THIS
BAMBOO
SKYWORLD, A RESTAURANT ON TORTOLA, IS FAMED FOR THIS CITRUS PIE THAT'S ALSO A FAVORITE IN FLORIDA
KEY LIME PIE
IN ARUBA, YOU'LL HAVE FUN EATING FUNCHI, A SIDE DISH MADE FROM THIS KIND OF MEAL
CORN MEAL
LA HABICHUELA IN CANCUN FEATURES COCOBICHUELA; LOBSTER AND SHRIMP SERVED IN ONE OF THESE SHELLS
COCONUT SHELL
IGUANA IS A TASTE TREAT ON THIS ISLAND THAT THE U.S. INVADED IN 1983
GRENADA
GOAT STEW IS SAVORED ON THIS "C" OF THE ABC ISLANDS, WHICH LENT ITS NAME TO AN ORANGE-PEEL LIQUEUR
CURACAO
JAMAICANS COMBINE SALT FISH WITH ACKEE, A FRUIT INTRODUCED TO THE ISLAND AS PART OF THIS CAPTAIN'S "BOUNTY"
CAPTAIN WILLIAM BLIGH
DERBY CHEESE, WHICH ORIGINATED IN THIS COUNTRY, IS SOMETIMES FLAVORED WITH SAGE
ENGLAND
EUROPEAN CHEFS COOK THE YOUNG FOLIAGE OF THIS STINGING PLANT, URTICA DIOICA, LIKE SPINACH
NETTLES
THIS GERMAN DISH WHOSE NAME MEANS "HARE PEPPER", IS OFTEN SERVED WITH SOUR CREAM
HASSENPFEFFER
LEGEND SAYS THIS SMOKED HADDOCK DISH CAME FROM THE SCOTTISH FISHING VILLAGE OF FINDHORN
FINNAN HADDIE
IN JAPAN, A TYPE OF THIS CURD NORMALLY MADE WITH SOY BEANS, IS MADE WITH KUDZY
TOFU
YOU CAN MAKE A DARK VEGETARIAN STOCK FROM THE RED OR BLACK TYPE OF THESE LEGUMES
BEANS
THIS 4-LETTER WORD IS SEEN AFTER "APPLE" LESS OFTEN THAN AFTER "COLE"
SLAW
THE MAIN INGREDIENTS OF THE GREEK DISH SPANAKOPITA ARE CHEESE AND THIS GREEN VEGETABLE
SPINACH
AS A VEGETARIAN, JIMMY BUFFETT "MADE IT NEARLY 70 DAYS...DRINKIN' LOTS OF" THIS JUICE "AND SOAKIN' UP RAYS
CARROT JUICE
THE NAME OF THIS FRAGRANT TYPE OF RICE MEANS "QUEEN OF FRAGRANCE" IN SANSKRIT
BASMATI
FRESH VARIETIES OF THIS DAIRY TREAT WITH A TURKISH NAME HAVE MORE ACTIVE BACTERIA THAN THE FROZEN
YOGURT
RELATED TO POISON IVY, THIS KIDNEY-SHAPED SNACK NUT IS SOLD WITHOUT ITS TOXIC SHELL
CASHEW
"COOKING BANANAS"
PLANTAINS
IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, LA BANDERA, "THE FLAG", IS MADE WITH RED BEANS, MEAT, AND THIS WHITE GRAIN
RICE
IN HAITI, LAMBI IS THIS BIG SPIRAL-SHELLED SEA SNAIL
CONCH
IN BARBADOS, YOU'LL GO CUCKOO FOR COU-COO, A MIX OF CORNMEAL AND THIS ESSENTIAL GUMBO VEGETABLE
OKRA
PANDA EXPRESS SERVES THE GOURMET TYPE OF THIS NATIONAL CUISINE
CHINESE
SLICED APPLES SAUTEED IN BUTTER ARE A CLASSIC FILLING FOR THESE FRENCH PANCAKES
CREPES
MANY A FRENCH MEALENDS WITH A DRY RED WINE SERVED WITH THIS BLUE-VEINED TREAT, THE "CHEESE OF KINGS AND POPES"
ROQUEFORT
THIS CHILLED LEEK AND POTATO SOUP IS TRADITIONALLY SERVED WITH CHOPPED CHIVES
VICHYSSOISE
FOR A CHANGE OF PACE AT SOUP TIME, TRY SOUP AUX CERISES, MADE WITH RED WINE AND THIS FRUIT
CHERRIES
FRENCH FAVORITE "VIN BLANC" IS THIS BEVERAGE IN ENGLISH
WHITE WINE
IF YOU ORDER "SPAGHETTI E POLPETTE" IN ITALY, YOU'LL GET SPAGHETTI AND THESE
MEATBALLS
CLOSELY RELATED TO PUMPKINS, THERE ARE MORE THAN 40 KINDS OF THESE GOURD-SHAPED VEGETABLES
SQUASH
"IT JUST DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS" FOR DRINKERS OF THIS "OLD" BEER
OLD MILWAUKEE
GAZPACHO, A SOUP OFTEN FLAVORED WITH GARLIC, WAS CREATED IN THIS COUNTRY
SPAIN
JAMBONNEAUX DOESN'T MEAN BEAUTIFUL JAM; IT'S A FANCY FRENCH WORD FOR THIS ANIMAL'S KNUCKLES
PIG
THIS NUTRITIOUS TISSUE FOUND IN BONES CAN BE MADE INTO BALLS THAT THE GERMANS CALL MARKKLOSSCHEN
MARROW
IN INDIA GHEE, A SEMI-FLUID BUTTER, IS OFTEN MADE FROM THE MILK OF THIS ANIMAL
WATER BUFFALO
SOME CANADIANS COOK THIS REINDEER RELATIVE WHOSE NAME IS FROM THE ALGONQUIN FOR "PAWER"
CARIBOU
AN IMPORTANT HERB IS FRENCH CUISINE, IT'S ALSO KNOWN AS ESTRAGON
TARRAGON
A TASTY PASTRY NAMED FOR THIS BEAVER APPENDAGE IS A SPECIALTY OF HOOKER'S, AN OTTAWA EATERY
BEAVER TAIL
THESE LINGUAL ORGANS OF COD ARE SO POPULAR IN NEWFOUNDLAND THAT ST. JOHN'S HAS A CONTEST FOR EATING THEM
TONGUES
MALPEQUE BAY OYSTERS ARE A TASTE TREAT FROM THIS ISLAND PROVINCE OF CANADA
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
CATATLAN CUISINE IS FEATURED AT SET PORTES, A 161-YEAR OLD RESTAURANT IN THIS CATALONIAN CITY
BARCELONA
VISIT HERE AND ENJOY MEDITERRANEAN CUSINE, BEAUTIFUL WOMEN, AND A HUGE WOODEN HORSE DONATED BY THE GREEKS
TROY
THIS TARO ROOT PASTE IS AVAILABLE IN A POWDER, SO YOU CAN BRING SOME HOME FROM MAUI
POI
THIS INGREDIENT THAT COMES FROM RUMINANTS' STOMACHS GIVES PHILADELPHIA PEPPER POT ITS DISTINCTIVE FLAVOR
TRIPE
A FAVORITE IN NEW ENGLAND, RED FLANNEL HASH GETS ITS COLOR FROM THESE RED VEGGIES
BEETS
CRAIG CLAIBORNE SAID, "THERE ARE MORE RECIPES FOR" THIS "BREAD THAN THERE ARE MAGNOLIA TREES IN THE SOUTH"
CORNBREAD
IT'S AN ENGLISH TRADITION TO ADORN THIS TUSKED ANIMAL'S HEAD WITH SPRIGS OF BAY, ROSEMARY, AND LITTLE FLAGS
BOAR'S HEAD
AT CHRISTMASTIME, YOU MIGHT HAVE A "BURNING" DESIRE TO MAKE A BUCHE DE NOEL, A CAKE SHAPED LIKE THIS
YULE LOG
TO MAKE SOME LATKES, FIRST YOU GOTTA GRATE THESE, THE MAIN INGREDIENT
POTATOES
MEANING "NEW COOKING", THIS FRENCH PHRASE IS USED IN AMERICA FOR LIGHT & FRESHLY PREPARED DISHES
NOUVELLE CUISINE
WHEN ROLLING YOUR DOLMATHES YALANTZI, KEEP THE SHINY SIDE OF THESE ON THE OUTSIDE
GRAPE LEAVES
FROM ITALIAN FOR "RESTAURATEUR", IT'S A SMALL ITALIAN RESTAURANT
TRATTORIA
IT'S TRADITIONAL TO CUT THIS RELIGIOUS SYMBOL INTO THE TOP OF IRISH SODA BREAD
CROSS
FRENCH DISHES DESCRIBED AS ARGENTEUIL FEATURE THIS VEGETABLE...SOMETIMES JUST THE TIPS
ASPARAGUS
GOATWATER STEW, MADE WITH GOAT & VEGETABLES, IS A SPECIALTY OF MONTSERRAT, AN ISLAND IN THIS SEA
CARIBBEAN
BOIL THESE TUBERS IN SALTED WATER AND YOU'LL HAVE THE GERMAN DISH SALZKARTOFFEIN
POTATOES
TURKISH COOKS KNOW THAT MIDYE TAVASI ARE THESE BIVALVES FRIED IN BATTER
MUSSELS
KOMBU, A FLAVORFUL TYPE OF THIS MARINE ALGAE, IS SAVORED IN JAPAN
SEAWEED
POPULAR IN JAMAICA, ACKEE IS A TROPICAL FRUIT, THAT, WHEN COOKED, TASTES LIKE THESE SCRAMBLED ITEMS
EGGS
YOU MIGHT BEGIN A GERMAN MEAL WITH AALSUPPE, A SOUP MADE FROM THIS SNAKE-LIKE SEA CREATURE
EEL
ROMESCO, A CLASSIC CATALAN SAUCE FROM THIS COUNTRY, CONTAINS TOMATOES, GARLIC, RED PEPPERS, NUTS, AND OLIVE OIL
SPAIN
PASTITSIO, A POPULAR NOODLE DISH FROM THIS MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRY, MAY FEATURE LAMB OR FETA CHEESE
GREECE
BASIL, GARLIC, PINE NUTS, PARMESAN CHEESE, AND OLIVE OIL GO INTO THIS SAUCE THAT ORIGINATED IN GENOA
PESTO
TRADITIONAL SWEET & SOUR PORK CONTAINS THIS TROPICAL FRUIT
PINEAPPLE
"SMART" PEOPLE KNOW THAT HIRNSUPPE IS A GERMAN SOUP MADE FROM THIS ORGAN MEAT
BRAINS
CUITLACOCHE, A MEXICAN DELICACY, COMES FROM THE EARS OF THIS THAT HAVE BEEN ATTACKED BY USTILAGO MAYDIS FUNGUS
CORN
SOBA ARE A JAPANESE TYPE OF THESE MADE FROM BUCKWHEAT FLOUR AND SERVED HOT OR COLD
NOODLES
VELOUTE DE CREVETTES IS A RICH FRENCH SOUP MADE FROM THESE SHELLFISH
SHRIMP
A MASHED BANANA OR A QUARTER CUP OF APPLESAUCE CAN REPLACE OIL OR A SINGLE ONE OF THESE IN A CAKE RECIPE
EGG
NICKNAMED "WHEAT-MEAT", SEITAN IS MADE FROM WHEAT GLUTEN RICH IN THIS COMPOUND ESSENTIAL TO LIFE
PROTEIN
THIS BRIGHT GREEN FRUIT IS FEATURED IN PAVLOVA, A DESSERT FROM NEW ZEALAND
KIWI
A POPULAR CHINESE DISH, IT CONSISTS OF STIR FRIED SHREDDED MEAT & VEGETABLES SERVED IN THIN PANCAKES
MU SHU PORK
THIS SALAD OF BULGAR WHEAT, ONIONS, TOMATOES, PARSLEY, AND MINT IS A CLASSIC DISH OF THE MIDDLE EAST
TABBOULEH
COMBINE MINCED SHALLOTS WITH THIS BREAD SPREAD TO MAKE BEURRE D'ENCHALOTE
BUTTER
CANARD SAUVAGE, THE "WILD" TYPE OF THIS BIRD, MAY BE COVERED WITH SAUCE CHAMBERTIN
DUCK
MEE KROB IS A SWEET, CRISPY NOODLE DISH FROM THE CUISINE OF THIS COUNTRY
THAILAND
AMERICAN HOG MAW IS SIMILAR TO THIS SCOTTISH DISH
HAGGIS
IN SPANISH, MEXICO'S SALSA BORRACHA MEANS "DRUNKEN SAUCE", AS IT CONTAINS THIS POTENT POTABLE
TEQUILA
THE 2 MEATS IN SALTIMBOCCA
VEAL AND HAM
THIS EVER-POPULAR PICKLED CABBAGE DISH MAY BE FLAVORED WITH WEISSWEIN...WHITE WINE
SAUERKRAUT
GERMANS TRADITIONALLY SERVE BOCKWURST, A DELICATELY FLAVORED SAUSAGE, WITH THIS BEVERAGE
BEER
IN GERMANY, THESE SWEETS ARE KNOWN AS KOKONUSS-MAKRONEN
COCONUT MACAROONS
LEBERKNODEL ARE DUMPLINGS MADE FROM THIS ORGAN MEAT
LIVER
THIS FRUIT IS THE MAIN INGREDIENT IN THE COLD SOUP KIRSCHKALTSCHALE
CHERRIES
CREATED TO HONOR A BICYCLE RACE, PARIS-BREST IS A CAKE MADE TO RESEMBLE THIS BICYCLE PART
WHEEL
OFTEN SERVED WITH FISH, POMMES DE TERRE A L'ANGLAISE ARE THESE VEGETABLES, BOILED OR STEAMED
POTATOES
THIS LEAFY GREEN VEGETABLE IS THE MAIN INGREDIENT IN SOUFFLE D'EPINARDS
SPINACH
THIS PUREE GIVES CONSOMME CARMEN A LIGHT ROSY TINGE
TOMATO PUREE
COUPES A L'ANANAS ARE ICE CREAM DESSERTS MADE WITH THIS TROPICAL FRUIT, NOT BANANAS
PINEAPPLES
FRENCH DISHES DESCRIBED AS A L'ALLEMANDE ARE INSPIRED BY THE CUISINE OF THIS COUNTRY
GERMANY
PASTA WHOSE NAME MEANS "LITTLE TONGUES"
LINGUINE
A FISH CALLED RASCASSE IS ESSENTIAL TO THIS CELEBRATED SEAFOOD STEW FROM PROVENCE
BOUILLABAISSE
A POPULAR THAI DISH, IT'S MEAT OR CHICKEN ON A SKEWER SERVED WITH A SPICY PEANUT SAUCE
SATAY
IT'S THE KIND OF MEAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SCHWEINESCHNITZEL
PORK
THE GERMAN DISH GEROSTETE AUSTERN ARE THESE MOLLUSKS ROASTED AND SERVED ON THE HALF SHELL
OYSTERS
IN GERMANY, KASE IS THIS DAIRY PRODUCT, AND ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT IN THE DISH KNOWN AS KASESPATZLE
CHEESE
THE NAME HASENOHREN, WHICH ARE DEEP-FRIED PASTRIES, MEANS THIS ANIMALS' EARS
RABBIT
CORNISH PASTIES ARE NAMED FOR THIS ENGLISH COUNTY
CORNWALL
MELIZANOSOLATA, AN EGGPLANT SALAD, IS AN APPETIZER OR SIDE DISH FROM THIS MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRY
GREECE
A TRATTORIA USUALLY SPECIALIZES IN THIS COUNTRY'S CUISINE
ITALY
THE WORD "MALLOSOL" ON A CAVIER LABEL MEANS THE ROE IS PRESERVED WITH A MINIMUM OF THIS SEASONING
SALT
ANCIENT ROMANS CULTIVATED THESE GASTROPODS ON FARMS; FATTENING THEM ON MEAL AND WINE
SNAILS
EGGS MEYERBEER, NAMED IN HONOR OF THE COMPOSER, IS MADE WITH THESE ORGANS THE FRENCH CALL REINS
KIDNEYS
SERVED WITH BEARNAISE SAUCE, THIS THICK CUT OF BEEF IS NAMED FOR A FRENCH STATESMAN, NOT A FRENCH CASTLE
CHATEAUBRIAND
SONOMA JACK CHEESE ORIGINATED IN THIS U.S. STATE
CALIFORNIA
A FAVORITE IN THE SOUTH, AMBROSIA IS A DESSERT MADE WITH SLICED ORANGES AND THIS SHREDDED TROPICAL FRUIT
COCONUT
RHYMING NAME OF THE CUISINE THAT COMBINES THE FLAVORS OF OUR 28TH STATE AND ITS NEIGHBOR TO THE SOUTH
TEX-MEX
CRAIG CLAIBORNE'S RECIPE FOR KENTUCKY BURGOO CALLS FOR THE 100-PROOF TYPE OF THIS LIQUOR
BOURBON
RIZ AU LAIT SAMP IS A SIMPLE DESSERT MADE OF RICE COOKED IN THIS DAIRY PRODUCT
MILK
ESCOFFIER SAID THESE SHELLFISH, WHICH THE FRENCH CALL HUITRES,ARE BEST RAW, BUT HE ALSO SERVED THEM A LA FLORENTINE
OYSTERS
A FAMOUS FRENCH SAUCE IS CALLED CHAUD FROID, FRENCH FOR THESE 2 ANTONYMS
HOT AND COLD
DISHES DESCRIBED AS A LA DUBARRY CONTAIN THIS VEGETABLE
CAULIFLOWER
THE FRENCH CALL THIS VEGETABLE CHOU-FLEUR
CAULIFLOWER
REINS, THESE ORGAN MEATS, MAY BE SAUTEED WITH MUSHROOMS
KIDNEYS
GHEE, A TYPE OF CLARIFIED BUTTER, USED IN CURRY PASTE, ORIGINATED IN THIS COUNTRY
INDIA
TO MAKE A SIMPLE QUESIDILLA, START BY FOLDING ONE OF THESE AROUND A CHEESE FILLING
TORTILLA
KAASDOPEN, A CHEESE FONDUE DISH FROM THIS COUNTRY, IS MADE WITH GOUDA AND SERVED WITH BREAD
NETHERLANDS
YOU CAN USE THE INSTANT TYPE OF THIS BEVERAGE TO MAKE A SOUFFLE AU CAFE
COFFEE
IF YOU WANT TO ORDER THIS EVER-POPULAR DESSERT IN FRANCE, ASK FOR GATEAU AU CHOCOLAT
CHOCOLATE CAKE
AFTER YOU STUFF THIS VEGETABLE, YOU CAN CALL IT CHOU-FARSI
CABBAGE
THE ITALIAN DISH OSSO BUCO IS MADE WITH THIS TYPE OF MEAT
VEAL
THE FRENCH WILL TELL YOU CUISSES DE GRENOUILLE, WHICH ARE THESE, TASTE A LOT LIKE CHICKEN
FROGS' LEGS
THIS POPULAR THAI DISH CONSISTS OF SWEET CRISPY NOODLES WITH CHICKEN OR SHRIMP
MEE KROB
LATIN AMERICAN POP MUSIC STYLE, OR A SAUCE USED IN MEXICAN COOKING
SALSA
IF YOUR RECIPE CALLS FOR "BLANCHING" GREEN BEANS, PLUNGE THEM INTO THIS
BOILING WATER
YOU CAN'T MAKE A SOUFFLE WITHOUT BREAKING SOME EGGS AND DOING THIS TO THEM BEFORE BEATING
SEPARATING
FRENCH TYPE OF SWISS CHEESE THAT'S AN IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN FONDUES, GRATINS, AND CREPES
GRUYERE
A PATE-LIKE DISH, OR THE NAME OF THE MOLD IN WHICH PATE IS BAKED
TERRINE
THE MIDDLE CUT OF A RIB STEAK, IT LITERALLY MEANS "BETWEEN 2 RIBS"
INTRE CUT
COLCANNON, A DISH OF POTATOES, LEEKS, CABBAGE, AND CREAM, IS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS COUNTRY'S CUISINE
IRELAND
JEWISH CREPE FILLED WITH CHEESE
BLINTZ
FRENCH FOR A TOOTHSOME CUT OF BEEF SERVED TO A TWOSOME
CHATEAUBRIAND
FROM THE FRENCH, IT MEANS TO REMOVE BONES, ESPECIALLY THE BACKBONES, FROM FISH
FILET
FROM THE GREEK FOR "TO ROAST", IT'S TO COOK WITH DRY OVEN HEAT
BAKE
TO COOK SUGAR UNTIL IT FORMS A BROWN SYRUP
CARAMELIZE
AMERICANS USING BRITISH COOKBOOKS SHOULD KNOW THAT A RECIPE CALLING FOR ONE OF THESE IS EQUIVALENT TO 20 OUNCES, NOT 16
PINT
THE AMOUNT OF COOKIES PRODUCED AT ONE BAKING, IT'S FROM THE OLD ENGLISH FOR "BAKE"
BATCH
A DESSERT SPOON IS EQUIVALENT TO 2 OF THESE, ROUGHLY 10 MILLILITERS IN THE U.S.
TEASPOONS
CHINESE DUMPLINGS SERVED IN SOUP
WONTONS
FOR YOUR SUPER BOWL PARTY, "THE JOY OF COOKING" RECOMMENDS THE TRADITIONAL DIP OF THIS MANY LAYERS
7
"JOY OF COOKING" HAS A RECIPE FOR THIS MADE WITH WALNUT CATSUP, VINEGAR, AND ANCHOVY ESSENCE
WORCESTERSHIRE SAUCE
CLASSIC MEXICAN AVOCADO RELISH
GUACAMOLE
A PASTRY SHELL FILLED WITH EGGS, CREAM, AND OTHER INGREDIENTS, THIS DISH ORIGINATED IN THE ALSACE-LORRAINE REGION
QUICHE
THIS SEAFOOD STEW OF MARSEILLES WAS ORIGINALLY COOKED ON THE BEACH BY FISHERMEN
BOUILLABAISSE
THIS SPECIALTY OF ALSACE & PERIGORD IS GOOSE LIVER MARINATED IN PORT AND SEASONINGS
PATE FOIE GRAS
AS THE NAME SAYS, THIS CLASSIC DISH IS CHICKEN COOKED IN RED WINE
COQ AU VIN
WHEN IT'S IN THE GARDEN, IT'S CALLED CHINESE PARSLEY; WHEN THE LEAVES ARE USED, IT'S SPANISH CILANTRO; THE SEEDS USED IN COOKING ARE CALLED THIS FROM MIDDLE ENGLISH
CORIANDER
YOU CAN USE ARBORIO RICE TO MAKE THIS DISH; LET EACH ADDITION OF BROTH BE ABSORBED BEFORE ADDING THE NEXT
RISOTTO
TO MAKE A BASIC VERSION OF THIS ITALIAN STAPLE, GRADUALLY ADD CORNMEAL TO BOILING WATER, STIR CONSTANTLY
POLENTA
THIS NO-COOK SAUCE BLENDS BASIL, PINE NUTS, AND GARLIC; ADD OIL SLOWLY SO THE SAUCE EMULSIFIES FULLY
PESTO
YOU CAN USE LEFTOVERS TO MAKE ONE OF THESE ITALIAN-NAMED EGG DISHES THAT'S SIMILAR TO AN OMELET
FRITTATA
CUT A BAGUETTE, BRUSH WITH OLIVE OIL AND BAKE UNTIL GOLDEN; NOW YOU'VE GOT THIS APPETIZER, ITALIAN FOR "LITTLE TOASTS"
CROSTINI
MADE WITH CORNMEAL, IT COMES OUT OF THE OVEN SO SOFT YOU HAVE TO EAT IT WITH THE UTENSIL IN ITS NAME
SPOON BREAD
ORVILLE REDBACHER SELLS THIS SWEET & SALTY TREAT AS WELL AS ITS MORE FAMOUS COUSIN
KETTLE CORN
BOBBY FLAY'S REICPE FOR THIS INCLUDES AS SPECIAL EQUIPMENT, A ROD TO SKEWER THE BIRD WITH
ROTISSERIE CHICKEN
THIS TYPE OF OVEN USES A FAN TO CIRCULATE THE HOT AIR
CONVECTION OVEN
"IF YOU CAN READ, YOU CAN COOK", SHE WROTE IN THE INTRODUCTION TO HER CLASSIC "MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING"
JULIA CHILD
IF A RECIPE CALLS FOR BLANCHING TOMATOES, IT'S SO THAT YOU CAN REMOVE THIS MORE EASILY
SKIN
BE ALERT WHEN YOU HEAT OIL FOR FRYING, BECAUSE ONCE IT REACHES THE POINT WHEN IT DOES THIS, IT DECOMPOSES
SMOKES
TO MAKE PUMPERNICKEL, USE THE DARK FLOUR OF THIS GRAIN
RYE
AN ITALIAN DISH OF VEAL SHANKS COOKED WITH WHITE WINE, OLIVE OIL, SPICES, TOMATOES, AND A FEW ANCHOVIES
OSSO BUCO
FROM FRENCH "TO MAKE WHITE", IT'S TO BOIL FOOD FOR A SHORT TIME
BLANCH
ADDING HOT OR TANGY SEASONINGS TO FOOD, IT'S SATAN'S FAVORITE METHOD OF COOKING HAM OR EGGS
DEVILED
TO COOK FOOD IN LIQUID JUST BELOW THE BOILING POINT, IT'S A WAY TO PAMPER YOUR EGGS
CODDLING
TO BROWN A PIECE OF MEAT & THEN SIMMER IT IN A SMALL AMOUNT OF LIQUID IN A COVERED PAN
BRAISING
MENTHA PIPERITA, THIS ONE OF THE MORE THAN 20 SPECIES OF MINT, IS FREQUENTLY USED IN COOKING
PEPPERMINT
POPULAR IN CAJUN COOKING, TASSO IS USUALLY A SPICED TYPE OF THIS MEAT
HAM
THIS AGED VINEGAR IS MADE FROM GRAPES IN MODENA
BALSAMIC
YOU MIGHT ENJOY A GLASS OF THIS SICILIAN FORTIFIED WINE WHILE COOKING UP THE VEAL DISH OF THE SAME NAME
MARSALA
THIS CORNING GLASS USED FOR COOKING WAS CAST TO MAKE THE 200" TELESCOPE LENS FOR MOUNT PALOMAR
PYREX
BEAN SAUCE, AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT IN CHINESE COOKING, IS USUALLY MADE FROM THESE BEANS
SOY BEANS
A COOKING DEVICE IN WHICH MEAT TURNS SLOWLY ON A SPIT
ROTISSERIE
THIS DISH, STEAK DIPPED IN BATTER BEFORE COOKING; IT DOESN'T CONTAIN THE POULTRY THAT'S IN THE NAME
CHICKEN-FRIED STEAK
"YANKEE" BEFORE THE NAME OF THIS BRAISED BEEF DISH MEANS THAT VEGETABLES WERE ADDED DURING THE COOKING PROCESS
POT ROAST
TO MAXIMIZE FLAVOR IMPACT, THIS TYPE OF PLANT, LIKE BASIL OR PARSLEY, SHOULD BE ADDED AT THE END OF COOKING
AN HERB
BUTTERBALL ADVISES PUTTING THE THERMOMETER IN THIS PART OF THE TURKEY THAT PROVIDES DARK MEAT
THIGH
FROM THE LATIN FOR "FLAT WOOD", IT'S ONE OF A FRY COOK'S TOOLS
SPATULA
CRAIG CLAIBORNE'S RECIPE FOR THIS FRENCH SOUP REMINDS YOU TO CHILL THOROUGHLY AND PRONOUNCE THE FINAL "S"
VICYSSOISE
ALSO SOMETIMES DONE TO HARBORS, IT MEANS TO COAT FOOD WITH A DRY INGREDIENT LIKE FLOUR
DREDGE
BEFORE COOKING, YOU HAVE TO TOP & TAIL AND MAYBE DE-STRING THE RUNNER TYPE OF THESE
BEANS
IN JEWISH COOKING, POTATO PANCAKES, COMMONLY ENJOYED DURING HANUKKAH, ARE KNOWN AS THESE
LATKES
SEVERAL STATES INCLUDING TEXAS HAVE THIS COOKING UTENSIL FEATURE
PANHANDLE
COOK BACON UNTIL IT HAS RELEASED MOST OF ITS FAT, A VERSION OF THIS SEPARATION PROCESS
RENDERING
IN DORO WAT, ETHIOPIAN CHICKEN STEW, THESE GO IN AT THE END OF COOKING, SO THE CHICKEN STEW COMES FIRST
EGGS
BEST KNOWN OF ALL PHYLLO PASTRIES
BAKLAVA
CARL SONTHEIMER COMBINED HIS ELECTRONICS EXPERTISE WITH HIS LOVE OF COOKING TO CREATE THIS FOOD PROCESSOR
CUISINART
YOU'RE REALLY COOKING WITH THIS PERCUSSION INSTRUMENT; IT HAS A COOKING-POT NAME
KETTLEDRUM
IN CHINA AND INDIA, PEANUTS ARE PROCESSED MAINLY FOR THIS COOKING INGREDIENT
PEANUT OIL
IN COOKING, A STICK OF BUTTER CONVERTS TO THIS MANY OUNCES
4
AS ITS NAME INDICATES, STEAK AU POIVRE IS COVERED WITH THIS BEFORE COOKING
PEPPER
ALSO A COOKING TERM, IT MEANS TO WALK WITH SHORT, DELICATE STEPS
MINCE
AN AROMATIC HERB OF THE MINT FAMILY, HAVING LEAVES USED AS A SEASONING
OREGANO
THIS "JAMES" ESTABLISHED A COOKING SCHOOL IN NY IN 1955
JAMES BEARD
THIS AROMATIC PLANT USED IN COOKING TASTES LIKE LICORICE AND HAS THE CRUNCHY TEXTURE OF CELERY
FENNEL
TO MAKE BUNNY SALAD, USE A CHILLED PEAR HALF FOR THE BUNNY'S BODY AND A BALL OF COTTAGE CHEESE FOR THIS APPENDAGE
TAIL
IT DESCRIBES THE COOKING SURFACE OF A TEFLON-COATED FRYING PAN
NON-STICK
2-WORD COOKING TERM FOR A SOCIETY MADE UP OF MANY DIFFERENT CULTURES
MELTING POT
THIS AROMATIC HERB USED IN COOKING BEARS CLUSTERS OF SMALL GREEN AND WHITE FLOWERS
TARRAGON
BROWN SUGAR IS A MIXTURE OF WHITE SUGAR AND THIS THICK SYRUP, WHICH GIVES IT ITS COLOR
MOLASSES
BRAMLEY APPLES ARE A POPULAR COOKING INGREDIENT IN THIS COUNTRY OF THEIR ORIGIN
ENGLAND
IT WAS FIRST PRINTED PRIVATELY AND DISTRIBUTED FROM IRMA ROMBAUER'S HOME
THE JOY OF COOKING
ALSO CALLED COMINO, IT'S USED IN SEED FORM OR GROUND INTO POWDER TO FLAVOR A MYRIAD OF DISHES
CUMIN
THIS TYPE OF BOUILLON USED TO POACH FISH SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING A JUDGE WOULD SERVE
COURT BOUILLON
HARDWOODS WORK BEST FOR THIS TYPE OF COOKING THAT SOME PURISTS CALL THE ONLY REAL TYPE OF BARBECUE
SMOKING
IN 1933 THIS FAMOUS FRENCH COOKING SCHOOL OPENED A LONDON BRANCH
CORDON BLEU
THE ISLAND OF AEGINA IS RICH IN THIS TREE THAT PRODUCES A COOKING OIL AS WELL AS THIS BELOVED NUT
PISTACHIO
"JOY OF COOKING" RECIPES FOR THIS CUT OF BEEF INCLUDE SWEET & SOUR AND TZIMMIS WITH POTATO KNAIDLE
BRISKET
THE MESS IS THE AREA ON A SHIP WHERE THE CREW EATS; THIS IS THE TERM FOR THE KITCHEN WHERE THE COOKING IS DONE
GALLEY
BEVERAGE THAT COWBOYS CALLED ARBUCKLE
COFFEE
THE WAGON COWBOYS WERE FED FROM
CHUCK WAGON
THE BONE-IN TYPE OF THIS STEAK WITH A DOUBLE ANATOMICAL NAME IS ALSO CALLED A COWBOY STEAK
RIBEYE
TRAIL COOKS COULDN'T CARRY EGGS & MILK, SO THEY USED STARTER TO MAKE THIS TYPE OF BISCUIT CALLED A "HOT ROCK"
SOURDOUGH
"JOY OF COOKING" SAYS RABBIT CAN BE SUBSTITUTED FOR THIS "IN ALMOST ANY DISH" BY USING "THE SADDLE AS THE BREAT MEAT"
CHICKEN
AN EGG THAT SPINS MERRILY & EASILY ON THE COUNTER, TELLS YOU IT'S THIS
HARD BOILED
FOR VEGETARIANS, INSTEAD OF VITELLO ALLA PARMIGIANA, VEAL PARMESAN, MAKE MALAZINE ALLA PARMIGIANA, THIS
EGGPLANT
YOU'LL WANT TO REMOVE THE STEM AND POSSIBLY THE GILLS BEFORE COOKING WITH THIS JUMBO-SIZED MUSHROOM
PORTOBELLO
THE BULB USED IN COOKING RARELY PRODUCES SEEDS; MOST PEOPLE BREAK IT INTO CLOVES AND PLANT THEM
GARLIC
AS OPPOSED TO REGULAR BREADS, QUICK BREADS ARE MADE WITHOUT THIS LEAVENER, ELIMINATING THE TIME TO RISE
YEAST
YOU CAN USE RIGATONI OR SHELL PASTA, BUT TRADITIONALLY FOR KASHA VARNISHKES, IT'S THIS "NECKWEAR" TYPE
BOW TIE
FINGER FOOD INVENTED IN 1964 AT THE ANCHOR BAR IN NEW YORK STATE
BUFFALO WINGS
THIS TERM FROM FRENCH COOKING REFERS TO A HIGHLY SEASONED STEW OF MEAT OR FISH & SOMETIMES VEGETABLES
RAGOUT
THIS COOKING SPRAY FIRST MADE ITS WAY INTO KITCHENS OVER 50 YEARS AGO
PAM
TRADITIONALLY, AN IMPORTANT INGREDIENT IN JEWISH COOKING IS SCHMALTZ, WHICH IS THIS
FAT
BEFORE BAKING, SPRINKLE THIS ITALIAN BREAD WITH OIL, SALT, AND ROSEMARY
FOCCACIO
"JOY OF COOKING" SAYS A RULE OF THUMB IS 1/2 CUP OF THIS FOR EVERY POUND OF TURKEY
STUFFING
FOR COOKING, POPULAR ONES INCLUDE THE GRAVENSTEIN AND THE GREENING
APPLES
WHILE IT MAY CONTAIN COTTAGE CHEESE, THE TRADITIONAL NY CHEESECAKE IS BASED ON THIS CHEESE
CREAM CHEESE
AN APPALACHIAN FAVORITE IS THIS PUDDING, MADE FROM A VEGETABLE ALSO USED IN BOURBON, ANOTHER FAVORITE THERE
CORN PUDDING
THESE PUNGENT SEEDS CAN BE PICKED OUT OF RYE BREAD
CARROWAY SEEDS
MEANING "TO MAKE CLEAR BY REMOVING IMPURITIES", IT'S DONE TO BUTTER OR STOCK
CLARIFY
THIS TYPE OF SUGAR CAN BE USED TO CREATE PATTERNS ON A CAKE
CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR
IN COOKING, TO CUT OPEN AND SPREAD FLAT, AS WITH SHRIMP OR STEAK
BUTTERFLY
THE EGGS IN EGGS BENEDICT ARE COOKED THIS WAY
POACHED
THIS SALAD GREEN, A VARIETY OF ITALIAN CHICORY, IS USUALLY REDDISH
RADICCHIO
AN AUSTRIAN FINGERLING IS A LIGHT-SKINNED, YELLOW-FLESHED ONE OF THESE
POTATO
THIS TERM FOR CRIMPED DECORATIVE EDGE OF A PIE CRUST INCLUDES THE NAME OF A MUSICAL INSTRUMENT
FLUTED
RHYMING WITH COD, IT'S A YOUNG FISH LIKE COD OR HADDOCK, THAT'S BEEN SPLIT AND READIED FOR COOKING
SCROD
COOK EGGS QUICKLY ON ONE SIDE THEN FLIP 'EM AND COOK 'EM AGAIN AND YOU'RE COOKING THEM THIS WAY
OVER EASY
THE POBLANO TYPE OF THESE IS POPULAR WHEN MAKING THEM RELLENOS, OR STUFFED
CHILIES
AUTHOR DIANA KENNEDY SAYS, "ALWAYS SERVE A WEDGE OF" THIS MEXICAN DESSERT "WITH PLENTY OF THE EXTRA SYRUP"
FLAN
YOU CAN MAKE THE TRADITIONAL TIES FOR THIS MEXICAN DISH FROM STRANDS OF THEIR CORN HUSK WRAPPINGS
TAMALES
COCHINITA PIBIL, A CLASSIC YUCATAN DISH, IS ONE OF THESE COOKED IN A PIB, OR PIT
PIG
THE NAME OF THIS MEXICAN CHOPPED FRUIT RELISH MEANS "ROOSTER'S BEAK"
PICO DE GALLO
SOUVLAKI ORIGINATED IN THIS COUNTRY
GREECE
OSSO BUCO IS FROM THIS COUNTRY
ITALY
TEMPURA IS FROM THIS COUNTRY
JAPAN
THIS AROMATIC HERB IS KNOWN FOR ITS ANISELIKE FLAVOR
TARRAGON
POPULAR IN CAJUN COOKING, THIS SAUSAGE WITH A FRENCH NAME IS FULL OF TRIPEY GOODNESS
ANDOUILLE
THIS ANNUAL COOKING CONTEST FIRST TOOK PLACE IN 1949 AT NYC'S WALDORF-ASTORIA HOTEL
PILLSBURY BAKE-OFF
THE JAPANESE NAME FOR THIS FLAVOR ENHANCER, ALSO POPULAR IN CHINESE COOKING, IS AJI-NO-MOTO
MSG
CHINESE COOKING HAS EXTREMES OF EGG FOO YUNG AND THIS DISH OF DUCK EGGS THAT HAVE BEEN BURIED FOR A LONG WHILE
THOUSAND/HUNDRED-YEAR-OLD EGGS
THIS FLAVOR ENHANCER USED IN ASIAN COOKING WAS FIRST OBTAINED FROM SEAWEED
MSG
THIS REDDISH METAL IS A GREAT CONDUCTOR OF HEAT AS WELL AS ELECTRICITY, SO IT'S USED IN COOKING UTENSILS
COPPER
THIS HYBRID TEA ROSE SHARES ITS NAME WITH A TOP FRENCH COOKING SCHOOL
CORDON BLEU
SOME CREDIT A DELMONICO'S CHEF WITH COOKING UP THIS DESSERT OF ICE CREAM COVERED IN MERINGUE AND BROWNED
BAKED ALASKA
IT CAN BE A SERIOUS QUARREL OR A RED-STALKED VEGETABLE USED IN COOKING
RHUBARB
IT MEANS TO BEAT OR REPRIMAND, NOT TO MOISTEN A YOUNG SHEEP WHILE COOKING IT
LAMBASTE
IN LAS VEGAS IT'S A SHORT TRIP FROM NY-NY TO DETROIT AND THE HOME COOKING OF THIS MUSIC-THEMED CAFE
MOTOWN CAFE
POPULAR IN ASIA, THIS COOKING UTENSIL THAT USUALLY HAS 2 HANDLES IS PERFECT FOR STIR FRYING
WOK
MIX DRIED, POUNDED MEAT WITH FAT AND BERRIES TO MAKE THIS TRADITIONAL FOOD OF NATIVE AMERICANS
PEMMICAN
LAROUSSE SUGGESTS COOKING BRILL, A "FLAT" TYPE OF THIS, IN CHAMPAGNE SAUCE
FISH
THESE LARGE NUTS FROM THE AMAZON RIVER VALLEY CAN BE USED IN COOKING MUCH THE SAME WAY AS COCONUT
BRAZIL NUTS
THESE CRISP EDIBLE SHOOTS OF GERMINATED BEANS LIKE MUNG ARE POPULAR IN CHINESE COOKING
BEAN SPROUTS
PEOPLE WHO EAT THIS URSINE MAMMAL OFTEN MARINATE THE MEAT FOR AT LEAST A DAY BEFORE COOKING
BEAR
"JOY OF COOKING" SAYS DOGFISH IS A CLASSIC PART OF THIS BRITISH STAPLE DISH SERVED WITH VINEGAR
FISH AND CHIPS
FIRST CENTURY ALCHEMIST MARIA THE JEWESS INVENTED THIS "DOUBLE" APPARATUS USED IN COOKING
DOUBLE BOILER
APPROPRIATELY, "THE JOY OF COOKING" HAS A RECIPE FOR MAKING THIS SPONGE-LIKE CAKE AT HIGH ALTITUDES
ANGEL FOOD CAKE
COOKING'S EQUIVALENT OF THE OSCARS IS NAMED FOR THIS LATE EXPERT ON FOOD AND DRINK
JAMES BEARD
ALSO KNOWN AS A BROAD BEAN, IT SHOULD BE DE-PODDED AND SKINNED BEFORE COOKING
FAVA BEAN
IN FRENCH COOKING, A "SUPREME" IS A VELOUTE TYPE OF THIS, MADE WITH MEAT STOCK, BUTTER, AND FLOUR
SAUCE
THIS MESH-BOTTOMED CUP IS USED TO BREAK UP LARGE PIECES IN CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR OR FLOUR
SIFTER
PEOPLE NORMALLY TOP OFF A BOWL OF GOULASH WITH A DOLLOP OF THIS DAIRY PRODUCT
SOUR CREAM
THIS HERB'S NAME COMES FROM THE LATIN "SALVUS" MEANING "SAFE", NOT "WISE"
SAGE
RICOTTA ISN'T A CHEESE, IT'S A CHEESE BY-PRODUCT MADE FROM THIS LIQUID DRAINED FROM CHEESES
WHEY
TERM FOR BOILING A SAUCE TO LESSEN THE VOLUME BY EVAPORATION, CAUSING IT TO THICKEN
TO REDUCE
SOME FOLKS MAKE WINE FROM THIS FAMILIAR WEED, WHILE OTHERS COOK ITS LEAVES LIKE SPINACH
DANDELION
THEY'RE THE MELTED FAT & JUICES LEFT OVER AFTER BACON IS FRIED
DRIPPINGS
MANY COOKS CHOP THESE PALM FRUITS AND ADD THEM TO NUT BREAD
DATES
POPULAR IN JAPAN, THIS LARGE WHITE ASIAN RADISH MAY BE PICKLED OR SERVED IN SALADS
DAIKON
A NATIONAL PHILIPPINE DISH, ADOBO CONTAINS CHICKEN & PORK, AND THE MILK OF THIS PALM FRUIT
COCONUT
A GERMAN SPECIALTY, BRAUNSCHWEIGER IS A SMOKED SAUSAGE TRADITIONALLY MADE FROM THIS ORGAN MEAT
LIVER
WATCH OUT FOR THE HOT PEPPERS WHEN PARTAKING OF THIS SZECHWAN CHINESE DISH MADE WITH CHICKEN AND PEANUTS
KUNG PAO CHICKEN
IT'S THE TRADITIONAL MEAT IN SOUVLAKI, A POPULAR GREEK DISH
LAMB
RAD NA AND PAD WOON SEN ARE POPULAR NOODLE DISHES FROM THIS COUNTRY
THAILAND
IN A FAMILY OF FLAT NOODLES, THESE ARE WIDER THAN FETTUCCELLE BUT NARROWER THAN FETTUCCE
FETTUCINE
THIS SUBSTANCE, SUGAR BROWNED BY HEATING, IS USED IN DISHES FROM SOUP TO NUT BRITTLE
CARAMEL
POUR BEATEN EGGS SLOWLY INTO SIMMERING BROTH TO MAKE THIS CHINESE DISH
EGG DROP SOUP
BAKING AND THIS OVEN COOKING METHOD ARE BASICALLY THE SAME PROCESS, AT THE SAME TEMPERATURE
ROASTING
IN NOVELS, IT MEANS TO PALE, AS WITH FEAR; IN COOKING, TO PLACE FOOD IN BOILING, THEN IN COLD WATER
BLANCHE
A TYPE OF ENDIVE AND A TYPE OF WAFFLE TAKE THEIR NAMES FROM THIS COUNTRY
BELGIUM
THIS SOUP IS MADE FROM THE TAIL OF ANY BEEF ANIMAL, INCLUDING THE COW AND THE STEER
OX-TAIL SOUP
TO A THAI, THEY'RE BA MEE; TO A FILIPINO, PANCIT MAMI; AND TO A JAPANESE, RAMEN
NOODLES
THIS PIZZA TURNOVER IS FROM NAPLES AND ITS NAME MEANS "TROUSER LEG"
CALZONE
TERM FOR WHOLE WHEAT BERRIES THAT HAVE BEEN STEAMED, DRIED, AND CRACKED; THEY'RE FOUND IN TABBOULEH
BULGAR
THE NAME OF THIS HERB ESSENTIAL TO FRENCH COOKING IS DERIVED FROM THE GREEK FOR "DRAGON"
TARRAGON
DEER FLESH, COMMONLY KNOWN BY THIS TERM, IS SO LEAN THAT EXPERTS ADVISE INSERTING FAT BEFORE COOKING
VENISON
MUFFINS ARE MADE IN AN IMPLEMENT NAMED FOR THIS METAL
TIN
USED TO KEEP FOOD WARM, THIS "DISH" IS A CONTAINER WITH A PAN OF HOT WATER BENEATH IT
CHAFING DISH
WHEN USING THIS SHORT, AXLIKE BUTCHER'S KNIFE, KEEP YOUR OTHER HAND OUT OF THE WAY
CLEAVER
MADE OF BEANS AND EGGS, FUL MEDAMES HAS BEEN EATEN IN THIS COUNTRY PERHAPS SINCE THE TIME OF THE PHAROAHS
EGYPT
THIS PIECE OF COOKING EQUIPMENT, RESEMBLING A WASHBOARD, EASES THE PROCESS OF JULIENNING POTATOES OR CARROTS
MANDOLINE
IN GHANA A DUMPLING CALLED FUFU IS SERVED WITH A SOUP MADE OF THE GROUNDNUT KNOWN HERE AS THIS
PEANUT
MTORI, A TANZANIAN PLANTAIN SOUP, CAN ALSO BE MADE WITH THIS SIMILAR FRUIT
BANANA
ALMOND MILK IS ENJOYED IN THIS COUNTRY, WHERE IT IS SOLD ON THE STREETS OF MARRAKESH
MOROCCO
IN ZIMBABWE, BOWARA REFERS TO THE LEAVES OF THIS LARGE GOURD THAT IS CARVED IN THE U.S.
PUMPKIN
COOKING SAUCES IN THIS TYPE OF POT WILL INCREASE LEVELS OF THE MINERAL NEEDED FOR HEMOGLOBIN
IRON
ASSOCIATED WITH ASIAN COOKING, IT'S FRYING OVER HIGH HEAT WHILE MOVING THE FOOD ABOUT
STIR-FRYING
THIS DISH USED TO MAKE ASPIC OR PUDDING MAY BE MADE OF METAL OR CERAMIC
MOLD/BOWL
THE NAME OF THESE TINY DUMPLINGS SERVED AS A SIDE DISH MEANS "LITTLE SPARROW" IN GERMAN
SPAETZLE
THE NAME OF THIS CONSOMME FLAVORED WITH TOMATO JUICE COMES FROM "MADRID"
MADRILENNE
THE "BULB" TYPE OF THIS UTENSIL MOISTENS MEAT WHILE IT'S COOKING
BASTER
AS A VERB, IT MEANS TO INSERT STRIPS OF FAT INTO MEAT; AS A NOUN, IT'S RENDERED PORK FAT ITSELF
LARD
THESE ONION RELATIVES FOUND IN VICHYSSOISE MUST BE WASHED CAREFULLY TO REMOVE DIRT FROM THE LEAVES
LEEKS
ALLERGIC TO CHOCOLATE? USE THIS HEALTH FOOD STORE ITEM, ALSO KNOWN AS LOCUST BEAN, TO FLAVOR FUDGE
CAROB
THE FEATHERY LEAVES OF THIS PICKLE HERB ADD A PLEASANT FLAVOR TO VEGETABLES OR FISH
DILL
THIS FRENCH MUSTARD OFTEN MADE WITH WHITE WINE IS A POPULAR INGREDIENT IN SAUCES
DIJON
THE NAME OF THIS HEAVY POT USED FOR STEWS MAY BE DERIVED FROM A CERTAIN ETHNIC GROUP IN PENNSYLVANIA
DUTCH OVEN
SEA FOAM CANDY IS A VARIATION OF THIS FLUFFY "HEAVENLY" SWEET
DIVINITY
"JOY OF COOKING" SUGGESTS SERVING THIS NORTH AMERICAN MARSUPIAL WITH TURNIP GREENS
POSSUM
THIS WORD CAN REFER TO A SAUCE SERVED ON A SALAD OR A MIXTURE USED TO STUFF POULTRY
DRESSING
THIS CLASSIC KIND OF CLAM CHOWDER CONTAINS TOMATOES; NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER DOESN'T
MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER
SOME REICPES FOR THESE SOUTHERN PECAN PATTIES CALL FOR GRANULATED SUGAR AND BROWN SUGAR
PRALINES
DICED HAM & VEGETABLES OFTEN GO INTO A FRITTAT, AN ITALIAN TYPE OF THIS EGG DISH
OMELET
THIS STEP IN MAKING CHEESE IS A SIGN OF SPOILAGE IN MILK
CURDLING
TO MAKE CHOCOLATE RUFFLES, SPREAD THE CHOCOLATE ON A CHILLED PIECE OF THIS STONE
MARBLE
TRADITIONAL ORANGE MARMALADE IS MADE FROM THESE SLIGHTLY BITTER SPANISH ORANGES
SEVILLE
WHEN THIS FRUIT IS ADDED, A SUNDAE BECOMES A ROYALE OR A SPLIT
BANANA
A ZESTER CUTS THREADS OF THIS FROM AN ORANGE, LEMON, OR LIME
RIND
TAKING A FEW DAYS, IT'S AMONG THE OLDEST METHODS OF PRESERVING FOOD; TODAY, IT'S CONSIDERED CHIC FOR TOMATOES
SUN-DRYING
THEY'RE ADDED TO CAKES TO GIVE OFF A SWEET, PUNGENT AROMA AND STUCK IN FRUIT TO MAKE POMANDERS
CLOVES
"COOKING A TO Z" RECOMMENDS THAT YOU CHOOSE ONE WITH A FULL OR RAT-TAIL TANG AND FULL RIVETS
KNIFE
THIS COOKING TERM IS ITALIAN FOR "TO THE TOOTH"
AL DENTE
A PASTE MADE WITH THIS COOKING INGREDIENT IS RECOMMENDED TO SOOTHE THE PAIN OF AN INSECT STING
BAKING SODA
KITCHEN TOOL MADE TO CRUSH GARLIC
GARLIC PRESS
THE CURLER COMMONLY USED ON THIS SPREAD HAS A SERRATED HOOK ON ONE END
BUTTER
TAHINI, A THICK PASTE USED IN MIDDLE EASTERN COOKING, IS MADE FROM THESE GROUND SEEDS
SESAME SEEDS
THIS MEMBER OF THE NIGHTSHADE FAMILY IS OFTEN PREPARED PARMIGIANA
EGGPLANT
BECHAMEL SAUCE IS ALSO CALLED THIS COLOR SAUCE
WHITE SAUCE
YOU SHOULD WHIP THIS INGREDIENT BEFORE YOU TOP YOUR CHANTILLY POTATOES WITH IT
CREAM
A CLASSIC PLUM PUDDING CONTAINS THIS KIND OF FAT
SUET
A TYPE OF SHELL THAT HOLDS CREAMED MEAT DISHES, OR A NICKNAME FOR PATRICIA
PATTY
IF YOU WANT TO BE VEDDY BRITISH, SPRINKLE YOUR FISH & CHIPS WITH THE MALT TYPE OF THIS
VINEGAR
A GENOISE IS A BUTTER-RICH ONE OF THESE
SPONGE CAKE
THE HERB ALSO CALLED CHINESE PARLEY OR FRESH CORIANDER IS CALLED THIS IN MEXICAN COOKING
CILANTRO
THIS PENNSYLVANIA DISH, MADE WITH SCRAPS OF PORK MIXED WITH CORN MEAL, IS SHAPED INTO LOAVES AND THEN SLICED AND FRIED
SCRAPPLE
IN MEXICAN COOKING, THIS SPICY SAUCE MADE WITH CHILIES AND CHOCOLATE IS OFTEN SERVED OVER POULTRY
MOLE
THE NAME OF THIS FLATFISH CAN MEAN TO MOVE ABOUT CLUMSILY
FLOUNDER
"JOY OF COOKING" SAYS WHETHER THIS CAKE IS "ROUND OR RECTANGULAR, THE CUTTING BEGINS AT THE LOWEST TIER"
WEDDING CAKE
ONE OF THE OLDER TYPES OF COOKING VESSELS, IT FIGURES IMPORTANTLY IN ACT IV OF "MACBETH"
CAULDRON
THE U.S. EQUIVALENT OF ITALIAN "FRITTELLE", GERMAN "PFANNKUCHEN" AND FRENCH "CREPES"
PANCAKES
THE NAME OF THIS DISH DERIVES FROM THE POVERTY OF THE 18TH-C. WELSH
WELSH RAREBIT
LITERALLY, "OUTSIDE THE WORK", IT'S AN ADDITIONAL DISH SERVED BEFORE A MEAL
HORS D'OEUVRES
SAUERKRAUT DIDN'T ORIGINATE IN GERMANY BUT WAS BROUGHT FROM THIS COUNTRY BY THE TATARS
CHINA
GREEK EQUIVALENT OF SHISH KEBAB
SOUVLAKIA
IN THE 1989 FARMER'S ALMANAC, EDMUND MUSKIE TELLS HOW TO HYPNOTIZE ONE OF THESE BEFORE COOKING
LOBSTER
THE 3 TRADITIONAL METHODS USED IN COOKING PUDDINGS ARE BOILING, BAKING, AND THIS
STEAMING
IF YOU ORDER COQUILLES ST. JACQUES IN A RESTAURANT, THIS IS WHAT YOU WILL BE SERVED
SCALLOPS
THE METHOD YOU WOULD USE TO COOK SHIRRED EGGS
BAKING
USED IN COOKING, THIS GELATINOUS PRODUCT IS PREPARED FROM ALGAE
AGAR
"JOY OF COOKING" CALLES THIS STRONG LIQUOR "THE GULP OF MEXICO"
TEQUILA
IN 2006 THE CHICAGO CITY COUNCIL BANNED RESTAURANTS IN THE CITY FROM SELLING THIS GOOSE LIVER DISH
FOIE GRAS
A JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE IS ALSO KNOWN BY THIS NAME
SUNCHOKE
THIS COCKTAIL OF GIN, CHERRY BRANDY, AND LEMON JUICE IS NAMED FOR A CITY NEAR THE MALAY PENINSULA
SINGAPORE SLING
TRADITIONALLY SERVED IN A COPPER MUG, THIS COCKTAIL IS VODKA, LEMON JUICE, AND GINGER BEER; IT'S GOT A REAL KICK
MOSCOW MULE
A TRADITION AT VIENNA'S DEMEL COFFEEHOUSE, FOUNDED IN 1786, IS A CUP OF THIS WARM SWEET BEVERAGE ON NEW YEAR'S DAY
HOT CHOCOLATE
VALMEUSE & ST. BENOIT ARE NICE SOFT RUNNY THESE
CHEESES
THIS ITEM IS POPULAR IN SALADS, BUT SOME OBJECT BECAUSE HARVESTING IT CAN DESTROY THE TREE
HEART OF PALM
THIS OLD-TIMEY SODA FOUNTAIN DRINK GOT ITS NAME FROM ONE INGREDIENT...A LITTLE PHOSPHORIC ACID
PHOSPHATE
THE THEATER AREA NICKNAMED THIS OFTEN HELD THE CHEAPEST SEATS, USUALLY THOSE IN THE REAR OF THE BALCONY
PEANUT GALLERY
A PIG PRODUCT GAVE US THIS TERM MEANING "CLUMSY" OR "INEPT"
HAM-HANDED
THIS APPETIZER OF RAW FISH MARINATED IN CITRUS JUICE IS FOUND IN NEARLY EVERY RESTAURANT IN PERU; THE LIQUID IS CALLED TIGER'S MILK AND IS A DELICACY ON ITS OWN
CEVICHE
ENSALADA PALLARES IS A TRADITIONAL PERUVIAN SALAD OF TOMATOES, ONIONS, AND OF COURSE PALLARES, THESE IN ENGLISH
LIMA BEANS
CREATED IN 1935 IN HONOR OF THIS ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE CAPITAL, INCA KOLA IS MORE POPULAR THAN COKE AND PEPSI IN PERU
400TH
A MODERN GREEK WORD FOR "BREAD" GAVE US THE NAME OF THIS BREAD THAT'S OFTEN STUFFED WITH DELICIOUS FILLINGS
PITA
IN A TRADITIONAL CHINESE DISH, HARD-COOKED EGGS GET A MARBLED APPEARANCE BY BEING SIMMERED IN THIS BEVERAGE
TEA
THE NAME OF THE POPULAR PUDDING ARROZ CON LECHE IS SPANISH FOR THIS "WITH MILK"
RICE
VIRTUALLY BRAZIL'S NATIONAL DRINK, CAIPIRINHA IS AN ICY CONCOCTION OF FRESH LIME & CACHACA, A LIQUEUR DISTILLED MAINLY FROM THIS SWEET CROP
SUGAR CANE
IF YOU SEE "LUMACHE" ON AN ITALIAN MENU, FIND OUT IF THEY'RE THESE GASTROPODS OR THE PASTA SHAPED LIKE THEM
SNAILS
BRIOCHE, POPULAR FOR CONTINENTAL BREAKFASTS, IS A TYPE OF THIS STAPLE
BREAD
A FAMOUS MEAT SAUCE IS NAMED FOR THIS ITALIAN "SAUSAGE" CITY
BOLOGNA
CREME D'ANANAS IS A LIQUEUR FLAVORED WITH THIS FRUIT
PINEAPPLE
IT'S A FRENCH TERM FOR A SPIRITED DRINK, LIKE BRANDY OR COGNAC, TAKEN AFTER A MEAL TO HELP PROCESS THE FOOD
DIGESTIF
JAMES BEARD PUT THIS TRADITIONAL TOPPING ON PUMPKIN PIE, BUT THE PILGRIMS COULDN'T; THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY COWS YET
WHIPPED CREAM
A MOLINILLLO IS THE SPECIAL TOOL USED TO WHISK CHAMPURRADO, A MEXICO VERSION OF THIS SWEET BEVERAGE
CHOCOLATE
NAMED FOR A TOWN IN MEXICO, IT'S BELIEVED TO BE THE FIRST DISTILLED SPIRIT PRODUCED IN NORTH AMERICA
TEQUILA
THIS PUDDING THAT MAKES HEAVY USE OF EGG YOLKS, HAS MANY VARIEITIES, INCLUDING A CHALLAH ONE
BREAD PUDDING
HAVE A "CUP" OF THIS GIN-BASED ENGLISH LIQUOR FIRST SOLD IN 1859
PIMM'S
THOUGH OFTEN REFERRED TO AS A WINE, THIS JAPANESE ALCOHOL IS ACTUALLY BREWED MORE LIKE A BEER
SAKE
IT'S THE OFFICIAL STATE BERRY OF MASSACHUSETTS
CRANBERRY
OFFICIAL STATE PIE OF FLORIDA
KEY LIME
THE OFFICIAL STATE DRINK OF RHODE ISLAND IS MILK WITH THIS FLAVOR SYRUP; THAT'LL WAKE YOU UP
COFFEE
IT'S HOT ROASTED MEAT SERVED IN A PITA, TOPPED WITH ONIONS, TOMATOES, AND A CUCUMBER-YOGURT SAUCE
GYRO
ONE OF GREECE'S NATIONAL APERTIFS IS THIS SWEET ANISE-FLAVORED LIQUEUR, BUT DRINK SLOWLY
OUZO
LIKE THE SWEDISH, THE GREEKS HAVE THEIR OWN VERSION OF THESE BEEFY BITE-SIZE APPETIZERS, KEFTEDAKIA
MEATBALLS
WHITE OR ROSE, THIS CLASSIC WINE TREATED WITH PINE TREE RESIN, TASTES SOMEWHAT LIKE TURPENTINE
RESINA
TRADITIONALLY, MOUSSAKA IS MADE WITH SLICES OF THIS VEGETABLE AND GROUND LAMB OR BEEF, LAYERED AND BAKED
EGGPLANT
A NICE PERONI BEER FROM THIS COUNTRY WILL GO PERFECTLY WITH YOUR PEPPERONI PIZZA
ITALY
IN 1680 THE FRENCH SOCIAL CRITIC MARQUISE DE SEVIGNE MADE THE FIRST MENTION OF ADDING THIS TO TEA
MILK
SHASHLIK, WHICH IS MEAT & VEGETABLES COOKED ON SKEWERS, IS THE RUSSIAN VERSION OF THIS TURKISH AND MIDDLE EAST DISH
SHISH KEBAB
WHATEVER KIND OF CAVIER YOU EAT, IT'S TRADITIONALLY SERVED ON ONE OF THESE RUSSIAN BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES
BLINIS
THE DORSA BROTHERS BORROWED $35 TO BUY A WAFFLE IRON AND THIS FROZEN BRAND WAS BORN
EGGO
THE SIGHT OF A BALLOON-FILLED SKY FILLED A BAKING COMPANY VP WITH A SENSE OF THIS, HENCE THE NAME OF THEIR BREAD
WONDER
IT'S THE STATE FRUIT OF GEORGIA AND SOUTH CAROLINA
PEACH
ALSO CALLED A FILBERT, IT'S OREGON'S STATE NUT
HAZELNUT
OKLAHOMA HAS AN ENTIRE STATE MEAL INCLUDING CHICKEN FRIED STEAK, CORNBREAD, AND THESE "COLORFUL" LEGUMES
BLACK-EYED PEAS
THIS FRUIT JUICE IS MASSACHUSETTS' STATE BEVERAGE
CRANBERRY JUICE
ONE WHO LIVES LUXURIOUSLY AND ENJOYS GOOD FOOD AND DRINK
BON VIVANT
CALISTOGA MINERAL WATER IS FROM THIS CALIFORNIA VALLEY THAT'S FAMOUS FOR ITS VINEYARDS
NAPA VALLEY
THIS MARSHMALLOW BRAND IS NAMED FOR THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS THAT INFUSES AIR INTO THE MARSHMALLOWS
JET-PUFFED
MR. T WAS FEATURED IN BUSTA RHYMES' 2002 VIDEO "PASS THE ..." THIS NAPOLEONIC COGNAC
COURVOISIER
EYGPTIANS MADE DAILY TEMPLE OFFERINGS TO THE GODS OF THESE TWO THINGS, THEIR OWN DAILY FOOD AND DRINK, WHICH BEGIN WITH THE SAME LETTER
BREAD AND BEER
AT STARBUCKS THEY DILUTE THIS STRONG COFFEE WITH WATER TO MAKE CAFFE AMERICANO
ESPRESSO
ON "SEINFELD" GEORGE'S ATM PASSWORD WAS THIS CHOCOLATE SYRUP
BOSCO
THE TASTE OF THIS TROPICAL FRUIT HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS A MIX OF PEACH & PINEAPPLE, ONLY SWEETER
MANGO
THE MOREL IS MINNESOTA'S STATE ONE OF THESE
MUSHROOM
A VARIETY OF THE MUSCADINE, THE SCUPPERNONG TYPE OF THIS IS NORTH CAROLINA'S STATE FRUIT
GRAPE
THIS ALLITERATIVE STATE COOKIE OF MASSACHUSETTS WAS INVENTED IN THE 1930S
CHOCOLATE CHIP
CROWN CORK & SEAL MAKES 1/3 OF THESE USED FOR FOOD IN NORTH AMERICA AND 1/5 OF THEM USED FOR DRINKS WORLDWIDE
CANS
EAT THEM ALONE OR DUNK THESE ITALIAN TREATS INTO YOUR FAVORITE BEVERAGE
BISCOTTI
THE NAME OF THIS GEM PRECEDES BOTH A MARBLE-SIZED ONION AND A TYPE OF BARLEY
PEARL
TOP A CRISP TORTILLA WITH REFRIED BEANS, MEAT, LETTUCE, TOMATOES, AND CHEESE AND YOU'VE GOT THIS MEXICAN SALAD
TOSTADO
TRANSLATED AS "LITTLE MEATS", IT'S SHREDDED PORK EATEN WITH SALSA OR USED AS A FILLING FOR TACOS
CARNITAS
ONE OF MY FAVORITE MEXICAN DISHES IS THIS ONE...RAW SEAFOOD MARINATED IN LIME JUICE, GARNISHED WITH ONIONS AND TOMATOES
CEVICHE
EVIAN WATER COMES FROM A SPRING IN THIS MOUNTAIN RANGE
ALPS
IN 1921 THE WASHBURN CROSBY CO. CREATED HER TO PROMOTE ITS FLOUR AND BAKING PRODUCTS
BETTY CROCKER
PROFESSION OF THE INVENTORS OF PEPSI & COKE
PHARMACISTS
WHEN IT COMES TO STEAK, TRY THIS CUT FROM JUST IN FRONT OF THE RUMP; IT'S TOPS
SIRLOIN
TRADITIONALLY AT TEA, SCONES ARE SERVED WARM WITH JAM AND THIS, NAMED FOR AN ENGLISH COUNTY
DEVONSHIRE CREAM
THESE 2 SNACKS ARE MENTIONED IN "TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALLGAME"
PEANUTS & CRACKER JACK
SASSAFRAS & SARSPARILLA ORIGINALLY WENT INTO AND HELPED NAMED THIS SOFT DRINK
ROOT BEER
AS USED DURING THE LAST SUPPER, THEY'RE THE FOOD AND DRINK BLESSED DURING THE EUCHARIST
BREAD & WINE
TUBORG IS A FAMOUS BEER FROM THIS COUNTRY
DENMARK
ADD CHERRY BRANDY AND SEASONINGS TO MELTED GRUYERE CHEESE AND YOU'LL HAVE THIS CLASSIC DIPPING DISH
FONDUE
THESE SHOULD BE STORED IN THE FRIDGE POINTED END DOWN, AND SHOULD NOT BE EATEN RAW
EGGS
ANTIOXIDANT PROPERTIES IN THE RED TYPE OF THIS DRINK, SUCH AS A MERLOT, MAY REDUCE HEART DISEASE
WINE
FEATURED IN "ROGER & ME" AND "FATAL ATTRACTION", THIS MEAT IS A GOOD SOURCE OF SELENIUM
RABBIT
THIS BIRD SIZED TO FEED ONE PERSON, WAS NAMED FOR THE AFRICAN COASTAL REGION WHERE IT ORIGINATED
GUINEA FOWL
CAESAR CARDINI, WHO WANTED HIS CAESAR SALAD SUBTLY FLAVORED, WAS AGAINST USING THIS FISH IN THE RECIPE
ANCHOVIES
THIS SALAD WITH CHOPPED TURKEY, AVOCADO, BACON AND BLUE CHEESE, WAS CREATED AT L.A.'S BROWN DERBY RESTAURANT
COBB SALAD
SING OUT IF YOU KNOW THAT SINGHA BEER COMES FROM THIS COUNTRY
THAILAND
STRASBOURG PIE IS A VARIATION OF THIS GOOSE LIVER HORS D'OEUVRE
PATE DE FOIE GRAS
FROM FRENCH FOR "TO STRIKE" OR "CHILL", IT'S A TALL, COOL COFFEE DRINK BLENDED WITH SUGAR & ICE
FRAPPE/FRAPPUCINO
THIS ONION IS GEORGIA'S STATE VEGETABLE
VIDALIA
PISUM SATIVUM, THE GARDEN VARIETY OF THIS LEGUME, USUALLY BEARS 5 TO 10 SEEDS IN ITS PODS
PEAS
YOU'RE HEADING FOR THIS BRAND OF BEER WHEN YOU "HEAD FOR THE MOUNTAINS"
BUSCH
THIS SWISS CHARD RELATIVE FOUND IN FLORENTINE DISHES PROBABLY COMES FROM ASIA AND WAS USED MEDICINALLY
SPINACH
IN CYPRUS THIS COMMON DRINK IS SERVED GREEK STYLE; SHORT, STRONG, AND UNFILTERED
COFFEE
SHYAKPA IS A MEAT & POTATO STEW FAVORED BY THE SHERPAS OF THIS COUNTRY
NEPAL
MALOSSOL ON THE LABEL MEANS THIS RICH RUSSIAN "FISHY" FOOD IS PREPARED WITH "LITTLE SALT"
CAVIER
BULGARIANS ENJOY BANITSA, A PASTRY STUFFED WITH FRUIT OR THIS MILK CURD PRODUCT
CHEESE
IN AMERICAN SAMOA, A SOLEMN CEREMONY GOES WITH DRINKING KAVA FROM A CUP THAT'S ONE OF THESE SHELLS
COCONUT
DARJEELING IS CLASSIFIED AS A "BLACK" TYPE OF THIS BEVERAGE
TEA
TO MAKE A FRENCH "75" COCKTAIL, YOU NEED CHAMPAGNE, POWDERED SUGAR, GIN AND THIS SOUR JUICE
LEMON JUICE
THIS "BUTTER" IS EXTRACTED FROM BEANS DURING THE CHOCOLATE-MAKING PROCESS
COCOA BUTTER
DAIKON, AN ASIAN TYPE OF THIS ROOT VEGETABLE, IS OFTEN FOUND IN SALADS
RADISH
CAPELLI D'ANGELO, WHOSE ENGLISH NAME IS THIS, ONLY NEEDS A LIGHT SAUCE TO TASTE "HEAVENLY"
ANGEL HAIR PASTA
YOU'LL NEED SOME WHITE WINE, GARLIC, AND THIS 8-ARMED CEPHALOPOD TO MAKE THE FRENCH DISH POULPE A LA PROVENCALE
OCTOPUS
TUSKER AND WHITE CAP ARE POPULAR KENYAN TYPES OF THIS ALCOHOLIC BREW
BEER
GRENADANS ARE KNOWN FOR GRATING THIS SPICE ON THEIR RUM PUNCH; YOU MAY PREFER IT ON EGGNOG
NUTMEG
MANY OF THIS COUNTRY'S FINEST RED WINES COME FROM THE COONAWARRA REGION, SOUTHEAST OF ADELAIDE
AUSTRALIA
SOME FRENCH MENUS FEATURE CERVELLE, WHICH "CLEVER" FOLKS KNOW IS THIS ORGAN MEAT
BRAINS
THE RUSSIAN SALAD KNOWN AS SALAT STALICHNYA CONTAINS MEAT, EGGS, MAYONNAISE, SOUR CREAM, AND THESE TUBERS
POTATOES
KNOWN FOR ITS FULL BODY, ASSAM TEA ORIGINATED IN THIS COUNTRY'S STATE OF ASSAM
INDIA
NINOS ENVUELTOS, OR "WRAPPED CHILDREN", ARE TASTE TREATS IN THIS SECOND-LARGEST SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRY
ARGENTINA
ALWAYS OFFER YOUR GUESTS THEIR CHOICE OF CREAM OR LEMON AT THE AFTERNOON PARTY NAMED FOR THIS BEVERAGE
TEA
CIOPPINO IS A FISH STEW FROM THIS CITY'S FISHERMAN'S WHARF
SAN FRANCISCO
BEURRE BERCY IS MADE WITH WHITE WINE, SHALLOTS, DICED BEEF MARROW, PARSLEY, AND OF COURSE, THIS SPREAD
BUTTER
IN SCOTLAND, THESE "COLORFUL" BERRIES ARE CALLED BRAMBLES AND SCOTS MAKE BRAMBLE WINE FROM THEM
BLACKBERRIES
BY DEFINITION, A SANDWICH THAT IS OPEN-FACED LACKS THIS ON TOP
BREAD
THIS BASIC SAUCE NAMED FOR ITS COLOR IS OFTEN THE FOUNDATION OF CHEESE SAUCE
WHITE SAUCE
OFTEN SERVED WITH FRUIT FOR DESSERT, TALEGGIO IS A CHEESE FROM THIS COUNTRY
ITALY
THIS BREAKFAST TREAT WITH DEEP POCKETS WAS INTRODUCED TO AMERICANS AT THE 1964 WORLD'S FAIR
BELGIAN WAFFLES
THOMAS' IS A BRAND OF THESE, FAMED FOR THEIR NOOKS AND CRANNIES
ENGLISH MUFFINS
THIS CURED MEAT IS IN THE CLASSIC MCDONALD'S EGG MCMUFFIN
CANADIAN BACON
ACTUALLY AN AMERICAN RECIPE, THIS CONDIMENT MAY HAVE BEEN GIVEN ITS NAME BECAUSE CAVIER WAS ONCE AN INGREDIENT
RUSSIAN DRESSING
ITS OTHER NAMES INCLUDE POOR KNIGHTS OF WINDSOR AND PAIN PERDU (LOST BREAD)
FRENCH TOAST
A MALTESE SPECIALTY, LAMPUKI PIE IS MADE WITH THE FISH BETTER KNOWN BY THIS DOUBLE TALK NAME
MAHI MAHI
CALDILLO DE CONGRIO IS A CHOWDER FROM THIS SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRY THAT ON THE MAP IS PRACTICALLY ALL SEACOAST
CHILE
BACALHAU, PORTUGAL'S NATIONAL DISH AND AN ACQUIRED TASTE, IS THIS FISH SALTED; THE NICKNAME BOBBY "BACALA" ON "THE SOPRANOS" MEANS THE SAME THING
COD
KAJIKI IS THIS FISH, MADE INTO SUSHI; BE "EN GARDE" FOR ITS STRONG TASTE
SWORDFISH
PROUST RHAPSODIZES ABOUT THIS FLATFISH PREPARED A LA MEUNIERE
SOLE
IN CROSSWORD CLUES, YOU ARE SURE TO SEE THIS BLUE-VEINED ITALIAN CHEESE LINKED WITH MEDUSA
GORGONZOLA
PERHAPS THE MOST FAMOUS GRATING CHEESE, IT IS NAMED FOR AN ITALIAN PROVINCE; BEST KNOWN FOR IT USE IN FETTUCINE ALFREDO
PARMESAN
A DENSE & CRUMBLY CHEESE FROM ENGLAND THAT SHOULD BE NAMED BY FANS OF LEWIS CARROLL; WHY ARE YOU GRINNING
CHESHIRE
DUTCH CHEESE THAT IS TRADITIONALLY SOLD AS SPHERES WITH A PALE YELLOW INTERIOR AND A COAT OF PARAFFIN
EDAM
THIS SWISS CHEESE IS BEST KNOWN FOR ITS USE IN BAKING AND TRADITIONALLY USED IN FRENCH ONION SOUP AS WELL AS IN CROQUE MONSIEUR
GRUYERE
SOFT FRENCH CHEESE CALLED "THE KING OF CHEESES"
BRIE
THIS IS A NATURAL COMPLEX OF ENZYMES PRODUCED IN ANY MAMMALIAN STOMACH TO DIGEST THE MOTHER'S MILK, AND OFTEN USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF CHEESE
RENNET
STINKY GERMAN CHEESE...ENOUGH SAID
LIMBURGER
THE MOST POPULAR CHEESE IN THE UK; U.S. PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON HELD AN OPEN HOUSE PARTY WHERE A 1,400 LB. BLOCK WAS SERVED
CHEDDDAR
THIS IS THE TERM FOR THE CRAFT OF MATURING AND AGING CHEESES
AFFINAGE
JARLSBERG CHEESE IS FROM THIS SCANDINAVIAN COUNTRY
NORWAY
THIS CHEESE WAS FAMOUSLY ISSUED TO FRENCH TROOPS DURING WWI, BECOMING FIRMLY FIXED IN FRENCH POPULAR CULTURE AS A RESULT; NAMED FOR A VILLAGE IN NORMANDY
CAMEMBERT
THIS DUTCH CHEESE, HOLLAND'S MOST EXPORTED, IS MADE INTO WHEELS WITH A WAXED RED OR YELLOW RIND; A FONDUE IS USUALLY MADE WITH THIS
GOUDA
THERE'S ONLY ONE NAME YOU SHOULD THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORDS "ENGLISH BLUE CHEESE"
STILTON
THIS SOFT & SALTY CHEESE BEST ASSOCIATED WITH GREECE, IS SATURATED IN BRINE TO STOP ITS RIPENING
FETA
BEST KNOWN BLUE CHEESE FROM FRANCE
ROQUEFORT
THIS FRENCH WORD FOR GOAT IS A GENERIC WORD FOR GOAT'S-MILK CHEESE
CHEVRE
A FAVORITE COMPONENT OF MANY ITALIAN DESSERTS, THE NAME OF THIS CHEESE MEANS "RECOOKED"; MADE FROM WHEY, RATHER THAN MILK
RICOTTA
THIS CHEESE IS NAMED FOR THE CAPITAL OF ITALY
ROMANO
CORRECT NAME FOR THE CHEESE FROM SWITZERLAND WITH CHARACTERISTIC LARGE HOLES
EMMENTAL
GENERIC NAME FOR SEVERAL RELATED VARIETIES OF CHEESE, ALL OF WHICH RESEMBLE THE EMMENTAL AND HAVE DISTINCTIVE "EYES"
SWISS CHEESE
THIS POPULAR PIZZA CHEESE IS MADE FROM WATER BUFFALO MILK AND TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE ITALIAN FOR "CUT"
MOZZARELLA
THE NAME OF THIS CUT OF BEEF FROM THE SIDE CAN ALSO MEAN THE EXTREME LEFT OR RIGHT SIDE OF AN ARMY
FLANK STEAK
A STEAK MADE FROM THE DIAPHRAGM THAT IS VERY FLAVORFUL, BUT ALSO RATHER TOUGH. TYPES DO NOT INCLUDE MINI, A-LINE, PENCIL, OR HOBBLE
SKIRT STEAK
A STEAK CUT FROM THE HIP. THE NAME COMES FROM THE KNIGHTING BY AN ENGLISH KING OF A PIECE OF MEAT
SIRLOIN STEAK
BONELESS TOP LOIN MUSCLE IS THE 'STEAK' OF THESE 2 U.S. CITIES
NEW YORK OR KANSAS CITY
NOT A STEAK, BUT RATHER A PATTY FROM GROUND BEEF MADE WITH ONIONS & OCCASIONALLY MUSHROOMS
SALISBURY STEAK
STEAK USUALLY SERVED FOR TWO AND NAMED FOR A FRENCH DIPLOMAT
CHATEAUBRIAND STEAK
HIGHLY SEASONED AND SMOKED CUT OF BEEF USUALLY FROM THE SHOULDER
PASTRAMI
A STEAK FROM NEAR THE CENTER OF THE DIAPHRAGM. OFTEN CALLED THE 'BUTCHER'S TENDERLOIN'
HANGER STEAK
ITS THE CUT OF BEEF BETWEEN THE NECK & THE SHOULDER BLADE; IT ALSO IS A CLAMP BETWEEN THE BIT AND THE DRILL
CHUCK STEAK
THIS CUT FROM THE SHOULDER BLADE TAKES THE NAME OF AN ICONIC NY BUILDING
FLAT IRON STEAK
A CUT OF MEAT, USUALLY TOP ROUND, TENDERIZED BY A FIERCE POUNDING OF A MALLET
CUBE STEAK
FINELY CHOPPED FILLET OF RAW BEEF, ONION, PARSLEY, AND CAPERS, USUALLY SERVED WITH A RAW EGG
STEAK TARTARE
THE BEEF EQUIVALENT OF A CHICKEN BREAST
BRISKET
THIS LARGE STEAK CUT IS NAMED FOR A TYPE OF RESTAURANT AND CONTAINS THE TENDERLOIN & THE TOP LOIN MUSCLES
PORTERHOUSE
FROM THE END OF A TENDERLOIN, IT IS BONELESS BUT EXPENSIVE!
FILET MIGNON
BUTTERY, FLAKY PASTRY NAMED FOR ITS DISTINCTIVE CRESCENT SHAPE
CROISSANT
BRAIDED JEWISH BREAD; ACCORDING TO JEWISH TRADITION, SABBATH & HOLIDAY MEALS BEGIN WITH A BLESSING OVER 2 LOAVES OF THIS
CHALLAH
A TYPE OF QUICK BREAD IN WHICH BAKING SODA HAS BEEN SUBSTITUTED FOR YEAST; ASSOCIATED WITH IRELAND AND TYPICALLY SEEN WITH A CROSS
SODA BREAD
KNOWN IN ENGLISH AS A FRENCH STICK OR A FRENCH LOAF.
BAGUETTE
TERM FOR ANY SUBSTANCE THAT MAKES DOUGH RISE
LEAVENING
GENERIC TERM FOR ANY KIND OF FOOD COATED IN BATTER AND DEEP FRIED
FRITTER
A HIGHLY ENRICHED FRENCH BREAD, WHOSE HIGH EGG AND BUTTER CONTENT GIVE IT WHAT IS SEEN AS A RICH AND TENDER CRUMB. MARIE ANTOINETTE REPORTEDLY SAID "QU'ILS MANGENT DE LA ...." OR "LET THEM EAT CAKE"
BRIOCHE
IT IS CALLED A DOUGHNUT WITH RIGOR MORTIS.
BAGEL
PARISIANS CALL IT "PAIN PERDU", OR "LOST BREAD"
FRENCH TOAST
DAMPER IS A TRADITIONAL SODA BREAD ASSOCIATED WITH THIS COUNTRY
AUSTRALIA
BREAD WITH A DISTINTIVELY TANGY TASTE
SOURDOUGH BREAD
USUALLY SERVED WITH TEA, THESE ENGLISH TREATS HAVE SMALL HOLES ON TOP
CRUMPETS
STICKY, ELASTIC PROTEIN SUBSTANCE THAT GIVES TEXTURE TO BREAD
GLUTEN
FRENCH FOR 'FRIED DOUGH', IT IS A PASTRY FROM DEEP-FRIED DOUGH AND SPRINKLED WITH CONFECTIONER'S SUGAR
BEIGNET
ROUND, YEAST-LEAVENED FORM OF "NATIONAL" BREAD USUALLY DUSTED WITH CORNMEAL
ENGLISH MUFFIN
THIS GERMAN WORD TRANSLATES TO "TWICE BAKED" AND REFERS TO BREAD THAT IS BAKED, CUT INTO SLICES AND THEN RETURNED TO THE OVEN UNTIL VERY CRISP AND DRY
ZWIEBACK
THIS BRITISH SNACK IS TRADITIONALLY EATEN WITH BUTTER, PRESERVES AND CLOTTED CREAM
SCONE
FAVORITE PASTA OF GARFIELD, THE CAT
LASAGNA
A POPULAR PASTA, COMPRISED OF A FILLING, COMMONLY MEAT-BASED AND SEALED BETWEEN 2 LAYERS OF PASTA DOUGH
RAVIOLI
CAMPANELLE PASTA TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE ITALIAN FOR THIS
BELL
CASTOR & POLLOX WOULD KNOW THAT THIS PASTA IS NOT TWIN TUBES TWISTED AROUND ON ANOTHER, AS THEY APPEAR TO BE, BUT RATHER A SINGLE S-SHAPED STRAND TWISTED INTO A SPIRAL
GEMILLI
PASTA THAT LOOKS LIKE LITTE WHEELS WITH SPOKES
ROTELLE
CAPELLINI WHICH MEANS "THIN HAIR" IS SLIGHTLY THICKER THAN THIS SIMILAR BUT "DIVINE" PASTA
ANGEL HAIR
BUCO MEANS "HOLE" IN ITALIAN. HENCE THIS SPAGHETTI-LIKE PASTA WITH A HOLE RUNNING THROUGH THE CENTER TAKES THIS NAME
BUCATINI
THEY HAVE A CYLINDRICAL SHAPE AND, USUALLY, THEIR ENDS CUT DIAGONALLY
PENNE
A RING-SHAPED PASTA TYPICALLY STUFFED WITH A MIX OF MEAT OR CHEESE
TORTELLINI
COMMONLY KNOWN AS "BOW-TIE" PASTA
FARFALLE
THE ORIGINAL TOLL HOUSE COOKIES WERE THIS TYPE
CHOCOLATE CHIP
APPROPRIATELY, A BIG TOP IS ON THE PACKAGE OF THESE ANIMAL COOKIES FROM MOTHER'S
CIRCUS ANIMAL COOKIES
ONE STORY ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF THIS PIE SAYS ITS SWEETNESS ATTRACTED A CERTAIN INSECT
SHOO-FLY PIE
THIS DESSERT, CHOCOLATE CAKE FILLED WITH APRICOT JAM, WAS CREATED BY A VIENNESE MAN
SACHERTORTE
THIS CANDY BAR WAS ORIGINALLY 3 NOUGAT BARS
THREE MUSKETEERS
IN "THE GODFATHER", RICHARD CASTELLANO SAYS, "LEAVE THE GUN. TAKE..." THESE
CANNOLIS
LIQUOR BRAND THAT'S INTEGRAL TO THE SWEET POTATO PUDDING AT MISS MARY BOBO'S BOARDING HOUSE IN LYNCHBURG, TN
JACK DANIEL'S
IN 1948 AARON LAPIN'S COMPANY INTRODUCED THIS AEROSOL DESSERT TOPPING BRAND
REDDI-WHIP
AT A LUAU, YOU MIGHT FINISH OFF YOUR MEAL WITH HAUPIA, A PUDDING MADE WITH THIS MILK
COCONUT MILK
TRY ONE OF MY BLONDIES; IT'S LIKE A BROWNIE BUT MADE WITH THIS FLAVORING INSTEAD OF CHOCOLATE
VANILLA OR BUTTERSCOTCH
ONE BAKING SHEET CAN HOLD 32 OF THESE FRENCH DESSERT TREATS WHOSE NAME IN PART MEANS "LITTLE"
PETITS FOURS
"JOY OF COOKING" CALLS IT "THE BEST KNOWN OF ALL PHYLLO PASTRIES"
BAKLAVA
LITERALLY FRENCH FOR "PERFECT", IT'S THE PERFECT DESSERT TO SERVE IN A TALL GLASS
PARFAIT
THIS ITALIAN TREAT IS MADE OF COFFEE-& LIQUOR-SOAKED LAYERS OF SPONGE CAKE & A RICH CHEESE FILLING
TIRAMISU
A SACHER TORTE CONTAINS PLENTY OF CHOCOLATE AND THIS FLAVOR JAM
APRICOT
IT'S THE 4-LETTER SPANISH EQUIVALENT OF CREME CARAMEL
FLAN
THE NAME OF THIS CUSTARDY DESSERT MEANS "BURNT CREAM"
CREME BRULEE
THIS PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH DESSERT MADE WITH BROWN SUGAR AND MOLASSES IS PARTNERED WITH APPLE PAN DOWDY IN A CLASSIC SONG
SHOO-FLY PIE
IN FRANCE THIS HOLIDAY CAKE IS CALLED BUCHE DE NOEL
YULE LOG
THIS ITALIAN DESSERT CONSISTS OF EGG YOLKS, WINE & SUGAR WHISKED TOGETHER
ZABAGLIONE
IN THE 1930S RUTH WAKEFIELD ADDED A CUT-UP CHOCOLATE BAR TO COOKIE DOUGH, CREATING THE COOKIE NAMED FOR THIS "HOUSE"
TOLL HOUSE
A GLOWING RED "HOT DOUGHNUTS NOW" SIGN ANNOUNCES THE FRESH ORIGINAL GLAZED DOUGHNUTS FROM THIS CHAIN
KRISPY KREME
THESE REPTILES AREN'T AN INGREDIENT IN THE CHOCOLATE & CARAMEL CANDIES NAMED FOR THEM
TURTLES
DESPITE ITS NAME, SARA LEE'S "ALL BUTTER" ONE IS ONLY 10 3/4 OUNCES
POUND CAKE
A HAPPY BAKING ACCIDENT LED TO THE INVENTION OF THIS SEMISOFT CANDY THAT'S OFTEN CHOCOLATE
FUDGE
ONE VARIATION OF THIS COOKIE IS THE DOUBLE STUF, WITH TWICE THE CREME FILLING OF THE ORIGINAL
OREO
SEA CAPTAIN HANSON GREGORY AND THE PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH ARE BOTH CREDITED WITH PUTTING THE HOLE IN THIS TREAT
DOUGHNUT
THIS FRUIT DESSERT IS KNOWN AS BETTY FOR SHORT
BROWN BETTY
IN NAMES OF DESSERTS, THIS WOMAN'S NAME MAY FOLLOW CHOCOLATE OR PRECEDE RUSSE
CHARLOTTE
BLACK FOREST CAKE IS MADE WITH KIRSCH, A LIQUOR MADE FROM THIS FRUIT
CHERRIES
A CULINARY FOUNDATION IS NAMED FOR THIS DEAN OF AMERICAN COOKERY WHO WAS BORN IN PORTLAND ON MAY 5, 1903
JAMES BEARD
CAVIER COMES FROM THIS FISH
STURGEON
A COMPETITION IN WHICH CULINARY SPECIALTIES ARE PREPARED
COOK-OFF
THE SPANISH WORD PANADERO MEANS THIS
BAKER
SHAKESPEARE COINED THIS "CULINARY" TERM FOR A TIME OF YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE
'SALAD DAYS'
JAMES BEARD FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS SEND BUDDING CHEFS TO THIS TYPE OF SCHOOL, FROM THE LATIN FOR "KITCHEN"
CULINARY SCHOOL
BAD BOY OF THE CULINARY SCENE WITH THE BOOK "KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL" AND THE TV SHOW "NO RESERVATIONS"
ANTHONY BOURDAIN
CULINARY EXPLORERS KNOW THE NAME OF THIS FISH OF SOUTH AMERICAN RIVERS IS SPANISH FOR "GOLDEN"
DORADO
THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF AMERICA'S RECIPE FOR THIS DISH WITH A PAPAL NAME CALLS FOR 8 ENGLISH MUFFINS AND 16 SLICES OF BACON
EGGS BENEDICT
HANDWERKER WAS THE LAST NAME OF THE MAN WHO OPENED THIS "FAMOUS" CONEY ISLAND CULINARY EMPORIUM IN 1916
NATHAN'S
AN IVOIRIAN CULINARY SPECIALTY IS FOUTOU, OFTEN MADE FROM THIS, WHICH GETS CONFUSED WITH THE SWEET POTATO
YAM
THE CHICKEN PO'BOY AND THE CATFISH PO'BOY ARE CULINARY HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS FRIED CHICKEN CHAIN
POPEYE'S
STAR OF THE NBC REALITY SHOW "THE RESTAURANT"
ROCCO DI SPIRITO
MARK TWAIN SAID THAT CAULIFLOWER "IS NOTHING BUT" THIS VEGETABLE "WITH A COLLEGE EDUCATION"
CABBAGE
WOODY ALLEN SAYS HE WON'T EAT THIS SHELLFISH BECAUSE "I WANT MY FOOD DEAD, NOT SICK, NOT WOUNDED, DEAD"
OYSTERS
THACKERAY'S "BALLAD OF ...." THIS DISH CALLS IT "A SORT OF SOUP OR BROTH...OR HOTCHPOTCH OF ALL SORTS OF FISHES"
BOUILLABAISSE
IN 1961 JULIA CHILD STARTED A CULINARY REVOLUTION WHEN SHE PUBLISHED "MASTERING THE ART OF..."THIS
FRENCH COOKING
THOUGH IT SEATS 500, GINO'S EAST IN CHICAGO REGULARLY HAS LINES OUTSIDE FOR THIS CULINARY SPECIALTY, EVEN IN WINTER
PIZZA
THIS CULINARY TERM FOR THE WAY A SALAMI IS AGED SOUNDS LIKE YOU'RE HEALING IT
CURING
BANANAS ARE A CULINARY MAINSTAY IN BAHIA, AN ATLANTIC COAST STATE IN THIS SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRY
BRAZIL
EEL IS A CULINARY SPECIALTY OF THIS THIRD-LARGEST JAPANESE CITY, SITE OF THE 1970 WORLD'S FAIR
OSAKA
A LEADING ITALIAN RESTAURANT CHAIN, IT'S INCREASING ITS EXPERTISE BY OPENING THE CULINARY INSTITUTE OF TUSCANY
THE OLIVE GARDEN
DUBBED CACKLEBERRIES, THEY CAN BE BOILED, CODDLED OR POACHED
EGGS
DURING WWI, THIS DISH WAS CALLED LIBERTY CABBAGE
SAUERKRAUT
TERM FOR FOOD THAT PUTS YOU AT EASE AND MAKES YOU NOSTALGIC FOR YOUR YOUTH
COMFORT FOOD
IT'S THE CULINARY TERM FOR BURNT SUGAR OR A CANDY MADE FROM BROWNED SUGAR
CARAMEL
THIS FRUIT DESSERT WAS CREATED TO CELEBRATE QUEEN VICTORIA'S DECADES ON THE BRITISH THRONE
CHERRIES JUBILEE
FROM GREEK FOR "FINGER", THE ARABS CLAIM IT HAS AS MANY CULINARY & PHARMACEUTICAL USES AS DAYS IN A YEAR
DATE
| Brioche |
Which country is the top grape-producing country in the world producing almost 9 million tons of grapes each year? | The Food Timeline: history notes--sandwiches
Who invented the sandwich? When? Where? And Why?
Acknowledging the fact that combinations of bread/pastry filled with meat or cheese and dressed with condiments have been enjoyed since ancient times, Food historians generally attribute the creation of the sandwich, as we know it today, to John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich . This Englishman was said to have been fond of gambling. As the story goes, in 1762, during a 24 hour gambling streak he instructed a cook to prepare his food in such a way that it would not interfere with his game. The cook presented him with sliced meat between two pieces of toast. Perfect! This meal required no utensils and could be eaten with one hand, leaving the other free to continue the game. Sadly, the name of real inventor of the sandwich (be it inventive cook or the creative consumer) was not recorded for posterity.
Recipes for sandwiches were not immediately forthcoming in cookbooks. Why? In England they were (at first) considered restaurant fare. In America? Many colonial cooks in the last half of the 18th century were not especially fond of imitating British culinary trends. Did colonial American cooks make sandwiches? Probably...most likely, though you will be hard pressed to find solid evidence. When viewed in historical context, it is understandable why Americans didn't begin calling their bread and meat combinations "sandwiches" until [long after the Revolution & War of 1812] the late 1830s. The primary difference between early English and American sandwiches? In England beef was the meat of choice; in America it was ham. A simple matter of local protein supply. Or??! A tasty opportunity to promote government split. You decide.
This is what the food historians have to say:
"The bread-enclosed convenience food known as the "sandwich" is attributed to John Montagu, fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), a British statesman and notorious profligate and gambler, who is said to be the inventor of this type of food so that he would not have to leave his gaming table to take supper. In fact, Montague was not the inventor of the sandwich; rather, during his excursions in the Eastern Mediterranean, he saw grilled pita breads and small canapes and sandwiches served by the Greeks and Turks during their mezes, and copied the concept for its obvious convenience. There is no doubt, however, that the Earl of Sandwich made this type of light repast popular among England's gentry, and in this way, his title has been associated with the sandwich ever since. The concept is supremely simple: delicate finger food is served between two slices of bread in a culinary practice of ancient origins among the Greeks and other Mediterranean peoples. Literary references to sandwiches begin to appear in English during the 1760s, but also under the assumption that they are a food consumed primarily by the masculine sex during late night drinking parties. The connotation does not change until the sandwich moves into general society as a supper food for late night balls and similar events toward the end of the eighteenth century...Charlotte Mason was one of the first English cookbook authors to provide a recipe for sandwiches...During the nineteenth century, as midday dinner moved later and later into the day, the need for hot supper declined, only to be replaced with light dishes made of cold leftovers, ingredients for which the sandwich proved preeminently suitable. Thus the sandwich became a fixture of intimate evening suppers, teas, and picnics, and popular fare for taverns and inns. This latter genre of sandwich has given rise to multitudes of working class creations...During the early years of the railroad, sandwiches proved an ideal form of fast food, especially since they could be sold at train stations when everyone got off to buy snacks...During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the sandwich came into its own, especially as a response to the Temperance Movement. Taverns and saloons offered free sandwiches with drinks in order to attract customers."
---Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor, William Woys Weaver, assoicate editor [Charles Scribner's Sons:New York] 2003, Volume 3 (p. 235-6)
[NOTE: This book has far more information than can be paraphrased here. Ask your librarian to help you find a copy.]
"The invention of the sandwich and its acceptance as an institution is a typical example of the power of the ways of life to prevail over all so-called rules of gastronomy and even established facts of physiology and psychology. Bread, when cut into slices, has always proved a handy foundation for other food. From the buttered bread and thick slice which was used in the Tudor period as the foundation of meat dishes there is a direct line of descent to the sandwich. But according to all the rules of sciences governing nutrition the sandwich should never have been born. If a slice of bread is spread with some other appetizing food it is obvious to both eyes and nose what it is, and there is a definate psychological reaction. When, however, the appealing surface is covered by another slice of bread, it is a matter of guesswork to find out what the filling is. This is not so easy and often the eater does not try to guess at all but is satisfied with something esay to chew and swallow which satisfies his hunger. The sandwich is thus a poor substitute for a single slice of bread, spread with something won can both see and anticipate in advance. That it has all the same become a staple article of diet is in the first place due to its handiness for carrying, as compared with a slice of bread spread only with butter Sandwiches can replace a meal and avoid the necessity of carrying cooking utensils about. Their popularity owes much to the fact that the distances between home and work have increased enormously in recent times, and they can so easily be wrapped up and stowed away in a man's pocket, In the face of these advantages, the physiological and psychological attractions of a single slice with its surface openly displayed could not prevail. Eating a sandwich requires neither crockery nor cutlery, and as the hand comes in contact only with the dry side of the bread the fingers are not smeared; this even creates the fallacy that dirt from the fingers will not adhere to the bread. The ease of handling has led to further uses of the sandwich. In many countries we find sandwiches set down on plates in the home for lunch or tea, and also at snack-bars...one sandwich tastes much the same as another, unless the filling has a very pronounced flavour...It is only high up in the culinary scale that one finds delicacies spread on bread without the coffin-lid which spells death to the flavour."
---The Origin of Food Habits, H.D. Renner [Faber and Faber:London] 1944 (p. 223-4)
"Sandwich. [Said to be named after John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), who once spent twenty-four hours at the gaming-table without other refreshment than some slices of cold beef placed between slices of toast. This account of the origin of the word is given by Grosley [in a publication titled] Londres (1770). Grosley's residence in London was in 1765 and he speaks of the word as having then lately come into use.]."
---Oxford English Dictionary
[NOTE: according to this source, the first printed mention of the word sandwich appeared in a journal entry of Edward Gibbon, 24 November 1762 I dined at the Cocoa Tree...That respectable body...affording every evening a sight truly English. Twenty or thirty...of the first men of the kingdom...supping at little tables...upon a bit of cold meat, or a Sandwich'.]
"...[The sandwich] was not known in America until some time later. Eliza Leslie's Directions for Cookery (1837) listed ham sandwiches as a supper dish, but it was not until much later in the century, when soft white bread loaves became a staple of the American diet, that the sandwich became extremely popular and serviceable. By the 1920s white loaf bread was referred to as "sandwich bread" or "sandwich loaf."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 283)
[1824] To Make Oyster Loaves [some say this the precursor to the New Orleans Po'Boy ]
"Take little round loaves, cut off the top, scrape out all the crumbs, then out the oysters into a stew pan with the crumbs that came out of the loaves, a little water, and a good lump of butter; stew them together ten or fifteen minutes, then put in a spoonful of good cream, fill your loaves, lay the bit of crust carefully on again, set them in the oven to crisp. Three are enough for a side dish."
---The Virginia House-Wife, Mary Randolph, with Historical Notes and Commentaries by Karen Hess [University of South Carolina Press:Columbia] 1985 (p. 78)
[1832] Sandwiches for Travelers (includs bread notes), The Cook's Own Book, Mrs. N.K.M. Lee [Boston]
"National" food observances (months, weeks, days) are popular in the USA. They are hosted by different organizations for specific purposes.
National Sandwich Day
In the library world, the standard reference tool used for identifying & researching national observances is a book titled Chases' Calendar of Annual Events. The earliest print reference we find for National Sandwich Day comes from Chase's Calendar of Annual Events, 1981 (p. 110). This source does not credit the origination of this day to another source. The entry is presented as fact. November 3rd, generally regarded by moderns as the birthdate of the Fourth Earl of Sandwich , credited for inventing this food. Coincidentally??! The entry for National Sandwich Month disappeared in 1981. Never to return.
"Sandwich Day. Nov. 3. A day to recognize the inventor of the sandwich, John Montague, Fourth Earl of Sandwich, who was born Nov 3, 1718. England's First Lord of the Admirality, Secretary of State of the northern Department, Postmaster General, the man after whom Capt. Cook named the Sandwich Islands in 1778. A rake and a gambler, he is said to have invented the sandwich as a time-saving nourishment while he was engaged in a 24-hour-long gambling session in 1762. He died in London, April 30, 1792."
We thought this was the 'end of the story' until we found this (unofficial?) sandwich proclamation circa 1924. Note: the date of publication is November 2nd. The next day was Lord Montague's birthday. Coincidence? We think not.
"The day of the sandwiches has arrived. It is so proclaimed by placards and posters plastered over the business districts. A new type of lunchroom substantiates the announcement--the 'sandwich house.' It may offer side lines of hot dishes and pastries, but to sandwiches it owes its existence. For them it is known and patronized. In its turn it has served to change the status of the commodity. 'A sandwich used to represent a picnic or a pink tea,' commented one business man addicted to the habit. 'At best it was just a mouthful of something to eat to tide you over until mealtime. Now it is lunch. You may order something to keep it company, but the sandwich is the main thing. It is the corn beef and cabbage, the steak and onions, the liver and bacon of other years.' Restaurant keepers agree.One of them in the financial district, who presides over a chain of sandwich buffets, believes he has hit upon the secret of the business man's desire for his midday meal. Once he was manager of a large hotel where men came in leisurely, ordered lavishly and ate copiously. That day is gone, he is convinced, as he watches throngs file past his counters and stacks of sliced bread, meat and cheese disappear. At one of his lunchrooms he feeds 700 at every lunch hour. When the day is over 1,000 sandwiches have usually been consumed. Only 25 per cent of his patrons, he estimated, call for hot dishes--the rest are sandwich eaters. This development has brought with it all the machinery of sandwich--making, now becoming as common a feature of restaurant windows as the hot cake steam plate New Yorkers know so well. There is a machine that slices the loaves and another that slices the meat. This last, at the press of a button, cuts and stacks ham, tongue, beef and so one without touch of human hands. Sandwich-making is thus facilitated and sandwiches themselves have changed not only in status but also in stature and girth. These sandwiches have little in common with the link tea or picnic offering or even with those pressed slabs in waxed paper piled up at soda fountains, for the business man's lunch is a high stack of bread, meat and salad, combined, and they make it as you order. The vogue of the sandwich is attributed to a considerable extent to the rush of modern business life. Men have no time to sit around leisurely waiting for large orders. They must grab a bite, preferably wholesome and satisfying, but essentially without delay. The sandwich has been found to fill the need. Education, too, it is said, has something to do with the matter. 'Ever since the war people have seemed to understand eating better than they did before,' said one restaurant keeper. 'Before the war you could not get away with the idea that a sandwich was enough lunch for a business man. But somehow they have cone to the conviction that a light lunch is the best thing if they expect to go back to the office and do their best during the afternoon. They have heard, too, that salads are good for you and so they have tried them out and felt much better for the experiment. Salads and sandwiches--they are the style for a business man's lunch today. That is what they want and that is what they get."
---"Sandwiches Flourishing," New York Times, November 2, 1924 (p. XX2)
Our research suggests Chicago-based Wheat Flour Institute's sandwich contest was part of the promotional activities during National Sandwich Month , originating in 1952. The sandwich contest may have launched in 1955. The first winners were announced in 1956. Subsequent contests/promotions bore variant names and co-industry sponsorships likewise varied. General notes, gleaned from the New York Times, here:
"Donut Week," "Honey for Breakfast Week," "National Kraut and Frankfurter Week" are all funny, but even funnier is the fact they apparently succeed as promotional schemes. At least they keep coming, which we judge is a mark of success. Latest "push" of the kind is "National Sandwich Month," which starts Aug. 1, under the auspices of the Wheat Flour Institute, American Bakers Association and the National Restaurant Association. Bearing down on the sandwich in summer makes, we must admit, sound sense. Cooks find the food easy to fix during weather when any culinary effort is taxing. Eaters take kindly to it, too; it temps even on the hot days, which have been all too numerous recently. We speak here, of course, of the main-dish sandwich for lunch or supper, the kinds pictured today...The Wheat Flour Institute estimates that Americans eat about 27,000,000 sandwiches a day, and it turns out that 40 per cent of all restaurant orders call for sandwiches...Since it came into being, at least so the story goes, in the eighteenth century when it was served as a snack to the reluctant-to-leave-the-gambling-table Earl of Sandwich, it has developed to the point where a whole book has been written on it...Newest contribution to its preparation is "Fillings Make the Sandwich," a leaflet of twenty-six spread recipes in quantity portions (twenty-four) and family-size servings. This is available from the Wheat Flour Institute, 309 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago 6. A stamped self-addressed envelope must accompany a request."
---"Food News: Some Main-Dish Sandwiches, Jane Nickerson, New York Times, July 25, 1952 (p. 20)
"Credit John Montagu, fourth Earl of Sandwich, with an assist for Madison Avenue. When National Sandwich Month is celebrated in August, his memory will be honored by the advertising men who have elaborated on his idea of two centuries ago. A contest is being conducted among the restaurant and hotel personnel by the National Restaurant Association and the Wheat Flour Institute with a view to turning up the best new sandwich ideas suitable for restaurant and hotel service."
---"News of Advertising and Marketing Fields," New York Times, June 13, 1956 (p. 74)
"The sandwich luncheon seems firmly entrenched as a part of the American way of life....This week marked the sixth annual sandwich contest sponsored by the Wheat Flour Institute, and the "twenty best" selected for 1961 appear to bear ou the diversity theme. These twenty (from which a grand winner will be chosen later) bore such all-American titles as Crew Cut, Clam Dig and Peanut Butter Sandwich and foreign accents as Peking Pig and The Viking. The Viking is the creation of Robert Graves of New Orleans, who has submitted three previous winners. It is an interesting concoction featuring cream cheese softened with French dressing, sardines and onion slices placed between slices of French bread spread with garlic butter and garnished with stuffed olives and dill pickles. An even more unusual creation is called The Gypsy, and consists of slices of orange and onion between slices of toast spread with mayonnaise."
---"Sandwich Gets New Look", New York Times, June 3, 1961 (p. 14)
"It was almost enough to make us wish we had brought our own B.L.T. down, hold the mayo, as the "Top Four" contenders chosen from 400 original contestants gathered for the final judging of the 24th annual National Sandwich Idea Contest at the Excelsior Club yesterday. The winner was 30-year-old Jim Weisman, proprietor of Out to Lunch, a "fast-food gourmet sandwich operation" in Little Rock, Ark., for "The Garden," a grilled cheese and vegetable creation on pumpernickel bread...The contest was sponsored by the Wheat Flour Institute, representing the country's leading milllers. This year it was not cosponsored and so no other food was requried for entry. Nor were there the usual assortment of bizarre combination that were so typical in former years...Just a few creations tried the imagination, as they well might try the palate. Among them were the Will Yum Tell, a grilled sandwich of roast pork, sauerkraut, apple sauce, raisins and cheese; the bagelwich, which was similar to a corned beef, swiss cheese and sauerkraut Rubens; the sandwich Wellington, derived from beef Wellington, with a pastry crust topping turkey, ham, relish, mayonnaise and cheese on a bottom slice of rye bread, and the bacon banana bun, built up of those two ingredients on an enriched white bread hot dog roll. "We think a sandwich is as only as good as the bread it is made on," said C. Joan Reynolds, the director of the Wheat Flour Institute. The contest entries were divided into four categories of bread--ethnic (challah, bagels, croissants and pupmpernickle), variety (while wheat, rye, cracked wheat and English muffins), enriched white (hot dog rolls, hamburger rolls and white bread) and hearth (crusty free-formed rolls such as French, Italian, hard rolls and sour dough). No homeamde bread was allowed."
---"A Contest That Lives Not By Bread Alone," Mimi Sheraton, New York Times, August 8, 1979 (p. C3) [NOTE: This article contains a recipe for "The Garden" sandwich. We can forward if you wish.'
"Bob Grinstaff of New York did not enter this year's National Sandwich Contest. Just as well. His elegant open-face sandwiches shimmering with aspic and ornamented with herbs would never had progressed beyond the first round.The 25-year-old-contest sponsored by the Wheat Flour Institute has traditionally acclaimed concoctions such as the "Hawaiian Farmer" with chicken, ham, pineapple, pecans, kumquat and mozzarella, or multiplex cheeseburgers with smiling faces on them...The first of the National Sandwich Contest winner was the now-classic Reuben made with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, corned beef and Thousand Islands dressing grilled on rye bread. A still unsuccessful search for the equal of that inspiration has justified the contest ever since. This year's grand prize was awarded last week at the Waldorf-Astoria to the St. Helen's Sunnyside Special, consisting of an English muffin with Canadian bacon, pineapple, marmalade and meringue baked with an egg yolk on top. Lois Dowling of Tacoma, Wash., said it took her 20 minutes to prepare."
---"Elegant Creation: A Four-Hour Sandwich, Florence Fabricant," New York Times, August 27, 1980 (p. C3)
Looking for some of the prize-winning recipes? We own a copy of Menu Makers From the National Sandwich Idea Contest, Kathleen M. Thomas, director of Home Economics, Wheat Flour Institute editor [Cahners Books International:Boston] 1976. Original 1956 prize winning Reuben Sandwich recipe here . FoodTimeline library owns copy of this book. Happy to scan/send pages upon request .
Our research indicates that Ziploc (resealable plastic bags) sponsored a National Sandwich Day contest for children, commencing 1987. This contest was held on November 3rd. Comedian Dom Deluise was the celebrity judge. Winners received savings bonds.
"Alison McCleskey's Berry Bananawich - marshmallow creme, peanut butter, bananas and strawberries on a croissant - won Tuesday's Ziploc National Sandwich Day contest. The fifth-grader won $700 in U.S. Savings bonds and $700 for her school, St. John's Episcopal School in Abilene, Texas. Dom Deluise and a panel judged the finals in Los Angeles. Second place tie: second-grader Dan Crawford of Hoffman Estates, Ill., and sixth-grader Kate Warwick of Rome, N.Y."
---"Grand Sandwich," Tracey Wong Briggs, USA Today, November 4, 1987
"Start spreading the news -- the "United Nations Sandwich" has been crowned "America's Favorite Sandwich" by a panel of sandwich experts at the fifth annual Ziploc(R) National Sandwich Day Contest. "United Nations Sandwich," one of six national contest finalists, was created by Aislynn Poquette, a fifth-grader at Tangier Smith Elementary School in Mastic Beach, N.Y. Other top contenders included "Peanut Butter Pumpkin," "Triple Dipple," "The Nose Opener," "Everything Deluxe" and the "Pita Power Snack."
---"United Nations Sandwich captures America's Favorite Sandwich Title," PR Newswire, November 12, 1991
The last reference we find to Ziploc's contest was a poor review from Consumer's Union, circa 1995:
"The magazine bestows four contests with the "dubious honor of being the `most commercial' " for promoting their sponsors' corporate image or excessively using logos and brand names. They are the Oxy 10 $10,000 Scholarship, Playskool's Definitely Dinosaurs Contest for first-graders, Sears Optical's The Eyes Have It! poster contest and Ziploc's National Sandwich Day Contest."
---"Corporate contests often fail students," Tamara Henry, USA Today, April 19, 1995
Recipes are not invented, they evolve. In the case of the Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato sandwich (BLT), culinary evidence confirms this recipe descended from late Victorian-era tea sandwiches. The earliest recipes for BLTs were listed under different names in cookbooks.
Most of the ingredients of the BLT (bread, bacon, lettuce) were known to the Ancient Romans. Methods for toasting bread were also practiced during this time. Tomatoes were introduced to Europe in the 16th century. Mayonnaise? An 18th century French invention. According to the food historians, modern sandwiches were also invented in the 18th century. We searched serveral 19th-20th century European and American cookbooks to pin down the introduction of the BLT. It can be argued that the progenitors of BLTs are Club Sandwiches as they are similar in composition and ingredents. About club sandwiches .
[1920]
"Tomato and Bacon Sandwiches. Cut white bread in 1/4 in. slices, lightly toast slices on one side. Spread untoasted side with mayonnaise dressing; cover half the slices with peeled and thinly sliced firm tomatoes, spread tomatoes with mayonnaise and cover with thin slice of broiled bacon. Cover bacon with lettuce leaves and remaining slices of bread. Cut in triangles and serve with sweet gherkins."
---Calendar of Sandwiches & Beverages, Elizabeth O. Hiller [P.F. Voland Co.:New York] 1920 (unpaginated; recipe is calendared for September Thirtieth.)
[1929]
"Bacon sandwiches. Bacon is an ingredient of many of the sandwiches in this book, but in those under this heading it is the principal one. Sandwiches containing bacon are particularly good for on hikes or picnics. The recipe below is specially suited for such an occasion, when the bacon may be broiled over and open fire in the woods."
---Seven Hundred Sandwiches/Florence A. Cowles [Little, Brown:Boston] 1929 (p. 31)
[NOTE: Cowles also includes recipes for "Summer Sandwich," "Bacon Salad Sandwich," Baconion Sandwich." and more. These sandwiches feature bacon, lettuce, mayonnaise, and other ingredients (pickles, onions etc.). They do not yet include tomato. Recipes for tomato sandwiches (p. 127) and lettuce sandwiches (p. 128-9) do not include bacon.]
Who coined the acronym "BLT," when & why?
We don't know.
John Mariani hypothesizes this term evolved from diner/lunchroom slang: "Lunch counters have provided etymologists and linguists with one of the richest sources of American slang, cant, and jargon, usually based on a form of verbal shorthand bandied back and forth between waiters and cooks. Some terms have entered familiar language of most Americans--"BLT" (a bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich)...and others--but most remain part of a bewildering and colorful language specific to the workers in such establishments."
---The Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar Freidman:New York] 1999 (p. 190)
Barry Popik , etymologist expert offers this: "The BLT sandwich (bacon, lettuce, tomato) possibly comes from Chicago and was named after its famed Chicago Tribune writer BLT, or Bert L. Taylor. The "BLT" is first cited in print in 1941." Our gut says the initials/acronym is a coincidence. Colorful columnist Bert Leston Taylor (AKA "BLT") passed away in 1921. We think: if Mr. Taylor did not write sometimes write about food in his columns no one would hypothesize a connection. Still? The idea is intriguing. Why not call this sandwich lettuce, bacon, tomato (LBT), tomato lettuce bacon (TLB) or any other variation on this acromymic theme?
Our survey of historic newspapers/magazines [Proquest Historic Newspapers, NewspaperArchive. com, Readers Guide Retrospective] returned references for "BLT" sandwiches in 1950. Mainstream print evidence confirms the "BLT" raged in the early 1960s but the sandwich acronym was not universally recognized. How else to explain editors feeling compelled to offer readers explanations?
First surfacing during the Great Depression, early descriptions do not indicate this was a "make do" affair for people who could not afford bread. Rather, it was presented as a creative upscale interpretation on a well established theme. In recent years "breadless" sandwiches have been rediscovered as practical solutions for people on bread-free diets. In fact, people have been stripping bread from sandwiches forever. Think: hamburgers without buns. Today's bread alternatives feature thinly sliced meat, "meaty" vegetables (eggplant, portobello mushrooms) and lettuce. These "breadless sandwiches" are often rolled, not sliced.
[1935]
"Three guesses won't reveal the shape and form of the latest innovation in sandwiches. Believe it or not, the newest adaptation of the sandwich is minus the two ever-present slices of bread. Sandwiches, heretofore, have been known as a snack of some particuarly satisfying morsel thrust between slices of bread. At first, the number of slices was limited to two, and then some one devised a way of piling chicken, tomatoes, bacon, lettuce and dressing together in a mountainous form, and the number of slices was accomodatingly rushed up to three. The club sandwich, as it was named, became famous and other combinations just as satisfying to hungry appetites were brought to light, all including the three slices of toasted bread. These were immediately called double-deckers. Then came the discussion--how should we eat a three-tiered sandwich? There was a general controversy over which it should be, and still the battle is waged, fork vs. fingers for sandwiches. To make matters more complicated; and giving the fork a chance for active play, the sandwich loaf made its appearance. This loaf, as you all must know by now, is a delicate triple-layerd affair generously frosted wtih creamy cheese. Now the latest in sandwiches, this breadless affair, simply demands the use of a fork, as you will readily note upon reading the recipe. Here it is--the eggplant-tomato sandwich:
"Eggplant-tomato sandwich:
Cut slices of eggplant about one-quarter inch thick and dip them in beaten egg which has been seasoned with salt and pepper. Then crumb with fine bread crumbs and saute in butter or part butter and fat. When the eggplant is tender, put between each two layers of eggplant a slices of fresh tomato and two strips of bacon about 3 inches in length. The bacon should be previously broiled until crisp and kept warm on the stove. Place soft, melted yellow cheese, on the top layer of each eggplant sandwich and place in the oven until the cheese has melted. Serve immediately after being removed from the oven. Plan to serve two sandwiches for each person, as they are bound to make an immediate hit. Garnish the platter with parsley and stuffed olives or radishes. Try eggplant-tomato sandwiches for buffet supper."
---"'Breadless Sandwich' is Latest Innovation," Dorothea Duncan, Washington Post, January 27, 1935 (p. S6)
[1970]
"Breadless sandwiches are great for snacks, and what a good way to use up small amounts of leftover potato or egg salad and single slices of cold meat. Just put about two tablespoons on a slice of meat and fold the meat slice in half."
---"Kitchen Tip," Chicago Daily Defender, June 4, 1970 (p. 28)
Food historians tell us the practice of serving savory foods before meals was established in ancient cultures. Why? Long before the advent of modern nutrition science, people who studied the relationship between food and the human body recognized the ability of some items to what the appetite and encourage proper digestion. Apicius [Ancient Rome]contains many such recipes. About appetizers .
The serving of savory protein/bread or pastry combinations [croutons, crustades] continued through the Middle ages, migrating toward refined spicy vinegar-based specialties of the Renaissance table. "Canapes," as we known them today, originated in France. They were a creation of classic French cuisine and, as such, were quickly adopted by countries (ex. England, United States) in the habit of following French culinary trends. In other cuisines this concept evolved differently.
What is a canape?
"Canapes--The primary meaning of this word is a slice of crustless bread, cut in rectangular shapes, the size and thickness of which varies depending on the nature of ingredients to be put on them. Canapes which are also called croutons are made of toasted or fried bread and can either be spread with various mixtures or left plain, depending on the nature of the dishes for which they are to serve as an accompaniment. Canapes are mostly used as an accompaniment to winged game, and, in this case, they are spread with a gratin forcemat or some other forcemeat and when actually at table the trail intestines of birds, which are not drawn for cooking, are also spread on the canapes. Recipes for preparing these will be found under the entries entitled Roties...Canapes (hors-d'oeuvre)--These canapes, which are made from crustless bread, home-made bread, common brioche or pastry, are garnished with various compositions. Recipes for this type of canape, some of which are referred to as Canapes a la russe, will be found in the section entitled Hors-D'Oeuvre. See Cold hors-d'oeuvre. Canapes for various dishes--These canapes are cut and browned in the same ways as those described above. They are mostly described as croutons and are used as foundations fro fried or grilled escalopes, noisettes, tournedos, kidneys, etc."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Crown Publishers:New York] 1961 (p. 208)
What is the derivation of the term and when did it begin to appear in English?
This is what the food historians say about canapes:
"Canape. A French word which basically means sofa or couch, has become a culinary term in France since the late 18th century, when it was applied by analogy to the thin pieces of fried or toasted bread which served as supports for various savoury toppings. A century later, in the 1890s, it became in English word referring to a titbit of this kind. Now that yet another hundred years have passed, the usage continues, although it sounds old-fashioned and is most likely to be found in contexts such as catered receptions or 'cocktail parties'...Canapes may be hot or cold. If hot, they come close to what are called savouries in British English.In either case they are capable of being classified as hors d'oeuvres in some culinary contexts. Large canapes trespass on the territory of the open sandwich. In Italy, the term crostini continues to have much the same meaning as the old French usage. Thin slices of toast, cut into e.g. square or diamond shapes are used as a base for a savour topping. "
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 128)
"Canapes are small thin pieces of bread or toast topped with some sort of savoury garnish or spread, and served as snacks with drinks. The word canape means literally 'sofa' in French (it comes ultimately from medieval Latin canopeum, source of English canopy), and the idea behind its gastronomic application is that the toppings--anchovies, caviar, smoked salmon, ham, etc.--sit on the pieces of the bread as if on a sofa. It is a relatively recent introduction into English, first mentioned in Mrs. Beeton's Cookery Book (1890)."
---An A-Z of Food and Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 53-4)
A survey of canape recipes through time:
[1869:Paris]
"Anchovy canapes.
Cut some slices of crumb of bread, 1/4 inch thick; cut these in pieces 2 1/2 inches long, 1 1/2 inch wide; and fry them in clarified butter, till a nice golden colour; When cold, spread the pieces with Anchovy Butter; Steep some anchovies in cold water; drain, open, and trim them; Place 4 fillets of anchovies, lengthwise, on each piece of bread, leaving three small spaces between the fillets; fill the first space with chopped hard-boiled white of egg; fill the middle space with chopped parsley, and the third with chopped hard-boiled yolk of egg; Dress the canapes in a flat china boat, or small dish, generally used for all these cold Hors d'oeuvre."
---The Royal Cookery Book, Jules Gouffe, translated and adapted for English use by Alphonse Gouffe [Sampson Low, Son & Marston:London] 1869 (p. 409)
[NOTE: This source also contains recipes for shrimp canapes, caviar canapes, crayfish tails canapes, lobster canapes, and smoked salmon canapes.]
[1873:Paris]
What exactly is a chicken burger? Great question! With no exact answer.
Ground protein mixtures bound with egg, bulked with breading, & blasted with spices have been enjoyed from ancient times forwards. Think: fish cakes, croquettes, timbales, & kofta. This is a short course on meatloaf . Recipes and proteins vary according to culture and cuisine. Until recently, most of these dishes required pre-cooked meats. It was a great way to serve leftovers. Today's supermarket meat counters offer an interesting variety of raw ground protein products. All of which can be assembled, formed, combined for cooking on whatever heat source to satisfy whichever course. American food companies offer similar products promoted for convenience.
The term "chicken burger" first surfaces in USA print after WWII. Recipes are all over the culinary map. The unifiying "burger" factor means nestled in a personal-sized bread begging for condiments.
[1946: Barnyard burgers made with ground chicken]
"Chicken Burgers. Barnyard-burgers are made from ground cold chicken, if this delicacy is ever left lying around at your home, or turkey or roast. Onion and bread stuffing may be added, moistened with one or two eggs and and seasoned to taste. Saute until brown in chicken fat and serve on whopping big biscuits."---"Hamburger Recipes are Items for Collectors, With a Range to Suit Cannibal and Gourmet," Corsicana Daily Sun [TX], July 18, 1948 (p. 2) [NOTE: most likely this ground chicken was pre-cooked, see 1957.]
[1955: commercial product]
"It's New. Chicken Burgers, 7 oz, 49 cents."---display ad, News Palladium [Benton Harbor MI], December 15, 1955 (p. 25) [NOTE: no description or illustration.]
[1956: barbecued Barnyard burgers ]
"Chicken burgers. One cup cooked chicken, chopped, 1 egg slightly beaten, 1 cup soft bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons minced parsley, 1 tablespoon minced onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt; dash of pepper. Combine all ingredients and form into 4 patties. Broil until brown on both sides. Serve hot in toasted enriched buns. Garnish with stuffed olive."---"Tuna and Chicken Burgers Add Variety to Barbecue," The Bee [Danville VA], June 7, 1956 (p. 8)
[1957: pre-cooked chicken patties]
"...the newest taste treats of them all...Chicken Burgers, Pre-cooked chicken, ground and seasoned and made into patties. Can be fried or broiled. each 19 cents"---display ad, Berkshire Eagle [MA], January 24, 1957 (p. 28)
[1961: fast food chicken sandwich]
Chicken sandwiches are served on hamburger-type buns with similar condiment/vegetable choices.
[1966: canned chicken burgers]
"Chicken burgers, 2 cans 27 cents."---display ad, Journal-Daily News [Hamilton OH] July 6, 1966 (p. 16)
[1989: chicken burgers promoted as low-cholesterol alternatives]
"If you're worried that you'll have to skip spring and summer barbecues to stay on a heart-health diet, here's some good news for the chef. The test kitchens have developed two new flavorful recipes, low in fat and without added salt that you can serve at yopur next barbecue while you deep your cholesterol in check. Mouth-watering Barbecue Chicken Burgers are a tasty alternative to traditional, high fat foods such as hot dogs and hamburgers. Filled with oats for a hearty texture and flavor, these burgers are a healthy source of cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber....To booste their nutritional benefit, why not serve Barbecue Chicken Burgers on whole wheat buns with lettuce and tomato? For an added burst of flavor, top them with a tangy, yogurt-based sauce, instead of condiments high in sodium...
Barbecue Chicken Burgers
2 1/2 cups finely chopped cooked chicken
1 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned, uncooked)
One 8-ounce carton low fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
6 whole wheat hamburger buns, split, toasted.
Lightly coat rack of broiler pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Combine chicken, oats, 1/2 cup yogurt, onion, egg whites, parsley and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; mix well. Shape to form 6 burgers. Place on rack of prepared broiler pan or over medium-hot coals on outdoor grill so burgers are 4-5 inches from heat. Broil 5 minutes; turn. Continue broiling 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. For sauce, combine remaining 1/2 cup yogurt, mustard and remaining 1/2 teaspoon chili powder; mix well. Top each burger with 1 tablespoon sauce. Serve on whole wheat bun. Garnish with lettuce and tomato, if desired."---"Enjoy barbecues and still keep cholesterol in check," The Telegraph [Alton IL]. May 31, 1989 (p. B5)
Chicken sandwiches (fast food)
While recipes for breaded, fried, boneless chicken descend from Old World recipes (think: wiener schnitzel , S. Truett Cathy's Atlanta-based Chick-Fil-A is generally credited for introducing chicken sandwiches to the fast food world. They may (or may not) have been the first food restaurant to make a chicken sandwich. They were, however, the first to capitalize on it. In the American land of hamburgers & hot dogs, this was a pretty daring and brilliant move.
"1961 Truett invents the boneless breast of chicken sandwich, calling it a "Chick-fil-A." He perfected the recipe over a four-year period using cooking techniques from his mother�s humble boarding house kitchen."
1/4 cup olives
1/4 cup mayonnaise
Cut three thin slices of white bread. Spread one with shad-roe caviar. Spread another with mayonnaise and sprinkle thickly with minced ham and olives. Butter the remaining slice of bread, then place the slice spread with mayonnaise over the slice spread with the caviar. Put a crisp lettuce leaf on top of each and cover with the plain buttered slice of bread. This makes a sandwich of three layers."
---The New Butterick Cook Book, Flora Rose [1924] (p. 149)
Over the decades there have many variations on this sandwich. Some are for presentation (cutting off the crust, cutting into triangle shapes, garnishes, serving instructions--some cookbooks even have guests making these right at the table!) others tinker with the ingredients:
"Russian Club Sandwiches
Prepare as many slices hot, fresh toast as required. Place a large slice ripe tomato on half the pieces of toast, lay two anchovies on top of tomato, sprinkle a teaspoon finely-chopped celery over, top with mayonnaise dressing, then cover with balance of toast."
---Every Woman's Cook Book, Mrs. Chas. F. Oritz [1926] (p. 592)
Florence A. Cowles' 1929 notes on club sandwiches:
"Who invented and christened the club sandwich? And how, why, when and where? No authoritative answers to these questions are available. One legend has it that a man came home late and hungry from his club one night, raided the ice box and made himself a super-sandwich which he dubbed "club." Another says that the chef of some club made himself a reputation by devising this special type of comestible. Anyway, who cares, and what difference does it make? The club sandwich is here to stay. It is a meal in itself, and a meal which may have highly diversified component parts, as long as the principal specifications of toast, meat and salad ingredients are adhered to. Originally it was constructed on the toppling tower plan, but in any other shape it tastes as good and convenience now dictates a more open formation which may be readily attacked. The club sandwich may consist of anywhere from one to five stories. The foundation is always toast, but the superstructure depends on the maker's fancy--and the materials at hand. The sandwich should be eaten with knife and fork."
---Seven Hundred Sandwiches, Florenece A. Cowles [1929] (p. 184-5)
[NOTE: this book contains 17 different recipes for club sandwiches, including an Open Club Sandwich which is served on three triangular pieces of toast radiating from the center of the plate. Other interesting recipes include the Five Course Sandwich (each layer represents a different course from dessert to appetizer), Picture Club Sandwich (French bread) and Bean Club Sandwich (baked beans, bacon & pickles].
"Russian Club Sandwich This is a miniature course dinner, beginning with fruit cocktail and ending with a sweet. Cut six thin, round slices of bread, the smallest an inch and a half in diameter and the largest four inches. Lay the largest slice on a plate and spread with jam. On it lay the next largest slice of bread and spread with cream cheese. Then the next slice, buttered, and on this lay bacon or chicken with lettuce and mayonnaise. On the fourth piece of bread lay a slice of tomato and on the fifth a slice of cucumber, each slice of bread being buttered and each vegetable having a bit of mayonnaise and lettuce. On the top piece of bread, unbuttered, lay a slice of banana or other fruit and crown with a stuffed olive. If the layers prove topply they may be secured with toothpicks, but avoid this if possible."
---ibid (p. 188)
The general consensus of several American cookbooks published between 1920-1980 suggest the ingredients of the "classic" triple decker club sandwich are:
Toast (white is most often cited, with crust)
Butter/margarine
Food historians generally agree that cooked bread and cheese combinations [in many different forms, textures and tastes] were ancient foods known across most continents and cultures. The earliest recipes for food like these are found in Ancient Roman cookbooks. Modern grilled cheese sandwiches descended from these ancient recipes.
Who invented the grilled cheese Americans know today? We will never know, but we can (given the ingredients) place it in time. Culinary evidence suggests our modern grilled cheese (consisting of processed cheese and sliced white bread) began in the 1920s. That's when affordable sliced bread and inexpensive American cheese hit the market. Goverment issue cookbooks tell us World War II Navy cooks broiled hundreds of "American cheese filling sandwiches" in ship's kitchens. This makes sense. The sandwich was economical, easy to make, met government nutrition standards.
Why is Grilled Cheese paired with Tomato Soup?
Post WWII institutional foodservice (including school cafeterias) paired grilled cheese with tomato soup to provide the required Vitamin C component. It was also economical and easy:
"Soups. The use of canned soups for all types of school food serve can add variety as well as good nutirtion to the menu. They contribute particularly to the small school with minimum equipment and to the school where the teacher must prepare the hot lunch in addition to classroom teaching...Serve a hearty soup and a sandwich to meet the total 2-ounce protein requirement of the Type A lunch."
---School Lunch Recipes Using Canned Foods, Home Economics Divison [National Canners Association:Washington D.C.] 1949 (p. 4)
[NOTE: This booklet mentions tomato soup but not grilled cheese.]
Grilled vs toasted?
Some people wonder about the difference between toasted cheese and grilled cheese. Are they the same thing? On the surface, recipes for both produce somewhat similar results (melted cheese nestled between two slices of crisp, warm, buttered bread). Actually? Food historians tell us this a linguistic puzzle. Notes here:
"Toast...is made by placing a slice of bread in front of dry heat-a fire, a grill, or an electric toaster...Certainly, toast has a long history in Britain. Tost was much used in the Middle Ages, being made in the ordinary way at an open fire...Often toast was spread with toppings...Meat toppings for toast became fashionable in during the 16th century...Towards the end of the 16th century all knds of things began to appear on toast....[including] melted cheese."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 1999 (p. 796-7)
"Grill...to cook by direct exposure to radiant heat, as in when a piece of meat is placed on a grill...The North American word for the verb grill is broil."
---ibid (p. 354)
A survey of American cookbooks reveals that recipes titled for "toasted cheese" sandwiches predate those titled "grilled cheese." Other names for this dish exist too. A careful examination of ingredients and method confirm the connection. The term "grilled cheese" surfaces in American print during the 1930s. This coincides with the introduction of portable electic cooking tools, courtesy of Thomas Alva Edison. The Edicraft brand Sandwich Grill (also Deep Grill Plate, Waffle Baker) were weclomed by modern American housewives. Table cookery was not new: chafing dishes were popular from the 1890s forward. Late 19th/early 20th century American cookbooks regularly offer recipes for cheese toast (melted cheese served on toast points, no top). Cheese is typically grated or creamed into a "butter." Cayenne and mustard, traditional Rarebit ingredients, are not strangers to early grilled cheese.
"Grilled cheese" sandwich recipes through time
[1902]
"Cheese Boxes
Cut stale bread in one-third inch slices, remove crusts, and cut slices in pieces three by one and one-half inches. Remove centres, leaving bread in box-shaped pieces. Fit in each box a slice of mild cheese, sprinkle with salt and paprika, and cover with a thin piece of bread which was removed with the centre. Saute in a hot blazer, using enough butter to prevent burning."
---Chafing Dish Possibilities, Fannie Merritt Farmer [Little, Brown, and Company:Boston] 1902 (p. 134)
[1915]
"Toasted Cheese
Cut white bread in 1/4 in. slices, spread lightly with mustard butter and sprinkle thickly with grated cheese. Cover with buttered slices, press together and arrange in a wire broiler. Toast a delicate brwon on one side, turn and lightly toast on the other side. Serve hot with tea or coffee."
---"July Twenty-Sixth," Calendar of Sandwiches & Beverages, Elizabeth O. Hiller [P.F. Volland Company:Joliet IL] 1915?
[1916]
Tomato or mushroom catchup
Butter
Cut eight thin slices of white bread, remove the crusts and spread with butter. Place thick slices of cheese between the bread and fry in plenty of hot butter in the chafing dish. Serve hot with tomato or mushroom catchup."
---Salads, Sandwiches and Chafing Dish Recipes, Marion H. Neil (p. 23)
[1929]
"Toasted Cheese Sandwich
Allow four tablespoons grated cheese for each sandwich. Mix with a little salad dresing or white sauce to bind. Add a little chopped pimento and spread between slices of buttered bread. Toast ad serve at once."
---Seven Hundred Sandwiches, Florence A. Cowles [Little, Brown, and Company:Boston] 1929 (p. 181)
[1932]
Luncheon: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, Salad of Mixed Greens, Baked Bananas, Orange Cake, Tea."
---"Today's Menu," Marian Manners, Los Angeles Times, January 20, 1932 (p. A7)[No recipe offered]
[1934]
"Grilled Cheese
Sunday night is a grilling time. Avoiding a pun is difficult, but modern cooking being what it is and modern tastes being what they are, the statement stands and may be accepted quite literally. Grilled cheese sandwiches are no new thing. We get them in drug stores for lunch and at tea rooms for supper. But when the housewife begins to grill there is no limit to the combinations she may use and the delicious Sunday night suppers she may serve. Open-face sandwiches of chreeese and tomato grilled, offer a combination of flavors sure to please the palate."
---"Capital Kitchen: Sunday Night Supper the Time to Bring out the Grill," Susan Mills Washington Post, May 2, 1934 (p. 14)
[NOTE: Edicraft Sandwich Grill , 1934. This photo was publihsed in "Table Cookery," Edicraft. This pocket-sized cooking booklet does not include a recipe for grilled cheese.]
[1936]--Grilled Cheese
("Place cheese between two thin slices of bread. Butter outside of sandwiches lightly, brown in oven.") & Hot Cheese Sandwich ("Sread two slices of bread lightly with creamed butter. On unbuttered side place slice of American cheese. Place second slice of bread over cheese with buttered side out. Watkins Paprika. Place sandwich in broiler, brown on both sides. Do not melt cheese too much."
---Watkins Cook Book [J.R. Watkins Company:Winona MN] 1936 (p. 126)
"Cheese Spread for Toasted Sandwiches. "Cheese Dreams."
The following delicious sandwich spread will keep for a week or more. Scald in a double boiler:
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound American cheese, diced
Cook thse ingredients ofver hot water for 15 minutes. Stir them constantly. Cool the mixture and keep it in a closed jar in the refrigerator. When ready to use it spread it between:
Rounds of bread
Place on each side of the canapes or sandwiches a generous dab of:
butter
Toast them in a moderate oven 350 degrees F. until they are crisp, or toast them on a broiler."
---Joy of Cooking, Irma Rombauer [Bobbs-Merrill:Indianapolis IN] 1936 (p. 7)
[NOTE: This recipe does not appear in the 1931 1st edition of Joy.]
[1939]
"Toasted Sandwiches
Spread sandwiches with filling but no butter. Brush outside with melted butter and toast in a broiling oven or saute in butter in heavy frying pan or table grill."
---The Boston Cooking School Cook Book, Fannie M. Farmer (p. 719)
[1949]
"Toasted Cheese Sandwiches (sauteed in a skillet) 1/2 pound sharp Parmican or cheddar cheese shredded
2 tablespoons chives, chopped
The Dagwood Sandwich was introduced to the American public April 16, 1936. It was invented by Chic Young and featured in his syndicated comic strip Blondie. Dagwood was Blondie's affable but somewhat bumbling husband.
What were the original ingredients?
Tongue, onion, mustard, sardine, beans and horseradish. A loaf of bread appears on the table but we are not told what kind of bread he used. It appears unsliced. Dagwood's two year old son, Baby Dumpling, watches his father composes the sandwich. Frame 2: Dagwood asks "Here, want to try a bite?" Baby Dumpling runs in the opposite direction shouting "NOOOoo." Frame 3: Baby Dumpling hides, watching dad eat his sandwich. Frame 4: Baby Dumpling pronounces the sandwich "Poison." Dagwood, still eating while reading his newspaper, replies "Stop saying that." [NOTE: we are transcibing from the New Castle News [PA], April 16, 1936 (p. 17). Some newspapers ran different Blondie comics that day.]
Original 1936 comic strip here . Over the years, the Dagwood sandwich grew bigger and typically included everything "but the kitchen sink!" Here is a Dagwood sandwich circa 1944 .
[1947]
Slice of buttered bread
Layer of crisp lettuce (or watercress or endive)
Cold, sliced chicken (or ham or veal or pork or potroast or turkey or cold cuts or bacon or sausage or almost anything)
Thin slices of hard boiled egg (or a fried egg)
Layer of American cheese (or cottage or Swiss or cream cheese)
Sardines (or anchovies or smoked salmon)
Slice of onion
1) In a small bowl, mash the banana with the back of a spoon.
2) Toast the bread lightly.
3) Spread the peanut butter on one piece of toast and the mashed banana on the other.
4) Fry the sandwich in melted butter until each side is golden brown. Cut diagonally and serve hot.
---Are You Hungry Tonight? Elvis' Favorite Recipes, compiled by Brenda Arlene Butler [Gramercy Books:New York] 1992 (p. 20-21)
[NOTE: This book contains dozens of the King's favorite recipes, including Elvis' & Pricilla's Wedding Cake, served May 1, 1967 in Las Vegas (p. 54-63).]
What else did Elvis like to eat?
"If Elvis were to come into our own dining room tonight, he'd say, 'Yes, ma'am,' and 'Thank you, ma'am,' and probably ask for the same kind of good home cooking that his mother, Gladys, put on the table in Tupelo, Mississippi in the late 1930s. Gladys cooked all the traditional Southern favorites. Grits and black-eyed peas were served, ham and bacon were an occasional treat, and there was always fried chicken, cornbread, mashed potatoes, and plenty of homemade country gravy. Elvis Presley was Southern-born and Southern-bred. his culinary tastes never varied far from Southern-style home cooking, altough he was exposed to, and did enjoy, certain Oriental foods that contained such ingredients as pork...Elvis played hard, worked hard, and ate hard, and he preferred rib-sticking kinds of foods. Elvis did not develop much of a taste for exotic or foreign foods. Nor did he consider trying ay dish that contained unusual ingredients or had an odd texture or flavor...At home, the King always specified exactly what foods should be kept on hand, whether at his Graceland masion in Memphis or at his house in Beverly Hills. His list always included fresh, lean, ground round, hamburger buns, rolls, at least six cans of ready-to-bake biscuits, pickles, potatoes, onions, shredded coconut, fudge cookies, assorted fresh fruit, canned sauerkraut, mustard, and peanut butter. His refrigerator also contained at least three bottles of mlk or half-and-half, thin-sliced, lean bacon, vanilla and chocolate ice cream, and freshly squeezed orange juice. His favorite soft drinks are said to have been Pepsi Cola, Nesbitt's Orange, and Shasta Black Cherry. He liked to chew Wrigley's Spearmint, Doublemint, and Juice Fruit gum."
---ibid (p. 6)
Hungry for more? Try The Life and Cuisine of Elvis Presley, David Adler. Your local public librarian can help you get both books. Why buy when you can borrow!
The history of gyros poses some unexpected questions. Certainly, the ingredients (lamb, pita bread, grilled vegetables, & seasonings) were known to Ancient peoples of the Middle East. Kebabs (roasted skewered meat) and other spiced meat minces have been sold by Middle Eastern and Greek street vendors for hundreds of years. Doner kebabs have been popular in Europe (especially Germany) in the second half of the 20th century.
The Arabs, Turks, and Greeks all make a variation on the same theme of vertical rotissing seasoned meat. The Turks call it doner kebabi, the Greeks gyro...and the Arabs shawurma. It is said that the doner kebabi was born in the Anatolian town of Bursa."
--A Mediterranean Feast, Clifford A. Wright [William Morrow:New York] 1999 (p. 115)
"...[one of the] the most highly regarded dishes of Baghdad [9th century AD]: judhaba (also called judhab)...Judhaba was basically roast meat; one thinks of shish kebabs....In the case of judhaba, the first thing to note is that the meat in question is not a skewer or kebab grilled over coals but something sliced off a large cut of meat roasted in a clay oven--an tannur (tandoor)--and then, as we have seen, minced fine. The sweet that accompanies it was actually the essence of the dish, the judhaba proper. It was a sort of sweetened Yorkshire pudding, stuck under the meat as it roasted to catch running fat and meat juices...The only surviving tenth-century cookbook, Kitab al-Tabikh, the contents of which date mostly from the ninth century, gives no fewer than nineteen recipes."
---"What to Order in Ninth-Century Baghdad," Charles Perry, Medieval Arab Cookery, Essays and tranlations by Mxime Rodinson, A.J. Arberry & Charles Perry [Prospect Books:Devon] 2001 (p. 220-1)
Gyros, as we know them today, presumably evolved from this tradition. Food historians generally agree the name "gyro" and the current product are both recent inventions, originating in the New York. According to the New York Times, modern gyros were very popular in the city during the early 1970s. They were marketed as fast food and embraced by diners looking for something different.
"Gyro. A Greek-American sandwich made from rotisserie-roasted, seasoned lamb that is sliced and served with onions in a pocket of pita bread. The word (which first appears in print in 1970) is from the Greek gyros, meaning a "turn" and is pronounced "JEER-o." The dish is better known in America than in Greece and possibly created in New York, where gyros are sold at Greek lunch counters and by street vendors, although some say it originated in the Plaka neighborhood of Athens. It is not a dish found in classic Greek cookery or listed in Greek cookbooks. It also seems possible that the name "gyro" may have some association with the Italian-American sandwich called Hero."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 147)
"A sandwich that is said to have originated 2,000 years ago is capturing the attention of Manhattan's quick eaters. The sandwich, a Greek gyro, pronounce "year-oh" is a lamb, tomato and onion concoction nestled in a fold of a soft bread called pita. More than 30 Greek snack stores selling the gyro have opened in Manhattan in the last year, according to the proprieter's estimates. In a heavily trafficked areas such as Times Square, three stores have opened in the last two months. Why has the Greek Gryo gained a prominent place in the fast food race? Store owners, patrons and native Greeks agree that the two major reasons are that the gyro is "different" and "delicious...The increase in the snack's popularity may be related to the large number of Americans who visit Greece and sample the local cuisine...The term gyro denotes a ring or circle and refers to the rotation of the meat as it is cooked. Greek historians attribute the origin of the dish to soldiers from the army of Alexander the great, who skewered their meat on long knives and cooked it by repeated turning over an open firet. Modern gyros are cooked on an electric rotisserie and are sold for prices ranging from 85 cents to $1...A Young Greek couple enjoying a gyro or "doner kebab" at the new Plaza de Athena on Broadway at 45th Street said they thought the food was "close to what it's like in Athens."
---"The Gyro, a Greek Sandwich, Selling Like Hot Dogs," New York Times, September 4, 1971 (p. 23)
"There will be lots of broiled meats, including gyro, that agglomeration of meat sold in booths all over New York, although its Greek provenance is questionable. "We found that people are associating it with Greeks, so we included it," said Harry Raptakis, chairman of the bazaar. "Besides, it might even have some Greek background to it." Of things definitely Greek, there will be souvlaki and shish kebab, which will be broiled atop a 2-by-10 food cinderblock cooking pit. "We only use lamb," said Mr. Raptakis."
---"Joys of Greece at L.I. Fair," Irvin Molotsky, New York Times, June 9, 1978 (p. C21)
"A keen nose for street food once led my husband and me to discover something called doner kebab in the market stalls in Herakleion the capital of Crete, long before it reached New York under the name gyro." ---"Dining a la Cart: Street Food Mirrors the Tastes of a City," Florence Fabricant, New York Times, April 17, 1991 (p.C1, C8)
"Gyro. [Spitted spiced lamb]. Gyro, gyro oli is a favorite children's game, comparable to farmer in the dell, which describes the round-and-round motion of gyro. Since spreading to Greece from the Middle East, industrious Hellenes have brought it to the United States (New York is spinning with gyro restaurants), and one more snack has been added. On a vertical spit, which turns electrically, or is run manually by the mikro (apprentice), the meat is roasted t flavorful crispness." ---The Food of Greece: Food, Folkways and Travel in the Mainland and Islands of Greece, Vilma Lia couras Chantiles [Anteneum:New York] 1975 (p. 155)
[NOTE: This book contains a recipe for gyro on p. 156. Your librarian can help you find it.]
About doner kebab
"A doner kebab is a Turkish specialty consisting of slices of marinated lamb or mutton which are packed in a cylindrical mass on a vertical spit and then grilled as they revolve. Slices are cut from the surface as it reaches the required degree of 'oneness', and are typically eaten with pitta bread or rice. Turkish immigrants have brought it to many parts of Europe, and sicee the early 1970s the doner kebab house has become a familiar part of the British inner-city scene. The term means literally 'turing roast meat', incidentally (doner derives from the verb donmek, 'turn, rotate'); and the Turkish letter o is pronounced similarly to German o (the closest English sound is er). The Arabic word for the dish is shawarma."
---An A to Z of Food & Drink, John Ayto [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2002 (p. 111)
"Doner kebab...has become a familiar sight in western countries wherever Turkish immigrants have become established...When Turks began to work in large numbers in Germany during the 1960s, their food followed but, although much liked by the immigrants, it did no find favour with Germans until the ofering was dressed up as a pitta bread sandwich filled with the doner meat, a salad of shredded lettuce, and a sauce (usually chilli, barbeque, or garlic). The meat itself may be lamb, beef, or chicken and will be both thinly sliced 'leaves' and minced or minced and ground...Doner kebab is very significant in Austria, Denmark, and Britain... It is also important in Australia, alhtoug it may go under different names (depending upon which immigrant group is more important) such as souvlaki or gyros. In Canada their is a variation called Donair, named after a Halifax restaurant which invented it in 1973. The gyro of Greece (also named for its turning action) is the same but different. Clifford Wright suggests it was not introduced into Greece itself until after the exchange of populations between Turkey and Greece in the 1920s. It too has travelled, particularly to America and Australia...The shawarma of the Middle East...is broadly similar, although the meat may be more highly spiced, and other sauces such as tahini may be offered."
---Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson [Oxford University Press:Oxford] 2nd edition, 2006 (p. 254-5)
"In Turkey, doner kebab consists of thin cuts of lamb laid over warm "fladenbrot," a round flat loaf similar to pita, and steeped in tsatsiki sauce, with tomatoes, onions, and lettuce on the side. It is usually served in sit-down restaurants. In Germany, "doner," has taken on a sandwich form, and is sold from small booths catering to takeout customers. The meat is slowly roasted on a vertical spit, sliced almost paper-thin, and then stuffed into a triangular piece of fladenbrot, topped by the vegetables. For about 60 cents more, a few slabs of feta cheese are included. The sauces - garlic or tomato-based and ranging from tangy to sharp - often vary. "The different doner booths make their own sauces according to their own recipes," says Tuncay Zulkaflu, owner of Knig Doner in Dresden. What makes "Istanbul Doner," another doner booth in Dresden and two-time winner of a magazine-sponsored survey for the city's best doner, so popular? "The sauces," answers a worker there. "It is a very special recipe, but it is a secret, so I can't say [what it is]...There are an estimated 9,300 doner vendors in Germany...As far as the doner's place on the German snack circuit, "It is equal to the bratwurst or bockwurst," says Uwe Stuhrberg, editor at Sax Magazine, which conducted the doner surveys. According to a 1998 study on doner by the Turkish Studies Center at Essen University, the average German eats eight doners per year. Not bad for a sandwich developed less than thirty years ago, when Turkish "guest workers" in Germany, who found themselves unemployed in the midst of the '70s economic crisis, starting selling doners to support their families. Back then, vendors prepared the meat themselves and sold it from street corners. It remained mainly a mom-and-pop industry until German reunification, when vendors tapped into the East German market."
---"More Germans nix kraut for kebabs," Omar Sacirbey, Christian Science Monitor, August 25, 1999, FOOD; Pg. 17
Doner University: Germany kebab qualification for students
Our research indicates Turkish-style kebabs were enjoyed in Germany in the early 19th century. These were coated with bread crumbs. Perhaps this was a forerunner?
"Small chunks of lamb, mutton and pork can be treated in the same way [placed on a spit over a moderate coal fire. As soon as the pieces, which should should not be too close together, begin to exude their fat, they should be sprinkled with a mixture of fine salt and fine breadrumbs and this should be continued until no more fat appears. If this is done carefully and not heedlessly, as happens in most kitchens, each individual piece becomes evenly coated with a crust which can be made more crunchy by an increase in heat just before serving...], rather like the delicious kebabs of Turkey, especially if slices of Spanish or Levantine onions are interspersed with the meat. Tiny branches of bay, sage, rosemary or other bitter, aromatic herbs can also be placed between the pieces of meat as long as they do not create too strong a flavour. The pieces should not be too close together. A little more salt should be applied under the breadcrumbs than is necessary for the eel and, if desired, a little of the favourite household seasoning can also be used."
---The Essence of Cookery, Karl Friedrich Von Rumohr, Translated by Barbara Yeomans, originally published in Germany in 1822 [Prospect Books:London] 1993 (p. 78)
The Horseshoe sandwich belongs to Springfield, Illinios. Local folks confirm the moniker was bestowed for the horse shoe shape of the meat. The french fries represent the nails in the shoe and the oversized platter is the anvil. The "Ponyshoe" sandwich is a smaller version.
"Ask anybody about the inventor of this cardiac-arrest concoction and you're likely to get two or three different names. Some say Joe Schweska created the first Horseshoe at the Old Leland Hotel in 1928. Others point to Steve Tomko at Wayne's Red Coach Inn as the originator. No matter, from the first bite you'll roll your eyes skyward and thank the heavens for such a creation. The Horseshoe is made by laying two pieces of toasted bread on a warm platter, then layering meat (the original recipe called for ham) over the toast. Next smother the entire plate with a rich cheese sauce and circle the platter with crispy french fries. Since its creation more than 70 years ago, many have duplicated the Horseshoe. While there are endless variations of meat and/or vegetable combinations, ranging from ham to corned beef, from bacon and egg to sauted vegetables, most agree that the key to a great Horseshoe is the cheese sauce. Some swear by beer, others use wine, still others are loyal to the Welsh rarebit sauce said to have been used in the original 1928 recipe. For a truly original dish, try the Horseshoe at many local restaurants and pubs, including Norb Andy's, Maldaner's, and D'Arcy's Pint. It's Springfield's original comfort food."
--- Springfield Illinois Convention & Visitors Bureau
"The Horseshoe has been a staple of politicans, public officals, bureaucrats, secretaries, salesmen, and Springfield residents for 50 years. It was created in 1928 at the now-defunct Leland Hotel, once the creme de la creme of late night watering holes for politicians gathered at the state capitol a few blocks away. It is simply an open face sandwich filled with any variety and combination of ingredients and topped with a sharp cheese sauce embedded with french fried potatoes. The combination is not unusual but the appearance is different and unless the diner is particularly fastidious, he can cram his mouth with a combination of meat, egg, potatoes, bread, and sauce with one sweep of a fork. "It's a real meal-in-one sandwich," says Wayne Coumbes, owner of Wayne's Red Coach Inn, which boasts it has the original Horseshoe recipe and serve 300 Horseshoes daily. A chef named Steven Tomko created the Horseshoe for the Leland and Coumbes wound up with the recipe after a series of partnerships in other restaurants, including one that Tomko once operated. "It was named after the horseshoe cut of ham. The hot, sizzler platter it's served on is supposed to represent the blacksmith's anvil and the french fries represent the nails for the horseshoe...Peggy Haynes, a cook at Norb Andy's restaurant, which has been preparing Horseshoes since the late 1950s, recalls that "when the sandwich first was made, the french fries were real thick and they only put a few of them around the edges so they looked like nails stuck in the horseshoe."..."The sauce makes the difference," says Coumbes. The original recipe calls for a white sauce made of butter and cream and a sharp cheddar cheese...At Norb Andy's, the recipe has been doctored to include a dash of white wine, "which cuts the sharpness of the cheese." And other Springfield establishments use a spash of beer to concoct their own versions. Almost every restaurant offers a choice of ham, chicken, turkey, hamburger, egg, and shrimp as a basic filling, and allows two choices without extra charge. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Horseshoes is their price. At the Red Coach Inn, the sandwich sells for $2.25...To the uninitiated palate, the most common taste among the Horseshoe variations is the ham choice, which mingles with the cheese sauce to create a food sensation similar to the Monte Cristo sandwich."
---"Du Jour: The eat horseshoes don't they? Yes, but only in Springfield, F. Richard Cioccone, Chicago Tribune, June 4, 1979 (p. B1)
Open, hot roast beef [or turkey] sandwiches slathered with gravy and served with mashed potatoes are popular in many parts of the country. They are known by different names according to region: "Roast Beef Commercials" in the upper mid-west (Minnesota), "Hot Beef," (South Dakota), "Roast Beef Manhattans" in central mid-west (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois), "Hot Roast Beef Sandwich" on both coasts. These economical belly-filling simple dishes are generally served (no matter what they're called) in working-class eateries and community dinners. Every once in a while you find hot roast beef/turkey type entrees in trendy restaurants experimenting with retro comfort fare.
Where did the idea come from? Cookbooks confirm people have been serving sliced/diced meats mixed with sauce over starches (bread, noodles, rice) for hundreds of years. This type of meal was generally served to family, as it generally used leftovers. Protein sources vary according to place and period: chipped (dried, frizzled) beef on toast was well-known by American pioneers. Many popular variations did not include meat (Welsh Rarebit, Biscuits & Gravy) or included scant pieces of meat in the gravy (ham gravy).
This 1877 recipe for "Beefsteak Toast" is not so very different from the modern version.
[1900]
"Just at present there is a big run on the hot roast beef sandwich, with the bread soaked in gravy, with gravy in the plate and gravy poured over it all. The general appearance is that of a tired ark in a gravy flood. Though unattractive to look at it eats all right, which is the main point. Certain restaurants have been charging 30 cents for it without accessories, but a new pace has been opened in a basement of Nassau Street [New York City] were the price is 20 cents, with mashed or baked potatoes and bread and butter. The saving of 10 cents and the additional provender have drawn to the cellar so large a number of the hungry that hundreds have to wait fifteen or thirty minutes for tables or counters at which to eat."
---"Popular Luncheons," Washington Post, May 16, 1900 (p. 6)
[1935]
"Hot Sandwiches. A very noticeable feature of present day catering is the sandwich--especially the hot sandwich. They are a prominent feature of popular priced and quick luch laces and may of the best hotels run one or more hot sandwiches each day. As generally made in the European plan hotel, two slices of bread are laid on a platter, side by sied; then the sliced meat is placed on the bread, over which is poured the gravy (real gravy, not the messy kind), and alongside it a garnish of mashed potatoes. When well put up, they make a nice luncheon. Suggestions for hot sandwiches:
Hot turkey sandwich, browned sweet potato.
Hot minced chicken sandwich on toast.
Hot capon sandwich, oyster sauce.
Hot fresh ham sandwich, country gravy.
Hot minced chicken sandwich, a la King.
Hot roast turkey sandwich, chicken gravy.
Hot chopped beefsteak sandwich, chili sauce.
Hot sliced chicken sandwich, egg sauce.
Hot roast beef sandwich, au jus."
---Hotel Butcher, Garde Manger and Carver, Frak Rivers [Hotel Monthly Press:Chicago] 1935 (p. 90)
What does "Commericial" mean in this context? It's one of several grades of beef defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture: "Commercial...(in U.S. Government grading of beef) graded between standard and utility."
---Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Stuart Berg Flexner, Editor in Chief [Random House:New York] second edition (p. 411)
"Ted and Dorothy Husted established Wall Drug in 1931...Diners feast on the house specialty--billed as the Hot Beef--a hot roast beef sandwich on white bread with the halves separated by a scoop of mashed potatoes and covered with right brown gravy. It's a true taste of South Dakota."
---American Sandwich: Great Eats From All 50 States, Becky Mercuri [Gibbs Smith:Salt Lake City] 2004 (p. 112)
Recipe-wise, food experts generally consider the Monte Cristo sandwich to be a simple variation of an early 20th century French dish called Croque Monsieur . According to several articles published in newspapers and magazines, Monte Cristo sandwiches were first served in southern California and were very popular in the 1950s-1970s. Therin ends the agreement. The who/what/why/where/when behind the Monte Cristo sandwich is still very much a subject of debate.
"Monte Cristo...Prepare Croque Monsieur...substituting very thinly sliced chicken for the ham and Swiss cheese for the Gruyere."
---Joy of Cooking/Irma S. Rombauer et al, [1997 edition] (p. 191)
[NOTE: the 1976 edition of this book makes no mention of Monte Cristo]
"Monte Cristo sandwich...A sandwich composed of ham, chicken, and Swiss cheese enclosed in bread that is dipped in beaten egg and fried until golden brown. The origin on the name is not known."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 209)
"A classic story deserves a classic sandwich, even though nobody knows how the sandwich got its name. It may have been invented in San Francisco in the 1950s."
---"I'm going to see a remake of "The Count of Monte Cristo...," Hartford Courant, January 24, 2002 (p. 10)
"Monte Cristo sandwich invented in the Coronado Hotel in San Diego..." [no date provided] ---"LA really is a bread basket," Los Angeles Times, December 19, 1996 (p. H13)
"...the [Blue Bayou in New Orlean's Square, Disneyland/Anaheim California] restaurant's Monte Cristo sandwich probably has been the most recognizable -- and demanded -- item on the menu since it first appeared in 1966. It hasn't changed since then," said Boll, "and it's become a standard. It's a very, very popular item. We serve about 160 to 200 of them every day. When the first one of the day comes out, everybody who sees it wants to order one. It comes close to the croque monsieur that originated in France."
---"Chef du Jour: Disney's counter of Monte Cristo," Los Angeles Times, July 15, 1993 (p. 36)
The earliest reference we find to a Monte Cristo sandwich is printed in a 1941 menu from Gordon's on Wilshire Blvd., Los Angles. We do not know how these were made.
The oldest recipe we have (so far) for the Monte Cristo sandwich was printed in The Brown Derby Cook Book, 1949. The Brown Derby restaurant is located in Los Angeles, California and is famous for serving Hollywood's elite.
"Monte Cristo Sandwich.
Take three slices of white bread. Butter the first and cover with lean baked ham and chicken. Butter the middle slice on both sides, place on meat, and cover with thinly sliced Swiss cheese. Butter the third slice and place, butter down, over cheese. Trim crusts; cut sandwich in two; secure with toothpicks; dip in light egg batter; fry in butter on all sides until golden brown. Remove toothpicks and serve with currant jelly, strawberry jam, or cranberry sauce."
---The Brown Derby Cookbook [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1949 (p. 183)
[NOTE: This sandwich appears to be a cross between a club sandwich and a toasted French-style sandwich, two very popular menu items of this period.
[1964]
"Monte Cristo
Spread slice of buttered bread with a slice of cooked hamand a sliced of cooked chicken. Cover with second slice of buttered bread. Butter top of bread and cover with thin slices Swiss cheese. Cover with third slice buttered bread. Trim, cut in half, and fasten with wooden picks. Dip into egg-milk mixture and saute in butter until golden brown on both sides."
---The Sandwich Book, Ann Seranne and Eileen Gaden [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1964 (p. 71)
An old menu from Disneyland's Tahitian Terrace restaurant features the Monte Cristo.
[NOTE: Disney didn't invent the Monte Cristo, but it is certainly responsible for introducing it to thousands of theme park visitors.]
Several popular American cookbooks published in the 1920s-60s published recipes for sandwiches which are essentially Monte Cristos [ham--sliced & deviled/turkey/chicken sandwiches dipped in egg & then fried to a tasty golden brown], under different names:
Seven Hundred Sandwiches/Florence A. Cowles [1929]
---Hot Ham Sandwich II (p. 174), Fried Cheese Sandwich (p. 180)
Prudence Penny's Cookbook/Prudence Penny--Los Angeles Examiner newspaper [1939]
---French Sandwich (p. 267); John Hall's French Fried Chicken Sandwich (p. 339)
The American Woman's Cook Book/Ruth Berlozheimer [1940]
---Suggestions for Breakfast Sandwiches (p. 155)
Toll House Tried and True Recipes/Ruth Wakefield [1947]
---Toasted Ham Sandwich (p. 245)
The Fireside Cook Book/James Beard [1949]
---French Toasted Cheese Sandwiches (p. 151)
Good Housekeeping Cook Book [1955]
---Baked Ham-And-Egg Sandwiches (p. 358)
---A Concise Encyclopedia of Gastronomy, Andre L. Simon [Harcourt, Brace and Company:New York] 1952 (p. 424)
[1961]
"Croque-Monsieur--A rather fantastic name for a kind of hot sandwich which is served as an hors d'oeurvre or as a small entree. It can also feature in a list of small dishes for lunch, tea, etc. Cut some slices 3 1/2 inches long and 2 1/4 inches wide and 1/8 inch thick, from a fresh loaf, or failing that use some stale bread. Spread with butter on one side only and lay a thin slice of Gruyere cheese on top. Put a slice of lean ham on top of the cheese, and close the sandwich. Fry till golden in a frying pan in clarified butter."
---Larousse Gastronomique, Prosper Montagne [Crown Publishers:New York] 1961(P. 324)
[1964]
"Croque Monsieur
Cut crusts form thinly sliced bread and spread each slice with a paste made by mashing shredded Swiss cheese with cream. Put two slices together with a thin lice of ham between. Dip sandwiches in egg-milk mixture and saute in hot butter until golden brown on both sides."
---The Sandwich Book, Ann Seranne and Eileen Gaden [Doubleday & Company:Garden City NY] 1964 (p. 70)
[1976]
"Croque Monsieur--Cheese Dream
'A rather fantastic name,'says Larousse Gastronomique, 'for a kind of hot sandwich which is served as an hors d'ouevre or as a small entree. It can also feature in the list of small dishes for lunch, tea, etc.' The name of fantasy is a French conceint, but the putting together of ham (or bacon) and cheese, between slices of bread which are then fried to a crusty gold, has some universality about it. New Zealanders, among others, grate the cheese and mix it with beaten egg, as does the chef at Scotland's Fortingall Hotel. It is a 'Cheese Dream' in many English-speaking regions, and there are variastions known as Croque Mademoiselle and Croque Madame--Donn Pearce's recipe, from San Francisco, includes sliced mushrooms; in Paris Simone Beck's puffy feminine version is flavored with cognac, kirsh, or rum, and both are run under the broiler at the last moment. When prepared as appetizing tidbits, the sandwiches are cut up into small mouthfuls. Here is the basic recipe we use, made with whatever cheese needs using up:
8 slices bread (Cheese Bread, page 174, is particularly good)
soft butter
about 1/3 lb. cheese
clarified butter (or equal amounts butter and cooking oil
Remove crusts from the bread slices and butter one side. Trim ham slcies to cover half the bread, place on top, then cover with cheese. (If cheese is a melting type like Mozzarella or a soft-ripened variety, simply break in pieces; a firm cheese should be sliced; a hard one should be grated and mashed with a little butter to make more meltable. Any combinations can be used.) Close the sandwiches with the other pieces of bread, butter side down, and press firmly. Heat a large skillet or pancake griddle, melt several tablespoonfuls of clarified butter (or oil and butter--straight unclarified butter will burn), and when sizzling add the Croques Monsieur. Cook on each side about 3 minutes, pressing down with the spatula and adding a little more butter before turning. Serve the golden Croques hot, cutting in quarters if they are to be used as appetizers."
---The World of Cheese, Evan Jones [Alfred A. Knopf:New York] 1976 (p. 159)
[NOTE: Happy to send the Cheese Bread referenced above.]
These exquisite works of edible art descend from practical traditions:
"Smorrebrod can be anything between heaven and earth. Primarily it consists of a piece of bread of some kind. The Danes make most use of rye bread because it is more suitable than other varieties for many of their sandwiches...Upon the bread something, generally butter, is in most cases spread. As one would expect, when the Danes spread the fine butter for which they are famous, they spread it generously. Not only because it gives them vitamin A or because they like the taste but also because fatstuffs help to keep out the cold. And keeping out the cold is important for most of the Danish year. Though butter ranks first as "the something to spread", spiced lard or pork dripping, maybe even goose or duck dripping, are often used. Not only, in the case of the pork fat, as an economy measure but because the Danes prefer fat to butter when liverpaste, salt meats and most kinds of sausage, are to be the crowning glory of the smorrebrod. When it comes to the question of what to put on the "buttered bread" (The Danish works for "butter" and "to butter" are the same as for "grease" and "to grease" so the expression "buttered bread" include bread spread with dripping of one kind or another) the only answer can be: "There is absolutely nothing edible which cannot be used for smorrebrod". The Danish town housewife patronizes the charcuterie of cooked meat shop around the corner; her country sister may bu certain kinds of pale (literally "something laid on", i.e. any fish, meat, vegetable etc. used on the buttered bread) from the butcher who brings his mobile shop to her door...Above all both town and country housewife will make use of leftovers from paleg. "Leftovers embraces anything from slices of cold pork sausage garnished with a remnant of red cabbage to slices taken from a still substantial joint of meat. It is this use of lefovers which makes smorrebrod such a useful thing to know about in order to be able to cope in an interesting yet substantial manner with those unexpected guests...The average dane has only one hot meal daily. For lunch and/or supper he eats smorrebrod."
---Oskar Davidsen book of Open Sandwiches, compiled by James R. White from traditional Danish recipes and specialties of the House of Oskar Davidsen [Host & Sons Forlag:Copenhagen], 3rd revised edition, 1962 (p. 9-10)
"The Sandwich Story Somewhere in the centre of Copenhagen there ought to be a monument to the man or woman who discovered smorrebrod, the open sandwich which is Denmark's national dish. An appropriate site would be the Town Hall end of the new Hans Andersen Boulevard, for the inventor of smorrebrod obviously had something of a fantasy of the great Danish storyteller. Alas, historians are silent as to the identity of the man wo first placed fish, fowl, meat and vegetables on a piece of buttered bread. Some Danish encyclopedias do not even list one of the most important words in the Danish language. The inventor of the smorrebrodsseddel or sandwich list is, however, known. And nobody has ever disputed that it was not untul old Oskar Davidsen acceeded to the request of young Axel Svensson to be allowed to make something amusing out of the restaurant's sandwich list that open sandwiches in all their infinite variety began to develop into what they are today...The origin of the sandwich is a subject on which even historians can but speculate. Some suggest that recognisable sandwiches were known in ancient Babylon, wothers that a rabbi contrived them for the Passover by placing bitter herbs between two slices of unleavened bread to symbolise Jewish privations in Egypt. When smorrebrod first saw the light of day is equally a matter for speculation. Certainly it appeared centuries before an Earl of Sandwich first placed pieces of meat between two slices of bread to enable his guests to eat without leaving the card table. The Danish workd simply means "buttered bread". But the origins of open sandwiches can be traced back to the days when, in Denmark as elsewhere, a round of bread served as a plate for both hot food and cold. Naturally the rich refrained from eating their plates but these, soaked in nourishing gravy from the main course, invariably found their way to the mouths of the serfs or deserving poor of the parish. And between rich and poor there was doubtless a class which ate both bread-plate and the delicacies which reposed upon it. As yet...this open sandwich could not have been known as smorrebrod for butter was still unknown in Denmark...The earliest mention of the word smorrebrod is found in the works of the playwright Ludvig Holberg (168401754) who describes the diet of the gentry as consisting of soup, salt meat or smorrebrod. No mystery, however, surrounds the invention of the smorrebrodsseddel or printed list of open sandwiches. It was Emil Bjorn, head waiter at the Copenhagen officers' club, who, when harried by shouted orders from the card tables, conceived, in 1883, the idea of lists on which the guests could mark off their requirements. Bjorn's idea was soon adopted by restaurants throughout the country, but many years were to pass before these scant lists were developed into what they are in Denmark today."
---ibid (p. 11-12)
Panini
Our survey of historic cookbooks and food articles confirm grilled sandwiches, including those cooked with special apparatus designed for the purpose, have been popular from the beginning of the 20th century forwards. Electric sandwich makers were just as intriguing to folks in the 1930s as they are they are today. Think: Grilled Cheese . Food historians generally agree panini (plural, the singular is panino), as we Americans know them today, originated in the panintecas (sandwich shops) of Italy, perhaps as early as the 1960s. Our survey of newspaper articles confirms panini origin captured American attention in the mid-1970s. As time progressed, panini evolved from upscale fare to trendy sandwiches for the masses. Industry experts credit novel combinations (ingredients/textures) and the product's *staying power* (they can be made ahead of time) for paninis modern success. In the 1990s, panini nudged their way into family restaurants and institutional menus (colleges, hospitals, airports). Sales of panini grills soared, both commercial and home versions. Frozen panini products happened.
"For centuries bread was the complete meal par excellence, until it became the support or container for a condiment or filling, without losing the identity associated with its linguistic diminutive [panino, diminutive of pane, denotes a sandwich in Itlian--Trans.]"
---Italian Cuisine: A Cultural History, Alberto Capatti & Massimo Montanari [Columbia University Press:New York] 1999 (p. 153)
"Panino..."small bread." Small sandwich. The name was apparently coined at Milan's Paninoteca Bar Quadronno. Panini cresciuti (grown rolls) are fried Sicilian potato rolls containing ham and cheese. From the Latin panis."
---The Dictionary of Italian Food and Drink, John Mariani [Broadway Books:New York] 1998 (p 177-8)
"'Panini' is the Americanized version of the Italian word panino, which means little sandwich and refers to a class of sandwiches that became popular in the United States in the late 1990s. Flavor is the key to panini, which are based on high-quality Italian artisan breads like focaccia or ciabatta. The sandwiches are layered, but not overstuffed, with flavorful combinations of cheeses, meats, or roasted vegetables. Various dressings or condiments are added, and the sandwich is pressed and lightly grilled. Panini-style sandwiches are popular in trendy restaurants throughout the United States."
---Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith editor [Oxford University Press:New York] 2004, Volume 2 (p. 235)
"[Panini] are said to have originated in Lombardy, Italy, in response to the demand among Milanese office workers for a quick lunch without sacrifice in flavor and quality. In both Italy and the United States, panini are eaten for lunch and as snacks and appetizers. In Italy, sandwich shops traditionally wrap the bottom of the panino in a crisp white paper napkin, providing a practical solution to drips while enchancing aesthetics. Quality Italian bread is an absolute must for a killer panini, and most sandwich chefs will opt for a relatively thin artisan bread like grooved focaccia or ciabatta, slicing it in half horizontally. Panini are always grilled, so most restaurants and cafes have invested in professional grooved sandwich presses that flatten and heat the sandwich while creating a crunch, buttery outer crust."
---American Sandwich: Great Eats from all 50 States, Becky Mercuri [Gibbs Smith:Salt Lake City UT] 2004 (p. 81)
The earliest print reference we find for panini (as a food) in an American newspapers is 1956. We cannot tell from the article if the panini served at this fair is the same as the one commonly found in contemporary menus.
[1954]
"The visitors ate Italian sausage, also pizze fritta, zeppole, calzone, torrone, panini, pepperoni, taralli."
---"Old World Festival in East Harlem," New York Times, July 25, 1954 (p. SM 22)
[1976]
"Another attraction, even for northern Italian visitors to Rome, is the nice price of a meal, now even nicer...Most cafe-bars serve sandwiches--which may be called tramezzini, panini, or medaglioni, depending on their composition..."
--"Revel in Rome's Unholy Year '76," Los Angeles Times, March 7, 1976 (p. G7)
[1976]
"By noon today it is probable that lines will already be forming at the brand new Caffe Orsini, opening at 11:30 this morning at Bonwit Teller's second floor, overlooking 57th Street. Luxuriously decorated with rough white plaster walls, tomato-pink upholstered banquettes, tile inlaid tables and polychromed wooden wall sconces and frames, this Continental style coffee house is an offspring of Orsini's restaurant on 56th Street. The menu will offer stylish Italianate salads and panini sandwiches..."
---"Food and Style: Shoppers Find Both in Store Restaurants," Mimi Sheraton, New York Times, October 7, 1976 (p. 77)
[1982]
"Speaking of Italian foods, many readers wrote in about an earlier reference to "panini." I stated that the only recipe for panini that I could uncover in my research was for panini di pasqua, or Easter Breads. Panini, I was told is simply the plural of the Italian panino, an overall word for rolls. One reader wrote that "the sandwiches you get on small rolls in cafes in Italy are 'panini imbotiti' - stuffed rolls.""
---"Q & A," New York Times, April 14, 1982, (p. C8)
[1985]
"The restaurant also makes a pungently flavorful lasagna, the thin sheets of pasta layered with cheese and so barely sauced that it is reminiscent of the spare food that Kleiman popularized at Verdi. This is not the southern Italy that comes out of No. 10 cans of tomatoes, but the southern Italy of light-handed cooks. There are calzone, both fried and baked (I found the fried version rather bland), and a whole range of wonderful panini, Italian sandwiches stuffed into crusty home-made rolls."
---"Ethinic Places Serve Foods That They Love Best," Ruth Reichl, Los Angeles Times, Jan 13,1985 (p. 86)
[1995]
"I'll bet a hundred bucks that panino, the Italian word for sandwich, will soon slip off your tongue like honey. Pretty soon, you'll start noticing restaurant menus and sandwich shops featuring panini (plural) exclusively. You'll find them at such places as the MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) cafe, Il Panino, in the new downtown museum complex, and at a spot in Beverly Hills called Giannino's. You'll see them on the menu at Il Piccolino and at Angeli Caffe, both in Los Angeles, and you'll see them at picnics and party buffets.An Italian might shrug if you ask the origin of panino. Said Celestino Drago, who operates Il Panino, "No one ever asks where or how they came about. They are just there." In Italy, panini are everywhere. They are fast food eaten on the run, to and from work, on the job, in train stations, in cars on the street. Sky-high piles of panini are packed in glass cases at almost every bakery and coffee shop for the hordes who want to grab a bite before or after work or a movie. Mothers pack them in schoolchildren's lunch bags. The ever-growing numbers of young, fast food lovers in Italy, called paninari, prefer the social scene at sandwich shops and McDonald's golden arches to the family dinner table, where every family member should be, but no longer is, to the chagrin of traditionalists bemoaning the disintegration of the Italian family fiber. In Milan, upscale paninotecas have emerged only in the last five years as havens for gourmet sandwich-eaters, who stand at tables to nibble on such fillings as duck or wild boar prosciutto while sipping fine wine. In Los Angeles, the panino has just begun to find a place among those who enjoy Italian flavors and great bread. For it's the bread that distinguishes every panino. The word derives from the word pane, meaning bread. There are dozens of different types of bread used for panini. Every region in Italy boasts a specialty. In Tuscany, you'll find michetta, a roll with a hole in middle, a strong favorite, whereas in Milan the specialty is rosetta, a rosette-shaped roll, and in Genoa it is focaccia, a flatbread with baked-on flavorings such as pesto, garlic butter and onions. The rolls may be elongated, round, square or flat. They may be seasoned or not. We give a few recipes for dough typically used in panini, but you can also use store-bought rolls and loaves found in fancy food shops as well as the neighborhood supermarket. Some Italian bakeries such as Il Fornaio in Beverly Hills and Santa Monica carry several popular panino varieties used by Il Panino, including michetta and ciabatta. Kaiser rolls, onion rolls and the like are ideally suited for panini. Square loaves such as pane in cassetta, ideal for grilling, can easily be substituted with firm-textured white or wheat bread. In Italy, with the exception perhaps of those found at paninotecas in Milan, panino fillings tend to be traditional types-sausage, roast peppers, cheeses, tomatoes, vegetables, mortadella, salamis and other sausages. In Sicily, veal and chicken cutlets are slapped between two pieces of bread. Roast peppers are also a popular panino filling. The panini appearing in Los Angeles, however, are something else. "They are not as fancy as those you'd find at the paninotecas in Milan, because we want to educate slowly, but they are interesting," Drago said. Actually, anything goes. At the MOCA cafe, Il Panino, Drago has introduced eight sandwich fillings that are California variations on the traditional Italian theme. In a sandwich called Milano, sliced turkey is served with California goat cheese, avocado, sun-dried tomatoes, and arugula. A smoked salmon and mascarpone cheese filling is garnished with salmon roe, capers and chives. Evan Kleiman, chef and co-owner of Angeli, a California-style Italian restaurant, fell in love with the sandwiches on her first visit to Italy at the age of 16 and does take-offs on traditional themes. "You open your mind to what is put in between two pieces of bread," she said. A sandwich Kleiman has called panino rustico contains chicken salad, dressed with Dijon mustard and arugula. This and other fillings such as roast pork are found in her book, "Cucina Fresca," co-authored with Viana La Place (Harper & Row: 1985). The roast pork is seasoned with Dijon mustard and topped with pickled onions. Dino Baglioni of Il Piccolino restaurant in Los Angeles serves several types of panini, including some using long, tapered rolls and round ones. They may be filled with red and green peppers and sausages; veal scaloppine with mozzarella cheese or ricotta cheese with prosciutto. There is also a sandwich made with smoked salmon, horseradish and capers. At Giannino's, the paninoteca in Beverly Hills, the sandwiches are simple and basic. Nothing fancy here. The sandwich called Godfather contains ham, mortadella, provolone and mixed peppers; the Capone has capocollo (sausage) and mixed peppers, and the tachinello contains smoked turkey and Swiss cheese." Panino Translated as "little loaf," panino is known throughout Italy as a sandwich you pick up on the go. Now panini are here in Los Angeles to delight the palate and expand the
---"Sandwich Repertoire," Rose Dosti, Los Angeles Times, Jul 23, 1987 (p. 1)
[1995]
"Just watch. In coffee bars, cafes and delis everywhere, soon you'll hear: "Give me a grilled veggie panino." The distinctive little sandwich familiar at way stations on Italian autostradas, the pressed panino (panini in the plural) is gaining a foothold in Washington. Picture a good old grilled cheese, but without the grease, layered with sauteed vegetables or deli meats or a combination. Light, flavorful and, yes, oh-so-trendy, panini (like coffee bars) have leap-frogged across the country. From Seattle to Chicago to Dallas, hot pressed sandwiches, made with focaccia or rustic bread, striped with grill marks, are a have-to-have with that latte. "People want a little something other than sweets at a coffee bar," says Joel Edwards, president of Issaquah, Washington State-based Caffe Andiamo, which manufactures a panini press called Pane Bella Grill. "And for cafe owners panini are a way to attract that 11-to-2 customer base." Edwards credits Nordstrom stores with spreading the craze eastward. All Nordstrom espresso bars feature pressed panini. "What's unique is the press itself," says restaurant consultant Mark Caraluzzi, co-owner of Bistro Bistro and D'Angelo. "It's a gentle heat that crisps the bread but steams the inside so it doesn't dry out." Grill stripes, Caraluzzi contends, let the customer know his sandwich was not browned in a puddle of oil. "We are the grilling country," he says."
---"Let Them Eat Panini," Walter Nicholls, The Washington Post, July 5, 1995, (p. E11)
[2002]
"Panini grills have been around for more than 100 years, but were generally ignored in the United States until the Italian grilled sandwiches made with them began to show up in carryout shops and on restaurant menus. Now these grills are set to become the Belgian-waffle irons of the 21st century. Two years ago, I couldn't find anything called a panini grill. Suddenly, there are all kinds of possibilities. Eat your heart out, Dagwood. Panini are nothing more than grown-up cheese-and-meat sandwiches toasted on a ridged grill that has a weighted top to press down the sandwich to the thickness of a waffle. It is that weighted top that seems to draw men to panini grills. They are the functional equivalent of something you might cook with in the yard. ''Men have taken to the panini grill like they took to barbecue,'' said Michael Chiarello, the host of a cooking show on public television that is based in the Napa Valley. ''Guys just want a general concept of a recipe -- bread and stuff,' he said. ''They don't want to measure anything.'"
---"Presses New and Old Prove That Panini Aren't Picky," Marian Burros, New York Times, July 17, 2002, (p.F6).
Bread of choice for panini? Ciabatta . Compare with
Who invented this popular sandwich, why & when? The when is easy to document, the why is a relatively simple matter of technology, economics & commerce. The who? Is still a mystery.
Let's start with a quick study of the ingredients. Food historians tell us that finely chopped nuts (especially almonds) were regularly used by ancient cooks in a variety of dishes. BUT! It wasn't until the late 19th century that peanut butter...as we know it...came on the market. Did you know that peanut butter was first marketed as a health food? Ancient cooks also knew how to preserve fruit. BUT! It wasn't until the 15th century that modern jellies/jams/preserves were made. Ancient cooks also made bread. BUT! Sliced pre-packaged bread...the stuff we Americans use today to make our peanut butter & jelly sandwiches...didn't happen until the late 1920s. Interesting, yes? More notes on the history of PB&J ingredients:
sliced white bread .
"The first located reference to the now immortal peanut butter and jelly sandwich was published by Julia Davis Chandler in 1901. This immediately became a hit with America's youth, who loved the double-sweet combination, and it has remained a favorite ever since...During the early 1900s peanut butter was considered a delicacy and as such it was served at upscale affairs and in New York's finest tearooms. Ye Olde English Coffee House made a "Peanut Butter and Pimento Sandwich." The Vanity Fair Tea-Room served its peanut butter with watercress...The Colonia Tea-Room served peanut butter on toast triangles and soda crackers. That peanut butter could be combined with so many divers products demonstrated that it was a relatively neutral platform providing a nutty taste and a sticky texture that bound together various ingredients.
Peanut butter sandwiches moved down the class structure as the price of peanut butter declined due to the commercialization of the industry. Peanut butter's use also moved down the age structure of the nation as manufacturers added sugar to the peanut butter, which appealed to children. The relationship between children and peanut butter was cemented in the late 1920s, when Gustav Papendick invented a process for slicing and wrapping bread. Sliced bread meant that children could make sandwiches themselves without slicing the bread with a potentially dangerous knife. As a consequence of low cost, high nutrition, and ease of assembling, peanut butter sandwiches became one of the top children's meals during the Depression. "
---Peanuts: The Illustrious History of the Goober Pea, Andrew F. Smith [University of Illinois Press:Urbana] 2002 (p. 35)
[NOTE: this book is the BEST source for information on the history of peanuts & peanut butter. It is well researched and copiously documented. Ask your librarian to help you find a copy].
"Peanut butter sandwiches moved down the class structure as the price of peanut butter declined. After the invention of sliced bread in the 1920s, children could make their own sandwiches without using a sharp knife. The combination of these two factors helped make peanut butter sandwiches one of the top children's meals in America. Beginning in the 1920s, manufacturers lobbied school cafeterias to buy inexpensive peanut butter. Its flavor was liked by children, and minimum time and equipment were required to prepare it."
---"Peanut Butter," Encyclopedia of Food and Culture, Solomon H. Katz, editor in chief [Thomson Gale:Detroit] 2003, Volume 3 (p. 56) (p. 12)
In the 1920s peanut butter sandwiches were quite adventuresome.
[1923]
"Suggestions for Various Beech-Nut Peanut Butter Sandwiches.
1. One half cupful of Beech-Nut Peanut Butter and aof finely chopped seeded rasiins moistened with two tablespoonfuls of lemon juice.
2. One half cupful each of Beech-Nut Peanut Butter and stoned chopped prunes moistened with two tablespoonfuls of orange juice.
3. Spread slics of bread generously with Beech-Nut Peanut Butter then fill with thick slices of tomato which have been allowed to stand in French dressing for fifteen minutes.
4. Spread slices of bread with Beech-Nut Peanut Butter and fill with chopped celery mixed with one tablespoonful of minced pimientos to each cupful of celery and a little salad dresing. Season with salt and paprika.
5. Blend together equal quantities of Beech-Nut Peanut Butter and cream cheese, spread on slices of bread, lay lettuce leaves moistened wtih French dressing on half the slices, sprinkle generously with stuffed olives and cover with the remaining slices of bread.
6. Spread slices of thinly buttered bread with Beech-Nut Peanut Butter, then with Beech-Nut Orange Marmalade and ccut into finger lengths. These sandwiches are also very delicious toasted before being cut."
---The Beech-Nut Book: A Book of Menus And Recipes, Ida Bailey Allen [Beech-Nut Packing Co.:Canajoharie N.Y.] 1923 (p. 22)
[1928]
Peanut Butter and Apricot Sandwich
Peanut and Pimento Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Raisin Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Apple Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Salted Peanut Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich
Peanut Salad Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Cabbage Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Orange Sandwich (orange juice & peel)
Peanut Butter amd Marshmallow Sandwich
Peanutpine Sandwich (peanut butter, honey, walnuts, lettuce, pineapple)
Peanut Butter and Prune Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Ham Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Tomato Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Pickle Sandwich
Pimcel Sandwich (celery, pimento, salad dressing, salt & paprika)
Peanut Butter and Ginger Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Currant Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Maple Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Honey Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Strawberry Sandwich (strawberry jam)
Egg and Peanut Butter Sandwich
Peanut Butter & Cherry Sandwich
Dixieland Sandwich (roasted peanuts, fried bacon, pimentos & salad dressing)
Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich
Peanut and Lettuce Sandwich
Southern Sandwich (tomatoes, mayonnaise & salted peanuts on whole wheat)
Peanut Butter and Chili Sandwich (on wheat)
Peanut Butter, Cheese, and Olive Sandwich
Peanut Butter and Olive Sandwich (with mayo on white or rye)
Peanutraise Sandwich (raisins, peanut butter, brown sugar, salt, lemon juice & orange juice)
---Seven Hundred Sandwiches, Florence A. Cowles [Little,Brown:New York]
Peanuts (aka ground-nuts, ground-peas, goober peas) are a new world food. Archaeological evidence suggests the first peanut butters (ground peanuts, really) were made by Ancient South American Indians. Peanuts were introduced to the the Old World by European explorers. These nuts thrived in Africa. Historians tell us that peanuts were introduced to North America by Europeans via Africa.
Peanut butter, as we know it today, was introduced in the second half of the 19th century. It was originally promoted as a health food. Nut butters were valued for their high protein content and easy digestion. Peanut butter was a perfect alternative to meat in a time when the industry was rife with public health concerns. At first, peanut butter was a food known mostly to wealthy people who frequented health spas. Before long, the product was available to the public at large, though companies targeted their promotions to the upper classes. Recipes for early 20th century fancy tea sandwiches sometimes included "nut butter." When that market was saturated, companies began adding sugar to make the product more appealing to children. Bingo! The popularity of the product soared and to this day is a staple in most American pantries. Peanut butter & jelly sandwiches & Peanut butter cookies have become standard American fare.
Food historians currently entertain several theories regarding the origin (invention, if you will) of peanut butter. While ground peanuts were used by native Amercans and Africans early on, John Harvey Kellogg (of Battle Creek Michigan cereal fame) was the first person to obtain an American patent for the process [1895]. In the late 19th century many American households owned grinders for coffee and meat. Special grinders were also made purposely for grinding nuts.
"Early peanut butters had several problems. The first was that peanut oil has a melting point below room temperature. Gravity separated the oil, which then oxidized and turned rancid. Likewise, salt added to the peanut butter separated and crystallized. Grocers received peanut butter in tubs or pails and were advised to use a wooden paddle to stir it frequently...During the early years of the twentieth century, William Norman, an English chemist, invented a method of saturating unsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, thus preventing them from turning rancid. In 1922, Joseph L. Rosefield...applied these principles to peanut butter. He developed a process to prevent oil separation and spoilage in peanut butter. He removed 18 percent of the liquid oil and replaced it with an equal amount of hydrogenated oil, which was solid at room temperature. The result was a semisolid peanut butter; no oil rose to the surface. The peanut butter was thick and creamy and did not stick to the roof of the mouth as much as previous products. Hydrogenated oil permitted a finer grinding of peanuts, which prevented the salt from separating from the peanut butter...Rosefield selected the name 'Skippy' for his new peanut butter. Most likely, the name was derived from a children's comic strip also called 'Skippy...Rosefield introduced creamy and chunky-style peanut butter in 1932. Three years later, the company inaugurated its first wide-mouth peanut-butter jar, which became the industry standard...Peanut butter was born at the end of the nineteenth century as a health and vegetarian food, but by the 1920s it was a major national product...In less than twenty-five years, peanut butter evolved from a hand ground delicacy to a mass-produced commercial commodity sold in almost every grocery store in America. it was employed in virtually every type of food from soups, salads, sauces, and main courses to desserts and snacks of every description. Peanut butter was versatile, inexpensive, available, and ready to use. Its makers appealed to children, who could make their own sandwiches and other peanut butter treats."
---Peanuts: The Illustrious History of the Goober Pea, Andrew F. Smith [University of Illinois Press:Urbana] 2002 (p. 42-44)
Ella Eaton Kellogg's recipe:
Peanut Butter.--A nut butter mill is desirable for the preparation of nut butter at home. If one designed for the purpose is not obtainable, a coffee or hand wheat mill may be used. Blanch the nuts, but do not roast and grind. The meal thus prepared may be cooked by putting it (dry) in the inner cup of a double boiler and cooking as directed for grains, for eight or ten hours. As it is required for use, add water to make of the desired consistency, and cook again for a few minutes, just long enough to bring out the essential oil of the nuts. Water may be added as soon as the nuts are ground, and the mixture placed in a covered bean pot and baked from eight to ten hours in a moderate oven, if preferred."
---Science in the Kitchen, Mrs. Ella Eaton Kellogg [Modern Medicine Publishing Co.:Battle Creek, MI] 1895 (p. 395)
Early promotional literature
"What is the element generally most lacking in the diet of children? Protein or muscle making foods, and vitamine or protective foods. But children are largely goverened by intelligence, and if the right foods are put within their reach they will usually choose the. So keep a jar of Beech-Nut Peanut Butter on your table at all three meals. You will find that the youngsters will love and freely eat it. ou can then feel sure that they will be properly feeding their muscles and stocking their bodies with protective vitamines. Spread slices of bread with Beech-Nut Peanut Butter ready for the children before they are called to the table, and you won't have to coak them to eat."
---The Beech-Nut Book: A Book of Menus And Recipes, Ida Bailey Allen [Beech-Nut Packing Co.:Canajoharie N.Y.] 1923 (p. 12)
Popeye Brand, May 1965, for a variety of sensible reasons.
[1965]
"It starts out as a sturdy jar of peanut butter; it ends up as a lightweight storage unit or bouncing toy. These are some of the qualities attributed to the new unbreakable jar used to package this classic American nut spread...Other virtues possessed by the polyethylene jar include kitchen safety and lower consumer prices resulting from reduced shipping costs. It also adds outdoor convenience when picnicking, traveling and camping. First national distribution of 'bouncing' peanut butter is in a 28-ounce jar size. The container itself weighs one ounce, compared to eight ounces for a glass container of comparable size, and saves six pounds per case in total shipping weight. Transportation saving plus elimination of breakage and handling costs enable the plastic jar of peanut butter to be priced from five to ten cents lower to the consumer, according to the manufacturer. This high-density, blow-molded poly container is tinted in a peanut butter shade, closed with a continuous thread metal top and labeled with foil. The trade name for 'bouncing' peanut butter is Popeye, a product of the Sussex Foods, Inc. Everett Mass." ---"World of New Foods-Plastic Peanut Butter Jar," Daily Gleaner [Kingston Jamaica], dateline New York, August 26, 1965 (p. 18)
"All this time the [Leavitt Corporation of Everett. Mass.] had 'harbored the hope of getting into the peanut butter business in its own right. Mr. [Jean Paul] Weinstein said; So they bought Sussex Foods, Inc., which held the rights to the Popeye name for its product. Again, some sort of fund approach was sought, and in May the company came out with Popeye peanut butter that bounced. Actually, you can't bounce the peanut butter, but you can bounce the container--because it's made of pliable plastic. The Sussex division is on a three-shift basis, now Mr. Weinstein reports, because Popeye peanut butter is bouncing right off the store shelves as fast as they can be put there."
---"Advertising: Another Day in the Nut World," Walter Carlson, New York Times, August 22, 1965 (p. F12)
[1966]
"Bemis ingenuity licks three more problems for industry!...a peanut butter jar that weighs one ounce and won't break...Blow Molded Plastic Containers. One large company got the jump on the competition by being the first to package peanut butter in this lightweight, shatterproof plastic jar, designed, colored and manufactured by Bemis. As a bonus benefit, the manufacturer also reduced his shipping costs substantially. (The new jar is eight times lighter than convention ones.) And it bounces when dropped! No mess from Mom, no cut fingers for Junior. A good peanut butter jar! And we can design and manufacture plastic jars that are just as good for mayonnaise, mustard and other foods."
---display ad, Bemis Company, Inc., [Minneapolis] Wall Street Journal, January 28, 1966 (p. 9)
[What did these early jars look like? "Pik Nik" brand.]
Recommended reading:Creamy & Crunchy: an informal history of peanut butter, the all-American food/Jon Krampner (2013)
[NOTE: This book suggests George Bayle's snack food product may have predated Battle Creek Sanitarium health food. Food for thought.]
[NOTE: This book contains both Fern Snider's (1956) as well as Jane Palmer's (1976) Reuben recipes.]
The �birth� of the Reuben Sandwich. As we know it today. The first National Sandwich Contest , sponsored by the Midwest-based Wheat Flour Institute, selects the �Reuben� for first place winner. Note the thinness of the finished product. NYC deli owners prided themselves on �skyscraper high� sandwiches. This one is strikingly level, like the vast plains of Nebraska:
Reuben
Enriched Russian Rye Bread, 144 slices
Thousand Island dressing, 5 lb, 2 � qt.
Cheese, Swiss, 1-oz slices, 6 lb., 96 slices
Sauerkraut, 1 qt.
Corned beef, �-oz slices, 6 lb. 192 spices.
Method of Preparation
Spread bread with Thousand Island dressing.
On each of 96 slices arrange 1 cheese slice, a scant No. 60 scoop of kraut, and 2 slices of corned beef.
Stack these slices to form 48 sandwiches.
Close the remaining bread slices and fasten with wooden picks.
Grill to order on both slices until browned. Cut diagonally in thirds. Garnish with French fried potatoes.
---Winning Sandwiches for Menu Makers From the National Sandwich Idea Contest, Kathleen M. Thomas, director of Home Economics, Wheat Flour Institute editor [Cahners Books International:Boston] 1976 (p. 30)
[NOTE: the preface of this book states: �The Contest That Gave us the Reuben. For over twenty years the skill of sandwich makers throughout America�s hotel, restaurant, and institutional industry has been encouraged and recognized by the granddaddy of all recipe contests, the National Sandwich Idea Contest� The recipes in this book represent the best of twenty years of sandwich competition, starting with the champion of the first contest in 1956, the now ubiquitous �Reuben.�� (p.2)]
Sloppy joes
During the second half of the nineteenth century ground beef gained popularity in America because it was both economical and nourishing. Recipes for Hamburg Steaks (aka hamburgers) were included in many popular American cookbooks. Cooks often added inexpensive fillers (bread crumbs, ketchup, tomato paste, eggs, sweet peppers, minced onions, Worcestershire sauce, bottled horseradish, pickle relish, mustard, salt & pepper were the most popular) to stretch the meat. This ground beef mixture was then fashioned into meatballs, meat loaves, hamburger stew, and loose meat sandwiches.
Early 20th century American cookbooks offer plenty of sloppy-joe type recipes, though they go by different titles: Toasted Deviled Hamburgers, Good Housekeeping Cook Book, Katharine Fisher [1944] (p. 534); Chopped Meat Sandwiches, Young America's Cook Book, Home Institute of the New York Herald Tribune [1940] (p. 36); Hamburg a la Creole, Prudence Penny's Cookbook, [1939] (p.67); Beef Mironton, The New Butterick Cook Book, Flora Rose [1924] (p. 266); Minced Beef Spanish Syle, Mrs. Rorer's New Cook Book, Sarah Tyson Rorer [1902] (p.157).
Where do sloppy joes fit in?
"The origins of this dish are unknown, but recipes for the dish date back at least to the 1940s. It dates in print to 1935. There is probably no Joe after whom it is named--but its rather messy appearance and tendency to drip off plate or roll makes "sloppy" an adequate description, and "Joe" is an American name of proletarian character and unassailable genuineness. There are many individual and regional variations on the dish. In Sioux City, Iowa, a dish of this type is called a "loosemeat sandwich," created in 1934 at Ye Olde Tavern Inn by Abraham and Bertha Kaled."
--- Encyclopedia of American Food & Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p.297).
"Sloppy Joes...I remember eating these in the 1940s and suspect they may have been a way of stretching precious ground beef during World War II. Apparently not. My friend and colleague Jim Fobel tells me that in his own quest to trace the origin of the Sloppy Joe, he talked to Marilyn Brown, Director of the Consumer Test Kitchen at H.K. Heinz in Pittsburgh (the Heinz "Joe," not surprisingly, is reddened with ketchup). Brown says their research at the Carnegie Library suggests that the Sloppy Joe began in a Sioux City, Iowa, cafe as a "loose meat sandwich" in 1930, the creation of a cook named Joe..."
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 349)
The state of Iowa does seem to have a history of loose meat sandwiches:
"Sloppy Joe's...any cheap restaurant or lunch counter serving cheap food quickly, since 1940."
---Dictionary of American Slang, Wentworth & Flexner, 2nd supp. edition (p. 488)
"Sloppy...[definition 6] Sloppy Joe, sloppy joe (a) used...to designate a loose-fitting sweater; (b) U.S. a kind of hamburger in which the minced-beef filling is made into a kind of meat sauce;...." [this source traces the phrase *sloppy joe* as it relates to food only as far back as 1961].
---Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office's TESS trademark database yields 100+ matches on the phrase "sloppy joe," none of which are conclusive.
The earliest recipe we find so far for sloppy joes was printed in 1963:
1/2 lb ground beef
1 can (1 lb) beans and ground beef in barbecue sauce
1/4 cup catsup
3 hamburger buns, split and toasted
1. In medium skillet, saute meat, stirring, until it loses its red color.
2. Add beans and catsup, mixing well. Simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Spoon mixture over buns.
---McCall's Cook Book, (p. 625)
Recipe from the McCormick Company, manufacturers of prepackaged Sloppy Joes seasoned mixes
Want to make your own sloppy joes? You will find several recipes listed in RecipeSource . Just run a search on "sloppy joe." You will also find a recipe for sloppy joes in recent editions of The Joy of Cooking, Irma S. Rombauer
Submarine sandwich
Food historians generally agree the modern American sub , hero , wedge , hoagie , grinder, Po'Boy, Rich Girl, gondola, torpedo, zepplin..and their heated cousins Philly cheese steak & Chicago Italian beef are regional variations on the same culinary theme. Vietnamese Banh Mi are current trend. These overstuffed meat, cheese and vegetable oblong-shaped foods nestled between thick Italian or chewy French bread were recipes built on local culinary traditions and ethnic preference. Six-foot sandwiches surface in New York City, circa 1950s.
Old-world filled breads ( calzones, empanadas, pasties, &c. ) were introduced to America in the 19th century by immigrant laborers. The classic "Sub" (salami, cheese, peppers, olives, oil) was introduced to America by immigrants from Southern Italy in the early part of the 20th century. The progenitor of the sub was probably the muffolette . After World War II Italian food gained popularity with mainstream America. Over time, the sub assimilated. This accounts for the use of other meats (turkey, roast beef), cheese (American, Swiss), vegetables (lettuce, tomato) and spreads (mayonnaise, mustard).
---"The Noblest Sandwich of the All," Richard Gehman, Saturday Evening Post, January 1, 1955 (p. 16+)
"Pizzerias may have been among the first Italian-American eateries, but even at the turn of the century distinctions were clear-cut as to what constituted a true ristorante. To be merely a pizzamaker was to be at the bottom of the culinary and social scale; so many pizzeria owners began offering other dishes, including the 'hero' sandwich (also, depending on the region of the United States, called a 'wedge,' a 'hoagie,' a 'sub,' or a 'grinder') made on a Italian loaf of bread with lots of salami, cheese, and peppers."
---America Eats Out, John Mariani [Morrow:New York] 1991 (p. 66)
"I happened to glance through a column that appeared in the New York Times [1957]...in which Manganaro's, the famed food establishment at 492 Ninth Avenue in Manhattan, staked a claim to the original hero. That may be open to debate, but I was interested in that store's beginnings, which I had never read before. "In 1905...James Manganaro, who had been making whale-sized sandwiches of prosciutto and French bread to nourish himself on all-day fishing trips, came from Italy to New York to join his cousin in the grocery business. ..It was James Manganaro who branched into the sandwich business, making them the same way he liked a sandwich--big."
---Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Food Encyclopedia, Craig Claiborne [Times Books:New York] 1985 (p. 212)
Each sub-type sandwich has it's own naming story. Some can be substantiated, others are fine examples of culinary lore.
"During World War II, the commissary of the United States Navy's submarine base in Groton, Connecticut, ordered five hundred hero sandwiches a day from Benedetto Capaldo's Italian deli in New London, where the name 'sub' was soon applied to the item." ---America Eats Out, John Mariani [Morrow:New York] 1991 (p. 114-5)
According the the Oxford English Dictionary, the first print reference for the word "submarine," as it applies to this sandwich, was published in 1955 . That article makes no reference to Capaldo's. The earliest print reference we find stating the word "sub" dates to World War II is this:
"The good folks fo Groton have posted a sign, "You are Entering the Submarine capital of the World," to eliminate confusion, because some people believe that New London, across the Thames River, is the sub capital. And it is, sort of. It's the capital of submarine sandwiches, being the birthplace of that wonderfullly portable meal, introduced to the world by New London's own Benedetto Capaldo. What had originally been a "grinder" because of the way you had to chew to get through the Italian bread became a "sub" during World War II. By then the submarine base commissary was ordering almost 500 sandwiches a day, and Benny had to hire four helpers to stuff the submarine-shaped loaves with salami, tomatoes, cheese, and lettuce. When the sailors eventually left town, they took their discover with them. The Naval Sub Base, usually referred to as the "New London Sub Base," really is in Groton, which long ago was part of New London."
---"The Submarine Capitals of the World," Jamie Kageleiry, Yankee, March 1990 (p. 86) [NB: Local words are sometimes used many years before they hit national print.]
Notes from the Reference Librarians @New London (CT) Public Library confirm Capaldo's:
...searched our old city directories during the World War II time period and found that Benedetto Capaldo was a grocer and his store was located at 357 Bank Street from 1939 - 1943 and then later at 370 Bank Street (1944 - 1954). Presently, 357 Bank Street is a restaurant called Hot Rod Cafe. There is no current lisitng for 370 Bank Street. It appears that 1948 was the last year Benedetto Capaldo was listed in the city directory. Unfortunately, we don't have an index for the newspaper, so I won't be able to search the papers. ...looked through one of the books we have on the history of New London and found a little bit of information. This is from Reinventing New London by John Ruddy, " Legend has it that the New York Fruit Store on Shaw Street was the birthplace of the Italian grinder in the 1920s. Benedetto Capalbo (different spelling), the owner, was reputed to be the first in America to make the famous sandwich, known varioulsy as the hero, hoagie, and sub. Fifty years later, a suggestion that the building belonged on the National Register of Historic Places was met with snickers, and it was torn down."
"Wedge (for the shape of the sandwich, usually cut at an angle) is another common alternative for hero..."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 154)
"To the Editor: Your article ''In Hoagieland, They Accept No Substitutes'' (May 28) and the many names for a sandwich on hero bread brought to mind an experience I had in Brooklyn. I have lived in Yonkers all of my life, and we refer to the hero/hoagie/grinder/submarine as a wedge. When I went to a coffee shop in Brooklyn, they had a sign listing meatballs as a sandwich special of the day, and I ordered a meatball wedge and they hand't a clue as to what I was talking about!"
---New York Times, Jun 4, 2003. pg. F.8
"Westchester: Wedge Sandwich
A regional sandwich name in Westchester (Yonkers) for the hero/sub/hoagie is "wedge." Again, I checked the telephone directories.
Yonkers, Mt. Vernon, Bronxville, Tuckahoe
YELLOW PAGES
---"ABOUT PHILIDELPHIA," William Robbins, New York Times, Aprril 17, 1984, (p. A14)
"Settlers from Naples, Sicily, Calabria and Abruzzo poured into South Philadelphia in the 1880's and 1890's, and in the 1950's singers like Mario Lanza, Frankie Avalon, Fabian and Bobby Rydell sprang from these hard streets...According to those who have explored the murky recesses of local food history, hoagies owe their name to the Hog Island shipyard on the Delaware River. During the Depression, or so the story goes, construction workers there used to buy Italian sandwiches from a luncheonette operated by one Al DePalma, who called them ''hoggies.'' Time changed the name to hoagies. Hoagies are not fundamentally different from New York's heroes or Boston's grinders or Everytown's submarines. Call them what you like, but Philadelphia must eat more per capita than anyplace else, and in a city where almost everybody, including Wawa convenience stores, fills eight-inch-long bread rolls with cold cuts, South Philadelphia fills them better than anyone. The bread is the key to quality. So who better to make a great hoagie than a great bakery? That would be Sarcone's, a fixture on Ninth Street, which a few years ago opened a tiny deli a few doors away. Its Old Fashioned Italian (Gourmet) hoagie is a minor masterpiece. A roll with a crunchy seeded crust and a soft, yet densely chewy, interior provides a solid base with plenty of absorptive power. Both are sorely needed after they pile on the prosciutto, coppa, spicy sopressata, provolone, oregano, tomatoes, onions, hot peppers, oil and vinegar."
---"In Hoagieland, They Accept No Substitutes," R. W. APPLE Jr.., New York Times, May 28, 2003, (p. F1)
"Phillufia, or Philly, which is what we kids called the city, was where the epicurean delight made with cold cuts, cheese, tomatoes, pickles, and onions stuffed into a long, hard-crusted Italian bread loaf was invented. The creation of that sandwich took place in tile Italian pushcart section of the city, known as Hog Island. Some linguists contend that it was but a short leap from Hog Island to hoagie. while others claim that the label hoagie arose because only a hog had the appetite or technique to eat one properly."
---"What Did You Say?," Richard Lederer, USA Today, July 2009, (p. 52)
This oversized party food is attributed to the Manangaro family, whose Italian food shops were located at on Ninth Avenue, New York City. References to the sandwich first surface in the mid-1950s. The original sandwich cost $28.50, weighed between 22 & 25 pounds, served between 40-50 people, and was presented on a board crafted for the purpose. Who was responsible for the invention? Therein lies the rub which caused a family feud of epic proportions. Two brothers, Sal and Jimmy Dell'O'rto (direct descendants of the original Manganaro proprietor) claim the honor. Another story credits an unnamed publicist hired to promote the family business.
[1959]
"A Ninth Avenue sandwich shop is offering something different: a 25-pound 'Hero' sandwich six-feet long. Salvatore Dell'Orto said he made one for a customer who wanted something unusual. Since then four others have placed orders. The king-size, multiingredient sandwiches cost $28, are one-foot wide- and are delivered on a board."
---"Six-Foot Sandwich Built in New York," Christian Science Monitor, December 31, 1959 (p. 3)
[1963]
"Perhaps the best-known purveyor of hero sandwiches and her fillings in New York...is Manganaro's, that vast and fantastic Italian emporium at 488 Ninth Avenue (near 38th Street). Manganaro's has, in fact, a six-foot hero that costs $28.50 and must be ordered a day in advance. The sandwich allegedly serves 30 to 40 adults."
---"Food: Hero Sandwich Traced Abroad," Craig Claiborne, New York Times, August 27, 1963 (p. 34)
Manganaro's on Ninth
"At least the Capulets and Montagues didn't have to share a name. Not so the descendants of a 19th-century Neapolitan who opened an Italian deli on Ninth Avenue 107 years ago. In high fairy-tale tradition, the business eventually passed to descendants: four brothers named Dell'Orto who, citing difference in management style, divided it up between the oldest and youngest pairs. That was in 1961, and the family relations were never the same. Salvatore and Vincent, the older brothers, took over the original store, Manganaro's Grosseria Italiano, a prosperous business that sold groceries and had a small sandwich counter in the back. James and Mario, the younger brothers, got the business next door, a budding sandwich shop called Manganaro's Hero Boy. Both businesses were given the right to use the Manganaro name, but relations between them quickly soured. By the early 1960s the two sides had stopped speaking, and since then a trail of litigation has kept the feud alive...The stores locked horns in court in the 1980s, when Hero Boy sued the Grosseria for establishing a telephone line called 'Manangaro's Hero Party Hotline' that sold six food and party hero sandwiches. 'By doing that, he bummed into my business,' said James, asserting that in the 1960's and 1970's he spent considerable sums to promote his six-foot heroes, a sandwich he says Salvatore had hardly dabbled with until the 1980s. But Salvatore strongly disagrees. In fact, he said, 'We originated the six-foot sandwich.'"
---"Family Feud: Manganaro's Against Manganaro's," Tara Bahrampour, New York Times, May 14, 2000 (p. 34)
"The business itself originated in 1893 as Petrucci's Wines and Brandies, where groceries were sold as well. In the 1920's, James Manganaro, an immigrant from Naples, took it over and gave it his name. He did so well that in 1927 he bought the building at 488 Ninth Avenue...In 1955, the six-foot hero was brainstormed when the family and a publicity agent figured that a large hero sandwich would be a good marketing ploy. Dubbed Hero-Boy, the 22-pound extravaganza cost $28.50 in the 1960s (it costs $106 now). Back then, it won such renown that Sal and the sandwich wound up on the quiz show 'I've Got a Secret.' (They stumped the panel). In 1956, the family bought the vacant store next door, and sandwiches, including the six-foot hero, were made there as well...It didn't take long for customers to become confused, placing an order with one Manganaro store, confirming the order with another...How did the feud begin? 'Some checks for use were mistakenly sent next door, and he banked them and never told me about it, Sal said of his brother Jimmy...Jimmy's recollection is quite different."
---"A Family, A Feud and a Six-Foot Sandwich, Glenn Collins, New York Times, December 8, 2001 (p. A1)
Jimmy's side of the story:
"History of Manganaro's Hero Boy. It began on Ninth Avenue in New York City in the late 1800's. From there, a family tradition has evolved into one of the City's most talked about places. There are not many restaurants that can boast on having a 'fifty' year plus background of serving some of the best food in the area and continuing on with the legacy that their family was so proud of. In 1956, with his mother Nina, James Dell'Orto operated the Italian Groceria known as Manganaro's. James decided to take this one step further and got the brilliant idea of doing a hero sandwich that would be the first of its kind and called it the Six Foot Hero Boy. It was an instant success and was the beginning of an Italian-style hero that could feed a party of thirty or forty people. The orders began coming in and Manganaro's Hero Boy began its exciting journey of becoming one of New York's finest eateries."
---SOURCE: HeroBoy.com
[NOTE: In December 2013, the Six-foot hero costs $345.00. It comes with a complete party pack including chips, salad & pasta.] ?
Manganaro's dissolved in 2011. Hero Boy survives in 2013. "Death of a Hero: Iconic Restaurant to Close" , Josh Barbanel, Wall Street Journal, Feburary 28. 2011.
The place? New Orleans. The people? Most commonly attributed to Benny and Clovis Martin. The year? Varies, though most agree the name was made popular during the 1929 streetcar strike. Culinary evidence suggests the sandwich predates the name.
"Po'boy. Also "poorboy." A sandwich made from French bread loaves split in half and filled with a variety of ingredients like ham, beef, cheese, oysters, tomatoes, and gravy. Similar to a hero, they are a specialty of New Orleans, where they were originally called push sandwiches because the meat was pushed along the length of the bread to save the best parts for last. The Po'boy was created in the 1920s by Benny and Clovis Martin, owners of Martin Brothers Grocery, who served the sandwich to striking streetcar workers free of charge (other sources say for fifteen cents) until the strike ended. They used up more than a thousand loaves of bread in one day. Another story says the term is related to the French for a gratuity, pourboire. Nonetheless, the term "poor boy" for a sandwich goes back to 1875. An oyster loaf is a form of po'boy made with oysters."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 246)
[NOTE: According to Mr. Mariani, the 1875 reference is from the 2nd edition of the Random House Dictionary of the English Language.]
The Oxford English Dictionary traces the earliest print origin to 1932:
poor boy sandwich.
A kind of large sandwich; = PO' BOY n1932 New Orleans Classified Telephone Directory 108/2 Po Boi Sandwich Shoppe Inc. 1951 N.Y. Herald Tribune 4 July 7/8 The beginning of the Po' Boy sandwich we credited to a sandwich shop in New Orleans. 1978 C. TRILLIN Alice, let's Eat 166 Three hours after we had arrived..I was settled under a tree, almost too full to finish my second hot-sausage po' boy. 1984 P. PRUDHOMME Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen x. 268, I think they're superb on sandwiches; we use them on our po boy sandwiches made with French bread and various fillings. 2003 Time Out N.Y. 3 Apr. 35/4 New Orleans raised chef Richard Pierce is serving po'boys and jambalaya at this new restaurant.
Excellent summary with supporting primary documents here . What goes in a Po'Boy ?
[1730]
"Oyster Loaves, the plain Way.
Take the Crumb out, and save the Bit you cut out, then beard your Oysters, and toss them up in some of the Liquor, and some clear Broth, and some Crumbs of Bread, season with a little Nutmeg and Sallt, and squeeze a little Lemon, then put in your Loaves, and egg over the HOle, and cover it with the Piece, and fry them in clarify'd Butter, so serve hot."
---The Complete Practical Cook, or, a New System of the Whole Art and Mystery of Cookery, Charles Carter, facsimile 1730 edition [Ecco Print on demand] (p. 46-47)
[1901]
Philly cheesesteaks, Chicago Italian beef sandwiches, & New Orleans Muffulettas
While the origins of these tasty Italian sandwiches (and their relatives: Greek gyros & souvlakis) are of ancient southern European heritage, food historians generally agree the modern versions were introduced to America by food vendors in the 20th century. Each one is popularly attributed to a specific person, and the *true* recipe is honored. Regional culinary pride at its very finest.
Philly cheese steak: Philadelphia, PA
"Philadelphia Cheese-steak. A sandwich made with thin slices of beef topped with cheese and other condiments and served on a crisp Italian-style roll. It is a specialty of Philadelphia. Its origins have never been satsifactorily explained, although Pat and Harry Olivieri of Pat's Restaurant claim to have created the item in 1930 (although Pat Olivieri claimed to have added the cheese only in 1948)."
---Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink, John F. Mariani [Lebhar-Friedman:New York] 1999 (p. 238)
Philly folks order cheese steaks "wit." This means with Cheez Whiz & sauteed onions. The fact Cheez Whiz was introduced in 1953 makes us wonder whether this was a later permuation and/or what was the original cheese. Hmmmmmm....
--- http://www.muffoletta.com/history/
"Certain dishes are so ingrained in this region's stew-pot cuisine that to eliminate them would be unthinkable. One is muffuletta, an Italian submarine-type sandwich with a distinctive olive salad. It was created at Central Grocery Store in the early 1900s and still is sold there. Marie Lupo Tusa, daughter of the grocery's founder, tells the story of the sandwich's origin in her cookbook, Marie's Melting Pot (1980). Sicilian farmers selling produce at the nearby Farmers' Market stopped at the grocery every day for lunch. "They would order some salami, some ham, a piece of cheese, a little olive salad and either long braided Italian bread or round muffuletta bread," Tusa wrote. "In typical Sicilian fashion they ate everything separately." Her father decided it would be easier for the farmers if he cut the bread and put everything on it like a sandwich. After experimenting, he determined that the softer muffuletta bread worked better than the crusty Italian loaves, Tusa says. Shortly, the farmers began asking simply for the "muffuletta."
--- http://www.dispatch.com/news/trips/taste/trad0707.html
USA-centric media concentrates on where to obtain this trendy menu item. They provide scant references to its origin, history and evolution. Our research confirms "banh" is indeed a traditioal food of Vietnam. The origins are ancient and the "true" ingredients are indigenous. The Banh mi celebrated to day is a far cry from Vietnam's street foods. Presumably, this hybrid product was either created from, or inspired by, French culinary influence. Many popular ethnic-based Americanized foods were launched similar fashion. Think: spaghetti & meatballs and California rolls.
None of the articles we read provided a date/decade for the genesis of banh mi. The most daring authors alluded vaguely to the beginning of 18th century French imperial rule. If we had to make an educated guess? We would place this food in the mid-20th century, most likely after WWII. American hero-type sandwiches (Philly Cheese Steaks, New Orleans Po'Boys, etc.) wedged their way onto the American culinary map during 1930s.
What is traditional Vietnamese banh?
"Banh is a word for which there is no satisfactory English equivalent. Spring rolls can be called banh, as can crepes. Sandwiches, and any baked goods are called banh. Sweets and savouries wrapped in leaves to be steamed or grilled are called banh. The only constant is that banh are small culinary bundles or other constructions, often eaten with the hands. Vietnamese who speak English generally refer to them as 'cake'...banh are quintessential street food. The oldest form of banh...what is arguably the world's oldest form of cooking other than simply exposing meat to fire, are those wrapped in leaves. In every market, and on street corners of every city and town, you will see them. Tightly wrapped in green leaves and tied with complex knots that would make a sailor proud, they fill baskets with their abundance...Each region in Vietnam has its own banh, just as each region of France has its own wine. The various ethnig groups prepare different types of banh with their local ingredients. People from the Tay ethnic minority wrap yams in banana leaves and call it banh khoai so. Hmong people use banana leaves to wrap banh ngo non, or young corn banh. Sweet potatoes and cassava are other common ingredients in the highlands. Leaf-wrapped banh are popular and enduring because they are so well suited to local materials and conditions. Leaves provide a container in which foods are cooked, and alos help to preserve the food, and keep it from getting dirty or mouldy. It is so compact and portable that if you have banh, you've alsways got a moveable feast, with no worries about disposing of a plastic wrapper. The most common ingredient in banh is rice both sticky and fluffy. A popular type is 'square cake', kwown in the north a banh chung, a savoury sticky rice preparation filled with mung bean paste and minced pork, wrapped in banana leaves, or the leaves of rushes, and steamed. While these can be found any day of the year, they are also important festival fare...In the central and southern parts of the country this cake is called banh u. The filling is the same, but hte package is intricately folded into a little pyramid...Banh tet, sometimes called Banh day, is said to have been first prepared by votaries on the Hung temple, near Hanoi. Thos is called the birthplace of the Vietnamese people, and its banh is meant to symbolise the continuity of the race, its determination to 'go forth and multiply'. Banh tet is always filled with rice, the gastronomic symbol of fertility."
---World Food: Vietnam, Richard Sterling, Lonely Planet (p. 181-182)
French connection & American introduction
"The French left their Vietnamese colonies with a legion of trained baguette bakers, pate makers and charcutiers who added their own flavorings to sausages and deli meats. This culinary legacy inspired Banh-mi, crunchy rolls piled with Vietnamese-style cold cuts. They are sold on practically every corner in Saigon, and now scores of California shops specialize in them. One of my favorite versions is at My Vi, a fascinating place to while away a lunch hour. At one end of the restaurant, people line up at a portable Chinese-style barbecue for take-out cha-shu and barbecued duck. At the other end, they eat "French submarines." My choice was Banh mi dia-a marvelous sandwich plate of assorted Vietnamese-style cold cuts and pate with two sunny-side-up eggs in the center. A little salad of marinated carrots and fresh chile slices also comes on the plate alongside a huge fluffy mound of wonderful homemade mayonnaise. (The owner gave a discourse on his homemade mayonnaise, which began with, "You take a fresh chicken egg.")"
---"Exotica on Rye," Linda Burum, Los Angeles Times, May 31, 1987 (p. 95)
"Banh mi, Vietnamese sandwiches served on hot, crisp French bread, are everywhere in and around Asian Garden, and the competition keeps the prices down and the quality high-banh mi that, the basic, fresh-chile-spiked barbecued pork sandwich-is usually 99 cents, and it's hard to find a bad one. If you throw in an extra half-buck for the deluxe sandwich, you'll get bits of every pig part you can imagine."
---"'Garden of Eatin'," Jonathan Gold, Los Angeles Times, February 6, 1992 (p. 25)
"The Vietnamese are master sandwich makers, a legacy of their time under the French, when they were introduced to, among other things, French bread and fine coffee. You ordinarily won't find Vietnamese sandwiches, or banh mi, in restaurants, though. They are considered street food, great for a quick snack or lunch."
---"From Memphis to Vietnam," Eric Asimov, New York Times, March 10, 1999 (p. F2)
Trendy fare
"Operators across the country are exploring ways to upgrade the traditional American sandwich. But some are predicting that the next sandwich craze is waiting in the wings in Vietnamese neighborhoods across the country. Banh mi sandwiches - a classic Vietnamese combination of p�t�, ham, sausages or head-cheese, topped with pickled carrots, cucumbers, daikon, fresh cilantro and jalape�os on a French baguette - have been common in cities with large Asian populations for the past two decades. But as more non-Asian diners discover the inexpensive and tasty treat, operators are seeing crossover potential to appeal to a broader audience. Banh mi specifically was mentioned by a study released in April by Packaged Facts, a New York-based market research firm specializing in consumer goods, as one of several Asian dishes with "potential for mainstream appeal." According to Packaged Facts, the total U.S. retail sales of Asian foods increased by 27.3 percent from 2000 to 2004, driven in part by a growing Asian-American population. The sandwich is a classic example of cultural fusion, a vestige of the French colonial era in Vietnam. The bread is French, of course, as is the smear of p�t�, ham and mayonnaise. The rest is Vietnamese, offering a refreshing spice and crunch. A banh mi is essentially a submarine sandwich with an exotic twist. Some use Asian-style barbecued pork, lemongrass chicken and other hot options as well, and most banh mi shops allow guests to customize their orders."
---"Banh mi on a roll," Lisa Jennings, Nation's Restaurant News, May 16, 2005 (p. 41)
"A baguette, still warm from the oven, its golden crust trellised with cracks. Sandwiched inside, a bright green thatch of cilantro and jalapenos, a tangle of pickled carrots and daikon, a smear of pate. Loaded between that, maybe a layer of rich barbecued pork or zesty meatballs, even spicy sardines. This is banh mi, an addictive Vietnamese street food and the culinary pay dirt of French colonialism."
---"COOKING; A slice of Little Saigon; The banh mi sandwich, a fresh baguette with savory fillings, is the quintessential Vietnamese comfort food," Amy Scattergood, Los Angeles Times, November 5, 2008 (p. F1)
"No one knows precisely when the first b�nh m� hit New York, although historians of that ingenious Vietnamese delicacy estimate that it was sometime during the Koch administration [1978-1989], back when there wasn't such a huge market for crackly demi-baguettes, warmed in the oven, slicked with mayo and p�t�, then layered meticulously with a variety of cold cuts and a thatch of pickled and fresh vegetables. One thing is certain: Since that fateful day, the b�nh m� (pronounced bun me) has come into its own, transcending its humble Chinatown origins to infiltrate not only hipster enclaves like Williamsburg, which, in the two years since Silent H opened, has become a b�nh m� hub, but also the menus of cocktail lounges (Pegu Club, which serves a fried-oyster b�nh m�), coffee shops (Roots & Vines, where you can have a b�nh m� with your Counter Culture latte), and even wine bars (Terroir offers a mortadella-stuffed b�nh m�Italiano). It's fair to say, in fact, that the b�nh m� is the new panino, and the toaster oven (found wherever b�nh m� are made, including a new financial-district street cart) the new panini press."
---"Another B�nh M� in the Oven; Is the humble Vietnamese hoagie poised to become New York's No. 1 sandwich?," Robin Raisfeld, Rob Patronite, New York Magazine, April 13, 2009
"In Vietnamese, the word banh mi means "bread," and the sandwich itself is a culinary testament to the influence of French colonialism, which began in the mid- 1800s. During this time, baguettes, along with cream, butter, pte, custards and coffee were introduced to the country, and over the years, consequently morphed into the many French-influenced Vietnamese dishes we know today. Classic French-style crepes became Ban xeo, a rice flour/coconut crepe filled with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts, while a classic French asparagus veloute (a stock-enriched cream-based soup) gets a Vietnamese makeover with the addition of crabmeat, dried shrimp and fish sauce. There are many banh mi variations and options, whether you're taking on the challenge of re-creating one of these sandwiches at home or ordering from a local Vietnamese bakery. In addition to the more common filling of pork or sliced pate, sandwiches can be stuffed with grilled chicken, sardines, even head cheese. When ordering one of these baguettes at a Vietnamese bakery, never fear. Most establishments make life easy by listing each sandwich variation in English and Vietnamese along with a larger- than-life-photo to help you through the process. And the price cannot be beat. For a 12-inch sandwich, you'll get set back $3, and many bakeries have a promotion of buy five, get one free to sweeten the deal that much more."
---"A Vietnam tradition: the banh mi sandwich," Kendra Bailey Morris, The Richmond Times-Dispatch, November 22, 2009 (p. G3)
Pinwheel sandwiches
Pinwheel (aka rolled) sandwiches descend from canapes : fancy 19th century finger sandwiches served with tea or cocktails. Checkerboard sandwiches, ribbon sandwiches, refrigerator cookies and other artfully crafted bit-sized presentations are closely related. The earliest print reference we find for Pinwheel Sandwich in American cookbooks is dated 1929. It is interesting to note this item is not quite the menu item we know today. In the food world, this is not an unusual occurance. Careful examination of ingredients and method often reveal similar recipes with different names. This method is generally a more accruate way to trace the evolution of a specific dish. Modern-style Pinwheel Sandwiches (made with several layers of bread and fillings) surface in the early 1930s. Tortilla Pinwheel sandwiches surfaced in 1987.
Vintage sandwich sampler
[1913]
"Rolled Bread and Butter.
Rolled bread and butter is much preferable to flat slices for afternoon teas, as ladies may hold it without spoiling dainty gloves. Butter the loaf--not a fresh one--having first decrusted it with a very sharp knife; cut a slice as thin as possible and roll each slice with flat of hand--practice soon perfects. Pile the rolls log-fashion, or in a pyramid, on a doyley- covered bread plate; garnish daintily with parsley or cress."
---The American Home Cook Book, Grace E. Denison [Barse & Hopkins Publishers:New York] 1913 (p. 351)
[1916]
Tortilla Pinwheel Sandwiches
Pinwheel (aka rolled) sandwiches descend from canapes: fancy 19th century finger sandwiches served with tea or cocktails. Our survey of historic American newspapers suggest Tortilla Pinwheel sandwiches surfaced in 1987. The fact that tortilla pinwheels were introduced about the same time as New Southwestern Cuisine appears to be a parallel gastronomic coincidence. The earliest recipes in Amerian print call for cream cheese, ham, Dijon mustard, and dill. A far cry from TexMex. Even more intriguing? The first recipe we found actually called for lahvosh (lavash), a traditional Armenian flatbread. About lavosh .
Were these sandwiches Armenian fare? It appears so! The pinwheel presentation, like the use of tortillas, appears to be an Armenian-American adapation.
"Eating food folded in lavash is an Armenian obsession. A wrap made by spreading a filling on lavash and rolling it tightly is called brdooch in the vernacular of an Armenian village. The most common filling for brdooch is salty cheese and herbs. Brdooch was a popular fast food and a basic meal for many generations of Armenian peasants and townsfolk...And the time came when the grandchildren of brdooch-loving Armenians landed in the United States. It's no big surprise that they turned brdooch into an American fast food. Armenian-American food entrepreneurs modified those original small lunches...giving them names like 'Hye Roll' (hye means Armenian), 'Hye Wraps,' and 'Aram Sandwich.' Just as the basis of Mexican food is the tortilla, the foundation of the Armenian brdoock and its modern variations is lavash. The authentic new way of eating a real brdooch is to make a long, pipe-like wrap, hold it with two hands and bite, starting from the top."
---Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore, Irina Petrosian and David Underwood [Yerkir Publishing:Bloomington IN] 2006 (p. 30-31)
The first print evidence we find for making pinwheel sandwiches with tortillas is a recipe for "Ham and Cheese Lahvosh Rolls" makes no references to origin, ethnic tradition, "inventor" or company promotion.
"For a light lunch or substantial snack, ham and cheese lahvosh rolls are sure to satisfy any appetite. Crisp lettuce, cream herbed cheese, thinly sliced ham and crunch almonds are all wrapped up in tender, chewy lahvosh bread. Quickly assembled, these rolls stay fresh wrapped in foil in the refrigerator. They may be sliced thick or thin as your appetite commands. These pinwheel sandwiches have a nutritious side too. Ham and cheese both offer protien, and the almonds provide vitamin E, riboflavin , niacin, calcium, iron and dietary fiber...
"Ham 'n' Cheese Lahvosh Rolls
1 chop chopped almonds
2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Thinly sliced, seeded, and drained tomato
Thinly sliced cucumber (use the tiny, almost seedless variety of available
Salt to taste
Fresh mint leaves Sprinkle the bread (lavash) with water to soften...When pliable, arrange the cheese slices in a straight line 4 inches from the bottom, leaving a 2- to 3-inch border on each side. Place the tomato slices and then the cucumber slices over the cheese. Sprinkle with salt on top and with mint leaves. Fold over the sides of the bread, then fold the bottom edge over the filling and roll up tightly like a jelly roll. Serve at once. Makes 1."
---The Cuisine of Armenia, Sonia Uvezian [Hippocrene Books:New York] 1974, 1998 (p. 100-101)
[NOTE: If sliced, this recipe would make a perfect Pinwheel Sandwich.]
The second article we found confirms the Armenian connection. Why were Americans using tortillas? The author suggests it was a matter of product availability:
"Get a rise out of the dinner crowd by serving some delicious, chewy flat bread with ethnic origins. Flat breads are among the most ancient form of baked bread, evoking images of our ancestors heating grainy gobs of dough on a hot rock. But with the invention of modern ovens, we can enjoy the same interesting textures without the trouble of striking flint or grinding our own flour. Pizza and tortillas are the most familiar flat breads to modern Americans...I tried my hand at making from scratch the Armenian or Lebanese-style of flat bread similar to a flour tortilla, only with a huge diameter. But to obtain the size required flipping the bread hand to hand, stretching it gradually much as skilled pizza-makers or strudel makers do, I didn't. Instead. I'd recommend staring with a large flour tortilla for the clever pinwheel sandwiches. Top a large, flexible tortilla with ham sliced paper-thin and leaf lettuce. Roll up tightly into a cylinder and then cut crosswise slices; serve with mustard and mayonnaise mixed together."
---"Chewy flatbreads have ethnic ties," Joyce Rosencrons [Scripps Howard News Service], Daily Intelligencer/Montgomery County Record [PA], August 26, 1987 9p. 19)
The following month, tortilla pinwheels were promoted as nutritious gourmet-on-the-go fare, without a culinary nod to Armenian cuisine.
"The recipes suggested here are terrific late-night study snacks, which are usually prepared with a minimum of fuss at the last minute or can be made ahead, frozen and popped into the microwave for enjoyment later...Quickly assembled pinwheel sandwiches, made with tortillas, almonds and Neufchatel cheese, make a great late-night study snack...
"Late-night Ham and Cheese Rolls
1 chop chopped onions
2 (8-ounce) packages Neufchatel cheese, softened
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon fresh dill weed
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/2 cup sliced green onions
6 large flour tortillas
1 pound thinly sliced ham
8 red leaf lettuce leaves
Spread almonds in shallow pan or on baking sheet. Toast at 350 degrees 10 minutes, stirring once or twice until lightly browned. Cool. Blend cheese with mustard, garlic, dill, basil, almonds and green onions. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Spread cheese mixture on 1 side of tortillas, then top with ham and lettuce. Roll tightly, sealing edges. Roll in foil and chill until ready to use. Cut in long diagonal slices, placing cut-side down on serving plate. Makes 6 servings."
---"Nutri-Data," Toni Tipton, Los Angeles Times, September 17, 1987 (p. H34)
Although hot sandwich-type combinations of bread, cheese, meat, and condiments were known to ancient cooks, tuna fish sandwiches are generally considered a 20th century recipe. The canned tuna industry was launched in 1903 and food companies played an active role in promoting their products to the American public. Many companies authored cookbooks and recipe brochures to show housewives how to use their product. Tuna fit neatly into the sandwich market, where diced lobster, crab and salmon mixed with dressings were already in vogue.
Recipes for tuna sandwiches (mostly cold tuna salad) begin to show up regularly in American cookbooks published in the 1920s. These books also contain several recipes for toasted/broiled cheese and meat combinations, though none with tuna. The only hot fish sandwich recipes we find in the 1920s and 1930s are for sardines, without cheese. It is not until after World War II we begin to find recipes for toasted tuna and cheese combinations (either open or closed, broiled or sauteed). They were not called cheese melts but they would have produced a similar product. Consider:
1946: "Tuna Fish Sandwiches with Cheese," Joy of Cooking, Irma Rombauer (p. 30)
---broiled, open with tomatoes & grated cheese (no type specified)
1954: "Tuna buns," Start to Finish, Ann Batchelder (p. 70) [food editor of the Ladies Home Journal]
---baked, open on hamburger buns, cheddar cheese, gherkins
1972: "Tuna Cheesewiches & Broiled Tuna Burgers" Del Monte Kitchens Cook Book (p. M-3)
---baked, closed in foil-wrapped hamburger buns, swiss cheese & ketchup
---broiled, hamburger buns, cheddar cheese
So, when did the name "tuna melt" begin? Jean Anderson, food historian and cook book author, offers this explanation:
"Who came up with this broiled, cheese-topped open-face tuna salad sandwich? And when? The first recipe I could find for anything simliar appears in Ida Baily Allen's Best Loved Recipes of the American People (1973). "Tuna-Cheese Grilled Open Sandwich," she calls it. The catch here is that Ida Baily Allen died in 1973. Best Loved Recipes is clearly a compilation of recipes gathered throughout her long career, which began early in the twentieth century. There are no dates on any of the recipes, or for that matter, any historical notes. My good friend cook book author Sandy Gluck thinks Tuna Melt is a 60s or 70s creation and that the creator may have been a dormitory coed with a toaster-oven. Sandy says the first time she was asked to make a Tuna Melt was in the early 1980s when she was the chef at a restaurant in New York's Chelsea district. Tuna Melt recipes differ from cook to cook because tuna salad recipes, themselves, vary."
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 344)
The earliest print references we find for "Tuna Melt" are ads publsihed by popular family restaurant chains circa 1975:
"Tuna Melt Banquet. Tuna Salad and American Cheese grilled in butter, served with french fries anda salad with your choice of dressing."---ad, International House of Pancakes (IHOP), Des Moines Register, Alrip 13, 1975 (p. 26)
"Tuna Melt. Tuna and Melted Cheese on Dark Rye Bread Served with French Fried Potatoes and Cole Slaw."---ad, Howard Johnson's restaurant, Los Angeles Times, September 18, 1975 (p. O24).
Western sandwiches
The classic Western Sandwich (aka Denver Sandwich ) is composed of scrambled eggs or egg omelet cooked with ham, onions, green peppers, salt and pepper. It is served hot on toast or rolls.
Americans did not invent the Western Sandwich. Combinations of eggs, meat and spices were enjoyed by ancient people, and evolved in many different cultures and cuisines. Our notes on the history of omelets & scrambled eggs . These recipes arrived on our shores with colonial settlers and immigrant cooks. 17th-19th century English and American cookbooks have plenty of ham and egg recipes which confirm the popularity of this particular combination. Eggs on Toast , Frizzled Ham and Eggs, and other popular recipes from Estelle Woods Wilcox's Buckeye Cookery, [Minneapolis] 1877.
Who came up with the idea?
There are three primary theories regarding the origin of this sandwich in the USA. All are plausible. One camp credits 19th century Chinese cooks working on the western railroads. Like chop suey , some traditional Chinese recipes adapted well to American ingredients. Another other camp attributes this sandwich to Anglo-American food culture. And then? There's Basque piperade .
While Chinese cookbooks offer several recipes centering on eggs (omelets, etc.), Egg Fu Yung appears to be a Chinese-American hybrid based on the non-Chinese ingredients. Modernized recipes (20th century forward) are plentiful; some include standard Chinese vegetables & meat/fish products.
"Other Chinese were cooks for the work gangs, and one of these, I am willing to believe, invented the sandwich that is called a "western" in the states east of the Mississippi and a "Denver" in most of the rest of the country. When a hungry cowboy asked for a sandwich between meals, the story goes, the Chinese cook prepared eggs foo yung by making the traditional Oriental omelet from meats and vegetables at had--in this case the green pepper that was grown by early Spanish in the West, along with onions and some chopped ham. Put between slices of bread, this hasty Chinese creation became the prototype of one of the most American of all sandwiches."
---American Food: The Gastronomic Story, Evan Jones, 2nd edition [Vintage:New York] 1981 (p. 166)
"Foo Yung Eggs, Foo Yung Daan. The Egg Foo Yung that is so popular in Chinese-American (as distinct from Chinese) restaurants deserves an honored place in your repertoire. This type of omelet, together with Chop Suey and Chow Mein, which were invented in America, serves to bridge the gulf between Western and Chinese tastes. In recent years, Egg Foo Yung has fallen in the esteem of those who have become knowledgeable about Chinese food, perhaps because of its past associations. However, any dish is only as good as the ingredients used and the skill of the cook. When properly made, I think this dish is delectable. Egg Foo Yung is not strictly a dish invented for the American taste by Chinese cooks. There was a great tradition from which it drew."
---Jim Lee's Chinese Cook Book, [Harper & Row:New York] 1968 (p. 98-9)
As is common with many popular foods, the recipe precedes the name. And! The recipe has more than one name.
"Western sandwich. The American Heritage Cookbook and Illustrated History of American Eating and Drinking (1964) fixed the origin of this sandwich in Westward Ho days when pioneer women masked the flavor of over-the-hill eggs by mixing them in plenty of onions. Of course those frontier women lacked some of the principal ingredients of the classic Western Sandwich--green and/or red bell peppers. Other food historians believe the sandwich may have originated with chuckwagon cooks, then been refined and embellished over the years. Whatever its origins, the Western Sandwich seems not to have made it into the pages of cookbooks--or onto the menus of restaurants--until well into the twentieth century. In the West, it's often called a "Denver."
---The American Century Cookbook: The Most Popular Recipes of the 20th Century, Jean Anderson [Clarkson Potter:New York] 1997 (p. 349)
"The Western Sandwich was invented by pioneers. It was common for eggs to get "high" after a long haul over hot trails. In order to salvage the eggs, and kill the bad flavor of them, pioneers women mixed eggs with onions and any other seasonings on hand.
1/4 pound ham or 4 slices bacon, diced
1 green pepper, chopped
| i don't know |
Which country is the top date-producing country in the world producing over 1 million tons of dates each year? | CHAPTER III: THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF DATE PRODUCTION AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE
CHAPTER III: THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF DATE PRODUCTION AND INTERNATIONAL TRADE
By André Botes and A. Zaid
Date Production Support Programme
Updated by Pascal Liu, FAO
1. World production and trade
Date production is a world agricultural industry producing about 5.4 million metric tonnes (Mt) of fruit. The date fruit, which is produced largely in the hot arid regions of South West Asia and North Africa, is marketed all over the world as a high-value confectionery and fruit crop and remains an extremely important subsistence crop in most of the desert regions.
The world production of dates has increased from about 1.8 million tonnes in 1961 to 2.8 million in 1985 and 5.4 million in 2001 (Figure 20). The increase of 2.6 million tonnes since 1985 represents an annual expansion of about 5 percent.
The major date producers in the world are situated in the Middle East and North Africa. Figure 21 reflects the distribution of date palms by country for the major date producing countries. On average over the period 1999-2001, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq had almost half of the harvested area of the world. Trade figures indicate that about 93 percent of the date harvest is consumed locally and that by far the majority of these palms are not of the well-known export varieties.
History shows the date palm is a traditional crop in the old world. It is only in recent years that the date palm has been introduced as modern plantations in USA, Israel and in the southern hemisphere.
In 2001 the top five date producing countries (Table 14) were Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia Pakistan and Iraq, accounting for about 69 percent of total production. If the next five most important countries are included, i.e. Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Oman and Morocco, then this percentage rises to 90 percent. This clearly indicates that most of the world's date production is concentrated in a few countries in the same region.
TABLE 14
-31
Source: FAOSTAT
Most of the major date producing countries have steadily expanded production over the last 10 years, representing a 43 percent increase over the period 1994 to 2001. Over the same period, date exports increased by only 25 percent. Increase has been rapid in Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Pakistan. Conversely, output decreased in Iraq (due to the trade embargo) and Morocco (due to phytosanitary problems).
2. Date exports
In 1998-2000, an average of almost 500 000 tonnes of dates were exported annually with a total value of about US$258 million. When this figure is compared with total production, it is clear that the bulk of the dates produced are consumed within the producing countries. Of the 500 000 tonnes exported, 225 000 tonnes were imported by India, 150 000 tonnes by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and about 60 000 tonnes by the EC.
The international trade in dates can be volatile. Changes are often associated with political and economic instability in the main producing countries. Unseasonable weather can also lead to production and storage losses.
There was a steady increase in world export, from about 260 000 tonnes in 1961 to 400 000 tonnes in 1970 (Fig 22), followed by a slight decrease until 1980. A sharp decline in exports was experienced from 1981 to 1984 after which exports increased again to over 400 000 tonnes in 1989 and 1990. During 1991 there was a sharp fall in exports again, resulting in a net export of only 243 000 tonnes. This fall is due to the fact that Iraq exported only 20 000 tonnes compared to 248 000 tonnes in 1989 as a result of the trade embargo imposed on it following its invasion of Kuwait in 1990. It is interesting to note that exports from Iran increased from 13 000 tonnes in 1989 to 120 000 tonnes in 1994, partly compensating Iraq's reduced exports.
Fig. 23 shows that the UAE is the leading exporting country in terms of gross exports. However, if imports are deducted from gross exports, the five leading net exporting countries since 1991 have been: Iran, Pakistan, Tunisia, Algeria and Saudi Arabia. Of these five countries, only two, i.e. Tunisia and Algeria achieve high export prices. Their price of US$1 700 and 1 400 per tonne respectively in 2000, is due to their strategy of targeting the high value European markets while Iran, which exports much lower quality dates, only achieved US$240 per tonne in 2000.
Figure 23 shows clearly the dominance of the UAE and Iran in the export market regarding volumes. Figure 24 reflects the export market share during 1998-2000 in terms of volume exported and foreign exchange earned per region. Asia dominates the export market by far in terms of volume, but further analyses show that North Africa has 26 percent of the market in terms of value, while it represents only 8 percent in terms of quantity. This is a clear reflection of North Africa's strategy to target the high value markets of Europe. Asia on the other hand is exporting lower quality dates at much lower prices, mainly to India. Europe, predominantly France - a non-producing region - has 5 percent of the market share through its re-exports of dates originating from North Africa.
Knowledge of prices, of pricing patterns and the capacity to analyse the economic forces that cause and change those prices will be a necessary condition to help make effective marketing decisions.
There is a wide variation in the average export prices achieved by different countries (see Table 15). Higher export prices are achieved by Israel, Tunisia, United States and Algeria, which have developed a specific export strategy, to grow top quality varieties and target the higher priced European markets. These high prices are achieved by growing varieties such
TABLE 15
Export prices achieved by leading exporting countries
1990
495
Source: FAOSTAT
It is interesting to note the price that France achieves on its re-exports mainly to other European countries. France's strategy is to import good quality fruit in bulk and then repack in Marseilles into "glove boxes" for the higher income market.
The major exporting countries in terms of volume, i.e. Iran and Pakistan, achieved much lower prices, US$240 and 377 respectively in 2000. The majority of their fruit that is exported is sold in bulk for the market in India.
3. Date imports
World date imports varied greatly over the period 1961 to 2000. In 1961 world date imports were at 285 000 tonnes and reached a high of about 440 000 in 1973. The world market then experienced a decline and only 180 000 tonnes were imported in 1984. Thereafter imports increased gradually to reach 400 000 tonnes in 1989 and continued to rise to reach approximately 500 000 tonnes per year in 1998-2000.
Table 16 reflects five-year averages of date imports (gross) for selected countries since 1961. The main importers are India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Europe. The top five countries to import dates during 1996-2000 were India, Pakistan, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and the European Community. For the five-year period 1996 to 2000 India imported on average 213 000 tonnes while the UAE imported 139 000 tonnes, accounting for 28 percent of the import market. However, the UAE also increased its exports in the late 1990s. While the UAE was a net importer until 1996, it was a net exporter of dates in 1997, 1998 and 1999 (net exports of 15 000 tonnes in 1999).
TABLE 16
Date imports for selected countries: 5 year averages since 1961
1961-65
270 311
310 868
The European Community imports an average 60 000 tonnes annually. The total value of imports for European countries is in the order of US$110 to 130 million annually. France alone pays between US$40 and 45 million per year for its imports. The total value of European imports does, however, not reach the producing countries. It is estimated that about one third of all the dates imported into France are re-exported at a value of about US$20 million annually to other European countries.
Figures 25 and 26 illustrate the import market share of the major importing countries during 1998-2000 in terms of volume and value of date imports. Although India's imports were 36 percent of the total volume traded, it represented only 15 percent of the market in terms of US dollars paid for date imports. France and the UK contributed 20 percent to world trade in value while they imported only 6 percent of the total volume traded.
European countries like France, Germany, the UK and Italy import much more expensive and, hence, higher quality dates. In contrast, countries such as India, the UAE and Malaysia import much cheaper and lower quality dates.
In the SADC Region it is mainly South Africa and Kenya that import dates. Preliminary investigations showed that dates being imported into South Africa are of a lower quality, imported in bulk, and are mainly being processed for the baking industry. Figure 27 shows a definite decline in volumes being imported into the SADC Region during the period 1961 to 1996, and a stagnation at the level of 1 500 tonnes per year since then.
Figure 28 gives the general trend in world export prices (using the unit value of exports as a proxy for prices). It reflects the effect on prices of an increase in bulk exports of lower quality dates.
According to the TradStat Trend Report, the average export price per tonne in 1996 was in the order of US$3 100 in the case of France (re-export) while Algeria and Tunisia achieved US$3 500 and US$2 600 per tonne respectively.
To confirm these statistics, prices were obtained from a number of markets and agents in Israel, and are summarised in Table 17.
TABLE 17
Farm gate prices for export quality dates in Israel in 1996 (US$/kg)
Variety
Source: Study Tour Report; 1996
Prices varied greatly according to the variety, quality, season, type of packaging and market destination.
According to Israeli farmers in 1996 dates were the best crop and financially outperformed any other farming activity, especially under harsh climatic conditions. In the case of an Israeli farmer, 1 ha of dates of the Medjool variety ensured in 1996 an average income of US$37 800 per annum, based on farm gate-price of US$3 500 per tonne and an expandable quantity of 10.8 tonnes/ha.
4. European markets
The EC is by far the largest date importer in value (over US$100 million in 2000) and the third largest in volume. Within the European Community, France and the UK were the major markets, importing 21 000 tonnes and 10 600 tonnes, respectively.
France
The biggest market for top quality and high-priced dates is France, importing mainly from Tunisia and Algeria. France mainly imports the Deglet Nour variety and all imports are categorised as fresh. As with most of Europe, the main season for date sales is October to December and during Ramadan (see Table 18). The physical quality standards for dates imported into France are comparable to most other European countries. However, the French do tend to rely more on subjective criteria such as texture, flavour and colour than other European countries.
TABLE 18
France's date imports: top 4 supplying countries
Algeria
38 942
1 728
The USA has found a new market in France and now competes with the traditional sources like Tunisia and Algeria. It is interesting to note that France's imports during the months of March to August originate virtually all from the USA. The lower price indicates that the dates stored for such a long period are regarded as of a lower quality, or are a direct indication of prices responding to lower demand.
Low volumes of dates are being imported during the months March to August. Date imports reach their lowest mark in July and peak in November. The date market is highly seasonal.
Most of the dates imported into France are packed loose into cartons and transported in containers. Tunisian cartons, the bench-mark for the trade, contain 5 or 10 kg and are repacked into "glove boxes" in Marseilles, one of the main importing centres in France.
In 2000, France imported some 22 500 Mt of dates with a total value of US$39 million. Deglet Nour on the branch is imported from Tunisia for FF. 14/kg in 5 kg, 3 kg, 1 kg and smaller packages. Pre-packed Medjool dates, imported from Israel, were sold in supermarkets (Marks & Spencers) for FF. 75/kg in 1996. Barhee (khalaal) was sold for FF. 45/kg at the fruit stalls in Paris and for FF. 25-30/kg in Marseilles.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom imports and consumes over 10 000 tonnes annually and it is believed that there are good prospects for future expansion in the date market. Pitted dried dates for processing and home baking account for about 45 percent of the market. The market for dessert dates, either fresh, chilled or frozen, is the fastest growing segment. During 1993, the dessert segment was estimated at 1 000 tonnes while the rest is sold as dried dates. Dates imported into the UK originate mainly from Iran (6 000 tonnes), Tunisia (1 700 tonnes), Pakistan (1 000 tonnes), France (re-exports - 1 000 tonnes) and the USA (1 100 tonnes). Most of the dates imported are from a range of varieties and the market is more concerned with quality in terms of infestation, appearance and moisture levels than with a specific variety.
According to a Commonwealth Report, traditionally most of the dates consumed in the UK originated from North Africa and most were packed in Marseilles in "glove boxes". Importers are, however, now starting to import directly from other countries, particularly the USA. The reason for this change is due to the fact that the level of infestation and use of agro-chemicals in North Africa is too high.
In 2000, the United Kingdom imported about 10,400 tonnes of dates, valued at US$16,6 million. The following retail prices were noted in London:
Fruit stalls:
| Egypt |
"Which American president is credited with the quote :- ""Never before have we had so little time to do so much""?" | DATES: CHIEF OF ALL FRUITS IN THE WORLD
PMA
Dates have always been held in very high esteem in almost all cultures and religions in the world. The real importance of this chief of all fruits in the world could well be gauged from the fact that date palms and dates have been referred to over twenty times in the Holy Quran and many Ahadith and sayings of the Holy Prophet. In view of high nutritive value and universal appeal of the fruit, dates have been celebrated by poets.
A POET HAS SAID: DATES AND FISH ARE AN EMPEROR'S DISH
USEFUL FRUIT:
Dates are rich in carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins. There is no cholesterol and no fat in dates. Dates have a great importance as a staple food as well as a dessert fruit. The fruit is generally associated with health foods. Peak season for date consumption is during the month of Ramadan. Entire Muslim community around the world � currently numbering 1.6 billion people � is loyal consumer of dates. Consumption is also quite high during Christmas. Similarly, the fruit enjoys enormous significance on the occasion of Divali and such festivals in other religions. In Europe and North America, the fruit is particularly preferred during the dark winter months. Usual sales of dates are spread to a period from October to April. Dates have found their way into sweets, confectionery, chocolates, baking products, preservatives, salads, sauces, and breakfast cereals. Dates also have bulk industrial uses. With advancements in food technology, newer and very useful date products are being developed, indicating fruit's bright future.
WORLD PRODUCTION:
Dates are cultivated mainly in warmer regions of Asia and Africa. The fruit is also grown in some parts of Europe and the USA. Global production of this delicious fruit stood at 5.46 million metric tonnes in 2001. Egypt (1102 thousand tonnes), Iran (900 thousand tonnes), Saudi Arabia (712 thousand tonnes), Pakistan (550 thousand tonnes), Iraq (400 thousand tonnes), Algeria (370 thousand tonnes), UAE (318 thousand tonnes), Oman (260 thousand tonnes), Sudan (177 thousand tonnes), Libya (132 thousand tonnes), China (110 thousand tonnes) and Tunisia (107 thousand tonnes) are the TOP TWELVE date producing countries in the world. As is evident from the above, Pakistan ranks the 4th among them.
PAKISTAN'S VARIETIES:
Rich soil, abundant sunshine and four distinct seasons make Pakistan an ideal place for cultivating a variety of agriculture crops. The above factors help in creating a very special taste in our farm produce, particularly in fruits: mangoes, apples, and dates. Makran, Khairpur (Mirs) and D.I. Khan are major date growing regions in the country. Our commercially important date varieties include Aseel, Karbala, Fasli and Kupro of Sindh; Muzawati, Begum Jangi, Jaan Swore, Kehraba and Rabai of Balochistan; Dhakki and Gulistan of NWFP and a seedless variety of Punjab.
PROCESSING CENTRE:
Therhi, in district Khairpur (Mirs) occupies a central place in date processing in Pakistan. Close to one dozen date factories are established in and around this township. Quality control starts with the choice of only highest quality fruits. Date factories purchase dates for exports from progressive date growers, who take extreme care of dates right from the flowering stage. Well developed, fleshed, fully ripened and sun-dried dates are brought in plastic trays or wooden crates at the premises of the factory. On arrival, the fruit is weighed and immediately fumigated. For fumigation, usually methyl bromide, aluminum/magnesium phosphate, or agtoxin tablets are used. All vents and openings are completely sealed for adequate fumigation. Each lot is properly marked: quantity of dates in the lot, name of fumigant, date of fumigation, validity period of fumigation and date of re-fumigation, if necessary, are clearly indicated. The fruit is stored in a clean and dry area. Dates are taken from these lots as and when required. Mostly, dates are processed manually. Only skilled male and female workers perform the processing job. Dates are given a light warm-water wash in order to remove dust, sand or any other foreign matter. The fruit is then spread on large tables for manual sorting and grading.
Grading: Dates in Pakistan are usually classified according to the following grades:
(a)
3.1 % Decrease
Source: Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Government of Pakistan
As indicated in Table - I, export of dates from Pakistan stood at 48.6 thousand tonnes in 1998-99. Exports reached 64.2 thousand tonnes in 1999-2000. The figure went up to 79.95 thousand tonnes in 2000-2001, registering an increase of 24.5%. In 2001- 2002, exports declined by 3.1% to 77.46 thousand tonnes. Export decreased because date crop in 2001 was badly damaged by heavy rains at the time of harvesting of the fruit. Another reason for fall in export was the closure of Wagha border, from where most shipments of dried dates are made.
EXPORTS ESTIMATES:
This year, Pakistan has bumper crop of dates. There has been record harvesting in Sindh. All date factories and individual date processors of the fruit are fully booked upto June 2003. Factories are working overtime to meet the demand. Exports of dates from Pakistan during the current fiscal year are estimated to be the highest ever and may touch 100,000 metric tonnes mark.
Table-II
Source: FAO/UN
WORLD IMPORTS:
Relevant statistics indicate that only around 10% of dates produced in the world are traded. Table-II shows that global imports of dates during the period from 1998-2000 averaged to over 560 thousand tonnes per year. India is the largest importer of this fruit in the world. The country imports around 40% of dates offered for sale. It imported 244 thousand tonnes in 1998. After India comes UAE. This country is, in fact, a global trader of dates. It imported 100 thousand tonnes dates in 1998 and 180 thousand tonnes in 1999. In 2000, its imports were 43 thousand tonnes.
IMPORTS INTO EUROPE:
In Europe, France, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Russian Federation are major and regular buyers of dates. France has traditionally been the largest European importer of dates and an important re-exporter. Dates imported in bulk in France are treated and re- packed in Marseilles, a port city near Mediterranean countries. The place has been a centre for international trade of dates for two centuries. France purchased 22.8 thousand tonnes in 1998. After slightly sliding to 20.8 thousand tonnes in 1999 its imports went up to 23.8 thousand tonnes in 2000. The UK's imports rose from 10.7 thousand tonnes in 1998 to 13.5 thousand tonnes in 1999 falling back to 10.4 thousand tonnes in 2000. Germany's imports remained constant at around 6000 tonnes per year during the period under review and so were Italy's. Imports of Spain have grown slowly but steadily: From 4.9 thousand tonnes in 1998 the figure went up to 5000 tonnes in 1999 and 5.3 thousand tonnes in 2000. There has been a dramatic rise in imports of Russian Federation. Jumping from 2.8 thousand tonnes in 1998 to 5.2 thousand tonnes in 1999 (an increase of 85.7%), imports rose to 8.8 thousand tonnes in 2000 showing a further growth of 68%.
MAJOR MUSLIM IMPORTERS:
Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia are important non-date producing Muslim countries. All of them import dates for consumption in Ramadan and for other purposes in quite substantial quantities. Among these three, Bangladesh is the largest importer. The country imported 13.4 thousand tonnes of dates in 1999. Its imports rose to 19.2 thousand tonnes in 1999. The quantity imported by it in 2000 was to the tune of 15000 tonnes. There is a continuous growth in Indonesia imports. The country imported 13.3 thousand tonnes in 2000. Some ups and downs are noticed in Malaysia's imports. It imported 2.8 thousand tonnes dates in 2000, while its imports in 1998 and 1999 were 10,000 tonnes and 13.8 thousand tonnes, respectively.
OTHER IMPORTERS:
Sri Lanka is an important date importing country in our neighborhood. In 1999 the island country's imports almost doubled to 14.5 thousand tonnes from 7.9 thousand tonnes in 1998. Its imports stabilized at 10,000 tonnes in 2000. Niger is an importing country of importance in Africa. There is overall a rising trend in its imports. In 1998 its imports were 5.8 thousand tonnes, which rose to 9000 tonnes in 1999. Imports, however, slightly declined to 8.6 thousand tonnes in 2000. Turkey's imports are also growing. From 5.4 thousand tonnes in 1998, its imports swelled to 8.5 thousand tonnes in 2000.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
(i)
DRY PORT AT KHAIRPUR (MIRS): Today's age is the age of competition. The world of business has changed drastically and there is every indication that it will continue to change. Markets will be more sophisticated and more demanding. A total competitive response needs to be adopted. The business winners shall have to offer best quality, sharpest price, fastest delivery and greatest flexibility. Enabling Pakistani exporters to meet the competitiveness challenge right infrastructure and right facilities are required to be provided at right places. Exports of dates from Pakistan during 2002-03 are expected to be around 90, 000 tonnes to 100, 000 tonnes. This is going to be possible in spite of the fact that there is no dry port in date growing / date processing area. As is clear from the above, Therhi has proved to be mini-Marseilles (France), as far as date processing is concerned. Khairpur (Mirs) is therefore the right place, which must have the facility of full-fledge dry port. Date is just one exportable item produce in the region. Cotton, cotton waste, various varieties of rice, rice bran, wheat, wheat bran, oil seeds, oil cakes, guar, henna leaves and powder, painted furniture, traditional garments, handicrafts, fuller's earth and minerals, raw-wool and animal hair are produced in substantial quantities in Khairpur (Mirs) and neighbouring districts. These items could be profitably exported from Khairpur dry port. The exact site of the dry port may be near the Staging Section N.L.C. between Therhi and Khairpur city. All date factories in Therhi, Karamabad and Luqman Town, Agha Qadirdad date market and Khairpur date market, are at a distance ranging from 1 mile to 15 miles from the proposed site of the dry port. Khairpur dry port will have a tremendous impact on Pakistan's export performance in the years to come. Increased exports from that dry port would mean an increase in job creation in the region. The facility will open avenues for development and provide opportunities for socio-economic activity. A new era of prosperity will take place in the Northern Sindh.
(ii)
DATE PALM DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE: Pakistan is the fourth largest date producing country in the world. But there are no co-ordinated research activities concerning date palm and dates, here. Countries with much smaller number of date palms have modern Date Palm Development Institutes guiding their date farmers, date processors, and date exporters to apply latest techniques for getting better results. There have been tremendous advancements in date-culture practices and date processing methods in the world. There is a need for most modern Date Palm Development Institutes in the country. To begin with, a Date Palm Development Institute may be set up in Khairpur (Mirs), where other relevant infrastructure already exist Khairpur (Mirs) is one of the largest date growing districts in the world. The place has direct, rapid, and immediate road, rail and air links with the rest of the country. All these things make it the most suitable choice for the institute. Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur (Mirs) may be encouraged to take the initiative. Technical co-operation may also be obtained from FAO/UN, UNDP and major date producing countries in the Middle East, such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Oman. The Date Palm Development Institute, when established, may among other things start diploma courses for date graders, date quality controllers, date quality inspectors and date food technologists in collaboration with Sindh Board of Technical Education. These diploma holders may find ready jobs in date factories in Pakistan as well as in the Middle East.
(iii)
TISSUE-CULTURE LABORATORIES: For date palm propagation, old fashioned traditional method of transplanting off shoots from the mother palm is in practice in the country. Other date producing countries are far ahead of us in this field. They are making full use of tissue-culture technology. In order to develop date palm industry in Pakistan, tissue culture laboratories may be set up in Turbat, Punjgoor, D.I. Khan, Khairpur (Mirs) and Faisalabad to produce date palm clones of high quality, high yielding and highly rain and pest resistant date varieties, including Deglet Noor of North Africa, Khalas of Saudi Arabia, Medjool of the U.S.A., Aseel, Muzawati, Dhakki of our own country.
(iv)
DATE EXHIBITIONS: In 2003, Ramadan-ul-Mubarak will commence on around 28th October. The fruit is harvested in most date producing countries, other than Pakistan, in September/October. In view of these facts, global buyers of dates are keenly searching for early fresh crop supplies. Pakistan has a natural advantage. Dates ripen here as early as in the month of July. Our exporters can well make first shipments in August. Let us have these facts known to the world loudly and clearly by organizing date exhibition in Dubai and Marseilles � the two renowned international market places for dates � in the first week of September 2003. World importers will be pleasantly surprised to find several tonnes of 2003 crop fully processed high quality dates on display before them, while almost every where else the crop would still be in the bunches on the date palm trees.
(v) ORNAMENTAL DATE PALMS:
To give Pakistan a genuine and appropriate look of a leading date producing country, ornamental date palms may be planted along all important thoroughfares, particularly along those roads, which connect airports with V.I.P. locations in major cities of the country like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad and Multan. In a way, this would serve as a live and permanent promotional activity for dates.
(vi) DATE EXPORTING CONSORTIUM:
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Oman, Iran and North African date producing countries may form a date exporting consortium for organizing export of dates around the world to ensure (i) rewarding incomes for their farmers and (ii) steady supply of high quality fruit to the world consumers.
| i don't know |
"""I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky"" was a line written by the poet John Masefield. What was the title of the poem?" | Sea Fever by John Masefield - Famous poems, famous poets. - All Poetry
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
From SALT-WATER POEMS AND BALLADS, by John Masefield, published by the Maxmillan Co., NY, © 1913, p. 55; the poem was first published in SALT-WATER BALLADS, © 1902.
There has been much debate over the first line and it is indeed "I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky;" "go down to the seas" was a poetic way of saying going sailing and did not refer to any specific body of water, similarly "the lonely sea" was simply talking about open water rather than a specific sea.
Masefield's use of the word "trick" indicates a period of duty on a specific task such as handling the wheel or lookout.
The header graphic by Charles Pears was used to illustrate this poem in Salt-Water Poems and Ballads, by John Masefield, published by The Macmillan Co., New York, US, © 1944, facing p. 72.
Jim Saville
| Salt-Water Poems and Ballads |
"Old television quiz shows - who was the original presenter of the TV quiz show ""Going for Gold""?" | John Masefield Poems - Poems of John Masefield - Poem Hunter
John Masefield Poems - Poems of John Masefield - Poem Hunter
If you see a poem only with title, it is listed that way because of copyright reasons.
1.
Best Poem of John Masefield
Sea Fever
I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a gray mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy ...
| i don't know |
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