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Texas, Arizona, New Mexico pledge National Guard troops deployment
WASHINGTON - The US state of Texas, Arizona and New Mexico has pledged to deploy National Guard soldiers to its borders with Mexico in compliance with President Donald Trump's executive order to curb irregular immigration in the region. Texas Governor Greg Abbottt, who already sent 250 members of the National Guard to the border on the weekend, announced on Monday that he will increase the number to 1,000 in the coming weeks, reports Efe news.
For his part, the Governor of Arizona Doug Ducey, on Monday ordered an initial deployment of 225 National Guard troops to the state's border area, and another 113 were set to arrive on Tuesday, for a total number of 338.
New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez pledged to deploy 80 national guards later this week, which is an initial deployment of the total 250 personnel planned to be dispatched to the state's border area.
The level of collaboration of California, the fourth state that shares the border with Mexico, still remains unknown as Democratic leaders in the Golden State have strongly opposed Trump's immigration policies.
Texas, New Mexico and Arizona will initially mobilise some 1,600 troops as part of Trump's decision to provide military support to the US Border Patrol in order to tackle the increase in irregular immigration.
Trump said last week he wanted to send between 2,000 and 4,000 troops to protect the border, while the Pentagon authorised the use of the higher limit of that range on April 6. The US and Mexico share a 3,111-km long border stretching from east to west, passing four US states: Texas (1,997 km), New Mexico (289 km), Arizona (599 km) and California (226 km).
Trump's decision to reinforce the US Border Patrol with military personnel came earlier in April, when he learned that a caravan with hundreds of Central American immigrants was travelling through Mexico towards the US.
US law prohibits the use of the military for national security and law enforcement purposes, so the National Guard will have a limited role at the border and will not be able to detain immigrants arriving in the border area.
According to the US Customs and Border Protection, the National Guard could only provide support for border patrol agents in certain areas such as "aerial detection, transportation, repairing the border wall and logistical support".
Trump is not the first US president to send soldiers to the US-Mexico border.
In 2006, former President George W. Bush sent some 6,000 military personnel to the border, while Barack Obama in 2010 deployed some 1,200 members of the National Guard in the area. | {
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Zip not a joke anymore
News Analysis: Online realty firm may get last laugh
At the Inman News Real Estate Connect conference four years ago, ZipRealty co-founder Juan Mini sat on a panel of online real estate companies. He was a young, fresh MBA graduate from U.C. Berkeley who promised to change the industry. When pinned down about how many transactions Zip had closed, he proudly admitted to four. The real estate broker veterans in the crowd giggled at the pint-size accomplishments of this California start-up.
Today, brokers are probably not giggling. Zip has filed to go public with the Securities Exchange Commission. Based on its projected revenue this year, Zip would be one of the top 50 real estate brokers in the United States.
The initial public stock offering could raise as much as $69 million. That will give Zip the capital to invest in new technologies, more online leads and new markets.
Now, traditional real estate brokers will have to take notice of the Zip model, which offers home buyers and sellers a commission rebate of 20 percent and 25 percent, respectively. Technology efficiencies replace the necessity for all of the traditional bricks and mortar, giving Zip the funds to offer a rebate to consumers and still earn a strong margin.
The success of this IPO could force other brokers to follow suit in markets where Zip is picking up market share.
Zip is a pioneer in branding as well as its agent compensation structure, which gives the company more control over the management of the agents and the promise of a better customer experience.
Last October, Zip said it had "achieved profitability" for the first time since it was founded in 1999. At the time, the company said it had "executed more than $1.3 billion worth of real estate transactions over the past 12 months and posted year-over-year July revenue growth in excess of 100 percent."
Today, ZipRealty filed a registration statement for the offering with the SEC. All of the shares will be issued and sold by the company.
ZipRealty has operations in Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Orange County, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Sacramento, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
On the same panel with Mini at the 2000 Inman Connect conference was LendingTree founder Doug Lebda who last year sold his company to Barry Diller for $750 million. At the time four years ago, Lebda was young and as hopeful as Mini.
Send tips or a letter to the editor to [email protected] or call (510) 658-9252, ext. 124. | {
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"New Guys" is the first episode of the ninth season of the American comedy television series The Office, and the show's 177th episode overall. It originally aired on NBC on September 20, 2012. The episode was written and directed by series creator Greg Daniels; this is his first writing credit for the series since the seventh season episode "Goodbye, Michael", and his first directing credit since "PDA".
The series depicts the everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. In this episode, two new employees (Clark Duke and Jake Lacy) are hired by the Scranton branch and cause trouble for Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) and Jim Halpert (John Krasinski). Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) returns from manager training, hoping for revenge on Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate). Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) considers adopting Angela Lipton's (Angela Kinsey) cat. Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner) tries to save a turtle.
"New Guys" was the inception of several story arcs and saw the departures of Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor and B. J. Novak as Ryan Howard, due to their involvement in the former's own sitcom The Mindy Project. "New Guys" received largely positive pre-release reviews from television critics. Post-release reviews were mixed; while many felt that the episode was a distinct step in the right direction for the show, others took issues with some of the comedic aspects of the episode. "New Guys" was viewed by 4.28 million viewers and received a 2.1 rating among adults between the age of 18 and 49, making it the show's lowest-rated season premiere. The episode ranked second in its timeslot and was also the highest-rated NBC series of the night.
Synopsis
Various workers in the office explain what they did over the summer: Kevin Malone (Brian Baumgartner) tried to save a turtle that he ran over, making a new shell after he cannot put the old one back together. He broke the new one as well, so made a second one, but found the turtle was already dead, likely from when he ran it over the first time. Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) moved to Ohio with her fiancé Ravi and Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) also moved to Ohio for "unrelated reasons". Dwight Schrute (Rainn Wilson) made a new "energy drink" from beet run-off and also learned that he is not the biological father of Angela Lipton's (Angela Kinsey) baby. Jim (John Krasinski) and Pam Halpert (Jenna Fischer) reveal that Jim was offered an entrepreneurial sports job by an old college friend based on an idea the two had in college. Jim tells the camera that he turned it down, because the long distance would not be good for his family. Pam and Jim begin to take off their microphones and Pam makes a remark, noting that, after nine years, the cameramen should have enough footage for a documentary. One of the cameramen then addresses the two, saying that they are more interested in the developments of the office workers themselves, especially Jim and Pam, rather than the office now. Jim looks pensive when Pam tells the cameramen that they expect to live a calm, normal life, given their work and children, and that "nothing interesting is going to happen to [them] for a long, long time."
Two new employees, Clark Green (Clark Duke) and Pete Miller (Jake Lacy), who are quickly dubbed "Dwight, Jr." and "The New Jim" based solely on their respective visual similarities, are hired by the Scranton branch and cause trouble for Jim and Dwight. At first, Dwight is happy to have a protégé, acting as a fatherly figure to Clark (which disturbs Clark), but soon begins to fear that Clark is after his job. Jim, on the other hand, does not feel that he and Pete have anything in common. However, after hearing Pete discuss his future plans, Jim realizes that he used to have Pete's ambition but has become stuck at the same job for over nine years. Angela puts one of her cats, Comstock, up for adoption as her baby is allergic to it. Oscar Martinez (Oscar Nunez) initially refuses to adopt Comstock despite Angela's pleas, but agrees to adopt it after learning that it is her husband Robert's (Jack Coleman) favorite cat. It is implied that Robert and Oscar are having an affair, as Robert told Angela he was having a business dinner on the night he actually had plans with Oscar.
Andy Bernard (Ed Helms) returns from Outward Bound manager training — where he became more "decisive and confident" — hoping for revenge on Nellie Bertram (Catherine Tate) for commandeering his job during the previous spring. To do this, Andy sets up a slackline in the parking lot and makes the employees walk across it, humiliating Nellie as she insists on walking in her heels (due to disliking her feet) and fails to keep her balance (due to Andy pushing her). After Clark proves that he is talented at balancing, Dwight attempts to one-up him, but ends up failing repeatedly and hurting himself. Eventually, Dwight tries to prove his superiority by riding a bicycle across a tight-rope suspended between the roof and a telephone pole, but the printer he is using as a counterweight is not heavy enough and he ends up losing his balance and hanging from the bicycle above the parking lot, while his coworkers who were leaving look on in horror. Much to his embarrassment, he has to be rescued by a team of firefighters, while Creed Bratton (Creed Bratton) mistakenly believes the incident to be a circus act, erroneously commenting that this was "not bad for a day in the life of a dog food company." While everyone is outside crowding around Dwight, Jim calls up his old college friend and tells him that he wants to be involved in the new business deal, even though he did not have Pam's approval.
Production
On May 11, 2012, NBC renewed The Office for a ninth season and it was later announced that Greg Daniels, who had been the series showrunner from season one through five, would be returning. "New Guys" was written and directed by Daniels. This is his first writing credit for the series since the seventh season entry, "Goodbye, Michael", and his first directing credited since season seven's "PDA". This also marks the third time he has both written and directed an episode, after the first season episode "Basketball" and the fourth season opener, "Fun Run". Daniels later revealed that "New Guys" would be the inception of big season arcs. He went on the record saying "I'll tell you that the last couple of years, I don't think we did any big arc-type things in the way that we used to in the beginning, I think the thing we're going to do is bring back a lot of arcs". Jenna Fischer later stated that part of the Jim and Pam arc would be dependent on "things that happened in seasons past that didn't seem very relevant at the time and [that] they're going to become important this season."
"New Guys" featured one of the final few performances of Mindy Kaling as Kelly Kapoor, who left the series to star in her own comedy television series The Mindy Project, which was created for the Fox Broadcasting Company. Both Novak and Kaling appeared in two episodes of the season—"New Guys" and "Finale". The episode features both Clark Duke and Jake Lacy as two new Dunder Mifflin employees who have been hired to "go through the back log of over 4,000 unanswered customer complaints that" Kelly has ignored the past few years. Duke noted that filming the slack lining scene "was not that fun; it was really hard". He did, however, state that Helms was able to do it well "with no practice". The voice of the documentarian that responds to Jim is that of series director David Rogers. Rogers also voiced the same character in the penultimate episode opener "A.A.R.M.". Originally, Daniels had re-recorded the line in "New Guys", but ended up liking Rogers' voice better. He asked him to reprise the role in "A.A.R.M." to preserve continuity.
The official website of The Office included several cut scenes from "New Guys" within a week of the episode's release. In the first 40-second clip, Dwight tries to bond with Clark by discussing an article he read in Time magazine about dub-step. Clark teases Dwight for reading the magazine, something he considers for older audiences, but Dwight is oblivious. In the second 75-second clip, Toby calls a workplace bullying meeting and the office discusses how Andy has been harassing various people. Kevin declares that Angela bullies him, and states that she will not give him her cat because he killed his turtle "a few times". In the third and final 30-second clip, Jim tries to convince Dwight that the relationship Dwight shares with Clark is similar to that of Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker, characters from the popular science fiction movie franchise Star Wars.
Cultural references
Much like the sixth season starter "Gossip"—which featured parkour in the cold opening—the seventh season opener "Nepotism"—which started with a lip dub—and the eighth season premiere "The List"—which opened with a bit about planking—"New Guys" also contains a plot involving a popular Internet meme, in this case slacklining, which is a practice in balance that typically uses nylon webbing tensioned between two anchor points. When Ryan is leaving, he claims he is going to Ohio because "they call it the Silicone Prairie," a reference to Silicon Valley, a part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States that is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations. Andy returns from Outward Bound, an organization that aims to foster the personal growth and social skills of participants by using challenging expeditions in the outdoors. Dwight tries to talk to Clark about the heavy metal band Slayer, noting that he has tickets for a show in ten months. Jim asks Pete if he likes the Philadelphia Phillies, but Pete mistakes his reference to mean horses.
Erik Adams of The A.V. Club compared Dwight and Clark's relationship to that of the mythical characters of King Laius and Oedipus, respectively. The story, which was later turned into a popular play Oedipus Rex by Greek writer Sophocles, tells of how Laius hears of a prophecy that his son will kill him. Fearing the prophecy, Laius abandons his son, Oedipus', who is raised in the city of Thebes. Oedipus later crosses paths with Laius and gets into a fight and, not knowing that Laius is his father, kills him. Adams argues that the "break-room conversation" Dwight and Clark share echoes the myth of Oedipus, given that it starts to make Dwight paranoid and fear that Clark is after his job.
Many reviewers noted that the episode made references to previous episodes of the series. The ending, featuring Dwight riding a bicycle on the roof, was positively compared to the third season episode "Safety Training". Adams wrote that many of the scenes "take characters to corners of the office tied to memories of episode's past", such as Oscar's phone call, which takes place in the stairwell where Dwight pumped himself up for his work review in the second season episode "Performance Review", and Pam climbing up the rooftop access ladder, which is reminiscent of Pam and Jim's first "date" in the second season episode "The Client".
Broadcast and reception
Ratings
"New Guys" originally aired on NBC on September 20, 2012. The episode was viewed by 4.28 million viewers and received a 2.1/6 percent share in the 18–49 demographic. This means that it was seen by 2.1 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds, and 6 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds watching television at the time of the broadcast. This marked a 46 percent drop in viewership from the season eight premiere "The List" and made it the lowest-rated premiere of The Office to air. The Office finished second in its time slot, being beaten by an episode of the Fox series Glee, which received a 2.9/8 percent rating. "New Guys", however, finished ahead of repeats of the CBS show Two and a Half Men and the ABC series Grey's Anatomy and a new episode of The CW show The Next. The Office was also the highest-rated NBC television program of the night. "New Guys" was the twenty-first most-watched show for the week of broadcast among adults aged 18–49. This marked a slight improvement from the season eight premiere, "The List", which ranked as the twenty-second. When DVR numbers were included, the episode increased its ratings up 52 percent to a 3.2, meaning it was seen by, in total, 3.2 percent of all 18- to 49-year-olds.
Reviews
Several pre-release reviews of the episode were generally positive. Bruce Miller of the Sioux City Journal gave the episode a largely positive review and noted that "If you can erase last season from your mind, you'll see this ... is exactly how The Office should have carried on after Steve Carell left." Furthermore, he praised the addition of Duke and Lacy, calling their performances "so good you could see them become the centerpiece of a new series." Verne Gay of Newsweek awarded the episode an "A−" and called the installment "very (very) funny." He was especially happy about the addition of Lacy and Duke, calling them "flashbacks to a younger Jim and Dwight." Furthermore, he noted that "the ninth and final season actually may offer completion" of a show that has just "merely offered variations on [the characters'] tics" for the past eight seasons. Bob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the episode "generally funnier than [the show] was last season" and wrote that the episode would be a good opportunity "for viewers who quit the [series] last year ... to come back to the show." Particularly, he was excited to "see the seeds of the show's end planted."
Entertainment Weekly writer Ken Tucker concluded that "New Guys" has "a lot more snap and vigor than most of last season's episodes." He was extremely complimentary towards the Pam and Jim story arc that was hinted at, noting that, after settling into a comfortable marriage, the show was finally trying to make them interesting again. David Silverberg of DigitalJournal.com called the entry "one of the show's best [premieres] in recent years" and concluded that the addition of Duke and Lacy "work as a better foil than Nellie and the creepy boss played by James Spader." Adams awarded the episode a "B+" and called it "a fresh start" for the series after the eighth season. Adams also complimented the show for "stop[ing] every so often to acknowledge the fans that have stuck with the series [and] also mak[ing] subtler callbacks to the show's glory days." He was also complimentary towards the fact that Duke and Lacy have not been thrown into stories of their own, rather, they "serve as parallels and stimulants to Dwight and Jim."
Nick Campbell of TV.com called the episode "a decent" and "moderately sharp" season premiere. He concluded that, "While the episode still wasn't on par with those of the show's earliest seasons, ... The episode wasn't lazy—and for The Office, that's a win." Other reviews were slightly more mixed. TV Fanatic reviewer Dan Forcella awarded the episode a three out of five, but was appreciative of the additions to the cast, as well as many of the actors story lines. Jeffrey Hyatt of Screencrave noted that the episode was similar in tone to the season eight finale, "Free Family Portrait Studio", but that "the addition of Lacy and Duke pay quick dividends as the opener provides flashes of comedy moxie, while helping wash away painful memories of last season." David Hinckley of the New York Daily News awarded the episode three stars out of five and wrote that "The deadpan goofiness remains fresh enough to keep fans interested" and that "the fact that this whole drama doesn't feel new and shiny anymore isn't anyone's fault. ... All The Office needs to do now is march out proudly random, zany and off-center." HitFix's Alan Sepinwall, however, was critical of the episode's humor, noting that it "didn't give me a lot of hope for a last-minute resurgence". Matt Roush of TV Guide wrote that the "one interesting storyline" may make him watch the remainder of Pam and Jim's story, but not "the rest of this sadly played-out workplace comedy."
Many reviews were complimentary towards the interaction Pam and Jim had with the cameramen. Silverberg called it "a nice surprise". Tucker called the sequence one of the "biggest reveals" in the episode. Sepinwall, despite being critical of the episode's humor, found the sub-plot "interesting". He called it "a character arc I've been waiting for the show to remember to do for years now, and the scenes here were promising (if not incredibly funny)".
References
Footnotes
Bibliography
External links
"New Guys" at NBC.com
2012 American television episodes
The Office (American season 9) episodes | {
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DPW Holdings Enters Into Agreement to Purchase 9.9% Equity Interest in Universal Security Instruments, Inc.
DPW Holdings, Inc. (NYSE American: DPW) a diversified holding company ("DPW," or the "Company") announced that it has agreed to purchase 228,967 shares of Universal Security Instruments, Inc. (NYSE American: UUU), beneficially owned by existing shareholders for a purchase price of $709,797.70.
Upon closing of the purchase agreement, DPW would hold a 9.9% minority, non-controlling interest in Universal Security Instruments, a manufacturer and distributor of safety and security devices. The agreement to purchase the shares is expected to close by January 11, 2021 and the Company is expected to file a Schedule 13D related to the agreement on December 10, 2020. A copy of the agreement can be found at the following link: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/102109/000092189520003165/0000921895-20-003165-index.htm
"We look forward to closing this transaction and believe there are opportunities for commercial and strategic alignment to create superior value for the Universal Security Instruments shareholders," said Milton "Todd" Ault, III, the Company's CEO and Chairman.
For more information on DPW and its subsidiaries, the Company recommends that stockholders, investors and any other interested parties read the Company's public filings and press releases available under the Investor Relations section at www.DPWHoldings.com or available at www.sec.gov.
About DPW Holdings, Inc.
DPW Holdings, Inc. is a diversified holding company pursuing growth by acquiring undervalued businesses and disruptive technologies with a global impact. Through its wholly and majority-owned subsidiaries and strategic investments, the Company provides mission-critical products that support a diverse range of industries, including defense/aerospace, industrial, telecommunications, medical, and textiles. In addition, the Company extends credit to select entrepreneurial businesses through a licensed lending subsidiary. DPW's headquarters are located at 201 Shipyard Way, Suite E, Newport Beach, CA 92663; www.DPWHoldings.com.
This press release contains "forward looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements generally include statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions, and include words such as "believes," "plans," "anticipates," "projects," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "strategy," "future," "opportunity," "may," "will," "should," "could," "potential," or similar expressions. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any of them publicly in light of new information or future events. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors. More information, including potential risk factors, that could affect the Company's business and financial results are included in the Company's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, the Company's Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K. All filings are available at www.sec.gov and on the Company's website at www.DPWHoldings.com.
[email protected] or 1-888-753-2235
Biden rejoining Paris agreement could improve outlook for green energy investments in the US: UBS
Coronavirus update: Biden signs more COVID-19 orders; Pfizer wants to expand sales to states
Lauren Friedman Stat Joins Palantir Board of Directors
President Joe Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement on his first day in office, reversing one aspect of his predecessor's "America First" foreign policy.
Biden takes more executive action on COVID-19 response. Pfizer looks to sell to states.
AHF to UN Security Council: Convene an Emergency COVID-19 Meeting Now!
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world's largest AIDS organization, calls on United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to immediately summon a meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) – the UNSC must assume a proactive role in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic, something the global body has been conspicuously absent on thus far.
Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE:PLTR) announced today that Lauren Friedman Stat has been appointed to Palantir's Board of Directors and Audit Committee of the Board, effective January 18, 2021.
When Daniel Pereira sat down with his family to watch the MLS SuperDraft, he didn't expect to hear his name called first by expansion Austin FC. Between doing virtual interviews with the teams at the top of the draft, the Virginia Tech star took time to look over all the other names being linked with the top selection. "I wasn't really expecting to be number one, because of all the mock drafts and stuff," Pereira said Thursday.
Mick Norcorss, Former The Only Way Is Essex Star, Dies Aged 57
He was also the former owner of the famous Sugar Hut nightclub, which featured on the reality show.
Scott+Scott Attorneys at Law LLP Continues to Investigate Apollo Global Management, Inc.'s Directors and Officers for Breach of Fiduciary Duties – APO
Storm Christoph: Care homes evacuated after rain triggers floods — and more storms are forecast
Dozens of care home residents taken to safety in Cheshire
Electronic tags considered in bid to enforce Covid quarantine
Ministers expected to discuss proposals for travellers to isolate at airport hotels
USO Helped Feed National Guard Troops Deployed to D.C. for Inauguration
The well-being of the troops became a matter of widespread concern when viral photos of Guard members sleeping on the Capitol floor and of lawmakers giving them pizza circulated.
Tom Holland Was Convinced He Was Going to Be Fired as Spider-Man After First Marvel Movie: 'It Was Awful'
Tom Holland first played Spider-Man in 2016's Captain America: Civil War
Woman behind Bernie Sanders' famous mittens says she has no plans to make more
'There's no possible way I could make 6,000 pairs of mitten,' says Jen Ellis
Stray Dog Missing Her Nose Rescued After a Year on the Run in Illinois — Now She Needs a Home
The Gateway Pet Guardians animal shelter named their newfound addition Kamala after the current Vice President of the United States
Non-photo Personalized Gifts Market to accelerate at a CAGR of 10% during 2021-2025 | Technavio
The Non-photo Personalized Gifts Market will grow by $ 8.75 bn during 2021-2025
Daily Fantasy Football: Conference Championships cheat sheet
Our five experts deliver their most optimal lineups for daily fantasy in time for the NFL Conference Championships.
Rugby: Bath return 18 false positive COVID-19 results due to error in testing
Bath were informed on Tuesday that 19 of the 24 league-wide positive cases included their players and staff. The club also closed their training ground and underwent a deep clean to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus. But Premiership Rugby said on Thursday there were only two positive cases from 989 tests conducted this week, with Bath being informed that 18 of their 19 positive cases were negative.
Mydecine Innovations Group Files Preliminary Prospectus in Connection with Bought Deal Offering of Units
Mydecine Innovations Group (CSE: MYCO) (OTC: MYCOF) (FSE: 0NFA) ("Mydecine" or the "Company'), an emerging biopharma and life sciences company committed to the research, development, and acceptance of alternative nature-sourced medicine for mainstream use, is pleased to announce that, in connection with its bought deal offering (the "Offering") previously announced on January 14, 2021, it has filed a preliminary short form prospectus (the "Preliminary Prospectus") with the securities commissions or similar authorities in each province of Canada, other than Quebéc, and entered into an underwriting agreement with Canaccord Genuity Corp. (the "Underwriter") dated January 20, 2021 (the "Underwriting Agreement"). | {
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Billie Eilish drops 'ROMA'-influenced "When I Was Older"
Rachel Hammermueller
Today, Billie Eilish once again cements her place as one of the undeniably creative young artists leading the next generation of music. Following the soul-crushing "when the party's over" is Eilish's latest "When I Was Older (Music Inspired by ROMA)"; a track which draws inspiration from the Netflix drama ROMA. The track is signature Eilish; chillingly intense vocals alongside a hypnotic beat and clever lyrics. Written with her older brother and familiar collaborator Finneas O'Connell, the track will be featured on upcoming Music Inspired by ROMA. The album will feature artists hand-picked by the movie's Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón.
ROMA illustrates the journey of a domestic worker through political turmoil in 1970s Mexico. Eilish and O'Connell say that they wanted to "write from within the narrative of the movie and the scenes that struck us the most from it. Lines like "memories burn like a forest fire" are accompanied by the sounds of the trees burning in the woods outside the house. The chorus has the ocean sounds overplayed on it." From previous tracks, the world knows that Eilish can deliver. Specifically when it comes to creativity and immense feeling in her work. In "When I Was Older", we see her capturing a point of view from another character, another life, and circumstance. With this release, Eilish lends her voice to help capture an important and emotional journey.
Connect with Eilish online: Facebook | Spotify | Website | Twitter
Check out Golden Globe-winning ROMA here
Darkroom/Interscope Records
sony music masterworks
Based in Toronto but my mind is always somewhere else. I like coffee, a good banjo solo, and binge-watching British TV shows.
Chart the course of San Holo's rise with early lo-fi alias Casilofi's 'Create, Create, Create' EP
Katey Ceccarelli
REL battles body dysmorphia through a stunning anthem titled "Nanagrams" [Video]
Chloe Robinson
PHEA delves into chronic illness on five-track EP 'Healing Hearts'
Alt-Pop
ANDRO opens up on his new track "Physical"
Bella Dose is ready to take over the world with their new single and music video "Mírame"
Amilli shares playful visuals for her new single "Stuck in My Head" [Video] | {
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Expert Roundup: 7 Experts Reveal Their First SEO Mistake!
SEO is one of the most difficult subjects in the digital world. Search Engines evolve daily and Search Engine Optimization does too.
Every SEO has made some mistake or the other when they first started out. So, I thought that I'd ask them about their first big mistake and how they recovered from it. If you are just starting out, check our SEO for Beginners blog. Hopefully, it will help.
So, without further ado, let's jump right into what the experts have to say!
Member of the TKO Graphix marketing team, Under the Radar rock band. Author of The New Manager's Workbook.
What was the single biggest mistake as a rookie SEO that you made?
How did you recover from the mistake?
I continue to do what I call deep edits – going back and adding keywords to old posts. I only have 355 to go!
I'd recommend Yoast to anyone, so they don't make the same mistake.
SEO agency based in London. They eat data for brunch whilst watching graffiti on the TV.
One of my biggest rookie errors was not communicating to the client that position #1, for every term that we discussed, was not a realistic expectation.
We took them through the potential search volumes and it appeared that our client (at the time) expected to achieve position 1 across all of the terms. Indefinitely. As you can imagine, once we learned that this was their expectation we scrambled to do as good as we could.
However, the client's expectations were unfortunately set and they were clear that this was our overall target and we had to deliver. Needless to say, the team and I were scrambling for the next few months.
We tried to reset the client's expectations but unfortunately by this time they had been set. So we had nothing else that we could do than try to deliver. The client's retainer was small, very small by memory.
It was the agency's first SEO client. So we threw everything at it. Literally the kitchen sink. I had three guys working on this account, the site was large and the industry (automotive parts) quite competitive. We went to work optimizing all of the pages, fixing the technical issues (which again were plently) and link building.
Days and days of link building. It turned out that we achieved some really high positions for the client but not across all of the keywords that we had identified.
The moral of the story and a huge learning curve for us was to make sure that expectations were set correctly at the start of the campaign. Oh, and never to assume that a client understands exactly what you mean. We are now very thorough.
I often got CEO and SEO mixed up when I first started in this industry. The first day of the job, I took my first client call and introduced myself as the new CEO person here at [insert agency name].
Whilst that isn't my biggest mistake, I thought that would be funny to share. Hannah (my co-host) is always having to help me out with pronouncing the hard to say words). In my early days, I would read about the best practices for SEO/Google and sometimes end up on focusing on the wrong thing.
For example, one tip I read was that Google liked websites that weren't stagnant but had regular fresh content. Therefore I thought it was best to focus on getting as much fresh content as possible on websites, meaning that the quality of the content was sometimes neglected. BIG MISTAKE.
To help ease the pressure of writing all this content, I would outsource to other writers. As long as it seemed to make sense I would publish, once I had optimized it for keywords etc. I neglected to check whether what was being said was factual.
I would pass content where grammar/structure could have been improved. I didn't even think about checking for duplicate content issues, as I just wanted that content on the site.
I knew there was a problem when I saw a dip in website traffic. There was only one thing for it, I needed to look at the content, take data from Google Analytics and be brutal. I got rid of pages that really weren't doing anything for my site, especially content that wasn't really relevant.
Content that was driving traffic and ranking, I asked myself what could I do to improve? I looked for opportunities where pages could be combined, to make a super bit of content. Pages that had a high bounce rate/exit rate and low avg. time on page, I had to decide what to do, as these factors could mean that the content was not answering the user's intent.
I basically learned the hard way that I should have been focusing on was quality over quantity. It was far better me spending time, creating, researching and developing one bit of amazing content that blew the competition out of the water, rather than lots of mediocre and rubbish articles.
Don't be a fool like me and take one bit of advice as gospel. Whilst the advice wasn't wrong, Google does like fresh websites, I didn't think about other factors. Yes, aim to have a website that is regularly updated but also that content has to be of high quality, factually correct, etc. I went all guns a blazing on the wrong thing. I should have done a bit more research or cottoned on sooner.
Sometimes in the SEO industry, especially when you are new, you want to be seen as someone who knows what they are doing. You don't want to ask for help (I have been there), but that is how you continue to learn and be better – Learning from each other and learning from mistakes!
I didn't build links at all. The truth is- I was scared. Because everywhere online I read how Google's Penguin is on a quest to exterminate link building and how, if you build even one link or it looks like you built it; then you're irrevocably doomed no matter what else you do.
In two ways: I decided something needed to change I had a tonne of luck And the second factor was more important to me. You see, I knew that I needed to change my approach, but I wasn't convinced that links were that effective and I knew how hard they are to get.
But I still bit the bullet and just tried.
I submitted to HARO. It's very easy to do and requires very little time investment. I remember thinking at the time: "I'm probably going to fail, so I shouldn't waste too much time with this".
And the result? Lo and behold- I got a link. But not just any link. THE link from prdialy.com which is a mega authority site (DA- 65; DR-79) I was stumped and I wanted to jump to the sky with excitement. It was my first link and one from an insanely strong domain.
I made my subheads different colors. Mistake: Links are different colors. Readers would get confused. They'd click on my subheads expecting them to take them somewhere.
I didn't make my links "Open in new tab." Mistake: Taking them off your page will hurt your Bounce Rate.
I didn't include a meta description. Mistake: You've got to get your focus keyword in your meta description and include a hook so people will click.
I used "solutions" as my tag. People don't Google solutions. They Google How to fix… not just the word "Solutions".
I didn't do keyword research. I just assumed I was picking terms people would need help with.
What was my biggest mistake? These are all equally bad!
Over time, I've gone back into my posts and improved the tags and meta descriptions. I've changed the image tag so it had the focus keyword. I've made sure my site is optimized for speed so my SEO would be higher than lower.
Only 1 H1 Tag, My keyword in my subheads (at least one), use of LSI keywords to avoid keyword stuffing, Use of the Yoast SEO plugin.
I link internally so I boost the SEO of my older articles. I link out to authority sites so Google knows I have a credible blog.
I follow the backlink strategies in this article: https://www.mostlyblogging.com/best-backlink-builder-strategies/. I use it as a checklist of hacks.
I post often so Google's bots are always crawling my site.
If you think of SEO as 3 parts, only 3 parts, you'll find it much easier. Part 1: Find high-volume keywords words. Part 2: Find low competition keywords Part 3: Beat your competition for the keyword by making sure your Domain Authority Ranking is higher than theirs. If you can find a keyword with those 3 criteria, you'll have SEO success and boatloads of organic traffic.
Hmmm… My biggest mistake as an SEO rookie?
It was a link building tactic – using press releases to seek backlinks.
I wouldn't know if anyone still tries to get backlinks by doing press release today. But, it burnt my fingers when I did it.
The funny is, I spoke with one of the PR website agents. She told me the campaign might not get me as many links as I was hoping to get. I was unrealistically optimistic that my content was awesome. Why wouldn't websites use it and link to my client?
My client reached out a few months after our first 3 month SEO campaign ended. The previous campaign was a success, they ranked for more keywords and got more leads at a relatively low budget.
He came for me to develop a link building strategy to meet up with a particular competitor. I did a competitive analysis to know the depth of our target' backlinks profile. I was able to sell the press release idea to him considering the volume of backlinks we would need to meet up.
He bought the idea considering the cost versus volume of links we could get at a go (I chose a popular package that had a list of about 100, 000 sites and publishers).
I put the team to work. We created good content based on data from a research by a reknowned global organization. Of course, we created infographics too.
I deployed the press release. Sat back and was waiting till the end of the month at least to see backlinks swell…. grrrrrhhh…. But, it never happened.
Backlinks actually increased (as a result of few brand mentions and social shares from the release). But, it was far from the expectation I created.
I did paid infographic submissions from my pocket for him. I also help list his site on niche platforms where the particular competitor was well known.
We didn't achieve our original goal of gaining quality backlinks in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands from getting sites and publishers to use our release and then link to us.
But it ended on a win-win note for all and our relationship wasn't damaged.
I would really like to know if anyone has used a press release to gain a reasonable number of backlinks recently. Kindly share if you have a similar experience where link building strategy went bad. I would love to learn from you.
I was too concerned with how to rank – keywords, meta descriptions back in 2007.
I ignored the experts and focused on the basics – what would others want to read and building an online community.
Focus on creating valuable, authoritative, well-written content relevant to your audience and a technically correct website, not keywords or trends. Then get it in front of your audience through effective social media marketing.
Everyone makes mistakes now and then. Don't let the mistakes drag you down. Rise above them and keep being awesome.
I hope that this blog helped you. If you are just starting out, I guarantee that these insights will put you on the right track. On a personal note, my advice is that you connect with these experts now. Trust me. It helps a lot.
Do you have incidents of your own that you would like to share? Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear them.
Thank you for accepting my small contribution. I hope people find value in what my fellow marketers and I said.
Thank you for your continued support. You are truly a great friend and your contributions (however small you may make them out to be) have a huge impact on my life. Looking forward to working together many many times more.
Keep being awesome, and Cheers!
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Home » Logistics (Page 3)
Category Archives: Logistics
Transport and traffic purgatory, paradise and inferno
February 26, 2014 6:36 pm / Leave a comment
A lot of people have been referring to the traffic congestion and other derivative issues that will be the result of the construction of several transport projects around Metro Manila as "traffic armageddon." Some friend have appropriately (I think) referred to it more as "car-mageddon." This seems to be the case since it is perceived to have the most impact on car users than public transport users, cyclists or pedestrians. This is far from the truth as there are more people taking public transport, cycling or walking than those driving their own cars. In fact, estimates for Metro Manila indicate that 70-80% of travelers take public transport while 20-30% take private vehicles. These mode splits do not include bicycles or walking, which obviously will further decrease private car shares.
I would rather refer to this period of construction as a sort of "purgatory" though it has nothing to do with the cleansing that's associated with it. There is still the suffering involved while improvements are being implemented. But, most importantly, there is hope at the end of this process. This "hope" is not necessarily the "light at the end of a dark tunnel" kind of thing as surely population and the number of vehicles will surely increase over time even as the transport projects are being implemented. By the time these are completed, there are sure to be more people, more vehicles, as well as more of other developments that will put our transport system to a stress test. We can only hope that the designs of these infrastructure we are building now are based on honest to goodness trip or traffic forecasts. Otherwise, we'll end up with congested or saturated systems by the time they start operating.
Unfortunately, most projects mentioned and those we know have the green light and would likely be proceeding with construction in the near future are basically road projects. It's ironic considering that what Metro Manila urgently, and maybe desperately, needs now are public transport systems including the much delayed MRT 7, LRT 2 Extension and LRT 1 Extension. The proposals for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) seem to be in a limbo, too, despite extensive studies and surveys to support BRT along corridors such as Ortigas Avenue and Circumferential Road 5. These are blamed on institutional and legal impediments including allegations of shortcomings among officials of agencies responsible for these infrastructure.
I am aware of an initiative led by an environmental lawyer seeking to effect the redistribution of road space in favor of public transport users, cyclists and pedestrians. I think such actions are useful from the perspective of getting the attention necessary to push government and private sector players to have a sense of urgency not just in words but also in actions in as far as transport infrastructure programs and projects are concerned. We are already lagging behind our ASEAN neighbors with regards to infrastructure and at this pace, it is likely that less developed countries like Cambodia and Myanmar might just overtake us in the foreseeable future. From another perspective, it is hard to push for sharing the road when people really don't have better options for commuting. Walking and cycling are not for everyone and many people have turned to the motorcycle to solve their transport woes. In the latter case, motorcycles are perceived as a vehicle that's fuel efficient and allows the users to zip through congested streets often at high risks of being involved in a crash or spill.
We can only achieve "paradise" in our highly urbanized cities if we build these mass transit systems along with the pedestrian and cycling facilities that will complement each other. Those for whom car travel is a necessity would also benefit from reduced road congestion so it will eventually (hopefully) play out well for most people. Meanwhile, we would have to endure transport and traffic hell (some more and longer than others) as the government and private sector embark on this round of infrastructure projects implementation. It helps to look back at our experiences with the last major batch of projects in the latter part of the 1990's when the number coding scheme was first implemented. At the time, it was implemented as a temporary measure to alleviate congestion while projects where being implemented. What was a temporary measure is now still being implemented along with a truck ban that has also been evolving the past years with the latest being the one implemented by the City of Manila starting last February 24. Will these vehicle restraint schemes be modified to cope with the traffic congestion expected from projects like the Skyway connector? Will these be relaxed or removed after all these projects have been completed? Your guess is as good as mine.
Manila's truck ban experiment
The City of Manila has announced that it will implement a truck ban from February 10, Monday. Trucks of at least 8-wheels and 4,500kg gross weight will not be allowed to travel in Manila's roads from 5AM to 9PM. Manila's City Ordinance No. 8336 calls for the daytime truck ban in the city in order to reduce traffic congestion that is perceived to be brought about by trucks. 8-wheelers are likely 3-axle trucks with a 4-wheel, 2-axle prime mover pulling a 1-axle, 4-wheel (double-tired) trailer. I am not aware of the technical basis for the ordinance. Perhaps the city has engaged consultants to help them determine the pros and cons of this daytime truck ban. I hope it is not all qualitative analysis that was applied here as logistics is quite a complicated topic. And such schemes in favor of passenger transport (and against goods movement) actually creates a big problem for commerce due to the challenges of scheduling that they have to deal with. To cope with this ordinance, companies would have to utilize smaller vehicles to transport goods during the daytime. This actually might lead to more vehicles on the streets as companies try to compensate for the capacity of the large trucks that will be banned from traveling during the restricted period by fielding smaller trucks.
Trucks parked along Bonifacio Drive near the DPWH Central Office in Manila's Port Area.
The latest word is that Manila has postponed implementation of the ordinance to February 24. This was apparently due to the reaction they got from various sectors, especially truckers and logistics companies who would be most affected by the restrictions. It was only natural for them to show their opposition to the scheme. Reactions from the general public, however, indicated that private car users and those taking public transport welcomed the truck ban as they generally stated that they thought trucks were to blame for traffic congestion in Manila. The truck ban will definitely have impacts beyond Manila's boundaries as freight/goods transport schedules will be affected for the rest of Metro Manila and beyond. The Port of Manila, after all, is critical to logistics for the National Capital Region, and its influence extends to adjacent provinces where industries are located. Such issues on congestion and travel demand management measures focused on trucks bring back talks about easing freight flow to and from the Port of Manila to major ports in Subic and Batangas. There have been studies conducted to assess the decongestion of the Port of Manila as Batangas and Subic are already very accessible with high standard highways connecting to these ports including the SLEX and STAR tollways to Batangas and the NLEX and SCTEX to Subic. Perhaps it would be good to revisit the recommendations of these studies while also balancing the treatment of logistics with efforts necessary to improve public transport. After all, trucks are not all to blame for Manila's and other cities' traffic woes as buses are repeatedly being blamed for congestion along EDSA. In truth, there are more cars than the numbers of buses, trucks, jeepneys and UV Express combined. And the only way to reduce private car traffic is to come up with an efficient and safe public transport system. –
In-vehicle tools for road safety
January 27, 2014 4:41 pm / Leave a comment
I recently came across a provincial bus operator who is promoting a device for limiting the speeds of vehicles. He states that all their buses are fitted with the device and together with an on-board camera and GPS, they are able to monitor their buses and ensure the safety and security of their passengers. It's always good to know there are responsible and progressive bus operators like him. Unfortunately, his kind is a minority among many who appear to be after the proverbial quick buck rather than ensuring a high quality of service for travelers.
Devices limiting the speeds of vehicles are not new. These have been installed in many public transport and commercial vehicles like buses and trucks in order to regulate their speeds along highways and streets. Trucks from Japan are fitted with these devices and those second hand trucks being sold in the Philippines have these but are allegedly disabled by their new owners. They are not violating any laws here as there are no regulations requiring such devices to be installed in vehicles.
Tracking devices that include GPS are more recent technologies being used mainly by logistics companies to track their vehicles. These are particularly important for trucks laden with high value cargo or for delivery vans who schedules and routes need to be managed to ensure timely delivery of packages consigned to them. Data from these devices would allow for the assessment of driving speeds and behavior such as lane changing that can be used to determine if drivers are, for example, reckless. The same data can also be used to evaluate fuel efficiency.
Such devices also have research applications because data can be used to determine real-time traffic conditions. In fact, there have been probe car studies conducted in other countries such as Japan, Thailand and Indonesia where taxis were employed to gather traffic information along urban road networks (e.g., Tokyo, Bangkok, Jakarta). Similar experiments can be implemented for Philippine cities to derive traffic information that can be used to guide travelers regarding travel times and route planning.
Perhaps the DOTC through the LTO and the LTFRB, should look into the mandatory installation and use of these devices to regulate vehicle speeds for public and freight transport and also monitor driver behavior. Mandatory speed regulation devices as well as tracking systems have a high potential for weeding out reckless, irresponsible drivers that will ultimately lead to a reduction in road crashes that have resulted in serious injuries and loss of lives. Definitely, there will be objections or opposition to such a requirement but these devices can be justified given the clamor for safer transport and safer roads. After all, everyone of us are vulnerable road users where even the safest driver can be involved in crashes. It takes only one reckless driver or rider to cause a crash.
Truck weight limits in the Philippines
December 9, 2011 10:48 pm / 3 Comments on Truck weight limits in the Philippines
I noticed a lot of interest on the "truck ban" scheme from the statistics provided by WordPress on my dashboard. It seems there are very limited material available on the scheme especially in the Philippines where there have been variations of and misconceptions on this travel demand management (TDM) measure. Why do cities like Metro Manila implement a truck ban? Or better yet, why are there designated truck routes in cities? The answer can be quite simple if viewed from the perspective of asset preservation. That is, by restricting trucks to use specific roads, we are also limiting their impacts (read: damage) to the road infrastructure. Such impacts come in the way of damaged pavements and/or bridges that bear the brunt of the weights carried by heavy vehicles. But such argument begs the question of why, in the first place, shouldn't we design our pavements and bridges so that they may be able to withstand the cumulative loads of heavy vehicle traffic over a prescribed period of time, say 20 years, give and take a few years for variability and reliability in design and construction methods? Such is a question that needs to be answered, and clearly, by our DPWH, at least for the case of our national roads and bridges. It is really not a simple matter and certainly not something that cannot be blamed solely on the fact that evidences in the Philippines point to truck overloading as one of the culprits for damaged pavements and bridges.
The website of the Department of Public Works and Highways provides information on the axle load and truck weight limits for national roads. The matrix of weights may easily be downloaded and is provided in the following document:
DPWH Matrix of Trucks
The maximum single axle loads for different countries around the world are provided below:
Max Permissible Truck Loads World
I found another table of values this time for European countries. Based on the table on weight limits in European Union Countries, France seems to have the heaviest single axle load limit.
EU Axle and Truck Loads
Still, the question running in the minds of most people involved in policymaking, monitoring and enforcement, and research is "How did we come up with the 13.5-metric ton maximum single axle load value in the first place?" Surely, it wasn't a number that was plucked out from the air?
The 13.5-metric ton was most probably derived from an axle load study conducted in the 1990's. Such a study could have, among others, determined the appropriate maximum axle loads that could be adopted by the country in lieu of the limits at the time that were already deemed obsolete given the evolution of trucks over time (i.e., they're bigger now compared to, say, 30 years ago). What is problematic is that it seems the study was only able to derive the maximum single axle load and was not able to estimate maximum loads for tandem and tridem axles. Tandem axles are two axles positioned one after the other while tridems are three axles grouped together. These tandems and tridems are typical configurations for the rear axles of large trucks and trailers, enabling them to support heavy loads that typically are distributed more towards the rear axles.
Truck Ban
October 28, 2010 6:44 am / 2 Comments on Truck Ban
Another form of vehicle restraint focuses on freight and logistics vehicles, particularly trucks. These are commonly referred to as large vehicles having at least 6 tires (double-tired rear axle). The prevailing perception is that many if not most of these vehicles are overloaded and impede the flow of traffic due to their slow speeds as well as damage pavements not designed for heavy vehicles.
"The truck ban is a scheme first applied in the late 1970's to address the perception that freight vehicles are the main culprits in congesting Metro Manila roads. Trucks were prohibited from traveling along major arterials including the primary circumferential and radial road network for most of the day. Exemptions from the daytime ban were applied to roads in the vicinity of the port area where truck traffic was practically inevitable."
The coverage area of the truck ban included all of Metro Manila's major circumferential and radial roads – C1 to C5 refer to Metro Manila's circumferential roads while R1 to R10 refer to the radial roads. These comprise the main arterials of the Metro Manila road network. For reference, C3 refers to Araneta Avenue and related roads, C4 is EDSA, Letre and Samson Roads, and C5 refers to Katipunan, E. Rodriguez and C.P. Garcia Avenues. R1 refers to Roxas Boulevard, R5 is Shaw Boulevard, R6 is Aurora Boulevard, and R7 is España and Quezon Avenues.
"There are the different versions of the truck ban being implemented in Metro Manila. Truck Ban 1 is enforced along EDSA, Metro Manila's busiest arterial and often its most congested road. Designated as Circumferential Road 4 (C4) it has a 10- to 12-lane carriageway with a mass rapid transit line running along its median. Truck Ban 2 practically covers all other roads except sections of arterial roads that have been designated as truck routes."
Truck Ban 1 is enforced from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM everyday except Sundays and Holidays. Meanwhile, Truck Ban 2 is implemented from 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM to 9:00 PM everyday except Sundays and Holidays. The second version attempts to minimize trucks during the morning and afternoon/evening peak periods.
"The chronology of the truck ban scheme started in 1978. In recognition of the critical situation of traffic congestion in Metro Manila, the then Metropolitan Manila Authority (MMA) issued Ordinance No. 78-04, which prohibited cargo trucks, with gross vehicular weight (GVW) of more than 4,000 kilogram, from plying along eleven major thoroughfares in Metro Manila during peak traffic hours – from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M. and from 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M., daily except on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
In 1990, the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) issued Memorandum Circulars No. 90-367 and 90-375, changing truck ban hours to: between 7:00 A.M. and 10:00 A.M. on weekdays; 4:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. for Monday to Thursday; and from 4:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. on Fridays. In response to the appeal of the members and officers of the various truckers' associations for an alternate route and a 2-hour reduction of truck ban, the MMA issued Ordinance No. 19, Series of 1991, amending MMC Ordinance No. 78-04. This issuance provided alternate routes to the truck ban routes and effected a 2-hour reduction of the truck ban period, thereby prohibiting trucks on the road from 7:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M. and from 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M.
In 1994 the MMA issued Ordinance No. 5, Series of 1994, further amending Ordinance No. 78-04 as amended by Ordinance No. 19 Series 1991. The Ordinance restricts trucks from traveling or passing along 10 major routes from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M. and from 5:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. daily, except on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The Ordinance also provided for an "all-day" truck ban along Metro Manila's major arterial road, the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA), from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. daily, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
In 1996, the MMDA, in its desire to further reduce traffic congestion even on Saturdays, issued Regulation No. 96-008 amending MMA Ordinance No. 94-05, imposing truck ban from Monday to Saturday, except Sunday and holidays. An MMDA Regulation No. 99-002, amended Ordinance No. 5, Series of 1994, wherein the "gross capacity weight" was amended from 4,000 to 4,500 kilograms."
In the last few years, the MMDA has implemented adjustments to the truck ban scheme in coordination with Metro Manila local government units. Certain truck routes were identified to address the issues raised by the private sector, particularly industries and commercial establishments, regarding the transport and delivery of goods. Other cities in the Philippines have adopted the truck ban in one form or another, often directing trucks to use alternate roads in order to decongest the roads in the central business districts as well as to prevent their early deterioration as a result of truck overloading practices.
[Source of italicized text: Regidor, J.R.F. and Tiglao, N.C.C. (2007) "Alternative Solutions to Traffic Problems: Metro Manila in Retrospect," Proceedings of the 11th World Conference on Transport Research (WCTR 2007), 24-28 June 2007, University of California Transportation Center, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA, DVD.] | {
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The official podcast of Feeding Tampa Bay. We talk food and philanthropy with some of the biggest names in Central Florida, and provide a firsthand look at the process of making sure our 700,000 neighbors are fed, happy and healthy.
Learning to Lead from the Front, with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor
We're fortunate to have had the support of Tampa's Mayor, Jane Castor, through thick and thin in recent years. She stood by us during the pandemic, providing Feeding Tampa Bay the attention and resources we needed to ensure nobody went hungry while businesses were closing. And now she's helping guide us through the process of expanding our capability, as we begin construction on a new facility offering more programs and more food out the door. Tune in to hear about her journey from athlete to police officer and finally to mayor of an entire city. And learn how the importance of family and community aided her along the way. And as ever, follow us on your preferred social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay, to see what other guests we've had on the show, and what exciting developments are on their way in the future.
Proving Hunger-Free is Possible with Katie Fitzgerald, President of Feeding America
There was so much more to discuss with our recent guest, Katie Fitzgerald, that we just had to have her back on the show. Last time we talked about the ways that food banks are evolving to address root causes of hunger -- but on today's episode we discuss how that evolution is made possible, and how it's already making regions around Feeding America food banks truly hunger-free. To learn what it really means to be hunger-free, check out another recent episode where our Chief Programs Officer, Matt Spence, breaks it down in simple terms! You can save our episodes for later listening on any of your favorite podcast platforms, and you can see teasers for each one by following our social media accounts @FeedingTampaBay.
Lifting Up Young Learners with Addison Davis, Superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools
After spending years teaching students directly, Addison Davis finds himself in charge of all the school's in one of the nation's largest counties. How does someone in that position ensure that children are getting what they need to be well-adjusted, successful adults? By working tirelessly to get teachers and parents what they need, and remembering that every child has a story. Tune in to learn how Addison has pushed to improve schools in Hillsborough county in recent years, and what he hopes we can come together to accomplish for the future caretakers of our society. Follow @FeedingTampaBay on your favorite social media platform to learn about the other partners we work with to make Tampa a healthier, happier place!
Creating the Hunger-Free Strategy with Joanna Burleson of the Monitor Institute
Hunger-free means everybody who needs food knows where they can go to get some, as our Chief Programs Officer, Matt Spence, recently explained on our show. And on today's episode we introduce you to the folks who have helped us develop a plan to make Tampa Bay hunger-free. Over the course of the past year the Monitor Institute, and their Managing Director, Joanna Burleson, has helped Feeding Tampa Bay figure out how we can do what we do even better. Together we brainstormed outside the box, talked with members of the community, and pored over research to give ourselves the best edge we can get in the fight against food insecurity. Tune in to learn what it takes to create a plan like this, and what we think we can do now that it's nearly complete. And stay up-to-date on all the other work we're doing in the community, as well as ways you can get involved, by following us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Humans of the Food Bank 2022 - Part 2
Continuing from yesterday's episode of this year's Humans of the Food Bank, we bring you 5 more of our incredible colleagues sharing their personal journeys! Tune in to meet the compassionate souls that work every day to end hunger in Tampa Bay and beyond, and if you missed the first 3 guests, be sure to check out Part 1 of this year's series. Catch all the teasers and highlights from this and other FTB creations by following us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Humans of theFood Bank 2022 - Part 1
Everyone's favorite annual episode is here! We love to wrap up each year with an episode that helps you get to know our staff, who they are, what they do, and why they do it. These phenomenal human beings feed thousands of families all over West Central Florida, and they pour their heart into our mission every single day. Tune in to hear from three of our colleagues who have never been on the show before, and learn how they came to be part of the Feeding Tampa Bay Family. Then, tune in again tomorrow, December 22nd, to hear from four more hunger heroes! And follow us on your preferred social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay to see the work these incredible folks do in action!
How Will Feeding Tampa Bay End Hunger? Our Chief Programs Officer Matt Spence Explains The Strategic Plan
Our beloved show host, Matt Spence, returns to share what he's been up to for the past few months -- which entails everything from Ninja Warrior training to mapping out the end to hunger in Tampa Bay. He and other members of FTB have been assembling expert research and firsthand community member experiences into a strategic plan, which will help us ensure that everyone who needs food in our region will know where to find it. Tune in to learn how we're improving our programs to put more food in schools, improve the physical health of families, and help people establish their own financial stability. And be sure to follow FTB on your favorite social media platform for more insights and updates @FeedingTampaBay!
Katie Fitzgerald, President of Feeding America, Explains the Future of Food Banking
Katie Fitzgerald never intended to work in food banking, but along the storied path to her current position, she learned just how many doorways access to food can open for people across the country. Feeding America is a network of more than 200 partner food banks that cover every county in the United States, and Feeding Tampa Bay is just one part of that massive effort. Our own CEO, Thomas Mantz, joins us on this episode to discuss with Katie how the work that we do creates opportunities for people to change their future, by connecting them with resources beyond just food. Tune in to learn how we hope to provide a voice to the people who are struggling, and who know what they need better than anyone else. Follow @FeedingTampaBay on your favorite social media platforms to learn how you can stand with us in the fight against hunger, providing hope to people in your own community and beyond.
Rescuing Food from Waste with Cammie Chatterton, CEO of Bay Food Brokerage
Billions of pounds of perfectly edible food goes to waste every year in the United States alone. As one of the largest food recyclers in the country, Feeding Tampa Bay is proud to partner with caring individuals like Cammie Chatterton, who uses her role and knowledge as a food broker to make sure that waste is reduced as much as possible. Tune in to learn what a food broker does, and how she became a part of our mission to end hunger in our community. And follow us on your favorite social media platform @FeedingTampaBay to learn how YOU can become part of the mission, too!
Learning about the Humane Society of Tampa Bay's Free Shot Clinic from their CEO Sherry Silk
We know that our pets are family, and their health and happiness is as important to us as our own. That's why we partner up every year with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay to provide free shots for dogs, and free food for families. Having a few less things to worry about builds up the capacity our community members have to deal with struggles that come their way, and we've seen how just a little extra help can dramatically change a life. Tune in to hear from Sherry Silk, CEO of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, on how their organization has grown to help more of our furry friends, and the families that love them. And find us on your favorite social media platform @FeedingTampaBay, to learn about more events like the free shot clinic coming up on Saturday, Nov. 5th -- from 9am-12pm at the Gardenville Park & Recreation Center in Gibsonton!
Helping Through Hurricane Ian with Jim Carpenter of Feeding Tampa Bay
How do we bring stability to our community and even our Florida neighbors? Our Director of Facilities and Disaster Response, Jim Carpenter, joins us at the table once again to share details on how our network prepares and provides relief during a storm, specifically Hurricane Ian. Followed by Rule #7 suggestions from ABC Action News Denis Phillips! You can listen to his full episode (Weather Geeking with Denis Phillips of ABC Action News) on your favorite podcast platform, as well. Follow us on your favorite social media platforms to stay updated on all the ways we help our community in times of need, and to learn how you can get involved in the fight against hunger, too.
Studying Humans and Hunger with Dr. Himmelgreen of the University of South Florida
What does the study of Anthropology have to do with fighting hunger? Well, more than you'd think! Not only does studying human nature tell us tons about how people cope with hunger, it can also tell us how to combat it. On today's episode we sit with our longtime academic associate, Dr. David Himmelgreen, to talk about the ways that people all over the world are alike, and how we learn better ways every day to help them. Wait for it... This is our first podcast episode with a visual follow up, where you can join Thomas and Shannon on an adventure into the worlds of our guests and the community we serve. Tune in for, Stick A Fork In It TV -- brought to you regularly on our YouTube channel. This first one will launch next Wednesday, September 28th. So be sure to follow us there for updates! And to see all the other ways we're working to fight hunger, follow us on your favorite social media @FeedingTampaBay.
Learn How You Can Take Action with Full-Time Volunteer Don Germaise
As a former reporter with ABC Action News, Don Germaise made the decision not to really retire but instead to "hunker down" into a life dedicated to community service. In the Tampa Bay non-profit world, he is the definition of "Take Action". And that is the mantra during September, which is recognized every year as Hunger Action Month, when people all over the country come together to help each other get the resources they need to fill bellies and create a better future. You can take action year round, but tune in to learn more about the ways you can get involved this September, and hear some of Don's amazing tales of volunteering around the world! Follow us on your favorite social media platforms to learn how you can take part in Hunger Action Month, or just take action in your community in general!
Making TampaWell with Dr. Tanuja Sharma & Kim Christine of Tampa General Hospital
Tampa General Hospital believes, like we do, that food is medicine. But they also know that exercise and education are medicine, too, and they're committed to helping our neighbors access all of those things. Through their upcoming grassroots project, TampaWell, they will provide Tampa residents with a community garden and food pantry, as well as guidance on ways to practice "enjoyable movement" and mental health wellness tips. On today's episode we're joined by Kim Christine and Dr. Tanuja Sharma of Tampa General Hospital, and they offer a wealth of insights into ways that men, women, children, and seniors can take simple steps to improve their health on a daily basis. Tune in and see how you might benefit from a little integrated medicine yourself! And follow us on your favorite social media sites @FeedingTampaBay for more information about TampaWell, and other ways that we're partnering with our peers to make Tampa living healthier and easier for everyone!
Packing the Pantries with Nino DeLucia of Vigo & Alessi
No doubt you probably have some Vigo & Alessi food products in your own pantry right now. Well they're celebrating 75 years of being based in Tampa by teaming up with ABC Action News and Feeding Tampa Bay, to help Pack the Pantries of school children and their families in our community! Tune in to learn about Vigo's history from one of the family members that helps bring you some of your favorite Italian and Spanish food products, and also how you can help with our Pack the Pantries campaign this year. Young kiddos need food to grow and learn, and we're grateful to have partners like these standing beside us to make sure that happens! Learn more about Feeding Tampa Bay, our partners, and how you can get involved in the fight against hunger by visiting FeedingTampaBay.org. Or by following us on your favorite social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay!
Crowning Epic Chefs with Shawn Routten of the Epicurean Hotel
2022 marks the SEVENTH year of our much-loved Epic Chef competition, where the top chefs in Tampa Bay face off in a contest of culinary creativity. Guests watch in person or online, enjoying delicious gourmet cuisine and crafted cocktails at the Epicurean Hotel, and on today's episode our guest is the hotel's General Manager, Shawn Routten! Tune in for a quick convo where we learn about the history of the event, the future of the hotel's expansion in SoHo, and some fun facts about Shawn himself. And be sure to tune in for the final night of Epic Chef -- Monday, August 1st starting at 6:45pm! Visit the Feeding Tampa Bay YouTube channel to watch LIVE, and subscribe for notifications about this and future events. And as always, follow us on your other favorite social media @FeedingTampaBay, to learn how you can get involved with our mission of ending hunger in West Central Florida and beyond!
Giving Through Gourmet with Chef Daniel Graves of Trinity Cafe
Trinity Cafe promises to feed all who need food, rain or shine, pandemic or peace, 365 days a year. And the meals are so much more than just basic sustenance. That's thanks in large part to our Executive Chef, Daniel Graves, who has worked everywhere from smalltime local kitchens to massive casino chains over the past 32 years. On this episode Chef Daniel explains what drew him to Trinity Cafe after decades of managing premiere kitchens around the country, and how he and his committed team are able to turn food donations into gourmet meals on a daily basis for our neighbors in need. Want to see some of his expertise in action? Check out our upcoming Epic Chef event, where guests can sample the amazing charcuterie boards he's assembled, and watch some of the best chefs in Tampa Bay face off over the course of three nights! And follow us on all social media @FeedingTampaBay for more updates.
Preparing for the New Daddy Experience with Jake Edling
Becoming a parent for the first time is scary, and the mountains of information we're expected to consume in preparation can be overwhelming. That's why Jake Edling, father of seven and acclaimed dad-expert, wrote "The New Daddy Experience" -- a succinct and grounded guide through the first few months of parenthood. Though it is primarily geared toward new fathers, new mothers can also benefit from the tips, tricks, and truths contained in the intentionally brief collection of pages. On this episode of Stick a Fork in It, Jake explains how he transitioned from life as a company man to life as a dedicated father and teacher, and how he learned to navigate the unpredictable path of parenthood. Find his brand new book for Kindle on Amazon! And be sure to check out our recent Father's Day special episode, featuring some of the dads who work at our food bank. Whether you're having your first child or your seventh, there's so much that can be learned when we share our wisdoms with one anoth…
The Fathers of Feeding Tampa Bay
On this special Father's Day edition of Stick a Fork in It, we welcome a few of the food bank's new and long-time fathers to share stories of the work, play, and growth that goes into raising their little ones. Matt hosts our co-workers Pete, Khalil, and Lemuel, who have sons and daughters ranging from toddlers to teens and beyond, and a truckload of funny and meaningful stories that naturally come with the territory of parenthood. Tune in to learn how they manage their work-life balance, create loving connections with their family, and learn from their own childhood experiences to be the best fathers they can be. To all the dads out there we say, Happy Father's Day! Follow us on all our social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay for more fun insights into our world and the amazing staff that helps us lift up our community every single day!
Feeding Hungry Pets with Melissa Pratt of PetSmart Charities
We all love our furry friends, and the last thing we want is to see them going hungry when we fall on hard times. That's why PetSmart Charities decided to team up with Feeding America, to make sure that pet owners didn't have to make difficult choices in trying to support themselves. Tune in to learn how PetSmart and Feeding Tampa Bay worked together to provide dog, cat, and people food to families during the pandemic, and how you can help support that mission going forward! Follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to learn about the other partners that make our mission of ending hunger possible, and how you can join the movement, too.
The Well Builds Bikes that Move People Forward ft. Jon Dengler of WellBuilt Bikes
Recorded on location at the WellBuilt Bikes shop in the University Mall, we talk philanthropy and philosophy with grassroots community organizer, Jon Dengler. He shares how a single conversation with a homeless neighbor led him to build an organization that works tirelessly to support people struggling with poverty and independence. From opening his home to the unhoused, to starting community gardens, to providing free bikes to customers who complete a bit of community service -- Jon has collaborated with like minds to move mountains for people, without the backing of any major corporate or government funding. Tune in for an inspiring story that will help you to see poverty differently, and how much something small like a working bicycle can mean in helping someone out of a rut in their life. Follow us on social media for more stories like this one @FeedingTampaBay!
Creating A Hub for Humanity with Mary Brown of Gulfside Elementary
What if your child could get a dental check-up without having to leave school? And if your elderly neighbor could get food for free when their money is tight? And if someone could help you navigate confusing government programs online? Well at Gulfside Elementary, all of these things are made possible through the Community Partnership program they are a part of -- and the services offered are available to students, families, and any other residents in the area who need help. On this episode we're joined by the Gulfside Hub director, Mary Brown. And she explains not only how the program works, but how they've already seen amazing, measurable results in the few short years that it's been open. Tune in to learn how community partners have come together to support Gulfside and other schools all over Florida. And follow @FeedingTampaBay on any social platform to see how we're providing support too, so you can get involved!
Cereal for Summer Kicks Off with Kathryn Bursch of 10 Tampa Bay
It's become a tradition over the past 7 years for us to collect thousands of cereal boxes during the summer, to help feed children who normally depend on their schools for breakfast. And we have Kathryn Bursch and her team from local news station 10 Tampa Bay to thank for coming up with the idea and putting it into action. This year's collection is already underway, and Kathryn joins us on today's episode to tell you a bit about Cereal for Summer, and how you can get involved to help feed hungry children! Visit Cerealforsummer.org for more information. And follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to see all the wonderful work being done by our partners like General Mills, who donated over 85 thousand boxes of cereal directly to Feeding Tampa Bay this year!
From Ukraine to You: Finding Peace Amidst Crisis (featuring Ian Adair) - Part 2
We return to our two-part episode featuring our friend Ian Adair from the Gracepoint Foundation, and our conversation about mental health in times of crisis. In part one we focused on the ways that world events, and their inescapable presence on social media, can have a negative impact on our mental health -- as well as ways to combat that impact. But in part two, Ian helps us understand the importance of mental health in the workplace. We spend so much of our lives working, and if that environment isn't one where we feel seen, heard, and understood, it's unlikely that we'll be happy there for very long. If you missed it, click here to check out the previous episode! And if you want to hear the first episode where Ian joined us on the show, click here. Follow @FeedingTampaBay for future updates about the show, and ways you can get involved in the fight against hunger.
What can you do when there seems to be crisis all around you? Mental health guru Ian Adair joins us once again for a conversation about coping in healthy ways with the pandemic, a struggling economy, and now, a war between Ukraine and Russia that has the entire world on edge. He and Thomas Mantz, our Feeding Tampa Bay CEO, dive into the way that social media and news overload can affect us, our children, and our relationships with one another. And this episode has two parts! In part one we discuss the personal ways that people can develop tools for creating peace in their lives, and then in part two (releasing next week) we discuss ways to foster peace and understanding in the workplace. To learn more about how the Ukraine conflict has affected folks right here in Tampa Bay, check out this powerful Tampa Bay Times article by Christopher O'Donnell. And to listen to the previous episode where Ian joined us to talk about his work with the Gracepoint Foundation, click here! Follow us fo…
Celebrating National Women's Month with Contemporary Fiction Author Lisa Unger
Lisa Unger has had a passion for writing stories since she was a girl, and for the past 20 years has put out one new novel each year. She joins us on today's episode to describe how we all have creativity within and how she finds her muse "in the quiet" for her character-driven stories, and what it's like to grow up with a career dream that people tell you is silly or unlikely. We're also joined by a special guest host, our own Kelley Sims, adding to the rich environment of female leaders, mothers, and passionate strivers we celebrate this March during National Women's Month. Tune in to learn how reading is just as important for your children as a healthy meal, and how you can support Feeding Tampa Bay by buying books like Lisa's! Follow us on your favorite social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay for more great insights and future guests!
Learning How to Decriminalize Poverty with Sarah Couture of the Fines & Fees Justice Center
Sometimes all it takes to start the spiral into inescapable poverty is a few unpaid parking tickets. When someone is already struggling with money, small legal fines can result in their license being taken away, and then they often can't earn any money at all. Sarah Couture, Florida Director of the Fines & Fees Justice Center, joins us on this episode to explain how her work seeks to erase these pitfalls from our legal system, so that people who find themselves in trouble don't end up stuck there. A more equitable justice system not only benefits the individuals navigating it, but benefits the system itself, which often relies on the payment of fines and fees for funding. Tune in to learn how telling YOUR story of legal complications can actually make a difference, and also, how a little hot sauce can vastly improve your grandma's patented mac and cheese recipe. And as always, follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay for more tips on how you can help improve your community for your…
Taste Testing Our New "Hops for Hunger" Beer at Big Storm Brewing Company
After a year of perfecting the recipe, we finally get to sit with LJ Govoni and Shannon Brooks to taste their delightful creation, "Hops for Hunger" -- a collaborative project that benefits Feeding Tampa Bay each time somebody buys one of the perfectly-named brews. Big Storm Brewing has been a staple for decades in the Tampa Bay region, and they truly are masters of their craft. On today's episode they walk us through the history of the company, as well as the funny story that led to our partnership with them, and ultimately to this wheaty, citrusy drink idea. And stick around to hear from special guest taste-testers from our own team, and other local nonprofits like John Dengel from Tampa's own WellBuilt Bikes! To see clips from other episodes, or learn more about our mission of ending hunger in Tampa Bay, visit FeedingTampaBay.org, or follow us on your favorite social media platform @FeedingTampaBay! Want to contact us directly with questions or ideas about our show? Email Shannon…
World Series Philanthropy with Howard Grosswirth of the New York Yankees
George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida is like a second home to New York's own Yankees. Over the course of their 27 seasons here, some of the biggest names in baseball have trained right in our own backyard. And on today's episode we have the pleasure of reminiscing with Howard Grosswirth, the Yankees' Vice President of Corporate Sales, and a member of the Feeding Tampa Bay board of directors. He shares with us the Yankees' devoted history of supporting their communities, and the ways that the Steinbrenner family continues to be a huge believer in missions like that of Feeding Tampa Bay. With their help, and yours, we are working to make Tampa Bay healthy, happy, and hunger-free. Click here to listen to our episode featuring Brian Auld, President of the Tampa Bay Rays Click here to listen to our episode featuring Ian Beckles, former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Learn more about our partnerships with the Yankees, the Rays, the Bucs, the Lightning and others by visiting our website or…
Humans of the Food Bank 2021 - Board
Behind all of the phenomenal work done every day by our food bank staff and volunteers are the members of the Feeding Tampa Bay board of directors, who guide and support our organization in the mission of ending hunger in our community. On today's episode we are joined by three of those board members, each with their own passionate story about why fighting hunger is important to them, and how their unique positions allow them to do just that. Two of these huge-hearted individuals have been on the show before, so if you missed those episodes, or just want to revisit them, find the links below! And as ever, if you want to find more info about Feeding Tampa Bay and how you can help us lift up the children and families that need us, visit FeedingTampaBay.org. Monica Wilson - Director, Community Food Pantry Roberto Torres - Owner, Blind Tiger Cafe
Humans of the Food Bank 2021 - Volunteers
Tens of thousands of volunteers grace our programs with their presence every single year, and make possible our mission of ending hunger in our community. On today's episode, meet 6 more magnificent humans who have worked side by side with us in recent years, and learn what drives them to keep returning to the front lines every single week. From serving up hot dishes at Trinity Cafe to assisting shoppers in our Publix Community Market, these incredible people have touched the lives of their neighbors in ways they couldn't previously imagine. And we hope that hearing their stories will touch your life, as well. The grand finale of this years Humans of the Food Bank series will feature Feeding Tampa Bay's own board members, and you can meet them here in just a couple of weeks! Follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay for updates, and stay tuned.
Humans of the Food Bank 2021 - Our Team
It's becoming a tradition to spend our last few episodes of the year getting to know the huge-hearted people who carry our mission on their backs. Our food bank is huge, and continuing to grow rapidly, and the people we have to thank for that success come from all over the world, with all kinds of stories and dreams, and they are the folks we'd like you to meet today. Learn how 6 amazing individuals work every day to end hunger in the Tampa Bay area, whether they guide our volunteers in the field, coordinate the food we provide, or spread our message online -- they are all key parts of our philanthropic family, and we know you'll love them as much as we do. Our next episode will introduce some of our veteran volunteers, who have been assisting us for years in feeding their neighbors, both young and old -- so keep an eye out for announcements by following us on your favorite social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay!
Meditating on Mental Health with Ian Adair of the Gracepoint Foundation
Author, comedian, and Executive Director of the Gracepoint Foundation, Ian Adair has spent 25 years managing communications in the non-profit world. He uses humor and human connection to introduce people to the reality that everyone has mental health that needs attending to, and that no one is completely alone in their struggles, even if it feels that way sometimes. On today's episode, he shares the work done by Gracepoint to bring self-care into the workplace, amidst anecdotes about his favorite tacos and his 11-year-old son's hilarious nickname for him. If you're looking for additions to your own self-care routine, consider boosting spirits around you, and in turn your own, by giving back to your community with the gifts of time and talent. Visit our website, FeedingTampaBay.org, to learn about opportunities to get involved with our mission of ending hunger in Tampa Bay -- and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Helping Tampa Bay the United Way with Kari Goetz
Accessible housing, tax assistance, early childhood education -- United Way guides people through some of the most difficult trials that life serves up, and many of us have no idea of the help they offer, all over the world. Kari Goetz of our local affiliate, United Way Suncoast, joins us on this episode and in her theater-honed style explains how so many people who work full time can still fall through the cracks of society. Tune in for a phenomenal convo about safety nets, German food, and the Mouseketeers -- then take a look through our episode list to hear from our other great community partners like the Rays, St. Pete Distillery, and wrestlers from the WWE! Want to get involved in making your community a healthier, happier place? Visit FeedingTampaBay.org to donate or volunteer with us -- or if you're in need yourself, find food in your area that's fresh and free.
Making Life Suite with MaryAnn Renfrow
Raising a family and growing a business on a resort overlooking the sandy shores of St. Pete Beach, MaryAnn Renfrow understands the importance of preserving the nature that guests and locals enjoy every day. That's why she joined the board of Tampa Bay Watch to help restore our waterways and teach the community about them. And when the beaches were empty last year, she dedicated her time and resources to standing with Feeding Tampa Bay in the fight against hunger, which had been made more difficult by the pandemic. Tune in to learn about MaryAnn's lifelong adventures in Pinellas county, how she got into the hospitality industry, and what it was like trying to run a hotel during a nationwide lockdown. And follow us on your preferred social media platform @FeedingTampaBay to learn how you can get involved in the fight against hunger, too!
Need in the News with Gayle Guyardo of Bloom TV
One of our main goals here at Feeding Tampa Bay is to tell the stories of the people we serve each day, and we couldn't make that happen without the help of our friends in broadcast media. Local news icons like Gayle Guyardo, who has been reporting and anchoring for over 25 years, help shine a light on the needs and good deeds in our community, and we are incredibly grateful to each and every one of them. Tune into today's episode to learn how Gayle got into news media, and what it's like to be a reporter chasing down stories to share on TV! And to stay up-to-date with FTB news, follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay, or visit our website at www.FeedingTampaBay.org!
Rays Up the Community with Brian Auld of the Tampa Bay Rays
For the past 7 years Brian Auld has been president of the Tampa Bay Rays, and during that time he has helped foster a culture of community involvement that sports fans everywhere can be proud of. Listen in to learn how he transitioned from teaching 4th grade students to helping the Rays clinch 2 straight AL East championships, and how important it is for the team to be more than just baseball players. We're proud to be partnered with such a compassionate and innovative organization, and look forward to continuing our shared work of bettering our community in every way we can. Go Rays! Follow FTB on social media at @FeedingTampaBay and visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn more about our sports team partnerships -- as well as opportunities to win official swag from your local favorites!
Preparing a Positive Difference with Buck Johnson of Berkeley Prep
Math and science aren't the only things kids should be learning in school, as today's guest on the show will tell you. A food pantry orchestrated by neighborhood schools is an excellent opportunity for children to learn about serving their community, and who the people in that community really are. Tune in to learn how a small church pantry doubled in size after it was passed along to the care of Buck Johnson and his crew of large-hearted teachers and students, and how your community can easily participate in similar projects that lift spirits and fill bellies everywhere. Follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay and visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org for more information!
Epic Chef Master's Edition LIVE
In a year full of change-ups we've altered the formula of our annual Epic Chef event to be a pack even more excitement into a shorter run of shows. If you're not familiar, Epic Chef is our sponsor-supported competition between Tampa's top restaurants, hosted by The Epicurean Hotel in SoHo. This year over the course of three nights we invited the community to watch the head chefs of the top-rated eateries in our city go head to head creating dishes using surprise mystery ingredients from our very own warehouse! Tune in as Matt and Shannon broadcast the festivities, interviewing special guests and sampling the top-tier cuisine being judged by the evening's contest participants. And be sure to keep an eye out for next year's Epic Chef event so that you can be a part of the party, while helping raise awareness and donation money to aid the food-insecure folks in your community. Visit our website and follow us @FeedingTampaBay on social media to stay up to date on our most recent and upco…
Contributing to the Community with Chrissy Lewis and Kathy Castor
On a special edition of Stick a Fork in It, Congresswoman Kathy Castor is interviewed by her daughter Chrissy Lewis, who just completed a multi-department internship with our organization learning about what we do! Then we get to talk in-depth with Chrissy about her experiences interning with us, as well as her own plans on how best to serve our community in the future. And stick around for WTFB to meet Ronkevious Smalls, our Director of Employee Experience, and learn what it's like to actual work at one of the fasted growing food banks in the country. We place a premium on engaging and gratifying culture here at Feeding Tampa Bay, and go the extra mile to make sure that our employees feel like they fit in with the family! Visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn about career opportunities we currently have available, as well as other ways that you can get involved in your spare time!
Farm in a Box with Shannon and Maddy of Brick Street Farms
What if you could grow 3 whole acres of food in a box in your backyard? Well, Brick Street Farms has developed a way to do just that, using hydroponics and metal shipping containers. Their growing methods provide everything a plant needs to produce the healthiest, tastiest veggies it possible can, without a bunch of artificial modifying. Tune in to learn how the process works, and where you can buy some of their greens near you. Learn more about our community partners by visiting our website at FeedingTampaBay.org, and by following us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Cereal for Summer with Scott Nevitt and Katie Fenech of General Mills
General Mills is the company that produces many of your most favorite, most iconic cereals -- but they're also responsible for TONS of other beloved breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods that you can find in any grocery store. On today's episode we're grateful to have Scott Nevitt (Sr. Customer Mgr.) and Katie Fenech (Brand Experience Asst. Mgr.) join us to marvel at the lifelong impact foods like breakfast cereal have on each and every one of us. This year alone General Mills helped us collect over 2 MILLION meals worth of food during our annual Cereal for Summer campaign. Tune in to learn about all the foods in your fridge that you didn't even know came from General Mills, and stick around to meet Kathryn Burch from our news partner 10 Tampa Bay! Kathryn has been helping FTB spread the word about food relief for years, and she shares with us the importance of that message to her and to her media team. Follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to stay up to date on our annual campaigns…
USF - Dr. Eric Eisenberg, Dean of USF College of Arts & Sciences
The University of South Florida stands with Feeding Tampa Bay not only to feed struggling youth in our community, but to understand why they're struggling, and how best to help them. Their faculty and staff are uniquely capable of conducting the necessary research to understand and fight hunger in the demographics we serve, never missing an opportunity to collaborate with us on exciting new projects. We are, better together forming The Center for the Advancement of Food Insecurity and Healthy Communities. On today's episode, meet Dr. Eric Eisenberg, the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and learn how the three campuses USF has in the surrounding counties provide opportunities to their students and their communities to rise out of their collective struggles and live the lives that are the healthiest and most fulfilling possible. Learn more about our partnerships with USF by following us on social media @FeedingTampaBay! And Go Bulls!
Building Better with Rob Rozmeski of the Zackary Group
It may take a village to raise a barn, but Rob Rozmeski, founder of construction contracting outfit the Zackary Group, did much more than that with far fewer people. Rob knows how incredibly essential it is to have support from your community of loved ones during hard times, and knows maybe better than anyone how important it is to have four walls and a roof for those loved ones to thrive under. So when he agreed to bring our dream of a Feeding Pinellas Community Center in Lealman, we were overjoyed -- and the result has been astonishing. Tune in to hear how Rob was called to give back to his community, through the skills he acquired growing a small business into a mighty one. Then stick around to hear from FTB's own weather/handy man, Jim Carpenter, who has been holding our operation together with his own two hands for the better part of a decade. He explains how FTB acts as a first responder to cities all over the East coast of the country, and how our experience with hurricane afte…
Making Ends Meat with Kevin Ordway of Tyson Foods
You may know Tyson as "the chicken company" but they provide much more than just delicious wings and nuggets to your local grocery store -- they also provide thousands of pounds of food to food banks and veterans around our community. On today's episode Sales Lead Kevin Ordway shares the company's philosophy on philanthropy, and all of the important ways that people can help even when they don't have a massive tractor trailer of chicken to share! Follow @Feedingtampabay on social media to stay up to date on all the ways that you can help too, and visit our website FeedingTampaBay.org to donate or volunteer with us in your community!
Language of Love with Jaclyn Boland of the InterCultural Advocacy Institute
The people we serve come from all walks of life, and an array of cultures. We respect how important it is to meet them in their world -- providing foods and services that are meaningful to them, and to communicate in ways they can easily understand. On this week's episode, we're joined by Jaclyn Boland, CEO of the InterCultural Advocacy Institute, a wonderful organization that has helped us serve the Hispanic and Latinx community in their area. Jaclyn shares the story of her round-the-world journey into cultural philanthropy. Then on WTFB? meet our Community Partnerships Manager, Wilmarie Colon Alvarado, whose job is to ensure that we're serving our neighbors in the best way possible for them personally! Browse our website FeedingTampaBay.org in one of the multiple language options we provide, and sign up for our informational texting service by texting FTBFYI (for English), or FTBPARATI (for Spanish)to 833-530-3663. Don't miss direct alerts about available food and services in your a…
Breakfast and Broadcasting with Miguel Fuller from Hot 101.5
Fans of the Tampa radio station Hot 101.5 have probably listened to the Miguel and Holly Show on their way to work. But for those who are out of range, our guest Miguel Fuller joins us on today's episode about living LIVE on-air, and accepting help in our own times of need. Follow Miguel's odyssey from Atlanta, GA to Tampa, FL, and hear how he came to live a life he never dreamed possible, and why it inspires him every day to give back (and pay it forward)! Listen to Miguel and holly on 101.5 FM from 6-10am, and listen to more episodes of our podcast on your favorite platform (Spotify, Apple Music, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and more). You can also find the episodes on our website FeedingTampaBay.org, along with plenty of other information about our cause, and ways to get involved.
Making Big Changes with Big E of the WWE
Tampa Bay experienced another first this year with Wrestlemania37! WWE Superstar Big E made an impressive, surprise entrance rocking our brand from head to toe! On this episode we find out Big E's motivation and how many meals the auction of his gear will serve and how he's using his influence to help others as well. Plus! Don't miss a very special WTFB? guest who busts in! (hint: he ALSO might be known to most as WWE's Global Ambassador Titus O'Neil but around here, we call him Thad) And as ever, follow us on social @FeedingTampaBay to stay up to speed on our mission of ending hunger in Tampa Bay by 2025!
The Ultimate Volunteer with Peter Masone of the Tampa Bay Cannons
Few people understand the importance of showing up as well as players on a sports team. And Peter Masone, General Manager of the Tampa Bay Cannons, has been showing up every Saturday for over a year to help us feed his neighbors in Pinellas County. Tune in to learn how the Cannons moved to Tampa Bay, and adopted the community as their own in a time of great need. Then stick around to learn about more amazing opportunities to help out from our Feeding Pinellas Volunteer Supervisor, Antoine Everett! Our newest Trinity Cafe location in St. Petersburg will provide hot food, frozen meals, showers, laundry, and more to folks that are struggling -- and we can't do it without you! Visit FeedingTampaBay.org to see what volunteer opportunities are available, and follow us @FeedingTampaBay on social to see what we do on a daily basis!
Centuries of Service with Matt Mitchell of the YMCA
YMCA's across the nation serve as community hubs where members can exercise, learn new skills, gather with fellow members of their faith, swim, dance, and more. And as CEO of the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA Matt Mitchell explains, the collective goal of the organization is to adapt to the needs of their individual communities. So when the pandemic began last year, and members were having difficulty finding child care and food, the YMCA stepped in to provide, at no small cost to themselves. Tune in to learn about all the ways your local "gym & swim" is really so much more than that. And to find out about more of our community partners and ways you can get involved, visit FeedingTampaBay.org and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Speaking the Language with Monica Wilson of the Community Food Pantry
It may come as a surprise to many that food banks exist in some of the more affluent areas around Tampa, let alone that residents actually visit it. But the Community Food Pantry in Carrollwood has been a life raft for hundreds of locals who have fallen on hard times, even before the pandemic. Their fearless director, Monica Wilson, joins us on the show to share how a single experience with her son drove her to take up the fight against hunger, and where that has lead her to today. Then join us for WTFB where our Director of Agency Relations, Catherine Godwin, explains where the heck all of this food comes from, and how a small team of drivers and volunteers get it where it's going. To learn more about what we do, and the partners who help us do it, visit FeedingTampaBay.org, and follow us on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn @FeedingTampaBay!
Spirits and Sanitizer at the St. Pete Distillery
The Covid pandemic has created lots of unlikely allies, like a food bank and an alcohol distillery, for example. When the city's hand-sanitizer supply dried up, the savvy engineers at St. Pete distillery converted their vats to brew their own version and supply it for free to frontline workers and neighbors in need. We talk (bottle) service with Skip Ragan and Matt Armstrong, before tackling relief contributions from the NFL with former Buccaneer Michael Clayton and Angela Smith of the NFL Off the Field Players' Wives Association! View clips from our recording sessions on our Facebook and Instagram pages @FeedingTampaBay! And visit our website FeedingTampaBay.org/Podcasts to listen to other episodes of Stick A Fork In It.
Making Men of Vision with Ross Anderson
For the past 16 years Ross Anderson has been raising the young men of Tampa Bay out of difficult circumstances and into leaders, thinkers, and achievers. His Men of Vision program has guided literally thousands of children deemed "problematic" by their schools to a place where they can actively choose what kind of successful future will suit them best. Tune in to learn how he has worked such incredible magic, and how the Men of Vision have been an invaluable resource to programs like our Trinity Cafe restaurants in North and Downtown Tampa. Our partnerships spread far and wide, and need just as much support as we do here at FTB -- so follow our social pages @FeedingTampaBay to see the names and smiling faces of the community heroes we work with every week!
For the Love of Tampa Bay with Thaddeus Bullard (AKA Titus O'Neil) of the WWE
A truly great man in both character and physical stature, local wrestling celebrity Thaddeus Bullard joins us on the show to talk hometown philanthropy. Not only has he established a groundbreaking adult learning center at Sligh Middle School in Seminole Heights, but he's partnering with Feeding Tampa Bay so that our FRESHforce culinary trainees can utilize the brand new, high quality kitchen inside! Tune in to learn how he grew from a destitute child into a symbol of strength and compassion for future generations. And on WTFB we're joined by FRESHforce leader Mike Perkins, who revels in the glory of the new facility, and what it means to the hopeful candidates that join our jobs training program. Check out the other huge names from around the Bay that we get to partner with! Follow our social media pages @FeedingTampaBay and visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org.
The Superbowl Special with Ashley Ehrman Wickham of Feeding Tampa Bay
We did it, Tampa! The Bucs are going to the Superbowl, and we're taking the opportunity to share some behind-the-scenes info about all of the phenomenal work the NFL is doing to feed struggling families in our community. Meet one of our Development Team all-stars, Ashley, who helps form partnerships like the one we have with the Bucs to make our mission possible. Learn more about our mission and our partnerships by visiting FeedingTampaBay.org, and following us on social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn @FeedingTampaBay!
Homes and Hope with Mike Sutton of Habitat for Humanity
Through a new partnership with our local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, we're helping to give our neighbors two of the most basic needs on Earth - food and shelter. Our friend Mike Sutton, CEO of Habitat Pinellas & West Pasco, joins us to explain how he and his team are helping families break the poverty cycle, and invest energy and pride into their brand new homes. Tune in to celebrate with us, and learn how you can help feed and house deserving parents and children in your area. Follow us on social @feedingtampabay, and visit our website FeedingTampaBay.org, as well as our partner's website HabitatPWP.org!
Humans of the Food Bank (Part 3)
On this final (for now) episode of "Humans of the Food Bank" we learn all about our annual tradition of naming one employee as Food Banker of the Year. We speak with the previous title-holder from 2019, as well as the CO-winners of the title for 2020. Then on WTFB, our president and CEO explains how this tradition came to be, and what it means to be honored with the title. See the fruits of our staff's collective labor on our social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay, and by checking out our website www.FeedingTampaBay.org to find food or learn how you can help us feed the community! We know we're not alone in our passion for service, and every hand that adds some help brings us closer to our goal of a hunger-free Tampa Bay by 2025!
The crew returns to share the stories of more of our incredible fellow food bankers -- from frontline warriors to behind the scenes miracle makers, the humans of FTB are inspirational, funny and kind. Tune in to meet more of our good friends, and as a treat, the mastermind behind the culture of our workplace that binds us all together behind a common cause -- Jayci Peters! Visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn about volunteer and career opportunities with our organization, and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to see the work we're doing in your community every single day!
A food banker can look like anyone, come from anywhere. But no matter the difference in our age, nationality, or job status, we are all connected by our intense drive to help our fellow human beings. In the first episode of this two-part series, we interview a handful of the incredible souls that make up our team - that share their talents with this mission on a daily basis to deliver TWO MILLION MEALS every single week to our community! Learn what we do, what our individual journeys are that bring us together to provide life-saving nourishment to strangers, and why we are driven to continue doing this work. Visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn about volunteer and career opportunities with our organization, and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to see the work we're doing in your community every single day!
Substantial Storytelling with Colleen Chappell of ChappellRoberts
Fighting through poverty, cancer, and the loss of a dear friend, Colleen Chappell (co-founder of the ChappellRoberts Branding & Advertising Agency) has maintained her fiery spirit, and worked her way to the upper tiers of the marketing food chain in both locally and nationally. On today's episode she shares with us her journey from first college graduate in her family, to the dizzying heights of the corporate world, to a humbly powerful collection of creatives headquartered in Ybor City. And on WTFB, meet our Community Engagement Manager, Andrea Kitchen, who's self-defined role is to "bring some sexy" to all of our marketing materials and community events! Be sure to follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to learn how you can get involved, and to hear about upcoming events Andrea is putting on for our partners, friends and families!
Feeding Florida with Robin Safley
Feeding Tampa Bay is just one small part of a vast network of food banks feeding struggling American families. And we couldn't do it without the help of people like Robin Safley, Executive Director of Feeding Florida. On today's episode she compares her experiences in Iron Man triathlon competitions to the marathon that our country has experienced during the pandemic. But through it all, she maintains her trademark optimism: "We're not trying to house people on Mars ... we're trying to connect an asset that exists, with a person who needs it, when they need it, in the right proportion that they need it. Then stick around for WTFB with our own CEO, Thomas Mantz, as he explains the safety net our vast food bank network provides, how it works, and how it has been tested over the past 10 months. For more information and insight, follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn!
Food Pharmacies with Darcy Klempner of Tampa Family Health Centers
Imagine if instead of shaming you for your diet, your doctor sent you home with bags of delicious, healthy food. Well that's the reality at Tampa Family Health Centers, where their team of holistic health specialists recognize the importance of a healthy diet, and also the barriers that keep people from maintaining one. Whether you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a high BMI, Darcy Klempner and her team can help you manage and reduce your symptoms, while teaching you tips and tricks to manage your own health and wellbeing on a daily basis! And on today's WTFB, meet the unstoppable force behind our healthcare partnerships, Kelley Brickfield, and learn this New Englander came to Florida to lift our neighbors into a new life of nutrition and happiness.
Happiness for Humans with Keri Higgins Bigelow of livingHR
Keri is an entrepreneur with a heart of gold, who for the past 11 years has been helping companies around Tampa Bay create an environment that their employees can feel comfortable in and proud of. In this episode she explains the philosophy that guided her to her role as an uplifter of human morale, and the many methods she's learned along her journey. Then stay tuned for WTFB to learn how our own Chief Culture Officer, Jayci Peters, has introduced a "Grow Code" to Feeding Tampa Bay, to keep us grounded in our mission to make sure that no one in our 10-county area goes hungry on our watch! Learn more about Trinity Cafe by following our shared social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @FeedingTampaBay!
Faith & Feeding with Jeff Darrey of Trinity Cafe
Some people find a mission in life, and rather than waiting until everything falls into place, they start placing everything that's needed on their own. For years our guest and dear friend, Jeff Darrey, has been feeding a hot, healthy meal to people in our community without a single question as to why they might need it. And not long ago, his restaurant, Trinity Cafe, merged with Feeding Tampa Bay to combine our efforts and help our neighbors in ways we never before dreamed possible. And stay tuned for WTFB to hear about the future of fresh meal delivery, being cooked up by our own innovative staff and partners! Learn more about Trinity Cafe by following our shared social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @FeedingTampaBay!
Season 2 Promo
As Summer becomes Fall, we're also moving into a new season on Stick A Fork In It! We're thrilled with the repertoire of exciting guests we've had on the show already, and looking forward to the insights and stories to come. If you missed any of our previous episodes, now is the perfect time to get caught up before a new lineup begins on Sunday, October 11th! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
Healthy Helpings with Rick Bennett of Florida Blue
We're so lucky to have amazing partners like Florida Blue, with wonderful folks like Rick Bennett who sit on our board. Rick joins us on this episode to discuss the ways that Florida Blue prioritizes the health of Floridians, by ensuring that they're not only well-fed, but fed the right foods to maintain their health. And our Chief Development Officer, Kelley Sims, joins us on "What The Food Bank?" to share the exciting details of our upcoming event, Epic Fork Fight! Visit our website FeedingTampaBay.Org to learn how you can tune in for a festive evening of food and fun this coming Thursday, September 17th! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
Park, Walk & Talk with Chief Dan Slaughter of the Clearwater Police Department
On this week's episode we welcome Chief Dan Slaughter of the Clearwater Police Department to the warehouse. We talk about all the ways that law enforcement helps us run our massive new "megapantries" as well as his department's "Park, Walk, and Talk" policy that helps them to better connect with the residents of their communities. Also, tune in to hear from our own Rhonda Gindlesperger, Chief Officer of Operations, and what it's been like delivering over 2 million meals into our communities EVERY SINGLE WEEK! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
Market Management with Marie & Tim Everitt of DTCC
What is a power couple? One that changes the lives of millions of people side by side with Feeding Tampa Bay. On today's episode we introduce you to board member Marie Chinnici-Everitt and her husband Tom Everitt who stand with us every day, in some meaningful way. From warehouse funding to personal shopping in our Publix Community Market. Marie uses her marketing skills and corporate backing from DTCC to guide our job development programs and help expand our storage capacity, and Tim utilizes his experience as a former leader in the banking industry and current Marine Captain to facilitate our internal and external food distributions. Tune in to learn why we love these two so much, and why they choose to be family! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
On the Front Lines with Keri Eisenbeis of BayCare
The unsung heroes amidst the pandemic are our healthcare workers, many behind the scenes. Joining us is VP of Government and Community Relations for BayCare, Keri Eisenbeis, discussing Covid from the front line. We'll also dive in to the EXCITING new opportunities arising out of the partnership between BayCare and Feeding Tampa Bay -- like home meal delivery for recovering Covid patients, and our "Food RX" program, wherein doctors will "prescribe" foods for ailing patients, and Feeding Tampa Bay will fill those prescriptions! Tune in to learn how food is medicine, and how healthy eating can not only prevent health problems, but help to cure them too! Have you followed us on social yet? @FeedingTampaBay we really are EVERY where.
Weather-Geeking with Denis Phillips of ABC Action News
Let's start with Rule #7 because it's that time of year and EVERYbody's favorite meteorologist, Denis Phillips is here to talk hurricane season. With the country still struggling under the weight of the pandemic, storm season feels like more of a threat than ever. But don't freak out! We got you! Tune in to hear from him, as well as our Director of Operations, Jim Carpenter, who keeps Feeding Tampa Bay running smooth and leads our disaster relief efforts when times get tough! Visit Denis' online store to purchase some of his wonderful Rule #7 tumblers and wine glasses to raise money for Feeding Tampa Bay, and drink in style while you're quarantined at home: https://www.etsy.com/shop/rule7shopIf and don't forget if you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Keep up to date on all your weather needs by following Denis Phillips on Facebook.
Covering Pandemics & Protests with J.J. Burton of ABC Action News
One of our local faves and we know yours too, JJ Burton of ABC Action News joins us safely via Zoom to discuss reporting in a time of pandemic and protests, as well as how you can join us for "20 Days for Tampa Bay" all to help serve our struggling neighbors. Follow JJ on Twitter @JJBurtonTV and our friends @abcactionnews too! If you are in need of food don't forget to visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you.
Helping Hearts with Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes
With Florida Senator Jeff Brandes philanthropy is a family affair. Not only has he brought his kids to volunteer at our Pinellas mega pantry over the few past months but his wonderful and creative brood have dreamed up their own way to help fight hunger. Listen in as we ask about his experiences serving the community directly as well as in legislative sessions and hang tight for WTFB? where you get to meet the senator's oldest daughter, Lottie, the very talented leader of the Brandes crew. If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Have an idea of who you might want to sit in the hot seat? Submit guest ideas to us through Facebook messenger @FeedingTampaBay
Publix Partnership with Brian West
Can somebody explain where all the TP went? We have the guy. Brian West and Publix has been an avid supporter of Feeding Tampa Bay and the food banks in the states where their stores make 'shopping a pleasure'. During the pandemic while many were complaining about paper products, Publix was making miracles happen connecting farmers with the people that needed them most. Listen in to learn how they continue to feed and supply their communities, both in their stores and in food lines where we serve with dignity every day. If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Have you followed us on social? Why not? We're everywhere! @FeedingTampaBay
Checking in with Matt & Shannon
After a short break we are back with our hosts Matt Spence and Shannon Hannon-Oliviero, filling you in on the exciting news and updates coming out of Feeding Tampa Bay. Learn about recent changes and additions to our mobile pantries, as well as the huge meal milestones we're so proud to have hit in the past week. If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Have you followed us on social? Why not? We're everywhere! @FeedingTampaBay
ABC Action News with Sean Daly
If you don't know Sean Daly, where have you been? Listen in and enjoy the lovefest because we're not sure who appreciates who more. You'll shed a tear or two, happy and meaningful due to the many stories Sean has already shared during our journey through this beast of a pandemic. There are moments with those that we serve and times with our team that leans in night and day to take care of our community. Follow Sean on Insta and Facebook @seandalytv And know if you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Message us directly on any of our social platforms with questions or ideas @FeedingTampaBay we'd love to hear from you!
Team Rubicon with Chris Brewer
Founded by military veterans, Team Rubicon began working in disaster relief in 2010, and has been growing as an elite response team ever since. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, they have been essential to our effort in keeping the residents of Tampa Bay nourished and safe. Longtime servant leader Chris Brewer joins on the show between shifts in the warehouse, to enlighten us about the efforts of his team, and the ways that people can join the Team Rubicon effort themselves! If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Message us directly on Facebook @FeedingTampaBay if you need any further assistance.
Hillsborough County School Board with Cindy Stuart
Cindy Stuart, the HCSB Member for District 3, fills us in on how students and families are handling the new virtual schooling program, and how schools are continuing to feed students during this uncertain time. Many students normally eat breakfast and lunch at school throughout most of the year, and hard-working administrators like Cindy are ensuring that they don't go hungry while schools are closed during the spring semester. If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Message us directly on Facebook @FeedingTampaBay if you need any further assistance.
Rays & Rowdies with Jenn Tran
In this time of crisis sports teams are on the bench but they are knocking it out of the park to help the community! We are thrilled to introduce you to Jenn Tran (representing Rays Baseball and Rowdies Soccer) to thank her for the donation of over 1 MILLION MEALS to the families of Tampa Bay. Learn all about how the team is handling the cancellation of their season, and all about the loyal partnership between the Rays, Rowdies, and Feeding Tampa Bay is innovating to make sure that everyone in our 10-county region remains safe, healthy, and hunger-free now and well into the future. Visit https://feedingtampabay.org/ to find resources for yourself, or to donate to our mission! The Rays and Rowdies will match your donation to DOUBLE it and create up to 2 MILLION additional meals for our struggling neighbors.
Checking in with Chef Rachel Bennett of The Library
It's important to check in on our friends now more than ever, so on this special edition episode we had a conference call with Chef Rachel Bennett of The Library St. Pete to see how she is holding up during the widespread closures of our favorite local eateries. Tune in to hear how she's staying optimistic and busy during this uncertain time, and how you can help our community stay healthy and happy without risking your own well-being! To hear our previous, full-length episode with Chef Rachel, just look for "Food & Fitness with Chef Rachel Bennett" on your favorite podcast platform! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
Help During Hard Times with Thomas Mantz of Feeding Tampa Bay
Crisis has hit Tampa Bay, our country and world. On this special edition our President and CEO, Thomas Mantz, joins us to explain how we're continuing to serve our community. Not only are children home from school, where some of them get most of their daily meals, but our elderly neighbors are at the highest risk of infection and many of them depend on programs like ours to bring them food. Tune in to learn about the services we're continuing to provide to those that need assistance, and what you can do to help your community hold together during this global trial. We are incredibly grateful to all of our staff and volunteers that have continued to show up every day, despite the personal risk, to carry on our mission of ensuring that no one in our 10-county region goes without a meal on their family's table. Be safe, everyone and please connect with us through any of our social platforms and let us know if we can help you or please go to https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to find gro…
Time, Talent & Treasure with Roberto Torres of The Blind Tiger Cafe
Watching someone succeed is inspiring and motivating for many, and Roberto Torres is the man to watch in Tampa Bay. An entrepreneur with a passion for giving his time, talent and treasure, Roberto has utilized his multiple growing businesses to improve the lives of those who need a lift. As a member of our board, he shares his talent as a businessman to help guide our mission along a successful path, and we couldn't be more grateful for his insights and his support. Let us know what you think! Message Shannon on Facebook @FeedingTampaBay Follow Roberto on LinkedIn through his page Why Tampa Bay
People in the Margins with Ernest Hooper (formery) of the Tampa Bay Times
Ernest Hooper was a reporter and columnist for the Tampa Bay Times for 27 years, he now sits at the communications helm for the American Cancer Society. "Hoop" is a name that still resonates as a staple in Tampa Bay, covering everything from food festivals to sports and everything in between. A master storyteller, Ernest captures the hearts and imaginations of his readers and listeners, and both Feeding Tampa Bay and Trinity Café have had the privilege to have him alongside us in our mission to fight hunger and address our neighbors with dignity and respect. You won't want to miss a moment of this storyteller's interview that includes a very meaningful family interaction with Barak Obama – listen in, "that's all we're sayin'". Let us know what you think! Message Shannon directly on any of our social profiles @FeedingTampaBay Follow Ernest on Twitter @hoop4you
Food & Fitness with Chef Rachel Bennett of The Library
At just 30 years old Chef Rachel Bennett has already held the position of Executive Chef at multiple high-end restaurants here in Tampa Bay, and received a coveted nomination for the James Beard award. She is a spirited leader in the kitchen who believes in teamwork and experimentation. Chef Rachel became a friend when she was tapped to judge one of our Epic Chef competitions, and displayed a thorough understanding of the culinary world. As a master of food and fitness, she has been a natural ally in our mission to improve the health and capability of our communities, and regularly opens our eyes to new frontiers in food. Don't forget to let us know what you think! Or suggest a guest! You can find us on all social platforms @FeedingTampaBay Follow Chef Rachel on Insta @chef_rbennett
Flavor & Philanthropy with Ian Beckles (formerly) of the Tampa Bay Bucs
The true "Flavor of Tampa Bay" radio host, deejay, social influencer, father of three and expert foodie, Ian Beckles began making our area his home by playing 7 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has thrived in our community ever since. He also has a special place in his heart for doing good, and uses his driven, go-getter mentality to partner with programs in the surrounding area to support children and veterans in a very hands-on way. Listen in for a few surprises, a little parental advice and learn how he had a hand in helping name our show. Be sure to drop us a line and tell us your thoughts on any of our social – @FeedingTampaBay Follow Ian on Insta @ian_beckles
Episode 0 - Intro
Stick A Fork In It is a show about the incredible work being done in Tampa Bay and its surrounding counties to help residents who struggle with food and financial insecurity. We are a production of Feeding Tampa Bay, the local affiliate of Feeding America, and over the course of our show we will give insight into the world of food banking, and how food connects every single person in a meaningful way. The mission of Feeding Tampa Bay is to promote health and capability in our communities, and to end hunger in our surrounding counties by 2025. That means that anyone living in our 10-county region will have a place to go for a hot meal or weekly groceries if they are ever struggling to make ends meet. The show will also feature local guests and celebrities, from award-winning chefs to sports all-stars. We have tons of partners fighting the same fight in our community, and we're proud to feature the amazing, innovative work that they do. So tune in to learn more about the fight against… | {
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Responsible Ministry: Screening in Faith
Planning the Screening Process
Links within Parish Administration
Information for Parishes
Financial and Business Records
Parochial Records
Electronic Records
Facility Rentals & One-time Events
Claims Reporting and Assistance
Treasurers' Info
Workplace Violence and Harassment
Liturgical Standards and Resources
Selecting a New Incumbent
Vacancies & Calls
Clergy Application Resource
New to the Diocese
Remuneration and Benefits
Part-Time Clergy
Accessing Funds
Clergy Assistance Program
For Retirees
Discretionary Medical and Dental Grant
AODA for Parishes
Parish Human Resources Manual
Additional Resources for Parishes
Parish Staff Compensation
Supervising Staff
Selection Errors
Employee v. Contractor
Parish Leaders' Manual
Q&A's from the Workshops
Parking Spaces/Lots
Buying and selling church property
Building Inspections & Maintenance
Rectories
Renovations/Capital Improvements
Greening Initiatives
Theological Foundation
Assessing Risk
Implementing Standards
Police Record Checks
Ongoing Review
Ministry Descriptions
Sexual Misconduct Policy Training
Parish Workshop Kit
Baker Grants
Carleton Grants
Ferguson Grants
MAF: Real Estate
MAF: Congregational Growth
MAF: New Forms of Ministry
MAF: New Hope
Reach Grants
Stretch Grants
York Rectors Fund
Area Ministry Grants
Anglican Foundation of Canada
To begin screening you must draw up a plan and get organized. Here are a few helpful steps:
Decide who will oversee the screening process. This person may not have to do the actual screening but will train and support those doing the screening, make sure all the steps are followed and keep track of the paperwork. This person must be well respected in the congregation, able to handle confidential information, be well organized and if possible have human resources/management experience. It could be the Incumbent, a Deputy Churchwarden, a qualified parishioner or a committee. (See sample Ministry Descriptions, Parish Screening Coordinator, Appendix C)
Appoint the screening overseer and recognize this ministry within the life of the parish. For example, place an announcement in the Sunday bulletin, bless the ministry within the Sunday liturgy.
Make sure the screening overseer has read and understood the Responsible Ministry: Screening in Faith policy, and has had an opportunity to ask any procedural questions.
Work with the screening overseer to create a list of names of those who will do the actual screening. In general, it is the responsibility of the supervisor of the ministry to screen those who report to him or her. In order to assist this process, the Incumbent and Churchwardens should establish clear lines of accountability between clergy, staff and parishioners/volunteers. In most cases, parish employees report to the Incumbent, a Churchwarden or a Parish Administrator. Contract people must also be accountable to someone in the organization.
Decide who needs to be informed of this program and how you will inform them. For example, Churchwardens, Advisory Board members, ACW, choir members, parishioners, outside groups. Remember, the effectiveness of this program will depend on how you introduce it to the parish.
Set up a filing system. You will need a lockable file cabinet and letter size folders for each parishioner who ministers in high-risk ministries. (See Records Keeping below)
It is the responsibility of the organizational leadership (Bishop, Churchwardens, Director, Incumbent, Priest-in-Charge) to ensure that screening standards are implemented in the parish or organization. If the leadership does not comply with this policy, it could jeopardize insurance coverage. It could also result in disciplinary proceedings. The Area Bishop serves as the supervisor of the clergy. For the purposes of this policy, the Churchwardens are mutually accountable regarding all screening issues.
The policy applies to all lay and ordained people under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Toronto, that by virtue of their ministry or work are in positions of trust.
It is a requirement that this policy be implemented in all parishes, ministries or other organizations which:
are funded, in whole or in part, by the Diocese of Toronto;
function on behalf of the church (whether on or off its premises);
operate on church premises;
The Responsible Ministry: Screening in Faith policy establishes minimum standards for the screening of staff and volunteers. Any parish or organization may develop more comprehensive policies of its own to reflect its own circumstances provided such policies at least meet the minimum standard of protection for children and vulnerable adults, and physical, spiritual and financial responsibilities contained in this policy. Screening standards must be consistently applied to all appropriate ministries.
The policy complements and strengthens the commitment of the Diocese of Toronto to "strive to ensure that … [our] places of work … and [our] congregations are free from sexual exploitation, harassment and assault." (Section 1.4.2, Sexual Misconduct Policy, Anglican Diocese of Toronto)
Records Keeping
The minimum records that must be sent to the Diocesan Centre are:
A copy of the Screening Checklist for all ministry positions ranked as High Risk. (Appendix E, Screening Checklist)
The police background records check for those ministering in positions ranked at High Risk. (Appendix M, Police Records Check Procedure)
This information must be sent to the Diocesan Centre so it can be permanently stored in the Archives in a manner consistent with the Privacy Standards policy of the Diocesan Centre.
All screening documents (excluding the police background records check) should be stored in a locked filing cabinet in the parish for an indefinite period of time. Access to the filing cabinet shall be limited to the Incumbent and the Parish Administrator or Director. Those who have access to the files have a moral obligation to do everything within their power to maintain confidentiality. The location of the locked filing cabinet may or may not be at the parish. However, if it is not at the parish, it must be in a location mutually agreed upon by those who have access to the files. Files must never be left out in the open or in a readily accessible location. People being screened should know who has access to their file. Only documentation that is necessary to the screening process should be kept on file. Although this type of record keeping and storage may be a difficult adjustment for some congregations, maintaining appropriate documentation is key to a meaningful screening program and is required as proof of implementation of the screening practices.
Your parish may also want to develop an electronic means of tracking the steps of the screening process. To assist with this, the Diocese has created a Screening Steps Worksheet.
Outside Groups Using Church Property
While the church or organization is not directly responsible for screening leaders of other organizations that use the church's property, it could be named in a legal action and held vicariously liable should there be charges of negligence or abuse. It is therefore necessary the church inquire into the screening procedure of the groups using the facilities. Where the screening procedures of an outside organization do not meet the standards outlined in this policy, a discussion should take place between the churchwardens and the user organization to determine an appropriate course of action. If the user group ministers to vulnerable people and is unable or unwilling to undertake proper precautions in terms of risk-reduction and/or screening procedures the church must consider terminating the relationship for safety reasons.
For the full list of resources available to help with the implementation of the Responsible Ministry: Screening in Faith program, please see Forms and Resources.
Human Resources Manager Phone: 416-363-6021 ext. 241 (1-800-668-8932)
Responsible Ministry: Screening in Faith policy
© 2003 The Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Toronto. The Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Toronto willingly shares these resources with anyone who may find them helpful. However, no responsibility will be taken for how these resources are used, interpreted or applied. | {
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What is IEEE 802.11bb Protocol?
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers(IEEE) was formed by an amalgamation of American Institute of Electrical Engineers and the Institute of Radio Engineers in the year 1963[7].
Fig 1. IEEE logo [7]
It develops global standards for industries like power & energy, telecommunication, automation, nanotechnology, robotics, information technology etc.[8] The drafting of the standards is done based on the participation of experts from across the globe.
It is a standard which deals with local area networks and metropolitan area networks[9].
Within this standard, there is IEEE 802.11 which is meant for implementing Wireless Local Area Network(WLAN) computer communication in various frequencies, including but not limited to 2.4, 5, and 60 GHz frequency bands which are utilized as home & office networks to allow laptops, printers, and smartphones to talk to each other and access the Internet without connecting wires
Fig 2. WLAN(IEEE 802.11) [10]
What is IEEE 802.11bb??
It is an amendment to the IEEE Std. 802.11 which has been approved by the IEEE Standards Association Board in May 2018 for the creation of the specifications for Light based Communication[2][3][5].
Fig 3. Visible Light Spectrum for communication[4]
This amendment specifies a new PHY(Physical Layer) and modifications to the IEEE 802.11 MAC(Medium Access Control) that enable operation of wireless light communications (LC)[3][5]
The new PHY will provide:
Uplink/Downlink within a band of 380-5000 nm
All PHY modes of operation must achieve a minimum single-link throughput of 10 Mb/s and at least one mode of operation that achieves single-link throughput of at least 5 Gb/s, as measured at the MAC data service access point (SAP),
Interoperability among solid state light sources with different modulation bandwidths
In this way, the light spectrum can be used to provide data off-loading and link aggregation in conjunction with other 802.11 technologies in a globally harmonized and license-exempt spectrum.
VLC(also referred to as "Li-Fi") can be implemented using standard off-the-shelf visible light LEDs to transmit data[4][11]. Thus there is minimal impact on the infrastructure.
The emitted light is modulated to transmit data at a high speed without any perceived change in light amplitude.
Fig 4. Implementation of VLC [11]
Demonstration of VLC/Li-Fi
With the market size for Visual Light Communication(VLC) expected to be over $75.5 billion by 2023 owing to the sale of over 550 million LED lights at a Compound Annual Growth Rate(CAGR) of 13%[2][3][5], standardizing of VLC as a part of 802.11 will help in accelerating the products to the market and obtaining necessary certification(e.g. Wi-Fi Alliance)[2][3].
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li-Fi
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8257800/
https://mentor.ieee.org/802.11/dcn/17/11-17-1048-01-00lc-lc-for-802-11-pdf.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_light_communication
http://www.ieee802.org/11/Reports/tgbb_update.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802.11#cite_note-78
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institute_of_Electrical_and_Electronics_Engineers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_Standards_Association
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IEEE_802
http://cwnabook.blogspot.com/2010/02/todays-wireless-lan-standardieee-80211.html
CAGR, Downlink, Harald Haas, IEEE, IEEE 802, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.11bb, IEEE Standards Association, LED, Li-Fi, Light Based Communication, Medium Access Control, service access point, Telecommunication, University of Edinburgh, Uplink, WLAN
What is the future of Bharti Airtel Ltd. Shares?
Anti-Dust Fan…What is the Science Behind It?? | {
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Songs of Hope and Persistence by Jon Batiste, Christian McBride, Nicole Mitchell and More
By Nate Chinen • Jun 14, 2020
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View Slideshow 1 of 5
Jon Batiste, center, during "We Are: A Peaceful Protest March With Music," in New York City on June 6, 2020.
Yumi Matsuo Studio
The Christian McBride Big Band, onstage at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
Lawrence Sumulong / jazz at lincoln center
Nicole Mitchell, left, and Lisa E. Harris, who collaborated on 'EarthSeed,' a tribute to Octavia Butler.
courtesy of the artist
Arturo O'Farrill, whose new album with The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra is 'Four Questions'
Micah Thomas' 'Tide' was recorded live at The Kitano with bassist Dean Torrey and drummer Kyle Benford.
Anna Yatskevich
Jon Batiste, "WE ARE"
Last Friday, pianist and Late Show bandleader Jon Batiste led his second protest march under the banner "WE ARE," moving the action from Manhattan to Brooklyn. There was one more significant development: hours before the scheduled march, Verve released a single by the same name, with lyrics intended partly to provoke but mainly to inspire.
"WE ARE" features Batiste on vocals and piano, alongside compatriots Cory Wong and Nate Smith as well as the voices of Gospel Soul Children, and the St. Augustine High School Marching 100. (The marching band comes in just before the three-minute mark.) The chorus, which Batiste also used in a call-and-response chant at his marches, consists of the dual refrains "We are the chosen ones" and "We are the golden ones."
In an Instagram post, Batiste declared: "The WE ARE artwork and font is a protest poster. It is a resurrection and a reimagining of the 'I AM A MAN' protest poster used in the Memphis sanitation workers' strike of 1968."
He adds: "The Memphis sanitation workers' strike would win the support of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. — and lead to his assassination less than two months later. My grandfather was an activist around this same time and fought for better working conditions for the postal workers in Louisiana. You'll hear the voices of my grandfather and my two nephews, too. It's an amalgamation of my life, used to reflect on the moment we're in right now."
Christian McBride Big Band, "Medgar Evers Blues"
Another link to the freedom struggle of the 1960s can be found in a new single by bassist Christian McBride, "Medgar Evers Blues." For those who may not know, Evers was a civil rights activist and war veteran who died in 1963 at the hands of a white supremacist in Mississippi. (Friday was the anniversary of his death.)
The song was composed by guitarist Mark Whitfield, who introduced it on his 1990 debut album, The Marksman. Whitfield is featured on the melody in this new version, the second single from a forthcoming album by the Christian McBride Big Band. Both McBride and Whitfield were part of a wave of so-called Young Lions in the early 1990s — and so too was organist Joey DeFrancesco, who joins them in the rhythm section along with drummer Quincy Phillips.
For Jimmy, Wes and Oliver will be released on Mack Avenue Records on Sept. 25; preorder here.
Nicole Mitchell and Lisa E. Harris, "Ownness"
Flutist Nicole Mitchell has worked meaningfully before with the visionary ideas of science fiction author Octavia E. Butler, and on EarthSeed — due out June 26 on FPE Records — she carries that inspiration farther onward. Her chief collaborator here is operatic composer Lisa E. Harris, who shares Mitchell's convictions about social activism, and the ways that different art forms can speak to one another.
As on Mitchell's previous Butler tribute, Xenogenesis Suite, this album features the Black Earth Ensemble, which includes Tomeka Reid on cello and Avreeayl Ra on percussion. Also featured is Ben LaMar Gay on trumpet and electronics. The spoken texts pay tribute to Butler, and in particular her novels Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents — which, as Abby Aguirre recently suggested in The New Yorker, are at least as chillingly prescient about our political moment as 1984.
EarthSeed will be released on June 26 on FPE Records; preorder here.
Arturo O'Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, "Four Questions (Featuring Dr. Cornel West)"
If you've been watching CNN lately — or watching highlights after the fact — then you may have heard some cogent commentary by social critic and progressive provocateur Cornel West. As it happens. Dr. West also features in an album released this spring: Four Questions, the latest opus by Arturo O'Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra. The recitation in the sprawling title track invokes a historic legacy of oppression, with an undercurrent of defiant resilience.
Arturo O'Farrill and The Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, "Four Questions (Feat. Dr. Cornel West)"
"Four Questions" is named after the essential themes in The Souls of Black Folk, by W.E.B. Du Bois. There's a delirious muchness to the piece, befitting Dr. West's oratorical style: it touches on modern Afro-Latin big band styles, Harlem stride piano, even a mournful spiritual. Early in the going, Dr. West reflects on 400 years of oppression, and poses a question tinged with pride: "What is it about these people? / In the face of so much hatred, dishing out such love / In the face of so much un-justice, teaching the world so much about justice."
Four Questions is out now on Zoho Music.
Micah Thomas, "Tornado"
Finally, a piece of music that bears a somewhat more oblique connection to the theme at hand. Micah Thomas is an astute, preternaturally composed young pianist who has been garnering acclaim on the scene in New York. (You may recall that he surfaced twice in a recent Take Five.) Still enrolled at Juillard, Thomas is about to release his debut album, Tide, which seems sure to broaden his base of admirers. It has already elicited a rave in The New York Review of Books, courtesy of Adam Shatz.
Tide by Micah Thomas
"Tornado," the album's opening track, is aptly named; its rhythmic and harmonic energies seem to move in a breathless gyre. (Shatz rightly name-checks the Chick Corea Trio album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs.) Strikingly, Thomas chose to make his first full artistic statement a live recording, made last year at The Kitano with bassist Dean Torrey and drummer Kyle Benford. They perform the album as a suite, breezing through Thomas' compositions with youthful bravura but also an impressive sense of pace and scale.
In a press statement, Thomas reflects on the fact that his album is releasing during a time of livestreams and social distancing. "Maybe if there is a concrete thing I would like people to take away from this album specifically right now," he says, "it's how invaluable it is for jazz that people play together in the same room for an audience. I hope you can feel it on this record. We can't lose that. We can give it up for a while, but not forever."
Tide will be released on Friday; preorder here.
Nicole Mitchell
Jon Batiste
Christian McBride
Arturo O'Farrill
Micah Thomas
Solidarity Music: Ambrose Akinmusire, Terrace Martin, Sara Serpa, Morgan Guerin, MonoNeon
By Nate Chinen • Jun 8, 2020
Ogata
Black lives matter. We hold this truth to be self-evident, and yet it needs to be said.
Over the past two weeks, since the death of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in Minneapolis, there has been a reckoning in America and around the world. And as we have seen before, musicians are responding in urgent fashion.
The Evolution of Jon Batiste, on Jazz Night in America
By Alex Ariff • May 28, 2020
Jon Batiste spent his 33rd birthday playing an intimate, private concert with his band in the round while Jazz Night in America captured the show.
Now That They've Conquered the World: Joshua Redman Quartet Readies A New Album
By Nate Chinen • Mar 24, 2020
Michael Wilson / Courtesy of Nonesuch Records
Late last summer, saxophonist Joshua Redman engaged in some light time travel.
For a couple of nights, he reconvened a stellar ensemble he'd led 25 years prior, with Brad Mehldau on piano, Christian McBride on bass and Brian Blade on drums.
Arturo O'Farrill Brings His Octet to Morning Jazz, Drawing From a New Album with Chucho Valdés
By Gary Walker • Sep 13, 2017
Motema
Arturo O'Farrill makes music steeped in the pantheon of Afro-Latin culture. He can't help it. It's in his DNA.
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Home » Posts tagged 'John Trudell'
Tag Archives: John Trudell
The "Wife" And Daughter Who Wanted Me Murdered By Murderers And Rapists
UPDATED with additional information about those who wanted me dead…threats to kill me and what my God allowed to happen to them.
Jesus has my "6"!
And read about what I did for the Lakota people for 20 years…newspaper articles…photos…etc… thanks to God preparing the way…and my rewards were…lies…death threats etc.
Click HERE to learn WHY HE WANTS YOU ! And HERE to understand ones "Calling" for/from Crowley and Satan
"His women had to measure up to his definition of "Scarlet Woman."
The Scarlet Woman's oath was to be loud and adulterous"
https://mysteriousuniverse.org/2013/06/modern-porn-mimics-aleister-crowleys-sex-magick-philosophies/
Aleister Crowley appeared to Karen Sue Andras and said "I own you". Below I expound upon what that means.
September 9, 2019!
Can't forget a birthday can I? Not this one for sure. On this day I feel inspired to once again to acknowledge the documented history of Karen Sue Andras…who both beguiled and deceived me as a witch and harlot using the name of "Jesus" with every word, thought and action inspired by he who she said she was listening to to destroy me…murder me spiritually and physically…and my ministry…even SATAN through his servant in the realms of time…Aleister Crowley! Also named…are those she connected with and desired the same for me…and made their attempts to want me dead as documented by me and in their own words even.
PREFACE: When reading this blog…you should easily realize that when Karen Sue Andras left me and rejected Jesus Christ again…she returned to the "ownership" of the demon who appeared to her as a child…and not only that…she then opened the door for that demon and Satan to own not only her children…but her grandchildren. The words below of Aleister Crowley need no explanation for they speak the TRUTH and Karen Sue Andras has willingly sacrificed her children and grandchildren unto Satan in her rebellion against Almighty God!
Little did I know…this woman who came to me would end up being a "murderer in her heart" of me. She wanted my death spiritually and physically. Little did I know that she would willingly listen to the demon Aleister Crowley who appeared to her as a young girl and who said "I own you". Just how vile and evil is Crowley and therefore his spiritual connection and spiritual ownership of Karen Sue…Andras?
Read for yourself his words below which should shock most if not all and in the beginning with her me knowing nothing about him other then what little she shared. Now after literally years of reading about who he was in time and as a demon of Satan here on earth and with his assistant Karen Sue Andras targeting me for death spiritual and physical, it is forever clear to me who Karen Sue Andras represented both in the beginning and the end of our relationship.
Below I share once again her words and her connections to those who threatened me with death literally and the fact that she not only with her daughter Amanda Shelton agreed but they went out of there way to assist the murderers informing them where I was located!
I also include those quotes of Crowley that show that he was a murdering raping sodomizing of children (young White males like her grandsons) son of Satan who murdered children as a "sacrifice" and that their blood and parts of were consumed in these acts of abomination. Not only that…these children not only were "sodomized" and tortured right up to there death abut for Crowley this act of sodomy glorified sodomy as the highest act of "Majick" which is the Typhonian tradition called "sex magick"!
And Crowley…thanks to her…now has access to her grandchildren…through her children…and through her and what that means for their souls in both time and eternity. Say death spiritual…not being redeemed from death, hell and Satan because she willingly rejected the only salvation for them…and her…Jesus Christ.
I include the one man Satan sent to her…a disciple, follower and practitioner of all the most evil sex acts known to man…Aliester Crowley. Bunting brought into her the that which she craved…even the"spiritual darkness"of Satan…Bill Bunting/William R. Bunting is quoted below and which with him she was willing to engage in not only with Bunting but more so with Crowley as a demon as channeled inside of her allowing Crowley to literally experience each "sex act" of each perverted vile filthy "pleasure" using her flesh.
Sexually Transmitted Demons...through sodomy as inspired by Satan and his "demons" like Crowley who sodomized and then murdered children.
WARNING….GRAPHIC DISTURBING INFORMATION AND LANGUAGE BELOW…QUOTES FROM CROWLEY AND BUNTING WITH KAREN SUE ANDRAS…"OWNED" AND USED BY CROWLEY TO ATTEMPT WITH OTHERS NAMED…TO LITERALLY DESTROY ME SPIRITUALLY AND PHYSICALLY!
…most Witches, myself included, find it necessary to study his material and "plug themselves into" the magical current of Crowley's demon spirit guide, a mysterious being named Aiwass. Aiwass is another name for Set, an Egyptian god…Sodomy is especially "sacred" to Set…It opens what are called the "Typhonion" tunnels, channels through which extremely powerful demons, like the horrible Choronzon, can travel from the "alternate reality" and emerge into this universe and enter the sex partner's body. —Wicca: Satan's Little White Lie, 1990 AD ed., see pp. 192, 197-200 by William Schonoebelen
http://www.renegadetribune.com/alt-rights-perverse-promotion-aleister-crowley/
Email from Karen Sue Andras to me….
Dearest Richard, I know you said to never write etc. To you ever again and I understand n I truly don't blame you. I was trying not to but I thought maybe I could just one last time Please. I know there are no words that can change what I have done. I wish n pray n beg God that it could have n that you wouldn't feel as me as you do but I understand why. I really do now. I deserve the this anger with what I did n said in anger that wasn't even truly me at all and I really don't believe those bad things about you at all. It was not my heart n mind speaking. I didn't have the strength to fight off all the demonic forces and if what you say is true about me, then all the more was I in over my head to help myself and so I completely failed as they wanted n they tried to destroy you in the process.I only want to address my part in all this and words don't really help I know this.
I am so truly sorry with all my heart n soul. I don't deserve you. I know I will painfully regret my actions forever. I ask Jesus how could this have happened? He has shown me in many many ways as to how, why, where n what my part was in all this n why I failed even in the "good intentions" I wanted to walk together on the higher road for your ministy's sake and our marriage but I failed miseribly. I still ask God how can this be as I walk through the cemetery and I already know the answer but still I ask again n again.
I thought I had forgiven but the trickster seeped in and stopped the healing for both of us unfortunately. I am not asking for you to forgive me although I wish you could just for your own peace of mind and spirit.
You are a good man and part of the reasons why I left is because I knew I blew it. I tried to Justify some things but no way was that going to work with God and he loves you very much and I shamed you both and I am so very very sorry. I pray for your life to be so blessed and I was going to wait the day b4 my phone runs out so I wouldnt be tempted to contact you. But it is Sunday n thought I would today. I think I left some n bags or something got mixed up idk haven't went through much or care to. I will give all back n pay you back2. I do know that I have never cheated on you ever and I couldn't and wouldn't. I do pray the best for you because I'm not it I guess/I know. I so wanted to be but failed. I love you n miss you, my eternal love lost*
The sons of Karen Sue Andras, Kevin and Norman Shelton…who blaspheme Jesus and glorify Satan and quote their "High Priest"…Aleister Crowley! Thanks to them and their mother…Crowley now has access to the souls of their children!
Karen Sue Andras said I wanted her grandchildren to go to hell or hoped they would. THAT WAS A LIE…but when I did a "goggle voice" transmission to words…that is how it appeared. I would NEVER want a innocent child to go to hell or suffer BUT…She with her connection to Crowley have allowed for and opened the very door TO HELL for her grandchildren! Read Crowley's words and also know…
So it is true…the "sins of the fathers/mothers…shall be on the heads of the children/grandchildren and their blood and souls she Karen Sue Andras shall be accountable for by her willingness to follow Crowley and reject Jesus
Quotes from Crowley about CHILDREN! Above are Andras's grandchildren! Thanks to her…Crowley will own them too!
"The best blood is of the moon, monthly: then the fresh blood of a child, or dropping from the host of heaven: then of enemies; then of the priest or of the worshippers: last of some beast, no matter what."
"…to proclaim sodomy as an aristocratic value, which our middle class had better imitate if they wish to be smart.. Let me seduce the boys of England.."
Bill Bunting and the SODOMITE GATEWAY
…most Witches, myself included, find it necessary to study his material and "plug themselves into" the magical current of Crowley's demon spirit guide, a mysterious being named Aiwass. Aiwass is another name for Set, an Egyptian god…
Sodomy is especially "sacred" to Set…It opens what are called the "Typhonion" tunnels, channels through which extremely powerful demons, like the horrible Choronzon, can travel from the "alternate reality" and emerge into this universe and enter the sex partner's body.
—Wicca: Satan's Little White Lie, 1990 AD ed., see pp. 192, 197-200
Karen Sue Andras…my lying demon owned adulterous "wife" who's whore mongering Confederate "real man" Bill Bunting sent me a text stating he was looking forward to doing the following to and with the consent of his "whore" to use his words Karen Sue Andras his "sex goddess"….
Bunting quoted.
SODOMIZING his "Sex Goddess as her master and slave as we explore EVERY ORIFICE and fulfill each sick twisted sex act known to man.."
For Andras…a mother of 3 and grandmother of 3 children…this is a confirmation of the experience she had with Aleister Crowley who's life was embedded in the most perverted sexual filth one can imagine and who she brought into my life. Her experience with him was revealed to me when she shared that Crowley appeared to her…said he "owned her" and actually entered into her as a child. He is the one that inspires this vile filthy sin.
To add to the above…read the below Bunting shared with me in a email about how he views her and all women. He even sent me a death threat. Bunting quoted…
"i enjoy open women and ones who fuck and orgasm because they know i love that about them….im gonna keep her for mine tho, because her and i are just alike and i own her mind and body…."
"i love evil dark deep sex and Karen is fulfilling all my fantasies and carnal lusting pleasures…"
"i will making love and enjoying Karens XXX dark side because i adore her and am enjoying her dark side and she is the most interesting woman ive ever met…and i cant wait to taste her flesh as our souls dance in the glow of our carnal appreciation of each other"
"as far as calling her a whore, well i like that….because she is my whore and i love all the whore in her…whore is a term for a woman who enjoys sex her way given by men who fear a free spirit and sexual domination of a woman..i dont fear this and love her openess and experience and will be her student in all things carnal and sexually deprived and imagined…it doesnt bother me because i need that erotic openess to be one with her as we have become"
My confirmed by God insight into this Satanic template he using Aleister Crowley is starting with the fact that Crowley was a bi-sexual sodomite who engaged in sexual depravity beyond ones imagination and because it is inspired by Satan.
When Crowley died…his spirit left his body while still craving the sexual filth he partook of and expressed in what Andras and Bunting are to share. The ONLY way Crowley can re-experience his sins of the flesh…lets say SODOMY as an example…is to "be inside or possessing a body such as Karen's which in he has in her past and does now and did with Bunting.
What does this mean? READY? When Bunting has "sodomy sex" with Karen…he will also be SODOMIZING CROWLEY because his spirit will be in her body! All their "sick twisted sex acts known to man" they engage in will be shared by the MAN DEMON and Satan's "prime mover" in the realms of time who inspired the same with Karen…entered into her as a child…channels in her whenever he so chooses and in a personal appearance…said "I own you"…which when you read above is exactly what the "whore-mongering/sodomite" Bunting states above about Karen! In fact…Crowley really OWNS BOTH OF THEM and so does Satan as he partakes of this evil also!
When I told God to remove her because of her desire to partake of this evil…to want me to…then Crowley attacked her and drove her back to OHIO where he lived under her bed and which she, her son and his wife know because all 3 heard him literally breathing there. Another time he "marked her" arms and legs to prove OWNERSHIP.
I am not a gun obsessed stalker of her…never have been or will be. In fact…I wonder why God allowed her NOT to be murdered by Rusty Laudermilk so that I would have never been cursed by having her COME INTO MY LIFE…and later COME TO ME because it was her who came here after asking me to marry her. I earlier only went to OHIO with a gun before then…to discuss why she left one time…only to end up in jail because I had a gun in my car which was legal in Missouri and which I always have. I brought mine with me to protect her if one of her "x's" found us…one in particular…the one who almost killed her. It was her who broke the no contact order and came here to Missouri to marry me. She never feared me and I never once threatened her….never hit her like other men. But…I would of put a bullet in the head of anyone trying to hurt her. I did that for a living for 18 months.
Bunting seems to think as does Karen obsessed with her…and I am upset and tormented by what he shares with me about what they are doing or going to do…NOT! This perversion is just that and not of God and He saved me from a woman who lied to me and Him. She had her testimonies and have denied them. She wants to be a WHORE and SLUT with Bunting…I say…go for it!
BUT…there is another most important reason why I am doing this. Karen Sue Andras in fact is complicit in the potential MURDER OF ME by giving my location to members of the American Indian Movement through John Trudell who threatened me WITH DEATH and they hate me for exposing the truth about them on my blog…read those posts…the murder of Annie Mae Aqaush…Black man Perry Ray Robinson Jr. at Wounded Knee and the rape and murder of 3-5 women also at WK with a total of at least 12 and all buried there and with the AIM leaders like Trudell who Karen texted me and said she wanted "suck taste and fuck" in full knowledge of this and to this day..those not dead and in hell…ALL protected by the Government.
Yes…Karen Sue Andras and Bill Bunting are in total spiritual alignment with Satan because of their lies about me and wanting me dead with others. God knows I am not guilty of ANY of those lies I have been jacketed with by AIM or others including Karen and Bunting but when you have "sold your soul to the devil"…then you become his "angels" in the realms of time including doing his works.
Sodomites are in most cases pedophiles and Bunting more then likely was sodomized as a child by one of his Confederate family members…or father…or a uncle…someone was used by Satan to cause him to be as he is…and be "one" with Karen in and through Crowley who not only raped children but murdered them in Satanic rituals. If I had children…I would be careful about having them around any man who engaged in SODOMY.
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/07/23/psychiatrist-says-demonic-possession-is-real-say-demon-aleister-crowley-sodomite-satanist-possessing-william-r-bunting-and-karen-sue-bunting/
Murderer and AIM Chairman John Trudell got cancer right after he threatened me…and is now in hell as the murderer he was!
This now in hell American Indian Movement MURDERER John Trudell…follower of CROWLEY. I have shared enough about in other blogs so what I am doing now is connecting his death threat recorded in Douglas County Missouri for the purpose of sharing the fact that Karen Sue Andras gave him MY LOCATION…which was the home I got for her no less!
Instead of linking particular blogs about John Trudell and the American Indian Movement connection to wanting me DEAD…I am linking a "SEARCH" link for you to go to IF you want to. Exposes all about the AIM murders rapes and pedophile activities which Karen Sue Andras "approved of"!
Text from John Trudell…recorded Douglas County Sheriffs Office…they considered this a DEATH THREAT
Black man Perry Ray Robinson Jr. MURDERED BY THE AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT…AND THE FBI KNEW! Put his name in the "search box" and sit down! Karen Sue Andras…LOVES HIS MURDERERS!
Perry Ray Robinson Jr. MURDERED by the American Indian Movement under the leadership and knowledge of John Trudell
Russell Means, Vern Bellecourt and Dennis Banks with SD Senator James Abourezks…ALL involved in AIMS MURDERS!
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/01/16/james-abourezks-hidden-connection-to-american-indian-movement-murders-gets-obama-elected/
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/dennis-banks-murderer-and-american-indian-movement-co-founder-dead-and-in-hell/
John Trudell THE MURDERER of those at Wounded Knee by default of being AIM Chairman during the time of that even AND his complicity in the rape and murder of Annie Mae Aquash…setting her up to be murdered…suffered the loss of his family by FIRE which then he experienced the pain of the loss THAT HE CAUSED OTHERS TO FEEL like Annie Maes family…Robertson's family…and the others never named…say God's justice in the realms of time!
History of John Trudell's American Indian Movement of Murder, Rape and Pedophilia including the rape and murder of Annie Mae Aquash
Bill Bunting…the son of Satan who promotes and justifies the rape of women and who Andras "loved" like Crowley loves her
And Bunting the rapist almost murdered her!
"Ummm…any woman raped by Russell Means or Bill Cosby should be grateful… I mean these are real men who should be able to take what they want from any woman they please… If she was a real woman she would be begging for more"
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2018/09/14/the-cowardly-sick-maggot-bill-bunting-assaulted-page-pusey-forth-and-karen-sue-andras/
Changed his real name to Lee Whitehorse to hide his history of brutally raping a 14 year old Lakota girl on Pine Ridge.
Rapist Lee Whitehorse…wannabe Indian and White man…quoted below "death threats" to me…and LIKED on the FACEBOOK PAGE MADE JUST FOR ME BY WHITEHORSE AND LIKED by Karen Sue Andras and Daughter Amanda Shelton.
And how did God respond to these?
1. Amanda Shelton "lost" her daughter…say STILL BIRTH
2. Lee Whitehorse "lost" his son!
Amanda Shelton as seen in the below photo and her mother can thank herself for that as she admitted listening to the demons and ONE IN PARTICULAR…CROWLEY…about me to MURDER ME which in this instance…was the desire of her Satan owned heart!
Click HERE to read about THE RAPIST Whitehorse and what a "son of Satan" he and his friend Roy are!
"LEE WHITEHORSE" …quote! HEY LOOK EVERYONE, ITS THAT CRAZY WHITE FUCKNIG TRASH WHO IS OBSESSED WITH MY PEOPLE RICHARD BOYDEN!!!! MOTHER FUCKER IM GONNA GET YOU BITCH!! YOU SHOULDA NEVER CROSSED ME!!" GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNINGGGGGGGGG VIETNAMMMMMMMM! 🙂
RICHARD BOYDEN. AN ENEMY OF THE LAKOTA. NOTHINGMORE THAN A JEW PIECE OF SHIT!!!!! YOU'LL NEVER BE LAKOTA RICHARD, NEVER!!!! YOU'RE A SICK FUCK WHO PREYS ON THE HOMELESS N BATTERED WOMAN OF LAKOTA COUNTRY!!! FUCKING JEW SCUM, YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED,BET ON THAT!! FUCK THIS FACEBOOK BULLSHIT, I GET A LEAD ON YOU N YOU'RE A FUCKING CORPSE!!!! THEN WE'LL SEE HOW MUCH YOU LIKE TO WAG YOUR MOUTH YOU JEW MOTHER FUCKER!!"!
After Lee Whitehorse threatened to kill me…MY GOD TOOK OUT HIS SON!
Whitehorse the RAPIST OF A LAKOTA GIRL White boy and "wannabe"…lied out of his diapered butt…documented because THIS IS WHAT I DID AMONG THE LAKOTA!
Read the BELOW LINK and learn what I really did to and for and with the LAKOTA while that punk ass bitch boy RAPED A 14 YEAR OLD LAKOTA GIRL and can't return to the Pine Ridge Reservation. Photos, referance letters and history of what I did in contrast to what Whitehorse did. Click this "link" to read more about HIM!
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2017/12/14/past-media-articles-and-links-for-my-charity-operation-morning-star/
Copied and pasted previous comment by me from previous blog:
Unlike these THREE who have threatened me…John "NoSnitchBitch" Trudell and RapingNaziSodomitePedophiles…Lee Whitehorse raped a 14 year old Oglala girl and Roy "WhiteHorse/X-Con Molester" of girls, I know what "life and death" combat is. There is a line I know when crossed results in someone being "terminated" which is why I have not chosen to deal with these folks according to what they have said to me. I know where each is…where they live, where they travel to etc. In other words..I "could if I wanted to" and it is be the "grace of God" that I have been restrained and they are still alive! I did what I did for 18 months. Not lip sinc. No raping of women and/or murdering the same as these.
LISTEN TO A INTERVIEW WITH EMERSON ELK…A FULL BLOOD CHIEF AND HEADMAN EMERSON ELK DISCUSS PUNISHMENT FOR RAPE
If they were brought before a "Traditional Full Blood Lakota" Head Man and Chief (150 years ago), they would have been given a sharpened knife and told to go "kill yourself or WE WILL KILL YOU"! Among Real Indians…these kind of feral animals were eliminated because of what they did to the women they raped or had killed!
Not now though because there are NO Full Blood Traditionals among the Lakota Oyate willing to administer true justice for those women who's spirit's were "MURDERED" when they were raped. Native American men have been "spiritually emasculated" to the degree that there are no "Tokala/Akitchita" i.e. Warriors. Just "wannabes" who recite over and over True Warriors of the past as if in so doing…that makes them the same…NOT! True Warriors would deal with those who rape their women and children…but not now and never will this be the case as in times past.
My enemies in fact UPHOLD RAPISTS AND KILLERS OF FIRST NATIONS WOMEN as well as being RAPISTS/KILLERS THEMSELVES! They deserve DEATH in the realms of time but that won't happen in our day and age and especially among Native peoples because the MEN OF… and who identify as being, are in fact rapists themselves or support and glorify the same with the example being the American Indian Movement.
But the nice thing about the Jesus they "mock and defile and blaspheme" .. He has already made arrangements in His Court of Justice in the Spirit world where there His punishment affixed will claim the souls such as these 3 who's "father" is "the liar and murderer from the beginning"…even the one who they listened to in committing the rapes and murders of innocent Native women and girls..say SATAN. It is he who they will be "consigned to " in the realms of eternity…where they will weep and wail and nash their teeth in the hell they will be immersed in…called the "Lake of Fire and Brimstone"…yes…Justice Served By God well deserved for those guilty of such abominable crimes.
So that is my "consolation" 🙂 Knowing that these PreTenders will in fact experience what they deserve for what they have done. They may laugh and mock now me…God…Jesus…but in the end…these will ALL be together with who they love to listen to … even their "god" the devil! One thing for sure…those that have suffered at the hands of these will be healed by the "Healer" even as Annie Mae Justice for Annie Mae Pictou Aquash Woman Warrior was when her spirit left her body after being shot in the head while praying!
Right after John Trudell threatened me…CANCER entered into his body.
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/weve-been-keeping-an-eye-on-you-for-a-while-per-dead-and-in-hell-john-trudell/
And Amanda Shelton…daughter of Karen Sue Andras…wanted me murdered also…agreeing with every Facebook like about me and "LIKING each death threat by Whitehorse quoted above! Jesus has my "6"!
The Leading Cause of Death for Young Black Females is Young Black Males
Murderer and AIM Chairman John Trudell who threatened to murder me and with the help of Karen Sue Andras my XXX wife🤩
This blog is dedicated to Karen Sue Andras and her daughter Amanda Shelton (and their family too). Daughter Amanda is a whore for the kind of feral Niggers who murder their own Black women as well as use White women (like her as a girl toy)!
This mother daughter devil owned duet both colluded with those who threatened to murder me and in fact with the case of the mother, gave up my location to murderer John Trudell. he hated me because I exposed the fact that the American Indian movement was an organization founded by murderers rapists and pedophiles, the kind of men that Karen Sue Andras gravitates towards and sleeps with.
Also both mother and daughter "liked" per Facebook the death threat from Lee White Horse representing the fake Indian hostile Indian tribe. White Horse brutally raped a young Lakota girl in Manderson on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. And Amanda and mother and friends wonder why my God allowed for Amanda to have a stillborn baby death when in her and mother's hearts they are murderers of yours truly!
Lots of stats that expose the murder of Black women by "Niggers" (Real Black men don't murder their own women let anyone!)
This information is from the Center For Disease Control by the way…AKA "CDC"! Not from some racist KKK neo-Nazi White supremacist source or anything close!
Amanda Shelton is on "borrowed time" based upon these stats in terms of being "terminated" by being murdered or getting AIDS. Here is a link that confirms the danger for white women dating black men with the white women being murdered! http://www.newnation.org/Index-18-12-25.html
"Like mother like daughter" since the mother has almost been murdered by at least two men she was a whore for. She knowingly became a whore for a confirmed cold blooded murderer of First Nations women and mother of two… Annie Mae Aquash.
His name is (now dead and in hell) John Trudell who was chairman of the American Indian Movement
The next demon possessed whoremonger she hooked up with as a whore was with Bill Bunting who is a flaming faggot queer and pedophile who almost killed Andras. He comes from a pedophile infested family of "Buntings". (search Bunting's name in the search box for more information about this son of Satan who PROMOTES THE RAPE OF WOMEN!)
Based on a 96 page report on the causes of premature death by the CDC, the leading cause of death among young blacks of both sexes are black males.
According to the CDC, black men are ten times more likely to be diagnosed with HIV or AIDS than white men. Among black men who allege that they have never engaged in a homosexual act, the figure rises to about 15 times the rate that heterosexual white men are diagnosed.
Studies by the CDC also conclude that black men are more likely to have HIV or AIDS and go undiagnosed than white men.
All of this translates to black women being diagnosed with HIV or AIDS at a rate of over 20 times that of white women. The general trend is for black men to catch HIV/AIDS from each other in prison and then give it to black women when they are released. The CDC believes that 74% of black women who have HIV/AIDS contracted it through heterosexual contact with a man.
A 2004 report by the CDC says that AIDS is the:
* the leading cause of death for black women aged 25–34 years.
* the 3rd leading cause of death for black women aged 35–44 years.
* the 4th leading cause of death for black women aged 45–54 years.
By way of comparison, AIDS was only the 11th leading cause of death for white women aged 25-34!
The same CDC report says that homicide is the:
* the leading cause of death among black men aged 15-34 years. (Three age categories!)
* the second leading cause of death for black women aged 15-24 years.
* the fifth leading cause of death for black women aged 25-34 years.
Among women aged 15-24, homicide accounts for 5% of premature deaths in white females, but 20% of all premature deaths by black females.
Among both black and white men, homicide deaths peak at aged 25-34. The death rate by homicide among white men in this age group is 12.5 per 100k, and accounts for 10% of all premature deaths. The death rate by homicide among blacks in this age group is 101.8 per 100k, and accounts for 48% of all premature deaths.
The majority of black female homicide victims are killed by a current or former boyfriend, which many refer to as "femicide." About 96% of all black homicide victims are killed by a black perpetrator overall. 85% of white homicide victims are killed by a white perpetrator.
The July 2003 issue of the American Journal of Public Health published a study of spousal homicide. It was conducted by 18 experts in the medical field. The study states "Femicide, the homicide of women, is the leading cause of death in the United States among young African American women aged 15 to 45 years." Most women are murdered by a male partner.
Another study published in the American Journal of Public Health looked at ten years of data. Black females married to black males are 9 times more likely to be victims of spousal homicide than white females married to white males. The study found that interracial marriages where the male is black had the highest spousal homicide rate. White females married to black males are 12.4 times more likely to be murdered by their husbands than white females married to white males. Source: J A Mercy and L E Saltzman. Fatal violence among spouses in the United States, 1976-85.. American Journal of Public Health: May 1989, Vol. 79, No. 5, pp. 595-599.
"The National Black Women's Health Project" has identified the battering of women as the number one health issue for African American women (Joseph, 1997).
Femicide is a leading cause of premature deaths in African American women aged 15-44. (Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol 7, No. 1)
In 1998, Salber and Taliaferro reported that the spousal homicide rate among African Americans is 8.4 times more than for whites. The incidence of spousal homicide is 7.7 times higher in interracial marriages compared to interracial marriages. (Source WebMD.com)
Relationships with black men dramatically increase a woman's chances of dying young.
Black females aged 15-19 are 3.9 times more likely to die of homicide or AIDS than white females in the same age group. This increases to 4.4 times for females aged 20-24 and 7.3 times for 25-34.
https://dailyarchives.org/index.php/study/306-the-leading-cause-of-death-for-young-black-females-is-young-black-males
LATEST NEWS STORIES OF "BLACK ON WHITE" CRIMES OF MURDER AND RAPE
New Nation News Black-on-White Crime
http://www.newnation.org/NNN-Black-on-White.html
CNN "Schmuck" In A Jewess Body Jessica Ravitz Does The "Redskin" Spin On Standing Rock!
October 30, 2016 6:50 pm / 4 Comments on CNN "Schmuck" In A Jewess Body Jessica Ravitz Does The "Redskin" Spin On Standing Rock!
FOREWORD: These Facebook Links are from Indigenous Lakota Dakota and other Nations "News Reports" revealing what Nazi's in "Jewish Clothing" like Jessica Ravitz and her Jewish controlled media "4th Reich of the Rich" are making sure the world does not see. This is no more or less then the continuation of the historical genocide of "Redskins" by White/Jew/Free Masonic/Christian elements throughout the history of this country to this day. Steal the land and the "natural resources" at all costs…say 60,000,000 from the Jew Columbus AKA Columbo's to the Black Hills to Standing Rock!
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=307865669597067&id=100011209089401&fs=1
https://m.facebook.com/christopher.francisco.545?fref=nf&pn_ref=story
Yes everyone…there was and still is a Nazi-Zionist connection to racial eugenics and "Indian Country" genocide and Ravitz is 'Fait accompli" proof of that!
Click HERE and HERE to read what a real Jew wrote about the CNN Bronfman-Ravitz Talmudic Jew "progeny" and their "Nazi" connection etc. which goes right up to Standing Rock in "Indian Country"!
Below we will share about Ravitz's "Jewish Family" genocidal history with Indigenous peoples starting with the Jew Columbus!
Tweets by JRavitzCNN
Howdy Jessica! Guess ya didn't make to the protest site huh? Did you have a nice "spin the story" meeting with your Talmudic hate "Indigenous Goi" boss? Did you happen to discuss that latest article you wrote about "lying may be your brains fault"? How to hide and snuff the violence, beatings, attack dogs, shootings, jailing and by JackBootNaziThugs in their treatment of Lakota/Dakota Oyate…men, women and children, their Tribal brothers and sisters and supporters?
"When we lie for personal gain, our amygdala produces a negative feeling that limits the extent to which we are prepared to lie," said Tali Sharot, an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London. "However, this response fades as we continue to lie, and the more it (fades) the bigger our lies become." (Now go look in the mirror Jessica 🙂 )
You know Jessica…the title to your article should have been "lying may be a Jews fault" when it comes to Indian Country and Standing Rock especially!
"You know very well, and the stupid Americans know equally well, that we control their government, irrespective of who sits in the White House. You see, I know it and you know it that no American president can be in a position to challenge us even if we do the unthinkable. What can they (Americans) do to us? We control congress, we control the media, we control show biz, and we control everything in America. In America you can criticize God, but you can't criticize Israel…" Israeli spokeswoman, Tzipora Menache
Your "spin" is a plagerization of the Jew owned media's spin on the racist Washington "Redskin" team…owned by a KIKE with majority of players NIGGERS by asking "PreTendians" who are NOT "Tribal Members"…who do NOT have anything more then "Cherokee Princes blood" or did they live on one of the poorest Reservations in the country (thanks to Talmudic Jews) like Pine Ridge or Standing Rock for instance…"hint hint" about how the MAJORITY feel about one of the most hateful exterminating words targeting a specific race of people in history starting with one of your own...Columbus!
You are good Jessica but guess what? I am better 🙂 Have you read this yet about the American Holocaust written by…"one of yours"?
Let's start with the Bronfman connection to who you work for …CNN ok? How does it feel to work for this family of Jessica?
To help "reconstruct" if possible your brain…we we need to have a short course in "Follow The Jewish Dots Connection To The Oil Pipeline On Standing Rock" for DUMMIES 101″ OK? Ya ready Jessica? I know your readers will love this!
Lets start with the Kelcy Warren Rick Perry connection because of $6 million from Kelcy Warren when Perry was running for POUS. Next…there is the Rick Perry connection to…cough cough…Israeli Oil Interests!
"CBS11 devoted more than 7 minutes last night to this Bennett Cunningham report on Rick Perry's family excursion to Jerusalem, paid for by Texas Israeli oil interests who have scored big in Texas". Warren is in bed with Israel and Israel works direct with the Jew owned media to hide the truth about all things Indigenous when it comes to Jewish interests…like Standing Rock!
So Jessica, me thinks you need to 'rewire" your lying brain…ya think?
By the way for you lovers of John Trudell…one of his BEST music buddies works for Warren… 🙂 who owns Music Road Records, a roots label that operates recording studios in Austin and Cherokee, Texas.
Warren's musical model is singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, who this week put out a statement opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline and announcing that he'll donate all proceeds from a tribute album of his songs released by Music Road Records to tribes fighting the pipeline:
I did not know anything about Kelcy Warren's other business as the production of this album went forward. Although as a music publisher there is no legal way to deny permission to a record company to cover a song that has been previously published, I could have dissuaded the artists from appearing on this record had I known. I routinely vet the companies who ask me to perform for them. I do not play for oil interests. I do not play for companies who defile nature, or companies who attack demonstrators with trained attack dogs and pepper spray. The list of companies I have denied the use of my music is long. I certainly would not have allowed my songs to be recorded by a record company whose owner's other business does what Energy Transfer Partners is allegedly doing — threatening the water supply and the sacred sites of indigenous people"
A liar just like his best buddy and murdering American Indian Movement chairman John Trudell!
Remember it is not good to lie Jessica but then again…we have to remember the tradition of Goi Hating Talmudic Jews like you and those you work for…especially when it comes to Indigenous Peoples…right?
Hey….how did you like that term "Schmuckette" Jessica? 🙂
I have a trivia question for you and Jews like you Jessica . When was the last time you went to see a play that JEWS LIKE YOU LOVE that was written by a man that called for the EXTERMINATION OF REDSKINS?
Yikes..I forgot I wrote this and it went "syndicated" a LONG time ago. Gulp…hoping it still applies to "you and yours"…yep…it does!
Happy Hanuka Jessica!
My gift to you and yours is this truth that before the Jew Columbus ever hit the beaches…the Messiah of the Red Man who gave them this their land came among them with the promise that His land will be cleansed from the likes of any and all who have listened to the devil to murder His Oyate even as "you and yours" have always done and are doing today at Standing Rock and in spite of a "Trinket Sell Out PreTendian" Carl Bruce and a few others you probably paid to say what they did and who's relatives more then likely worked with the White/Jew assassination of Sitting Bull!!
Just know that you and yours and CNN and all other Jew owned "snuff the truth" owned MSM have the BLOOD of these innocent Oyate on your head and will stand before Hashem to be judged and condemned to HELL! I promise you that!
Guess that "Washington Redskins" team of "niggers" owned by a Kike spin on your story didn't work after all huh? 🙂
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2019/04/19/was-columbus-a-mass-murderer-rapist-and-sex-trafficking-pedophile-jew-and-animal/
After he failed to contact the emperor of China, the traders of India, or the merchants of Japan, Columbus THE JEW decided to pay for his voyage in the one important commodity he had found in ample supply — human lives. He seized 1,200 Taino Indians from the island of Hispaniola, crammed as many onto his ships as would fit, and sent them to Spain, where they were paraded naked through the streets of Seville and sold as slaves in 1495. Columbus tore children from their parents, husbands from wives. On board Columbus' slave ships, hundreds died; the sailors tossed the Indian bodies into the Atlantic.
Because Columbus captured more Indian slaves than he could transport to Spain in his small ships, he put them to work in mines and plantations which he, his family, and followers created throughout the Caribbean.
His marauding band hunted Indians for sport and profit — beating, raping, torturing, killing, and then using the Indian bodies as food for their hunting dogs. Within four years of Columbus' arrival on Hispaniola, his men had killed or exported one-third of the original Indian population of 300,000." http://www.danielnpaul.com/ChristopherColumbus.html
American Indian Movement of Murderers Rapists and Pedophiles Exposed In Detail To The Bone!
September 28, 2016 6:03 pm / 3 Comments on American Indian Movement of Murderers Rapists and Pedophiles Exposed In Detail To The Bone!
FOREWORD: PROOF THAT ARVOL LOOKING HORSE…AKA…ARVOL LOOKING AT THE HORSE SHIT COME OUT OF HIS MOUTH" IS A FRAUD!
https://lookingbackwoman.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/dupree-dupris-dupuis-family-tree-for-looking-back-woman-suzanne-dupree/
https://lookingbackwoman.wordpress.com/2016/09/28/arvol-looking-horse-never-had-the-calf-pipe-academias-lie/
https://lookingbackwoman.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/same-riegert-photo-again-in-museum-news-1967-of-john-smiths-research-martha-bad-warrior-with-lucy-looking-horse-with-her-arms-crossed/
Arvol Looking At Horse Shit Coming Out Of His Mouth links…
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/09/26/world-peace-message-from-keeper-of-sacred-white-buffalo-calf-pipe/25/
BLAHBLAHBLAH…Hmmm…me see no bundle…hmm…hmm "buried" … YES in Looking Horse Shit Pile of making MONEY! Interesting…travel world wide playing "horse poop carrier" and NOT ONE TIME has the Sacred Canupa been shown including in Indian Country! "Stupid is Stupid DOES if once believes Horse Poop and FAKE Androgynous Indian ALTONS TON OF of Horse Shit Carrol on this blog of comments! http://www.newagefraud.org/smf/index.php?topic=880.0
AND this blogs about AIM to add to the below…for your SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION and DELIVERANCE FROM AIM'S LIES!
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/john-trudell-and-his-synagogue-of-satan-jew-attorney-bruce-ellison-busted-for-their-role-in-the-murder-of-annie-mae-aquash/
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/04/19/proof-john-trudell-and-jew-bruce-ellison-were-complicit-in-the-murder-of-annie-mae-aquash-2/
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/06/01/why-leonard-peltier-the-pedophile-and-killer-of-innocents-should-die-in-prison/
Was the Truth Buried at Wounded Knee? Yes with 12 Bodies!
AIMster Russell Means, who would later achieve international reknown as thevoice of Powhatan in the Disney cartoon Pocahontas, took over the trailer home of a man confined to a wheelchair named Wilber Reigert. The terrorists pushed Wilber out of his home and made this disabled man's home the terrorists' headquarters (Trimbach p. 87).
They rummaged through Wilber Reigert's documents and stole his Indian antiques. AIMsters stole or or vandalized the people's art and private property. See here and here.
The elderly Gildersleeves settled down (as Ward Churchill would say) on a church bench all night and awaited their fate. Their captors insulted them and ordered: "If you want to get up you ask us, we will let you know" (Trimbach p. 87).
Lesson number 1 on AIM ethics. Once a con always a con.
Never forget the American Indian Tribal Warrior legacy is primarily a Tribal concern. There are specific designated Tribal Warriors of their Tribal group and there are running wolves that have no master or set of laws anyone can ever try to understand. Its a code that runs with the situation that is at hand. Women never attempt to run with the big dogs. There is concern for her safety and continued survival. Normally, men prefer she understand the mans world is a place set up with challenges, battles and your death can be very quick if you place yourself in that situation. Their way can disappear as swiftly as the morning fog when the sun comes out and there is little chance their passing will ever be known. Unless you believe in medicine people able to track you should you not return from your journey. The men's way is not a place for women, elders and children. Otherwise, They have to learn to negotiate the survival skills necessary in a world made by and maintained for men at war, or die trying. Equality has no place in the men's world. You are what you make yourself. Then you can assume your place among the gathered men or walk away into ridicule and cowardice. If by chance she holds her stand and survives the challenges? She will be a Warrior Woman who stands out among the men of this world from that point on. Equality is hers to give and take. She can tell the assembled men, I want to disappear, and they will comply. Her frail helpless woman nature is dead as she calmly contemplates the halls of challenge, battle and proven deeds among the men of this world. If she made it that far? She can certainly stage a disappearing act with help from her running operatives. Unless the running wolves think otherwise and tear her illusion to pieces and have no emotions about her demise. Plain and simple premeditated murder..
32 years later we see some startling hidden truths and some big time liars. Leonard Peltier, Dennis Banks, Ron Petite, Marlon Brando, George Mitchell, Lee Brightman, Clyde Bellecourt, Russell Means, Tim Lamewoman, Angel Riveria, Richard Mohawk, William Means, Kenny Kane, Richard Marshall, Ted Means, John Trudell, Eddie Benai, Robert Robideau, Dino Butler, Bruce Ellison, Ken Tilsen, David Hill, Richard Moves Camp, Charlie Chips, Leonard Crow Dog, Wallace Blackelk, Paul Sky Horse, John Steward, carter camp, Frank Black Elk, Vernon Bellecourt, Mommar Khadafi, Lenny Foster, Douglass Durham, Ben Morning Gun, Stanley bellrock, John Graham, Arlo Looking Cloud, Arvol Looking Horse, Caesar Chavez, Corky Gonzales, Ernesto Vijil, Tish-Guy, Antonio Gonzales, Rod Skenedore, Sylvester smells, John Thomas, Frank Black Horse, Russell Redner, Ernie Peters, Kenny Loud Hawk, buddy redbow, Frank Dillon, Larry Anderson, William Wahpapah, Floyd Westerman, Cris Westerman, Russell Forrester, Mike Anderson, Eddie Cardinal, Norman brown, 4780 other AIM associate aliases, the Chippewa's Great Manitou and midewin windigo, the Lakota's Tunkasila and White Buffalo Calf Maiden, all believed Anna Mae Aquash worked in some capacity as either a federal informant or operative. Many Ceremonies were held by Crow Dog, Wallace Black Elk and Charlie Chips that indicated they were right. Eddie Banai, Vernon Bellecourt and crew held ceremonies that also said Anna Mae Aquash was a federal informant.
Nowhere in the AIMSTER_GANGSTER roster do you find women listed. Women were basic sex providers and the people who did the cooking and cleaning. Sometimes they were allowed to type the great words and wisdoms of the male leaders, or still, even count the free money pouring into the AIM-IITC funds from concerned global advocates of human rights and dignity. Back in 1968-1975, all these men were riding the AIMSTER_GANGSTER bandwagon of global fame and stuck together like maggots on a side of 3 day old beef in the hot sun. Vernon Bellecourt states, he was the little strong donkey who was pulling this little BAND WAGON of funsters and new age "wannabee American Indians" straight into backwoods country indianism to battle the evil united states of America government and citizens. The longevity of AIM-IITC was exactly 7 years running. Which was reorganized by Vernon Bellecourt from a grass level commitment into a incorporated legal entity bound by regular business directorship and profit sharing abilities. Vernon Bellecourt self-appointed and designated himself into the following "AIM-IITC" positions; director, security chief, elder, spokesman, public relation officer, accountant, trustee, spiritual leader and original founder of AIM-IITC.
They all knew the game plan and how they were to play it. Some thing about a former Federal Agent, turned against the United States Government, showing the AIM-IITC crew how to work around the SOP (standard operating procedures) of any Federal Law Enforcement and really do some thing great for the Indian people. No one ever knew who this "former agent" was and even today, there is no word that he, or she, ever existed. After, several out-in-the-open killings, including federal agents and operatives, the AIMSTER_GANGSTER brotherhood went into a immediate pre-planned dummy-the-hell-up reorganization mode. WHY? Their names and way of life would be exposed as fraudulent if their criminal acts were exposed to the public and they would no longer be warriors of the people but the evidence, you give a fool a little authority and free money? They turn into Jesus Christ rambos. It was not outside their working AIM-IITC policy to give up lesser AIM-IITC members or associates to federal prosecution, long as they weren't the people who went to prison or had to stand accountable for any AIM-IITC events that challenged their content of character and position within any AIM-IITC events.
The volatile and exterminating situation on the Pine Ridge Federal Reservation was such a place where pre-planned murder could occur and it was well within the global accepted norms of the political and sub-killing fields of America. no one would ever know what happened since federal forces were in the area to "sustain, interrogate, document and provide" necessary information of what occurred on the pine ridge reservation according to their SOP'S and directives from the chain of command coming straight from the United States Governmental leaders. They all knew someone had made a big mistake when the spirits wouldn't work for them anymore or the "former federal agents'" inside knowledge" of the FBI Bureau was misinformed. Then it became thee biggest conspiracy for them to hide their knowledge of nasty deadly deeds done, to, for and on behalf of the American Indian, and Canadian first nations, and also attempt to blame, or supplant the idea, the FBI or some other United States government agency responsibility for those acts. They were running under FBI cloning and directives, which made it a simple matter of "playing dumb reservation Indian" and any documented subversive activity was explainable.
That's the dumbest gawd dayum excuse but it worked for 39 years. Maybe the old swift Indian magic isn't gone after all, or the "former federal agent" mentioned as being relative in AIM-IITC secret "hidden" directorship, is still alive and well. Whether, it is a male or female, wasn't really explicitly mentioned but it was mentioned, they formerly held a valid working federal agent badge and credentials. They could disappear in front of you and there wasn't a thing you could do about it.
BTW? WTF is Robert Brancombe? Is his wife really a working Federal Agent for the united states government?
Someone among them who had considerable influence, or affluence, was able to control and programmed their loyalty and allegiance to a dangerous level of complicity. They were extremely frightened, instigated by Vernon Bellecourt via Leonard Peltier, Anna Mae Aquash would reveal the hidden secrets of the American Indian movement's non-Indian personnel directors and financiers, active criminal histories, secret off-shore financial accounts and long standing male-orientated prison oligarchy leadership inclusive to only 3 people. Vernon Bellecourt, Clyde Bellecourt and Dennis Banks. Eddie Banai and George Michel were not fighters or street brawlers. They had some instance of decency left in their minds when they interacted with people. Russell Means and John Trudell were puppets on a string of unlimited marijuana supplies, cocaine, free AIM-IITC donated monies, motels, women and unlimited AIM press conference benefits.
The AIM leadership had no control over Anna Mae Aquash or her views for the real legacy of the north American Indian people and the facts she did what she could to make the American Indian people stand out as special people. She was an expert in making ribbon shirts to give to the AIM-IITC leaders, braiding their hair and promoting her "t.r.i.b.e" primary directives to teach the American Indian children about the promise of a good life. She firmly believed and lived; American Indians are not second-class people.
They were primarily interested in self-orientated financial gains, fame and not actually aware of the magnitude of the real destiny of the North American Indian people. It was a reality far beyond their ignorant knowledge and comprehension. They were oblivious to the extent of representation for north American Indian integrity heading boldly into the 21st century global politics of United States exploitation for the much needed minerals and resources sitting smack dab on Indian reservations.
Every legal issue on American soil always has a pro and con duality. Both side receive and use a lot of federal taxpayers dollars and donations. In the end, the issue is decided and life goes on till the next legal issue arises.
In Anna Mae Aquash's own self-destiny to help the Indian fight for their freedom and rights? She came from the Canadian Nova Scotia Micmacs into the United States to do her part in reconnecting with our Indian nationhood's broken spirit. She knew where all this Indian activism was going and how important it was to do what was right for the coming generations of Indian people. Whether she was recruited as a federal informant in Boston, or not, isn't apparent but her former husband, Jake Maloney, has nothing to say about the matter except he's a karate expert and "some times" works as a law officer. Anna Mae Aquash's daughter is also a law officer.
She thought she was among family in the American Indian movement. She walked blindly into the criminal world of "wanna-bee Indians" trying to stay out of prison and openly exploiting the frail American Indian identity, sovereignty and integrity with a big freaking chip on their shoulder. She was far from the raggedy-ass Indian village she was looking for.
When Federal agent David price exclaimed to Anna Mae Aquash, "we've been looking all over for you". At this time there were also 2 other Anna Mae Aquashs' running around in American Indian country? Now? Which one is the real Anna Mae Aquash we all believe is the " murdered woman of innocent circumstances"? Anna Mae Aquash was present when Ray Robinson was murdered in Wounded Knee, South Dakota and probably even helped dig the grave to bury his body with a golf club. One of the "bunkers" was eventually designated as not "worthy" and made into a garbage pit specifically for burning whatever was thought of as "bullshit". Mister Ray Robinson's majestic sacred burial pit. Direct connection of Wounded Knee AIM leaders "offing and burying" Ray Robinson has been expressed by Wounded Knee Veterans. A AIM-IITC security dude who popped the nigger in the knee commanded via Dennis Banks. which wounded knee veterans say eventually walked in and "offed" the "fucking nigger" himself, after "the nigger wouldn't behave his fucking mouth or face", talking that he worked for the federal government and he could arrest them. Which must have impressed Anna Mae Aquash. However, substantiating the statements of those knowledgeable Veterans is another impossible story in the Anna Mae Aquash versus the AIM-IITC saga. It's safe to say, the majority of reservation American Indians are extremely afraid of law enforcement association. In the American Indian movement was a vicious hatred and strong dislike for white Americans and especially African Americans. (Except for the several white women inside of wounded knee that were eventually designated as "independent Oglalla nation" citizens by Dennis Banks.) Dennis Banks could sure hand out citizenships to 13-year-old white women in Wounded Knee. he was dayum good at that) When you're a leader in the AIM-IITC, you can make such designations. Whatever you ordered was accepted or be ostracized from AIM-IITC as a "fed" or even worse, " goon apple". Double whammy bad jacket!
Everyone who has implicated Dennis Banks or Vernon Bellecourt as cold blooded killers always end up dead shortly thereafter. Dino Butler could reveal who killed Joe Stunts but he is mortally scared too. His explanation is simple. Lil Jo was gunned down by unknown federal force's bullets. He is extremely agitated when asked to reveal details about any AIM-IITC events. After several authors and Indian newspaper syndicated writers mentioning his name affixed to certain AIM-IITC events? He has become enraged and sought them out for "private talks" to straighten out the matter. He has openly spoke many times of certain people "putting him or his family in danger" and has gone out to verbally confront and threaten those people. Like he did when he went after Douglas Durham, Anna Mae Aquash and several other low-profile AIM-IITC full blood Indians that questioned his "indianness" or that of the " Bellecourt Crew". Why? Dino knows how his running associates think and act. He will be allowed to remain alive for as long as he can keep his mouth shut and continue to give the designated explanation he has been mind programmed to repeat. Like a talking parrot. Rattle his cage and he will respond with what he's been mind programmed to say when you prompt him with questions or "interrogational inquiries". Dino will never tell what he knows since his mind is totally institutionalized by "an unknown" influence that you have to look deeply to perceive. He has over 28 years of incarcerated history and his name "psycho" isn't just a tag but a working experience for those on the receiving end of his rage. "Lil Jo" actually was considered (by members of the west coast AIM crew) a "possible federal informant" as stipulated by none other then Leonard Peltier, his badass self. Dino knows this! The prison ethics to play you enemies close at hand was a way of life for them and when it was right; neutralize, punk them out or kill them. It was a matter of finding the right place, timing and situation to handle their dirty baggage. Using LSD as a mind altering substance was one of their main stages of allegiance and causing amnesia in wayward wanna bee AIM-IITC workers or supporters.
Leonard Peltier largely claims to have a "unique psychic ability" to connect with and expose all known and unknown federal operatives or informers by simply looking at them. Like how gay people look at each other and know they're both gay. People who know each other in certain choice of clothes, words, character, circumstances and previous life experiences. You had to have been a federal informant to know and recognize another federal informant.
It seems "strange", Lil Jo would be the only AIM warrior killed wearing a green fatigue coat stencilled "FBI" on the front right pocket, shot between the eyes like 2 FBI agents at the same scene. (a big sign to "the boys" he was a "fed", already dead but staged to look like the Federal forces killed him, and the federal officer who thought he shot him has no clue he's innocent.) Dino, bob and Leonard all swear it was BIA police Robert Eccoffey that killed Lil Jo. WHY? Dino, Bob and Leonard should be put on trial for murdering Lil Jo Stuntz. How could they know Robert Eccoffey at this time unless they personally knew Robert Eccoffey and if they were that close to see Robertt Ecoffey shoot Lil Jo in the head with the downed federal agents hand gun? STRANGE! The federal judge gave them a "not guilty" verdict without this observation?
Later in the future, Anna Mae Aquash gets assassinated and her hands are cut off like the mafia do to their enemies who "rat" on them. Whoever assassinated Anna Mae Aquash from behind was not a rookie and probably has done that very act of murder more then once. Shooting some one behind the head is an act of mercy and means instant death.
The west coast crew had a tremendous hatred for known or unknown informants and believed only a bullet between their eyes would stop them from further infiltration of their particular secular AIM group. And it is stipulated, ANNA MAE AQUASH WANTED TO JOIN THEM? BULLSHIT, DON'T BUY INTO THAT CRAP!!! Players are players and suckers are suckers. They like to leave a big trail and it disappears into thin air. South Dakota's Governor Bill Janklow had the same remedy for all AIM people. Same mind directive programming. Hmmmm? Attorney Bill Janklow was Dennis bank's tiospaye (family) back in the rosebud reservation legal training days. Jail house snitches are smart enough to learn informant tactics, get out and stay out by being a part of the low underlings of the ruling politicians or killers but they get their privileges guaranteed for their services. We can see further of this notion later in the dialogue here.
The West Coast AIM crew consisted primarily of John Trudell, Dino Butler, Leonard Peltier and Robert Robideau. Anna Mae Aquash could reveal the sixth person who was with Leonard Peltier, Joe Stuntz, Anna Mae Aquash, Robert Robideau and Dino Butler, when the FBI agents executions occurred on the Jumping Bull Camp. Which is why Theda Clark and Jean Day "explicitly" remember "Anna Mae Aquash" was in another area (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) with them. AS THEY CLAIM. Anna Mae Aquash is not here to refute those lies. Yet? Jean Day is listed as being at the jumping Bull shoot out list of camp people being there. More smoke to further obscure and lead any inquiries away from the truth. Don't buy into that either. Both Jean Day and Theda Clark are directly involved in this "Anna Mae Aquash conspiracy". They were players of the misinformation and misdirectional AIM-IITC campaign utilized to control and suppress the "Anna Mae Aquash conspiracy". WHY? Jean Day was alleged Leonard Peltier's young 14 year old lolita back in the days. Of course, you know Theda Clarks' part in all this. Its self explanatory but them AIM-IITC liked young girls and played the elder women as "aunt" or "big sister".
We heard Lil Jo's younger brother, Virgil Stuntz, was never that far away as Mike Anderson said. He testified Virgil was not in the area at the time but he could be mistaken? Mike Anderson was 15 and scared out of his life from what had happened and you think he could tell anyone the truth? Later he recanted a lot of his "recollections" of what he "thought he saw" and subsequently tried to live a life of a normal person. It didn't happened. So, as it appears, we realize Both Dino Butler and Bob Robideau got away with murder like a Hollywood script. Think about that. Mumia Abu-Jamal, Leonard Peltier and other currently incarcerated law enforcement shooters or killers will never get out of prison and will die incarcerated, but Dino and Bob were special "circumstances" people. Wow! Some thing about a mixed Creek-Caucasian Indian woman assisting them in their defence was the key. Is she the "mysterious former federal agent" who can guide a virtual attack thru any law enforcement SOP's or investigations? You have to wonder? Douglas Durham dies of cancer and now Bob Robideau "allegedly" dies of cancer too? Strange? Both main players in the saga. Now that the mainstream America human rights and dignity organizations are getting into the hot bed of the AIM-IITC "Anna Mae Quash conspiracy" saga. Anna Mae Quash helped solicit, account and disburse AIM's donated funds accounts to the various AIM chapters and supporters. She knew private information to the total of those donated funds and who donated them. Both Vernon Bellecourt and accountant Russell Means were the main men to AIM-IITC's secret off-shore banking accounts scenario for by-passing, escaping detection and revealing AIM-IITC's finances to the United States American Government.
Where and why do you think the money laundering program titled, International Indian Treaty Organization, came into operation and what exactly was its real purpose for the American Indian people? Like good business minds will always find a shelter to secretly stash their big bucks and make it look like they're doing good for the poor people while maintaining a public image they are a shoe-string moms and pops organization. Good deception! Entice a few "uncle jos" and some "grandpa chieftains" to hang about and you got a winning combination for a big business to live freely generated from the pity and donations of good hearted people in the world. It doesn't hurt to drive a old reservation rent-a-wreck also.
Anna Mae Aquash discovered the private lives of the main AIM leaders and how they operated outside the group specific AIM policies and events. Anna Mae Aquash witnessed sexual abuse by those same AIM Leaders and Spiritual Leaders far too often of the young AIM women and Gay men. Anna Mae Aquash had seen the sexual predators, homosexuals and pedophiles within the AIM leadership and they were very frightened of her being privy to their secrets. Commonplace prison ethics being observed.
Vernon Bellecourt was trying to bury his past as a prison homosexual but some times certain people who investigated him would bring up his sordid past. Since he was sore ass over that part of his life, he often went out of his way to make those people's lives very miserable and attacked them in many indirect manners accessible to him due to his associates within the real "invisible" leadership of the American Indian Movement. Vernon Bellecourt was able to control the naive grass level people without their knowledge he was directly behind the attacks or investigations of those people. As long as the grass roots people were told it came from the AIM leadership, they blindly obeyed. Sitting there as he explained, "yeah, I can't do anything but I guess that's what we have to do because that's what they said." No one ever accepted Vernon Bellecourt as a real serious AIM leader but more like one of the lost causes people. He was too "gay" and played quietly behind the scenes hidden as the evil homosexual master mind who was behind AIM'S "inner circle leaderships'" unrealized subverted activities. which we now see as what he really was doing. Dennis Banks was out chasing little girls, Russell, C and Clyde being to busy embezzling locally donated small funds, procuring and using drugs. The AIM-IITC off-shore safe was wide open for sticky fingers. All this content of character openly cloaked behind the seemingly apparent nature, Vernon Bellecourt was a fashionable and very legitimate "hair salon beautician". Like Richard Simmons turning into son-of-Sam when he wanted too. This "new" Vernon Bellecourt we now see is not the "old" Vernon since he knows he's too old and could care less about what happened now. He firmly believes he is "the one" to spread the word about Indian genocide. He's playing the "too old to prosecute Theda Clark and Vernon Bellcourt American Indian" card. Same old card and same deck. They always forget about the joker in the deck.
I remember the joker explained as half crazy and the other 50 %, a flat out fool! They kill people without regard to consequences.
John Graham was already "stationed" at the twin cities being Vernon Bellecourt's body guard or otherwise, being on call. When Anna Mae Aquash came to assist at the little red schoolhouse and is where John Graham "allegedly" met Anna Mae Aquash. John Graham was recruited from the Pine ridge crew as a serious man about business he is paid to do. His mother is a pine ridge enrolled Indian.. Russell Means doesn't know this? Which brings up this notion, when did he become a Canadian citizen? That dude has more names than a hispanic coming to America. He grew up on the pine ridge reservation. Who the hell is Chris Richards? I bet John Trudell would love to know that. Russell Means doesn't know this either? Them Pine Ridge people have more names then the pope has masses to perform. You will also note no where during all the heavy traffic conflict activism (after the multi-million dollar foreigner countries money donations secretly sequestered in off-shore AIM-IITC bank accounts) does Vernon Bellecourt ever risk being involved in the front line AIM warriors. He is never found within 1200 miles of any actual confrontations of the AIM and the law personnel battle lines. he would appear only when the planned AIM-IITC public relation events was a press conference or a high profile reservation event that had many innocent elders and people attending.
He was seriously watching his behind.
Anna Mae Aquash had the primary information to the hundreds of millions of dollars donated by foreign countries to the AIM-IITC funds, and who controlled or assumed those funds. Again it was Vernon Bellecourt at the home office and his inner circle members; Russell Means, Ted Means, William Wahpapah, John Trudell, William Means, Dennis Banks and Clyde Bellecourt receiving stipend monies from those donations. Carter camp was so brilliantly stupid at this time, he had no clue about this and he was AIM national chairman. With the smaller donated money embezzlements: like when Russell Means and his little brother, bill "kill" Means, stole the $68,900.00 that was to finance the Longest Walkers way back home in 1978. Russell snatched the moneybag, handed it to lil brother bill. bill ran out of there with it like a professional football fullback clutching the football and making a winning touch down. The AIM leaders laughed about it as they were eating at a fine restaurant nearby the fine motel they were staying while the longest walker crew ate "donated foods" and slept at the green belt park.
They ordered the Longest Walker's rookie public relations people to solicit more Washington D.C. churches for more donation money to refinance the Longest Walkers journey home to their reservations. Their taunt in the face was they believed white and black America owed the AIM long over-due monies for land rent and restitution, and without "their AIM"? any American Indian activism was non-existent. Pay the AIM or be a active participant on the next AIM project called, the longest swim, which specifically targeted all non-Indians in the united states. It was funny watching the AIM leaders get all jacked up over control of "the money and the easy babes". Like 6 caged gorillas fighting over bananas. They readily believed they could use extortion and force to make "white and black America" pay up.
It had been understood Vernon Bellecourt also made a deal with Anna Mae Aquash. So she, and her husband, Neegoshik Aquash, received monthly stipend money payments from the AIM office as directed by Vernon Bellecourt in accordance she would keep her mouth shut about those foreign country donation totals. Anna Mae Aquash routinely witnessed several AIM leaders meeting with Federal Officers under the excuse they were "Parole Officers" meeting with the AIM leaders who were on "life-long paroles". HMMMMMM? And they were fighting the United States of America?
Anna Mae Aquash discovered the real informants and federal level operatives within the AIM leadership. Which was a bad thing for her. Anna Mae Aquash witnessed certain AIM Leaders routinely used donated funds to buy drugs or otherwise, simply embezzle those funds. Anna Mae Aquash witnessed the private inner ex-convict "AIM leader warrior" circle that had virtual control of anyone who "joined" AIM. (She had a "pretty good" idea it was that way. Put up your dukes or behave.) If you were an ex-felon? You had a much better chance of being a member then a "supporter". If they thought you would kill on command and hold to prison ethics? You were "in". As an ex-convict, any federal handler can control you. it was about control. Anna Mae Aquash knew all the placement of AIM leadership bodyguards. Which prison they were recruited from. Which of them had actually committed murder or other criminal acts to "protect" the AIM leadership.
Anna Mae Aquash watched many of the AIM leaders entrap or deliberately order a newly recruited AIM person into committing a criminal act to show they were "real AIM material" and belonged inside the AIM infrastructure. One of the boys! Anna Mae Aquash specifically knew all the lies and cover stories issued from AIM-IITC in regards to many "touchy" situations and events that happened inside the AIM-IITC inner circle.
Truthfully analyzing the AIM former leadership crew, we see a tremendous amount of criminal acts enacted by them. Whether its epitomized in the united states government's laws or the Indian communities Indian leader character references? The major leaders all have murder, theft, perjury, extortion, drugs and sexual predator attached to their names.
Several examples: John Trudell, Russell Means, Leonard Peltier and Dennis Banks. They have close connections to someone being murdered while they were in the area or had clean sweeping alibis when someone they knew was murdered. Or one of their bodyguards went to prison for their actions. That in itself is not justification they are dirty players but the fact remains they are all part of a tightly associated group of people who may have very well pulled off the biggest hundred of millions of dollars scam in Indian history. They know who murdered who and why in all instances of the American Indian Movement card. They were all recruited because they were players of a different calibre and could be trusted to be tight-lipped if situations did not go according to plan and in the case of Anna Mae Aquash, this was certainly the case and they have all had total Amnesia about someone named, Anna Mae Aquash ever since. They were all on ground level zero during the "hit" on 2 Anna Mae Aquashs. You cannot ignore they planned every event AIM was sponsoring and also the hidden activities that the "inner circle" routinely did. They knew they would have to play the game of misdirecting and misinforming anyone other then themselves to keep certain criminal acts from being revealed and in their paranoid drugged up minds? Anna Mae Aquash was that person who would send them all back to prison or forever exposed them as the self-selected, illegitimate and unqualified "wannabee" Indian Leaders they were.
Whatever Dennis Banks was originally imprisoned for in the early 1960s (theft) doesn't compare to his real identity that unfolded as he became accustomed to some very sinister out-in-the-open deviant behaviors with total immunity and public scrutiny affixed to being a "militant AIM leader". Dennis Banks started having a sexual affair with Darlene Nichols, aka Kamook, when she was merely 15 years old (maybe even 14). Dennis Banks was 34. Dennis Banks was a slick pedophile hiding within the AIM. They had their first child when she barely turned 17 and shows he was in a sexual relationship with her at 16. Since the Lakota people say a man with "elk power" is allowed to do that, Dennis has a "tribal legal" operation commitment and acceptance of his "sacred sun dance powers". Which establishes he did knowingly abuse his leadership position to commit child sex acts with the very impressionable young females attracted to the American Indian Movement. The long list of females under the age of 18 which Dennis has had sexual contact with and resulted in a child is legendary in Indian country. Think I am bullshitting? Count his kids and figure out when they were born and how old Dennis Banks was at the time? All 42 of them. It's surprising!!
He has never been questioned why he continuously violated the trust of the Indian parents to their children's chastity and virginity. Why hasn't the United States Government done any thing with this fact? Does Dennis Banks have immunity from the united states government?. Even if the victims say, it wasn't a violation since South Dakota's statues explicitly state, 16 years of age is the legal age of consent. Jean Day explains it like this, neither Dennis or Leonard Peltier broke any laws in South Dakota because both Jean Day and Kamook Banks gave their consent for sexual relationships with Leonard and Dennis. Even if they were both under 16 years of age. Hmmmm?
Dennis Banks can look you in the eye with total humility and lie beautifully as any underhanded scam artist you will ever meet. His trick is simply by hiding out in the open. Staging another "World Peace Run" or quietly counting his money. He's that slick! Hiding out in the open is his favorite trick. Dennis Banks did his share of "bad jacketing" many good Indians simply because they noticed his habit of child molestation and sexual predator skills. He always has 2-6 big gorillas around him playing bodyguard to a "self-made sacred Ojibwa warrior". The many secret memos he has send out concerning innocent and naive caring people who came to assist the AIM and not to become entrapped into forced adulation of the very flawed AIM leadership is very real and thousands of people have experienced this on a person to person level with the Minneapolis crew. Today, Dennis Banks is quietly hiding and trying to out-live the terrible betrayed acts he did while he was sabotaging the good spirit of the real AIM in the Indian people. To keep his pedophile self out of prison. He keeps in strict contact with his "Federal Parole Officers" these days. No more "acting" needed for him running off like a common plantation slave and pretend the "feds" are after him. We all know he's still very pissed concerning his leaked memo of his hatred and complete denial of Anna Mae Aquash's cousin and subsequent investigator of her murder, Robert Brancombe. Dennis Banks hates Robert Brancombe. He will never admit it even on his deathbed.
If there's a AIMSTER profile of a very real possible federal informant working in the AIM structure? Dennis Banks is your man. Why would the United States Government allow him political asylum in the state of California if South Dakota demanded extradition? When The united states "special interests" Government "groups" spend billions to insure all Native American reservation resources are in your command? A small fry operative like Dennis Banks is essential if you have spent millions of dollars on his "cover" within the specific secret operation of taking command of the American Indians reservation natural resources. You have to look deep to see the reality of that question. He's there! It was a great cover story. People who work for Honeywell usually have some sort of national security clearance and "specialized training". Air Force Intelligence? Is Dennis Banks really capable of killing "sugar ray" Robinson? YES, VERY EASILY! WOUNDED KNEE WAS A LEGITIMATE WORKING KILLING FIELD! The defenders inside wounded knee had no guarantees they were going to live. Murder and child molestation inside were freebies.
Russell Means decided in his book, "Where white men fear to tread", he wanted the acknowledgement he started and arranged the wounded knee saga. Unfortunately, you can't change the memories of the old Lakota people and the defenders of wounded knee as easily as you can manipulate intentions and falsehoods by staging a reality not in character of a great nation or people. If Russell Means was the Lakota AIM chapter Leader? Then he also knew "the United States Governments Special Warfare Interest Groups" were stealing over 36 trillion dollars worth of uranium during his grand standing at the Wounded Knee occupation. Raw Uranium is worth 2,000,000 times the price of oil. The yellow brick roads of weapons grade uranium is paved with dead people, both before and after discovery of the deadly stuff. The Uranium theft was authorized under the "Homeland Security Act". Where do you think the United States of America's massive nuclear arms came from? There were many special Governmental political groups activated and organized to assist the United States Government accomplish the theft of the weapons grade raw uranium located in the National Badland Park. If they could force "Indians" to sign away the badlands area, as they did to non-indigenous plains Indians on the Fort Laramie treaty and the gold? The raw uranium would be theirs by another simple bogus land deed sign off and its always the stupid Lakota, or crow, who get picked. The raw uranium was discovered by infrared scanners operating on the orbiting NASA satellite station. The Navajo, Northern Cheyenne and crow tribe also had nuclear extraction from their reservation boundaries and they didn't even know. A special forces detachment came to "safe-guard" the operation on the Northern Cheyenne land, under orders, shoot to kill. All natural resource developments on Navajo land had explicit legal language if "any other secondary minerals" were found in the coal mining area they had signed agreements on? They were the property of the mining company. Uranium was found on their land and the thousands of tons of uranium tailings are still buried on their "sacred four corners land". They blamed a little mouse with the "hanta virus". When it was simply uranium poisoning evident on the wild life environment. None of the tribes ever got restitution or payment of their raw weapons grade uranium from the United States government or special interest groups.
The Wounded Knee occupation was a sufficient enough global smoke screen whereas the United States Government stole the uranium so swiftly and easily. The 268 pine ridge deaths, 2000 Federal Agents being trained during that era within the Pine Ridge Agency, an estimated 300 Indians being initiated as Federal Informants and any thing else that occurred on the Pine Ridge Reservation was under Russell Means AIM chapter jurisdictional watch. The pine ridge reservation got no money or special considerations unless you call murder a choice destiny!!
The man knows more then he is acknowledging about certain events that transpired on the Reservation. He's operating under the family unity protection mentality and will not give up his brothers or sisters to the truth but would rather lie or redirect any allegations incriminating him or his family. He will lie directly to your face and redirect whatever thought you may inquire into another myth of "Indianism". Which will all lead back to how great he is and Lakota people consider him to be Crazy Horse's reincarnation. Or that he could conceivably, quite possibly, be Jesus Christ himself. Largely depending on how goofy or naive his listeners are. He's a real rascal to talk too! I think this California bred street hustler does not understand what it means to tell the truth as a sundancer and a true Lakota. It seems all the AIM-IITC sundancers lie and smoke the sacred pipe all to frequently (and casually). Russell means says, he had no knowledge if Arvol Lookinghorse, or Arlo Lookingcloud, is the man who was at Anna Mae Aquash's killing, or if any Lakota patriots were involved since he was the local AIM chapter leader. Only after he heard, Robert Branscombe was going to name "Arlo Lookingcloud, John Graham and Theda Clark" as suspects did he boldly step forward and say what he had to. However, on the reality side, he knew this was going to happen sooner or later and as long as it wasn't Arvol Lookinghorse, he was a player to protect his tiospaye.
Just for old time psychological ambush sakes. what if Arlo Lookingcloud was a patsy for Arvol Lookinghorse and the AIM-IITC are afraid of the consequential damage this would impact the sacred white buffalo calf medicine bundle? which would be big conspiracy lie number 712. Think about that? its probably irrelevant both names sound so similar and yet, its strange. Anyone could make a mistake about that.
YES! I agree, Arlo Lookingcloud is a innocent person and the big pay-off would be for him to take the "fall" for a "big time spiritual leader" like Arvol Lookinghorse to walk away clean from his part in the Anna Mae Aquash killing. I believe all the AIM-IITC people know this fact. They do not and will not implicate Arvol Lookinghorse as the man with John boy Patton graham simply because they feel it would bring the "legendary sacred white buffalo calf pipe" legacy to a spiritual low reality for the people. Only John Graham knows and asking Arvol Lookinghorse means having 200 attorneys and 1100 Lakota people to deal with. Which still doesn't guarantee Arvol Lookinghorse will talk about "his part in the Anna Mae Aquash conspiracy". His hiding place is secure behind the "sacred cannunpa". No evidence? No witnesses? He can whistle all the way to hell. His invoked American Indian civil rights, "innocent till proven guilty", will protect him. Hmmm? What happened to the "we are a sovereign nation" declaration? This sidetrack info will derail the United States legal references, if AIM-IITC veterans will step up and talk the walk of a real sovereign American Indian nation. This would allow John boy Patton graham to boldly evade extradition and the Minneapolis AIM-IITC would be "clean of the Anna Mae Aquash conspiracy". Arlo Lookingcloud would be set free and whatever case about the Anna Mae Aquash killing would disappear like smoke in the wind.
SO? Once again. true to colors, AIM-IITC mastermind another story to hide the real facts. How much money would Arlo Lookingcloud want, to spend a few years in prison for his "services rendered", for the boys? John Trudell has had trouble sleeping over this fact for many years and today? lets talk about him.
John Trudell has a mysterious past since his "alleged hispanic mother" died, his Santee father didn't claim him and he surfaced out of nowhere at the Alcatraz Island occupation. Did he ever claim to be a full blood Indian or was it, he is "part Indian"? Well? After questioning he revealed he was part Indian and hispanic. He does have a street gang he runs with and its still running with him today. His wife, children and mother-in-law were all killed by alleged "federal forces hit man-Chris Richards". Everywhere John Trudell goes, follows him an environment of sudden death and paranoia someone is out gunning for him. Why? The man is mysteriously paranoid and probably has done a few acts that would make him precipitate death to be his running destiny. No one is completely safe around John Trudell and yet, he draws all the new age people to him and his re-organized style of bad boy lobo "Johnny Trudell".
John Trudell was appointed AIM co-leader, by none other then Vernon Bellecourt, during all the "inner circle" murders and silent acts of internal sabotage of the AIM. John Trudell ran with the West Coast AIM crew that hated and wanted dead all acknowledged or suspected Federal Informants and Operatives within the AIM. In recent years, John Trudell has developed a strange story about "his now friend" Anna Mae Aquash that he helped interrogate as a suspected Federal Informant. John Trudells' lame amnesiac acknowledgement of Dennis Banks and the Minneapolis crew is equally as strange since he now doesn't know where they were at during the "inner circle" murders.
The AIM local chapters had ousted the drugged-out sycophantic Bellecourt brothers (Vernon and Clyde) and (pedophile) Dennis Banks from AIM Leadership. No one in lower AIM chapters knew of several hundred million dollar offshore AIM-IITC bank accounts except the AIM "inner circle" crew. They had lost the keys to their money wagon and wanted it back in their control.
John Trudell was quickly placed as AIM Co-National Chairman with Carter Camp during this time since carter camp was elected from grass roots AIM chapters. William Means was given exclusive authority over IITC (International Indian Treaty Council). Why? cause he was Russell means little brother. No other qualifications were necessary. (Like Vernon and Clyde). Vernon Bellecourt neutralized George Michel and Eddie Banai's share of the original Franklin Street AIM patrol authority. Dennis Banks was given the task of neutralizing Russell Means and resulted in Dennis slapping him up a little bit. Clyde Bellecourt neutralized Carter Camp's AIM influence and leadership by staging a direct physical conflict with Carter Camp where Clyde Bellecourt first assaulted Carter Camps younger brother. Carter Camp had no choice but to retaliate and actually shot Clyde in the buttocks as he was running away from carters vicious assault.
Some place in this time line, John Trudell's family were assassinated. June 1979 he burned the united states flag on the steps of the FBI headquarters. He states he was AIM-IITC national chairman 1972-1979. His explanation that he quit when carter camp went to prison but not that his family had been murdered. Anna Mae Aquash was already listed as dead back in 1975. No worries, man! Which gave John Trudell 100 % authority to any and all AIM leadership. This wholly orchestrated lone-AIM-chairmanship political move went into immediate withdrawal phase to initiated the AIM policy of never selecting and electing AIM leaders from the rank and file membership. Dismantling and omitting the very powerful "AIM National Chairman" title entirely to never ever be used again. WHY? It gave the grass roots people control over the AIM-IITC and would quickly phase out the OLD_AIMSTER_GANGSTERS and subsequently, expose their "hidden multimillion dollars donation" secret. It also prevented any national AIM chairman from being held liable for any actions AIM-IITC did in the course of any criminal acts as epitomized within the Frame of reference of the United States Federal Government's laws and statues, but it was certainly OK to allow a singular AIM-IITC supporter or helper to be prosecuted for their involvement of any AIM-IITC events.
All ordered under the authority of 15-day National AIM Chairman appointee John Trudell and his secretive conspiring Minneapolis cohorts. Today he claims to have been AIM National chairman for 7 years. In the background, Vernon Bellecourt went into high gear in his "black ninja panty hose" and "incorporated AIM" into the National American Indian Movement (NAIM). Thereby eliminating any selected and elected AIM leadership from the grass roots people's AIM chapters never ever happened again. Dennis Banks and Clyde Bellecourt were both instrumental in this secret phase as they prevented any sub-political associations of NAIM to local AIM chapters by making physical threats and actual secret memo contacts to trusted "AIM allies" in the grass root AIM chapters. "Bad jacketing" anyone who spoke out against their coup de grâce of the AIM organization they founded and subsequently lost to the grass roots Indian activists and members. Those "secret AIM-IITC allies" have been surfacing as the new "selected leaders" in the AIM-IITC NAIM home office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Usually held under a tight rein by both Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt. It was the hidden millions in offshore bank accounts they were after. Since John Trudell was now running with the Minneapolis crew? The Bellecourts and Dennis Banks were suddenly back in control of the National AIM leadership and the secret off-shore bank accounts of the donated millions of dollars to AIM-IITC by foreign countries and foreign leaders who hated America. They donated millions of dirty bucks to finance the AIM terrorization of the globally hated United States American Government.
Which brought into focus, many AIM members never suspected what they thought they were making a stand for in behalf of the American, or Canadian Indian people, was also actually a bid of extended "mercenary services" contracted out by the AIM-IITC from those foreign countries financial "considerations" to AIM-IITC. Why do you think Russell means claimed to mobilize a AIM-IITC special forces group to south America and at the same time, was in "collusion" with his chums, the Bellecourt boys? (Always wanted to use that Russell means vocabulary word just once.)
Read Vernon Bellecourt's many interviews concerning all the speeches he has made about representing AIM-IITC as a catalyst that all American and Canadian Indians were openly attacking "the united states government" and he was the leader. You will see where Vernon Bellecourt has been to give his speeches at many subversive organizations that openly use "terrorist tactics" against the united states government. Why the United States government hasn't arrested him is a big mystery.
Many AIM members never knew of the hundreds of millions of dollars bank accounts the AIM-IITC had in off-shore bank accounts set-up by Vernon Bellecourt and Russell Means. Vernon Bellecourt needed a team player and someone who would play ball the Bellecourt way. John Trudell was such a team player for the Minneapolis AIM crew and John Trudell has suddenly developed an awful case of "Minneapolis AIM amnesia" in these later days. Its really strange realizing all the people that are killed around this man and he always has a ready made alibi of his whereabouts. He has all the bases covered and there are no witnesses to his paranoia.
It is said in Indian country, when someone murders another tribal or family member? The murderer wears a stench and paranoia around them where ever they go. They have the control over the "spirit" to the person they killed and as such, must wear and feed that "spirit". It eats away their karma and their own dharma eventually kills them. Two spirits cannot live in one body without normalcy being disrupted.
Perhaps John Trudell is of this nature and his reason for paranoia is a matter of survival. However, watch John Trudell, should he decide to turn his back on the Bellecourt brothers. We will surely see what he "shares" as to his innocence in all hidden AIM-IITC matters of embezzlement, murder, rape and child sex abuse. NO SIR, John Trudell was no safety refuge for Anna Mae Aquash. He was a main player in the AIM secret subversive agenda to the real American Indian Movement Leadership of America. Many west coast AIM members say they could have saved Anna Mae Aquash but didn't? They were the ground level zero special AIM_IITC task force that existed at that time and their job was simple. Eliminate informants and federal government operatives. Why? I often wonder exactly how much money Vernon, Dennis and Clyde gave to ole Johnny for his services in all this inner circle murder period?
Today, Johnny Trudell is down in tinsel town rubbing elbows with movie stars and other very drugged out "in-vogue" actors and actresses. He is heralded as "speaker of the Indian poets truths". Hollywood awarded him a "living legend award" back in August 22, 1998. An ex-navy man!
If all these "allegations" John Trudell was part of the killing team that murdered Anna Mae Aquash are true? Will Hollywood die of shame? Leonard Peltier is a very common smallish thug character you find at any Indian barroom gathering. They are part Indian but will go to any length to prove they are as Indian as anyone there. They will not be left out of the "inner circle". Vernon Bellecourt personally appointed Leonard Peltier as "Informant Locator and Interrogator". Leonard Peltier developed a running crew the likes of any mobster boss in the inner urban city environment. Leonard Peltier selected no rookies but all seasoned tough and equally capable killing men as himself to do the job. John "lobo" Trudell, Dino "psycho" Butler and Robert "razor" Robideau were his main crew.
So it is not strange they would all be there at many of the AIM most controversial situations within its inner infrastructure conflicts and situations. When you watched Leonard Peltier and his crew operated? You were going to find many fights and violent situations because Leonard Peltier was a thug and had very little intelligence. Leonard Peltier believed he could read a persons psychic aura and know if they were federal informants or if a woman wanted to make love with him. The boy was strange. It bordered on the edge of insanity but the real fact was, Leonard Peltier could hit you or let you stay in AIM depended largely on whether you recognized him as a full blood Indian, or not, and if Vernon Bellecourt thought you were subversive to the AIM. Leonard Peltiers association with many of the legendary AIM tough guy crews only strengths his resolve to also hide behind the "sacred pipe" for his acts in the "brotherhoods murderous history". Taking your criminal acts into the sacred Sundance and hiding them there under its cloak of secrecy and sacred acknowledgment is a common practice of the AIM-IITC. Leonard Peltier did it. John Graham did it. Clyde Bellecourt did it!! Russell means did it!! who else can you name? Sealed with a "vow" over the "sacred pipe". Now we all know why Leonard Peltier keeps saying my Sundance brothers are jealous of my fame and have left me here in prison to die, but we made a sacred vow on the sacred pipe. Sacred rule number 1. NO MURDERERS CAN NEVER HOLD A PIPE LET ALONE SMOKE IT!
In this time and era, we are realizing them warrior acts as deceptions of cowardice or disinformation. We now know he killed the federal Agents and several other people inside the AIM group but he will never admit it. why? He's a natural born liar with no respect for the "sacred pipe" and we know he believes if he "snitch's on telling the truth? He's a twelve-time loser and will get himself killed by ex-felons that play for keeps. That is the laws them boys play by. However, many AIM members were openly afraid he would beat the hell out of them, or kill them, if they told. Or? One of "his boys" would do the job for him. Which is why his statement, "we will take care of our own", is no mere idle threat but a guaranteed promise.
Ever wonder how many people were involved when Anna Mae Aquash was actually killed? We now know its a massive conspiracy involving Leonard Peltier, Dennis Banks, Russell means, Clyde Bellecourt, William means, John Trudell, Ted means, Dino butler, Charlie Hill, Vernon Bellecourts, certain Lakota AIM women, secretive white attorneys and some special recruited allies from south and central America. MS13? Maybe? It's a beautiful lie of deception they have been telling us.
It is highly doubtful if Leonard Peltier will ever tell any truths concerning the AIM. He is into lying about his acts too deep he can't back out now. No one believes him anymore. He has rotted in prison and will die incarcerated as a prison homosexual. Leonard Peltier doesn't know any thing about how certain AIM Leaders used him to do the dirty deeds they wanted done to cover their acts of betrayal to the American Indian Movement. ALL FOR MONEY OR CHILD SEX ACTS. He was played, punked and he didn't even suspect a thing. He's too egocentric about his own sense of value for decency and still so dense in the head to know the Minneapolis crew ordered and played him for a dumb fool. They left him to rot in there forever now. Even Jesus couldn't get Leonard Peltier out of prison. So, that brings out some little questions about who, or what, was the dark and sinister invisible mind force behind AIM's most disastrous era when killing "AIM members" was not an option but a reality? Who is sneaky enough to stage all the acts of the AIM as attributed to certain people and never to themselves? Who would think they could use the AIM activities to mask and hide their personal agendas? How much of the "secret hidden off-shore bank accounts" did the referenced "former Federal Agent" routinely get a percentage of? Why the big AIM agenda about Federal Informants and Operatives? Could those federal informants and operatives recognize the "former Federal agent"? What did the AIM have to hide, or who in the AIM leadership had some thing to hide? If you're a American Indian leader, you're obligated to be of good content of character and able to meet with other sovereign nation leaders. Including leaders of the United States government and people. we have treaties and legal agreements with them people, you know what i mean? Why try to undermine the very basis of our existence as a people by disavowing our ancestors' agreements and testament of their passage thru time of the invasion of other people onto our lands? It doesn't make sense.
Vernon Bellecourt! Ask Vernon Bellecourt! He knows!..Arlo Lookingcloud – 2000 – He did hide the AIM-IITC millions in off shore bank accounts in Panama, Spain and Geneva, Switzerland. Or perhaps after the disagreement with Russell means, he has switched locations and account names. Some one mentioned they have always had them accounts but were now in Germany and Italy. one thing is certain, he would have some problems bringing that much money into American banking services without reporting it or finding a legal operation to do such a venture. Which is why he was always traveling out of country when ever AIM had a direct armed confrontational occupation going in the United States or Canada. His famous habit of calling the AIM security and saying, "I cant be with you, brothers, but i am there with you in spirit! hoka hey! its a good day to die!". "I got you all some donations, here's where to pick them up at or so-n-so will be arriving to hand them to you." "Hoka Hey!". Yeee haww! Yeee haww!!..Click! Then dear old Vernon Bellecourt would go out soliciting more financial contributions supposedly for the current American Indian conflict but if any came in? They went directly into the AIM-IITC secret bank accounts and those donations were never mentioned or held accountable since he lied so beautifully about any such donations ever happening. while the American Indian people were defending the American land and people, Vernon was in another country soliciting millions of donated dollars to the AIM-IITC American Indian activism cause. Figure that and say, no way!!! Windigo monies "for the indian cause". Recruiting, grooming and mentally challenging lesser intelligent, "I want to belong to AIM" candidates, to kill the person who would reveal how, and when, he stole the AIM-IITC donated hundreds of millions of dollar funds was easy. Money was a strong enough reason for Vernon Bellecourt to sabotage the AIM. It never was about Anna Mae Aquash revealing Leonard Peltier as the premiere AIM hit man or the notion of "Informants or Operatives" inside the AIM.
Yes, its true Leonard Peltier feared Anna Mae Aquash would tell how he bragged about killing the FBI agents. He was instructed to kill Anna Mae 1 Aquash where she stands in Farmington, New Mexico but that was never revealed till later. Then "another Anna mae2 Aquash" surfaced after the Farmington " Anna Mae 1 Aquash " incident and they were back to square 1 and who was this " Anna Mae 2 Aquash "? Only after Vernon Bellecourt commanded John Graham to do some thing about the "Anna Mae Aquash2 problem" was " Anna Mae 2 Aquash " addressed. John Graham had always worked for Vernon Bellecourt and got paid very well for his efforts and successes. Then the "works" were in the making and it was going to be over in a few days. Its not too "stupid" to think Leonard Peltier and karate expert, Charlie hill, were the men that knocked out Anna Mae Aquash's teeth. Why? Think about it. Anna Mae Aquash was a Canadian woman who knew nothing about American prison ethics and how ex-convicts operate after being released.
Where is "Anna Mae 3 Aquash" hiding these days?
There are many AIM warriors Vernon has approached and asked to murder someone he hates or had problems with. In the near future we will meet his, and Dennis Bank's, "secretive California Hispanic Indian killing bad boys". ALL RECRUITED AND GROOMED DURING THE D-Q SUNDANCE CEREMONIES IN DAVIS CALIFORNIA. The great wanka tanka is on their side. A mini version of "wanna bee Indian" jihad. A holy war with the Europeans. Unless they escape back south to Mexico, the central or south Americas. How do we know Clyde Bellecourt in not doing the same recruiting and grooming an entirely new AIM-IITC hit squad at the pipestone Sundance he states that he started because he had a vision? Maybe too much LSD since he was found guilty of selling 500 hits of LSD to Indian kids. Maybe the United States government can find several of them to question and detain.
It's likely both Clyde and Vernon will either commit suicide or fall down crying about the hidden hundreds of millions of stolen dollars being exposed. It's quite possible they are as smart as John Graham and probably have rehearsed a course of action over the 32 years since Anna Mae Aquash's killing. Then when that actual moment happens they've been dreading and planning for? They don't remember what they had planned and reveal themselves as the idiots they are. Vernon, Dennis and Clyde used d thousands of donated dollars and drugs to post-released ex-felons recruited AIMSTER hit men to do their dirty work. The United States prisons system is still full of the AIMSTER warriors they used and left to rot in prison. They may be in serious danger if them lifers ever get a hold of their old asses in prison at this stage of their game. Their conspiracy lies are all falling apart. Vernon Bellecourt is a thief. His baby brother, Clyde Bellecourt, is a thug and a thief. Dennis Banks is into denial and an inspiring lying-walking-running pedophile. A walking dream of insanity and always planning "hits" against people who say he's a pedophile. Think i am lying? Look at the court records of what kamook said and what Dennis remembers. CHILD ABUSE! Time line is the clue. Egomaniac Russell Means still has no clue about integrity but trained as an accountant. The boy lost his brains and still cant understand lying is not a content of character for an American Indian leader or maybe his accountant training is more powerful then he believes. Lobo Johnny Trudell is a drug-fried "paranoid" can of spam. His buddies Quitman and Dino Butler seem to be his only touch of reality with the 21st century. Which isn't much of a growing concern if you really look at it.
President George Bush Junior and his crew have done certain legislative Constitutional Amendments and "Homeland Security" Laws that would make Vernon Bellecourt and his hidden AIM-IITC millions appear out of no where. Libya's Mommar Khadafi announced he would donate several million dollars to the Freedom Fighter Leonard Peltier Defence Fund. Vernon Bellecourt immediately ran to Mommar Khadafi and his 48 million dollar donation to the Leonard Peltier Defence fund. Of Which Vernon claims was a small 1 million dollar donation into the AIM-IITC accounts and from that less then $50,000.00 dollars went into the Leonard Peltier Defence funds.
Vernon simply rearranged facts that Mommar Khadafi "mentioned" the Leonard Peltier Defence fund but had in fact, actually donated to thee Vernon Bellecourt AIM-IITC personal account holdings. Mommar Khadafi was "supposed" to have been dead and Vernon would have had nothing to worry about. Vernon claims 92 % of Mommar Khadafi's donation never materialized as promised. This is where Russell Means, Ted Means, William Means, Dennis Banks, Clyde and Vernon Bellecourt have a big difference of opinion. What of Leonard Peltier? He was still rotting in prison. Leonard Peltier was no longer considered a main player in the active AIM-IITC hidden agenda.
Where did the United States Military get their info of Mommar Khadafis' secret head quarters so the United States Super-Secret Global Assassination Team could locate and attempt to assassinate Mommar Khadafi? Look in the newspapers, Vernon Bellecourt had secretly met with old Mommar Khadafi 2 weeks before the attempted "hit". Much like how Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt met with freedom fighters in Nicaragua. After leaving their village. Federal Nicaraguan forces attacked the village, killing the freedom fighter leaders and any supporters were taken into prison. Both Bellecourt brothers received monies from the Nicaraguan government for 10 years.
Interesting! this was also the time Russell means got shot in the buttocks apparently during a fire fight between Federales and the Miskito Indians. Either the Bellecourt Brothers work for the United States Government? Or, they have been tagged and bagged by the United States Government so the United States Government always knows where, when and why the Bellecourt brothers will do what they do. All without the knowledge of the Bellecourt Brothers themselves because if the Bellecourts ever found out they were federal Operatives? They would have to kill themselves.
That doesn't make much sense at all unless you're stupid enough to listen to the explanations of their "personal clandestine secret war on the United States Government" as AIM warriors now standing alone defending the poor helpless American and Canadian Indian people from Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Seriously, AIM-IITC is a business and its not a front for the united states government special interest groups that control 80% of the global economy.) If you buy into and believe its the right common sense logic, you will also probably believe AIM-IITC has never ever received any monetary donation over $2,000.00 as Vernon implies. It's a terrible lying way to make a living.
It's funny how them AIM boys and gay catholic priests are always getting shot in the butt. Most killers shoot their victims in the head. Whoever is shooting them must be very lousy shots or knew what they were doing.
Several of the very Anti-American Hispanic Global Terrorist crew have donated millions into the AIM account. Which is why you see so many Hispanics in the AIM. Coincidently, Robert Robideau was in Spain and left shortly after a "bomb" on the Spanish railway passenger train that was carrying Vernon Bellecourts old "Hispanic Terrorist" members, exploded and now rumors have it, Robert Robideau has also recently died of cancer? Douglass Durham died of cancer also after he was located in Texas (where he had grand fathered a Texas aim chapter) and he fled to Las Vegas. Hmmm? Perhaps we will soon read Vernon Bellecourt and Dino Butler dying of cancer too. The notion of assassinated death to "spies or operatives" is documented in the global community where they are fed food or drink, which contains an agent for them to die of cancer in a very short time. Wow! This scenario gets bigger!
This game will get bigger, I think. Who knows any thing anymore? Someone, or somebody's, calculating in very influential and affluent positions seem to still be in the background directing AIM-IITC traffic and ordering deaths to hide the trail a blind man could follow, now that the Federal Freedom of Information barrier has been lifted and we can readily see some truth to the Anna Mae Aquash versus the AIM-IITC conspiracy saga.
The "IRA" of Ireland donated several hundred of thousands of dollars as well as explosives and most of the IRA cell members have been apprehended in the USA. How? Those are all known terrorist cells that dear old Vernon Bellecourt has danced and dined with.
Someone is A BIG RAT to a lot of very deadly people. Read his speeches!! He has traveled to all of the terrorists' cells operating areas or their home ports which has corresponded with the AIM. The United States Government could handle a simple investigation and arrest of known global terrorist associates like Vernon Bellecourt and Clyde Bellecourt. Unless Vernon and Clyde Bellecourt have attained "international immunity" via their united states American government "secret service contacts and services rendered" current status. Vernon Bellecourt is a "team player" with a super secret hidden agenda. Anyone that has associated themselves to AIM-IITC has heard Vernon Bellecourts "lets play team ball" speech. He's not playing by no rules that can be traced or discovered of him. He is slick! He is so slick he left one big "witness alive". The banking industry records. If he can conceive some way to permanently destroy the records? He will die outside of the Federal Prison Vacation Plan and remain free. Providing he can locate the hidden AIM-IITC millions and reveal his true reason for ordering the murder of Anna Mae Aquash. As it stands, He will still not be able to openly spend AIM-IITC's hidden millions since he is one foot in the grave and the other foot, Russell means is trying to wrench off. They are fighting over the other hidden millions of dollars. Or? He may pull a similar desperate act like John Graham did of the Anna Mae Pictou Aquash DNA exam and make a gawd dayum fool of himself by revealing too much to the public of his complicity. BTW? Did that DNA exam prove the exhumed body was DNA connected to the Aquash girls and does Vernon Bellecourt still report to the "FBI" as he promised?
Many people have been hurt or killed over this Anna Mae Aquash matter? A naive man falls in love enough to Traditionally marry his sweetheart and ends up marrying a deadly game being played by killers and professionals? Neegoshik Aquash was a martial artist, same as Anna Mae Aquash and you had to be good at martial arts to beat them. Why would anyone want to kill Anna Mae Aquash's husband? Neegoshik Aquash "discovered" Anna Mae Aquash's secret written accounts of who the real Federal Informants and Operatives were inside the AIM crew. Where the bank accounts were that held the secret AIM-IITC Hundreds of million dollars off-shore bank accounts. WHICH SHE HAD CHANGED TO INSURE THEY DIDN'T KILL HER! IT WAS HER SECURITY! HE CONTACTED VERNON BELLECOURT. He had a heart attack very shortly there afterwards which left him very semi paralysed. Subsequently, later, he was found burned to death when his residence caught on fire. Why would anyone want to kill and burn a wheel chair bound broken man in the dead of winter inside his log house? Unless he possessed the evidence why his wife was murdered and the identities of the real killers who were still doing "witness elimination" from within the very much alive AIM-IITC organization.
Didn't John Trudells family die in flames in Nevada? 1979? Did Russell Means and the other AIM former leaders think they could continue blowing misleading smoke signals up America's reservations. That no one would see why they decided to steal the donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the American Indian activism cause? Some logic that the donated money was given to AIM-IITC and they were AIM-IITTC. SO? It was their money. There were more then several accounts. Did you really think that little story they all concocted about Vernon Bellecourt getting federal monies from the United States Government to subsidize the poor and broke AIM-IITC in Minneapolis would continue to shield their deception?
If Anna Mae Aquash locked away 1 account (the one that held the multimillion dollars) but the other newer lesser accounts were kept active? That money wagon had to find an outlet to their greedy little hands.
What happened to Anna Mae Aquash1, Anna Mae Aquash2 And Anna Mae Aquash3? It suddenly becomes apparent the donated AIM-IITC hundreds of millions of dollars donations are still locked away. However, they have "launder" the other millions of dollar accounts which has taken them to Hollywood, the drug marketing streets and finally to the laws and protected state of the real American Indian 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization type of status. NAIM, IITC and for Russell means own benefit, Yellow Thunder and the Lakota Treaty Council Office small business ventures formerly of Rapid City, South Dakota, Highway 44. Site of the Anna Mae Aquash interrogation we never see but hear about since Russell means shut it down. WHY?
Dennis suddenly found free-money to start a maple syrup venture and Clyde Bellecourt insists on being recognized as a holy man now. After 8 small heart attacks, he's investing his shares of the split annual "secret monies" into the pipestone Sundance gatherings. He's a repentful and resentful little soul. Where's that big freaking chip on your shoulder now?
Why do we see all the same AIM leadership crew starring in the same movie, or they are paid to be experts of the movie's authentication references and yet, they say they hate each others guts? Clyde and Vernon have been locked out in this part of the AIM-IITC venture. WHY? Dennis, John and Russell are good buddies again? WHY?
They are still looking for the money and fame. Same original vision for themselves but never for the whole American Indian people. They can and have started to "launder" the other donated AIM-IITC millions thru Hollywood connections straight back into their own organizations via their personal appearances under "services rendered".
Slowly importing and spending them secret funds a little bit at a time. They think time will erase what they did but, unfortunately, a few observers have not been oblivious to their deception and where they can be caught. The banking records don't lie and President George Bush still recognizes the real Indian leadership. The "Homeland Security Laws" can be utilized to discover the deception. A long awaited time to clear the real American Indian movement members and expose all the former AIM leader racketeers. An end to their American Indian identity exploitation and Indian sovereignty deception. Time to permit the younger American Indian, and first nation, kids to lead the people and show the way for the many generations of Indians yet to come. Its time to pass the legacy into their minds and hands.
Always remember these observations and you will survive the former AIM leaders mind directives. When you see them attending and participating in a sundance or fasting ceremony? You have to wonder since they are mind programmed to show the obvious by "repentance and secrecy". It will take them 1 minute to swallow your spirit into their "sacred" on-going deception and program you how they want you to see "it". Why do they continually attack bona fide traditional Indian leadership with character assassination of "tontos", "apples" or "hang around the Fort Indians"? It didn't make sense then and today it still doesn't make sense. They know how to "bad jacket" anyone since they've been in prison and know how that works when used on innocent people. They select someone to be "the target" in their speeches and all you have to do for proof is look at their finger to see who they are pointing at while they remanufacture any facts for a question that is attempting to address the truth. Usually it is someone who is laying down some truths to their actions and behaviors and always usually, they set them up to be their "designated enemies". Mob action at its finest. Its not a legitimate reason why good natured human rights advocates should believe their lies and send them more monetary donations to "survive the Indian genocide" of themselves?
They openly "bad-jacket" anyone as being a federal agent, enemies of the AIM-IITC or "meddlesome" people who are against the "good American Indian people". (Namely themselves) Or? references alleging "those people were never AIM and are probably United States Government operatives". Their very basic excuse being, "WE" kicked them out of AIM-IITC. WHY? Perhaps they weren't selling drugs to the Indian kids or beating up real Indians who questioned AIM-IITC's mixed Caucasian Indian blood lineage. They use the famous "bad cop-good cop" routine except they renamed it, the "good AIM Indian, bad GOON Indian," redirect.
They coercer you into personally acknowledging, accepting and believing they are bona fide genuine "full blood Indian leaders" raised in the heart and tragedy of their poor oppressed tribes. Who, and where, are the "independent Oglalla nation" they claim they raised out of the shambles of "reservation ghetto life"? They never knew their own tribal heritage, language or people and they haven't tried to re-learn it in the last 40 years. WHY? How about For themselves! They claim an identity epitomized within their tribal language and histories. Readily verifying their authenticity by surprising you in saying, "hell? ask Dennis or Vernon, we're all full blood American Indian leaders!". However, ,in truth, you will never find them as verifiable genuine reservation leaders. At Any time or place in the history of the American Indian and the United States of American government sovereign nations agreements. How can you represent the American Indian people if you don't live with them or share their life? They went to the united nations as leaders of the total American Indian people and staged a money laundering global organization?
One thing is certain, Its probably a good truth they will be trying to find "federal informants and operatives" they will designate as enemies against AIM-IITC. To either kill, or silence, since they consider themselves as the only bona-fide AIMSTER_GANGSTERS. More then likely it will be young kids out to stage a "showing of their pride" that will do what they ask. They have forgotten the other 25,000 or more believers of the real American Indian movement still living on the reservations and reserves of the united states and Canada, hundred of AIM warriors who will never get out of prison, who were the real catalysts and brave souls that endured the occupations and street level organizing. Its in their game plan if they have to kill again to save themselves from the same fate they put Leonard Peltier in.
It's such an easy matter for them to hire a "hit man" to do their dirty work for them. Russell means is 69 and Vernon Bellecourt is 76? The youngest and the oldest of the OLD_AMISTER_GANGSTERS. Many of the other American Indian movement members and believers have taken a new view of their situation and are realizing the sanity and reality of their leadership. They cannot look the other way any more simply because the Minneapolis crew is pointing that way or their attorneys play the "third world oppressed people sensational emotional splash explanation".
Always call a real local bona fide Indian reservation to check out the "Indian resistance people" who approach you as supposedly representatives of the real American Indian Movement. If they looks part white or hispanic, never mind the braids and AIM patch they're wearing, you're not talking to bona fide American Indian resistance representatives. Ward Churchill, Winona Laduke or Sheridan Murphy? Are they "real Indians"? We're still battling for our identity and you know we will still have "wanna bee Indians" showing up to help us survive the Indian genocidal policies. Try having Indian kids if you're not Indian. I'm a full blood Indian but do you see me out in mainstream white America trying to lay down some truths (and getting paid umpteen dollars) about why the "part-whites" are always trying to represent us to their full-blooded rich white friends? I still respect the grass roots level reservation American Indians and living in the city doesn't make me into their savior, or hero, or the Indian idiot that will exploit our nationhood for sex and money.
It appears we will witness an "inner AIM-IITC circle" accusation demonstration of the former AIMSTER_GANGSTERS as soon as John Graham is extradited back to the United States. I suspect the very real reason why he's in a Canadian jail is for his own protection now from the AIMSTER_GANGSTERS and their hidden agenda. You know for a fact they are phoning and meeting in private places to get the next lie to anticipate and cause doubt of whatever John Graham will be using as a defence strategy. Which will certainly not only implicate them but also provide first hand witness accounts. The American Indian version of Sammy "the bull" Gravano turning on his former mob boss John Gotti.
I think the bottom-line here is this. Do you deny the AIM-IITC crew were guilty and help save them from the coming onslaught of legal trials that are going to happen? Or, do you save the good the American Indian Activism has done to help the real American Indians and the first nations people? Do we continue to buy into their lies and deceptions? It reeks of sacrificing the good of the whole American Indians to save their mangy lying souls or allow the whole American Indians integrity to sustain this moment and let them stand accountable for their content of character and actions. They made their choices and now lets see if they can stand by them in the light of truth. Let them reveal who the "former federal agent" is that has been the guidance and mainstay to AIM-IITC's precarious existence.
"John Graham should disclose his real birth name which is John Boy Patton. He's not a native from the Yukon Territory but is from the Pine Ridge Reservation. His mother's name is Corky Nelson who is a sister to Theda Clark. Which is one of the names associated to Anna Mae Aquash's murder." = quote taken from Rapid City editorial section =.
John Graham has really worked his scam with someone on the inside to con the Canadian government he is a citizen. His attorneys will crawl into a big dark hole when they realize this. John Boy publicly disavowed AIM-IITC, which made Vernon Bellecourt fly back to Minneapolis and sell his 1978 pink Cadillac for a black ford explorer with tinted windows. After all, it was the plan Vernon had instructed his number 1 AIM-IITC hit man to use if the situation didn't go as planned. (more money into John Grahams pockets)
I think only 1 more situation like the body exhumed as Anna Mae Aquash not having the DNA of the 2 Aquash women, will most certainly exonerate John Graham, Arlo Lookingcloud and Theda Clark of her murder. The AIM-IITC crew would throw a celebration for years afterwards and it would be a tragedy for the Aquash women. John Graham was absolutely sure that woman was not ANNA MAE PICTOU AQUASH. Why? If what he implies is true? Where is the real Anna Mae Aquash and who is the poor woman everyone's been fighting over? Who is the Anna Mae1 Aquash, AIM-IITC henchmen, interrogated and buried where she stood in Farmington, New Mexico? Who interrogated Anna Mae2 Aquash and dumped her near Scenic, South Dakota? Coincidently, that's the same area Russell means and Richard Marshall were implicated at of staging a "hit" on one of their "enemies".
Where is "Anna mae3 Aquash" hiding these days? Is she the one Vernon Bellecourt recruited, groomed and broomed to make it appear the real Anna Mae Aquash was still alive long after she was dead? To open the "AIM-IITC" secret of-shore multi-million dollar bank account locked away by the real "Anna Mae Aquash"? This would definitely blow the lid off everyone's sanity level but it will not change what happened on the United states American Indian reservations natural resources exploits by the united states government special interest groups and nationally selected leaders. Someone was killed and someone is responsible. Some one planned and stole the natural resource development on the American Indian reservations without regard to reservation Indians lives. Whether, their accomplices were recruited from north or south of the United States borders is of no relativity. Some one orchestrated this action to take the American Indian people down a path full of rich promises and only find, death and deceit for the people. The only other aspect of this Anna Mae Aquash business is extremely shadowed by a tremendous amount of conspiracy and hidden events that transpired within the AIM-IITC originators, if in fact they were the mind genius behind its birth and subsequent acceptability in the American Indian communities as the new age warriors of the people.
Whether in any American Indian reservation, reserve, if such a bold venture was necessary due to the reservation, reserve, slow political growth and global awareness of the pending economic potential of the natural resources and minerals that lay within their boundaries and tributaries, the legal preparation for all natural resource development lay entirely open since no such legal foundation and environmental assessment capabilities ever existed. This AIM-IITC founding seems a bit too easily connected to the open pro and con side to any natural resource development in third world countries by the united states government and their special interests groups operating in the global communities.
When you gather all the evidence necessary to make a casual observance of this natural resource development? The AIM-IITC was always within close proximity of working the con side of any pending natural resource issue upon any North American Indian reservation or reserve. Accordingly, it could conceivably be used or portrayed to include any other "indigenous natural resource development" within the south and central American Indian countries. Once any legal binding natural resource agreements were finalized? They could be viewed as a "special interest groups" global community chest funds for future fantastic economic returns on ventures in natural resources developments of those lands. Whatever fees collected by the AIM-IITC in their "assistance" isn't accountable since it is locked away in offshore bank accounts. It never materialized within any American or Canadian reservation, reserve, tribal accounts.
It doesn't seem obvious at first glance if you're more emotionally attached to it implicating the "genocide" of American Indian people again and not within the picture of stealing land and natural resources. The reference of land or natural resource development doesn't enter the picture and totally becomes invisible when played side by side with American Indian people being killed or subjugated to further "genocide references". Then extending that reference to also blanket any central or south American communities is totally reckless in regard to actually being a constructive process for those other countries and communities. Even if you did say you cared. You're no different from any other invading super power country of a defenceless third world community. Why was it necessary for AIM-IITC to stick their nose into someone else's business and community when it wasn't their fight and original commitment? You need to fight your own battles in your own land. Succeeding would be a great accomplishment before you run about to other global communities to assist them unless you have a working agenda with the united states government special interest groups or operatives as a side-line global smoke screen for human rights advocates. Huge conglomerates operating on the global level natural resources disasters are major donors to 501(c) non-profit organizations like green peace and the sierra club. Plus many other unnamed grass roots United States civilian organizations working on environmental issues and human rights advocacy.
When you view the development of the AIM-IITC in this prospective? You see a void behind the actual directives stemming from the "alleged founders" and initiators of the AIM-IITC agendas. Why? The AIM-IITC totally undermined any reservation or reserve traditional leadership by "bad jacketing" the elected leadership of those reservations and reserves, by the fact they claimed to be bona fide full blood American Indian reservation, reserve, representatives. They portrayed the global image they were the legitimate leaders of the American Indians. they openly undermined the real American Indian leadership, using whatever was necessary to lock out the reservations, reserves, own evolutionary community growth and development, and flagrantly ignored, or dismissed, any long standing legal actions pending and effecting the status of sovereignty between the united states, Canada, and any north American Indian reservation or reserve. Speeding up the legal processes necessary to steal the land, and resources, thereby eliminating any traditionally elected reservation, reserve, leadership or subsequent long range economic benefits for them and their next generations of recognized American Indian people. Which leads you to see the AIM-IITC were the "ex-convict special forces", "tontos" and "front" for a "invisible force" that openly operated under a guise of an American Indian organization assisting other American Indians to attain human rights and common birth right status. The land issues were never portrayed as vital since all the media hype was on American Indian genocidal press releases and directives. Eventually extending that "American Indian" assistance to the central and south Americas.
This operation would have succeeded if it were left specifically within United States government and American Indian legal reference. When they included the Canadian, central and south indigenous people? Using a frail fabric of "Indian sovereignty" to reference the total of their ignorance. The sensitive nature of third world exploits and natural resource development disasters became apparent as part of their media hype and justification of their existence, when it became very apparent those natural resource disasters were largely from American business men's third world business ventures. While the United States American government and central intelligence agency sponsored secret clandestine "special forces" were implemented to keep the local indigenous people in a civil war state. The United States natural resource special interest groups were about business of securing the oil, uranium, gas and other valuable minerals and resources within those countries and lands. the death toll from those countries is a mass extermination of innocent people by the special interests groups hiding within the united states government "democracy" and utilizing the united states military to safe guard their deadly economic aspirations. After simple arithmetic, all the death tolls from Cambodia, Viet Nam, south Americas, central Americas, Mexico, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait and African countries exceeds 4,576,000 innocent and defenceless lives against a nuclear powered united states military. Only after the Anna Mae Aquash murder did the AIM-IITC seem to get a clear head of all the damage they had done to the American Indian people and communities. Thousands of "warriors" were in prison and as many thousands of young kids were already being indoctrinated into the AIM-IITC "suicide warrior jihad" against the United States government. Sovereignty was a 3-cent word meaning; no land, no legal agreement and no protection of the future American Indian generations. After all the media hype and global attention, the AIM-IITC have not accomplished any safe guard measures for future American Indians for as long as the grass grows and the waters flow to the oceans. I firmly believe after all the evidence they were looking at? The AIM-IITC finally acknowledged they needed to hide all the evidence of their existence and "hidden directors" of their organizations intentions and history. Now you know why all the AIM-IITC former working crew cannot and will not say anything. They were not aware of these hidden facts and they are mortally scared to say any thing for fear their lives or families will be killed or harassed by local governmental operatives and groups who are still working behind the scene on behalf of third world countries natural resource exploits. Next week, we will openly discuss the reason why the formation of the Lakota Treaty Council and the International Indian Treaty Council were formed and how their political agendas were instrumental in subverting the real American Indian Sovereignty. Rather then as the "hero organizations" they want to portray to the naive and ignorant global communities. These notional subversive organizations are specifically intended for the "settlement of the black hills claims" and laundering money. Russell Means plays a mean counter-insurgency game. Plain wicked! Maybe we should also plan a "exposure" of the national congress of American Indians and the fact, participants are paid from American Indian tribal federal monies accounts to attend the fun times and drunk parties that occur there, but nothing is ever really done for the people who need immediate assistance. Well, that's my opinion and I am sticking to it. Most of the comments I generalized about came from wandering the internet and the search engines results. It's a monster that we're all dealing with and certainly is a nasty pimple on the American Indian activism history and efforts for our people. You can find the same facts and statements of many former AIM-IITC associates running search engines. Some times you can even get their current pictures as they have assumed new identities and work careers. Some people are always crazy enough to think most web sites are protected and their personal posts, and pictures, will evade the thousands of spider information bots that run thru the internet threads and connections. I've often wondered who really killed Anna Mae Aquash or was she really dead at all?
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What they are looking at in Los Angles, California!
AIMs lies exposed from the grave!!!! Premeditated Murders & Usurpation of power by AIM & Co-Conspirators, SD State Govt & US Govt.With 2 comments
Murder and Usurpation of Power by AIMWith 2 comments
About Looking Back Woman-Suzanne Dupree
Tetuwan Lakota scholar, educator, historian, Sun Dance participant, Cannunpa carrier, cultural & spiritual preservationist, journalist-writer and fraud investigator.
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American Indian Movement Of Murderers, Rapists, And Paedophiles Spawned By The United States Government
August 12, 2016 1:01 pm / 5 Comments on American Indian Movement Of Murderers, Rapists, And Paedophiles Spawned By The United States Government
INTRO: This information is for the deceived, beguiled, brainwashed, and "spiritually spiked/drugged" (from drinking red made of the blood of innocents AIM kool-aid) followers of the American Indian Movement. IF anyone is connected at the "hip" with the American Indian Movement and reads this and STILL believes that their toxic and abominable existence has ever represented in any way shape or form any and all things "American Indian", then I will say to you…you are one of the Devils own with his AimSters and will be with them in the "spirit world" of darkness and judgement for their crimes of pure evil against the Creator and His people as shared in this information.
In reading the below…it is made crystal clear that AIM's blatant freedom to rape and murder unabated while doing what they did as "American Indians" was made possible for one reason only and that is the "American Indian Movement" IS the spiritually spawned child of the United States Government with Senator James "The Syrian Sioux" Abourezk as their "appointed handler" by both the U.S. Government and Satan himself!
AIM – Comments and History
Was the Truth Buried at Wounded Knee?
AIMster Russell Means, who would later achieve international reknown as the voice of Powhatan in the Disney cartoon Pocahontas, took over the trailer home of a man confined to a wheelchair named Wilber Reigert. The terrorists pushed Wilber out of his home and made this disabled man's home the terrorists' headquarters (Trimbach p. 87).
Click for full size image
The volatile and exterminating situation on the Pine Ridge Federal Reservation was such a place where pre-planned murder could occur and it was well within the global accepted norms of the political and sub-killing fields of America. no one would ever know what happened since federal forces were in the area to "sustain, interrogate, document and provide" necessary information of what occurred on the pine ridge reservation according to their SOP'S and directives from the chain of command coming straight from the United States Governmental leaders. They all knew someone had made a big mistake when the spirits wouldn't work for them anymore or the "former federal agents'" inside knowledge" of the FBI Bureau was misinformed. Then it became thee biggest conspiracy for them to hide their knowledge of nasty deadly deeds done, to, for and on behalf of the American Indian, and Canadian first nations, and also attempt to blame, or supplant the idea, the FBI or some other United States government agency responsibility for those acts. They were running under FBI cloning and directives, which made it a simple matter of "playing dumb reservation Indian" and any documented subversive activity was explainable.
Vernon Bellecourt was trying to bury his past as a prison homosexual but some times certain people who investigated him would bring up his sordid past. Since he was sore ass over that part of his life, he often went out of his way to make those people's lives very miserable and attacked them in many indirect manners accessible to him due to his associates within the real "invisible" leadership of the American Indian Movement. Vernon Bellecourt was able to control the naive grass level people without their knowledge he was directly behind the attacks or investigations of those people. As long as the grass roots people were told it came from the AIM leadership, they blindly obeyed. Sitting there as he explained, "yeah, I can't do anything but I guess that's what we have to do because that's what they said." No one ever accepted Vernon Bellecourt as a real serious AIM leader but more like one of the lost causes people. He was too "gay" and played quietly behind the scenes hidden as the evil homosexual master mind who was behind AIM'S "inner circle leaderships'" unrealized subverted activities. which we now see as what he really was doing. Dennis Banks was out chasing little girls, Russell, C and Clyde being to busy embezzling locally donated small funds, procuring and using drugs. The AIM-IITC off-shore safe was wide open for sticky fingers. All this content of character openly cloaked behind the seemingly apparent nature, Vernon Bellecourt was a fashionable and very legitimate "hair salon beautician". Like Richard Simmons turning into son-of-Sam when he wanted too. This "new" Vernon Bellecourt we now see is not the "old" Vernon since he knows he's too old and could care less about what happened now. He firmly believes he is "the one" to spread the word about Indian genocide. He's playing the "too old to prosecute Theda Clark and Vernon Bellcourt American Indian" card. Same old card and same deck. They always forget about the joker in the deck.
Dennis Banks (Clyde Bellecourt) Need A .32 Bullet In Their Heads For Co-Ordering Annie Mae Aquash's Murder!
Yep…you read right! Banks knew full well what happened to Annie Mae Aquash at the hands of those "ordered" to murder her! Add to his name…Clyde Bellecourt and Dick Marshall. Marshall because he gave the shooters the the .32 caliber pistol used to shoot Annie. It was given to him by John Trudell when Trudell visited the Pine Ridge or when Trudell gave it first to Theda Clark…either or but I firmly believe that gun came from Trudell given he used a .32 to shoot a hole in the roof of house. Think about THAT not to mention he was trusted by Annie when she spilled her guts about the REAL informers and Trudell shared this with AIM's "Syrian Sioux Handler" Senator James Abourezk, Banks, and the Bellecourts and Rusell Means. They ALL agreed…she needed to be "offed"!
Add a couple of other names with one MAJOR one being Trudell's synagogue of SATAN JEW attorney…Bruce Ellison who worked with the FBI to make sure AIM leaders were not implicated in her murder. Trudell visited with him on his way to Marshall's home on Pine Ridge. Ellison was his personal friend/attorney and was in constant communication with Ellison. They agreed for Ellison to magnify the FBI snitch jacketing of Annie when in his office in Rapid City and was finalized in Ellison's office with Annie there and from there…to Rosebud.
Whoops…forgot Bill Means…where Annie was taken on the Rosebud Rez and then to Wanblee on Pine Ridge to be shot by John Grahm after being BEATEN AND GANG RAPED BY ALL IN MEANS HOUSE INCLUDING CHARLIE ABOUREZK…son of JAMES.
Whoops again…have to include Maddona Thunder Hawk and Loreli DeCora and THE FBI…as they knew ALL OF THIS which why the book written by FBI agent in charge during Wounded Knee…Joseph Trimbach and his son John…"American Indian Mafia"…is good only for "Pine Ridge Toilet Paper"!
What I find TROUBLING is that NO ONE from Annies people…not ONE WARRIOR…has done what should been done a long time ago on her behalf…NOT ONE.
And what about ALL THE OTHER RAPED AND MURDERED AT WOUNDED KNEE by Banks and the "brotherhood of Satan" known as the American Indian Movement? Perry Ray Robinson Jr….and at least 12 total buried there. NO ONE CARES IN THE LEAST but the this bowell movement sex collective is upheld as "gods" by those spiritually complicit in their vile diabolical acts against innocent human beings in the name of being "American Indian"!
What do you think about that DANIEL PAUL!?
Dennis Banks condemns
Anna's cousin…
Web dickshovel.com
tolatsga.org
That AIM National provides the below advice to all who are accountable to them is an indicator that someone is starting to get scared.
That Robert Branscome , cousin to Anna, is so condemned is the grandest possible underwriting that he could receive. For, by so condemning him, his actions are sanctioned as truth.
I made a promise to Anna Mae along time ago and that promise will be completed. I sometimes wish some of you knew me better, but you can count on one thing, if I say it, I will do it, It will get done. Today, I just renew what I have already said. Today, is the anniversary of Anna Mae's death. There is not a day that I don't feel what she might have felt in those last moments. I also believe in the position she was found, she also had a few more moments to think about it. Maybe this is a day for all of us to remember. A Hero, a Warrior, a Mother, a Cousin and a Friend went down. No one did anything to stop it, they closed their eyes and walked away. Well, today nobody walks, this could have been resolved as soon as March of 76. It is sad, we as a Nation, have taken so long, fear is no longer an excuse, the only excuse now is guilt. And that don't cut it. The door to the Grand Jury is still open and my advice is get there and do it. I have always said, "I will stand for those who speak with TRUTH," that doesn't mean I am going to like it, but I will. Most of us know what took place and that has to be explained. It is not going away and everyday I just become more dedicated. There is only one way I will go down, and to be honest, they are not that good. I will close with this, just take a moment of silence, think about it and say a prayer if your inclined, Annie deserves it.
In the Spirit of my Cousin, Anna Mae
Robert A. Pictou-Branscombe
The 12th of December 75 comes from witiness testimony, one of the killers. I believe it to be true.
As has been noted elsewhere, four years ago there was virtually nothing on the Net regarding Anna. It was this lack of information that prompted me to provide a spot that highlighted Her. Now, advice re Anna is all over the place "precisely" because of the efforts of Robert Branscombe.
Anna Mae was Dennis Bank's lover. Does anyone seriously believe he did not make an attempt to find those who assassinated her?
Russell Means played basketball the day of her funeral…just a short distance from where the funeral was held.
No ranking AIM leader attended the funeral.
No one within the formal AIM structure has prompted the search for Justice For Anna…no one.
AIM leadership had to know what went on. Whether any of them were directly involved in Anna's assassination will out in the end…It is my hope that they were not.
I say to Robert, Bravo!, keep at it…someone is now on the run.
From: "Vernon Bellecourt "MEMO TO: Vernon Bellecourt, AIMGGC, Clyde Bellecourt, AIMGGC, Michael Haney, NCRSM, All AIM Chapters and Supporters
FROM: Dennis Banks, AIM National Field Director
SUBJECT: Robert Branscombe
During the last three (3) weeks, a considerable amount of press activity has been generated surrounding the death of Anna Mae Aquash. This activity is being generated by a man claiming to be a relative of Anna Mae, as well as a close confidante of Leonard Peltier. His name is Robert Branscombe.
I have met this man twice. Both times in Phoenix, Arizona during the Peltier tour. This man is recklessly accusing the leadership of having first-hand knowledge of Anna Mae's death. He further is stating that, not only did AIM's leadership know of the death, but also allegedly ordered her death. Moreover, he has taken this information, as wrong as it is, to a grand jury through his operative, Russell Means.
His whole appearance, demeanor and behavior is reminiscent of the FBI informant, Doug Durham. Therefore, I am advising all chapters and support groups to be aware and cautious of this man. All chapters, support groups, and their members are to look upon this man with scrutiny, and to refuse him admittance to any AIM meeting, function, or ceremony.
All leadership must refrain from talking to this informant else he distort any information to fit his version of the facts.
Robert Branscombe must be viewed as a general informant who is very reckless in his actions, and does not care who he accuses of wrongdoing.
Shubenacadie (Indian Brook) Band
Council of Shubenacadie Band
Micmac Post Office, Hants Co., NS
B0N 1W0
History: Mi'kmaq
Province: Nova Scotia
Chief: Rufus Copage
Councillors:
Thomas Maloney
Jim Nevin
Jerry Sack
Earl Sack
Ronnie Augustine
Michael Sack
Keith Julian
Doreen Knockwood
Michelle Glasgow
Alexander Mcdonald
Colleen Knockwood
Thomas Howe
"We've Been Keeping An Eye On You For A While" Per Dead and In HELL John Trudell!
June 7, 2016 5:44 am / 1 Comment on "We've Been Keeping An Eye On You For A While" Per Dead and In HELL John Trudell!
FOREWORD: Added a number of Blog Links below to provide in depth insights into THIS blog!
I am assuming you read the PERSONAL "message" sent to me by PornoProphet and PreTendian John Trudell found in the "featured image. While sending me that he was at the same time he LYING to his followers on his Facebook page saying he did not know me! Trudell the consumate liar…murderer in his direct complicity in the rape and murder of innocent men, women and children during his watch as Chairman of the American Indian Movement including his direct involvement in the rape and murder of Annie Mae Aquash his "friend" as documented on my blog as well as ALL the crimes of his "Satanic Brotherhood"!
So what did he mean when he said that WE have been "Keeping and eye on you for a while"? The WE IS The American Indian Movement and the "A WHILE" began when I started exposing them for the murdering raping pedophile bastards they were and still are!
John Trudell
April 6, 2015 · re: richard boyden….tokala marine….this has been an issue for a while now…
a private investigator (KAREN SUE ANDRAS WHO HE SLEPT WITH AS AN ADULTERER) has provided this information……he lives in ava missouri (WHERE I GOT HER A HOME WHEN WE WERE "MARRIED" 🙂 )
Douglas County filed a DEATH THREAT by Trudell using the MESSAGE he sent me. "
Trudell is another Crowley clone and he teamed up with "He/She" AIMster/Walter Ruiz the "musician" to start a second jacketing me with lies agenda to discredit me.
Ruiz and Trudell were "Bath House Buddies".
http://www.operationmorningstar.org/Richard_Boyden_Slandered_By_Gray_Wolf_Native_American_Band_Leader.html
Prior to that I was being jacketed by the "Hostile Indian Tribe" / AIMsters headed by a PEDOPHILE RAPIST Lee White Horse and and his PEDOPHILE CHILD MOLESTING HOMO BUDDY X CON Roy Robertson.
They even made a special page just for me 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/Richard-Boyden-Oglala-Lakota-Obsessor-206040282788294/
Karen Sue Andras "liked this page as well as her daughter Amanda Shelton.
This is WHO they really are as revealed by a REAL LAKOTA!
http://www.operationmorningstar.org/Rapist_Lee_White_Horse_and_Sexual_Molester_Of_Young_Girls_Roy_Robertson_Exposed_By_Native_American_Woman.html
Back to Trudell…the truth about him is out now because I have been led by the spirit of Annie Mae Aquash. And she knows that I am not done yet with AIM and won't be until with her and the help of Jesus Christ…that "we" including Suzanne Dupree (who was raped by AIMsterKiller/Pedophile Russell Means) totally destroy the spiritually spawned by Satan himself American Indian Movement of murdering raping pedophiles and any and all connected to them!
I take it as a compliment that SATAN loves me so much compliments of AIM…even those who listen to his voice…namely liars and murderers…whores and sorcerers etc… all ending up in the LAKE OF FIRE for they will suffer for there for what they have done to those innocents and that is written in the blood of Jesus Himself!
Information/Blogs on AIM and Trudell's "Brotherhood"!
AIM https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2015/01/02/the-dark-history-of-john-trudell-and-the-american-indian-movement/
BELLECOURT SATANIS DRUG DEALER
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/murderer-clyde-bellecourt-cursing-asu-with-his-presence/
HISTORICAL PROOF OF MURDERS INCLUDING BLACK MAN ROBINSON BY AIM.
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/short-historical-factoid-compilation-of-american-indian-movement-history-not-seen-anywhere-else/
AIM OBAMA JAMES ABOUREZK CONNECTION
MURDER OF ROBINSON BY AIM
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/01/20/black-civil-rights-workers-murder-remains-hidden-by-obama-and-fellow-blacks/
PEDOPHILE MURDERER DENNIS BANKS
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/01/03/dennis-banks-american-indian-movement-of-murderers-and-handlers-are-guilty-of-murder/
SERIAL RAPIST KILLER RUSSELL MEANS https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2015/12/25/american-indian-movements-russell-means-exposed-as-rapist-and-murderer/
AIM RAPISTS PEDOPHILES MURDERERS
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/the-murdering-raping-pedophile-infested-american-indian-movement-documented/
ETERNAL PUNISHMENT PROMISED
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/04/26/gods-punishment-affixed-for-john-trudell-russell-means-dennis-banks-and-the-american-indian-movement/
ALEISTER CROWLEY AIM TRUDELL BILL BUNTING KAREN SUE ANDRAS AND CONNECTION TO SATAN
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/aleister-crowley-bill-bunting-john-trudell-and-their-direct-sodomite-connection-to-satan/
https://richardboydenreport.wordpress.com/2016/02/29/american-indian-movement-sodomites-jesus-haters-aleister-crowley-pedophiles-satanism-and-bill-bunting/ | {
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(Reuters) - Trina Solar Ltd raised its forecast for panel shipments this year as the Chinese company sells more at home and in Japan, easing dependence on Europe where it faces restrictions on imports.
Trina Solar's shares rose as much as 10 percent in early trade, touching a 15-month high.
Rivals JinkoSolar Holding Co Ltd and Canadian Solar have also gained from the push into newer, high-margin markets. While JinkoSolar swung to a profit after seven quarters of loss, Canadian Solar has forecast a profit for its full year.
Trina Solar, which reported a narrower quarterly loss, said it aims to turn profitable in the fourth quarter, but could post a profit in the current quarter depending on manufacturing costs and selling prices for panels.
" At least (we are) looking for operating margin profitability (in the third quarter)," Chief Executive Jifan Gao said on a conference call with analysts.
The company posted a negative operating margin of 5.4 percent in the second quarter, a significant drop from 22.7 percent a year earlier and 15.4 percent in the first quarter.
Operating margins at Chinese solar companies narrowed sharply in the last two years as they raked up debt to expand capacity. Trina Solar, however, is better positioned than its Chinese rivals with a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01 as of March 31, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Trina Solar now expects to ship between 2.3 gigawatts (GW) and 2.4 GW of panels this year, above its previous forecast of 2-2.
Japan's share is expected to more than triple from a year earlier, while China could account for about 27 percent of the shipments, the company said in a post-earnings presentation.
Trina Solar expects to ship between 650 megawatts (MW) and 680 MW in the current quarter. The company shipped 647 MW in the second quarter.
Gross margins in the current quarter will be in low double digits in percentage terms with the company buying wafers and cells from third parties to make solar panels, as demand exceeds its capacity to make these building blocks.
Gross margins rose to 11.6 percent in the second quarter from 8.4 percent a year earlier.
Trina's net loss narrowed to $33.7 million, or 47 cents per American Depositary Share (ADS), in the quarter ended June 30, from $92.1 million, or $1.30 per ADS, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 27 percent to $440.7 million as the company sold more in newer markets and it also benefited from higher sales to Europe ahead of the cap on imports from China.
Chinese solar companies increased sales to Europe before restrictions that would limit solar shipments to 7 GW per year kick in. Demand in the EU market was about 15 GW in 2012.
Trina Solar shares were up 5.7 percent at $7.16 on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The stock has risen about 56 percent so far this year to its Monday close. | {
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As worldwide Quantitative Easing is reversed, liquidity is drying up; Interest rates are rising and, as if it were the tide going out, weak countries and companies with debt that has dragged them to the bottom, are revealed.
As a result, stock markets are falling. The US stock market fell 2.5 per cent on 21 October so that the aggregate market gain of 2018, has been lost. Rising US interest rates hold the Dollar strong despite the growth of US deficit funding. Huge foreign holdings of dollars make it the strong port in any storm.
The US tax reform has contributed to low unemployment, rising wages and excellent growth. The potential for overheating means the Federal Reserve continues its programme of interest rate rises and feeds the strength of the Dollar. All of this strengthens President Trump's arm in his trade wars.
China is feeling the pinch. Weighed down by debt, much of it used to fund non-income bearing municipal projects (a new town square, for instance) or fund old-line industries producing surplus capacity (steel production, for instance), China is struggling to rebalance its economy and push domestic demand.
Exports are more than twice as important to China as they are to the US. The US is China's number one market. This is why China is finding a solution to President Trump's strategy to bring China's theft of intellectual property and unbalanced trade terms, painful.
In this turbulent environment, the EU adds its spoon. Italy is fighting back. The economic damage inflicted by the adoption of the Euro and the concomitant EU policy of forced internal deflation by cutting government spending is no longer acceptable to Italy's current political leaders.
The Italian threat, posed by its unwillingness to meet EU budget rules, comes at a time when the threat of leaving the Euro and returning to the Lira has real meat. Italian sovereign debt is 2.3 trillion Euros. German and French banks have shed-loads of it.
Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, Germany's two largest banks have both failed to meet stress tests which measure their ability to withstand financial shocks. Deutsche Bank, on the back of three consecutive years of annual losses, has posted a 65 per cent drop in quarterly profits. Its shares fell nearly 5 per cent on 21 October. Furthermore, it is estimated that French Banks have an exposure to Italian debt that is equal to 11 per cent of GDP.
A return to Euro would mean a write-down of Italian debt, a write-down which could collapse both Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank and question the viability of the European Central Bank through which Germany has taken on an estimated 500 million Euros of Italian debt.
The Eurozone has reported its weakest growth for two years and manufacturing orders fell for the first time since 2014 according to a report in the Daily Telegraph. This follows an earlier report that the UK has outgrown both Germany and France significantly since joining the EU.
I remember the dire consequences trotted out by the UK government at the time we considered Euro membership. The Treasury, Prime Minster and Chancellor all piped disaster if we failed to join. How familiar their forecasts of a lost future were to those we hear today concerning Brexit.
How wrong they were. However, we are in a very volatile and less than benign economic environment and Brexit is merely adding to these worries. Meanwhile, developing countries who have used Dollar debt, are squealing in pain. Turkey, a major player in the supply of shotguns and airguns, is mired in the weakness of its currency on the back of the inexperienced management of its economy.
Five years ago, a pound was worth just three lira, and today it is nearly nine. Recently, the lira has recovered somewhat against the pound. Today, perhaps due to the political hold that energy-poor Turkey has against oil-rich Saudi Arabia over the murder of the journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, we might speculate that the outlook for Turkey has improved.
This sad and politically explosive event has ramifications not just for Turkey but for the oil market and Saudi Arabia's relationship with the UK, amongst others obviously. To understand this you need to have a little background perspective.
The acronym, OPEC, stands for Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The following countries are members of the organization: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Gabon, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and the United Arab Emirates. OPEC member countries produce about 40 percent of the world's crude oil and OPEC's oil exports represent about 60 per cent of the total petroleum traded internationally.
OPEC's actions influence international oil prices. Saudi Arabia is OPEC's largest producer and what it says and does frequently affects oil prices. Saudi Arabia's influence on prices and on OPEC has diminished as the US has moved towards self-sufficiency in energy and Russia and Iran have come under US sanctions and less willing to assist the OPEC cartel.
In 2017, the average annual OPEC oil price per barrel was $52.51. So far this this year it has averaged $69.42 per barrel. From Turkey's perspective, Saudi Arabia represents a potential economic solution to rising energy prices and supply. Saudi Arabia is a contender for Arabic religious and political leadership at a time when Turkey is trying hard to spread its wings.
Furthermore, President Erdogan's grasping of dictatorial power has hurt inward investment into Turkey. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund has the funds to plug this gap although run by a 'competing' Muslim sect. With the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Saudi Arabia is now in a politically weak position.
Turkey is holding evidence and has some sway over how the Crown Prince and Saudi Arabia may be viewed. Turkey can take advantage of this and, indications are that this may be already in negotiation. These 'world' politically controlled events have vast economic impacts.
It is important for your business that you make decisions in light of the environment that is created. The stage looks set for a strong dollar and weaker oil prices. A firmer Turkish Lira may be seen, depending on what damaging evidence is 'restrained' by Turkey and what value is placed on it by Saudi Arabia.
China is 'losing' the trade war with the US and its currency has every reason to weaken. Germany and France have weakening economies. Italy and Brexit could be fatal to their long term recovery. The surprising speed by which Western consumers are willing to move to electric powered vehicles, if followed by driver-less trucks and cars, would be a potential death knell for Germany pre-eminence in premium car exports.
Few would have predicted this rate of change in vehicle power and few believed that the US electric carmaker, Tesla, would beat its profit forecast this quarter. Is there some radical change in the sporting gun industry we should be thinking about? | {
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A White House official said the proposal would be included in the president's proposal for long term deficit reduction that he will announce Monday. The official spoke anonymously because the plan has not been officially announced.
Obama is going to call it the "Buffett Rule" for Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor who has complained that rich people like him pay a smaller share of their income in federal taxes than middle-class taxpayers.
is this fair ...and why is Boehner opposing it? should the wealthy have to start paying more taxes?
51% of Americans pay no income tax.
... So if he's serious about balancing budgets and "being fair" then he'll work to fix that first.
Until then, all I'm hearing is class warfare being used to distract us from the fact that our liberties are being stolen from us.
They still pay things like sales taxes, excise taxes, and potentially property taxes, so it's not like anybody (even illegal immigrants) is a true moocher who makes no contribution to society.
The midpoint of the first quintile is about $11,000, and even a household earning that little pays about $1,400 in total taxes. The household in the second quintile, earning around $30,000 per year, pays $7,000 in taxes. Most of these taxes are regressive, also. A family making $11,000 that loses more than 10% of its income in taxes is going to hurt much more than a family making $200,000 that loses 35%.
Do you expect people who have no income or very little income to pay income tax? Get real, Evan.
Actually, he really meant the 50% that don't pay income tax comes from the filthy rich!
Evan, you don't like Obama's nor the Dems in Congress, nor Bernanke's policies, but ntither you nor the Republicans in Congress nor the GOP presidential candidates have revealed your plan for reving up the economy and reducing unemployment. What's your theory? Boehner endorsed neo-Keynesian economics when he said it's not a good idea to raise taxes when we are in a recession. As far as I can tell neither Boehner nor McConnel nor Ryan has a coherent economic theory for what to do RIGHT NOW BEFORE THE SHIP OF STATE RUNS ON THE ROCKS.
The plan is beat Obama by 2013, than change work laws and regulation by 2014. By than the people and their minor children will be glad to work for less and feel blessed. The American Dream will become a nightmare. The rich and powerful will change America from a 1st rate country to a 2nd rate country approaching 3rd rate by 2016.
No this isn't about fairness, its about envy and the view of Obama and the democrats that the current and growing disparity of wralth between the rich and the poor is a problem that can only be addressed by government and by punishing the rich. If wealth equality is their goal then why not tax wealth instead of income or investment? If too much success is bad, punish it with tax!
Punishing investors, risk takers, and the rich which are actually the people responsible for creating jobs and wealth for us all is the height of stupidity driven by envy, and greed. We are taxed enough already! Add up all the taxes we pay fed, state, city, property, and sales taxes, now heap onto that all the fees we have to pay, licenses, tolls, parking, park and entrance fees, application fees. Buy a home and oay a mortgage tax, theres gas taxes, phone taxes, then theres the most evil of all, the death tax! How much is enough? How much more does the government need to take from us? Its not the rich that are the problem, its the government. Enough is ENOUGH!
Hi Lady. Thanks for sharing this with us. I accept that you firmly believe that the rich create jobs in the private sector. I happen to agree with you but more on this later.
As I've said before, I respect every person's right to his or her own opinion. I'm much less interested in what they think than why. But some posters regurgitate elitist talking points as if their livelyhoods depended on it. They are the ones who rely on a barage of generalities, hyperbole, and inuendo rather than acknowledge one single fact that contradicts the distorted reality they are being paid to promote.
The segment of the population who created the economic collapse and then raided the treasury for whatever was left in the till is now being asked to contribute a little more toward the nations recovery efforts. As you said above: "the rich which are actually the people responsible for creating jobs and wealth for us all." Okay, we can see their wealth is growing but where are the jobs for those Americans who have lost both their jobs and their homes?
Our founding fathers knew from their own experiences that wealth equates to power and influence. It always has and it always will. The 80% of the US population with only 7% of the marketable wealth, and the least power and influence, only have their votes to protect them. May they use them wisely.
M'Lady. I wish you the best life has to offer.
"It only becomes "class warfare" when we fight back!"
I notice wealth distribution is a theme in your excuses for raising taxes on the rich. As I said before the recession has nothing to do with how wealth is distributed. The rich naturally suffered less because their main source of wealth is not their homes as it is with the middle class. This inequality exists in part, not because of anything that the rich did, but because of government efforts to promote home ownership even among those that couldn't afford it and monetary policy that kept interest rates artificially low. Corporations then found themselves stuck with worthless stock the value of which was derived from high risk mortgages held by people that didn't have the ability to pay them back. These are well documented facts. Once again the government intervened and bailed out the banks that they forced to give out those loans. Now you want the government to punish the rich! Corporations are afraid, sitting on piles of cash suffering from Dodd-Frank regulations and the impending onslaught of unkown costs soon to be unleashed in Obamacare and you want to tax them even more! And for what? What will these taxes be used for? Paying retirement benefits for substandard teachers? Bailing the state pension funds out of democrat supporters? Providing temporary jobs for AFLCIO members? Or perhaps to fund the NLRB in their fight to prevent Boring from creating jobs in SC? This is not a government for the people. This is not what Obama promised, to be a uniter. This is a corrupt government willing to crush our capitalist society to benefit their well connected socialist friends! And you speak of wealth distribution? Get government out of the way! Let people keep what they earn and reward them for creating wealth don't punish them for it! If you want more of something, tax it less, if you want less of something tax it more! Personally, I think there should be a tax on government!
Hi Lady. Hope you are enjoying your Sunday afternoon.
If you examine the data, you will learn that the distribution of wealth in this country is a good reason, and not an excuse, for raising taxes on the rich. Those who created the economic collapse, benefited from all the recovery programs, and suffered the least from the meltdown are now being asked to contribute a little more toward regaining our former economic health. If you disagree the wealthiest in this country suffered the least then please look at the data again. Failure to acknowledge complisity in the Great Recession of 2008 and insensitivity to the hardships it has caused to the other less fortunate 80% of the population is hardly an admirable position for any person or for any political party.
You admit this inequality exists but you misplace the blame upon the government for encourageing people to invest in their own homes. You excuse, by omission, the mortgage brokers and banks responsible for knowingly steering poorer Americans into subprime loans they couldn't afford to carry. The same club of bankers then bundled these mortgages and sold them as safe and reliable securities. Who are the real culprits? You say the Government. I say the wealthy bankers and mortgage brokers who later whined for a government handout. To borrow some of your words, "Corporations then found themselves stuck with worthless stock the value of which was derived from high risk mortgages." Mortgages that big banks created, others repackaged, and still others insured as trustworth, I would add.
These are admirable examples of less wealthy Americans willing to contribute what they can to rebuild this country. I would think the wealthiest of all Americans would also be willing to accept a temporary tax increase to help reduce the national debt and to rebuild our sinking economy.
Except the 2 corporations most at fault for those sub prime mortgages was Fannie and Freddie Mac! No question the bailout were wrong, but it was the government that invented too big to fail not corporations!
Again how wealth is distributed has nothing to do with anything. Pew research shows people around the world favor free trade, free markets, and capitalism and understand that all do not benefit equally.
Yours is an observation not a description of a problem especially one that government needs to solve.
And you never answered amy of my questions! How convenient! What will a tax increase do to solve your imaginary problem? How will that change the distribution of wealth in this country? Taking from the rich and giving to the government will only make the poor, poorer by providing less opportunity especially in this economy. This is the LIE perpetuated by Obama and the left, that the rich aren't paying their "fair" share and that taxing them more solves all our problems, debt, unemployment, foreclosures, poverty, and wealth distribution, when in fact it solves NONE of our problems and only provides more money to the government to give to constituents like Solyndra, and Lightsquared.
If wealth distribution is such a problem, let Obama propose to make being wealthy illegal, let him tax their wealth and their income so his destruction of America is complete!
And that Lady Love, even by your usual standards, is absolute rubbish!
Oh really? Why, because you say so? Read it and weep! Overwhelmingly people around the world, even the poorest countries prefer the economic freedom of capitalism. It's only the selfish, self absorbed, "intellecuals" of the left that think otherwise. One has to wonder, why? Because they want it all to themselves! They're liars and hypocrites and power hungry narcissists, they are evil and will be defeated wherever they rear their ugly ideology!
There is no freedom in capitalism beyond the freedom enjoyed by the few at the top. Not everybody in the capitalist society can afford to spend all day on the forums you know, most have to work hard for a living.
As you can see, most of the WORLD disagrees with you!
Most of the world! Have you asked them all?
Sure,sadly there are people working for subsistence wages that doff their caps to the masters, doesn't make it right though.
A) the Left want to redistribute wealth.
A1) The left wants to do this by raising taxes on the wealthy.
B) Redistributing wealth is wrong.
C) Raising taxes on the wealthy will do nothing to redistribute wealth.
D) Raising taxes on the wealthy is wrong.
Okay. Even if we accept as true everything from A to C, I'm not sure D follows from them....perhaps we've skipped a step?
A1 is wrong. The left SAYS that taxing the rich will lead to equitable wealth redistribution, but they really just are going to steal it and give it to their friends.
For example, did you know the democrat party is a creditor in the Solydra bankruptcy?
"The left SAYS that taxing the rich will lead to equitable wealth redistribution, but they really just are going to steal it and give it to their friends."
Oh, like happened with Halliburton and Blackwater? Yeah, it was the Left that gave them all that money that went missing.
It is never a good strategy to let your opening sentence make you look like a purveyor of misinformation. To say "the 2 corporations most at fault for those sub prime mortgages was Fannie and Freddie Mac" is to reveal you understand neither the woes of subprime mortgages nor Fannie and Freddie Mac.
Perhaps you can cite a balanced and unbiased data source that supports your claim Fannie and Freddie were "most at fault" for the sub prime mortgage mess.
The topic is "Obama to seek a new tax rate for wealthy." Data that enlightens us about wealth and tax rates has everything to do with the topic. Although, I can see many reasons why you prefer to introduce other issues. The data clearly shows the wealthy, who brought on this economic melt down, have suffered the least during the recession and they are getting fatter as they have been doing steadily over the last 25 years. This fact, which you claim "has nothing to do with anything," explains why many struggling Americans feel the wealthiest among us stand to reap the greatest rewards from a temporary tax increase that will reduce the national debt and rebuild our sinking economy.
the largest portions of short-term future tax hikes.
Barney Frank and the Democrats running Freddie and Fannie put pressure on the banks to make the subprime mortgages. Then covered up the financial mess during hearings during the Bush adninistration. The Dems wanted minorities to be able to get mortgages.
Hi again, Mr. West, and thank you for your comment.
http://www.informedtrades.com/2699-simp … t-1-a.html as a good starting point. But don't stop there. Other viewpoints can be found elsewhere too.
Thanks again, Mr. West, for your view. I hope you will share your findings with us somewhere along the line.
Do you even read your own sources? The first paragraph of your sources states the danger Fannie and Freddie pose to the finacial system. The article btw, was written in 2007 before the meltdown. I suggest you read Morgenstern's book on the subject where she names names.
2nd, I don't change the subject, other posters do and I just go where they take it. I'm not the forum police and I don't care.
I am well aware of the topic and I have posed a number of questions to you on point which you refuse to answer. Instead you bring up statistics on wealth distribution when the post is about taxes on the wealthy. As I have stated many times an additional tax on the wealthy at this time would not be helpful to the economy, this idea is one accepted by both parties including JFK, and even Obama himself! Suddenly he's flip flopping on his position, attacking the rich for not paying their "fair" share. This is a distraction for political purposes to divert attention away from his failed economic policies. Even his own party refuses to put his tax and jobs bill on the senate calander! Why? Because even some democrats realize they can't can't afford to heap anymore economic pain on their constituents and expect to be re-elected!
Good evening, M'Lady. I appreciate your making the time to reply.
Now you look like you're trying to re-write history. Everybody knows the sub-prime snowball started with declining housing prices in 2005 and 2006 and grew into an avalanche by the fall of 2007. (1) These sources were written during the height of the crisis.
The fact is you change the subject when you reply to me. You shouldn't blame that on other posters.
Data that enlightens us about who the wealthy are and how tax rates effect them has everything to do with the topic. Although, I can see many reasons why you prefer to introduce other issues. The data clearly shows the wealthy, who brought on the economic melt down that grew out of the sub-prime fiasco, have suffered the least during the recession and they are getting fatter as they have been doing steadily over the last 25 years.(2) This fact, which you claim "has nothing to do with anything," explains why many struggling Americans feel the wealthiest among us stand to reap the greatest rewards from a temporary tax increase that will reduce the national debt and rebuild our sinking economy.
BTW, your introducing the American Jobs Bill into this discussion is another red herring you can't attribute to other posters.
Thank you, lady_love. Stay well and always follow your bliss.
Of course the rich should pay more in taxes. To say or think that somehow those that have been blessed the most in a society should contribute the smallest percentage to the upkeep of that society is just dumb. The tithe is 10%. A flat tax is fair. If the rich want a tax break then they need to do things that help the people that the government is supposed to represent. If they do things to hurt the economy, they should be taxed more. This is not rocket science people. If you went to sell on Ebay, in order to make money, you have to pay into the upkeep of the selling environment. The top 1% in the country are sitting on $2.1 Trillion dollars right now. That's not their money, it's ours. I think Obama is being too nice based on the situation. Until we are healthy as a country, no American should even be allowed to hoard $2.1 Trillion.
Of course they should, but remember the ones voting on this are some of the wealthiest, so good luck with that. Obama is just running his mouth anyway for show right now, i don't believe a word he has to say. He fooled my once, shame on him, if he fools me twice shame on me and I am not THAT stupid.
Good luck to him - I doubt very much his gonna get enough support to pass that one.
The wealthy in society in comparison to the others don't pay enough taxes, no where near what they should pay.
This will never change - as they the rich continue to say they pay too much tax as it is, and the poor continue to struggle with the unfair tax system.
The ignorance of the left knows no bounds! The rich pay the bulk of the taxes in America! The top 10% of earners in America pay 70% of the taxes!
But actually own 80-90% of stocks, shares, trust funds and business equity.
That explains perfectly why they are footing the bill for the other 90%. Actually the lower 50% paid 2.7% of all taxes in 2008, that was the last year I found any information on. I didn't really look that hard. Its time the 50% not contributing started to.
Well that's easily sorted, pay them enough to come into the tax paying bands.
I know, right? It's the logic that the right use to explain why the wealthy benefit the most from an across-the-board tax cut: If you pay a dollar and get 10% off, you get a dime back. If you pay ten dollars and get 10% off, you get a dollar back. Fair, right?
Even if we accept LaLo's erroneous claim that they have 71%, that still means that they should be paying 71% of the income taxes, not 71%. A tax increase is only fair.
Only fair to whom? The top 50% pay 97.3 % of the taxes, the bottom doesn't pay squat. Pay their fair share and start today.
That's a fallacy, too. The top 50% do not pay 97.3% of taxes. They pay most of the taxes on earned income, true, but everyone who takes home a paycheck pays socsec and medicare taxes. Everyone who buys gas pays the federal gas tax (and all other things being equal, someone who earns 50K pays a much greater percentage of his income to the gas tax than someone who earns 500K). Everyone who buys anything pays the cost of corporate taxes that get passed along to the consumer. So that old line about the bottom 50% paying no taxes is a falsehood.
The only problem with that is they get a large chunk of that money back at the end of the year. In fact most get much more than they actually paid in.
No, they get their earned income tax withholdings back at the end of the year. Socsec and medicare never comes back until you're collecting benefits. The gas tax never comes back directly--it pays for government programs. The higher cost of goods due to corporate taxes doesn't come back at the end of the year either.
The tax refund money that most people get is from the amount of earned income tax over and above what you actually owe that was withheld from your paycheck. It's not from taxes other than the earned income tax. When you factor in what the bottom 50% pay in taxes other than the earned income taxes, their overall effective tax rate is pretty close to that of someone who does end up owing income tax at the end of the year.
But since those taxes are "hidden," lots of people forget about them (and Right-wing ideologues like it that way--it makes it easier to paint half the population as slackers and deadbeats).
No, they get back money they never payed in. You can say it all you want but it doesn't make it true. My sister a waitress has 4 kids and no husband. She paid in about 500 in FICA and got a little over 8000 back. That more than paid for the gas that she bought all year, the left lies.
If your sister paid $500 in FICA taxes, then she earned $2825 that year.
That's way below the poverty line.
If she got $8000 back from her income tax, she's guilty of tax fraud.
Or you're lying about something.
No I'm not lying, she makes 2.25 an hour as a waitress plus tips. You are not as informed as you make yourself out to be. Now, the earned income credit plus the child tax credit on four children and also filing head of household. She got 8 plus grand back. You don't seem to get the whole picture.
(Edit) She also worked as a secretary for part of the year, I forgot about that. I think her total income was around 17,000 that year. She received far more than she payed in at any rate.
If your sister made close to 17 grand, her FICA tax bill ought to have been close to $960.50, not $500.
There's something very fishy about what you're telling us. I don't want the details of your sister's finances--they're none of the internet's business--but I'm very curious as to how her refund was greater than her withholdings.
Any accountants out there who can debunk or confirm?
Erroneous? I posted a link backing up that fact! Now you changed the subject to income from wealth. The top 20% collects 50% of the income. That's more evenly distributed than wealth!
You said the top earners paid 70% of the taxes. Not the wealthiest.
"The top 10% of earners in America pay 70% of the taxes!"
Nope. The top 10% has 71% of the wealth.
Pretty equivalent to their tax rate wouldn't you say?
Demn, must record sources! But this one came from multiple sources.
Most Republican have an issue with taxes but don't have any answer or clue on how to pay for stuff except borrow from the Chinese. Making the wealthy pay their share is more than fair. So why does crybaby Boehner feel the need to oppose it? Also there needs to be a crackdown on Social Security fraud. It seems that everyone and their brother/sister is collecting SSI for some kind of bogus reason for not getting up off their asses and get a job. It's too easy to get con some doctor to write a note for some "back or neck injury". Granted, there are legit cases out there and this does not pertain to people 62+ years old. I'm thinking along the lines as my drunken sister and her looser boyfriend who collect SSI basically for cigarette and beer money.
From what I understand, Obama's plan is more like putting a bandaid on the problem--a temporary fix. What is really needed and there is growing support for is a rewrite of the entire tax code.
That's true, but I'm not sure I would trust the current Congress to re-write the entire tax code. They might make it worse.
Might make it worse? Most likely would make worse you mean.
Thomas Jefferson suggested a revolution every 20 years. Times and thinking has changed since the late 18th Century, but this country can review, amend, change stuff like tax codes, constitutional amendments, etc every 20 years or even sooner if needed. Yes, the current tax code leaves too much for interpretation.
Also individual states need to do the same. For example, in North Dakota, it's still against the law to shoot buffalo out of a second story window or to put a rock on a railroad track in Alabama.
The Republican reaction against Obama's "Buffett" tax proposal on the basis that there should be no tax increases during a recession is an implicit acknowledgement of the validity of Keynesian economics.
For people who earn $1million+ annually don't seem to be hurting much from the recession compaired to the people who make less.
Oh I see, so the role of government is to insure the rich are equally miserable as the middle class? Class warfare is what this us about and the president's reelection. He needs to distract is from his record of "accomplishments".
How much out of every dollar earned should a human being be allowed to keep?
Anyone, what is a fair share?
What part of a dollar earned can you take with you when you die?
They will. God is making it real apparent that worshiping and hoarding "Dollars" while people starve and die on the street mocks his way and his Word. So he's taking our dollars power away. People will get that real soon.
I agree that is a fair amount. I also believe that everyone being equal under the Law should be allowed to keep the same percentage.
The part of the dollar that you can take with you when you die.
"Obama Jobs Plan Deserves a Hearing" Christina Romer in the NYTimes.
With 14 million Americans unemployed and no prospect of rapid recovery on the horizon, we really have no choice: we must take additional measures to create jobs. What policy makers need to discuss is which measures will be most effective in putting people back to work, and in hastening the day when government support is no longer needed.
Trickle down economics does not work.
Corporations aren't sitting on wads of cash because they are in fear of Obamacare.
They are sitting on wads of cash and not creating jobs because there is no incentive for them to do otherwise.
In short: BECAUSE THEY CAN.
You never proved any such thing! And no corporations would much rather put that cash to work than to sit on it.
You are really naive and you really have no clue what this economy is base upon. Once you understand what the economy is based on at an elemental level, you be able to recognize when one of the key elements, in this case Capital, is missing. You don't have to "Prove" anything. There is no capital investment into the small business sector. The number that you don't believe is being sat on is $2.1 Trillion.
Who said I didn't believe corporations are sitting on cash? Maybe you should read it again. What I said was they aren't sitting on it because the want to, but because of the fear induced into the market place by this administration. Look at the markets. Obama is a spreader of fear a divider, an enemy of capitalism and freedom. Nobody is going to invest in this environment!
I'll repeat what I said earlier. You are Naive if you believe that there is a fear among the people that are sitting on the capital. Either you are naive or your are complicit or a combination of both. The equilibrium of the system "Changes" the environment. A healthy economy where money is being created with fix the current economic ills that we see, absorb higher taxation and regulate itself. The rich need to pay back into the environment that they have destabilized. It isn't a question of fear and you know that. How about the rich do their job and let the capital flow and we get our politicians to fix what's broken with the money they collect. Once the things are fixed, we've paid off our debts and have a decent, livable infrastructure, then we chop everyone's taxes back down. That doesn't seem like an overly complex plan to me.
Look, before you spend money on something don't you need to know the price? Do you go to the car lot and say I'll take that one and then the sales guy tells you what it costs? Do you research how much it will cost to operate that car before you decide to buy it? How much gas it uses? How much to insure it?
Business has to do the same before they invest, before they hire, they have to know what it's going to cost. Right now HHS secretary is still writing the rules to implement Obamacare. Remember Pelosi said we.had to pass it to see what's in it? Well business is still waiting to see what that will cost. Then there is Dodd Frank, and other concerns like tax rates. Obama has been constantly attacking the rich. He wants to tax them more and we know the Bush tax cuts are going to expire. If you think there isn't an extreme level of uncertainty by business and that's holding them back, then its you sir that is naive!
You aren't getting me. The "Rich" aren't buying anything so they don't have to evaluate a price. They are simply paying a dividend back into the economy that untaxed, unregulated profiteering has destabilized. Obamacare is a word, it means absolutely nothing. It's smoke and people who think like you are high on it. There is enough wealth in this country to pay off the deficit and return the country back to equilibrium. That has to happen first before any tax cut means anything. Think as though there weren't groups of people in this country that you were mad at for being unproductive. It's going to take some grown-ups to fix this problem, not people who hoard and worship money.
You're right I'm not getting you because you don't make any sense. Where you live, in Wonderland, economic laws are different then here on Earth.
You're right, I don't live here with you on the Earth. Your life is governed by your "Economic Laws", inflation, deflations, supply and demand (garbage). Pick up a Bible and read on God's economics and you might get a bit of what I'm trying to say to you.
Now I'm confused. I thought God and government WERE intertwined.
Founding Fathers and all that Constitution and Pledge of Allegiance and all that.
Now you're saying to Elder they're separate?
Hey, stop stealing our separation of church & state lines!
@Mighty Mom-They are separate in the lady's mind...that's the only way to rationalize the attitude and support the actions. Most folks of that sort of conservative "Group Think" are generally going to call themselves Christian. In order to think and behave the way that they do, they have to take Christ and God and put all of that religious stuff in a box. God's way and the way of Christ don't fit hoarding money and letting certain undesirables starve or live in poverty, in the richest country on the planet. It's really almost better to be an athiest than do what they do with the Bible.
So you're saying liberals are more generous with money? They are very generous with my money, their own...not so much.
I don't think that is what he's saying at all.
He's saying that if you look at the attitudes and behaviors (which drive public policy) of today's self-proclaimed "Christians," a term the religious right has claimed exclusively for themselves, (thus discounting or completely discrediting any other brand of Christianity that doesn't think exactly the way they do), you don't have to look very far to see that there is an inherent disconnect.
Fire and brimstone is all well and good and does have a Biblical precedent.
But that is NOT the teachings of CHRIST.
e.g., Who would Jesus bomb? Who would Jesus let starve? Who would Jesus applaud for their good deeds? Who would Jesus want running our country?
NEWSFLASH!!! Government does not equal Jesus!
Now you ARE getting me. There is no separation between God and anything you do, especially where other people are concerned. The money changers have poisoned your mind to the point where you can separate money from morality. Your "Economic Laws" were authored by money changers. Whether we find ourselves at the top or the bottom of the bell curve, the rich always stay rich. It takes a faith to see things from outside of the box you live in. I'm not in the wrong forum, you are just living in a box, a lot like the matrix.
Do the poor always stay poor? Do they pray themselves into a higher tax bracket? I'm a christian and do not consider my beliefs when making investments. Of course I don't invest in criminal schemes but I wouldn't do that if I wasn't a christian.
There will always be poor people, but not only having to do with money. The rich that have destabilized this economy are poor in compassion. That takes its own toll, no different than being financially poor. To your comment above, I hate to have to break this to you, but you don't have "Money". You hold a debt note, issued by an international banker. It is becoming progressively more and more worthless as we type out this discussion. If the remainder of the world removes that dollar from the oil reserve currency status, those dollars that you seem to think are worth hating over, aren't going to be worth the paper that they are printed on. Go back into your Bible brother and study on what Jesus commanded that we render unto Caeser. There is no separation between money and Him.
I think Alice is looking for you.
This is the only time you'll hear anyone on the right argue in favor of a separation of church and state.
It's been proven in the real world.
In the 50s and 60s we had high tax rates for the top incomes, powerful unions, more regulation of the financial sector, and increasing prosperity for everyone from top to bottom.
in the 90s and 00s we had a continuing trend of lower income taxes (the tax rates are the lowest they've been since before the Great Depression), weakening unions, deregulation of the financial sector, and a downward trend in the prosperity of 98% of Americans.
This is fact. What hasn't been proven is that there's a causal relationship between tax rates and overall prosperity. But the Right continues to say that lower taxes, weaker unions, and deregulation will create greater prosperity?
Let's take a look at something way simpler.
A kid drops his books on the floor and the lights turn on. He concludes that dropping books on the floor makes the lights go on. That's a logical fallacy, taking a sequential relationship and assuming a causal one.
If the Left claimed high taxes, strong unions, and greater regulation will result in greater prosperity, they'd be guilty of this fallacy, known as "post hoc ergo propter hoc" (A happened before B happened, therefore A caused B to happen.) This is bad logic. It would be better to take a more provisional stance, like this: A happened before B happened, therefore, A may have caused B. Let's see if B happens every time A happens.
A happened before B happened, therefore, if we do the opposite of A, then B will happen again.
This is about the worst logic ever.
Imagine a kid dropping his books on the floor and then the lights turn on. The next time the kid wants to turn on his lights, he puts the books on the shelf. And then he's surprised and dismayed that the lights don't come on. He concludes that he didn't put enough books on the shelf to make the lights turn on, so he puts some more books on the shelf. That doesn't work either, so he puts more books on, increasingly uncomfortable that he's still standing in the dark even though he's doing the exact opposite of what he did when the lights turned on last time.
This kid doing what the Right is doing: trying the opposite of what may have worked before, and not understanding why opposite action isn't giving identical results.
I think you just explained Obama's stimulus package and the definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
You're going to tell me that there was MORE regulation in the 50 and 60s??? By what measure??? Yes the tax rate was higher and guess what, JFK cut it to stimulate the economy! Back then democrats weren't socialists with evil motives!
"there was MORE regulation in the 50 and 60s??? By what measure?"
In the financial sector, absolutely there was.
When I was shopping for a home, my mortgage officer told me a qualified for a huge mortgage. I asked him how that was possible given my income. He gave me quite an eye-opening history lesson about the regulation of the banking industry, which is a long trend of less and less regulation of loans to consumers, starting in the 70s. Once upon a time, a mortgage had to be no greater than a certain number based on the morgagee's annual income and on or two other factors. That number went up and up and up, and then the regulation disappeared altogether. Of course, this meant that people seemed to be able to afford more and more expensive homes, and concurrently, homes got more and more expensive.
Democrats aren't socialists with evil motives now. You're trying to pretend they are, and branding your opponents as "evil" rather than "people of good will who disagree on the best policy for the country" is far more evil than anything either the Democrats or the GOP want to do.
So, did you take that large mortgage because you could or did you do the responsible thing?
Hell, no! First, I knew there was no way I was going to want to pay that much every month. Second, I didn't need a ji-normous house (nor did I want to have to clean a ji-normous house). Third, I wasn't planning to flip it; I wanted to live there for a long time. But then, I was a bit more savvy than your average first-time home buyer.
I took a modest loan on a modest home that I could afford.
'Course, even though I did the responsible thing, my mortgage still went underwater after the housing crisis. If I needed to sell my home for some reason, I would lose big time. I can only hope that the market recovers to the extent that I'll be able to break even if I do sell.
With conventional mortages you can only borrow 80% of the assessed value of the home and your income had to be at least 38% of the mortgage payment. Regulation changed all that Fannie and Freddie, not the lack of it. Those formulas were developed by lenders to make sure they got repaid, regulations we're passed by gov't to get people in homes at any cost. It all worked fine as long as real estate values continued to rise helped along by artificially low interest rates. As we can see, ponzi schemes can't last forever.
Very well put Lady, but you did miss one dimension of the mortgage fiasco. Legislation was pushed from democrats mandating loans in lower income area, by banks with little or not oversight. So, the loan products put into the consumer market, the option ARM, which is more of an investor's sort of home financing. Those were essentially business loans, where the borrower never signed the paper without a rock solid exit strategy. Why did the bankers do this? It's simple. It was a win win for them. They got these poor folks into larger homes than they could customarily afford with a rapidly increasing home value (up to 20% annually in some states), so when the mortgage payment increased and the fish defaulted, they'd get a well appreciated asset back in the foreclosure process. This is why you can't just look at these things from a non-spiritual perspective. Banks victimized the poor. No so much the illiterate or poverty stricken, but people that are not as diligent as you or I might be. Home values tanked instead of increased, so the banks went crying to our government to bail them out. You can call that God or karma or whatever, but God will not be mocked.
And whose fault was it that they were not diligent?
The lenders are the experts.....why wouldn't you trust them? It's a friggin bank....were people supposed to expect gangsterism there??
Stop blaming the victims..blame the perpetraitors!
No, the only victims are in your head. Those receiving mortgages they couldn't pay are criminals as far as I am concerned.
They COULD have paid the regular mortgages...but the "experts" recommended another way. Experts in suits and ties with name plaques on their desks....important and all that.
A scam artist is the one who has knowledge of forethought...it was deliberate thievery.
The victims got stuck with the bill.
as with any good scam.
As if they didn't know they couldn't afford it, crooks.
Surprisingly everybody is not as fiscally aware as you and if told they can afford something by an "expert" tend to believe them.
Most people know what they can and cannot afford, you really want to pass this drivel off as the facts? They were greedy and screwed the whole thing up. When will you and your kind accept responsibility for your bad choices?
Perhaps I overestimated your fiscal awareness.
No, you overestimated your line of BS, only a liberal would find someone other than themselves to blame. That's why the obama administration is being evicted.
Y'know repairguy, about 25-30 years ago the Tory party in the UK ran a campaign pointing out that the labour party, if elected, would raise taxes on those earning over £30,000 a year. At that time £30,000 pa was a very high salary, earned only by the upper echelons and certainly not enough to affect any potential labour vote.
There were countless people protesting about the labour party wanting to raise their taxes who never in their wildest dreams would earn anything like £30,000 pa.
They had no idea what £25 a week equalled in a year.
Well John, that's very enlightening, thanks for sharing.
Yeah well, I know it won't make a blind bit of difference to what you think, but I try.
They aren't crooks. They are people who wanted something nice that they never had a clue that they could even have a shot at having. You are mad at them, but there ARE people that you vote with that don't have your integrity. You need to make peace with that and stop hating already victimized people.
Yes they are crooks, they should be jailed for taking things they couldn't afford.
It was their fault, but they aren't 100% responsible. You are a MAD Christian...Oxymoron... Jesus' only recorder fit of physical anger was directed towards the very people that put those loans into circulation in the first place. Come on up brother..... Get yourself out of hating and raging. That's His call to you.
It was their fault but they aren't 100% responsible? I'm not gonna try and figure out your logic. I got a speeding ticket the other day I would love to blame the car manufacturer for making a car that goes faster than the posted speeds. But I can't, starting to see the problem?
Bad analogy, if you'd been sold a car that the makers told you would never exceed the speed limit and then it did, you would be closer.
No, I would be at fault for not discovering the truth before I bought the car. Ignorance is no excuse.
Is this Bible history or a different history, you are all over the place man.
Both. The Bible as it pertains to the struggles of the Hebrews under similar conditions and then just contemporary history. Pick any empire you want.
Try real hard. I'm sure you can get your brain around it. Kind of like if I told you a lie with a big commission on my mind instead of whether or not a buyer fully understood the terms of a contract.
I am trying real hard to get my mind around what you are saying, but I keep coming back to this. If you entered into a contract without reading it or understanding it then you are either stupid or greedy, sadly I think it was both.
Elder, let me help you out, I am not angry with the banker or the mortgage holder. They both played a part in their problems. You and a couple of others seek to blame only the banker, its as if the poor buyer was totally unaware of what they were getting into, they knew and didn't care! Greed on both sides.
Jeff, no one on the right will buy anything you said no matter how much sense it makes. You neglected to explain that it was actually Obama's fault the lights weren't coming on the second time.
More cars get built in Ontario than in Michigan. Why? It's not because Canadians work for significantly less money than Americans do. It's not because Canadian workers aren't unionized. They've got the CAW (Canadian Auto Workers). They also have national healthcare, which means the car companies don't have to negotiate a healthcare package with the union.
Seems to me, American corporations would be better able to compete with foreign ones if they didn't need to worry about a health plan for their workers.
But yeah, reality is hard for any ideologue to deal with (not just those on the right).
Maybe its not health care costs burdening American auto makers, but unions with their work rules etc and regulations! But you didn't bother to suggest that, just voice your support for unconstitutional national healthcare but you're not an ideologue, you're a critical thinker right?
You obviously didn't read the post.
Canada has Unions. The CAW is at least as strong as the UAW. So the car makers didn't go to ontario to escape unions.
And if you think Canada has fewer regulations than the US, you're nuts. The car makers didn't go to Canada to escape regulations.
The main difference seems to be Canada has national healthcare while the US does not.
You're right: I'm not an ideologue. I'm a critical thinker. I'm also pretty good at reading comprehension. There are classes available through your local adult education program. Perhaps you should look into them.
Squaaaaaaaaak! Class warfare, socialism... squaaaaaaaak Obamacare......tax cuts...Squaaaaaaaaaak!
"They were greedy and screwed the whole thing up."
The Banksters, yes.So much so, that the whole world is paying!
Nope, the consumer was the greedy one. If I make two dollars a day and told I'm able to spend three a day then I say no. If I'm greedy and don't care I will spend the three, what will happen? All they can do is take what I didn't have before. Greed/criminal behavior/stupid its all the same.
But that's OK when speculators do it? Have you actually read what you've just said?
Repairguy is obviously one of the chosen few who have never made a mistake or fallen foul of a con trick in his whole life!
Boring, you know what they say, the man who has never made a mistake has never made anything.
I have made plenty of mistakes, the key word is I. You don't seem to grasp that you should take responsibility for your actions. No, I have never been the victim of a scam, I am not so foolish with my money. I would sill blame me if I had been though. Responsibility, try it sometime.
Don't presume to lecture me on responsibility.
Try opening your eyes first.
I just did lecture you on responsibility, do you need another class? I'm sure you have all kind of scape goats for your bad decisions, but they are all yours.
Why do you assume that I am only speaking from personal experience? Is it because you are so self obsessed that you can not understand that somebody else isn't?
John, I really don't care what the story is. I am just tired of those who will not accept their role in damaging themselves. The real victims, the only victims are the tax payers who bailed out the bankers so they could live to do this again. The wrong message is being sent.
No, you really don't care do you? Just as long as you can lay the blame were it least stands to be laid.
It needs to be laid at the feet of those who did it, that is both parties involved. You keep laying the blame on only one party.
So you hold the user up to blame for the dodgy contracts the bankers write!
Have you ever actually seen a contract?
Why yes I have, in that contract they also have numbers, those numbers tell you exactly what you will be paying per month. If you can't do the math then you are too stupid to be buying a house and I doubt you will ever have the ability to get a job that would allow you to buy a house. I use the word you in the generic sense.
Says the man living in the society where every man's goal is to own his own house!
Fine, now you have to pass an intelligence test to partake of the great American dream!
Home ownership may be a goal but some will never achieve that goal! As for an intelligence test, I think we should do away with a public school system that doesn't work. But that's another topic.
And if you ever reach a point in your life where you can utter a response that doesn't consist of 'or jeez' or ' I just can' then you will no doubt look back at this period in your life and feel completely embarrassed. But, I won't hold my breath.
Do you ever get the feeling you're being ignored? You should.
I probably would, had you had the sense not to answer me. Still, you'll get there in the end.
And just like that, the Banksters are off the hook!!
See, when a person lies to you and that person is a businessman with credentials...he's in heap big trouble. I say bank-man speak with heap big forked tongue.
I say bank-man gangster going DOWN!
I didn't think you would get it and I was right.
Come on then smart guy, explain it, if you can, in words of more than two syllables.
Bet I know what your gonna post, come on, give us all a laugh.
Take the first letters of each word and drop the rest. Letters is two syllables.
Letters aren't two syllables and WTF is hardly an answer. Just as I thought, you't don't even have one. You don't even understand what you have to say.
Letters doesn't have two syllables?
I had a look at your link, interesting, but I mentioned syllables not symbols.
You do realize that letters is also a word don't you? A word with two syllables? I mean you know that right? Right? You should have a much closer look at the link.
Although I can understand where you may want to run and hide from these posts, damn dictionaries.
WTF? is a question, hence the question mark.
WTF isn't really a question, but you know that right? You do know that? Letters can symbolize the alphabet, it is also a word containing two syllables. You know that right? You know that? But, still, you cannot offer a reasonable answer, just as I thought.
Yeah I know that WTF isn't really a question, it just seemed to fit the post I replied to. Letters can also be a word and since I wrote the word letters and said it had two syllables I just assumed you would have been able to understand that, guess I was wrong. I don't really feel that I have to answer someone I'm not sure could understand the words. I hope you will consult the dictionary on a more regular basis. Symbols? WTF???
You are definitely facing a challenge I hope you can overcome it. As for an answer I don't really care to answer you, I thought that was obvious. I hope you can understand that.
On second thought I'll answer. Speculators very seldom if ever buy a house at inflated prices, when they do buy the house they know exactly what they will be paying for the mortgage. They then either rent that property at a profit or remodel and sell it at a profit. If they are unable to do that then they lose the house suffer from the bad credit attached and move on. I have never seen any speculator whine about being scammed into buying a house.
Fine, in case you've forgotten, the question was asked by someone else. I do understand that you wouldn't want to answer me and that really makes me laugh, you have no idea. In terms of challenges, live with your delusions, you no doubt will.
I'll give you that one. Sin of the eyes, yes. But you have to understand that the banker had an army of bean counters weighing out risk versus reward. They had tons of analysts going over what those appreciation rates would be and they knew exactly what their upside was. If they considered the downside, ie the values going down instead of up, that should have made the use of the option arm loan not make any business sense to them. You can blame the consumer, that's your perspective, but the people that controlled the selling environment were the bankers. They came up with the re-invented consumer ARM loan and they didn't do that to help anybody but themselves. They also have a powerful enough lobby in washington to get bailed out and rewarded for their despot behavior. That's why my issue is more with them than the dummies that got fleeced.
Why aren't the millionaires paying at least the same tax rate of the middle class? Any suggestions?
Is the president whipping up class warfare? | {
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} |
Hexindai Announces the Results of Annual General Meeting and Name Change
BEIJING, Dec. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hexindai Inc. (NASDAQ: HX) ("Hexindai" or the "Company"), a social e-commerce platform in China, today announced that it held the 2020 annual general meeting of shareholders (the "AGM") at the Conference Room, 5th Floor, Block C, Shimao Plaza, No. 92 Jianguo Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100020, People's Republic of China, at 10:00 a.m. (Beijing Time) on December 16, 2020. At the AGM, holders of 52,025,638 ordinary shares (including ordinary shares represented by the Company's American Depositary Shares), out of the 52,458,550 ordinary shares issued and outstanding, were present in person or by proxy, and therefore constituted a quorum of more than one-third of the ordinary shares outstanding and entitled to vote at the AGM as of November 6, 2020, the record date of the AGM.
At the AGM, the shareholders of the Company approved the name change of the Company from "Hexindai Inc." to "Xiaobai Maimai Inc.", as a special resolution of the Company. As an ordinary resolution of the Company, the shareholders ratified the appointment of Wei, Wei& Co., LLP as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm.
About Hexindai Inc.
Hexindai Inc. (NASDAQ: HX) ("Hexindai" or the "Company") is a social e-commerce platform based in Beijing, China. The Company collaborates with domestic e-commerce platforms and offers users a wide selection of high-quality and affordable products on its new social e-commerce platform. Leveraging its cooperation with mainstream e-commerce platforms and services marketplaces, and its data analytics algorithm and operating system, the Company continues to identify and introduce cost-efficient products and attract users to its platform and generate higher user satisfaction to realize the platform's fast growth.
For more information, please visit http://ir.xiaobaimaimai.com.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," "targets," "guidance" and similar statements. The Company may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its periodic reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Any statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements that involve factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Such factors and risks include, but not limited to the following: the Company's goals, strategies and expansion plans; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; its ability to attract and retain new users and to increase revenues generated from repeat users; its expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of its products and services; its relationships and cooperation with e-commerce platforms and services marketplaces; trends and competition in China's e-commerce market; the expected growth of the Chinese e-commerce market; Chinese governmental policies relating to the Company's corporate structure and the e-commerce industry; and general economic conditions in China. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in the Company's filings with the SEC. All information provided in this announcement is current as of the date of this announcement, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.
For investor inquiries, please contact:
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Phone: +86-10- 5900-1548
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http://www.hexindai.com | {
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A Young Farmer who is 'proud' to be a part of the ag industry has defended British farmers after seeing a rise in 'misinformed' vegan posts on social media.
Lottie Wilson, who farms in Powys, posted her passionate views on Facebook and has been overwhelmed by the reaction with over 100 likes and shares so far.
It reads: "After seeing a lot of posts on my feed about vegan lifestyles and animal cruelty I feel compelled to say something.
"To quote the cat from one of my favourite films "Babe".
"If you want to see animals around the countryside, they have to be eaten or used for their products. Fact. Without a purpose, they would not be bred from and would therefore die out.
"But keeping animals for meat/milk/egg production doesn't mean the animals don't have a good life!
In fact, in order to have profitable and quality produce, it is in the farmer's best interest to have happy livestock.
"Stressed animals or ones not properly looked after do not produce quality.
"But money is NOT the only reason why farmers look after their stock. They do it because it's the right thing to do! Because they are caring and compassionate.
"When a dog chases and kills and injures half a flock of sheep and people say 'the farmer only cares about the money, they were bred to die' in fact that's not the case. That does play a part in the anger you feel - as already running on tight margins it does mean you can end up with more financial strain.
"But anger also comes from the fact that those sheep didn't die peacefully with any sort of respect and dignity. They did not fulfil their purpose - so they were wasted lives. And time, effort and energy of the farmer trying to provide a good life for them, wasted.
"When a farmer wakes up every few hours a night and puts all social life on hold to check and feed a lamb whose mother has rejected it, for weeks on end only for it to die for what seems like no reason - they don't get upset because they've lost money, they're upset because a life has been lost, and not for a lack of trying!
"British farmers are held to some of the highest welfare standards in the world.
"The majority of what gets shared by vegan activists happens to actually be from farms abroad where factory farming with low welfare standards is still a major issue; Which is another reason to buy British meat and produce - if not even to just help support your own economy.
"I will admit, some of the things shared ARE from British farms - and although some is taken out of context, some may in fact be true. However to quote Babe again - "There are many perfectly nice cats in the world, but every barrel has its bad apples"
"Not everyone that owns a dog beats it black and blue and starves it - so we don't state that all dog owners are abusive.... Why is this not the same?
"Protestors that use their time blocking lorries full of livestock from entering abattoirs and sticking cameras in front of livestock are doing nothing but delaying the inevitable and causing stress to the animals they think they understand and care about!
"If they have the day off from work or don't have a job, a more productive thing to do would be to volunteer in a rescue centre.
"It is not economically or environmentally viable to have the world on a fully vegan diet. There are some areas of the country/world that would not support growing crops - so is used to rear livestock.
"I suppose you could of course build houses on that land. And then with the reduction of food products and increase in population, fly in food from other countries to fill the food deficit, at the same time causing even more issues to the environment with the increased carbon foot print from importing the food.
"Or you can accept that meat is a viable food stuff and the production of it is perfectly fine if it is done properly - and properly is defined by the people that have experience within the sector, not those living on a cloud surrounded by unicorns.
"I'm not forcing you to eat meat if you don't like it. But for goodness sake please speak to someone who actually knows about where food comes from!
"It's very easy to click and share a misinformed or staged photo on Facebook - but please just remember the effect it may have on a whole industry and people's lifestyles.
"It is very easy to hear the people that shout the loudest... But just because it's loud doesn't mean it's correct!
"The Oxford dictionary gives the definition of a farmer as: A person who owns or manages a farm.
"But if you look into what a farmer really is you will find that they are a vet, a scientist, a nutritionist, a tractor driver, a handyman, a mechanic, a cleaner, a book-keeper, a caretaker, a teacher - and taken for granted.
"I may not have originated from a farming background and we may not have the biggest farm. But I'm proud to be part of the industry and I hope you can all be intelligent enough to look properly into our lives." | {
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Obama creates Hitler Youth Gestapo in America, for REAL!
Discuss Conspiracies and Cover Ups - e.g. 9/11 Truth, JFK Assassination, New World Order, Roswell, Moon Hoax, Secret Societies, etc. whatever conspiracy floats your boat.
by Scepcop » 13 Jun 2010, 19:42
I just did some research and it turns out that this new "Obama Youth Gestapo" I heard about is actually REAL. It's very disturbing and very identical to the Hitler Nazi Youth. See for yourself at the videos and articles below:
Training camp for Obama Youth:
Comparison video of American youth singing praises to Obama vs. Hitler youth singing praises to Hitler. Notice the eerie similarity!
Now why does the President of the US need people to sing to him, unless he's planning to become a dictator?
Here is an article "Boy Scouts Train to Become Homeland Gestapo":
http://www.infowars.com/boy-scouts-trai ... d-gestapo/
Apparently, these kids are being trained in how to use guns so they can arrest or fight illegal aliens and disgruntled US veterans! Why don't more Americans see how wrong this is? It's obviously a Hitler Youth program, targeting kids who are the easiest to brainwash and control, a big step in bringing the US into fascism. It's so obvious, yet Americans are oblivious to it. Doesn't anyone remember Nazi Germany? Sheesh.
I also hear that the government is now offering school kids $200 rewards to spy on their parents. Golly!
The New York Times also has an article about this (though they do not dare admit the obvious or see anything wrong of course):
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/us/14explorers.html
Check out these pics below:
Now, if anyone here sees nothing wrong with kids being trained to use machine guns and obey the State and sing praises to their leader, then your head is truly F-ed!
"Devotion to the truth is the hallmark of morality; there is no greater, nobler, more heroic form of devotion than the act of a man who assumes the responsibility of thinking." - Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
Scepcop
Re: Obama Youth training to become Homeland Gestapo!
by NinjaPuppy » 13 Jun 2010, 21:38
I'm going to start at the end and end at the begining of your post:
Scouting began in 1907 when Robert Baden-Powell, Lieutenant General in the British Army, held the first Scouting encampment at Brownsea Island in England. Baden-Powell wrote the principles of Scouting in Scouting for Boys (London, 1908), based on his earlier military books....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scouting
Scouting was started with a military program in mind. It has morphed over it's 100+ years but IMO it has always been a child training group for this purpose. I don't find it such a strech to think that they might want to upgrade the program to include a more open militaristic flair since 911. Actually, I have no problem at all with children being properly trained to use weapons at any age. I was three when I got my first introduction to weapons. My dad would take me into the yard during his 'hunting practice' and explain all the safety aspects of different guns and the proper way to handle them. By time I was 10 I could pretty much take out a target without a problem. Guns were never 'glorified' in my family. They were considered lethal weapons and treated as such. They had one purpose and that was to kill and were only drawn with that intent.
It did make me feel more confident that if put in a life or death postion, that I had the basic skills and know how to perhaps live to tell about it. With the way things are going in this world right now, I see no problem in teaching children proper weapon handling.
As for the singing praises to "Our Fearless Leader"... those videos were from Obama's campaign commercials. That little girl singing at the begining squicked me out from day one. Yes, eerily similar to Hitler's little ditty sang by the children of Germany. No doubt. I am no fan of Obama. But as a former Girl Scout... I was taught to support the government and to pledge allegience to the flag of the United States of America. I do that by backing programs that I personally believe in. In other words, I may not agree with any of this war but I fully support the men and women of this country who fight for our freedom and who keep us safe in the process. War sucks no matter how you slice it. The world is changing and if we don't keep up with the changes we are going to fall dangerously behind. It isn't bad enough that we have entire governments that would like to see us all dead. We have plenty of home grown nuts who are more than willing to help in our demise.
NinjaPuppy
Re: Obama creates Hitler Youth Corps in America, for REAL!
See Alex Jones' rant about this. It's really good and calls for a possible civil war and fight.
Jason Bermas analyzes an Obama Youth Corps commercial which is very revealing.
Obviously they start with the poorest most desperate kids cause they are the most vulnerable.
NinjaPuppy wrote: I'm going to start at the end and end at the begining of your post:
Did you see the article? They are being trained to fight and kill US veterans! They are being trained as Gestapo forces, not as citizens who just do good things. And they are told to report their parents too! Did you do that when you were a girl scout? Were you trained with weapons and to function as a SWAT team?
The war is unnecessary. It's about power and greed and control. Why would any intelligent freethinking person support that? People are dying for US corporations. Is that a cause worth dying for?
You do see that this is fascism don't you?
Btw, is Alex Jones right when he said that his dad in the 60's was allowed to bring a shotgun to school so he could go shooting with his teacher after school? Kids were allowed to bring guns to school in those days?
Yet there were no school shootings!
It's the same way that gangs recruit. The younger the person, the easier they are to manipulate and train.
Yes, I read the article. I do not doubt that what is written in that article won't become fact.
Last month, Infowars reported on a document produced by the Department of Homeland Security's National Infrastructure Coordinating Center identifying advocates of the Second Amendment, veterans, pro-life activists, and militia members as dangerous terrorists. A subsequent DHS document, entitled "Domestic Extremism Lexicon," pinpointed "antigovernment" types "rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority" as possible terrorists.
As for your statement about US Veterans, in many cases they were already used and abused by our government the day they signed up for service. Have you ever gone to a VA Hospital? Since there are many deplorable medical facilities in this country, I can't single out the ones run by our government but I find it a real shame that any medical facility operated by the US Gov't. specifically to treat veterans is not top notch. A few of these facilities are not up to par and I have seen many a disabled veteran treated like garbage by staff during a required visit to maintain their benefits. I do quite a bit of work with disabled vets and I have plenty of experience with the stupid red tape that mucks up moving forward to change that system.
IMO since WWII the US Government has been trying to stay on top of anyone who has bucked the system so this is not 'news' to me. Being a child of the 50's and growing up within the 60's made me realize decades ago that most of what we are told is Bull S**t to manipulate us. For me it's SSDD, in a brown paper wrapper but this year, they put a red, white and blue bow on it.
One of the other videos that you posted had a very good comment. Something along the lines of "Never waste a perfectly good disaster" or something to that effect. Fear is a powerful tool and they are using it for all it is worth right now.
Scepcop wrote: Btw, is Alex Jones right when he said that his dad in the 60's was allowed to bring a shotgun to school so he could go shooting with his teacher after school? Kids were allowed to bring guns to school in those days?
That was sort of my point about my story. It was not a problem to carry a knife in school when I was a kid. Heck, the nuns used to carry them as they were considered necessary to peel an apple or cut string on the fly.
I was taught that a gun was not a toy nor was it something that you used for intimidation. It had one purpose, to kill. Having a gun didn't make you cool or someone to be feared. You didn't show it off or let other people handle it. How that mindset got screwed up, I have no idea.
NinjaPuppy wrote:
So you grew up in the 50's and 60's? Wow. Were people as innocent and kind hearted as they were in the Leave it to Beaver show and Andy Griffin Show, or even in The Big Valley? Did you ever watch The Big Valley? I'll bet you had a crush on those guys in it huh?
Scepcop wrote: So you grew up in the 50's and 60's? Wow.
Wow? I'm sorry, I am chuckling here due to the "Wow".
Scepcop wrote: Were people as innocent and kind hearted as they were in the Leave it to Beaver show and Andy Griffin Show, or even in The Big Valley? Did you ever watch The Big Valley? I'll bet you had a crush on those guys in it huh?
They were no different then than they are today. The difference was that the media didn't portray disfunctionality as acceptable. In the late 70s it was The Moral Majority that tried to keep what the average American saw on TV 'wholesome family entertainment'. Before that it was the Hays Office and of course the Motion Picture Production Code http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_Pic ... ction_Code as television cam much later than motion pictures.
Nothing was different except for the control over what you were and weren't allowed to see in the media.
Re: Obama creates Hitler Youth Gestapo in America, for REAL!
by ProfWag » 15 Jun 2010, 03:00
Yo Scepcop, when was the last time you did a search of the internet on something that's actually useful, beneficial, and/or non anti-governmental?
ProfWag
by Nostradamus » 15 Jun 2010, 05:04
I guess the local scouting groups have not gotten the message. LOL. A bunch of lunatics write something and it is taken as gospel.
Scimitars were not available - beware January 19, 2038 is upon us.
When I said Wow, I meant "Wow now I can learn about the past from you" I am a history fan and feel very nostalgic about the past. But of course, we tend to remember the past as better than it actually was.
But I always hear that people back then were different in that they were less paranoid, not as eager to sue everyone, and that neighbors knew each other and had barbecues a lot. That's why people who are over 50 in America tend to be more easy going, good natured and open to talking to strangers. Isn't that true? Nowadays, hardly anyone knows their neighbors anymore. They are glued to TV's and more in a bubble.
ProfWag wrote: Yo Scepcop, when was the last time you did a search of the internet on something that's actually useful, beneficial, and/or non anti-governmental?
I research all kinds of things, including history. Whatever I am interested in. That's my business. You can't control a man's passions.
What I research is useful to ME.
Scepcop wrote:
Exactly. The things you post are anti-governmental and fit your own agenda, just as you said. They don't appear to do much for bringing people together.
Scepcop wrote: When I said Wow, I meant "Wow now I can learn about the past from you" I am a history fan and feel very nostalgic about the past. But of course, we tend to remember the past as better than it actually was.
Not me. My past sucked and it's not something you forget too easily.
SCEPCOP wrote: But I always hear that people back then were different in that they were less paranoid, not as eager to sue everyone, and that neighbors knew each other and had barbecues a lot. That's why people who are over 50 in America tend to be more easy going, good natured and open to talking to strangers. Isn't that true? Nowadays, hardly anyone knows their neighbors anymore. They are glued to TV's and more in a bubble.
Less paranoia was due to stupidity. I don't mean that as in people were stupid, they were uninformed. You could have a serial killer loose in your neighborhood and you wouldn't know it. News didn't travel too fast and unless you were an avid reader of newspapers, you knew very little of what was going on right in your own backyard. With better media and communication, came useful information and education. Well...until the media decided to present spin point of view and clammor for rating shares, rather than facts.
I am also a history buff. I have always loved learning about factual things from the past. Different cultures and their lifestyles were my passion. It's like a window into how the other half lived. Rather than keeping up with the Joneses.
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Hanoi (VNS/VNA) –The PetroVietnam Power Corporation (PV Power), the country's second-biggest power provider, will offer 20 percent of its total shares for sale at an initial public offering (IPO) in December.
The member company of the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PVN) will also sell 29 percent of its capital to strategic investors.
Under a previous IPO plan published in April, the company said it would sell 4 percent of shares at the IPO and 45 percent to strategic investors to receive 600-700 million USD.
The previous plan also stated that the IPO would be conducted in August 2017 and the private offering for strategic investors would be completed this year.
The company also expected to raise its ratio of shares for sale up to 60 percent if approved by the Government.
PV Power has constantly re-scheduled its IPO plan. In June 2016, the company planned to hold its IPO in October the same year and unload a quarter of the State's ownership.
According to HCM City Securities Corporation, the company's decision to raise the number of shares for IPO sale could stem from the fact that State-owned businesses have failed to offload all the shares they offered to strategic investors. Individual investors were far more interested in IPO shares and the number of their placed orders exceeded the number of shares offered by the companies.
According to analysts, there are several reasons that have made State-owned company IPOs unattractive to strategic investors.
First, those companies conducted their IPOs when market demand was not high, leading to low purchases of their shares. Second, institutional investors were hesitant to purchase shares in those companies because the Government still held the controlling stake in the businesses after it was equitised.
In addition, the auction prices offered at the IPOs did not match investor expectations while the management boards of some firms were afraid of becoming transparent and accountable.
In the latest IPO plan, posted on the company's website last week, PV Power had 21.7 trillion VND in charter capital and was valued at 60.6 trillion VND on December 31, 2015.
PV Power is currently the second-biggest power provider in Vietnam, supplying 12 percent of the country's total electricity production with seven power plants producing total output of 4.2 gigawatts.
The company last year produced 21,156 billion kWh, earning 26.5 trillion VND in revenue and 1.6 trillion VND in post-tax profit. | {
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Where Is Big Hit?
June 18, 2022 by Shawna Brady
On March 22, Big Hit Entertainment will be moving into HYBE's brand new headquarters that is located in Yongsan, Seoul. It is a 19-story building with seven additional floors underground, and it covers about 60,000 square meters of space and houses over 1,000 employees and executives.
1. Does Big Hit Entertainment accept Indian?
2. Do BTS have their own houses?
3. Where is the Big Hit building?
4. Does BTS own Big Hit?
5. Is BTS still with Big Hit?
6. Why is Big Hit permanently closed?
7. Where is BTS house in Korea?
8. Where is BTS office in Seoul?
9. Where does BTS live now?
10. Do BTS have girlfriends?
11. What is BTS salary?
12. What does BTS apartment look like?
13. Is BigHit in the Big 3?
14. Where is Jyp located?
15. What is the building of BTS?
16. Where is Han River located?
17. How much BigHit pay BTS?
18. Who is the richest in BTS?
19. Who controls BTS?
20. Which company owns Blackpink?
21. What is the name of BigHit new girl group?
22. How does BigHit treat BTS?
23. What is J-Hope's real name?
24. Why did Big Hit change their name?
25. How much is BTS salary per month?
26. What does BTS stand in English?
27. Why will BTS end in 2027?
28. Why did BTS leave Columbia?
29. Why did BTS disbanded?
30. Is BTS disbanding in 2026?
31. Can girls audition in Big Hit Entertainment?
32. How many K-pop groups are under Big Hit?
33. Is BTS not under Big Hit?
34. What is BTS office?
35. How old is the CEO of Big Hit?
36. Did BTS switch labels?
37. What are the bands under Big Hit?
38. How can I chat with BTS on Whatsapp?
39. Where is Kim Taehyung apartment?
40. Where is Jungkook now?
41. How can I write letters to BTS?
42. What is BTS real address?
43. Where is the Blackpink house?
44. Where is BTS right now in 2021?
45. Why are BTS death threats?
46. Is BTS still living together 2021?
47. What is BTS email?
48. Do BTS members smoke?
49. How can I go to South Korea from India?
Does Big Hit Entertainment accept Indian?
Every country citizen is eligible for participating in the show. Females and girls can also be a part of the BHE audition 2021.
Do BTS have their own houses?
Despite having their own respective properties and houses, the seven members of BTS are still living together in the said suite.
Where is the Big Hit building?
After years of outstanding work and progress, BigHit Entertainment finally gained its new and lavish home-the HYBE Building in Yeongsan, Seoul.
Does BTS own Big Hit?
BTS Members Jin, J-Hope, and RM have sold $8 Million worth of their company HYBE's shares, the company was earlier known as BigHit and had launched the band. Three members of the South Korean group BTS have sold the shares of their company HYBE that was earlier known as Big Hit.
Is BTS still with Big Hit?
Big Hit Entertainment, the music company behind K-Pop stars BTS, has officially rebranded as HYBE. Big Hit announced the new name, organizational structure and a new HQ in a brand presentation on YouTube today (see below). The company says that the rebrand will be finalized at its shareholders' meeting on March 30.
Why is Big Hit permanently closed?
According to Variety, the decision is motivated by the company's goal to expand its horizons, looking beyond artist management. Through this repositioning, Big Hit may also branch out to more lifestyle-oriented projects like real estate leasing, travel, communications, and the like.
Where is BTS house in Korea?
The apartment is located in Hannam Hill, alongside the Han River and Namsan mountains.
Where is BTS office in Seoul?
Pledis Entertainment building is where you might spot Seventeen, Orange Caramel and After School if you are lucky! Located in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul, Big Hit Entertainment's headquarter is a place every Bangtan Boys (BTS) fan should know!
Where does BTS live now?
2. Where does BTS live now? Bts lives together in the lavish apartment in Hannam the Hill, Hannam-Dong, Seoul.
Do BTS have girlfriends?
After all, ever since this K-pop group debuted in June 2013, none of its members has ever been in a public relationship.
What is BTS salary?
As per a report in Seoul Space, BTS members have a base salary of $8 million a year. They also hold shares of HYBE stock which are valued at an additional $8 million for each member. Apart from being a member of globally famous BTS, these members also release their own singles and albums.
What does BTS apartment look like?
Look Inside BTS Luxury Apartment! BTS House Tour
Is BigHit in the Big 3?
Is Big Hit Entertainment, the entertainment agency of the biggest boy group in the world BTS, bigger than the historic 'Big 3' of K-pop industry comprising of SM, JYP and YG Entertainment? According to recent news, Big Hit has overtaken the Big 3.
Where is Jyp located?
Logo used since January 2021
JYP 엔터테인먼트
Headquarters Gangdong, Seoul , South Korea
Area served Worldwide
Key people Jimmy Jeong (CEO)
What is the building of BTS?
If you're a BTS fan, you will probably know by now that Hybe has just recently opened a new museum dedicated to the world-famous boy band in their company building in Yongsan, Seoul. Named Hybe Insight, the museum is located at the bottom two levels of Hybe's new building and was opened to the public on May 14.
Where is Han River located?
Han River, Korean Han-gang, river, northern South Korea, rising in the western slopes of the T'aebaek-sanmaek (mountains) and flowing generally westward across the peninsula through the provinces of Kangwŏn, Kyŏnggi, and North Ch'ungch'ŏng and through the city of Seoul to the Yellow Sea.
How much BigHit pay BTS?
Thanks largely to those touring revenues, the members of BTS earned a combined $50 million between June 2019 and June 2020 and roughly $7 million per member.
Who is the richest in BTS?
J-Hope: He is the wealthiest member among all the BTS members. J-Hope's net worth is roughly anything around $26 million.
Who controls BTS?
South Korean music producer, composer and record executive Bang Si-hyuk is known as the mastermind behind K-pop sensation BTS, after bringing the boy band together in 2013. He's the founder and CEO of Hybe (formerly Big Hit Entertainment), the agency that manages the group.
Which company owns Blackpink?
YG debuted their second girl group Blackpink in 2016, their first since 2NE1, followed by the solo rapper One the following year.
What is the name of BigHit new girl group?
Following its countdown event, the company revealed that the girl group's name is 'LE SSERAFIM'. The group, created in partnership with HYBE's label, Source Music, is preparing for a debut in May.
How does BigHit treat BTS?
They treat their idols well and the idols have good connections with their staff and managers. ARMY likes to say "you can't stan BTS if you don't stan the staff". Big Hit is very small and only has about two artists performing right now: BTS and a solo artist.
What is J-Hope's real name?
Jung Ho-seok (Korean: 정호석; born February 18, 1994), better known by his stage name J-Hope (stylized as j-hope), is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, dancer, and record producer. He made his debut as a member of South Korean boy band BTS in 2013, under Big Hit Entertainment.
Why did Big Hit change their name?
Chairman Bang Si- Hyuk claims, "I felt the need of a new company name that could encompass all the business realms that we carry out and be a symbol for our connecting and expanding structure."
How much is BTS salary per month?
BTS Salary per month? The monthly BTS Salary is $3 Million Dollars. and the Annual Income is $36 Million Dollars, Which they earn from Concerts, Shows, Youtube, Collaborations, or brand Deals.
What does BTS stand in English?
Name. The group's name, BTS, stands for the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeondan (Korean: 방탄소년단; Hanja: 防彈|少年|團), literally meaning "Bulletproof Boy Scouts". According to member J-Hope, the name signifies the group's desire "to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets".
Why will BTS end in 2027?
In BTS's case, they have a seven-year commitment that was due to expire in 2020. However, they recently renewed their contract, a year before the original agreement terminated. BigHit has confirmed that their contract will expire in 2026, rather than 2020.
Why did BTS leave Columbia?
According to reports by Billboard and Variety, the boyband, under agency HYBE, will no longer be working with Columbia Records and The Orchard. BTS were apparently on a month-to-month contract with the latter company, and only needed to notify Sony Music of their intent to end their partnership.
Why did BTS disbanded?
"Due to differences in our opinions and musical styles, we have decided to go our separate ways. Still, we agreed to cheer on each other's life. As we open the new door, it's time to close and lock the door," the little meow of BTS went on to say.
Is BTS disbanding in 2026?
BTS will remain under their label Big Hit Entertainment through 2026, it was announced Wednesday (Oct. 17). The seven members of BTS — RM, Jimin, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jungkook and V — have renewed their contracts with Big Hit for another seven years, extending the current contracts that are set to expire next year.
Can girls audition in Big Hit Entertainment?
Both boys and girls can participate in this show, only your age should be from 12 years to 18 years. There are online auditions for this show, through which auditions are taken in different cities. And in auditions, only those who are eligible for the show are selected.
How many K-pop groups are under Big Hit?
Big Hit Music was divided from Hybe on July 1. As of that date, the company manages soloist Lee Hyun, and boy groups BTS and Tomorrow X Together. It previously managed soloist Lim Jeong-hee, and groups 8Eight, 2AM, and Glam.
Is BTS not under Big Hit?
South Korean boy band BTS that began formation in 2010 and debuted in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment, will now have a new corporate address as the agency announced a change of name. Big Hit is now HYBE which reportedly symbolizes "connection, expansion, and relationships."
What is BTS office?
As a world leading strategy implementation firm with approximately 700 professionals in 32 offices worldwide, BTS has a strong global footprint for developing and deploying programs that build commitment and capability to accelerate strategy execution and improve business results.
How old is the CEO of Big Hit?
Bang Si-hyuk
Born August 9, 1972 South Korea
Genres R&B
Occupation(s) composer songwriter record producer Chairman
Years active 1994–present
Did BTS switch labels?
Oct 22 (Reuters) – South Korea's BTS has signed a new distribution and marketing deal with Universal Music Group (UMG.AS), the world's biggest music label, dropping Sony Music's (6758. T) Columbia Records, the music band's manager said on Friday. Hybe Co Ltd-owned (352820.
What are the bands under Big Hit?
K.Will (2006–2007)
2AM (2010–2014, along with JYP Entertainment)
GLAM (2012–2015, along with Source Music)
Lim Jeong-hee (2012–2015)
Homme (2010–2018) Changmin (2010–2014; 2015–2018)
8eight (2007–2014, 2020; along with Source Music)
How can I chat with BTS on Whatsapp?
Conversation. SEND YOUR SMS NOW!: SMS type 방탄소년단 then send to +821119 ( Do not spam message.) alreadyyyyyy!!!
Where is Kim Taehyung apartment?
He lives on 234 UrAStalker street in the city CalmTheFDown, South Korea.
Where is Jungkook now?
Since 2018, Jungkook has lived in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea with his bandmates.
How can I write letters to BTS?
Yes , bts can read English . So you don't have to write it in English but try to use simple words . Don't write alot keep it small and simple . If your younger than the member whom your writing the letter please use oppa or hyung because it adds a politeness and little more respect .
What is BTS real address?
BTS Pop-Up: House of BTS Poster. BTS Pop-Up: House of BTS (stylized in all caps) was shops of BTS' official merch opened by Big Hit Entertainment, the first one was opened on October 18, 2019 to January 5, 2020 (10:00 to 22:00 KST) located on 34, Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Where is the Blackpink house?
Located in the busy street of Hongdae area in Mapo-gu in Seoul, the house, renovated from the previous "Black Pink House," is full of hands-on experiences related to the band's recent "Square Up" EP.
Where is BTS right now in 2021?
The K-pop singers are currently on a short break and is at their home in South Korea.
Why are BTS death threats?
Threats were made against RM's life in 2015 while BTS was in the United States, which several believe was in reply to RM's controversial comments in an Australian interview in which he claimed, "When I first saw V and J-Hope, I couldn't see them because they were too black." Because of the snacks, they had to cancel …
Is BTS still living together 2021?
BTS has only gained worldwide prominence in the past few years or so, but the group has actually been together for over seven years. The members' contracts were supposed to expire in 2020, but BTS also chose renew them to stay together until 2026.
What is BTS email?
Email addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],… Is there anyone willing to translate this into Korean?
Do BTS members smoke?
The images show one of the band members of BTS, V, smoking.
However, this time, their viral images have left the netizens divided. The images show one of the band members smoking. Kim Taehyung, who goes by V, was captured smoking outside the Grammys 2022 venue.
How can I go to South Korea from India?
By Air. Air travel is the best way to travel to South Korea from India.
By Rail. There are no direct roads connected India to South Korea, nor are there any trains that connect both countries.
By Sea. If you like long luxurious holidays, then Cruises are the truly the best way for you to travel.
Basic facts of The Big Three & Big Hit Entertainment(BTS)
Big Hit Entertainment x Universal Music Group
Big Hit Entertainment & HYBE Timeline
Who Plays Fred's Dad in Big Hero 6?
Why Did Big Mouth End?
Who Does Samuel L Jackson Play in Big Hero 6?
Is There Going to Be a Big Hero 6 2?
Did Ari Have a BBL?
How Would You Rate Your Pain?
What are the Big Sky BB standings? | {
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Two Worthy Stocks comparison for Investors: My Size, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYSZ), Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN)
My Size, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYSZ)
My Size, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYSZ), ended its previous trading session at $1.31 showing a gain of 0 or 0 percent with respect to the price of $1.31 when stock market opened. The company traded 316501 shares over the course of the trading day. Giving the average volume of 410.65 Million over the course of 3 consecutive months. Which signifies a pretty good change over the time with its shares outstanding of 7.23 Million.
My Size, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYSZ) is currently trading Higher than its price target which is set to $0 by the analyst. The stock is -70.23% Below its 1-Year High which is $4.40. MYSZ has a difference of 92.65% from its 1 year low which stands at $0.68. The company is currently rated by analyst who are keeping a close eye on the stock as 3. Where 1 means Buy, 2.5 meaning Hold and 5 as Sell.
My Size, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYSZ) Performance Snapshot
The stock performed exceptionally good in the previous week which depicts an increase of -22.49 percent in the shares price. The company added about 11.97% in its share price over 1-Month. While taking about the performance of the stock over 1-year interval is -65.53 Percent. MYSZ currently shows -7.09% as its year to date performance.
My Size, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYSZ) Price Insight
The stock needs to grow about $-1.31 to reach its price target. In order to seek the stock's directional movements, 20-Days, 50 Days and 200-Days moving averages are 0.96%, 12.31% and 5.06 percent respectively. The stock trades about 5.81 percent of its Float giving its total shares Outstanding are 7.23 Million. MYSZ lost about -6.43 percent in 6 months showing its Average True Range of 0.14. The company currently has a RSI and Beta of 51.21 and 0.
While talking about My Size, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYSZ) valuation ratios, the stock trades with a P/S and P/B of 55.41 and 2.72 which is significantly better and attractive as compared to its peers.
Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN)
Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN), closed the last trading session at $11.38 with increase of $0.0700000000000003 or 0.62 percent against the opening price of $11.31. The trading day volume of the company stands at 1.51 Million shares while the average trading volume of Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) is 1.89 Million over the course of 3 consecutive months. Which signifies a pretty good change over the time with its shares outstanding of 170.57 Million.
The price target of Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) is currently set at 11.94 by the analysts. The stock is $-29.97 Below its 1-Year High which is $16.25. BDN hit its 1-Year low price of $7.48. The company is currently rated by analyst who are keeping a close eye on the stock as 3. Where 1 means Buy, 2.5 meaning Hold and 5 as Sell.
Performance Indicators of Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN)
The value of the stock increased by 0.98% during the previous week performance. Looking at the 1 month performance of Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN), the stock dipped -2.15%. While the 1 year performance shows a negative percentage of -27.28 and year to date performance stands at -4.45%.
Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) Analytical Review
The stock needs to grow about $0.559999999999999 to reach its price target. In order to seek the stock's directional movements, 20-Days, 50 Days and 200-Days moving averages are -2.85%, 2.99% and 6.97 percent respectively. The stock trades about 3.79 percent of its Float giving its total shares Outstanding are 170.57 Million. BDN gained about 5.86 percent in 6 months showing its Average True Range of 0.31. The company currently has a RSI and Beta of 47.56 and 1.18.
While talking about Brandywine Realty Trust (NYSE:BDN) valuation ratios, the stock trades with a P/S and P/B of 3.49 and 1.08 which is significantly better and attractive as compared to its peers.
Will you bet on these? SendGrid, Inc. (NYSE:SEND), Pluralsight, Inc. (NASDAQ:PS)
Two Worthy Stocks for investors: Loxo Oncology, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOXO), MannKind Corporation (NASDAQ:MNKD) | {
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The Irish Government will probably take the full control of the country's major six financial institutions following the publication of the results of strength tests incurred by the banks of this heavily indebted country. The test results are due to be announced tomorrow and amongst the banks that could fall under the control of the governor are Bank of Ireland, and Irish Life & Permanent.
It is worth stating that the governor already owns 36% of the Bank of Ireland's shares while other major banks have received aids amounting to 46billion. According to Bloomberg analysts after the results the banks will require a further 27 billion in order to sustain their positions. | {
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King Tut sculpture sold at Christie's despite Egypt's outrage A 3,000-year-old sculpture of Tutankhamun was auctioned off by Christie's for nearly $6 million, despite Cairo calling on the UK government to stop the sale. Egypt claimed the relic was illegally take...
Egypt tries to stop sale of Tutankhamun statue in London Officials fear bust of pharaoh might have been looted from Karnak temple in LuxorEgyptian authorities are trying to stop the auction of a statue of Tutankhamun's head at Christie's auction house in Lo...
Egypt urges Christie's to delay statue sale Egypt's ambassador to UK fears statue of Tutankhamun was looted from Luxor templeEgypt is renewing its demands that the London auction house Christie's delay a controversial sale of a statue of Tutank...
Libyan commander hands over prominent militant to Egypt CAIRO (AP) — Libyan forces loyal to a commander pushing to take the capital of Tripoli say they have handed over to Egypt a prominent Egyptian militant captured last October. Khalifa Hifter's se...
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Egypt frees Al-Jazeera journalist detained since 2016 CAIRO (AP) — An Egyptian court has ordered the release of Al-Jazeera journalist Mahmoud Hussein, detained since 2016 on allegations of spreading false news and defaming Egypt's reputation. Husse...
Egypt sues Christie's over £5m sale of King Tut sculpture Egypt has asked Interpol to help track down a 3,000-year-old sculpture of Tutankhamun after Christie's auctioned it despite the country's objections....
Hosts Egypt beat Zimbabwe in AFCON opener Egypt have started their Africa Cup of Nations with a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe. Dominant for much of the match, the favorites struggled to break down outgunned but well-drilled opponents....
Egypt TV says ousted president Morsi dies in court CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's state TV says the country's ousted President Mohammed Morsi has collapsed during a court session and died. The state TV says the 67-year-old Morsi was attending a sess...
| Egypt's former president Morsi quietly buried in Cairo Egypt's first democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi has been buried, as the UN backed calls for an independent investigation into the causes of his death after he collapsed in a Cairo courtro...
Egypt opens new international airport for trial period Egypt has opened a new international airport on a one-month trial basis to service the city which will become the country's new capital from mid-2020....
| Egypt's Sinai: At least 47 fighters, 5 troops killed in battle Forty-seven fighters and five Egyptian soldiers were killed during Egypt's ongoing military offensive in the restive Sinai Peninsula, where it is fighting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant....
Egypt v Zimbabwe: Africa Cup of Nations 2019 – as it happened Trezeguet's goal gives hosts winning start 10.57pm BST Mission accomplished for the hosts. They started this match with real vibrancy but soon ran out of ideas against a well organised and very tidy Z...
Despite need for Sinai funds, Egypt unlikely to join Kushner plan A U.S.-proposed $9 billion aid package could tempt Egypt with long-sought financing to transform its strife-torn Sinai peninsula, but analysts say political risks are likely to outweigh any potential ...
| Egypt blackface sketch spotlights racism in region An Egyptian comedian has sparked anger by using blackface in a sketch and mocking Sudanese people, drawing attention to what experts say is a deeper racism problem in the region....
Officials: Militants kill 4 workers in Egypt's Sinai EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Egyptian officials say militants have attacked construction workers in the restive northern Sinai Peninsula, killing at least four civilian workers. The officials say Saturday&#...
Is Egypt using Syrian refugees as a bargaining chip with Europe? For Syrian refugees in Egypt, crackdowns from the state and racism in society are a part of everyday life. A migration expert spoke to DW about conditions in the country, and how the EU shares some of...
The Latest: Watchdog assails Egypt over Morsi mistreatment The Latest on developments in Egypt after former President Mohammed Morsi's dramatic collapse and death inside a Cairo courtroom (all times local): 8:10 a.m....
Bust of Tutankhamun sold at auction for £4.7m despite Egypt protests The 'rare and beautiful' 3,000-year-old sculpture goes under the hammer in defiance of claims it was stolen A brown quartzite head of young king Tutankhamun has sold at auction in London for more than...
Egypt explosion injures tourists near Giza pyramids At least 14 people were injured in an explosion that targeted a tourist bus carrying 25 South African citizens, Egypt's state-run Ahram daily reported....
Egypt's Morsi quietly buried, a day after courtroom death CAIRO (AP) — A lawyer says Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi has been buried, a day after collapsing and dying in a Cairo courtroom. Abdul-Moneim Abdel-Maqsoud says Morsi's family at...
Al-Qaida accuses Egypt of killing ex-president Morsi in jail CAIRO (AP) — Al-Qaida is accusing Egyptian authorities of killing jailed former President Mohamed Morsi, who died in a Cairo courtroom during his trial earlier this month. The militant group's m...
Trézéguet goal sinks Zimbabwe and gets hosts Egypt up and running • Egypt 1-0 Zimbabwe• Mohamed Salah makes return to action in Africa Cup of NationsTrézéguet scored the only goal as the hosts, Egypt, opened their Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a 1-0 victory ov...
Egypt officials say roadside bomb wounds 6 police in Sinai EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — Egyptian security officials are saying that six policemen were wounded by a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol vehicle in the restive northern Sinai province. The officials...
U.N. calls for independent look into death of former Egypt leader Mohamed Morsi The United Nations human rights office called for an independent investigation Tuesday into the death of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, a day after he died inside a Cairo courtroom....
Top militant suspect transferred to Egypt from eastern Libya: state TV Top Egyptian militant suspect Hisham al-Ashmawy was transferred to Egypt from eastern Libya in a military aircraft, Egyptian state television said on Wednesday....
New cities in the sand: inside Egypt's dream to conquer the desert Four decades ago Egypt embarked on the most ambitious new cities building programme in the world. Their boom shows no sign of stoppingDo you live in a city planned from scratch? Share your experiences...
Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt call for a cease-fire in Libya TUNIS, Tunisia (AP) — Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt have expressed their "deep concern" over the chaotic situation in Libya and called for an immediate cease-fire in the country. The foreign ...
The Latest: Egypt slams Houthi attack on 2 Saudi airports DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The Latest on developments in the Persian Gulf (all times local): 2:25 p.m. Egypt is strongly condemning two drone attacks by Yemeni rebels, known as Houthis, that t...
The Latest: Egypt's leader says Gulf security vital to Cairo Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi told Arab heads of state gathered at an emergency summit in Mecca that the security of Arab Gulf states is intrinsically linked to the national security of Egyp...
| Fallout runs deep as Salah, Egypt flop at Cup of Nations After his tale of redemption with Liverpool this season, Mohamed Salah was instead left in disbelief once more as Egypt crashed out of their own Africa Cup of Nations....
Statue Of King Tut, Which Egypt Claims Was Stolen, Sells For $6 Million A 3,000-year-old bust of Egypt's boy king Tutankhamen was auctioned off Thursday in London for nearly $6 million, despite claims by the Egyptian government that it was looted and smuggled out of the.....
Egypt's Salah fit to face South Africa - team official "Egypt forward Mohamed Salah, who missed training with a cold on Thursday, will be fit to face South Africa in their Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 match on Saturday, a team spokesman said."...
King Tut bust that Egypt claims was 'stolen' sells for $6 million A controversial 3,000-year-old stone sculpture of boy pharaoh King Tutankhamun has been sold for nearly $6 million at auction in the U.K., despite protests from the Egyptian government....
Militants attack security checkpoints in Egypt's northern Sinai: TV Militants launched attacks on a number of security checkpoints in northern Sinai and Egyptian forces were dealing with the attackers, Egypt's Extra News television said on Wednesday....
Hundreds of Brotherhood supporters mourn Egypt's Mursi in Turkey Hundreds of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Turkey took to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul on Tuesday to mourn former Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi, with some chanting slogans blaming Ca...
| Egypt jihadist returned from Libya to face terror charges A high-profile Egyptian jihadist who was transferred to Cairo from Libya will face a military tribunal over his alleged involvement in terror attacks, security and judicial sources say....
Egypt's ousted president Morsi dies in court during trial Egypt's state TV says Mohammed Morsi, the Brotherhood leader who became the country's first freely elected president and who was ousted by the military after a year in office, died during a court sess...
Egypt asks Interpol to trace Tutankhamun relic sold for £4.7m in UK Cairo calls on international police agency to find head sold to unknown buyer for £4.7mEgypt has asked Interpol to track down a 3,000-year-old Tutankhamun artefact sold in London for £4.7m despite fie...
Africa Cup of Nations roundup: Mohamed Salah on target as Egypt win • Madagascar 2-0 Nigeria; Burundi 0-2 Guinea• Mohamed Salah scores as Egypt beat UgandaMadagascar pulled off one of the great shocks of the Africa Cup of Nations finals when they upset Nigeria 2-0 on ...
Egypt opens Sneferu's 'Bent' Pyramid in Dahshur to public Egypt opened to visitors on Saturday the "Bent" Pyramid built for pharaoh Sneferu, a 101-meter structure just south of Cairo that marks a key step in the evolution of pyramid construction....
| US, Egypt urge calm in Libya amid Tripoli offensive The United States and Egypt, a key backer of Libyan militia leader Khalifa Haftar, have called for calm as the strongman pressed ahead in his offensive on Tripoli....
Mohamed Morsi, Egypt's First Democratically Elected President, Dies Mohamed Morsi, who was ousted after serving a year as president, collapsed and died in a Cairo courtroom. Critics cited poor prison conditions as a possible cause of death....
Egypt opens two of its oldest pyramids to visitors for first time since 1960s The Bent Pyramid and its satellite pyramid in the Dahshur royal necropolis represent a transitional form of pyramid construction. ...
Egypt, Jordan, Morocco to attend U.S.-led Palestinian conference: official Egypt, Jordan and Morocco have informed the Trump administration they plan to attend a U.S.-led conference in Bahrain in late June on proposals for boosting the Palestinian economy as part of a coming...
Europeans and Egypt send air support as Israel battles wildfires Four European countries and Egypt sent aircraft to help Israel battle wildfires that have forced the evacuation of some small towns, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Friday, as a record heatw...
Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's ousted president, dies in court Mohammed Morsi, the ousted president of Egypt, collapsed in court and died Monday, according to state TV. Morsi, 67, was being tried on espionage and other charges when he blacked out and died of an a...
Mohamed Morsi, ousted president of Egypt, dies in court Imprisoned former leader, 67, collapses and dies while on trial on espionage charges Egypt's first democratically elected civilian president, Mohamed Morsi, has collapsed during a court session and di...
The Latest: Amnesty urges Egypt to investigate Morsi's death CAIRO (AP) — The Latest on former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's death during a court hearing (all times local): 9:50 p.m. A leading human right group is urging Egypt to investigate the dea...
Media group says Egypt suppressed coverage of Morsi's death CAIRO (AP) — A media advocacy group says Egypt has suppressed media coverage of the death of former president Mohammed Morsi in a Cairo courtroom this week. Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, said Fri...
Mohamed Salah, Hosts Egypt Set for Africa Cup Bow In Stifling Heat All eyes will be on Mohamed Salah on Friday as the Egypt star looks to help the Africa Cup of Nations hosts launch their bid for a record-extending eighth title...
Egypt suspends hot air ballooning in Luxor after 11 tourists swept into the desert Egypt has suspended hot air ballooning over ancient sites in Luxor after winds took 11 tourists off course and forced them to land in the desert. ...
Amr Warda returns to Egypt squad after intervention of senior players • Mohamed Salah among players to show support for midfielder • Midfielder was expelled after sexual harassment allegationsAmr Warda's expulsion from Egypt's Africa Cup of Nations squad for alleged sex...
Rights group: Abuses in Egypt's Sinai amount to war crimes A leading international rights group on Tuesday accused Egypt's security forces of committing widespread abuses against civilians in the Sinai Peninsula, where Egypt has been battling Islamic militant...
Investors Dodge Global Worries in Currencies of Egypt, Ukraine Investors are snapping up exotic currencies like the Egyptian pound and Ukrainian hryvnia as they seek assets with little correlation to global markets amid rising worries over growth and trade....
France, Britain, Egypt, UAE, U.S., Italy call for immediate end of Libya violence France, Britain, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, United States and Italy on Tuesday called for an immediate end of hostilities around Tripoli and warned of attempts by "terrorist groups" to take adva...
Mohamed Morsi Made History As Egypt's First Democratically Elected Leader When Mohamed Morsi, a leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, broke out of jail during the final days of Hosni Mubarak's presidency in 2011, he little imagined that the following year he would be......
Netflix, Disney consider boycotting Georgia, continue partnerships with Egypt, China Entertainment giants Netflix and Disney are threatening to pull their business out of Georgia over the state's recently-enacted "heartbeat" abortion bill....
Sudan military chief meets Egypt's Sisi on first trip since ouster The head of Sudan's ruling military council visited neighboring Egypt on Saturday - his first trip abroad since the army overthrew former president Omar al-Bashir last month after mass protests agains...
Salah helps Warda get reinstated in Egypt's national team Mohamed Salah's intervention helped get Amr Warda back on the Egyptian national soccer team despite accusations that he sent lewd messages to two women ...
Egypt condemns attack on oil tankers in Gulf of Oman: foreign ministry Egypt condemned on Thursday any acts that undermine the safety of waterways in the Gulf region, the foreign ministry said, after two oil tankers were attacked and left adrift in the Gulf of Oman....
Egypt's Ex-President Mohammed Morsi Dies In Court While Facing Trial Mohammed Morsi, Egypt's first democratically elected president, collapsed in court and died Monday while facing trial, prompting supporters and human rights activists to demand an impartial probe into...
Egypt's ousted Islamist president Mursi dies after collapsing in court Former Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, the first democratically elected head of state in Egypt's modern history, died on Monday from a heart attack after collapsing in a Cairo court while on trial o...
Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi dead after collapsing in court Mohamed Morsi, the former president of Egypt and top Muslim Brotherhood official who was ousted by the military in 2013 and had been standing trial for espionage, collapsed and died during a court ses...
Egypt's Former President Mohammed Morsi Dies in Court, State TV Reports (CAIRO) — Egypt's former president, Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader who rose to office in the country's first free elections in 2012 and was ousted a year later by the ...
Africa Cup of Nations 2019: Hosts Egypt maintain perfect record Host nation Egypt made it three wins out of three in Group A, beating Uganda who finised as group runners up. Elsewhere, Madagascar caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far by beating Nigeria...
Egypt Quietly Buries Former President Morsi, Muting Coverage of Death The country's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi, was buried at dawn in a furtive and closely guarded ceremony. Reporters were barred....
In Egypt's Nile Delta, fishermen's families hope for a bigger catch In Egypt's Nile Delta, Om Ahmed ponders how her two sons will be able to marry and build new homes when they only earn about 70 Egyptian pounds ($4.10) from a day's fishing....
| Disgraced footballer kick-starts fresh #MeToo debate in Egypt Egyptian footballer Amr Warda, accused of rampant sexual harassment, has been reinstated for the Africa Cup of Nations amid a heated debate about women's rights....
Climb down a 256-foot tunnel to explore Egypt's Bent Pyramid Egypt has opened a tunnel into the 'bent pyramid' for tourists to explore two chambers in the 4600-year-old structure. ...
Egypt teaches students about love and marriage in attempt to curb divorce During a recent class at Cairo University, students laughed as they watched a skit acted out by their peers about a married couple. The husband came home from work and asked his wife, who was......
Christian Church Ruins Unearthed in Alexandria May Be Oldest Ever Found in Egypt An excavation in Egypt has unearthed some ruins that they say is one of the oldest Christian churches ever found in the country. The experts were working on a ruined basilica when they found the remai...
"Nawaz Sharif Won't Meet Fate Of Egypt's Mohammad Morsi," Says Daughter There is a serious threat to the life of jailed former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif due to lack of medical care, his daughter Maryam said Saturday as she vowed to not let his father meet the.....
Egypt Ex-President Mohamed Morsi Dies After Fainting During Court Session Former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi died on Monday in a Cairo hospital after fainting during a session in court, judicial and security sources said....
Egypt opens Bent Pyramid to tourists, unveils new archaeological finds The Egyptian government has opened an unusual pyramid to the public for the first time in decades. Its Antiquities Ministry also put on display a host of significant archaeological finds recently disc...
MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar and Egypt rise, other Gulf markets closed for holiday Stock markets in Qatar and Egypt rose on Monday, while other Gulf markets, including Saudi Arabia, are closed for the Eid ul-Fitr holiday. QATAR The index .QSI rose 1.5 % to 10,319 points EG...
Islamist Mursi briefly made history as Egypt's first democratically elected president When Mohamed Mursi, a leader of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, broke out of jail during the final days of Hosni Mubarak's presidency in 2011, he little imagined that the following year he would be presid...
Serial Sexual Harasser Amr Warda Allowed To Rejoin Egypt National Team On Wednesday, it appeared that the Egypt national soccer team had taken a commendable stand against sexual harassment when it kicked Amr Warda off the team after stories of Warda being a pestering cre...
Africa Cup of Nations 2019: Day of shocks as holders Cameroon and hosts Egypt both fall The holders and the hosts are both out as Nigeria and South Africa pulled off big wins. Odion Ighalo was the star for Nigeria, who came from behind to beat Cameroon, while a late Thembinkosi Lorch stu...
| Egypt's Sisi hosts Abu Dhabi crown prince amid Gulf tensions Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has met Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the presidency says, amid rising tensions in the Gulf....
Indian Naval Ship Tarkash Reaches Egypt For Overseas Deployment Programme Indian Naval ship Tarkash arrived at Alexandria in Egypt on Friday for a three-day visit as a part of Western Fleet Overseas Deployment programme, the Navy said....
Egypt's ousted president dies in court while facing trial, state TV reports Mohamed Morsi died of an apparent heart attack, according to Egyptian media. He had been imprisoned since 2013, when his elected government was overthrown in a military coup....
MIDEAST STOCKS-Egypt snaps winning streak, while MSCI upgrade keeps lifting Kuwait Egypt's blue-chip index snapped four straight days of gains on Thursday as most of its stocks dropped, while Kuwait rose for the sixth consecutive session after MSCI decided to upgrade Kuwaiti equitie...
A defense lawyer says Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi has been buried in Cairo, with family attending CAIRO (AP) — A defense lawyer says Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi has been buried in Cairo, with family attending. The post A defense lawyer says Egypt's ousted President Mohammed...
Egypt at 2019 Africa Cup of Nations: AFCON squad, fixtures, draw and group, titles and history Egypt will be looking to go one better than their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations runners-up finish, with The Pharaohs among the favourites this time around....
UN chief pays tribute to Egypt's role in avoiding 'dramatic' escalation in conflict across the Gaza-Israel border UN Secretary-General António Guterres has paid tribute to the role played by Egypt in helping to avoid a "dramatic" escalation of violence in Gaza over recent months, as tensions grew over Palestinian...
Egypt v South Africa: Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 – live! Updates as the hosts look to secure a quarter-final place in CairoBenin shock Morocco to set up Senegal clashFeel free to email Scott with your thoughts 11.09am BST Can hosts Egypt make it to the quar...
Facebook will pay you to let it spy on you After coming under fire earlier this year for quietly paying users between the ages of 13 and 35 up to $20 a month in most cases for permission to install a "Facebook Research" VPN on thei...
Facebook Wants Your Blood Donating blood is a selfless act, and as with many altruistic behaviors, it's not always easy to convince people to take a couple of hours out of their day to do it. Yet it is desperately requir...
|Facebook,Instagramhavingconnectivityissuesforsomeusers Facebook said its applications, including the main social-media service and Instagram photo-sharing app, were experiencing connectivity issues on Wednesday....
Facebook and Instagram Can't Seem to Keep Their Shit Together Well, folks, Facebook and its "family of apps" has experienced yet another crash. A nice respite moving into the long holiday weekend if you ask me.Read more......
Is Facebook really the corporate monster everyone wants it to be? The ethics of Facebook, as a corporation, have come into question lately. Though criticisms of the platform have stretched back to its inception, the incident that inspired the most recent waves of ir...
Why is Facebook doing robotics research? It's a bit strange to hear that the world's leading social network is pursuing research in robotics rather than, say, making search useful, but Facebook is a big organization with many com...
Facebook will offer more info on the ads you see There's a good chance some strange ads have popped up in your Facebook News Feed. Now, the company wants to give users more clarity about why they're seeing specific ads. In the past, users ...
New Facebook app will pay users for their data Facebook is launching a new app called Study which will pay users for their data following a series of scandals about the way the company acquires and handles users' data....
Facebook wants your actual blood Facebook isn't happy just hoarding your data for its own good, so now it wants your actual blood. But it's all for a good cause, as the site's new Blood Donation notifications featur...
FTC Fine Alone Won't Get Facebook Out of Crosshairs Facebook is moving closer to settling a privacy probe by its main U.S. regulator, but the large fine it has prepared to pay is unlikely to get the social-media giant out of the political hot seat in W...
Facebook's New Cryptocurrency Gets Big Backers Facebook has signed up more than a dozen companies including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber to back the new cryptocurrency that the social-media giant plans to unveil next week....
How you can see which companies found you on Facebook Facebook's new ad-transparency features can give valuable context into how companies find you, but it's not likely to stop a tracking industry. ...
Facebook Patents Shadowbanning Within the past 24 hours, Facebook was granted a patent for "Moderating content in an online forum," which it first applied for in February of 2015. Unfortunately, the most accurate term to describe w...
What is Libra? All you need to know about Facebook's new cryptocurrency Facebook claims it wants to reach people without access to a bank account, and that Libra is the best wayOn Tuesday, Facebook announced a digital currency called Libra that will roll out for use in 20...
How Fox News conquered Facebook The channel attracts an ageing, angry crowd on its page, resulting in a high number of reactions, comments and shares – and that's good for TrumpDonald Trump's backing from the Fox News channel is wel...
Why Facebook Is Minting a Coin and How You Can Use It Facebook Inc. -- along with 27 partners -- is wading into the world of cryptocurrencies with Libra, a digital token that's projected to be used in everything from commerce to money transfers. Here are...
Everything You Need to Know About Facebook's Upcoming Cryptocurrency In case you hadn't heard, Facebook's working on a cryptocurrency. There have been plenty of rumors floating around on the secretive project, codenamed Libra, for a while now, but this week we saw the ...
Facebook will ban ads that tell people in U.S. not to vote Facebook Inc will ban ads that discourage people from voting ahead of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, according to its second annual Civil Rights Audit published on Sunday....
Facebook is ripe for exploitation – again – in 2020 Facebook claims to have cleaned up its act. But the platform remains vulnerable to the same sorts of divisive propagandaWe won't need Russia in 2020. We will hijack our democracy ourselves. And Facebo...
Facebook tries another pay-for-data market research app Facebook is launching a new market research app to gather data from users' phones. The company wants to know which apps users have installed, the amount of time they spend on those apps and users...
Facebook To Cut Off Huawei To Comply With US Sanctions Facebook said Friday it would cut off Huawei from its popular social networking apps to comply with US sanctions, further isolating the Chinese tech giant considered a national security threat by......
It's not you, it's Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp; all four are currently down Having trouble using Facebook, Facebook Messenger Instagram or WhatsApp this morning? That's no surprise to those who view DownDetector on a regular basis. The site shows that all four Facebook-owned ...
Facebook CEO may have known of questionable privacy practices: WSJ Facebook Inc emails appear to show Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's involvement in discussions about its much criticized privacy practices, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citi...
How to Sign Up as a Blood Donor With Facebook When hospitals are running low on blood, there's no way to just order more—blood banks have to get the word out to volunteers like you and me who might want to donate. Facebook is now rolling out a bl...
FTC Gets Jurisdiction for Possible Facebook Antitrust Probe The Federal Trade Commission will lead any antitrust investigation into Facebook under an arrangement that gives the Justice Department chief oversight of Alphabet's Google, as the U.S. government gea...
Facebook's 'cryptocurrency' Libra has nothing to do with Bitcoin Facebook's Libra is not a cryptocurrency and won't offer the kinds of protections that Bitcoin does. It's a way for Facebook to track what you buy.Read More...
When Police Officers Vent on Facebook Emily Baker-White's systemic look at officers on social media found thousands of racist, Islamophobic or otherwise offensive posts. Here's how (and why) she did it....
Facebook's cryptocurrency may debut this month Facebook's long-rumored cryptocurrency may be on the cusp of launching, and with a few twists to boot. The Information sources say the digital money is expected to premiere later in June. The s...
Facebook to create 500 new UK tech jobs Facebook is expanding its presence in the UK with a new engineering center and the social network has announced that it will create 500 new tech jobs in London by the end of 2019.Of these new jobs, 10...
Facebook launches app that will pay users for their data New app comes months after Apple cracked down on Facebook for similar apps that paid users for extensive data on phone usageA new Facebook app will allow users to sell the company data on how they use...
Facebook could announce its own cryptocurrency next month Public interest in cryptocurrency could be set for a rebound as social media giant Facebook is planning to announce its own digital coin later this month according to a new report from The Information...
Facebook to pay users to monitor their cellphone use Facebook announced Tuesday it's launching a new optional program to pay users if they allow the social media company to monitor how they use their cellphone....
Facebook reveals new Libra cryptocurrency Facebook has finally taken the wraps off its long-awaited cryptocurrency.The social media giant has revealed that it will be launching the new Libra cryptocurrency as part of its blockchain-powered Ca...
Facebook's New Cryptocurrency, Libra, Gets Big Backers Facebook has signed up more than a dozen companies including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal and Uber to back the new cryptocurrency that the social-media giant plans to unveil next week....
Facebook is working on 'entirely new' apps and 'experiences' Today, Facebook announced a New Product Experimentation (NPE) Team that will be responsible for developing new apps. The goal is to give people "entirely new experiences for building community" and to...
ProBeat: YouTube is no better than Facebook or Twitter YouTube is not a social network, but when it comes to its rules and recommendation algorithms, the Google company is just like Facebook and Twitter.Read More...
Facebook to launch cryptocurrency for FB users Facebook unveiled an ambitious plan Tuesday to create a new digital currency for its 2 billion-plus users worldwide. The currency, called Libra, could drive more e-commerce and boost ads on its platfo...
Facebook to Boost Consumer Advertising Facebook may more than double its global advertising spending as it aims to rebuild trust after a series of privacy missteps and other controversies dented the social-networking giant's reputation....
Apple co-founder thinks you should get off Facebook Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak has some advice for most Facebook users: Delete your account. The millionaire, who co-founded Apple with Steve Jobs, recently said that a lack of privacy is his main con...
Facebook's VR Dream May Never Take Off, Oculus Co-Founder Says Oculus may not be profitable as Facebook is struggling to bring VR to the mainstream consumer market, says Jack McCauley, one of the co-founders of Oculus....
U.S. judge waves through D.C. case against Facebook A U.S. judge on Friday denied Facebook Inc.'s request to dismiss a lawsuit by the Washington, D.C. attorney general over the social media giant's improper sharing of 87 million users' data with Britis...
U.S. SEC chief says he has not met with Facebook since Libra announcement A top U.S. financial market regulator said on Tuesday he has not discussed with Facebook its Libra currency proposal, nearly a month after the social media giant announced the project....
Facebook's New Libra Coin: How Does It Work, and Should You Buy It? On Tuesday Facebook announced Libra, a cryptocurrency that it will launch (along with 27 other partners) in 2020. A little like Bitcoin and a little like PayPal, Libra will be a new digital currency, ...
Facebook's Notifications Are Out of Control. Here's How to Tame Them. Facebook already has you hooked, but now it wants to keep you engaged with dozens of notifications each day. Here's how to get a little peace and quiet....
FTC approves roughly $5 bln Facebook settlement - WSJ The United States Federal Trade Commission voted this week to approve a roughly $5 billion settlement with Facebook Inc over a long-running investigation into the company's privacy missteps, the Wall ...
Facebook's Libra Needs Scrutiny, BOE's Carney Says Facebook's Libra project should be carefully vetted by regulators, Bank of England Gov. Mark Carney is expected to say Thursday, offering an early insight into how the U.K. central bank will approach ...
|Facebook'sLibracryptocoin:5thingsweknow,and5wedon't Facebook unveiled plans for a new cryptocurrency called Libra this week. After a week of analysis, here's what Bloomberg reporters and editors know about Libra, along with key unknowns that remain....
SEC Weighs Whether to Regulate Facebook's Libra U.S. securities regulators are examining whether Facebook Inc.'s planned cryptocurrency should fall under their oversight, a development that could further complicate the project....
Facebook now provides more info about targeted ads – and tools so you can opt out In March this year, Facebook released a tool called "Why am I seeing this?", which allowed users to take a deeper look at the ads they were being shown and the reason they were being tar...
Why (Almost) Everybody Hates Facebook's Cryptocurrency Libra Facebook Inc. says its mission is to "bring the world closer together." Its plans to launch a digital currency called Libra have succeeded in uniting central bankers and financial regulators from arou...
U.S. SEC chief says he has not discussed Libra with Facebook A top U.S. financial market regulator said on Tuesday he has not discussed with Facebook its Libra currency proposal, nearly a month after the social media giant announced the project....
Facebook Now Shows You Where Advertisers Get Your Data—Here's How to See It The next time you see Facebook ads for, say, erectile dysfunction pills or egg freezing, you can check to see why you were targeted by those brands and where the companies got your data.Read more......
Facebook Still Working On the Whole Genocide Thing In a blog post yesterday evening, social media giant Facebook announced several changes meant to mitigate the effects of misinformation and hate speech causing real-world violence, including the forma...
Go chat yourself with Facebook's new Portal companion app Ignoring calls that it's creepy, Facebook is forging onward with its Portal smart display. Today Facebook quietly launched iOS and Android Portal apps that let owners show off photos on the scr...
|Facebook'sbigLibralaunch'onlyfannedtheflames'forcritics Congress holding hearings on Facebook's plan for a possible digital coin suggests that the high-profile debut for Libra was likely a public relations effort gone bad....
Facebook Ditches Commissions, Not Dollars Facebook is finally getting smart about public relations by making important-sounding changes to its business that do virtually nothing to affect its bottom line....
WSJ: Facebook reaches $5 billion FTC settlement The inevitable has happened for Facebook. After weeks of reports that the company was working to settle with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) over its privacy practices, the two parties have finally...
Facebook Dodged a Bullet From the F.T.C. It Faces Many More. The social network may have escaped restrictions and financial bruising with the F.T.C.'s settlement, but its pain is just beginning around the world....
Facebook to ban ads dissuading Americans from voting Facebook issued an update on its Civil Rights Audit today and notes that the platform now bans messages that praise, support or represent white nationalism and white separatism. The report adds that F...
Facebook and Twitter are growing into the mainstream The row over a fake Nancy Pelosi video shows platforms are no longer disruptors, but incumbents, gatekeepers and publishersIn the first three months of 2019, Facebook removed about 2bn fake accounts f...
Senators Want Facebook to Put a Price on Your Data. Is That Possible? A bill introduced by senators Mark Warner and Josh Hawley would require big tech companies to disclose the data they collect and value it for each user....
Is Facebook listening to me? Why those ads appear after you talk about things Facebook denies it monitors your conversations to serve you ads on your News Feed. So what does it really do? And why are there so many coincidences? ...
Facebook set for grilling on Libra cryptocurrency Facebook is set to face further scrutiny on its ambitions to launch a cryptocurrency after "very serious concerns" were raised by senior US government members.The company is set to be questioned by th...
Libras unhappy with name for new Facebook cryptocurrency Facebook's new Libra cryptocurrency won't be seen until next year, but an unusual chorus of criticism is already being heard -- specifically, from persons born between Sept. 23 and Oct. 23....
Use 'View As' to See What You're Sharing Publicly on Facebook It's back—sort-of. Facebook has officially resurrected its "View As" feature, a way to see what your profile looks like for people-who-aren't-you. It's a great privacy tool with some new, annoying lim...
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Facebook promises new Portal devices this fall Facebook's Portal division has plans to introduce multiple new devices this fall, VP of AR/VR Andrew Bosworth said today at the Code conference.Read More...
California Facebook mail facility quarantined A Facebook mail facility near company headquarters was evacuated Monday after a routine check found mail possibly containing the nerve agent sarin. Authorities put the site under quarantine as they c...
Facebook will launch new Portal models this fall Facebook has apparently been busy designing new variants of its Portal video chatting devices. According to the company's Vice President of AR/VR, Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, Facebook plans to unveil ...
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Facebook won't make Libra available until regulators are happy Facebook is determined to reassure officials that its Libra cryptocurrency is above-board. As part of prepared testimony for a July 16th Senate hearing, Calibra head David Marcus has stressed that the...
Facebook will once again pay users to install an app that tracks their app usage Facebook on Tuesday announced a new app is called Study that is designed to give Facebook data on what apps participants install, how much time they spend on those apps and more....
Facebook plans its own currency for 2 billion-plus users SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Facebook is launching a new digital currency to make e-commerce accessible to more people around the world. The social media giant is announcing Libra, a cryptocurrency it is crea...
Facebook says new Portal devices launching in the fall Facebook's Vice President of AR and VR, Andrew Bosworth, has said that the social network will be bringing out new versions of Facebook Portal this fall, adding to the ever-growing range of smart devi...
Facebook 'gives global platform to illegal dogfighting' Social media giant breaks its own rules on violence and animal trading, say campaignersFacebook has been accused of giving a global platform to dogfighting after an investigation found the site is bei...
Ecuador frees man wanted in US over Facebook scheme Ecuador has released a New York man and turned down an extradition request from the United States, where he was arrested after falsely claiming he was owed half-ownership of Facebook....
Facebook to Hire Banking Expert to Run 'Libra' David Marcus, Facebook's vice president of messaging products and a key figure behind 'Libra' digital currency project, made the statement in an interview....
Facebook fined for violating German transparency law German authorities have fined Facebook 2 million euros ($2.26 million) for providing a distorted picture of the amount of illegal content on the social media platform, a violation of the country's law...
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Mnuchin joins chorus against Facebook cryptocurrency Facebook's cryptocurrency plan has finally found a place where it isn't controversial — because everybody in Washington seems to hate it. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday became the latest ...
How Facebook is changing its political ad-buying policies Mark Zuckerberg just can't quit political ads. Facebook executives considered banning political ads after it was revealed that Russia used the social network to influence the 2016 presidential electio...
Facebook COO Sandberg Promises to Weed Out Bad Content A quarterly transparency report from next year and content regulations are some of the steps listed by Facebook's COO Sheryl Sandberg to deal with major content concerns and privacy issues....
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Alphabet is worth 50% more if broken up, but not Facebook, analyst says Given growth deceleration in FAANG stocks and heightened regulatory scrutiny on big technology companies, Alphabet is better positioned than Facebook, Needham said Monday....
Far-Right Propaganda Floods Facebook Ahead of EU Elections Fake accounts spread white-nationalist messages and amassed larger followings than actual far-right parties before being taken down, according to a new report....
Facebook's Libra is a License to Print Money A bunch of big companies have agreed to pony up $10 million each to take part, and it is easy to see why: On some reasonable-sounding assumptions about its take-up, it could be insanely profitable in ...
Recommended Reading: Facebook moderator PTSD Bodies in seats Casey Newton, The Verge The job of moderating toxic content on social media is a daunting task. It also takes a massive psychological toll on those doing it. The Verge has first-hand...
Scammers are using Facebook to run a 'terrorist donation' scheme Scammers are using Facebook Messenger and other apps to trick Americans into thinking they gave money to terrorist groups like ISIS and al Qaeda. According to a new warning from the Department of Home...
Facebook wants to help connect you with blood donation centers Donating blood is a selfless act, and as with many altruistic behaviors, it's not always easy to convince people to take a couple of hours out of their day to do it. ...
Facebook outlines ideas for oversight board Facebook Inc on Thursday released the findings from its consultations with outside experts into its content review process, providing a glimpse into how its plans for a proposed "external oversight b...
Facebook and Instagram may have to remove like buttons for UK children The like function on Facebook and Instagram could be removed and privacy settings set to max for UK children under new proposed social media guidelines...
Facebook admits red dot notifications are annoying, may soon let you disable them Facebook is rumored to be working on reducing the number of red dot notifications in the Facebook mobile app. The company is testing tools that allow users to customize what types of in-app notificati...
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Facebook to Boost Ad Spending as It Tries to Restore Reputation Facebook may more than double its global advertising spending as it aims to rebuild trust after a series of privacy missteps and other controversies dented the social-networking giant's reputation....
Facebook says it can't handle election misinformation crisis alone Speaking at Aspen Ideas Festival, Mark Zuckerberg says private companies shouldn't have 'final word' on such decisionsMark Zuckerberg has said Facebook cannot be expected to manage the crisis around e...
Bitcoin takes hit as lawmakers rip Facebook's cryptocurrency The price of bitcoin plunged 10 percent on Tuesday after Facebook's own digital currency project faced another drubbing — this time by lawmakers. A Facebook executive in charge of the planned digital ...
Regulators Have Doubts About Facebook Cryptocurrency. So Do Its Partners. The social media company said it had signed 27 partners to its Libra project. But executives at some of those companies said they were approaching it warily....
Facebook campus given all-clear after sarin scare Facebook Inc's Silicon Valley campus received the all-clear on Tuesday after fears that a package at its mail facility contained the nerve agent sarin....
Senators criticize FTC's reported Facebook settlement Three U.S. senators who have been frequent critics of U.S. tech giants wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday to criticize its reported settlement with Facebook Inc....
Facebook CEO May Have Known of Questionable Privacy Practices: Report Facebook emails appear to show Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg's involvement in discussions about its much-criticized privacy practices, the Wall Street Journal reported....
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Facebook and Google likely to face new regulators for news and ads ACCC report argues for an authority to monitor ads to ensure tech giants do not break anti-competition lawsFacebook and Google are likely to face a strong push for new regulators in Australia to overs...
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Facebook's Digital Money Could Mean Fabulous Wealth. Or Not. The social network is planning a new cryptocurrency, potentially inserting the company into yet another part of our lives. Our reporter wonders: What's in it for me?...
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Facebook met with Dutch regulators over ad fraud: lawyer Facebook is in talks with Dutch regulators about how to stop criminals who place advertisements for scam products on the internet company's platform, a lawyer said on Wednesday....
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FTC Approves Roughly $5 Billion Facebook Settlement The Federal Trade Commission voted this week to approve a roughly $5 billion settlement with Facebook over a long-running probe into the tech giant's privacy missteps, according to a person familiar w...
Facebook board votes yay on Zuck, nay on Conservatives A mutiny attempt today by a coalition of anti-Zuckerberg Facebook shareholder groups resulted in a resounding defeat as the social network voted to retain its founder as CEO. In a separate smack-down,...
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Facebook now tells you where brands are getting your ad targeting data Facebook will now begin to show you more information about the ads you see on the social network. The tech giant has announced a series of updates to its "Why am I seeing this ad?" and Ad Preferences ...
Hard to Read Facebook's Libra Fortune Facebook's cryptocurrency unveiling was widely anticipated, but bets on Libra catching on and generating meaningful revenue remain highly speculative....
Deadly poison suspected at Facebook facility Local fire department shut Facebook mailing facility, which uses machines to sort mail & detect substances. Facebook has several buildings in area. ...
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Greed Is to Blame for the Radicalization of YouTube and Facebook Opinion: Social media has become the modern-day version of conspiracy-theorizing supermarket tabloids. When will these platforms be held accountable?...
The Latest: Facebook plans its own crypto currency NEW YORK (AP) — The Latest on Facebook's new digital currency. (all times local): ___ 8:40 a.m. Facebook is unveiling plans to create a new digital currency similar to Bitcoin for global use, on...
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Google and Facebook Are Draining Brains From Europe It wouldn't be the first time that Europe's smartest and most promising tech startups have been gobbled up by the behemoths of Silicon Valley and Seattle....
Facebook's Libra coin likely to run a regulatory gauntlet Facebook Inc will face unprecedented regulatory scrutiny over a new digital currency that the social media company hopes will become globally recognized legal tender within a year....
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Fed, Congress Promise Scrutiny of Facebook Cryptocurrency The social network began to learn how Washington will check its push into digital currencies, with leaders of the Federal Reserve and an influential Senate committee saying they will scrutinize its ro...
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Facebook cryptocurrency, life-saving smartphones and more: Tech Q&A Please help me solve a debate. I say my smart TV can get bit by malware and viruses. My buddy says I am a dope. Who's right? A six-pack is riding on your answer!... | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
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Malaysia: Family Laws and Regulations 2021
ICLG - Family Laws and Regulations - Malaysia covers common issues in family law – including: jurisdiction, divorce, cohabitation, children, abduction, relocations, cross-border issues, parental responsibility, child maintenance and marital agreements - in 21 jurisdictions
ICLG.com > Practice Areas > Family Law > Malaysia
Chapter Content Free Access
1. Divorce
2. Finances on Divorce
3. Marital Agreements
4. Cohabitation and the Unmarried Family
5. Child Maintenance
6. Children – Parental Responsibility and Custody
7. Children – International Aspects
1.1 What are the grounds of jurisdiction for divorce proceedings? For example, residence, nationality, domicile, etc.?
Malaysia has a dual system of justice applicable in matters of family and personal law. Secular or civil law governs non-Muslims and is applied in the civil courts, whereas Islamic or Sharia (Syariah) law governs Muslims and is applied in the religious or Syariah courts. For the purposes of this chapter, only the law governing non-Muslims will be discussed.
With respect to non-Muslim divorces, the Malaysian courts have jurisdiction to grant a decree of divorce if:
the marriage was or is deemed to be registered under the Law Reform (Marriage & Divorce) Act 1976 (LRA) (s 48(1)(a), LRA), or was contracted under a law providing that, or in contemplation of which, marriage is monogamous (s 48(1)(b), LRA); and
the domicile of the parties to the marriage at the time when the divorce petition is presented is in Malaysia (s 48(1)(c), LRA).
In Malaysia, a wife does not a possess a domicile of her own. A woman acquires the domicile of her husband upon marriage and assumes his domicile during the subsistence of that marriage (Khoo Kay Peng v Pauline Chai Siew Phin [2014] 10 CLJ 403). A married couple, therefore, have only one domicile and that is the domicile of the husband. However, as an exception, a wife may petition for divorce although her husband is not domiciled in Malaysia if she has been deserted by him or if he has been deported from Malaysia and was before the desertion or deportation domiciled in Malaysia, or if she is resident in Malaysia and has been ordinarily resident in Malaysia for a period of two years immediately preceding the commencement of the proceedings (s 49, LRA).
1.2 What are the grounds for a divorce? For example, is there a required period of separation, can the parties have an uncontested divorce?
A married couple may petition for divorce:
where one party to the marriage has converted to Islam (s 51, LRA);
where both parties mutually consent to its dissolution (s 52, LRA);
where the marriage has irretrievably broken down (s 53, LRA) by reason of one or more of the following facts (s 54, LRA):
the respondent has committed adultery and the petitioner finds it intolerable to live with the respondent;
the respondent has behaved in such a way that the petitioner cannot reasonably be expected to live with the respondent;
the respondent has deserted the petitioner for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition; and
the parties to the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years before the presentation of the petition.
A petition for divorce cannot be presented:
within the first two years of marriage unless it can be shown that there are exceptional circumstances or hardship suffered by the petitioner (s 50, LRA). This requirement does not apply to a marriage where one spouse has converted to Islam; and
subject to certain exceptions, until the couple has first referred their matrimonial difficulty to a conciliatory body and that body has certified that it has failed to reconcile them (s 106, LRA). Reference to a conciliatory body is not required if the couple is dissolving the marriage on the ground of conversion to Islam or by mutual consent.
Unless the petitioner is relying on desertion, or two years of living apart as a ground for divorce, there is no required period of separation.
If both parties consent to divorce and can reach an agreement on all the terms of their divorce, they can have an uncontested divorce.
1.3 In the case of an uncontested divorce, do the parties need to attend court and is it possible to have a "private" divorce, i.e. without any court involvement?
Both parties must attend court. If a party is unable to attend, leave of court to dispense with that party's presence must be sought.
It is not possible to have a "private" divorce. The legal termination of a marriage, whether by divorce, judicial separation or annulment can only be effected by a decree of court.
1.4 What is the procedure and timescale for a divorce?
If the divorce is uncontested, the parties file a joint petition. Depending on the court's schedule, a hearing date is usually fixed within one month from the date of filing whereupon a decree nisi dissolving the marriage may be pronounced. The decree absolute is applied for after three months from the decree nisi, unless the court grants leave to expedite it.
If the divorce is contested, the petitioner files a unilateral petition. Further pleadings are then exchanged. Upon close of pleadings, pre-trial case management directions will be given by the court and trial dates fixed. The judge will hear the case and, after considering all the evidence including the testimony of witnesses, may pronounce a decree nisi, to be made absolute after three months unless expedited. During the proceedings, discovery and inspection of documents may be sought and interlocutory applications, for example applications for child custody, maintenance pending suit, a stay of proceedings, and injunctions, may be filed. The timescale can range from one year to a few years, depending on the volume and complexity of the facts and issues being tried and the degree to which the proceedings are contested by the parties.
1.5 Can a divorce be finalised without resolving other associated matters? For example, children and finances.
Before granting a decree of divorce, the court will consider all the circumstances of the case including how the interests of any children of the marriage and the parties may be affected. In the case of an uncontested divorce, the court must satisfy itself that both parties freely consent to the dissolution of their marriage and that proper provisions have been made for the wife, and for the support, care and custody of the children, if any. Whilst the court is empowered to make and vary custody and maintenance orders subsequent to divorce, an order for the division of matrimonial assets can only be made "when" a decree of divorce or judicial separation is granted and not at a later date (s 76(1), LRA; Manokaram Subramaniam v Ranjid Kaur Nata Singh (2008) 6 CLJ 209).
1.6 Are foreign divorces recognised in your jurisdiction? If so, what are the procedural requirements, if any?
If a marriage solemnised in Malaysia under the LRA is dissolved by a court of competent jurisdiction outside Malaysia, either of the parties may apply to the Registrar General of Marriages for the registration of that foreign decree (s 107(3), LRA).
If a marriage not solemnised under the LRA is dissolved by a court of competent jurisdiction outside Malaysia, either party may apply to the Malaysian court for an order to recognise that foreign decree.
1.7 Does your jurisdiction allow separation or nullity proceedings?
Married couples who have a religious or conscientious objection to divorce may petition for judicial separation on the ground that the marriage has irretrievably broken down by reason of one or more of the four facts listed in s 54, LRA applicable to a unilateral petition for divorce (see the answer to question 1.2 above) (s 64, LRA). A person who is judicially separated cannot remarry.
A couple may also annul their marriage if:
the marriage is void (s 69, LRA), namely if: (i) it was bigamous; (ii) it was within the prohibited degrees of relationship; (iii) the parties, or either of them, were underaged; or (iv) the parties were not respectively male and female;
the marriage is voidable (s 70, LRA), namely if: (i) it was not consummated; (ii) either party did not validly consent to it, or if he or she was incapable of giving valid consent, or was a mentally disordered person; or (iii) at the time of the marriage, the respondent was suffering from a communicable venereal disease, or was pregnant by some person other than the petitioner.
1.8 Can divorce proceedings be stayed if there are proceedings in another country?
Divorce proceedings in Malaysia can be stayed in favour of proceedings in another country on the grounds of forum non conveniens. The Malaysian court hearing a stay application will consider whether it has jurisdiction and if it does, whether there is some other available forum in which the case may be more appropriately tried for the interests of all the parties and the ends of justice and whether it would be unjust to the petitioner to confine him or her to remedies elsewhere (Spiliada Maritime Corp v Consulax Ltd (The Spiliada) (1987) AC 460; American Express Bank Ltd v Mohamed Tonfic Al-Ozier and another [1995] 1 MLJ 160).
2.1 What financial orders can the court make on divorce?
Division of matrimonial assets
The court is empowered, when granting a decree of divorce or judicial separation, to order the division between the parties of any assets acquired by them during the marriage or the sale of any such assets and the division between them of the proceeds of sale (s 76, LRA).
Under the LRA, the court is empowered to order a man to pay maintenance to his wife or former wife during the course of any matrimonial proceedings or when granting or subsequent to the grant of a decree of divorce or judicial separation. The court also has the corresponding power to order a woman to pay maintenance to her husband or former husband where he is incapacitated, wholly or partially, from earning a livelihood by reason of mental or physical injury or ill health, and the court is satisfied that having regard to her means it is reasonable to so order (s 77, LRA).
Under the Married Women & Children (Maintenance) Act 1950 (MWCMA), if any person neglects or refuses to maintain his wife who is unable to maintain herself, a court, upon due proof, may order him to pay a reasonable monthly allowance to her, in proportion to his means (s 3, MWCMA).
The court may, at any time, order a man to pay maintenance for the benefit of his child. The court is also empowered to order a woman to pay or contribute towards the maintenance of her child where it is satisfied that having regards to her means it is reasonable to so order (s 93, LRA).
Under the MWCMA, the court may order a person who neglects or refuses to maintain a legitimate child of his, to pay a monthly allowance for maintenance in proportion to his means, as is reasonable. If the child is illegitimate, the court may order him to pay a reasonable monthly allowance (s 3, MWCMA).
Other financial orders
The court can also:
award damages against a co-respondent, on a petition for divorce where adultery has been alleged and proven (s 58, LRA);
order security for maintenance (ss 79 and 94, LRA);
vary orders or agreements for maintenance (ss 83, 84, 96 and 97, LRA);
recover arrears of maintenance (ss 86 and 98, LRA);
make maintenance orders against a man to ensure the welfare of a child who is not his child but who has been accepted by him as a member of his family (s 99, LRA); and
set aside and prevent dispositions intended to defeat claims to maintenance (s 102, LRA).
2.2 Do matrimonial regimes exist and do they need to be addressed by the court on divorce? Is there a default matrimonial regime?
There are no matrimonial regimes in Malaysia.
2.3 How does the court decide what financial orders to make? What factors are taken into account?
In determining the division of matrimonial assets, the court will have regard to (s 76(2), LRA):
the extent of the contributions made by each party in money, property or work towards the acquisition of the assets or payment of expenses for the benefit of the family;
the extent of the contributions made by the other party who did not acquire the assets to the welfare of the family by looking after the home or caring for the family;
any debts owing by either party that were contracted for their joint benefit;
the needs of any minor children of the marriage; and
the duration of the marriage,
and subject to those considerations, shall incline towards equality of division.
In determining the amount of spousal maintenance to be paid, the court bases its assessment primarily on the means and needs of the parties, regardless of the proportion such maintenance bears to the income of the husband or the wife, but shall have regard to the degree of responsibility which the court apportions to each party for the breakdown of the marriage (s 78, LRA). Factors that the courts have taken into account include the duration of the marriage, the ages of the parties, whether there are any children of the marriage, whether the husband had financially supported the wife during the marriage, his ability to pay and the potential earning capacity of the applicant.
In assessing child maintenance, the court shall have regard to the needs of the child and the means of the parents, taking into account the standard of living the child was accustomed to during the marriage.
2.4 Is the position different between capital and maintenance orders? If so, how?
Broadly speaking, capital orders or asset distribution orders are assessed based on the parties' respective contributions towards the acquisition of those (matrimonial) assets and towards the marriage, whereas maintenance orders are assessed based on the means and needs of the parties. Asset distribution orders can only be made by the court "when" a decree of divorce or judicial separation is granted and are final orders, whereas maintenance orders may be made during the course of any matrimonial proceedings, when or subsequent to the grant of a decree of divorce or judicial separation and are inherently variable. There is no provision under the LRA for the court to make a capital or lump-sum order in lieu of maintenance which is payable periodically.
2.5 If a couple agrees on financial matters, do they need to have a court order and attend court?
Yes, if they want their agreement to be legally binding.
2.6 How long can spousal maintenance orders last and are such orders commonplace?
Unsecured spousal maintenance orders expire on the death of the husband or wife, whichever is the earlier. Secured maintenance orders expire on the death of the spouse in whose favour the order was made (s 81, LRA). The right of any divorced person to receive maintenance from his or her former spouse ceases upon his or her remarriage or living in adultery with any other person (s 82, LRA).
Spousal maintenance orders, in particular those in favour of a wife, are commonplace especially in cases where the wife has been financially dependent on her husband, but where she is gainfully employed and able to support herself, the court is less inclined to award it.
2.7 Is the concept of matrimonial property recognised in your jurisdiction?
Yes, and they are subjected to division upon divorce. The courts have held that matrimonial assets include:
the matrimonial home and everything put into it by either spouse to be used for the benefit of the family as a whole;
properties acquired during the marriage apart from the matrimonial home;
cars, cash and jewellery;
shares in companies;
insurance policies, employment and retirement benefits;
assets owned by one party before the marriage which have been substantially improved during the marriage by the other party or by their joint efforts; and
assets held by a nominee on trust for either party.
2.8 Do the courts treat foreign nationals differently on divorce? If so, what are the rules on applicable law? Can the court make orders applying foreign law rather than the law of the jurisdiction?
Provided jurisdiction is found, foreign nationals are not treated any differently. The Malaysian court will apply Malaysian law.
2.9 How is the matrimonial home treated on divorce?
The matrimonial home is treated as a matrimonial asset and will form part of the pool of matrimonial assets that may be subjected to division.
2.10 Is the concept of "trusts" recognised in your jurisdiction? If so, how?
Yes. If it can be proven that an asset is held by a nominee on trust for either party to the marriage, then that asset may be treated as a matrimonial asset, subject always to the provisions of the LRA.
2.11 Can financial claims be made following a foreign divorce in your jurisdiction? If so, what are the grounds?
Under the LRA, claims for maintenance may be sought subsequent to divorce but the Malaysian court has no power to make any orders for the division of matrimonial assets following a foreign divorce.
Unsatisfied foreign financial orders made in a foreign jurisdiction may be enforced but they cannot relate back to properties situated in Malaysia.
2.12 What methods of dispute resolution are available to resolve financial settlement on divorce? E.g. court, mediation, arbitration?
Apart from court, financial settlements may be resolved via mediation, collaborative law and negotiations between the parties or their respective solicitors.
3.1 Are marital agreements (pre- and post-marriage) enforceable? Is the position the same if the agreement is a foreign agreement?
Marital (prenuptial and postnuptial) agreements are not legally binding in Malaysia. The Malaysian court may be persuaded to consider the agreement as evidence of how the parties intend to regulate their financial affairs when the marriage breaks down but any agreement between spouses in Malaysia must be subject to the LRA and require the court's approval before they may be enforceable.
3.2 What are the procedural requirements for a marital agreement to be enforceable on divorce?
Please see the answer to question 3.1.
3.3 Can marital agreements cover a spouse's financial claims on divorce, e.g. for maintenance or compensation, or are they limited to the election of the matrimonial property regime? Can they deal with financial claims regarding children, e.g. child maintenance)?
Marital agreements can cover all types of financial claims, including financial claims regarding children, provided these claims are not inconsistent with the LRA and do not oust the jurisdiction of the court. There is no matrimonial property regime in Malaysia.
4.1 Do cohabitants, who do not have children, have financial claims if the couple separate? What are the grounds to make a financial claim?
Malaysia does not recognise cohabitation. Cohabitants therefore have no entitlement to financial claims under family law. If they separate and have any claims against the other, they would need to fall back on, e.g., the law of contract, land law or trust principles.
4.2 What financial orders can a cohabitant obtain?
4.3 Is there a formal partnership status for cohabitants (for example, civil partnerships, PACS)?
No, there is not.
4.4 Are same-sex couples permitted to marry or enter other formal relationships in your jurisdiction?
No, Malaysia does not recognise same-sex marriages or relationships.
5.1 What financial claims are available to parents on behalf of children within or outside of marriage?
A parent can apply for child maintenance under the LRA and/or the MWCMA.
Section 92 of the LRA provides that except where an agreement or order of court otherwise provides, it shall be the duty of a parent to maintain or contribute to the maintenance of his or her children, by providing them with accommodation, clothing, food and education as may be reasonable having regard to his or her means and station in life or by paying the cost thereof. A "child of the marriage" under the LRA includes a child of one party to the marriage accepted as one of the family by the other party and "child" in this context includes an illegitimate child of either party to the marriage (s 2, LRA). A man who has accepted a child who is not his child as a member of his family also has a duty to maintain that child if the mother and father of that child fail to do so (s 99, LRA).
For claims under the MWCMA, please see the answer to question 2.1.
5.2 How is child maintenance calculated and is it administered by the court or an agency?
Child maintenance is assessed based on the means and needs test (please see the answer to question 2.3) and administered by the court.
5.3 For how long is a parent required to pay child maintenance or provide financial support for their children? For example, can a child seek maintenance during university?
Unless expressed to be for any shorter period or where such order has been rescinded, child maintenance orders expire when the child attains 18 years of age but where the child is under a physical or mental disability, or is pursuing further or higher education or training, it expires on the ceasing of that disability or completion of the further or higher education or training, whichever is later (s 95, LRA).
5.4 Can capital or property orders be made to or for the benefit of a child?
There are no provisions under the LRA for the making of capital or property orders to or for the benefit of a child. However, the court can order a person liable to pay child maintenance to secure the whole or any part of it by vesting any property in trustees upon trust for the settlor. Child maintenance would then be paid by the trustees out of the income from the property (s 94, LRA).
5.5 Can a child or adult make a financial claim directly against their parents? If so, what factors will the court take into account?
Yes. The application can be made on the child's behalf by:
the guardian of the child;
any person who has custody or care and control of the child under a court order;
a welfare officer to whom the care of the child has been committed by order;
any person who has obtained leave to intervene in the cause for the purpose of applying for the custody of a child;
the Official Administrator if appointed as the guardian ad litem of the child; or
any other person in whose care a child is and who has obtained leave to intervene in the cause (rule 57 of the Divorce and Matrimonial Proceedings Rules 1980 (DMPR)).
The same factors apply, namely the court will apply the means and needs test (please see the answer to question 2.3).
6.1 Explain what rights of custody both parents have in your jurisdiction, whether (a) married, or (b) unmarried?
The Guardianship of Infants Act 1961 (GIA) accords both the father and the mother equal parental rights over their children (s 5, GIA). However, this does not mean that both parents must at all times be equally parenting the child. Whenever there is a dispute, the court can decide which parent should be given custody, care and control of a child, including access (Lai Meng v Toh Chew Lian [2012] 10 CLJ 479). The GIA applies to both legitimate and illegitimate children (Sean O'Casey Patterson v Chan Hoong Poh and others [2011] 3 CLJ 722).
If the couple is married, either of them may seek an order for custody of a child of the marriage.
If the couple is unmarried, the mother of the illegitimate child will prima facie have the right of custody and when questions on custody or access arise the wishes of the mother will be taken into account but the welfare of the child is the first and paramount consideration (T v O [1993] 1 MLJ 168).
6.2 At what age are children considered adults by the court?
In Malaysia, a "minor" is someone who has not reached the "age of majority". Pursuant to the Age of Majority Act 1971, the age of majority is 18 years. This is, however, subject to other written law fixing the age of majority. For instance, under the GIA, non-Muslim children shall be deemed to have attained their majority at age 21 years (s 2(2)(a)(ii), GIA). Under the LRA, a "minor" means someone who is under 21 years and who is not a widow or widower (s 2, LRA). Under the LRA and the Child Act 2001, a "child" means someone who is under the age of 18 years.
6.3 What is the duration of children orders (up to the age of 16 or 18 or otherwise)?
Unless expressed to be for a shorter period or where such orders have been rescinded, child custody and maintenance orders expire when the child attains 18 years. Please see the answer to question 5.3 for extension of children orders.
6.4 What orders can the court make in relation to children? Does the court automatically make orders in relation to child arrangements in the event of divorce?
Under the LRA, the court can make orders for custody, care and control, access and maintenance. "Custody" means the right to make important decisions in relation to, e.g. the child's upbringing, health, education and religion. "Care and control" denotes the day-to-day care of the child and "access" comprises contact arrangements for the parent deprived of custody, care and control.
Under the GIA, the court is empowered to appoint and remove a guardian over the person and property of a child.
Under the Courts of Judicature Act 1964, the court has jurisdiction to appoint and control guardians of infants and generally over the person and property of infants.
Orders are made when sought but the court in divorce proceedings will consider the arrangements pertaining to any children of the marriage.
6.5 What factors does the court consider when making orders in relation to children?
The paramount consideration is the child's welfare and subject to this the court shall have regard to the wishes of the parents and the wishes of the child where he or she is of an age to express an independent opinion (s 11, GIA; s 88(2), LRA).
There is a rebuttable presumption that it is for the good of a child below seven years to be with his or her mother but in deciding whether that presumption applies, the court shall have regard to the undesirability of disturbing the life of a child by changes of custody (s 88(3), LRA).
Where there are two or more children, the court is not bound to place both or all in the custody of the same person but shall consider the welfare of each independently (s 88(4), LRA).
6.6 Without court orders, what can parents do unilaterally? For example, can they take a child abroad?
Without court orders, both parents can move freely with any of their children and are entitled to make decisions on their child or children's behalf without the need to consult the other.
6.7 Is there a presumption of an equal division of time between separating or divorcing parents?
No, there is not. The court will consider all factors and decide what arrangements are in the child's best interests.
6.8 Are unmarried parents treated in the same way as married parents when the court makes orders on separation or divorce?
6.9 Is a welfare report prepared by an independent professional or is the decision taken by the Judge alone? If so, does the child meet the Judge?
When considering any question relating to child custody and maintenance, the court shall, whenever practicable, take the advice of a person who is trained or experienced in child welfare but is not bound to follow the advice of this person (s 100, LRA). The judge may also interview the child. Ultimately, the decision rests with the judge.
6.10 Is there separate representation for children in your jurisdiction and, if so, who would represent them, e.g. a lawyer?
Not as of right, but if in any matrimonial proceedings it appears to the court that any child ought to be separately represented, the court may (r 86, DMPR):
of its own motion, appoint the Official Administrator if he consents; or
on the application of any other proper person, appoint that person to be guardian ad litem of the child with authority to take part in the proceedings on the child's behalf.
6.11 Do any other adults have a say in relation to the arrangements for the children? E.g. step-parents or grandparents or siblings. What methods of dispute resolution are available to resolve disputes relating to children?
The courts will take into account all relevant matters and may consider the evidence of other adults which might include the child's relatives, if their evidence is adduced in court or if an application (for example, an application for guardianship) is made by any of them, before it determines the arrangements for the children.
7.1 Can the custodial parent move to another state/country without the other parent's consent?
Yes, unless the court order granting sole custodial rights to the custodial parent prohibits it.
7.2 Can the custodial parent move to another part of the state/country without the other parent's consent?
7.3 If the court is making a decision on relocation of a child abroad, what factors are taken into account?
The welfare of the child must be the paramount consideration and if the applicant's reasonable proposals for relocation is not incompatible with the welfare of the child and would not have a detrimental impact on the welfare of the child, an application to relocate may be granted (Teh Eng Kim v Yew Peng Siong [1977] 1 LNS 138).
7.4 If the court is making a decision on a child moving to a different part of the state/country, what factors are taken into account?
7.5 In practice, how rare is it for the custodial parent to be allowed to relocate internationally/interstate?
It is not rare, provided the court is satisfied that the relocation is in the child's best interests.
7.6 How does your jurisdiction deal with abduction cases? For example, is your jurisdiction a party to the Hague Convention?
Malaysia is not a party to the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980 (Hague Convention). There is, therefore, no mechanism in place for the prompt return of children abducted to or from Malaysia. The Malaysian court has jurisdiction to deal with children and accord them protection for as long as they are physically and lawfully present in the country. If there is a foreign custodial order, the Malaysian court will take that into account but is not bound by it and is entitled to hear the merits afresh and make its own decision applying Malaysian law, based on what it considers is in the child's best interests.
8.1 In your view, what are the significant developments in family law in your jurisdiction in the last two years?
On 15 December 2018, long-awaited amendments to the LRA came into force:
the civil courts are now accorded with exclusive jurisdiction over the dissolution of a civil marriage and all matters incidental thereto including granting a decree of divorce or other orders under the LRA, where one party has converted to Islam and that such decree or orders made shall, notwithstanding any other written law, be valid against the party to the marriage who had converted to Islam. This amendment resolved the confusion pertaining to the jurisdiction of the civil courts vis-à-vis the Syariah courts, thereby overriding past judicial trends which had taken the position that matters touching Islamic law and practice are within the jurisdiction of the Syariah courts to the exclusion of the civil courts;
a mother/adoptive mother of a child who has not attained the age of 21 may now give written consent for the child to marry. Prior to this, only the father could give consent where the child was legitimate, and where the child is illegitimate or adopted, the mother/adoptive mother's consent could only be given if the father/adoptive father had died;
either party or both parties to a marriage may now petition for divorce, where one of them has converted to Islam. Before, only the non-converting spouse could petition. Furthermore, they may now petition for divorce by mutual consent on the grounds of conversion;
a new section 51A of the LRA makes provision for the following persons to apply for a distribution of the matrimonial assets of a person who has converted to Islam but who dies before the non-Muslim marriage is dissolved: (i) the surviving spouse of the deceased; (ii) the surviving children of the marriage, if any; and (iii) the parents of the deceased converted spouse. Prior to this, the non-converted family members could not inherit from the converted spouse's estate unless he/she had bequeathed his/her assets to his/her non-Muslim family members;
the court's power to divide matrimonial assets under section 76 of the LRA is no longer confined to assets acquired by the "joint" efforts of the parties but now extends to all assets acquired during the marriage; and
the duration of child custody and maintenance orders with regard to a child who is pursuing higher education or training is now extended from age 18 until the child completes his or her higher education or training.
In 2019, collaborative law was introduced.
8.2 What impact, if any, has the COVID-19 pandemic had on family law in your jurisdiction to date, and is likely to have over the next 12 months?
In an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, various Movement Control Orders (MCO) (varying in severity) were imposed in Malaysia under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 and the Regulations issued thereunder. At its most confining nationwide, all schools and government and private premises were ordered to shut and everyone had to stay at home unless they needed to buy groceries, seek medical treatment or perform any official duty or any duty in relation to any essential services. Restrictions have since been relaxed to allow most economic sectors to re-open, though, as at the date of writing (June 2020), Malaysia's borders remain shut.
The pandemic has had the following impact:
all hearings and trials during the MCO period were adjourned;
the solemnisation of all marriages was put on hold;
separated or divorced parents who live in one country or in one state within Malaysia and who had planned to exercise their rights of access to their children in another country or state were unable to do so due to international and inter-state travel bans and health and safety concerns;
the loss of jobs or reduction in income has in some cases totally eliminated or reduced the ability of the spouse/parent against whom the financial orders were made, to meet those financial obligations. It has also affected financial negotiations between divorcing spouses on maintenance and asset distribution;
separated/divorced parents are seeking advice on how to navigate the thorny issue with respect to the movement of their child/ren between two households pursuant to agreed child access arrangements disrupted by the MCO, and some parents are reluctant or refusing to allow their child/ren to see or stay with the other parent due to concerns about that other parent's ability to take proper health and safety precautions or to provide adequate educational support to their child/ren;
there has been a surge in married couples seeking divorce and pre-divorce advice;
cases of domestic violence have escalated. Women's rights groups in Malaysia have reported an increase in distress calls amid lockdown; and
the pandemic has also triggered more and more people to write their wills.
It is anticipated that the impact felt to date will continue over the next year, to a greater or lesser degree in certain cases.
8.3 To what extent and how has the court process and other dispute resolution methods for family law been adapted in your jurisdiction in light of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g. virtual hearings, remote access, paperless processes)? Are any of these changes likely to remain after the COVID-19 crisis has passed?
This section discusses how the Malaysian courts in general have adapted. The MCO at its most restrictive required all law firms and court premises in Malaysia to close. As a consequence, all hearings and trials as well as case managements that required the physical attendance of lawyers in court were adjourned. New cases, notices of appeals and documents could still, however, be filed electronically using the e-Filing system, which was implemented over a decade ago under the e-Court system, and case managements scheduled to be conducted remotely proceeded as normal via the more recently introduced e-Review system. Thus, when the pandemic hit, the Malaysian courts were already quite prepared to progress cases remotely, and a number of hearings, trials and appeals have been conducted via video conference, some of which were streamed live for public viewing.
Courts and law firms have since been permitted to re-open, with strict health and safety measures in place. Fewer cases are now fixed on any given day and limits are imposed on the number of persons who may be present in court per case, to avoid over-crowding.
Due to its efficiency, online access to justice may well remain an option available even after the COVID-19 crisis is behind us. Currently, they require the agreement of all parties – judges, lawyers and litigants alike – to proceed, not all of whom may be receptive to it or have access to the equipment and technology that it entails. Proposals have been made suggesting amendments to the legislative framework to enable the court, of its own motion, to direct trials, hearings or appeals to be conducted otherwise than in open court, provided it is in the interest of public health and safety.
8.4 What are some of the areas of family law which you think should be looked into in your jurisdiction?
In my view, the following should be addressed:
stateless children in Malaysia who have been adopted by Malaysian parents, or one Malaysian parent, are not automatically conferred Malaysian citizenship upon adoption. They therefore remain stateless unless an application for citizenship is made to the government of Malaysia who retains a discretion to grant or refuse it;
the law regulating surrogacy in Malaysia needs to be developed;
Malaysia has not ratified the Hague Convention;
civil partnerships are not recognised; and
same-sex relationships and marriages are not recognised. The Malaysian Penal Code still criminalises same-sex relations.
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Thurrott Daily: January 18
Good morning. Here are a few tidbits from around the web.
"What the PC Industry Could Learn From the NRA"
With a headline like that, this one is bound to be controversial. Fortunately, it's penned by Rob Enderle, who I respect. And he makes a good point:
The overall problem with the PC industry is the continued perception that it is dying out, even though the biggest contributor to that perception — tablets — is itself on life support. In a case like this, an effective industry association can make a difference by addressing a large threat to the industry as a whole — whether that threat be a competing industry, regulation, or a false perception.
One of the ways an NRA-like effort could be particularly effective would be to counter government antiprivacy trends, which are hurting the technology segment and U.S. technology products — PCs in particular — both overseas and domestically.
It turns out people don't like to buy products they think are spying on them, and the U.S. government has been particularly effective in scaring off buyers of U.S. technology products as a result of largely illegal spying efforts, and an inability to keep them secret.
Rob also makes a nice point about Apple, which has historically grown its Mac business while the PC market has shrunk. He suggests that has little to do with the quality of the products.
The firm with the largest advertising budget, Apple, is showing the strongest growth. The two strongest overall, Lenovo and Apple, both have product lines that extend to smartphones, suggesting there may be a synergy between the two product classes that most don't seem to get.
Lumia 650 will be Microsoft's "last Lumia," report states
Windows Central's Daniel Rubino is really going out on a limb on this one, since a Surface-branded phone is in fact not a certainty. (Yes, they're working on one. That doesn't mean it will happen, or will be named Surface something.) But he claimedover the weekend that the coming low-end/mid-range Lumia 650 will be the last phone Microsoft brands as a Lumia.
Multiple sources have confirmed that Monday, February 1 Microsoft will reveal details about the device, including pricing and availability, through their official blog. The news is somewhat expected as the phone is not exactly worthy of a press event and Microsoft is likely going to keep their presence at Mobile World Congress low-key.
We have heard multiple times that the Lumia 650 is the last Lumia. Instead, Microsoft will be focusing on the flagship 'Panos phone', which is expected to be part of the Surface line later this fall.
That "Panos phone" bit is a nice hedge on Daniel's part. Noting again that the "Surface phone" may in fact not happen, by which I mean it may not use the Surface branding and/or simply be canceled, calling it "Panos phone" is just a cute way of describing one or more phones developed directly under Panos Panay, who now runs Lumia. (The Lumia 950, 950 XL, 550, and 650 were all developed previous to Panay's promotion.)
That said, I do sort of believe that the Lumia brand is beyond repair, much like that of Zune, because it is associated with failure and thus needs to be dropped.
"The best way to run Windows 10 on a Mac is …"
…. is not described in that article, for some reason. So, "great headline." And no link for you!
But as is usually the case, I got this one. And after evaluating Boot Camp and Parallels Desktop, I came to my own conclusion: Parallels Desktop is the best way to run Windows 10 on a Mac.
John Romero makes a new level for the original Doom
How awesome is this? Doom co-creator (and level-making genius) John Romero has just posted a new level for the original game. And it works with the free, shareware-based version if you don't have Doom sitting around for reason. (It is a DOS game, but there are Windows front-ends/versions.)
Mr. Romero shares the news via Facebook:
It's been 21 years since I made a DOOM level. Here's my version of E1M8 using DOOM1.WAD. I limited myself to only the shareware assets.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/2x2ee3r51986dkt/e1m8b.zip?dl=0
No word on why Romero decided to revisit his biggest accomplishment now, but whatever. That's just good stuff.
And for you few Doom-unaware, the E1M8 refers to "Episode 1, Mission 8." The shareware version of Doom encompasses the first episode, called Knee Deep in the Dead, which has 10 missions, or levels, one of which is a secret level.
A Doom WAD file (where WAD stands for "Where's All the Data?") is part of the rich history of DOOM: When Id Software's John Carmack and John Romero saw that enthusiasts were customizing and adding on to their earlier games, they decided to support that activity explicitly in Doom by putting all of the in-game resources—levels, graphics, and other game data—in its own file. That way, level makers and others could more easily add-on to, or swap out, the original stuff and build on the game. This decision was a key contributor to Doom's success. Well, that and the fact that the game is awesome.
You can and should read about the history of Doom and Id Software by checking out Masters of Doom—in paper, Kindle, or Audible—formats. It's a great book, and I believe I've read it through at least three times now.
Thurrott Daily
@Thurrottfeed 5 mins ago | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
Ireland's Finances
Posted by Bock on February 6, 2009 Add comments
What's the difference between the government wage-packet and one from a private employer?
Well, one big difference is this: the government immediately gets to take back half the wages it pays out, in tax and social insurance. It then takes another 20% of every euro spent out of the remainder, and every time a euro of that money is further circulated, the government takes another bite. In the end it all goes back into the pot.
On the other hand, when a private employer pays wages, the money is gone. He has to make more profits to pay the workers next week.
Therefore, the effect of public sector pay is exaggerated in two directions. On the one hand, it doesn't cost the government anything like what it would cost a private company to employ someone, because the government immediately takes back most of the money and grabs the rest as it filters through the economy. This is not something a private employer can do.
So the real public wage bill is less than half of what it appears to be, which you would imagine is a good thing, but there's a downside. When you cut the public wage bill, the savings are far less than you think.
Anyway, it's all a bottle of smoke. The recent pension levy on the salaries of public servants will have almost no effect on the public finances, because it's such a tiny element of the problem. It won't save the €2 billion so much beloved of Biffo. It might save about half of that, if the affected workers don't stop spending what they have left, depriving the economy of VAT and downstream income tax.
Did you know that the national debt is about 3% of the total debt incurred by this country through private and commercial borrowing? Government debt is about €50bn, but the total borrowings of this country are somewhere around €1500bn.
That's right. You read it correctly.
One thousand five hundred billion euros.
€1,500,000,000,000.
That's what this country owes.
€400,000 for every man., woman and child. If there are five people in your household, that's €2 million of debt they can pin on you.
Now you have to ask yourself something: did you incur this debt? Did you remortgage your house to buy an apartment in Bulgaria? Did you buy into the delusion that the price of a house is the same thing as its value? Did you borrow €600 million to build a gigantic apartment complex in Dublin 4, or a skyscraper in Chicago?
I know someone who bought a house in Dublin. An ex-council, semi-detached house in a fairly basic area, and for that he paid nearly half a million euros. To be more precise, I should say he borrowed half a million euros. Some bank decided that his newly-acquired ex-council house was worth as much as a beachfront property in California with its own swimming pool, or a chateau in the South of France. So here we had a situation where we convinced ourselves that we weren't living in ratty old former council houses with some knacker riding a piebald up and down the footpath outside our door, but instead we were living an Elysian dream. Half the country thought they were living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and kept the curtains closed in case they spotted the knacker on the piebald and the dream dissolved.
And in that delusion, the bankers collaborated. As did the property programmes on television, and the empty-headed wafflers who presented them, and the celebrity architects, and the estate agents, and the builders and the government.
Now, I'm about to do something you haven't seen before. I'm going to let the government off the hook, but only a little. You see, I've been saying here for three years, since I started, that the whole thing was a crock of shit, and I've been pointing the finger at Fianna Fáil. This is true. The politicians rode the gravy train, along with the bankers and the builders. Every one of them had their snouts in the trough, and every one of them spun us the same line of pseudo-technical nonsense to bamboozle us.
I thought they were cynical, and I was right. The politicians, the bankers and the builders were as cynical as it gets.
I thought the politicians, bankers and builders were greedy and in that I was also right.
But I never for a minute grasped just how fucking stupid the politicians, bankers and builders were.
It's only now beginning to dawn on me that none of them a had a clue what they were doing, and the government still doesn't. After all, we've had a succession of finance ministers with absolutely no knowledge whatever of finance.
We had Ahern, who was nothing more than a political corner-boy with no training, education or expertise, a self-serving, two-faced little toad who could barely write his own name. He was followed by Charlie McCreevy, a glorified bookie and political chancer, who believed in spending every penny he got. He was followed by Cowen, the current Taoiseach, a man of better intellect, but with a legal background, and he in turn was replaced by another lawyer, Brian Lenihan.
What's missing from that list, apart from integrity?
That's right: what's missing is any knowledge whatever of anything practical.
These were the inflated, self-aggrandising fools who preened themselves and felt gratified when a billionaire patted them on the head. Good lads.
Peasants. Plebs. Out of their depth and holding on like grim death to the wads of cash.
I'm also letting the bankers off the hook, but only a little, because I think they may have believed their own bullshit. How often in recent years have you heard an insurance policy, or a bank account described as a Product? Not a service. Not a deal. Not an arrangement, but a Product.
This is self-delusion by bankers, aware of how insubstantial the thing is that they do, and so desperate to make it feel like a real activity that they adopted the language of hard industry.
Did you hear that fool John Hurley who runs the Central Bank last year assuring us that everything was all right? Do you remember him telling us that he'd stress-tested the banks? More spurious theft of language from real, hard industry.
Will I tell Mr Hurley what a stress test is? A stress test is where you take a piece of steel or concrete or laminated polycarbonate, and you twist it and stretch it and squash it and stamp on it and set fire to it until it fucking breaks! And then you know how strong it is.
Hurley didn't stress test the banks. What he did was turn to his golfing partners some Saturday afternoon, and say, Eh, look, Fingers, Seánie, could I have a quick word?
And they said, Sure, Johnny. What's up?
Well, lads, I was just wondering if you were up to anything dodgy. Everything ok?
No bother Johnny-boy. Everythings's laughin'
Oh all right. That's fine then.
Stress-test me bollix!
I'm even going to let the builders off the hook. Not because I think they were less than greedy. Not because I think they aren't ignorant, illiterate gobshites. Not because I think they're honest.
No. Just because they're a crowd of pigs in the trough, and what would you expect from a pig but a grunt?
Previously on Bock:
Property Values in Ireland
I Hate Duncan Stewart
Economic Mismanagement — The Irish Experience
Ireland second wealthiest country
Irish Government's Budget Deficit
Tagged with: bank stress tests, Bertie-Ahern, brian cowen, brian lenihan, economic crisis, Ireland, irish exchequer, irish national debt, pension levy
29 Responses to "Ireland's Finances"
bendersbetterbrother
Bock, surely a private employer pays tax back to the government for every Euro paid to employees in exactly the same way the civil servant's pay gets deducted.
Again, in the hands of the employee, what they then spend that money on gets taxed in turn, VAT, Corporation Tax etc so the multiplier effect works exactly the same way for both.
They're equal.
No. A private employer can't take tax back out of an employee's pay-packet. Only the government can do that.
A private employer deducts tax on the governments behalf from the gross pay, pays the employee net of income tax and PRSI and is responsible for forwarding the deducted taxes to the government, just the same as deductions from government employees.
The private employer doesn't get to keep the money. That's the difference.
Mairéad
Well described, Bock.
The media seems to have missed the fact that Cowen announced in the Dáil that the pension levy would be taken from gross income, but others later said er… no… erm… after tax actually. That means that Cowen will be making far less than he boasted on his attack on public service workers.
He didn't even know.
He needs to be sacked for years of incompetence, along with all of his incompetent pals.
C'est La Craic
The PAYE worker will always be fucked in the ass. If you manage to calculate the amount of tax you should be paying and discover you've been paying too much, good luck getting your money back.You have to go chasing up the government for it.You have to deal with bureaucratic bullshit.
If you were to calculate your tax yourself like a business owner then you too could partake in what has kept these slimy bastards in place so long. Imaginative accounting, where every meal becomes a tax deductable 'business lunch'. Every journey a 'business trip'. And if you didn't pay enough, well the government have to chase you up. That is, if you weren't already a member..
Builderfromhell
It is worth mentioning that as well as the politicians, bankers, property developers the general population was and are resposible for the bulk of the mess we are in. They bought into the greed and avarice of the last few years.
When Ireland was at it's richest (on paper anyway) the populace spent their riches on SUVs, Overseas property, Holiday homes, shopping in New York etc. and we all were bored silly listening to people talk about how rich they were.
Wrinkley Joe
Ok Bock. That's the history and a sad story it certainly is. But what's the future ? It's no longer a question of how do we get out of this mess but a question of how do we survive without the IMF moving in. Remember Mr. Micawber's definition of happiness and misery. Well this country is up to it's neck in misery, and a large part of that misery is the cost of the public service. We have to either reduce the cost of running the country or increase the tax intake. It's that simple. The government don't have the balls to increase PAYE so they have decided to make the public sector contribute a bit more towards their gold plated pension. If a private individual wanted a pension with the same benefits they would have to contribute twenty five per cent of their salary, so even at thirteen per cent the public sector are doing well. It may be a reduction in gross pay but it's not a pay cut. Everything they contribute will come back to them eventually. If you drive a Rolls Royce well then you should be prepared to pay for it. The two things wrong with the governments approach to this, and it's so typical of these brainless cunts. is that the increase should only apply to salaries over 50 grand and public servants should have the option to opt out of the pension if they don't want to pay the extra premium and take out a personal pension just as the private employee has to do. But somehow I don't see too many public servants taking that option ! We all know how we got here and ultimately it's down to the gobshites that elected and re-elected this bunch of numpties, not the actual numpties themselves. Hard times a coming !
Depressing stuff, Bock.
And there's hardly a voice raised for those who paid half a million for crap houses. Time and again, the liberal establishment speak up for the social welfare recipients, some of whom were fit for work but never bothered their arses when there were thousands of jobs available. They have guaranteed houses, guaranteed benefits, guaranteed medical cards. The people who think twice about taking their kids to the doctor are those who work every hour to pay the mortgage on a grim house in some grip of an estate.
Sorry – personal prejudice.
When the default on all that debt happens, the government's bank guarantees will activate, and the borrowings of property developers and the idiots who bought apartments in Bulgaria will become part of the national debt.
When that happens, we won't be discussing the public service pension bill because the national debt will be €200 billion. Forget about pensions for the public service. It's academic. Nobody will have a pension.
Primal Sneeze
A small point of order, Bock.
Charlie McCreevy was never a bookie. He was an accountant and co-owner of a practice called Tynan Dillon.
You may be confusing his interests in horse racing and that his former constituency secretary and best buddy, Michael Fitzpatrick, now a TD, was and is a bookie.
Fitzpatrick's son, Darragh, is also a bookie and a County Councillor.
One big happy clique, yes. But no, McCreevy was not a bookie.
So Fintan O'Toole was right on the money about McCreevy in December's I.T.
Primal — McCreevy isn't a bookie in the same way that Ahern isn't a toad.
Darwin — That just about sums him up.
I see that my income levy and pension levy have been put to good use, as I knew they would……
Bank of Ireland have issued a pay rise for their boys.
Ah that's mighty, Brians!
The future problem as I see it……. We, the ordinary people, will have learned from this. We won't get our fingers burned again because we learn from our our mistakes. However, move forward a couple of generations and the overwheming desire for greed and corruption will seep back into society because those with the experience to call a halt will have gone to the big gravy train in the sky. I know, I know I can be accused of total pessimism but there are signs in our history books that this is not the first time our global affairs have spiralled into this mess.
Abbott_Of_Iona
Ireland's NEW DEAL.
The two Brian's have finally worked out how to spell ABYSS.
They are now having late night meetings on how they can make up a sentence including the phrase "Staring into the".
These people are incompetent maggots.
The €8Bn would be better spent funding a new bank, and using fractional reserve banking, would allow the creation of €80Bn on unencumbered credit.
The bailout of AIB & BoI is the biggest robbery in the history of this state and Sovereignty is now going to sold to the whoremasters at Goldman Sachs.
By giving a guarantee to these banks the two Brian's have killed the State stone dead.
http://www.independent.ie/national-news/new-deal-state-to-buy-shares-in-ailing-firms-1632509.html
It's fractional reserve banking that created this mess in the first place.
Fractional reserve banking. I had to look it up, because I'm not familiar with most of the bullshit language of high finance.
Fractional reserve banking seems to be the practice of not keeping enough reserves to cover your obligations.
No doubt you'll set me straight if I'm wrong, but isn't that what all the banks did, resulting in a complete fuck-up of the world's finances?
It seems to me that if you lend money you don't have, it's either fraud or counterfeiting, or both.
C'est La Craic
I disagree. Fractional reserve banking did not create this mess. The global criminal abuse of fractional reserve banking caused this mess.
Many wou cite fractional reserve banking as the cause (I don't know your opinion) believe that reverting to a gold standard would (if not solve the problem) ensure that it cannot recur.
There isn't enough gold on the planet to satisfy the "currency" need.
Our economic system depends entirely on faith.
That is the faith in a fiat currency.
What's the difference between a euro banknote and a euro credit/debt in a bank account? There is none, both have no intrinsic value. Both are dependent on faith.
A fiat currency is backed only by faith in the government which issues it.
I suppose I could go on but, the problem is not fractional reserve banking as such but the loss of faith in Government and the shadow global banking system.
The real problem is that Gloablisation as a political and economic system is imploding.
This has only begun. We are headed at great speed to deep and painful depression. Your Government knows this and is lying to you. RTE (and other media) know this and are lying to you.
They will propagandise "stimulation" while your sovereignty and freedom burn.
Bock,
My apologies for soiling your site with bullshit.
If people knew what the two Brian's were up to there would be revolution.
I can see your instinctive logic and revulsion at the idea that a bank can take in a deposit of say €100 and lend out €1000 by maintaining only a fraction of deposits on call. However, on "issuing" credit of €1000 an equal and opposite debit is created. If you borrow €1000 from a bank and open a deposit account with that same bank there is no creation of "money".
Banks themselves do not create money. Governments use banks as agents to fulfil the "currency" needs of the economy. There must be a currency, whether it is shells, gold or paper is irrelevant. Currency is essential in any economic system beyond barter (which is where we may be going).
It is not fractional reserve banking which caused the problem, it is the wilful neglect of government (ours and others) to apply the controls necessary to protect the currency and thereby "keep the faith".
The concept of fractional reserve banking originates (I think I am right here) with the goldsmiths of Italy. They had secure storage by the nature of their trade. People would request that they keep their gold safe (on deposit). The goldsmiths would charge a fee. The goldsmiths worked out that not everybody would come looking for their gold at the same time. The goldsmiths then started issuing "certificates" of deposit which became "as good as gold". The goldsmiths then issued more certificates than they had gold and charged a fee (interest) on the issue of the certificate. Bank notes were created.
The goldsmiths became rich and arrogant and started investing in risky schemes. The schemes failed. Goldsmiths were killed by angry mobs.
It was not the banknotes that caused them to die it was greed.
I think it is unfortunate but true that the real currency of this glorious republic for the last decade has been greed.
True enough it's not the sytem that has caused this mess but the criminal abuse of it, in the same way that it's not the gun that kills but the person pulling the trigger.
You also point out, rightly enough, that it's a question of faith. Well I have no faith in the people who control national and international finance. The system in inherently corrupt. The people employed in any new national bank would without doubt be the same old heads who've been hanging around other banks.
I also have no faith in the people who control national and international finance.
I however disagree that the "system" is inherently corrupt, if by that you mean an economic "system" that requires a currency as a mode of transaction. Such a system is not corrupt, and I find it difficult to conclude that any "system" is corrupt, other than a system which avowedly sets out with an amoral purpose. We might disagree on what is or is not moral; I dot not use the term in a religious context. So for morality I rest on the Constitution of the Republic (though not in particular this Gombeen Republic) It is people who are corrupt. That is our nature.
That is why we have (in a democratic republic) checks and balances. What has happened here is that those appointed to the role of guardian have catastrophically failed in their duty. The Regulator and the head of the Central Bank.
They became victims of regulatory capture. They WANTED to believe the shit they were being told.
Sean Fitzpatrick took €300m from Anglo Irish Bank, gave €30m each to "trusted" associates to manipulate the share price of Anglo Irish Bank. Has the Minister for Justice instructed the Garda Commissioner NOT to have Fitzpatrick arrested for this? Why are we being fed by RTE and all other media that the Director of Corporate Law Enforcement is "on the case"?
Remember DCC & Fyffe's (the banana people). It took the Director four years to conclude that insider trading had taken place.
The two Brian's (who are either clueless bozos or are engaged in the greatest treason against this state) have shown comtemp for the Constitution.
There is nothing in the Constitution which allows for the bailout of Anglo Irish Bank. The two Brian's have exceed their authority under the Constitution and (the unelected (P)Resident in the Phoenix Park has failed in her duty to protect the Republic in the face of the Executive exceeding its authority. Why has a Council of State not been called to make a determination on the efficacy of the actions of the two Brian's.
I think you are right when you say the "same old heads". But that is not a problem of fractional reserve banking in itself. It is, and is becoming patently clear, a "problem" with the "elite" "class" who run the Republic (including the (P)Resident.
"The bank is understood to have been in touch with a number of the investors to discuss the loan agreements since it was nationalised and the changes made, although the outcome of these contacts is not known."
http://www.thepost.ie/post/pages/p/story.aspx-qqqt=NEWS-qqqs=news-qqqid=39392-qqqx=1.asp
Brian Cowen & Brian Lenihan already know the names of these conspirators.
Why are these ten names being held from public view?
Are they part of some "elite" who just happened to draw the short straw, and were promised riches beyond their dreams if they played ball?
Are there 10 * 10 * 10 of these conspirators?
What is being protected here?
It is not the Republic nor is it the Citizens of the Republic.
Am I a conspiracy theorist or do I just know the smell of shit when I smell shit?
Abbot- I'm probably being spectacularly stupid tonight, but please bear with me.
Without accusing any named individual of committing a crime, would you please spell out precisely the mechanism you have in mind.
In particular, are you saying that the bank's value was artificially inflated in order to maximise the return from nationalisation?
I do not consider you stupid.
The reason I posted was my anger and absolute outrage at what the Soldiers Of Destiny are doing.
I believe they have being doing this since the foundation of this State. Destiny was not for the Citizen of the Republic. Destiny was for the murderous gun running filth to take everything they could.
They Achieved Destiny and now Goldman Fucks are going to make them (sorry us) pay the price.
But the Soldiers of Destiny don't care. They were bought off like a fucking whore a long time ago.
And they say to the Citizen "Love You Long Time"
Yes, they are Whore and they have made the Republic a Whore.
I believe they never intended a Republic.
They just intended replacing the former masters.
To be clear I am not a Marxist (I despise the stupidity of that man) and I am not an "Irish Republican" (the thought of blowing up babies in prams for the sake of some filth abhors me).
Let me think on your question.
I apologies . I am absolutely enraged with anger.
This filth must go.
I will take the second part first.
"In particular, are you saying that the bank's value was artificially inflated in order to maximise the return from nationalisation?"
I think I understand your question.
The manipulation of the share price of Anglo Irish Bank, or the price of any share on the stock exchange is, a criminal offence. So the nature of the manipulation is irrelevant.
The answer is yes,
The criminals (all ten of them) who manipulated that share price anticipated that the guarantee offered by the Fianna Fail Filth would provide each of the ten with substantial return. More than any heroin dealer could dream of.
My problem, Bock, is this.
The Fianna Fail Filth knew that this share price manipulation was happening. They engaged in it. They intended profiting from it. They thought "everything would be honky dory". The Filth have only just worked out that they have been fucked. And now were fucked.
Who are the TEN.
Why are there names not in the public domain?
The first part second.
Sean Quinn took out CFD (Contracts For Difference) on 25% of Anglo Irish Bank.
I don't have the detail but it is in the public domain.
By using CDFs Sean Quinn was able to hide a possible attempted takeover of Anglo Irish Bank and then take it private (that is beyond public scrutiny).
The reasons Quinn did this are curious. Quinn claims in his interview with Marian Finfuckin that it wasn't him, it was his stupid wife and his stupid children.
Was it just that Quinn, with his assurance company, cement company and hotels company thought it would be just a jolly wheeze to have a little bank. Or was Quinn so far in debt to Anglo that he used the resources of Quinn Direct (against the law ~ this is proven and he had to resign as Chair of Quinn Direct) to acquire Anglo before Anglo had to admit that Quinn owed them a shed load of money.
However, I am sure I am completely incorrect in that conjecture.
You ask me to "spell out" the mechanism.
Jesus Bock,
You've lost me there. It is just plain and simple. Manipulating share prices is a criminal offence.
The reasons why one would do that are many. The intended result is always the same. Criminal profit.
Fitzpatrick knew that Quinn couldn't pony up.
Fitzpatrick was going to loose everything.
Fitzpatrick assembled a group of ten to manage the purchase of the 10% that Quinn did not have the money to buy. Fitzpatrick took €300m from Anglo to do this. This is criminal on so many levels it beggars belief. How did Fitzpatrick get the money out of Anglo. Who in Anglo authorised the loans. Why were the conditions of the loans changed once the Government Guarantee was given. Did Fitzpatrick, and people he knew, buy shares in Anglo before the Guarantee was announced.
Do you see what I mean Bock.
You see Bock, what I mean is ~ What the fuck is going on here..
Why are Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan so desperate to hide what was going on in Anglo?
Why are the Irish Citizens on the hook for €10Bn.
Do you want to wait ten years before the snail "Director of Corporate Law Enforcement" satisfies his job description.
He can't bring an action of fraud against anybody.
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the only one who can do that.
Two guesses Bock.
Who appointed the Director of Public Prosecutions? Would that be the Filth?
Abbot,
You seem to know summat about this shit. As a matter of interest what do you reckon, in all seriousness, is the worst case scenario for us all? Barter? Having to grow our own food? Buying a shotgun to fend of the rampaging hoards?
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© 2011 Bock The Robber Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha | {
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Participation in various Ministry of Economics committees, for the preparation of the draft Presidential Decree of the evaluation of stock of non-listed companies limited by shares, and the preparation of the 1992 Accounting Books and Records Code. Speaker in various professional and training seminars. Contributor in various journals, Business and Corporate Law, Tax Legislation Journal and Tax Review.
Athens Bar Association; International Fiscal Association; F.D.A. (Founding Member). | {
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Coronavirus deaths in China top 1,000 as investors seek safety in gold, dollars
By Shivani Singh, Stephanie Nebehay
BEIJING/GENEVA (Reuters) - The death toll in China climbed above 1,000, as the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned that the spread of cases outside of China could be "the spark that becomes a bigger fire" and said the human race must not let the epidemic get out of control.
Hubei province, the epicentre out the outbreak, reported 103 deaths on Monday - the most in any single day - after 91 deaths on Sunday. But the 2,097 new cases was down from the previous day, when there were 2,618.
It is not the first time new cases have fallen. Hubei reported 2,841 cases on Feb. 7 and 2,147 the next day.
There are now over 42,000 confirmed cases in China as well as 319 cases in 24 other countries, including one death, according to WHO and Chinese health officials.
The Diamond Princess cruise ship with 3,700 passengers and crew on board remained quarantined in the Japanese port of Yokohama, with 65 more cases detected, taking the number of confirmed cases from the Carnival Corp-owned CCL.N vessel to 135.
As scientists race to develop tests and treatments, the WHO says 168 labs globally have the right technology to diagnose the virus. Companies have been struggling to find clinical virus samples needed to validate the diagnostic tests they have developed.
Worries about the coronavirus kept investors on edge with safe-havens like gold rising and the dollar hitting a four-month high against the euro on Monday.
In Europe, shares in car companies .SXAP exposed to China slumped, while prices of oil, iron ore and copper fell on worries over weaker Chinese demand because of the outbreak.
Wall Street rose on optimism for corporate earnings and the economy, with the Nasdaq hitting a record high. [MKTS/GLOB]
Oscars, movies help pass the time on cruise ship quarantined in Japan
Factbox: Here is what WHO experts are watching on the coronavirus' spread
British Airways cancelled all its flights to mainland China until the end of March.
Wu Fan, vice-dean of Shanghai Fudan University Medical school, said there was hope of a turning point in the outbreak. But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday there had been "concerning instances" of transmission from people who had not been to China.
"It could be the spark that becomes a bigger fire," Ghebreyesus told reporters in Geneva.
An advance team of international WHO experts arrived in China to investigate the outbreak. Its death toll has now surpassed that of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), which killed hundreds worldwide in 2002/2003.
NERVOUS COMMUTERS
Chinese cities have become virtual ghost towns after Communist Party rulers ordered lockdowns, cancelled flights and closed factories and schools.
Ten extra days had been added to the Lunar New Year holidays that had been due to finish at the end of January to help slow the virus' spread. Even on Monday, many workplaces remained closed as people worked from home.
Few commuters braved the morning rush-hour on one of Beijing's busiest subway lines. All wore masks.
One Beijing government official, Zhang Gewho, said it would be harder to curb the spread of the virus as people returned to work. "The capacity of communities and flow of people will greatly increase the difficulty," he said.
Hubei, the province of 60 million people hardest hit by the outbreak, remains in virtual lockdown, with its train stations and airports shut and roads sealed.
China's central bank has taken steps to support the economy, including reducing interest rates and flushing the market with liquidity, and will also now provide special funds for banks to lend to businesses.
President Xi Jinping said the government would prevent large-scale layoffs, Chinese state television reported.
Xi was shown on television inspecting the work of community leaders in Beijing and wearing a mask as he had his temperature taken. He said China would strive to meet economic and social targets for the year.
One senior economist has said growth may slow to 5% or less in the first quarter.
More than 300 Chinese firms including Meituan Dianping 3690.HK, China's largest food delivery company, and smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp 1810.HK were seeking loans totalling at least 57.4 billion yuan ($8.2 billion), banking sources said.
E-commerce firm Alibaba BABA.N said its affiliate, Ant Financial's MYBank unit, would offer 20 billion yuan ($2.86 billion) in loans to companies in China, with preferential terms for Hubei firms.
Apple's AAPL.O biggest iPhone maker, Foxconn, won approval to resume production in the eastern central Chinese city of Zhengzhou, but only 10% of the workforce managed to return, a source said. Foxconn, formally Hon Hai Precision Industry Co Ltd 2317.TW, won approval to resume partial production in the southern city of Shenzhen from Tuesday.
A prolonged and widespread coronavirus outbreak could hit the Japanese economy, affecting tourism, retail and exports, an International Monetary Fund official said. Canada said the outbreak will hit tourism and its oil industry.
For a graphic on Comparing new coronavirus to SARS and MERS:
Reporting by Shivani Singh and Stephanie Nebehay; Additional reporting by Sophie Yu, Ryan Woo, Huizhong Wu, Liangping Gao, Stella Qiu, Colin Qian, Brenda Goh in Beijing; Joyce Lee and Hyunjoo Jin in Seoul; Kylie MacLellan and Kate Kelland in London; Julie Steenhuysen in Chicago; Writing by Nick Macfie, Giles Elgood and Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Timothy Heritage and Bill Berkrot | {
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and the foundation upon which sustained human progress has been built everywhere. If all adults on the planet could read and write and had opportunities to take advantage of these capabilities, economic growth, poverty, health, and political participation would all improve. Female literacy shares a particularly powerful relationship with development, especially through health improvements for children, as the more educated a mother the more likely her children are to survive and thrive. Studies have shown that half of the reduction in child deaths in recent decades is the result of increases in the education of women of reproductive age. Countries that improve female literacy at faster rates can also accelerate reductions in fertility, potentially triggering the much sought after "demographic dividend".
Despite these benefits, global progress in reducing illiteracy has stalled. The adult illiteracy rate has fallen by 26% since 2000, well short of the 50% target, according to UNESCO. As a result, an estimated 770 million (14%) of the world's adults cannot read or write, including 480 million women who make up almost two-thirds of the world's illiterate adults. The greatest concentration of illiterate adults is in South Asia, but most of the countries with the highest rates of illiteracy are in Sub-Saharan Africa. 10 countries account for 70% of the world's illiterate adults, including India, China, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a subset of 12 "hotspot" countries, more than 70% of adult women are illiterate, including Niger, Chad, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Benin, Guinea, Mali, the Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Ethiopia.
These countries should set ambitious goals to reduce adult female illiteracy to 20% by 2020 and to eradicate adult illiteracy by 2030. Countries that have already achieved 80% adult female literacy should move straight to the eradication target. Because of the powerful influence of mothers' literacy on child development, countries, especially those in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, should implement programs to increase both the supply of literate mothers and demand for their skills. Investments should benefit mothers in the populations where female literacy is lowest and child mortality is highest. Countries should provide special incentives for mothers to develop their literacy skills, including by linking mothers' literacy progress to their children's educational performance, by improving the home learning environment, and increasing labor market attachment. Conditional cash and non-cash transfers, as well as the full engagement of telecommunications technology (e.g. mobile phones) in literacy efforts targeted to mothers, can act as powerful incentives for progress.
The United Nations (UN), its agencies, and development partners should reinforce the illiteracy eradication goal under the Sustainable Development Goals and ensure that 100% of adults achieve literacy by 2030. The UN Secretary-General should establish a Special Envoy for Illiteracy Eradication and a program architecture modeled on the highly successful polio eradication effort. The UN should support the special focus on mothers' literacy and increase integrated female literacy, health, and labor market investments in the countries where more than 60% of adult women are illiterate. The UN should also develop special indicators to measure literacy progress among mothers with dependent children and integrate these indicators into the official indicators that are measuring progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
The relationship between education and human development is profound and under the right conditions, mutually reinforcing. The more educated a population, the faster individuals can take advantage of opportunities for advancement and the faster a country is advancing the more it needs a skilled population to feed growth. | {
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The department store giant's shares plummet more than 18%.
Macy's did not have as merry a Christmas as it expected, and now all of retail is under the microscope.
The department store giant released disappointing holiday sales results, with comparable sales rising 0.7%, or 1.1% including licensed departments, over a year earlier. The results forced the company to slash its annual earnings guidance.
Macy's shares plummeted more than 18% in early trading and took shares of chains from Nordstrom to Kohl 's down with it. Even Target, which had released robust holiday sales last week, saw its shares sink lower on Macy's woes.
For one, the chain had just bumped up its full-year guidance as recently as November 14. Now that its view has darkened so notably in such a short time frame, it is fair to wonder whether executives really have a handle on what it needs to do to be competitive in a cut-throat retail environment and whether its turnaround initiatives have as much long-term promise as they'd thought. | {
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Gold rose overnight in a range of $1309.90 - $1318, fading some weakness in the US dollar, though trading activity was thin and activity muted ahead of this afternoon's FOMC meeting statement and the subsequent press conference by new Fed Chair Powell.
The DX dipped from 90.43 down to 90.10, pressured by a firmer yen (106.54 – 106.23), pound ($1.40 - $1.4075, positive UK employment and wage data), and euro ($1.2240 - $1..2291).
This boosted gold through initial resistance at $1313-15 – (quadruple bottom, lows 3/2, 3/9, 3/12, 3/13) and $1317 (3/20 high) to reach $1318.
A firmer US 10-year bond yield (2.905%) was a headwind for gold, however, while global equities were mixed. The NIKKEI was closed, the SCI was off 0.3%, Eurozone shares ranged from -0.4% to +0.2%, and S&P futures were flat.
Firmer oil prices (WTI from $63.50 - $64.25, API reports surprise crude draw in US inventories) helped to support stocks.
At 8:30 AM, a larger US current Account Deficit Balance (-$128.2B vs. exp. -$125B) pushed the DX further down to 90.01.
Gold ran higher in the pre-FOMC thin conditions, and took out some buys stops over the double top at $1320-22 and $1324 (down trend line from 2/16 $1362 high) to reach $1326.80, where resistance in front of $1328 -30 (quadruple top, 3/8, 3/13, 3/14 ,and 3/15 highs) held.
By late morning, US stocks turned higher (S&P +14 to 2731), with news that Republicans and Democrats struck a preliminary agreement to fund the government ahead of Friday's deadline, a further advance in oil (WTI to $65.26 ,6-week high, EIA confirmed API report with a surprise drop in US crude inventories), and news that Facebook's Zuckerberg would address the data breach crisis as tailwinds.
The US 10-year yield rose further to 2.911%, and the DX rebounded to 90.22. Gold retreated, and pulled back to support at the prior resistance of $1320-22 - awaiting the FOMC statement.
Lifted their benchmark rate to 3.4% at the end of 2020, up from 3.1%.
Increased GDP for this year to 2.7% from 2.5%.
US stocks rallied (S&P +22 to 2739), the US 10-year yield popped to 2.936% (1-month high), while the DX rebounded to 90.26. Gold sold off, and slid back to $1319.
The probability of a 25bp rate hike in June increased to 83.2% from 79.1% just before 2PM, while the chance of a hike in Sep rose from 56.1% to 56.9%. However, the probability of a 4th hike in Dec declined from 38.1% to 35.2%.
The 10-year yield collapsed down to 2.878%, and the DX tumbled through stops under 90 to reach 89.64. US stocks turned negative, with the S&P ending off 7 to 2716.
Gold rallied back sharply, and triggered some buy stops over $1328-30 (quadruple top, 3/8, 3/13, 3/14 ,and 3/15 highs), the 40 and 50 day moving averages at $1331 and $1335 (50% retracement of down move from 1/25 $1366 high to 3/1 $1303 low) to reach $1336.65 (short covering seen). The yellow metal was $1333 bid at 4PM with a gain of $23.
Open interest was up 4.8k contracts, showing a net of new shorts from yesterday's decline. Volume was similar to yesterday's with 354k contracts trading.
With markets expecting a more hawkish FOMC statement, the dovish nuggets provided the bulls with enough ammo to turn around the recent climb in the DX and reverse gold's probe lower.
The bulls should see some open field running until the triple top at $1341 (2/26, 3/6, and 3/7 highs). Beyond that, bulls will need the dollar to breach next supports at 89.56 (3/12 low) and 89.36 (3/7 low) in order to test the next resistance levels in gold at $1347 (2/20 high), $1351 (triple top 1/29, 2/1, and 2/2 highs), $1362 (2/16 high).
Though some bears were run out of the market today, many remain comfortable selling into rallies. Bears point out that despite a significant pullback in the 10-year bond yield today, it remains well above 2.85% and within spitting distance of 4-year highs.
They expect equities to continue to rebound off of their correction 2 months ago, and expect the DX to resume its bounce off of the 88.25 low last month to pressure gold lower.
Bears are targeting a breach of support at the prior resistance at $1320-22 followed by the quadruple bottom at $1307-10 to bring into play key support at $1303-06 (100-day moving average, 50% retracement of up move from 12/12/17 $1236 low to 1/25/18 $1366 high,3/1 low). | {
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Michael Lohan: Lindsay 'Told Me That She Is' Pregnant
July 28, 2016 Chatterbox
First-time grandpa? Lindsay Lohan is pregnant and expecting her first child, according to Michael Lohan . The dad of seven opened up to Us Weekly about the actress and her ongoing relationship drama with her fiancé, Egor Tarabasov . "She's saying she is, so I believe her," Michael, 56, told Us on Tuesday, July 26. […]
Gigi Hadid Weighs in on the Model Wars: The 'Industry Needed a Change'
On the heels of Rebecca Romijn 's controversial comments about social media stars turning into supermodels, Gigi Hadid scored her first American Vogue cover and admitted during a chat with the magazine's August issue podcast that, yes, Instagram did help launch her career. Gigi Hadid Robert Kamau/GC Images "It's a way that people get to […]
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← Use Arrows Keys!!! → With so many engagements in Hollywood over the years, there are more than enough gorgeous engagement rings to go around, but only a handful can be classified as huge. We're talking massive bling, the kind of stones that make you want to put on shades and ask exactly how tired […]
Olympic Long Jumper Brittney Reese Shares Her Training Playlist With Us
Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images After Brittney Reese won gold in the long jump at the London Olympics in 2012, she was on top of the world. But in the years following, she faced many struggles. The two-time Olympian has since found herself struggling with depression and the aftermath of her 2014 hip […]
Diane Kruger Rocks a Bikini in Sri Lanka After Breaking Up With Joshua Jackson
Celebrity Breakups Diane Kruger POPSUGAR, the #1 independent media and technology company for women. Where more than 75 million women go for original, inspirational content that feeds their passions and interests. Celebrity Breakups Diane Kruger POPSUGAR, the #1 independent media and technology company for women. Where more than 75 million women go for original, inspirational […]
Beyoncé and Blue Ivy in Matching Dresses May Overwhelm You With Cuteness
Beyoncé and Jay Z are currently in Paris with their 4-year-old daughter, Blue Ivy , and in addition to bringing the little one for a stroll through the Tuileries Garden on Tuesday, Beyoncé also shared a handful of sweet photos on her personal blog. Blue and her famous mom look adorable in their matching floral […] | {
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Where Is Big Hit?
June 18, 2022 by Shawna Brady
On March 22, Big Hit Entertainment will be moving into HYBE's brand new headquarters that is located in Yongsan, Seoul. It is a 19-story building with seven additional floors underground, and it covers about 60,000 square meters of space and houses over 1,000 employees and executives.
1. Does Big Hit Entertainment accept Indian?
2. Do BTS have their own houses?
3. Where is the Big Hit building?
4. Does BTS own Big Hit?
5. Is BTS still with Big Hit?
6. Why is Big Hit permanently closed?
7. Where is BTS house in Korea?
8. Where is BTS office in Seoul?
9. Where does BTS live now?
10. Do BTS have girlfriends?
11. What is BTS salary?
12. What does BTS apartment look like?
13. Is BigHit in the Big 3?
14. Where is Jyp located?
15. What is the building of BTS?
16. Where is Han River located?
17. How much BigHit pay BTS?
18. Who is the richest in BTS?
19. Who controls BTS?
20. Which company owns Blackpink?
21. What is the name of BigHit new girl group?
22. How does BigHit treat BTS?
23. What is J-Hope's real name?
24. Why did Big Hit change their name?
25. How much is BTS salary per month?
26. What does BTS stand in English?
27. Why will BTS end in 2027?
28. Why did BTS leave Columbia?
29. Why did BTS disbanded?
30. Is BTS disbanding in 2026?
31. Can girls audition in Big Hit Entertainment?
32. How many K-pop groups are under Big Hit?
33. Is BTS not under Big Hit?
34. What is BTS office?
35. How old is the CEO of Big Hit?
36. Did BTS switch labels?
37. What are the bands under Big Hit?
38. How can I chat with BTS on Whatsapp?
39. Where is Kim Taehyung apartment?
40. Where is Jungkook now?
41. How can I write letters to BTS?
42. What is BTS real address?
43. Where is the Blackpink house?
44. Where is BTS right now in 2021?
45. Why are BTS death threats?
46. Is BTS still living together 2021?
47. What is BTS email?
48. Do BTS members smoke?
49. How can I go to South Korea from India?
Does Big Hit Entertainment accept Indian?
Every country citizen is eligible for participating in the show. Females and girls can also be a part of the BHE audition 2021.
Do BTS have their own houses?
Despite having their own respective properties and houses, the seven members of BTS are still living together in the said suite.
Where is the Big Hit building?
After years of outstanding work and progress, BigHit Entertainment finally gained its new and lavish home-the HYBE Building in Yeongsan, Seoul.
Does BTS own Big Hit?
BTS Members Jin, J-Hope, and RM have sold $8 Million worth of their company HYBE's shares, the company was earlier known as BigHit and had launched the band. Three members of the South Korean group BTS have sold the shares of their company HYBE that was earlier known as Big Hit.
Is BTS still with Big Hit?
Big Hit Entertainment, the music company behind K-Pop stars BTS, has officially rebranded as HYBE. Big Hit announced the new name, organizational structure and a new HQ in a brand presentation on YouTube today (see below). The company says that the rebrand will be finalized at its shareholders' meeting on March 30.
Why is Big Hit permanently closed?
According to Variety, the decision is motivated by the company's goal to expand its horizons, looking beyond artist management. Through this repositioning, Big Hit may also branch out to more lifestyle-oriented projects like real estate leasing, travel, communications, and the like.
Where is BTS house in Korea?
The apartment is located in Hannam Hill, alongside the Han River and Namsan mountains.
Where is BTS office in Seoul?
Pledis Entertainment building is where you might spot Seventeen, Orange Caramel and After School if you are lucky! Located in Nonhyeon-dong, southern Seoul, Big Hit Entertainment's headquarter is a place every Bangtan Boys (BTS) fan should know!
Where does BTS live now?
2. Where does BTS live now? Bts lives together in the lavish apartment in Hannam the Hill, Hannam-Dong, Seoul.
Do BTS have girlfriends?
After all, ever since this K-pop group debuted in June 2013, none of its members has ever been in a public relationship.
What is BTS salary?
As per a report in Seoul Space, BTS members have a base salary of $8 million a year. They also hold shares of HYBE stock which are valued at an additional $8 million for each member. Apart from being a member of globally famous BTS, these members also release their own singles and albums.
What does BTS apartment look like?
Look Inside BTS Luxury Apartment! BTS House Tour
Is BigHit in the Big 3?
Is Big Hit Entertainment, the entertainment agency of the biggest boy group in the world BTS, bigger than the historic 'Big 3' of K-pop industry comprising of SM, JYP and YG Entertainment? According to recent news, Big Hit has overtaken the Big 3.
Where is Jyp located?
Logo used since January 2021
JYP 엔터테인먼트
Headquarters Gangdong, Seoul , South Korea
Area served Worldwide
Key people Jimmy Jeong (CEO)
What is the building of BTS?
If you're a BTS fan, you will probably know by now that Hybe has just recently opened a new museum dedicated to the world-famous boy band in their company building in Yongsan, Seoul. Named Hybe Insight, the museum is located at the bottom two levels of Hybe's new building and was opened to the public on May 14.
Where is Han River located?
Han River, Korean Han-gang, river, northern South Korea, rising in the western slopes of the T'aebaek-sanmaek (mountains) and flowing generally westward across the peninsula through the provinces of Kangwŏn, Kyŏnggi, and North Ch'ungch'ŏng and through the city of Seoul to the Yellow Sea.
How much BigHit pay BTS?
Thanks largely to those touring revenues, the members of BTS earned a combined $50 million between June 2019 and June 2020 and roughly $7 million per member.
Who is the richest in BTS?
J-Hope: He is the wealthiest member among all the BTS members. J-Hope's net worth is roughly anything around $26 million.
Who controls BTS?
South Korean music producer, composer and record executive Bang Si-hyuk is known as the mastermind behind K-pop sensation BTS, after bringing the boy band together in 2013. He's the founder and CEO of Hybe (formerly Big Hit Entertainment), the agency that manages the group.
Which company owns Blackpink?
YG debuted their second girl group Blackpink in 2016, their first since 2NE1, followed by the solo rapper One the following year.
What is the name of BigHit new girl group?
Following its countdown event, the company revealed that the girl group's name is 'LE SSERAFIM'. The group, created in partnership with HYBE's label, Source Music, is preparing for a debut in May.
How does BigHit treat BTS?
They treat their idols well and the idols have good connections with their staff and managers. ARMY likes to say "you can't stan BTS if you don't stan the staff". Big Hit is very small and only has about two artists performing right now: BTS and a solo artist.
What is J-Hope's real name?
Jung Ho-seok (Korean: 정호석; born February 18, 1994), better known by his stage name J-Hope (stylized as j-hope), is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, dancer, and record producer. He made his debut as a member of South Korean boy band BTS in 2013, under Big Hit Entertainment.
Why did Big Hit change their name?
Chairman Bang Si- Hyuk claims, "I felt the need of a new company name that could encompass all the business realms that we carry out and be a symbol for our connecting and expanding structure."
How much is BTS salary per month?
BTS Salary per month? The monthly BTS Salary is $3 Million Dollars. and the Annual Income is $36 Million Dollars, Which they earn from Concerts, Shows, Youtube, Collaborations, or brand Deals.
What does BTS stand in English?
Name. The group's name, BTS, stands for the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeondan (Korean: 방탄소년단; Hanja: 防彈|少年|團), literally meaning "Bulletproof Boy Scouts". According to member J-Hope, the name signifies the group's desire "to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets".
Why will BTS end in 2027?
In BTS's case, they have a seven-year commitment that was due to expire in 2020. However, they recently renewed their contract, a year before the original agreement terminated. BigHit has confirmed that their contract will expire in 2026, rather than 2020.
Why did BTS leave Columbia?
According to reports by Billboard and Variety, the boyband, under agency HYBE, will no longer be working with Columbia Records and The Orchard. BTS were apparently on a month-to-month contract with the latter company, and only needed to notify Sony Music of their intent to end their partnership.
Why did BTS disbanded?
"Due to differences in our opinions and musical styles, we have decided to go our separate ways. Still, we agreed to cheer on each other's life. As we open the new door, it's time to close and lock the door," the little meow of BTS went on to say.
Is BTS disbanding in 2026?
BTS will remain under their label Big Hit Entertainment through 2026, it was announced Wednesday (Oct. 17). The seven members of BTS — RM, Jimin, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jungkook and V — have renewed their contracts with Big Hit for another seven years, extending the current contracts that are set to expire next year.
Can girls audition in Big Hit Entertainment?
Both boys and girls can participate in this show, only your age should be from 12 years to 18 years. There are online auditions for this show, through which auditions are taken in different cities. And in auditions, only those who are eligible for the show are selected.
How many K-pop groups are under Big Hit?
Big Hit Music was divided from Hybe on July 1. As of that date, the company manages soloist Lee Hyun, and boy groups BTS and Tomorrow X Together. It previously managed soloist Lim Jeong-hee, and groups 8Eight, 2AM, and Glam.
Is BTS not under Big Hit?
South Korean boy band BTS that began formation in 2010 and debuted in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment, will now have a new corporate address as the agency announced a change of name. Big Hit is now HYBE which reportedly symbolizes "connection, expansion, and relationships."
What is BTS office?
As a world leading strategy implementation firm with approximately 700 professionals in 32 offices worldwide, BTS has a strong global footprint for developing and deploying programs that build commitment and capability to accelerate strategy execution and improve business results.
How old is the CEO of Big Hit?
Bang Si-hyuk
Born August 9, 1972 South Korea
Genres R&B
Occupation(s) composer songwriter record producer Chairman
Years active 1994–present
Did BTS switch labels?
Oct 22 (Reuters) – South Korea's BTS has signed a new distribution and marketing deal with Universal Music Group (UMG.AS), the world's biggest music label, dropping Sony Music's (6758. T) Columbia Records, the music band's manager said on Friday. Hybe Co Ltd-owned (352820.
What are the bands under Big Hit?
K.Will (2006–2007)
2AM (2010–2014, along with JYP Entertainment)
GLAM (2012–2015, along with Source Music)
Lim Jeong-hee (2012–2015)
Homme (2010–2018) Changmin (2010–2014; 2015–2018)
8eight (2007–2014, 2020; along with Source Music)
How can I chat with BTS on Whatsapp?
Conversation. SEND YOUR SMS NOW!: SMS type 방탄소년단 then send to +821119 ( Do not spam message.) alreadyyyyyy!!!
Where is Kim Taehyung apartment?
He lives on 234 UrAStalker street in the city CalmTheFDown, South Korea.
Where is Jungkook now?
Since 2018, Jungkook has lived in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea with his bandmates.
How can I write letters to BTS?
Yes , bts can read English . So you don't have to write it in English but try to use simple words . Don't write alot keep it small and simple . If your younger than the member whom your writing the letter please use oppa or hyung because it adds a politeness and little more respect .
What is BTS real address?
BTS Pop-Up: House of BTS Poster. BTS Pop-Up: House of BTS (stylized in all caps) was shops of BTS' official merch opened by Big Hit Entertainment, the first one was opened on October 18, 2019 to January 5, 2020 (10:00 to 22:00 KST) located on 34, Gangnam-daero 102-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea.
Where is the Blackpink house?
Located in the busy street of Hongdae area in Mapo-gu in Seoul, the house, renovated from the previous "Black Pink House," is full of hands-on experiences related to the band's recent "Square Up" EP.
Where is BTS right now in 2021?
The K-pop singers are currently on a short break and is at their home in South Korea.
Why are BTS death threats?
Threats were made against RM's life in 2015 while BTS was in the United States, which several believe was in reply to RM's controversial comments in an Australian interview in which he claimed, "When I first saw V and J-Hope, I couldn't see them because they were too black." Because of the snacks, they had to cancel …
Is BTS still living together 2021?
BTS has only gained worldwide prominence in the past few years or so, but the group has actually been together for over seven years. The members' contracts were supposed to expire in 2020, but BTS also chose renew them to stay together until 2026.
What is BTS email?
Email addresses: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected],… Is there anyone willing to translate this into Korean?
Do BTS members smoke?
The images show one of the band members of BTS, V, smoking.
However, this time, their viral images have left the netizens divided. The images show one of the band members smoking. Kim Taehyung, who goes by V, was captured smoking outside the Grammys 2022 venue.
How can I go to South Korea from India?
By Air. Air travel is the best way to travel to South Korea from India.
By Rail. There are no direct roads connected India to South Korea, nor are there any trains that connect both countries.
By Sea. If you like long luxurious holidays, then Cruises are the truly the best way for you to travel.
Basic facts of The Big Three & Big Hit Entertainment(BTS)
Big Hit Entertainment x Universal Music Group
Big Hit Entertainment & HYBE Timeline
Who Plays Fred's Dad in Big Hero 6?
Why Did Big Mouth End?
Who Does Samuel L Jackson Play in Big Hero 6?
Is There Going to Be a Big Hero 6 2?
Did Ari Have a BBL?
How Would You Rate Your Pain?
What are the Big Sky BB standings? | {
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We are focused on helping the community whenever we can. We live locally, we work locally, we give locally. SC Companies is part of a community that shares an overwhelming desire to help those in need. We could not be more proud to be partners in helping with many area charities and schools. Here are a few of the non-profits we support. | {
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£18,997.00 Online & offline donations +£3,159.00 Gift Aid See breakdown
Donate now Start fundraising
JCORE is the leading Jewish voice on race and asylum issues. We work in three main areas:
*Race Equality Education
*Refugee and Asylum (both campaigning and practical support)
*Black- Asian -Jewish dialogue.
Afghan Emergency Appeal
Event dates: Monday 23rd August 2021 – Thursday 31st March
The sudden fall of Kabul and its tragic consequences are particularly resonant for the Jewish community.
Those Afghans who manage to get on a plane and come to the UK will, thankfully, be out of danger. But they will arrive with little more than the clothes on their backs. So there will be a huge and urgent need for basic necessities – everything from outerwear and underwear to toothpaste and towels – followed by practical, social and psychological support.
JCORE has decades of experience of responding creatively and effectively to the arrivals of large groups of refugees, whether with basic necessities, counselling, English teaching, re-training for refugee doctors or befriending for young asylum seekers separated from their families. Our shared history inspires and informs this work. And it compels us to act.
Please donate today, so that we have funds in place to meet people's urgent needs without delay.
We are also working closely with other charities in the field so as to make the best use of our collective skills and experience.
Thank you. We will keep you posted and let you know what your generosity has enabled us to do.
Share this campaign with your friends:
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£271.00 raised
Start raising donations for Jewish Council for Racial Equality!
Total donated direct to the campaign £14,264.00
Total donated to fundraising pages £271.00
Total amount raised offline £4,462.00
Total Gift Aid Estimated. Not included in grand total £3,159.00
Grand total £18,997.00
Share "Afghan Emergency Appeal"
Hello, Jewish Council for Racial Equality have launched a campaign called "Afghan Emergency Appeal". They would really appreciate if you could donate whatever you can to help them reach their target! You can join their campaign or donate to it by clicking the link to their Give as you Live Donate page below. https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/campaign/jcore_afghan_refugee_appeal?utm_campaign=sharecampaign&utm_source=Dsharesocial&utm_medium=Dshare_email&utm_content=campaign&utm_term=20220119 Thank you | {
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A group of men seen swimming inside a baited crocodile trap in Australia near where a woman was recently eaten were blasted as "idiots of the century" Tuesday.
Declines in health-care shares sent European stocks lower for a fourth day after U.S. President Donald Trump vowed to lower the cost of medicines.
Shire Chief Executive Flemming Ornskov will need to dig deeper in his pocket if he wants to win U.S. biotech company Baxalta.
Critics, as Oscar Wilde once remarked, know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
Some of Wall Street's biggest names are licking their wounds as October lives up to its reputation as one of the market's roughest months. | {
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Passion Powered!: Love Of Product, Employees, And Customers Fuel Success
By: John Carroll | 2,472 Reads | 7 Shares
Charles Loflin started climbing the ladder of success from the bottom rung, and he hasn't stopped yet. "I've been in food and beverage all my life, starting when I was washing dishes at the age of 15," says the 40-year-old multi-brand franchisee.
Twenty-five years later, Loflin operates 30 Wingstop franchises in the Southwest, mostly in South Texas. And he's begun to roll out seven Einstein Bros Bagels locations, putting everything he's learned along the way to good use in expanding his business.
Before he started in fast food franchising, Loflin was general manager of a Holiday Inn Select in Dallas. One day he and his wife stopped in for a fateful plate of wings at the local Wingstop.
"We were hooked," says Loflin, who then began testing various wing recipes in the hotel kitchen back in 1997. That's when he got a call from Wingstop asking if he'd like to get into the business under the corporation's wing.
A year later Loflin was back in his hometown of San Antonio with his first restaurant. Twelve years later, he has 30 locations--most in San Antonio, with others scattered in the South Texas towns of Laredo, Corpus Christi, Austin, and San Marcos. He also has a few locations in Phoenix and one in Las Cruces, N.M.
Loflin recently signed a seven-store deal to develop Einstein Bros Bagels in San Antonio. And he did it for the same reason he bought into Wingstop: he loves the quality of what they serve.
When Loflin was working on a location in Phoenix, he used to stop by the nearby Einstein's for a quick bite. On a whim, he contacted the corporate office to drop his name--just in case they ever considered franchising. It turned out Einstein Bros was already setting that up, and the seven-store deal soon followed.
Loflin's passion for what he does plays a huge role in making his stores a success. "Seeing customers and the excitement in their faces looking at the product," says Loflin, is the best reward he can get for his work. And now that he employs some 400 people at his locations, getting them to feel the same passion he does has become one of his most important tasks.
For Loflin, who goes to work suited up and ready to take on any crew member's job at a moment's notice, it's all working.
Name: Charles Loflin
Title: President
Company: San Antonio Wings Inc.
No. of units, by brand: Wingstops, 30; Einstein Bros Bagels, 7-store development deal
Family: Wife, daughter, 6, and son, 3
Years in current position: 11
Years in franchising: 11
Key accomplishments: Aside from my family, building this company.
Biggest mistake: I've been very fortunate, but I would say it would be my first store being undercapitalized.
Smartest mistake: I can't think of a smart mistake that I have made.
How do you spend a day, typically? Probably 60 percent in the office and 40 percent in the field. I come in, sign checks, pay bills, make phone calls, check on construction. For me, running the office has really become a full-time job. And my passion is being in the store.
Work week: I work 5 to 6 days, 8 to 10 hours a day.
Favorite fun activities: I love to fish and go to all the games with my son and daughter.
Exercise/workout: I need to. I run occasionally.
Favorite stuff/tech toys: My iPhone. I can't live without it.
What are you reading? Right now I just picked up Tom Peters' The Pursuit of Wow! for the second time.
Do you have a favorite quote or advice you give? Surround yourself with people who have a lot of passion for what they do.
Best advice you ever got: It's an old saying, but whether it's your customers or employees, just treat people like you'd like to be treated.
Formative influences/events: I had an uncle by marriage that owned a McDonald's in the Valley (South Texas). He paid me to sweep and clean.
How do you balance life and work? That's the biggest struggle I have right now. I've been married 18 years and we started a family. She's an attorney and spent time getting a law degree. I was starting stores. It's tough, but I am also in a position where I don't have to miss the games. I'm able to walk out when I need to.
Business philosophy: We stress the word "integrity" a lot in this business. I try to be fair and honest with people. In this day and time it gets harder and harder to have people around you like that.
Would you say you are in the franchising, real estate, or customer service business? Why? Customer service. We call our customers guests. We like to invite guests into our house. That's how we do it at Wingstop, and we'll do the same thing at Einstein's. Service is extremely important to us. We have three things: quality of food, customer service, and cleanliness of the restaurant.
What gets you out of bed in the morning? My passion for the business; enjoying and seeing employees' faces and talking to them.
What's your passion in business? It's all about being the number-one operator, having the best employees, and having a lot of opportunity. We have 400 people now. And some of my employees have moved up to become managers and, in some cases, partners.
Management method or style: I'm an aggressive person. Sometimes that's fortunate and sometimes it's unfortunate. I'm very hands-on, always in a Wingstop uniform so I can walk in any store at any time and feel like one of the employees there.
Greatest challenge: There's a couple. Costs right now are still escalating. We're trying to figure out ways to maximize the customer experience without minimizing the value or quality of the food. Getting and retaining the right people.
How close are you to operations? Very, very close. I'm in the game every day.
How do others describe you? Hopefully people see me as a happy individual who works hard and is passionate, fair, and honest.
How do you hire and fire? I don't really any more. As a company we go through a nine-step process to hire managers and terminate them. No one wants to terminate someone unless it has to happen. You counsel people several times and then after that make a move.
How do you train and retain? We're constantly training in the stores. We have a training manager in San Antonio and a two-month training process; 99 percent of it is in-store training. As far as retaining, I have someone who works for me. She does hiring and recruiting for managers and is always looking at ways to keep people. We have incentives, bonuses, and different things; it's not just financial. We've taken staff to play paintball. Once a year all the employees get packages so they can bring up to four family members to Six Flags Fiesta Texas--the company pays $25 and the employee pays $7--and they love it.
Annual revenue: $24 million last year
2009 goals: To make us stronger as a company. We want to open a few Wingstops and Einstein's and just try to get through this recession and spend more time with the family.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? By the cover count, how many people are coming in the store. You can be up 20 percent in sales because you raised prices. But if you served 5,000 before and serve 4,000 now, that's not a win-win situation.
Vision meter: Where do you want to be in 5 years? 10 years? Still growing stores here and there, maybe cutting way back on work, having others who have the same passion continue to run the stores. There's also a concept in the back of my head I'd like to do on my own.
How is this economic cycle affecting you, your employees, and your customers? So far it's positive and negative. In 10 years we've never had a layoff. I would think my employees are doing well. Gas is down, and that has benefited everybody. In South Texas, the economy hasn't hit hard yet. Our customers, though, are definitely watching their money closer. But our price points make it easy on customers.
What are you doing differently in this economy? We constantly talk about getting better, about tightening up on the nuts and bolts, getting to the next level. We watch waste and spoilage and just keep trying to get better.
Where do you find capital for expansion? My biggest lender is GE Capital. They've slowed down nationwide but still help me grow.
Published: May 26th, 2009
Yes, Franchising Is for the Young!
Site Selection: Other Factors To Consider
Space Is the Place: Breaking Ground is Hard to Do in 2017
Do Your Managers and Employees Love Their Jobs?
Supply Chain Management as a Franchise Sales Tool
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Consumers who are attempting to save money are not getting returns as good as they could be as they are ignoring their Isas.
According to research from Fidelity, up to 90 per cent of people are now looking to set money aside, but 42 per cent of people in the UK are not taking advantage of their Isa allowance.
Carried out to mark the first anniversary of the increased Isa investment levels, the study also found that just one in ten people are making the most of the money by also using the stocks and shares Isa limit that is available to them.
Tom Stevenson, investment director at Fidelity Investment Managers, said: "Isas are a fantastic use-it-or-lose-it tax perk - no further tax to pay ever and a generous £20,400 allowance for a couple."
Prospective savers may have been pleased to hear that the Halifax Cash Isa Promise has been introduced, meaning that interest at the headline rate will be paid from the day the application is received by the institution. | {
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Everybody loves free stuff. Here are 15 unique goody bag ideas for the ultimate event swag. Whatever your price range and audience, there is something here to suit every event.
Many conference bags are unoriginal. Another pen or paperweight isn't really something to get excited about. You want attendees to leave an event delighted about the swag they brought home, splashing the event and goodies across social media and showing off to increase your brand awareness and make them want to come back.
Event budget will obviously affect the decisions made but that doesn't stop you from coming up with original ideas. With large annual events such SXSW, TED and Comic Con the swag is amazing because the budgets are massive. To compete with this you need unique and quirky ideas like these, that will keep them talking about your brand and stop them from throwing it out.
Yes, it exists! Superfood chocolate is raw, gluten-free, vegan and kosher while being infused with healthy antioxidant-rich herbs and ingredients. Healthy chocolate is not widely known so adding them to the goody bags will be a hit with the masses and an excuse to eat more of their favorite treat, guilt-free. While it's obviously not as beneficial as an apple it will appeal to food lovers, with the added advantage of being less sinful. Everyone will need to know if it tastes the same as the real thing.
Almost everyone has a smartphone now which means that anything that makes that experience better is going to be a crowd pleaser. Screen magnifiers are perfect for traveling when you want to watch TV on the train or in a hotel room and you want a bigger screen. The likelihood is that some of your attendees will have had to travel in some form or another so these could be used straight away!
If you have a higher budget you could also opt for smartphone projectors that come in at around $30+ and can create mini home theatre experiences for your attendees.
What do you always get in a goody bag? A notebook of some description. While these can be handy they can also be boring and unoriginal which means they probably won't be used. These memory books add a different twist to the classic notebook and provide attendees with a way of capturing each day for five years with a single line, looking back and seeing at a glance what they entered 12-months before (a great reminder when the event date is coming round again!). There are also ways to make these even more event specific as they come in parent, gardener and healthy living options too.
More and more people are becoming environmentally friendly (or at least environmentally conscious) which means that this kind of giveaway will go down well. There are a lot of different options but our favorite is the mini grow-your-own kits that range from multicolored vegetables to bonsai trees and encourage guests to think about the environment and take home a lasting memento.
If you have a lower budget, opt for branded packets of seeds with a clever message instead. It might not look as expensive but it is also easy for attendees that have flown in to take away.
Or, you can still channel the eco theme by trading the plastic bags for canvas bags at around $7 or $8 which is something they can use time and time again and show off your event details every time.
Tailoring lollipops to adults will certainly get people talking. With alcoholic flavors such as; chardonnay, beer, lager, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, stout and mixed wine packs there will be one to suit everyone (just make sure you let them know it's alcoholic so they don't take them home and give them to the kids!).
USB sticks have become so mainstream and accessible that they are no longer worthy of the goody bag. They have now been replaced with travel chargers for your smartphone. These handy bricks hold a charge and then plug into your phone with a variety of different adapters to make sure that you never run out of battery.
This is particularly useful at all day events when attendees will have likely drained their batteries taking photos or recording video and your goody bag will be an immediate life saver – just make sure they come pre-charged.
A relatively new option in the growing age of technology is providing virtual swag or goodies. These are particularly useful for events where attendees have to travel because they take up minimal space but can be incredibly budget flexible.
Making sure to explain virtual gift bags is important because they are not always tangible products. E-gift cards, ebooks, apps, gift codes and online game access are all excellent examples of giving virtual gifts that can also tie in nicely to promoting sponsors, collaborators or creating a buzz about up and coming products that you are marketing.
Sweets have definitely been done before but hey, they are a crowd and budget pleaser! Add a unique twist by opting for some of the old classics that are not as readily available to get people feeling nostalgic and show how much you care. Depending on the age of your event demographic, it will depend on how far back you want to go but whether it's Tootsie rolls, Turtles or Jazzies, either way we miss them and you can get boxes of sweets and candy from 'the good old days' to have your attendees reminiscing and talking.
For those on a tighter budget or with smaller distribution, upcycling vintage items and turning them into new products can be an interesting, cheaper alternative that is super memorable. For example, vintage teacups that have been turned into candles are a conversation starter, statement piece and also something you (or your team) can make yourselves. This is a really personal touch if you want to ensure you are passing on something they haven't seen before.
For weddings, trade show stalls or other smaller fairs consider buying pieces in bulk and creating something new to save on the budget. Plus, this gives you the flexibility to truly reflect your brand and breathe new life into a piece (again ticking the environmental angle)!
At all-day events, trade shows or conferences many people need a little pick-me-up (something an alcoholic lolly won't fix!) which means for larger budgets you can send them home with mini wine samples. Something like the vinebox which offers 3 small glasses of special curated wine can add a more luxury feel to the goody bags and will definitely make attendees feel warm inside!
Alternatively, for lower budgets, you could include a free drink voucher in the goody bags for events that offer a bar or catering.
Music is another common love that everyone shares so a cheap and cheerful goody bag gift that attendees will enjoy are headphones and they are easy to brand as a static marketing technique as well. Since people usually wear earphones for public use it is easy to see where they got them from and boom, better brand awareness. They are also a great twist on the old classic ear protectors that used to come with goody bags (and flights!).
For those with a bigger budget, you could opt to buy portable speakers which come in at around $30+ but will still be widely received.
A practical giveaway is a Fitkit. In essence, this is a small kit to encourage exercise and a total body workout, even if traveling away from home. Presented in a portable branded case or bag it can include a jump rope, resistance bands, and exercise cards produced by a qualified fitness instructor. Neat!
Provide the ultimate movie night giveaway by providing a gourmet popcorn presentation set. Perfect for the next opportunity to "Netflix and chill" in style. Choose from organic brands or different flavors. Perfect for the feel good factor and unwinding after a busy event!
If you really want to impress, consider offering a mini-drone. Look at models that can take photos and videos to give an exciting and practical angle to the giveaway. Offering lots of fun and a very different promotional opportunity, this will certainly get everyone talking!
Goody bags are important to your attendees so no matter what you choose, make sure that you have an impact for the right reasons. Keep your brand in the forefront of their mind. Ultimately, unique and decent swag will spread awareness and keep your goodies from being put straight in the bin or forgotten about in a corner! | {
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Barcelona will be indebted in order to sign Erling Haaland
When he agreed on a loan worth almost 600,000,000 euros in the Goldman Sachs bank this summer, Joan Laporta claimed that he was doing it to repair the damage done during the disastrous presidential term of his predecessor, Josep Maria Bartomeu.
As time passes, Barcelona is increasingly threatening to become a slave to banks and investment funds, that is, money injections for which it is not known whether they will be able to return. The news that Joan Laporta and Mino Raiola met in Turin to discuss the possible transfer of Erling Haaland to the summer has been continued.
The Iberian Peninsula echoes the details of Laporta's plan to get a big signature that would start a new era of a club whose debts are accumulating every day. Namely, the president of Barcelona is willing to take a new loan, this time for the amount needed to complete Haaland's transfer.
That is roughly around 170,000,000 euros, with all the compensation, signature bonuses and commissions to Raiola and Haaland's father. Catalan Sport writes that several investment funds, mostly American, have shown great interest in entering into a deal with Barcelona, under the pretext of "helping the club's financial recovery", which in practice can be a double-edged sword.
Let us remind you, That money was planned to be used during Bartomeu's tenure for his megalomaniac project Espai Barça, which was to renovate the entire Camp Nou stadium and turn it into one of the most modern football facilities in the world, plus to make the whole complex a sports city with Barcelona stamp.
Laporta soon changed his purpose after the March elections, as Barcelona's debts have long exceeded one billion euros.
American CVC
One of the investment funds with which Barcelona could agree on a new financial injection is the American CVC, who raised a lot of dust in Spain and the football world this summer after the decision to buy 8.2 percent of shares in La Liga's commercial rights for over two billion euros.
That guarantees part of the earnings for the next 50 years. Interestingly, Barcelona is one of the clubs that has been against this agreement from the beginning, but that does not seem to stop club leaders from thinking about another type of business with CVC.
As for Haaland's eventual arrival, he allegedly set one condition for Barcelona's transfer to the summer, and that is for the team to be a participant in the Champions League. The strong Norwegian is Real Madrid's first target together with Kylian Mbappe and it is no secret that his desire is to borrow Blancos' jersey, but in his close circle there is a belief that Haaland could be the bearer of a new wave that would return the club to the top of Europe and the world football. Especially since the contact between Raiola and Laporte was positive. | {
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The Tactical Traveler
A BUSINESS-TRAVEL BRIEFING
This week: Airline upgrade programs let you buy coach and fly first; airlines help fund airport renovations to accommodate skyrocketing air traffic; Arlanda Express high-speed rail link opens at Stockholm's Arlanda Airport; Internet titans battle for your online travel bookings; and more.
COST CUTTERS: Buy Coach, Fly First
Want to pay coach, but fly in first? Just ask. You'd be surprised how many airlines will allow an automatic upgrade from a full coach fare--and you'll be shocked to learn that several carriers have structured programs specifically to accommodate passengers looking to escape the confined confines of coach.
At TWA, the plan is called FirstUp. Book a full-fare coach seat on domestic connecting flights through TWA's St. Louis hub, or pay full fare on most nonstop flights out of New York/Kennedy, and you'll automatically be confirmed in first class. Northwest offers ConnectFirst[http://www.nwa.com/services/bustrav/conne.shtml]. Pay the full-fare coach price for any domestic itinerary connecting at the airline's major hubs--Detroit, Minneapolis or Memphis--and you'll be confirmed in first.
Upgrade programs are often available internationally, too. Malaysia Airlines offers an automatic one-class upgrade whenever you pay a full fare and Northwest has recently rolled out ConnectFirst Asia, an upgrade scheme for its extensive Asian route network.
AIRPORT REPORT: The High Cost of Progress
Air traffic is skyrocketing--600 million people flew last year and federal authorities expect the number to reach 900 million by 2007--and airports are straining to keep up. There is good news: New terminals, gates and facilities are in the works. But there's also bad news: Progress comes with a high price tag and the cost will eventually show up in ticket prices.
What's on tap? Delta Air Lines says it will provide $335 million of the estimated $386 million cost of renovating Terminal A at Boston's Logan Airport. Construction is expected to begin in 18 months and be completed by 2004. … At Kennedy Airport in New York, American Airlines is committing $1.3 billion for a new terminal that will have four concourses and 56 gates. The airline broke ground on the 2.2 million-square-foot facility last week, but construction won't be complete until 2006. … In Chicago, aviation authorities now say the cost of a plan to add two new terminals and two customs facilities at O'Hare International in Chicago has nearly quadrupled to $3.7 billion. The city estimated the project at $1 billion when it announced the plan in February.
Meanwhile, a business center with an 80-seat theater and 21 meeting rooms has opened at London City Airport, the vest-pocket facility in the Docklands area of the British capital. And Stockholm's Arlanda Airport is scheduled to get its long-awaited high-speed rail link to downtown effective November 24. The Arlanda Express [http://www.arlandaexpress.com] will connect the airport and Stockholm Central train station four times an hour. The 20-minute nonstop journey will cost about US$15 one-way.
BEST OF THE WEB: Clash of the Internet Titans
The battle for control of your travel bookings is turning into a clash of the Internet titans. Several weeks ago, American Airlines, which already controls Travelocity, unveiled plans to buy Preview Travel, another major travel site. In response, four airlines--United, Northwest, Delta and Continental--last week joined forces to announce a "multi-airline travel portal" to offer online access to airline, hotel, and car-rental booking. The carriers claim the site, as yet unnamed, will be independently managed and will launch in the first half of 2000. And not to be left behind, Expedia, created by software colossus Microsoft, raised more than $72 million last week by selling 14 percent of its shares to the public. What's all this mean for the traveling public? In the short term, probably more discounts and special offers as the travel-site giants compete for your attention. However, expect the discounts to be available only at selected sites, thus making the task of finding the best deals and the lowest fares harder and more time-consuming than ever before.
This column originally appeared at skymalltravel.com.
Copyright © 1999-2010 by Joe Brancatelli. All rights reserved. | {
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Coronavirus: How dangerous a threat?
Page 123 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Non-Cycling Discussions
I agree...very concerning. You definitely don't want COVID-induced heart problems as heart disease is the #1 killer in this country.
Does anyone know if the first SARS virus back in 2002 (SARS-CoV-1) showed any similar pathologies to the cardiovascular system of recovered patients or is this unique only to COVID-19? (there's limited data with SARS-CoV-1; 8098 cases, 774 deaths with only 29 cases and no deaths in the U.S.).
Reactions: Sciatic
dusty red roads
Australian COVID-19 vaccine candidate shows positive results in phase one human trials
Victorian aged care residents could be included in the next stage of testing for a potential COVID-19 vaccine that has shown positive results during phase one human trials in Adelaide.
Reactions: jmdirt
movingtarget
Donald Trump claims Anthony Fauci 'wrong' about cause of Covid-19 surge
President again contradicts his own health expert after doctor highlights troubled US response to virus
The stark reality for poorer countries
Bolivians driven from pillar to post as Covid-19 overwhelms hospitals
Grover Ponce, 42, died after being shuttled between six different health facilities as his family watched in rising desperation
Children May Carry Coronavirus at High Levels, Study Finds
The research does not prove that infected children are contagious, but it should influence the debate about reopening schools, some experts said.
Just spent 5 days in Bahia de Los Angeles..tourism off by 90%. I stay in a small camp @10K from La Gringa..@70-80% mask wearing..I went for beer,ice and cilantro once..market has disinfectant shoe mats,temp at the door and limit on persons entering..you get an involuntary squirt of hand sanitizer as an entry gift like it or not.
No temps in California and no shoe sanitizing..
sand bass and yellow tail daily..not for skill they were jumping on the hook..4 on the boat plus Captain..face masks..@50%..numbers are way down since Easter..Whale Sharks there until @ November
Mexico is playing fast and loose..Amlo the Mexican President doesn't normally wear a mask. The overall strategy is to follow whatever the US does. Hospitals are full and the economy was already in recession before Covid, and they just work hard to treat who they can and stack the bodies.
The new Canada -U.S.- Mexico border open date is @22August..we will see..
The fantastic whale sharks look unaffected by the Corona virus or by my girth swimming in the water trying to take their picture..also seals and dolphins I asked had not read the paper or saw any news coverage on Covid-19..they thanked me and said that it would be taken under advisement as they swam on ..
Reactions: jmdirt, movingtarget and Sciatic
Koronin
This is another lab created antibody treatment entering phase 1 trials:
Duke to start trial of promising COVID treatment :: WRAL.com
If effective, the antibody trial could advance COVID care until a vaccine is developed by providing an antibody treatment.
www.wral.com
And of course the east coast of the US now has a tropical storm to deal with. It appears very likely to make landfall in South Carolina near Charleston.
Cookster15
What proportion of those who recover from coronavirus infection have long term damage to their organs - such as heart damage? We all read these case studies but I have no idea of proportion. Proportion is too often lost in this discussion.
jmdirt said:
The neurological and organ damage that survivors are suffering are are really concerning!
What proportion of survivors suffer neurological or organ damage? What proportion of total cases suffer neurological or organ damage?
Merckx index
Cookster15 said:
It appears to be very low. Most of the cases are from people who are hospitalized, which are about 1% of those infected. Then there are the long-termers, who tend to be young and initially have mild cases, but these appear to be less than 1% of those infected.
But it's still early, a lot of data aren't in, and these numbers could turn out to be higher.
One of the first schools to open is in Georgia, where masks are recommended, but not required. A couple of students began a campaign to make masks mandatory, but were countered by other students who didn't want to wear them. When the students pushing for the mandate were asked about the opposition students, they pointed out, "We have a dress code. They're fine with that."
Indeed. Schools frequently require students to dress in a certain way, cut their hair, whatever, none of which is necessary at all for health, and students and their parents rarely complain. But masks are an imposition on their freedom?
Reactions: jmdirt and Cookster15
Merckx index said:
Yep, and kids are sent home for wearing things that don't meet the dress code.
Re heart damage - has this been posted yet, if not, it's worth a read, though not sure of percentages...
Covid-19 leaves its impact on the heart, raising fears of lasting damage
Two new studies suggest the possibility of long-term damage after people recover from Covid-19, even if it was not severe enough to require hospitalization.
www.statnews.com
Reactions: jmdirt, movingtarget and on3m@n@rmy
optimistic cruising.............
Two cruise ships hit by coronavirus weeks after industry restarts
Outbreaks of Covid-19 recorded on MS Roald Amundsen in Norway and the Paul Gauguin in Tahiti
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I can't believe cruise ships are even operating!
Reactions: jmdirt and on3m@n@rmy
Meanwhile Japan rates keep rising, though compared to other countries still low.... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-07-31/japan-acted-like-the-virus-had-gone-now-it-s-spread-everywhere
djpbaltimore
dusty red roads said:
How often do they have to touch the hot stove before the cruise industry learns? From what I heard about Tahiti travel, a negative test within 72 hours of arrival is required to enter the country and you must take a test 4 days after entering. Presumably, the latter test aboard the boat picked it up. Since the majority of American flights are routed through LAX, it is not hard to imagine that this scenario (i.e a person infected in transit or traveling while it incubates) was bound to happen. The fact that it is the second cruise to depart after the restart AFAIK is just the cherry on top of an overly optimistic idea.
Reactions: jmdirt, dusty red roads and movingtarget
This is the first study I've seen which reports long-term health problems in a substantial proportion of people who were not initially hospitalized. IOW, the vast majority of people with the virus. As such, it's the first evidence I know of that the virus really is harmful or potentially harmful to more than 1-2% of the people who are infected. Definitely something to be concerned about.
on3m@n@rmy
Thanks for that link. Good read. I passed this on to a nurse friend for feedback / snicker test. She works at a local hospital, does covid testing, and has done some patient treatments. I'm hoping she shares the article with colleagues for feedback.
Reactions: jmdirt and dusty red roads
Trump criticizes Covid lockdowns and falsely claims US 'doing very well'
President says US has done 'as well as any nation' as country passes 4.7m cases, more than a quarter of global total
At the gates of the 'ksar'
At the eastern edge of the Atlas Mountains in Moro
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mHTGaO7zYOo
Covid conditions are improving in the US..
jmdirt
movingtarget said:
Hey look floating schools...
Unchained said:
Articles like that make it tough on those who argue that kids don't get it or spread it. I hope that if schools open over the next month we don't find out the hard way how wrong that thinking is.
Brain fog, phantom smells and tinnitus: my 4 months (and counting) of Covid-19 | Hannah Davis
I fell sick on 25 March. Four months later, I'm still dealing with fever, cognitive dysfunction, memory issues and much more
A link in target's Guardian article is very interesting:
Characterizing return to baseline health among outpatients with milder COVID-19 illness is important for understanding the full spectrum of COVID-19–associated illness and tailoring public health messaging, interventions, and policy. During April 15–June 25, 2020, telephone interviews were conducted with a random sample of adults aged ≥18 years who had a first positive reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at an outpatient visit at one of 14 U.S. academic health care systems in 13 states. Interviews were conducted 14–21 days after the test date. Respondents were asked about demographic characteristics, baseline chronic medical conditions, symptoms present at the time of testing, whether those symptoms had resolved by the interview date, and whether they had returned to their usual state of health at the time of interview. Among 292 respondents, 94% (274) reported experiencing one or more symptoms at the time of testing; 35% of these symptomatic respondents reported not having returned to their usual state of health by the date of the interview (median = 16 days from testing date), including 26% among those aged 18–34 years, 32% among those aged 35–49 years, and 47% among those aged ≥50 years. Among respondents reporting cough, fatigue, or shortness of breath at the time of testing, 43%, 35%, and 29%, respectively, continued to experience these symptoms at the time of the interview. These findings indicate that COVID-19 can result in prolonged illness even among persons with milder outpatient illness, including young adults.
Not returning to usual health within 2–3 weeks of testing was reported by approximately one third of respondents. Even among young adults aged 18–34 years with no chronic medical conditions, nearly one in five reported that they had not returned to their usual state of health 14–21 days after testing. In contrast, over 90% of outpatients with influenza recover within approximately 2 weeks of having a positive test result (7).
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6930e1.htm
It's not all that easy for lots of Americans and others outside the country to follow minor stories,if anyone even wants to(? )
Dr.Anthony Fauci has been in the forefront as one of the United States spokespeople about all things Covid-19.
He recently commented that he has had to retain security forces to protect his daughters from death threats. In doing his job it is often he says things that make people want to murder his children..completely crazy.
Many public officials that are working on Covid issues have received credible death threats, 2 very senior health officials in California resigned after threats against their lives.
And most likely after multiple social media platforms deleted false medical \ health claims posted by U.S. President more threats of violence or death will probably follow. | {
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Bryony Lavery adapted this classic for the NT. The original only contains one female character; in this version however, Jim is a girl and some household staff as well as pirates were changed to women, so this production wasn't the sausage fest that can usually be expected of Treasure Island.
Patsy Ferran, who plays Jim, is one to watch. She carries the play seemingly effortless and more than holds her own against the veterans she shares the stage with. There are however two things upstaging even her: Long John Silver's remote controlled parrot and the stage setting. From building a planetarium into the Olivier to having the ship in all its several decks high glory ascending from underneath the stage – and receiving applause for its appearance – to Silver's leg (I'm sure Arthur Darvill was glad he was spared the common peg), everything was cleverly executed.
Speaking of the stage: when the Hispaniola made its way up, I thought that without Tyrone Guthrie and Tanya Moiseiwitsch and their vision of bringing thrust stages into modern times, stage settings in Stratford (Ontario) and the National Theatre would be so much more restricted. It's fascinating to see what stage designers and directors come up with every time.
This was the National Theatre's Christmas family show and it showed not just in the funniest looking spilled guts I have seen thus far, but also in little things like the discrepancy between kid-friendly sword fights and the accompanying music that would have seemed overly dramatic in other circumstances.
Watching this broadcast was a few hours well spent and just plain fun after a day at work. | {
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Royals vs. Tigers Rebuilds
They've shared the bottom of the division since 2018, but both took big steps in 2021
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The Detroit Tigers were the class of the AL Central from 2011 to 2014 winning the division every year before the Royals broke that streak in 2015. That year, the Tigers went 74-87 before bouncing back in 2016 with a winning season and then had a sub-.400 winning percentage for the next four seasons. But 2021 saw them hiring AJ Hinch and making big strides in the standings, finishing at 77-85, which is even more impressive when you look at the fact that they started 9-24, so they finished 68-61. That's a big stretch of good.
The Royals finished just three games behind the Tigers, but got there in a pretty different way with a strong start, solid finish but trouble in the middle. The two teams are being built similarly. The Tigers rebuild featured some young pitching, including two college arm draft picks in 2018. The Royals rebuild features some young pitching, including at least five college arm picks who debuted between 2020 and 2021. The Tigers offense was a bit of an issue for them, so in 2019, they used their first six picks on bats. In 2020, they used all six of their picks on bats.
Now they've got a good chunk of their pitching in the big leagues with some of their top 2021 picks filling out their top-10 prospect list, but they've also got guys like Spencer Torkelson, Riley Greene and Dillon Dingler knocking on the door of the big leagues. If that sounds familiar, it probably should. The Royals have a good chunk of their top pitching in the big leagues with a few others hanging around the top 10-15 prospects and they have guys like Bobby Witt Jr., Nick Pratto and MJ Melendez knocking on the door at the big league level.
It feels like the Tigers are a touch ahead in their rebuild, I think, because from the outside looking in, their pitching seems to have taken a step that the Royals pitching hasn't yet. Casey Mize posted a 3.71 ERA in 2021 and did so with pretty remarkable consistency for a young pitcher. I think it's fair to say he has some questions with a lower strikeout rate than you want, but that's a great start. Tarik Skubal has the strikeouts, but gives up too many home runs. Still, he posted a 4.34 ERA in 2021. Even Tyler Alexander, who is unheralded put up solid numbers as a starter.
For the Royals, they just didn't find that success. Instead of Brady Singer taking a step like Mize, he took a step back. Kris Bubic had moments of looking like a middle-of-the-rotation starter and then moments where he didn't look like a big leaguer. We know how badly Jackson Kowar and Daniel Lynch struggled at times. Outside of some promising notes from guys like Jon Heasley and Angel Zerpa in a very small sample, the only real huge positive from a young arm came from Carlos Hernandez.
It sort of makes sense that the Tigers are a bit ahead of the Royals in their rebuild given that they started dealing off parts all the way back in 2015 and hit the reset button in a big way in 2017, which is a year before the Royals did. Well, maybe more like a few months. They traded J.D. Martinez, Justin Wilson and Alex Avila in July and then Justin Upton and Justin Verlander in August. They didn't get a ton back, but they did get Jeimer Candelario, who is someone I wanted in the Wade Davis deal and they also picked up Daz Cameron and Jake Rogers. So it's a modest head start, but a head start nonetheless.
And now the Tigers have both declared that they are going to spend some money this winter and already backed it up. When they signed Eduardo Rodriguez to a five-year deal for $77 million, they showed that they were serious about taking that next step. They've been rumored to be in on Carlos Correa as well, but regardless of if they can sign him or not, they definitely need another bat to add to their lineup. With just two years left on the Miguel Cabrera deal, they can likely absorb a monster contract, especially if backloaded. So they're going to get better.
The Ilitch family hasn't been shy about writing checks, and while people were maybe a bit unsure about how much that would continue with Chris in charge after Mike's death a few years ago, it seems like that's not something Tigers fans need to worry about. So the Tigers were always likely to spend more than the Royals, but are they actually a full year ahead in the rebuild where they're ready to add finishing touch pieces?
In mid-season re-rankings, the Tigers farm system ranked sixth on Baseball America and seventh on MLB Pipeline. The Royals were third and fifth respectively. I'd say that's pretty on par. The Royals have graduated Lynch from that list, so they may fall just a bit, but they both still have some pretty impressive prospects and farm systems.
Let's just take a look at a side-by-side comparison of some of the numbers. I'm looking at big league and some minor league team numbers.
That's actually remarkably close. The Royals big league pitching staff wasn't as good, but might have been better using the underlying metrics. The Tigers offense was better, though neither was good. But again, both have some big prospects knocking on the door. Then in the minors, they were both essentially equal at the top two levels and while the Royals had the much better high-A team last year, the Tigers were better while still bad at low-A.
The two teams were both among the six youngest pitching staffs in baseball in 2021, though the Royals had the third oldest bats compared to the 12th youngest for the Tigers. Though I'm not sure how much that really matters considering what's about to come for both teams on the offensive side of the ball.
When it comes down to it, I think both teams are in a pretty similar spot with their rebuild. They both have gobs of young pitching that needs to come through, at least a few of them. They both have monster hitting prospects with a couple at premium defensive spots and one on the easier end of the defensive spectrum. It might boil down to how they're managed, which is where I see the Tigers with the edge for now. AJ Hinch has proven to be a very good manager and while Mike Matheny has shown more analytic leanings since becoming the Royals manager, I'd still give Hinch the edge moving forward.
But maybe more importantly, the Tigers have adopted a lot of forward-thinking pitching philosophies with Chris Fetter in charge at the big league level. The changes they've seen from him have been impressive. I think you all know my thoughts on Cal Eldred in charge of the Royals pitching. They took some steps forward in the second half, and that likely saved his job, but until I see more than a couple months of progress, I'm going to have plenty of doubts.
Ultimately the battle will take place on the field where we can actually find out who is ahead with a chance to get back to the postseason first. My money is on the Tigers because they seem to be taking the approach of not waiting to find out which prospects hit and which don't, but that's working under my assumption that my prediction of them signing Correa is correct and they put him in a lineup that improved quite a bit throughout the 2021 season with guys like Akil Baddoo, Jonathan Schoop and Candelario providing positive offensive value.
Still, I'm not so sure the Tigers are in that different of a place in their rebuild as much as they're taking a more aggressive approach to expediting their return to contention process. Both teams are working their way back to contention in a division that figures to be among the most competitive in baseball with a White Sox team already very good, a Guardians team that always competes and a Twins team that fell on hard times in 2021, but won 100 games in 2019 and the division in 2020 with a .600 winning percentage. It'll be fun to see how that all shakes out in the next few seasons.
40-Man Moves Coming
The deadline to add players to the 40-man to protect them from the Rule 5 draft is tomorrow. Any given day, I can make an argument for a different combination to be protected, but we know for certain that both Melendez and Pratto will be added before the deadline. Given their performances in the Arizona Fall League, Nathan Eaton and Seuly Matias are candidates as well, but I don't think the former will be added while the latter is a pretty decent possibility. Other names to watch for are Dairon Blanco, Jonathan Bowlan, Austin Cox, Josh Dye, Maikel Garcia, Zach Haake, Brewer Hicklen and Zach Willeman. I might be missing someone, but the point here is that the Royals 40-man roster is currently at 36 and they're likely to protect at least four of these players (and probably more) and they'll want to keep some spots available.
So that means some non-tenders are coming. It's not like the options aren't aplenty for them. On the pitching side, I wonder what the plan is with Richard Lovelady. He finally emerged in 2021 as a good reliever in the big leagues, but is now out for all of 2022. I would guess they'll keep him, but I don't think it's a guarantee. Joel Payamps was solid, but also is the kind of guy you're fine with and are always looking for better. Gabe Speier looked good in the big leagues, but it was a small sample and gave up a ton of hits. Kyle Zimmer struggled after they started checking for sticky stuff and Tyler Zuber just struggled. Any or all could go.
Offensively, with the addition of Melendez to the 40-man, you might see the Royals jettison either Cam Gallagher or Sebastian Rivero, though that would likely be a small trade rather than a non-tender. Lucius Fox is a very easy drop as is Ryan O'Hearn, but we know about this team and O'Hearn. Emmanuel Rivera could find himself on the wrong end of a roster crunch too, but I think there's enough dead weight elsewhere that he should be safe. Whatever direction they go, the next day or so should be pretty interesting. It should be noted that the non-tender deadline isn't until December 1, so even if guys you want gone are still on the roster, it doesn't mean they will be in a couple weeks.
New Uniforms?
The Royals sent out a purposely cryptic tweet yesterday about unveiling new threads tomorrow.
Kansas City Nice Trys @Royals
New threads. 11.19.21.
It sure looks like they're bringing back the all powder blues. Look at that piping on the sleeve and then the way that Whit Merrifield is holding the bat in the Bo Jackson pose. I do love that the social media team hid a bit of an Easter egg as well so when you zoom in if you try, the words "Nice try" appear in the center of the jersey. That's fun. When the team brought the powder blue jerseys back in 2008, it was great…for like a minute. But they just kind of look odd with white pants. I don't know. I still like them and they make for a great shirsey, but it just felt incomplete, so hopefully they're bringing back the whole set like other teams have done in recent seasons.
I mentioned this on Twitter, but I also would love to see them do some sort of Monarchs theme. They should have done this a long time ago, but we can't change the past and what better season than 2022 to do it? Why 2022? Because Buck O'Neil wore number 22. It would be a great homage to him and they could really put together some sharp uniforms. My personal favorite are the navy blue pinstripes like Brian Utt tweeted to me here.
Brian Utt @UttBrian
@DBLesky Agreed. I never understood why they haven't played that history. I always love when they play a throwback NL uni game.
Do this and there's even minimal color changing needed. Just a thought, Royals. I won't even ask for any reward for this idea.
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Terry P
Mr. Lesky, thx for your usual spot-on analysis. I'm really excited about the Royals return to competitiveness in the division, which should make for some thrills and drama next season. Do we really have to put up with Miggy Cabrera for two more years? Also, please promise me that the Ryan O'Hearn experiment will be abandoned once and forever.
Steve Yeakel
In retrospect (for the good reason that we had some minor league breakouts that we could/should not have counted on), we made the (only in retrospect) mistake last year of spending too soon (though not for top guys) into a mistaken thought of ready to compete for the playoffs, so are now saddled with 2 (in retrospect) bad contracts we wish we did not have, with Carlos and Dozier (though Dozier may still be able to be a barely above average useful backup at several positions, though not nearly worth his contract). Even if the Tigers do it now (mistakenly or not), spending big, I hope that the Royals do not do it yet. I hope that we are patient (and I think that JJ's promotion allows that) in 2022 to not sign any big contracts (maybe a reliever or 2 or 3 that we can trade when needed), but, otherwise, to find out what we have internally, which are the best ones, and to get them settled at the major league level. We have so many young starters, that the "losers" for starting spots can be relievers (and other teams have shown like, initially with Keller, this can be a very smart way to bring guys up). I dread to have to guess that, for example, Singer or Lynch or Kowar may not be one of our top 5, so we trade him for a CF and later find out we traded away a top starter. Stay the course. Thousand points of light. I believe that we are sitting on a gold mine, and do not want to get over anxious or fleeced into trading any key parts away. | {
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Frosh Backs Brochin for Baltimore County Executive
By William F. Zorzi
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Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh endorsed his former legislative colleague, state Sen. James Brochin, for Baltimore County executive Thursday, giving the Democrat's primary campaign a surprise — and needed — boost from the left.
Frosh delivered his nod to about 30 Brochin supporters — some in the candidate's T-shirts, some holding an oversized placard — who gathered just after the lunch hour in front of the historic Baltimore County Courthouse in Towson.
"I know Jim well," said Frosh, a liberal Democrat from Montgomery County who served with Brochin in the Maryland Senate. "I think his platform as county executive is an exemplary one, and I think he'll be a great county executive and a great leader for Baltimore County."
He praised Brochin particularly for being an advocate in the Senate for environmental causes, including Maryland's fracking ban, the state's Healthy Air Act, a law giving legal standing to citizens to sue polluters, and cracking down on poachers in the Chesapeake Bay.
Attorney General Brian E. Frosh (right) endorses state Sen. James Brochin for Baltimore County executive in Towson Thursday. Photo by William F. Zorzi.
Frosh, the longtime chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, where Brochin served under him for more than a decade, went on to describe what was a difficult vote for some legislators on the 2012 bill to approve same-sex marriage in the state.
Brochin, the attorney general recounted, told him one day in committee that he had campaigned telling voters in his district he supported civil unions, but that he would not go so far as to vote for the same-sex marriage bill.
But, after considering hours and hours of testimony, Brochin concluded, "'The folks who are against this don't have a case,'" Frosh recalled.
"I pointed out that I had the votes without him," he said. "But he voted for that law."
That vote, Frosh said, won Brochin greater respect in his eyes.
"I respected the fact that he sat there, he listened, he paid attention, he weighed the arguments on the merits, and when push came to shove, he was willing as a matter of principle to do what he thought was right," he said. "He is smart, he's honest, he's principled — and he gets along with Democrats and Republicans."
Brochin, 54, a four-term state senator, was clearly grateful for the support.
"Obviously I'm thrilled, very happy, and I appreciate it very much," he said after the endorsement.
Given their reputations in Annapolis, the two men on the surface seem a bit of an odd couple.
"We didn't agree on everything, but on major issues, we fought together and changed public policy," Brochin said.
Representing a generally conservative District 42 for the last 16 years, he has straddled a fine line as a Democrat, often finding himself voting with Republican members of the Maryland Senate.
Brochin will need to shake some of that image and reputation if he wants to attract voters countywide from across the political spectrum, and the Frosh endorsement certainly could help to begin that change. Brochin also promotes himself as a political reformer — a reputation he shares with Frosh.
Oddly enough, Brochin has said that he counted among his closest friends in the Maryland Senate, Frosh, who served there for 20 years, including 12 as chairman of the Judicial Proceedings Committee before winning a bid for attorney general in 2014, and U.S. Rep. Jamin B. Raskin (D), a liberal former senator from Montgomery County.
Brochin let news of the Frosh endorsement slip Wednesday evening during a forum for Democratic county executive candidates sponsored by College Democrats of Towson University, at the school.
Mention of the endorsement seemed to go unnoticed by his competition, as Brochin answered an unrelated question standing between two of the three other Democratic candidates for executive in the primary election — Vicki L. Almond, 69, a second-term Baltimore County councilwoman, and John A. "Johnny O" Olszewski Jr., 35, a former 8½-year member of the Maryland House of Delegates.
The fourth Democratic candidate, Kevin F. Marron, 63, did not show up at the forum, and a rostrum with his name on it stood empty beside the other candidates.
William F. Zorzi
Bill Zorzi was a Baltimore Sun reporter and editor for nearly 20 years, focusing on government and politics. An Annapolis bureau veteran, he wrote a weekly column, "The Political Game" for the paper. Zorzi left newspapers for several years to write for television, including for the HBO series, "The Wire" and the HBO miniseries "Show Me a Hero," which dealt with an explosive housing desegregation case in Yonkers, NY. He returned to reporting in 2018, when he joined Maryland Matters.
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} |
Shujaa Graham is coming to the march!
We talked to Bill Pelke, president and cofounder of Journey of Hope…From Violence to Healing, and Shujaa Graham today and found out that Shujaa can come to the march. Shujaa was convicted of a murder he did not commit and spent three years on death row in California. He was later found innocent, exonerated and released.
Thanks to Bill, the Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing and Shujaa!
Journey of Hope…from Violence to Healing is an organization led by murder victim family members joined by death row family members, family members of the executed, the exonerated, and others with stories to tell, that conducts public education speaking tours and addresses alternatives to the death penalty.
Shujaa was born in Lake Providence, LA, where he grew up on a plantation. His family worked as share-croppers, in the segregated South of the 50s. In 1961, he moved to join his family who had moved to South Central Los Angeles, to try to build a more stable life. As a teenager, Shujaa lived through the Watts riot and experienced the police occupation of his community. In and out of trouble, he spent much of his adolescent life in juvenile institutions, until at age 18, he was sent to Soledad Prison.
Within the prison walls, Shujaa came of age, mentored by the leadership of the Black Prison movement. Shujaa taught himself to read and write, he studied history and world affairs, and became a leader of the growing movement within the California prison system, as the Black Panther Party expanded in the community.
In 1973, Shujaa was framed in the murder of a prison guard at the Deul Vocational Institute, Stockton, California. As a recognized leader within and without the prison, the community became involved in his defense, and supported him through 4 trials. Shujaa and his co-defendant, Eugene Allen, were sent to San Quentin's death row in 1976, after a second trial in San Francisco. The DA systematically excluded all African American jurors, and in 1979, the California Supreme Court overturned the death conviction.
After spending three years on death row, Shujaa and Eugene Allen, continued to fight for their innocence. A third trial ended in a hung jury, and after a fourth trial, they were found innocent. As Shujaa often says, he won his freedom and affirmed his innocence in spite of the system.
Shujaa was released in March, 1981, and continued to organize in the Bay area, building community support for the prison movement, as well as protest in the neighborhoods against police brutality.
In the following years, Shujaa moved away from the Bay area. Shujaa learned landscaping, and created his own business by starting reading the bollinger bands trading strategy pdf. He and his wife raised three children, and became part of a progressive community in Maryland.
In 1999, Shujaa was invited to speak about his experiences on Death Row at fund raiser for the Alabama Death Penalty project, sponsored by the New York Legal Aid Foundation. This was a new beginning, and provided Shujaa the opportunity to begin to tell his story, his experiences and grow through work with other death penalty opponents.
Pelke originally support the sentence of death for Cooper, but went through a spiritual transformation in 1986 after praying for love and compassion for Paula Cooper and her family. He became involved in an international crusade on Paula's behalf and in 1989 after over 2 million people from Italy signed petitions and Pope John Paul II's request for mercy, Paula was taken off of death row and her sentence commuted to sixty years.
Bill, a retired steelworker, has dedicated his life to working for abolition of the death penalty. He shares his story of forgiveness and healing, and how he came to realize that he did not need to see someone else die in order to heal from his grandmother's death. He also helps organize Journey tours nationally and abroad.
Pelke has traveled to over forty states and ten countries with the Journey of Hope and has told his story over 5000 times. | {
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The Hook - Charlottesville's weekly newspaper, news magazine
CULTURAL PREVIEW
Cultural Calendar December 9-16, 2004
By Hook Staff | [email protected]
Published online Thursday Dec 9th, 2004
and in print issue #0349 dated Thursday Dec 9th, 2004
Sing-a-Round: Do-re-mi for the holidays at the annual caroling night at Central Place on the Downtown Mall. Meet at the Community Holiday Tree at 5:30pm, and go from there. No fee.
It's a Hoot: Get to know the unique adaptations, behaviors, and lifestyles of nocturnal birds with "Owls: Birds of Mystery and Majesty" at the Ivy Creek Natural Area. 7:30pm in the Education Building. No fee. 971-9271.
A Christmas Carol: This adaptation of Charles Dickens's holiday classic will delight the whole family. Let's face it, Ebenezer, Tiny Tim, and those ghosts never get old. Today's performance is a school matinee. 10:30am. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. $14-26. 540-855-5588.
Winston in Concert: Pianist George Winston graces the home of Shenandoah Shakespeare with his mix of folk, pop, and R&B. The performance benefits the Blue Ridge Food Bank. Nonperishable food items will be taken at the door. 7:30pm. $35. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. 540-855-5588.
Return Engagement: Award-winning poet Lucie Brock-Broido, whose reading was cancelled at the last minute several weeks ago, is rescheduled to read from her work this evening. She is director of poetry at Columbia's School of the Arts, having just left the position of director of creative writing at Harvard. Her most recent book is Trouble in Mind, published this fall by Knopf. 8pm. University Bookstore atop the Central Grounds parking garage, Emmet street. 924-6675.
Revival Plans: UVA architectural historian Richard Guy Wilson discusses past and present trends in Colonial Revival architecture, based on his recent book, The Colonial Revival House. 5:30pm. New Dominion Bookshop. 404 E. Market St. 295-2552.
Hail, yes: With yellow cab karaoke, you're not just a singer, you're the star! Join the fun of over 18,000 songs, digital karaoke, and spectacular lights. 9pm-1am. Damon's at the Holiday Inn, 1901 Emmet St. 977-0803.
Irish Set Dance Workshop at the Prism: The Blue Ridge Irish Music school sponsors a lesson of this social dance from County Clare, Ireland– four couples in square sets hopping about to reels and jigs. $5, 7pm.
Charley Orlando (singer/songwriter) at Kokopelli's. $3, 7-9:30pm.
Karaoke Night with DJ Wild Wes at Buffalo Wild Wings. Free, 9pm.
Danny Beirne (piano-man) at Coupe DeVille's. No cover, 10pm.
Karaoke Night at Damon's Sports Bar. Free, 9-12am.
Chicken Head Blues Band at Dürty Nelly's. $4, 9pm.
Peter Markush (piano) at Gravity Lounge. Free, 12-1pm.
Morwenna Lasko with Jay Pun & Julie Lloyd at Gravity Lounge. $5, 8pm.
Thompson / D'earth and friends (freeform jazz) at Miller's. $4, 10pm.
Dj Scumbag at Orbit. No cover, 10:30pm.
Temple of Giants at Outback Lodge. No cover, 10pm.
Satisfaction with Noel Sanger (18 and up dance party) at Rapture. $3/Ladies free, 10:30pm.
Middle Eastern Belly Dance Class at Rapunzel's Coffee & Books. Free, 6:30pm.
PJ Party: Kids of all ages can jump in their jammies, grab a stuffed friend or blankie to cuddle with, and come over to Barnes & Noble for their first Christmas Story Time Pajama Party. Children's bookseller Allyson reads favorite traditional holiday stories like The Night Before Christmas and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and holiday treats are on tap. 7pm. Free. Barracks Road Shopping Center. 984-6598.
Christmas on the Frontier: Frontier Culture Museum Holiday Lantern Tours explore Christmas as it used to be. Historic holiday traditions from Old World Europe and 19th Century Shenandoah Valley are presented by costumed interpreters. Tours leave every 30 minutes from 5:30-8:30pm. $12 adults, $8 children. Advance reservations required. Rt. 250 west in Staunton. 540-332-7850.
FAMILY AND PERFORMANCE
Best Ever: The Herdmans are back as Four County Players presents a holiday performance of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, based on a children's classic by Barbara Robinson. When "the worst kids in the world" take over the church's annual nativity play, these street-wise siblings give everyone a new take on the reason for the season. A bistro with homemade goodies and gifts opens for business with each show, and Santa makes a cameo at every matinee. 7:30pm. $12 adults, $10 seniors/students, $8 children. Barboursville Community Center, Rt. 678. 540-832-5677.
A Christmas Carol: See Thursday, December 9. Today's performance is at 7:30pm.
Violin Improv: Two local musical gurus, Stephen Nachmanovitch and Timothy Summers, team up to offer improvisations on violin, viola, mezzo violin, and electric violin. 8:30pm. $10-15. Gravity Lounge, 103 S. First St. 977-5590.
Get Lost in Santaland: Shenandoah Shakespeare presents the ultimate anti-holiday show: The Santaland Diaries, a hilarious one-man act written by NPR humorist and author David Sedaris. As usual, it's about his zany life: this time as an unemployed artist working as an elf in the Big Apple. $10-21. 10pm. Blackfriars Playhouse, 10 S. Market St., Staunton. 540-885-5588.
Wreath Workshops at Monticello: These ever-popular workshops, now in their 19th year, result in a beautiful Christmas wreath for each participant to take home. Learn the process of making your own, then get busy. $40 fee covers the workshop and all materials. 984-9822 or monticello.org.
Holiday Market: Start your holiday celebrations at the annual Holiday Market. Come shop for crafts, baked goods, toys, and greenery on Fridays and Saturdays now until Christmas. 10am-5pm. Central Place on the Downtown Mall.
Ash Lawn for the Holidays: Come experience a 19th century Christmas, complete with natural greenery and period decorations, at James Monroe's Albemarle estate. Admission charge. 293-9539 or ashlawnhighland.org for details. See Walkabout feature.
Yuletide Feast: Michie Tavern knows all about transporting guests back in time, and this weekend you can even experience local holiday traditions at their annual Yuletide Feast. Strolling musicians, 18th century style decorations, fresh greens, fruits, and more. 6pm. Reservations required. 977-1234 or michietavern.com for details. See Walkabout feature.
Floral Meditations: Join the Gentle Gardener staff for a workshop on decorating with container gardens for the holidays. You'll also learn tips and tricks for wintering indoor plants safely. 10Am-noon. $10 fee. gentlegardener.com or 1-877-GENTLEG.
Information Session: The Outdoor Adventure Social Club offers a photo show and social hour for potential members. 8-10pm. Free if you RSVP. 420 E. Main St. #3. outdoorsocial.com or 760-HIKE.
Still a Great Society?: Oxford University's Gareth Davies speaks on "The Great Society after Johnson: The Case of Federal Education Policy." Davies has published a book on the Great Society and its welfare efforts. He discusses Lyndon Johnson's education legacy at the Miler Center. Free and open to the public, including lunch, but reservations are required. Noon. 2201 Old Ivy Road. 924-4694.
Books and Hoots in the Valley: Occasional Hook contributor Chris Graham– late of the Charlottesville Observer and now co-brain behind the August Free Press– signs copies of his new book, Stop the Presses, at the Sharon Book Store, 6-9pm. At 7:15pm he talks on humor writing. 540-249-1198.
Monthly Drum Circle at Better Than Television Community Center (106 a3 Goodman St.): The first meeting of the drum circle, where those with a groove can get it out before the work week is upon us. Bring your assorted percussion instruments and beat. Free, 8pm.
Local Duets at the Prism: Jake Armerding and Greg Liszt, James Leva and Danny Knicely, Ben Krakauer and Pete Frostic (of Old School Freight Train), Morwenna Lasko and Jay Pun (fiddle and guitar), Andy Thacker and Peyton Tochterman (of Fair Weather Bums) begin at 7pm and just keep chugging– see some of best, in their most stripped-down form. $15/$12 advance.
Open Mic Night at Rapunzel's: Whatever you've got, Rapunzel's will take it (within limits of course): poetry, music, dance, magic, a catch all for the exhibitionist in us all. Free, 7:30pm.
The Pat McGee Band at Starr Hill: The Richmond based jam sextet continues its almost 10-year career, performing over 250 live dates a year. Come see why they still pull them in. $18/$15 advance, 9pm.
Sweet Trouble (pop/rock) at Kokopelli's. $5, 8-11pm.
Vernon Fisher ("romantic side of jazz") at Keswick Hall. No cover, 6:30pm.
James McLaughlin w/members of Old School Freight Train ("Latin jazz") at Michael's Bistro. No cover, 10pm.
Porter Davis and Taylor Davis ("eclectic acoustic) at Miller's. $3, 10:30pm.
Travis Elliott and Supercomp at Orbit. No cover, 10:30pm.
This Means You at Outback Lodge. $6, 10pm.
William Walter & Co. (acoustic-rock originals) at the Shebeen. No cover, 11pm.
Mass Movement of the Moth with Arcadia, Sing Sing Prison, and Shapiro at Tokyo Rose, $5, 10pm.
Evening of Electronic Music at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. No cover, 9pm.
SATURDAY, December 11
Scrawled War Art: Troopship soldiers left behind their thoughts and impressions during the Vietnam War by scrawling graffiti on their canvas bunks. Author Art Beltrone has collected some of those scrawlings, and Charlottesville publisher Howell Press has come out with a book of them. Meet Beltrone and see his display of some of the graffiti-bearing bunks at New Dominion Bookshop at 1:30pm. 404 E. Market St. 295-2552.
If You Build It: Young architects ages 4 and up can build their house and eat it too at the Virginia Discovery Museum's Holiday Houses workshop. 10:30-11:15am. $5 members, $7 non-members. Pre-registration required. East end of the Downtown Mall. 977-1025.
Friends Around the World: Kids can make a friend in another land at Crozet Library. In a project based on the book Boxes for Katie, young folks ages 8 and up and an adult will sew Teddy bears for children in a Haitian orphanage. The toys will be sent along with boxes of donated clothing. Bring a small treasure for the bear's pocket and some clean, out-grown clothes. 1pm. Free. Registration required. In the old train station on Three Notch'd Road. 823-4050. See Family feature.
Down on the Farm: Mangham Wool & Mohair Farm host a country Christmas Fair on the farm. City folks can explore the farm with animals to pet, enjoy hot cider and cookies, and finish up some holiday shopping with wooly socks, hand knit sweaters, blankets, hats, yarns for sale. Noon-5pm. 901 Hammocks Gap Road. 973-2222. wool.us.
Enchanting Dilemma: Follow the bread crumbs to Old Michie Theatre for a newly staged marionette production of the classic Grimm's tale Hansel and Gretel. 11am, 2 and 4pm. $5. 221 E. Water St. 977-3690.
Never Grow Up: Jefferson Youth Theater presents Peter Pan at Burnley-Moran Elementary School. This new millennium version of the classic musical features over 50 children along with veteran actor Brad Stoller as Captain Hook. 5pm. $6. Just off the 250 Bypass near Locust Ave. 249-2803.
Wild Blue Yonder: It was December 17, 1903 when Orville Wright made the first successful, powered, controlled flight, and the Virginia Aviation Museum is celebrating this achievement. High flyers can examine a life-size reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer and three full-size reproductions of Wright brothers' gliders, make their own Wright Flyer out of foam or construct a kite, enjoy Wright brothers movies all day, and soar with children's activities that celebrate the day. 10am-noon. Included in the price of museum admission. 5701 Huntsman Road. 804-236-3622. vam.smv.org.
Best Ever: See Friday, December 10. Matinee also today at 2:30pm.
Christmas on the Frontier: See Friday, December 10.
Trails Workday: Help the Rivanna Trails Foundation in its ongoing effort to build a trail network around Charlottesville, and get dirty in the process! 8:45am. 923-9022 or rivannatrails.org for directions and more information.
Wreath Workshops at Monticello: See Friday, December 10. Today's workshops are at 9:30am and 2pm. Reservations required.
Beginner Hike: Get your boots wet at this beginner/intermediate hike in Shenandoah National Park with the Outdoor Adventure Social Club. 10am departure. $5, plus membership fee. outdoorsocial.com or 760-HIKE.
Cooper Vineyards Open House: Plan your holiday festivities with wine, gifts, and light holiday fare from Cooper Vineyards. 10am-5pm. No fee. 13372 Shannon Hill Road in Lousia. 540-894-5253 or [email protected].
Holiday Market: See Friday, December 10.
Afton Winter Open House: It's a party, with barrel tastings of Afton Mountain Vineyards' 2004 vintage with complementary minestrone soup. No fee. 10am-5pm. (540) 456-8667.
Chrysalis Open House: Celebrate the season with award-winning Chrysalis wines, warm soup, and holiday treats. 11am-5pm. (540) 687-8222 or [email protected].
18th Century Evening: You've probably seen Monticello before, but how many times have you been there at night? You can do just that at the annual Holiday Evening Tour. Live music, costumed interpreters, holiday deserts, and plenty of authentic 18th century decorations. Best of all, this walkthrough is self guided, so you can go at your own pace. 5:30-8:30pm. $10 for adults ($5 for kids under 11). monticello.org or 984-9822. See Walkabout feature.
Yuletide Feast: See Friday, December 10. 6pm. Reservations required. 977-1234 or michietavern.com.
Rock Climbing: Practice makes perfect. Join the Outdoor Adventure Social Club for some training on the plastic rocks at Peak Experiences rock gym in Richmond. Noon. $17 plus membership fee. Registration required. 760-HIKE or outdoorsocial.com.
King Family Open House: Enjoy mulled wine and take advantage of special discounts on wines and wine related gifts for holiday giving at King Family Vineyard. No fee. 823-7800 or email or [email protected].
Plant a Family Tree: The Central Virginia Genealogical Association meets at Northside Library for their monthly discussion. 1:30pm. 973-7471 or avenue.org/cvga.
Get Lost in Santaland: See Friday, December 10.
Holiday Spotlight: The Paramount Theater showcases hundreds of local singers, musicians, dancers, and actors in 17 different groups throughout the day. 10-5pm. A new performance begins every half-hour on the Downtown Mall, left of the theater's construction barrier. 979-1922.
Best Christmas Pageant: See Friday, December 10. Today's shows are at 2:30 and 7:30pm.
David Matthews (not Dave Matthews), Alli Collis, Jose Maria, and Karma Bums at Live Arts Upstage: The 8th season of Acoustic Charlottesville opens with an evening of multi-cultural (and multi-genre) sounds. $6, 8pm.
Ralph Rush and Swang at SongSharing CoffeeHouse at the Fork Union Community Center: Hooktown Blues recording artists Rush and Swang perform live as part of the SongSharing monthly Community Music Series in Fork Union. Those interested in performing should call to take one of the opening slots. $3, 7pm. 842-3150.
Ralph Stanley at Starr Hill: A Virginia native, Stanley has been playing bluegrass for 50 years; recently he was featured in the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou has brought Stanley a whole new group of fans. $25/$20, 8pm. See Tunes feature.
Victor Cabas (blues) at Basic Necessities. No cover, 6:30pm.
Populist Dancing at Club Rio. $10, 9pm.
Soldiers of Jah Army (reggae) at Garden of Sheba. $7, 10pm.
Robot Surfer (rock) at Miller's. $2, 10:30pm.
Meade Skelton (singer-songwriter) at the Mudhouse Downtown. No cover, 8pm.
Minus the Sidekick (indie-rock) and the Chicken Head Blues Band at Outback Lodge. $6, 10:30pm.
Soul Canoe (Tom Prout, Emily McCormack, and Mary Gordon Hall- folk) at Rapunzel's. $5, 7:30pm.
Metanoia (classic rock-dance) at Kokopelli's. $5, 8-11pm.
Hard Rain (rock covers, originals) at Dürty Nelly's. $3, 9-11pm.
SUNDAY, December 12
Best Christmas Pageant: See Friday, December 10. Today's show is a 2:30pm matinee.
Holiday Spotlight: See Saturday, December 11. Today's hours are 1-3:30pm.
Hello, Charlie: The Waynesboro players are looking for three women and four men to cast in Goodbye, Charlie, directed by Betty Hales. Performances will be March 3-5. 2-5pm. Waynesboro Players warehouse, Main and Delphine, Waynesboro. 964-0872.
Charlottesville Municipal Band Holiday Concert: It's not Christmas in Charlottesville until we've heard from the Municipal Band. Seasonal and traditional music, "snow fall," and audience participation highlight this annual festivity. A free event, but tickets are required, available at Greenberry's, Plan 9 Records, and the Senior Center. 3:30 and 7:30pm. Main stage, V. Earl Dickinson Building, PVCC. 961-5202.
Santa Claws: Animal Connections offers Rover and Boots the chance to have their photos taken with the big bearded guy in the red suit to benefit the Charlottesville/Albemarle SPCA and other animal rescue groups. Noon-6pm. 1701 E. Allied St. 296-7048.
Winter Fiesta: Central Library hosts a bilingual Winter Fiesta with seasonal stories and songs in English and Spanish. Partiers can make a gift for a loved one, and refreshments will be served. 3pm. Free. 201 E. Market St. 979-7151, ext. 3.
Never Grow Up: See Saturday, December 11.
Best Ever: See Friday, December 10. Today's show 2:30pm.
Down on the Farm: See Saturday, December 11.
Rink in the Season: Come to the Downtown Ice Park for a live skating performance by the Charlottesville Figure Skating Club. Then, stay for the Charlottesville Ice Park Adult League Hockey Championship game at 6pm. Starts at 4pm. $7. 817-1423 or icepark.com.
King Family Open House: See Saturday, December 11.
Cooper Vineyards Open House: See Saturday, December 11. 10am-5pm.
Cold Enough?: Winter weather permitting, the Outdoor Adventure Social Club will hit the slopes for a day of skiing and snowboarding at Wintergreen. 11:15am departure. Fee plus membership. outdoorsocial.com or 760-HIKE.
Afton Winter Open House: See Saturday, December 11.
Chrysalis Open House: See Saturday, December 11.
Soul Canoe at Gravity Lounge: Soul Canoe is a new group composed of the harmonious duo Tom Proutt and Emily McCormick, with the addition of Mary Gordon Hall. Donations, 11am-2pm.
Music of the Early Modern Era at Old Cabell Hall: Featuring music from the 16th and 17th centuries and directed by Paul Walker, the show includes works by Josquin des Prez, Michael Praetorius, Orlande de Lassus, Giovanni Gabrieli, Johann David Heinichen, and others $10/$5 students, 3:30pm. 924-3984.
Sugar Ridge Quartet Holiday Concert at Gravity Lounge. $10, 3pm.
Choral Music (Back, etc.) at First United Methodist Church (101 E. Jefferson St). Free, 11am.
Gaye Adegbalola with Joan Fenton at Gravity Lounge. $15/$12, 7pm.
Funktastic Five (hip-hop) at Miller's. $2, 10:30pm.
Native American Flute Circle meeting at Rapunzel's. No cover, 1pm.
Irish Music Session at Shebeen. No cover, 3-6pm.
Brad Bryant (acoustic "bluesy pop") at Kokopelli's. $3, 7-9:30pm.
Stealing Christmas: That cuddly-as-a-cactus Grinch comes to Gordon Avenue Library via video. Children of all ages are invited to munch some popcorn and watch this modern holiday classic. 3pm. Free. 1500 Gordon Ave. 296-5544.
Scuba Club: Explore the waters of the northeastern seaboard with Pete Nawrocky, a well-known diver and underwater photographer, at the monthly meeting of the Sea Devil Divers. 6:30pm. Free. Rococo's Restaurant. 975-5570 or SeaDevilDivers.com.
Voters Voice: The Fluvanna League of Women Voters meets at 4:30pm in the new Public Safety Building. Route 53 in Palmyra. 589-6221.
Paws To Ponder: Caring For Creatures presents a free community lecture series designed to enhance your relationship with the animals in your life. December's focus is on protecting your pets during the hectic and busy holiday season. 7pm. No fee (except for dinner, or course). At Wild Greens Restaurant in the north wing of the Barracks Road Shopping Center. 591-6113 or caringforcreatures.com.
Easy Hike: Head into the mountains with the Outdoor Adventure Social Club and enjoy a summit view of the new moon and the Geminid meteor shower on this easy hike. 6pm. $5, plus membership fee. outdoorsocial.com or 760-HIKE.
Hello, Charlie: See Sunday, December 12. Today's hours are 7-9pm.
Are you Mr. Adams? Four County Players is holding auditions for its winter musical, the lovable 1776, a comic reworking of America's road to independence. Performances will run from March to April. Actors should prepare a short vocal selection. Must be 18 or older. All parts open, none paid. 7pm. Barboursville Community Center, Route 678 just off Route 33, Barboursville. 832-5355.
Open Mic Night with Charles Davis at Baja Bean. No cover, signup 8:30pm/9pm.
Michael Glabicki with Greg Howard at Gravity Lounge. $14/$10, 7pm.
Greg Howard (acoustic) at Miller's. No cover, 9pm.
George Melvin (piano merriment) at South Street Brewery. No cover, 9:30pm.
Jim Gagnon and Co. at Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar. No cover, 9pm.
Travis Elliot (pop) and John Figura at the Virginian. No cover, 10pm.
Before Jackie Was O: Barbara A. Perry, author of the recently published Jacqueline Kennedy: First Lady of the New Frontier, shares insights from her book at the Miller Center today at 11am. 2201 Old Ivy Road. 924-0921.
English Christmas in Virginia: The Kluge Farm Shop will be decked out in holiday spirit for this evening of English and old Virginia Christmas traditions, foodstuffs, and beverages. Learn to cook all sorts of favorites, then stay to share some seasonal cheer. 6:30-8pm. $45 includes all materials, reservations required. Limit 20. Part of an ongoing series of wine/food events at the Shop. 100 Grand Cru Drive, Esmont. 977-3895.
It's a Snap: The Charlottesville camera club meets to discuss successes and tips– this month focusing on the year's best pictures. Visitors welcome. 6:30pm. Turtle Creek Club House, 100 Turtle Creek Road. 973-4856.
Women's Discussion: "Black women, White women, All Women In Dialogue" holds its monthly meeting. All welcome. 5:45pm. Garden of Sheba. 609 E. Market St. 295-2612.
In Your Dreams: If it's just not Christmas without Sugarplum Fairies dancing through your dreams, you're in luck. The Moscow Ballet Company comes to the Martin Luther King Jr. Performing Arts Center for two performances of the Great Russian Nutcracker ballet. Over 40 local children join the pros as mice, angels, snowflakes, and party guests. 7:30pm. $28-48; tickets available through Musictoday at 800-594-TIXX, or nutcracker.com. Melbourne Road. 499-1733.
An Unfortunate Event: Fans awaiting the December 17 release of the movie based on the burdensome books known as Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events will probably not want to attend the unpleasant program planned at Northside Library celebrating that event. There will be horrid games and minimal fun, so kids ages 8-12 are advised to sign up only if they must. 6:30-8pm. Free. Albemarle Square. 973-7893.
A Christmas Carol: See Thursday, December 9. Today's performance is a 10:30am (school matinee) and 7:30pm (interpreted in sign language).
Are You Mr. Adams?: See Monday, December 13.
Karaoke Night (what you make of it) at Baja Bean. Free, 8pm.
Glen Mack (rock) at Coupe DeVille's. No cover, 10:30pm.
Faster Than Walking at Miller's. $3, 9:30pm.
George Turner (jazz) at Orbit. No cover, 10pm.
$2 Tuesdays with Big Circle at Outback Lodge. No cover, 10pm.
WEDNESDAY, December 15
A Christmas Carol: See Thursday, December 9. 10:30am school matinee and 7:30pm.
Bennett Ball: The grand gala reopening of the Paramount Theater has been moved up a day to accommodate singing legend Tony Bennett's busy schedule. The night includes an open house and reception, and proceeds benefit the theater's capital campaign. Bennett's appearance opens a weekend of special performances to commemorate the renovations. 8pm. Paramount Theater, on the Downtown Mall. $250-1,000. 979-1333 or theparamount.net. See Performance feature.
Cold Enough?: Hit the slopes tonight with the Outdoor Adventure Social Club. 5:30pm departure. Fee, plus membership. outdoorsocial.com or 760-HIKE.
Intro to Iyengar: This yoga style is excellent for beginners because it teaches a variety of different poses and works with the body's natural alignment. This Outdoor Adventure Social Club class offers indivdualized attention and a highly trained teacher. 6:30pm at the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Charlottesville. $7 plus membership fee. outdoorsocial.com or 760-HIKE.
Cheesy Trivia with M&M Express at Buffalo Wild Wings. No cover, 8:30pm.
Benny Dodd (rock covers) at Coupe DeVille's. No cover, 10pm.
Open Mic Night at Dew Drop Inn. No cover, 7:30pm.
Country Dance Night (couples and line) at Fry Spring Beach Club. $7/$4 students, lessons 7-8pm, dancing 8-11pm.
Justin Rosolino at Gravity Lounge. $5, 8pm.
The Mike Rosensky Jeff Decker Quartet (jazz) at Miller's. No cover, 9:30pm.
Pre-thanksgiving bash with Travis Elliott at Orbit. No cover, 10:30pm. See Music Review, page 40.
Open Jam at Rapunzel's Coffee & Books. Free, 7pm.
Jim Davies (acoustic rock and blues) at the Virginian. No cover, 10pm.
Karaoke Night at West Main. No Cover, 10pm.
Afghans in Sport and War: An expert on Afghanistan, G. Whitney Azoy, speaks on "Afghanistan and Iraq: Two Bad Hands Played Differently– Reflections of a Diplomat, Consultant and Anthropologist, 1971-2004" at the central branch of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library today at 7pm. 201 E, Market St. 866-882-6887. See Words feature.
Matthew Willner solo at Atomic Burrito: Always a chameleon of sound, Willner morphs into a solo star tonight, as his guitar, bass, synths, loops and devices show you don't need a band. Just a lot of money and some soul. No cover, 10pm.
Karaoke Night at Damon's Sports Bar. Free, 9-midnight.
Live Reggae Lounge at Garden of Sheba. $7, 10pm.
Look Around: The Artisans Center of Virginia invites entries for a national competition/juried exhibition, "Sacred Icons: A Collective Vision of Symbolic & Ritual Objects." All media are accepted, but work must have been completed in the past two years. The entry fee is $20, and the submission deadline is February 19, 2005. Info: 540-946-3294 or [email protected].
Glass-Blowing Workshop: Try your hand at glass blowing with a one-day class at Sunspot Studios in Staunton. You'll get to watch a master in action, and then jump in to create a paperweight, ornament, or a hand-blown vase of your own. Class times and themes vary, as do fees. 202 S. Lewis St. in Staunton near the old train station. Details and registration info: 540-885-0678 or [email protected].
All Around the World: "Joy from the World," brightens the Science Museum of Virginia where holiday customs of the world light the museum in festively decorated fir trees, a display of handcrafted dolls representing actual and mythical characters, and special weekend cultural presentations. The museum's Carpenter Theatre Company presents the play "One Bad Camel," and "First Star I See Tonight" shows in the planetarium. Included in the price of admission. 2500 W. Broad St., Richmond. 800-659-1727. smv.org.
Traditions!: "Our Community, Our World in Celebration" explores the holiday traditions of Hanukkah, Diwali, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Lunar New Year, Ramadan, and Eid at the Children's Museum of Richmond. The interactive exhibit features six miniature houses where young visitors have the chance to play games such as Dreidel and Mancala, hear stories, make Kwanzaa candles, dance the dragon dance, and more. Included in the price of admission. 2626 West Broad St., Richmond. 804-474-7006. c-mor.org.
Christmas on the Frontier: The Frontier Culture Museum celebrates Holidays in History through December. The four historic farms are festively decorated, and costumed interpreters talk about holiday traditions from historic England, Scotland/Ireland, Germany, and the Shenandoah Valley. 10am-4pm. Included in the cost of admission. Rt. 250 west in Staunton. 540-332-7850. See Family feature, page 43.
Tree Trimming: Intrepid hunters and gatherers can cut their own Christmas tree from the fields at Ash Lawn-Highland. Trees are growing naturally so are not shaped, and there may be a hike to find just the right Virginia pine or cedar. Bring your own saw and a rope to secure the tree to your vehicle. 11am-4pm daily through December 24. $5 donation requested. James Monroe Parkway (Rt. 795). 293-9539. ashlawnhighland.org.
Write for the Animals: Published and aspiring writers of poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction are invited to participate in Writer's Gallery, a reading and reception to benefit an animal rescue organization. Writer's Gallery takes place on February 24, but writers' submissions and applications are due by Wednesday, December 15. Contact Kalela Williams at 971-8841 or [email protected].
Script It: Offstage Theatre seeks scripts for two upcoming series, Barhoppers and Bedroom Plays, set (duh) in bars and bedrooms. Pieces should run 10 to 20 minutes and require minimal props, costumes, etc. Comedies, dramas, monologues, musicals all eligible. Offstage pays $50 per chosen script. Deadlines: mid-December for Barhoppers; mid-February for Bedroom Plays. Send inquiries to [email protected] and submissions to [email protected], or send mail to Chris Patrick, 210 Little Graves St., Charlottesville 22902.
Modern Dance: Classes with the Miki Liszt dance company. Safety release technique: 7pm Tuesdays. Dynamic alignment: 10:30am Wednesdays. Horton technique: 5:30pm Fridays. Studio 20, McGuffey Art Center, 201 Second St. NW. 295-7973.
Practice Swing: The Charlottesville Swing Dance Society hosts weekly practice sessions for beginners and intermediates Thursdays. Singles and couples welcome. DJ takes requests. 7:30-9pm. Auditorium of the Albemarle County Office Building, 401 McIntire Road. Free. 980-2744.
Sunday Salsa: The Charlottesville Salsa Club sponsors a weekly opportunity to learn and practice Salsa and other dances, in a smoke-free nightclub atmosphere. A basic lesson (usually salsa) gets the evening started at 8. DJ'd music is 80 percent salsa mixed with other Latin styles. Complimentary water and sodas. The Outback Lodge, 917 Preston Ave. 8pm-midnight. $5 (members $3). 979-7211.
Country Dance: Couples and line dancing at Fry's Spring Beach Club. Dance lesson Wednesday 7-8pm, dancing 8-11pm. $7, students $4. (students $2 every fourth Wednesday). 2512 Jefferson Park Ave. 977-0491.
Belly Dance and More: Get kinky at the Berkmar Ballroom with lessons in everything from exotic dance to salsa and tango. Classes, schedules and prices vary. Visit www.bermarballroom.com for a complete listing or call for more information. 652 Rio Road W. 975-4611.
More Belly Dance: Studio 206 Belmont offers one-hour belly dance lessons every Tuesday with instructor Amalia Habibi. 7:15pm. 501 Monticello Road (above Mas tapas bar). $9-12. 296-6250.
Keep Rotating those Abs: Studio Bijoux's Leila offers Egyptian belly dance for advanced beginners (permission required) at 7pm Mondays and 7:15pm Wednesdays. A technique course open to dancers of all skill levels takes place at 8pm Mondays. Ages 15 and up welcome. All courses at ACAC Albemarle Square. $10-12. 978-3800 or studiobijoux.com/dance.
Ninja Yoga: Towards a revolution of consciousness. Free yoga classes. Bring a mat. Thursdays, 9-10:15am. Mondays, 6:30pm, followed by a writing workshop at 7:30pm. Meditation, an indirect non-action, meets Wednesdays 8-9am for instructions, discussions, short sittings. Meets Thursdays 8-9am for a silent "bare bones" hour-long sitting (followed by yoga). Free and open to the public at "Better than Television," a new community center at 106 A3 Goodman St. 295-0872.
Water Watchers: StreamWatch needs for volunteers interested in stream ecology and willing to collect aquatic organisms for the purpose of evaluating stream health. See streamwatch.org for info, then call 923-8642.
Green Gatherings: Explore the spiritual side of nature with NatureSpirit. Explore the spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions and learn how to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. Meets the first Sunday of the month at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church at 6:30pm. [email protected], call 243-6421, or naturespirit.info.
Parla italiano? If you don't, Christina Ball of Ecco Italy offers "Italian for Beginners" lessons on Wednesday mornings (9:30-11am; $15 drop-in fee). If you do, why not drop by for the Tavola italiana (Wednesdays 11:30am-12:30pm) for a free chat hour in italiano? Or what about "Cinema Chat," a series of intermediate Italian conversation classes inspired by Italian films. ($55 for five-week chat series or $15 single class drop-in; Thursday 7L30-9pm). All classes held in the Verity blue Tower Lounge at the Main Street Market 406A W. Main St. Contact [email protected] or 825-4390.
Monticello in Winter: See Jefferson's homestead up close and personal on a cold weather tour of the property's architectural highlights. Now through the end of February. Usual admission fee applies. 984-9822 or monticello.org for a complete schedule.
Alliance Dinner Meeting: Interfaith Gay Straight Alliance of Central Virginia, a faith-based group working for full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgenders and their families, meets the first Thursday of each month. 7pm. St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church, 1700 University Ave. Brown bag supper at 6pm. 220-0970.
Transition Workshop: A chance for families of high school students with disabilities to explore post-high school options happens December 1, at 6:30pm in the Charlottesville High School Media Center. Sponsored by Albemarle County and Charlottesville Public Schools. Free. 244-3110, ext. 3234.
Bead Business: Studio Baboo presents weekly classes in bead stringing and jewelry making. Call the shop for specifics
Madison House: Help UVA's Madison House bring a happy holiday to over 100 low-income families in the Charlottesville/Albemarle area. Call Reimi Okuyama at 977-7051 for details.
Early Music Meeting: The Shenandoah Recorder Society meets on the third Sunday of every month to discuss the recorder and early music in general. Open to all. For more information, call 295-1395.
Mindfulness Meditation: Tuesdays 12:15-12:45pm. UVA Hospital Chapel. Meditation practice with guidance. Free. No experience necessary. 924-1190.
ART LIST
Second Street Gallery presents "Drawn into Light: Works on Paper by Kay Hwang and Imi Hwangbo," on view through January 29. 115 Second St. SE. 977-7284.
Through December 23, the University of Virginia Art Museum displays "Whiteness, A Wayward Construction," a collaborative exhibition by 24 artists exploring "the concept of whiteness as an ideology of power." Also on view: "Lifeline: Movement and Time in Prints, Drawings and Photographs from the Collection," and video artist Bill Viola's "Six Heads," presented in conjunction with the Virginia Film Festival. The latter two shows run through December 23. Also extended through December 23 is the exhibition "Museums: Conditions and Spaces." 155 Rugby Road. 924-3952.
The McGuffey Art Center presents its annual Holiday Group Show, featuring work by over 50 artists, during December. 201 Second St. NW. 295-7973.
Vanity Salon features photography by Aimee Wade and Shannon Winter through December. 1112 High St. 977-3332.
Through December 30, The Art Box presents "Outside the Box," an exhibition of work by nine young female artists. 2125 Ivy Road, lower level. 295-5426.
The Main Street Market Galleria displays paintings by Kiki Slaughter during 416 W. Main St. 244-7800.
The 5th Floor Gallery at Keller Williams is currently showing the glass and metal sculpture of Bill Hess, landscape photography by Mary Withers, and oil cityscapes by Edward Thomas. Ten percent of proceeds from artwork sold is donated to Habitat for Humanity. Suite 500, Citizens Commonwealth Building (UVA Credit Union), 300 Preston Ave. 220-2200.
The Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church presents an "all church" group show of artwork by members of the congregation during December. 717 Rugby Road. 293-8179.
Angelo displays "Thailand-China, September 2004," photographs by Pam Perugi Marraccini, through December 31. 220 E. Main St. 971-9256.
The Kluge-Ruhe Collection of Aboriginal Art opens two new exhibitions in December: "Shades of Black: Photographs by Wayne Quilliam" and "Black & White & Red Ochre." Both shows run through January 29. 400 Worrell Drive, Peter Jefferson Place (off Route 250 East at Pantops). 244-0234.
Les Yeux du Monde presents "Places of Color and Light," paintings by Annie Harris Massie, through January 2. Also on display during December: "Small Treasures," a wide-ranging holiday group show. 115 S. First St. 973-5566.
The Downtown Business Association of Charlottesville displays photographs from its "Where Else but Downtown?" photography contest at the Charlottesville Community Design Center through the end of December.101 E. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 984-2232.
During December, Transient Crafters hosts "Horses: Drawings, Paintings, and Limited Editions by Milenko." 118 E. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 972-9500.
Nature Visionary Art presents "Visions of Haiti," a group show curated by Laurie Carmody of Galerie Bonheur, through December 30. 110 Fourth St. 296-8482.
For its December show, The Gallery @ 5th & Water offers the Africa-inspired work of Gloria Mitchell, plus paintings by Lindsay Michie Eades. 107 Fifth St. 979-9825.
Can't get enough of Lindsay Michie Eades? Then head to New Dominion Bookshop, where Eades' paintings are also on display through December 31. 404 E. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 295-2552.
During December, CODG presents "Abstract Ornamentation," spotlighting eight local artists working in a wide range of media.. 112 E. Main St., under the Jefferson Theater. 242-4212.
The C&O Gallery features "A Secret Garden," an exhibition of stunning botanical prints by John Grant, through December. Next door to the C&O Restaurant, 511 E. Water St. 971-7044. See Art feature.
Sage Moon Gallery highlights work by Elliott Twery during December. 420 E. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 977-9997.
New works by members of the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild, featuring watercolors, oils, pastels, and mixed media are on display at the Albemarle County Courthouse. 501 E. Jefferson Court Square. 296-8484.
During December, the Mudhouse shows "Snowflakes," paintings by Christian Peri.. 213 W. Main St. on the Downtown Mall. 984-6833.
View Ray Wirth's photography exhibition, "Distillations from Larger Landscapes," at Art Upstairs during December. Also, this month the gallery features its annual members' exhibition and sale of miniature paintings. 316 E. Main St., above The Hardware Store, on the Downtown Mall. 923-3900.
For the month of December, Bozart Gallery offers a group show by Bozart members. 211 W. Main St. 296-3919.
L'étoile Restaurant displays paintings by local artists Barry Gordon, Malcolm Hughes, and Christian Peri. 817 W. Main St. (across from the Amtrak Station). 979-7957.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts displays "Selections: 20th Century Latin American Art in the VMFA Collection" through March 13. Also on view, "Albrecht Durer: A Renaissance Journey in Print" runs through January 9. 200 N. Broad St., Richmond. 804-340-1400.
Washington and Lee University presents new large-scale paintings by Frank Hobbs, on display through January 7. Lexington. 540-458-8954.
During December, the Staunton Public Library displays the photographs of Bonnie Rutledge Edwards. 1 Churchville Ave. 540-332-3902.
Madison's Sevenoaks Pathwork Center shows the pastel and oil paintings of Janice Dunn Rosenberg through February 22. 403 Pathwork Way, Madison. 434-295-8315.
Noon Whistle Pottery and Art Gallery presents an exhibition of three local landscape artists, Will Brown, Mark Collins, and Carol Weiss. Main Street, Stanardsville. 434-985-6500.
Ombra's in Crozet features paintings by Doris deSha and Laurel Johnson, on view through December. 434-823-5332.
Spruce Creek Gallery presents "Nature in the Abstract," an exhibition of paintings by Alyce Ananda McCoy, through December 13. 434-361-1859.
The Barn Swallow features pottery by Janice Arone and Mary Ann Burke, plus other handcrafted artwork. Route 682 off 250W. 434-979-4884.
Staunton's Painted Thunder Studios welcomes the work of equine artist Jennet Inglis. 19 W. Beverley St. 540-851-0864.
During the holidays, Sun's Traces Gallery displays three-dimensional pictures by Michie Taylor, shadow baskets by Charlotte LaRoy, as well as turned wood pieces by Richard Cruise, and clay works by Paula Brown-Steedly. Barboursville. 540-832-7044.
The Ed Jaffe Gallery features paintings and marble sculptures by Ed Jaffe, plus abstract photographs by Marc Jaffe. 108 W. Main St., Orange. 540-672-2400.
Staunton's Middlebrook Gallery offers contemporary art and fine crafts, including sculpture by Ken Smith. 5 Middlebrook Ave. 540-885-9955.
The Artisans Center of Virginia invites entries for a national competition/juried exhibition, "Sacred Icons: A Collective Vision of Symbolic & Ritual Objects." All media are accepted, but work must have been completed in the past two years. The entry fee is $20; the submission deadline is February 19, 2005. 540-946-3294 or [email protected].
FEATURES/FEATURES/FEATURES
Budding insights: Grant's powerful lovely flowers
BY LAURA PARSONS [email protected]
Lovely. It's not a word I often choose. Usually, it seems too polite, too say-nothing, too insubstantial. But in the case of John Grant's botanical prints, currently on view at the C&O Gallery, lovely is the word I can't escape. Grant's enlarged and luminous flower portraits are undeniably lovely. Tenderly lovely. Achingly lovely. Intimately lovely.
Grant captures his images using a scanner rather than a camera, a technique that allows him to arrange subtle relationships among the petals as they rest upon the glass. In some cases, he opts for a reflective scan, illuminating flowers only from the front so shadows come into play as the image recedes into the background. For other images, Grant chooses a transparency scanner that lets light actually flow through the blooms to create an ethereal translucence.
Once the flowers are scanned, Grant digitally works and re-works various elements to yield idealized versions of the blossoms. "I try to keep the color and the look true to the original essence of the flower," he says, although he admits, "I do whack the colors occasionally."
Grant's large-scale explorations call to mind both Georgia O'Keefe's flower paintings and Edward Weston's intimate photographs of peppers. Presented against backgrounds of either bright white (transparency scanned) or rich black (reflective scanned), Grant's flowers, like Weston's peppers, lack context, forcing viewers to focus solely on the intricacies of their structure.
In "Stormy Dahlia," the flower fills the frame, its shadowy under-petals extending into the imagined space beyond the image's borders. Around a glistening yellow center, soft white petals radiate, tenderly folded and crushed like the sheets of an unmade bed after lovers have left it. The image evokes a sweet, almost funereal, melancholy, perhaps thanks to the dahlia's defiant beauty even as it has clearly begun to wilt.
For "Twin Fuschia," Grant dangles two intensely purple blossoms from the top of his frame, hanging them against a black background. Tan-tipped fuschia strands dance down from the middle of the velvety petals as red outer leaves appear to jump back in surprise. Above the two flowers, a sprig of green leaves with two unopened, red-streaked buds provides a counterpoint as well as a temporal comment on the flowers' fleeting opulence.
Grant's professional background in graphic design and publishing is evident in his mastery of materials. Using archival inks and acid-free archival paper, he pushes his images' lush colors to the limit (no black was ever richer).
John Grant's "A Secret Garden" is on view at the C&O Gallery through the end of December. 511 E. Water St., next to the C&O Restaurant. 971-7044.
Warm fuzzies: Sharing bears with other kids
BY LINDA KOBERT [email protected]
In the spring of 1945, Postman Kleinhoonte delivers a small box from America to a Dutch girl, Katje. It's a relief package from young Rosie who lives in Mayfield, Indiana, one of thousands sent to people in Europe under the auspices of charities such as the Children's Aid Society after the devastation of World War II. The gift sparks a long-distance friendship not only between the girls, but their respective communities as well.
The children's picture book Boxes for Katje tells the story of author Candace Fleming's mother. It has also been the inspiration for gift-giving at Crozet Library.
"When this book came in," says children's librarian Rhonda Johnson, "I fell in love with it and immediately started trying to come up with program ideas."
Along with colleague Margaret Haupt and local pediatrician Ray Ford, Johnson put together "Friends Around the World," a holiday program that gives local young folks the chance to help less fortunate kids in a distant village. Like events in the original story, the generosity of strangers has caused this project grow beyond initial expectations.
Friends Around the World invites children ages 8 and up (and a helpful adult) to come stitch and stuff small Teddy bears as they listen to the story of Katje and Rosie. The plump, coverall-clad bears will then be sent to an orphanage in Haiti. It's a place where, for several years, Dr. Ford has led a team of local medical professionals who provide the only available health care for over 1,000 individuals in the Grison-Garde area.
Kids who come to the library for this program are asked to bring along a tiny treasure– a small seashell, polished stone, interesting button, or trinket– to tuck into the bear's pocket as a special gift. They are also invited to donate some of their outgrown clothing and shoes for the 52 children ages 4-15 who live at the orphanage.
The only unfortunate part of the story is that spaces in the program are currently filled. Those who still want to participate can add their names to a waiting list. Folks can still add to the shipment, however. The library is accepting donations of summer clothing, and perhaps other hand-stitched toys, for the kids in Grison-Garde.
But there are oodles of other options out there for those eager to share their good fortune with others this holiday season. Shaele Wood at United Way's Thomas Jefferson Area Volunteer Center can help folks sort through a wide variety of volunteer opportunities to find the one that fits just right. And sewing skill is optional.
Friends Around the World takes place Saturday, December 11 at 1pm. Registration is required for this free program, which currently has a waiting list. Crozet Library is in the old train station on Three Notch'd Road. 823-4050. Shaele Wood is director of the Volunteer Center at United Way: 972-1705. www.unitedwaytja.org.
Sports and war: Goat-grabbing in Afghanistan
BY SUSAN TYLER HITCHCOCK [email protected]
In 1978, a cultural anthropologist published a book based on his field work among sportsmen in northern Afghanistan. Then G. Whitney Azoy's Buzkashi: Game and Power in Afghanistan gathered dust on shelves alongside other scholarly books about esoteric foreign subjects.
The few who read it learned of the ancient Afghan sport named "buzkashi"– literally, goat-grabbing– in which tribal leaders sent fierce horsemen to vie for the headless carcass of a goat or calf. Traditionally, there were no teams, no rules, no referees. Spur-of-the-moment alliances formed among the weak in order to topple the strong, then dissolved as the balance of power shifted. Brawls to the death broke out. Buzkashis could last for days, ending not when participants reached some clearly stated goal, but when the warlord hosting the event gave an imperious nod from the sidelines.
In the same year that Azoy's book was published, Afghan politics grabbed the world's attention. Amid riots and massacres, a Communist coup overthrew the dynasty that had been in power since 1929. Indigenous guerrillas– the Mujahidin– emerged.
A year later, the Soviets invaded. Through a decade of occupation, they lost tens of thousands of troops but gained no ground or power. With a Geneva peace accord, the Soviets withdrew, but the Mujahidin ultimately set up their own Islamic state. In the mid-1990s, a new power nexus called the Taliban arose in opposition.
After September 11, American journalists seeking ways to understand Afghanistan happened on Azoy's 1978 sporting analogy and found that it worked. Azoy's publisher asked him to write a chapter bringing the book up to date and issued a 2002 revision. Azoy's work in and on Afghanistan in the intervening years had deepened his understanding of how society and sport mirror one another there.
"When it seems as if you're going to do it, everybody gangs up on you. When it seems you're a little weak, everybody gangs up on whoever seems strong," Whitney Azoy told ABC News earlier this year. "That's exactly what happened in Afghanistan in the 1980s and 1990s."
It's still happening today, he believes, and he urges American leaders and citizens to understand that. For him, America should focus on Kabul, not Baghdad, in its war against terrorism.
Soon to move to Kabul to head the State Department&endash;backed American Institute of Afghanistan Studies, UVA alumnus Azoy is stopping in Charlottesville on his way. His lecture title says a lot: "Afghanistan and Iraq: Two Bad Hands Played Differently: Reflections of a Diplomat, Consultant, and Anthropologist, 1971-2004." In person, no doubt he will say even more.
G. Whitney Azoy speaks at 7pm Thursday, December 16, at the Downtown Branch of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library. 201 E. Market St. 866-882-6887.
Finally! Bennett, Graves open the season
BY ROBERT ARMENGOL [email protected] of the days when it was the local place to take a date to the movies, the Downtown Mall's Paramount Theater rises from the Phoenix-ashes of history next weekend to become the latest swank venue for the performing arts in Charlottesville.
Hard to believe, but the nonprofit group spearheading this $15 million operation has managed to fit 1,000 seats in the refurbished auditorium. They've also added a new box office and arranged an eclectic first-season lineup featuring music, dance, comedy, film, plays, and more.
The reopening actually begins Wednesday, December 15, with a high-priced fundraising gala featuring musical legend Tony Bennett. Though he climbed to American stardom in the 1950s, the old guy is still kicking, and is sure to offer some of his classic renditions including "Rags to Riches," "The Good Life," and "I Left my Heart in San Francisco."
Admission to the gala includes an open house and reception, and proceeds from the performance benefit the theater's capital campaign. The funds, in other words, will make sure the theater's marquee-facade, ornate interior detail, and plush seats don't fall into the same kind of disrepair they saw in the last 30 years.
Now the catch. Tickets for the Bennett show range from $250 to $1,000. Not surprisingly, they're still available. Such is not the case for the jazzy, brassy, retro (and sold-out) musical In the Mood, coming to the Paramount straight from World War II to cap off opening weekend on Sunday, December 19.
In between those two performances are chances to see what they've done to the place.
Opera star Denyce Graves headlines the weekend with a recital on Friday, December 17, accompanied by piano virtuoso Warren Jones. Together they'll present a repertoire of classical, spiritual, and holiday tunes.
Graves debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1995 in the title role of Carmen and has since won critical and popular acclaim, especially for her signature part in Samson et Dalila. With her voice, she has graced the great opera houses of the world as well as audiences of dignitaries at the White House and the National Cathedral. So a visit to humble Charlottesville is quite a luxury for us.
And finally, for the less urbane around town, there's "A Day at the Movies"– an event that might well draw a crowd to wrap around the block, if only for its 25-cent admission price. On Saturday, December 18, the Paramount screens two timeless films, a matinee Wizard of Oz (for the kiddies), and an evening Casablanca (for the grownups).
What more can be said? As the Paramount's website proclaims, "This is how cinema was meant to be enjoyed."
FYI, the grand gala reopening of the Paramount Theater has been moved up a day from the original program to accommodate Tony Bennett's busy schedule. Bennett will croon Wednesday, December 15, at 8pm, $250-1,000. All other opening-weekend events remain as scheduled: opera star Denyce Graves on Friday, December 17, at 8pm, $50-125; on Saturday, December 18, screenings of The Wizard of Oz at 2pm and Casablanca at 7pm, 25 cents; and Sunday, December 19, In the Mood at 3pm (sold out). The Paramount Theater, Downtown Mall. 979-1333.
Yules of yore: Party like it's 1799
BY TIM SPRINKLE [email protected]'s true; the holiday season now officially starts in October. The decorations, the music, the sales, the jingle bells&endash; these days they all seem to make their appearances pre-Halloween. It's not so bad, really. After all, who's going to turn down a plate of candy cane cookies with Thanksgiving dinner?
But the extended season does take some of the anticipation and excitement out of the holidays. Sure, it's fun in December, but it can be hard to keep the merriment up for three whole months.
When Thomas Jefferson was in the neighborhood, however, the holidays were a time to relax (tell that to the crowds at Barracks Road), a chance to slow down and reflect on the year. Decorations were minimal, and the celebration usually consisted of a day free from work and a nice meal with the family.
If your holiday season could benefit from such a low-key approach, high-tail it to one of the Route 53's holiday open houses and experience the season in proper old-Virginia fashion.
In addition to all sorts of 18th century holiday fare, Monticello's Holiday Evening Tour offers a rare opportunity to see the house at night. The evening is set up as a walkthrough rather than a guided tour, so visitors can go at their own pace, lingering over the period decorations, costumed interpreters, and live music as long as they wish.
"If you've seen the house during the day, seeing it at night is a very different and very cool experience," says Monticello's Wayne Mogielnicki. "We decorate, but trees, lights, and electric trains were not in vogue in Jefferson's day. We're sticking to historical accuracy, so there will be some greenery in the house, but it's often not what people expect."
At Ash Lawn-Highland, you can experience Christmas in two different time periods: the Victorian and Federal eras. In the "new" section of the house, you'll hear from 19th century interpreters and can admire a massive Victorian tree, while James Monroe and his family's traditions are featured in the older back section.
But it's food that takes center stage at Michie Tavern's annual Yuletide Feast. Traditional Virginia favorites are served in the Ordinary, accompanied by wandering musicians and festive 18th century decorations. Candlelit tours of the original tavern are offered each evening.
Monticello's Holiday Evening Tour happens Saturday night, December 11, 5:30-8:30pm. $10 adults, $5 children 6-11. The decorations go up at Ash Lawn-Highland this Friday, and interpreters will be on hand for the popular candlelit tour on December 17. Normal admission fee applies. Reservations for Michie Tavern's Yuletide Feast December 12 and 13, can be made by calling 977-1234.
Starry, starry night: Living legend comes to town
BY MARK GRABOWSKI [email protected]
The holiday season has always been a little trying on the music editors here at The Hook– other than regal winter concerts, things tend to dry up the month of December and the landscape continues to be parched until the students come back in late January.
Even so, pearls can still be found in the pigpen of off-season local tunes, and living bluegrass legend Ralph Stanley's solo show at Starr Hill can be taken as a sign of divine intervention.
Starting with a series of recordings in the early '50s with his brother, guitarist Carter, claw-hammer banjo-player Ralph Stanley helped define the bluegrass genre, playing tunes that spoke to their childhood home near Norton on the Virginia-Tennessee border.
Though they had experience playing around the town where they grew up, it was not until 1947, after the brothers had served their time in the Army, that they formed the five-piece Clinch Mountain Boys to back them. Playing radio gigs led to local fame, and after a few years of increasing popularity, Columbia Records picked up the group. There they recorded songs which would later be called classics.
Changing labels a number of times through the late '50s and early '60s, the duo eventually broke away to perform on their own. But Carter's 1966 passing in the prime of his life left Ralph bereft, and he shifted the band's emphasis away from standard bluegrass and to a simpler sound.
His contributions to the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack in 2000 brought Stanley back into the spotlight, and in 2002 he won the Grammy for Best Country Male Vocalist Performance and Album of the Year for his part in the O Brother collection. He has been inducted into the Grand Old Opry, he holds the Living Legend award from the Library of Congress, and if you need something else to convince you of his worth, he was the first recipient of the Traditional American Music award from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Ralph Stanley's latest album was released in 2002, a self-titled simple and poignant piece of bluegrass history composed of 10 traditional pieces and one original that moves from praises of the Lord to tales of murder, all performed with an ear for the unadorned.
"When Jesus was around here on this land / He certainly did do his Father's command" begins an a cappella Stanley on the first song on the disc, "Lift Him Up, That's All." Shortly his solo work gives way to acoustic guitar and banjo joining the prayer. In place of Stanley's tenor now exists a voice worn with age, but still vibrant with warmth and life, perfectly fitting his choice of material.
"Henry Lee" combines a high flying melody, slide guitar, and acoustic strumming into a song about a girl killing her "one true love" (with a penknife, of all things) and is my favorite number from the collection.
A true American classic, Ralph Stanley at Starr Hill is unquestionably a can't-miss show.
Ralph Stanley performs at Starr Hill, December 11, $25/$20, 8pm.
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King of Cups shares emotional loyalty – unconditional love and commitment – the ability to give emotional comfort, support and positive regard to others. Qualities of generosity, reliability, respect – one who provides wise counseling with much empathy. A quiet spirit, filled with love that has moved beyond "ego" and vanity and offers unconditional spiritual healing and uplifting.
Your happiness is the key to being alive. Laugh, love, smile and bring pleasure to your life. Regenerate yourself and you regenerate and heal others. Achievements derived from your creativity – shape life in a way that separates you from your playful imagination. To achieve success, you discipline and even suppressed your dreams – directing all your creative powers into socially responsible achievements and confining your natural energy flow. Always trying to maintain a calm exterior may cause you to subconsciously suppress your feelings and troubled emotions. Balance of your imagination and discipline is essential now – lighten up and have some fun. Healer by example and by touch. Faith is love, centered on the one God.
What feelings are you keeping under firm control?
In what ways are you a care – giver or counselor?
Who cares for you deeply?
How have you established yourself creatively?
In the first position: You will be looked to for your authority and position, but more so for your compassionate use of your position. It falls to you to show that people may need leaders and organization to avoid chaos and work efficiently, but they do not need anyone to make them work or do anything for that matter. You seek to motivate by example.
In the second position: You have someone – a family member, a partner, an angel – that you can fall back on. But more than financial or physical help, this is the strong shoulder to cry on, the caring ear that can listen to your problems. This man can help heal your wounds.
In the third position: Think well on this card for he is coming to you in one guise or another. For there is order to be put in your emotional/creative house, to take charge and make things right. More leadership and control is needed here.
In the fourth position: Your earliest tapes of imprint are of this loving father figure, perhaps your own father. But it could be of an older family figure such as a grandfather or of course someone outside of the family, perhaps someone famous whom you came to admire.
In the fifth position: The mind is on this king of the emotions. He may be a key player in the game on your table. You are being both authoritative and considerate in this matter.
In the sixth position: Here comes a mature masculine influence in your near future and of course it may be delivered in person. As a result you will be more focused and purposeful in your emotional affairs and your creative projects can flourish with such motivation and encouragement behind them.
In the seventh position: Here on the mental horizon in the near future comes power with a heart. This can be the partner you have needed to help you realize your goals. For with the intellect here are the personality and people skills to work miracles.
In the eighth position: This king may be on your doorstep. He brings the possibilities of good times and rejoicing as he shows you how to do your chores and have fun at the same time.
In the ninth position: The heart is on this king of the emotions. He may be an object of your affection or the centerpiece of a creative project underway.
In the tenth position: Here is the support, the energy and resources that you need to secure your Emotional/Creative plane and it may well come in the physical personage of the King of Cups. It may however, be the access to what he represents. You must be able to wear both masks of the theater in the Emotional Plane – the smile and the frown. | {
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Nova Scotia Math Circles celebrates five years with Eastlink
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Posted by Jocelyn Adams on June 4, 2019 in All News
Working out a math problem at Math Circles. (Nick Pearce photos)
Ethan Eastwood is graduating from J.L. Isley High School in Halifax this year — at age 16.
What's Ethan's secret? Participating in Nova Scotia Math Circles, a mathematics outreach program based out of the Department of Mathematics & Statistics at Dalhousie University. The program is designed to foster enthusiasm for math through interactive, creative and meaningful presentations.
"Math Circles has influenced my math education," says Ethan, who's been active int he program for eight years. "I came to understand that math is more than just arithmetic, it can be creative and fun. It made me think about the world in a different way," says Eastwood.
Eastlink's Executive Vice-Chair Lee Bragg with student Ethan Eastwood.
Ethan's passion for mathematics is paying off. He was recently awarded the coveted Schulich Leader Scholarship and he plans to attend Dalhousie's Integrated Science Program this coming fall.
"I'm very grateful to the Department of Mathematics & Statistics and Nova Scotia Math Circles for allowing me to develop a passion at such a young age," says Jason.
Five years of growth
This year, Nova Scotia Math Circles celebrates its fifth year of funding with Eastlink. In 2014, Eastlink donated $500,000 to help support the program and to expand its outreach.
Over the past five years, Nova Scotia Math Circles has engaged with approximately 25,000 students across Nova Scotia. Thanks to Eastlink's support, they have doubled the number of new programs into the classroom and now reach students from elementary to senior high school.
Last year, the program connected with over 7,000 students, from seven school districts and reached all 18 counties in Nova Scotia. In addition, they have added graduate students, French programming, summer day camps and programs at the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus in Truro.
"We are so proud and fortunate to be part of this program," says Lee Bragg, executive vice-chair of Eastlink. "As a board member of Dalhousie's Faculty of Management, I've seen first-hand the commitment that this school brings not only towards academic excellence but, as importantly, towards the engagement of students across all grade levels, from inspiring kids in math at an early age to supporting them as they prepare for what's next in their academic careers.
"I applaud Dalhousie on the numerous and long-lasting benefits this program has brought to students, teachers and schools across the province."
Attendees at the Math Circles celebration event.
No one is more grateful than Mayada Shahada, director of Nova Scotia Math Circles.
"It's all about seeing their smiling faces," explains Dr. Shahada. Over the past two years, Shahada has influenced the development of Math Circles. "Our aim was to expand the program and to approach different communities across Nova Scotia – and we've done that.
"I always believe you have to start early – especially if you want to grab their attention. The earlier you can do that the better."
Impacting Nova Scotian communities
Nova Scotia Math Circles gets creative and uses fun shapes, sound effects and even visual objects to teach math to young children. "Math is an abstract subject. For young children at the elementary level they have to see it and touch it," says Dr. Shahada.
Nova Scotia Math Circles now visits schools in Truro, Yarmouth and Cape Breton. Approximately 60 percent of these schools are in Halifax. Dr. Shahada explains that visiting a school in a rural area can take up to two to three business days.
"It's all about the quality of the visit. Our goal isn't necessarily to grow in numbers but to cover an entire school in rural areas of Nova Scotia," says Dr. Shahada.
Student aren't the only ones benefiting from Nova Scotia Math Circles. This spring, Dr. Shahada developed a presentation for teachers to assist with problem solving. "We had 61 teachers participate and we hope to host another session at a teachers conference next year," says Shahada.
What's next for Math Circles? To build on this momentum. Nova Scotia Math Circles plans to continue its current programming with the hopes of reaching new areas of the province to enrich the lives of Nova Scotians in all areas of mathematics.
To learn more about Nova Scotia Math Circles, please visit nsmathcircles.com.
SCIOGRAPHIES Q&A: ERIC OLIVER, OCEANOGRAPHER
SCIOGRAPHIES Q&A: JOHN GOSSE, GEOLOGIST
SCIGRAPHIES Q&A: Megan Bailey, Fisheries Economist
SCIOGRAPHIES Q&A: EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST ALASTAIR SIMPSON
SCIOGRAPHIES Q&A: MATHEMATICIAN JASON BROWN
SCIOGRAPHIES Q&A: MARINE BIOLOGIST SARA IVERSON
Sciographies podcast shares the personal and professional stories of Dal scientists
Dalhousie University Faculty of Science
1355 Oxford Street, Rm 827
8th Floor Life Sciences Centre (Biology) | {
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MLB: Red Sox fans warn Liverpool that owners will do a 'Mookie Betts' with Mohamed Salah
Until not long ago, it was believed that the superstellar of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Mookie Betts, would stay with the Boston Red Sox throughout his career, being one of his best players in the recent history of the franchise being World Series champion and MVP winner. However, the team's owners had other plans and … Read more
Categories Baseball Tags Betts, Boston Red Sox, fans, Liverpool, MLB, Mohamed, Mookie, Mookie betts, owners, Red, Salah, Sox, warn
Dodgers: Mookie Betts gives motivational talk to basketball team
December 19, 2021 by Terrence Terrence
Mookie betts wanted to share what he has learned as a professional baseball player from the MLB Y gave a motivational talk Recently. However, he did not team baseball but one of college basketball from a Kentucky school. The player from Los Angeles Dodgers He is known for his ease of speech and for his … Read more
Categories Basketball Tags basketball, Betts, Dodgers, Kentucky Wildcats, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Mookie, Mookie betts, motivational, talk, team
Dodgers: Mookie Betts shares moments of his wedding with emotional video
Mookie betts contracted marriage recently with Brianna hammonds taking advantage of the time of the off season. The gardener of Los Angeles Dodgers shared moments of his wedding with his followers with a video published on their social networks and which has captivated those who have seen it. After more than 10 years of courtship … Read more
Categories Baseball Tags Betts, Dodgers, emotional, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, moments, Mookie, Mookie betts, shares, VIDEO, wedding
Relief at Dodgers! Mookie Betts is now 'nowhere' from returning to the line up after injury
August 23, 2021 by Rodolfo Scott
Los Angeles Dodgers received very good news in the last hours because it was announced that Mookie Betts will already have a return date to the 2021 Season activity from MLB. The gardener has been away for a few days hip injury but it would be this week that it is activated on the poster … Read more
Categories Baseball Tags Betts, Dodgers, injury, line, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Mookie, Mookie betts, relief, returning
Fernando Tatis Jr.'s only rival for the MVP award is his own body
Despite his injuries, the Dominican shortstop has had a spectacular season, which could give him his first Most Valuable Player award, if health permits. Fernando Tatis Jr. is one of the players with the most impact in the Big leagues. The new one "baseball face"Has maintained a solid production since its arrival in MLB and … Read more
Categories Baseball Tags award, Baseball, body, Fernando, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jrs, Mike trout, MLB, Mookie betts, MVP, rival, San Diego Padres, Tatis
Sucker Punch! Dodgers send Mookie Betts back to disabled list
Los Angeles Dodgers could not avoid unavoidable and on the afternoon of this Wednesday, August 11, it was announced that Mookie Betts was again placed on the disabled list for 10 days. The player will miss at least 10 games of the 2021 Season of MLB It presents pain in the hip area that needs … Read more
Categories Baseball Tags Betts, disabled, Dodgers, list, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Mookie, Mookie betts, punch, send, Sucker
Oh no! Mookie Betts is nowhere near going on the Dodgers DL yet again
Los Angeles Dodgers received and shared a complicated news in the last hours because it was announced that Mookie Betts is close to being put back on the disabled list. The gardener suffers from hip ailments, a situation that would make him miss other days of the 2021 Season of MLB, being a blow to … Read more
Categories Baseball Tags Betts, Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Mookie, Mookie betts
Dodgers: Didn't miss a beat! Mookie Betts returns and hits a tremendous home run
August 2, 2021 by Rodolfo Scott
It can be fun for fans of Dodgers see the offensive potential realized, as in days like today Sunday, when the Los Angeles bats continued their outburst with a 13-0 slate victory over the Los Angeles Arizona D-backs at Chase Field. The Dodgers scored 21 runs in the last two games to secure a series … Read more
Categories Baseball Tags beat, Betts, didnt, Dodgers, hits, home, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Mookie, Mookie betts, returns, run, tremendous
Dodgers give good news about Mookie Betts injury and possible return to MLB
July 30, 2021 by Rodolfo Scott
Things for Los Angeles Dodgers have not turned out as I would have expected during the 2021 Season of MLB, since it is one of the teams most hit by injuries among its players. One of the most important casualties in recent days has been that of Mookie Betts, whose injury was released good news … Read more
Categories Baseball Tags Betts, Dodgers, give, good, injury, Los Angeles Dodgers, MLB, Mookie, Mookie betts, news, Return
Bad for Dodgers! Mookie Betts goes back to the disabled list
After being out of the lineup for seven straight games, the Los Angeles Dodgers They put their star outfielder Mookie Betts on the 10-day disabled list on Sunday because of a swelling in his right hip and what, it's a very tough blow for one of the best players in all of MLB. Manager Dave … Read more
Categories Baseball Tags bad, Betts, disabled, Dodgers, list, Los Angeles Dodgers, Mookie, Mookie betts
Clippers will give PG13 more time off | {
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Marie Kondo said that "if you want to meet a beautiful home that is just right for you, take good care of the one you live in now."
Well, since I have started my Konmari journey, I have to admit that clearing out clutter has done wonders for me in terms of opportunities that open up. It's like I cleared out space to make room for new beginnings. With only books and komono left to get rid off, I would like to begin to make way for the future, my future home!
I'll start with the kitchen. Discovered Scavolini via Stenie Coyiuto Tay's post on Facebook. So I googled Scavolini and discovered the Favilla series in their site. Now this is my kind of kitchen! There are bits and elements here that I want for my future kitchen.
- I like the stove and air vent, although I also want something more traditionally French like Lacanche or La Cornue. But since servicing locally might be an issue, then that's something else to consider. There's always La Germania. Ahahaha. My friend Mish Aventajado swears by the Viking range of kitchen equipment too. They have a responsive service team, says Mish. So I'm seriously making a mental note on that as well.
- The wooden table. Our current dining table can be resurrected as a kitchen table. Our Tolix chairs which we currently use as our dining chairs will totally fit right in this style of kitchen too.
- I like the farmhouse sink. Not in this color way. I'd go for the traditional white one. I like the idea of gray countertops. Maybe in soapstone.
- There's something alluring about the open shelving. The all white cabinets also reminds me of Diane Keaton's Hamptons kitchen in Something's Got to Give. I like that the refrigerators aren't entirely seen. The kitchen in the Airbnb apartment we stayed at in Paris had the refrigerator and freezer concealed in the cabinets. I loved it.
- Again, that wooden table in the kitchen. And that walled unit with the curved top door! It's a toss up between open shelving and this. Or there might be a way to incorporate both and use this walled unit as an accent piece.
- Double farmhouse sinks. In gray. Not bad when set against white cabinets.
- Instead of marble flooring, I'm thinking of how I can include a marble topped French country kitchen table in my kitchen. Yeah, I'd like marble elements too.
- For feng shui reasons, I wouldn't put the stove right across the sink, but the gray countertops on white cabinets? Pretty. I also like that the kitchen appliances are seamlessly integrated and do not stick out.
- Love the big open windows! I want a kitchen with big windows for light to stream in. But where to put the open shelving and walled unit I want? Need to figure out a way to do that.
Now, all I have to really do is figure out a way to incorporate all the elements I like into one kitchen. Universe, I'm up for it!
P.S. Dada and I have figured out how we want our entryway to look like. I also know how I want our stairs to look like. It's kind of a mix of a Parisian/Upper East Side look we're going for. I've started to gather pictures, and I can't wait to put it up here!
Do Your Kids Speak Filipino?
I didn't realize how big of issue this has become now among my mommy friends. You should hear the tinge of panic and regret in their voice when we talk about Filipino homework and tests.
I should have seen it coming 5 years ago.
"Mas magaling pa mag-English mga bata dito kay Berry!" my Mom jokingly told me then, when I brought Berry to Manila for her very first vacation, after spending all 2 years of her life abroad.
"Syempre. Kinakausap ko din sya in Tagalog, Mom." I explained a bit incredulously.
As it turned out, it seemed that in the short time that we were living overseas, kids back home in Manila had forgotten how to speak the language. To a point that my friend Jen Tan had to tell me, "Tin, talk to your kids in Filipino, they need to learn it so you won't have a hard time tutoring them at home!"
It's gotten quite sad really, when Filipino kids don't even know how to speak Filipino. It's not funny and it's not cute. And no, it's not a sign of progress. Like talking in Filipino makes one uneducated, baduy or masa.
Wittingly or unwittingly, many in our generation, especially parents of young kids, have gotten lazy with the language. Most of us don't speak Filipino purely anymore. More often than not, Taglish is the norm. I'm guilty of that too, and sometimes, my kids still ask me, "What did you say, Mom?" when they hear me say a Tagalog word they have never heard of before.
Thankfully, my mommy friends at BetterMe.ph, who find themselves in a bind, having a hard time tutoring their kids in Tagalog in school, have come up with three easy to do tips for getting our kids to speak more Filipino. Watch it HERE!
So here's where Batibot comes into the picture. Yes, as in the Batibot many of us grew up watching.
They have come up with apps that encourages learning in Filipino. Our kids can watch shows, learn how to write the alphabet, play games and such. Just simple but educational lessons that they need, as in right now.
It's a quick an easy start. And hopefully, the road to getting our kids back on the Filipino track!
The things we take for granted: A good breakfast. Wait, make that the folks who sacrifice sleep just so we have food to eat.
Gotta hand it to McDonald's for bringing the sacrifices of our fisherfolk to light.
Speaking of light, in the early morning of March 14, for the fourth year in a row, McDonald's celebrated National Breakfast Day by delighting Filipinos across the country with free McMuffin sandwiches.
With over 400 stores nationwide who took part in the event, folks trekked to a participating McDonald's store from 6 AM to 7 AM, for their free breakfast treat via dine-in, take-out, and drive-thru.
The brand's most recent endorsers Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza, popularly known as "AlDub", gave McMuffin sandwiches to customers in McDonald's Bluebay Walk, Pasay. Other celebrities who were present in different stores around the metro included Xian Lim, Enrique Gil, Janine Gutierrez, and a whole lot more.
Participating McDonald's stores nationwide further spread the morning cheer by giving 100 free McMuffin sandwiches to groups or organizations who are unable to enjoy a good breakfast because of their early or different work schedules like security guards, hospital staff, and public school teachers. And yes, the aforementioned fishermen.
Thanks McDonald's for the reminder to appreciate the folks who work ungodly hours. I will pray that they will be blessed with a hearty breakfast, make that three square meals, every day of their lives!
Let's Support the Green Footprints Movement!
Thanks to my Mom who has gone green decades ago, before "going green" was even a thing, I've been conscious about my household's environmental footprint.
We segregate our trash. Yes, even if my husband argues that the garbage guys will mix them all up anyway. I still push for it because at least, that's one household less work for the garbage guys.
I compost. In our tiny garden, I put compostable trash in a receptacle that I cover with soil. Yes, I have worms and all.
We use reusable bags and corrugated cartons when we pack our groceries and I refuse plastic and paper bags as much as I can.
When possible, my friends and our kids carpool. That's at least one car off the road.
I also have no qualms accepting and passing on hand me downs. I always tell my sisters and friends, there's nothing wrong with using pre-loved, ok fine, used items. Hindi kawawa yung kids, because they grow so fast anyway. What's the point in having too many clothes and shoes they can barely use?
Most of the furniture in our home are hand me downs from my Mom. Or we buy furniture from reclaimed wood, or wood that grows fast, like gmelina.
As much as possible, we use organic or natural based products at home. They tend to be a tad bit pricier, but so much better for the environment. Locally, I go for Zenutrients, Messy Bessy, Cradle, and Green Mama products. They are not expensive at all.
I also look for energy efficient appliances (check out the Meralco App which tells you how much energy you are consuming per appliance).
I also make sure our air conditioner is set to 25 degrees (except when its super hot, heehee), and we clean the filter monthly. We have professional cleaners service it at least quarterly. We also ensure that lights are switched off, and appliances are unplugged when not in use. Which also translates to cost savings on our electric bill.
When we build our own home, I'll make it a point to have solar panels, LED lights and use green materials. My parents installed a solar panel in their home, and my dad shares it is a lifesaver during brown outs. At the very least, they still have lights and hot water from their taps.
And yes, while I may come across as a shopaholic, I am in fact a proponent of thoughtful consumption. My friend Jen one time asked me, "Do you really buy everything you post on Instagram?" and I had to clarify, "Hindi! When I am out and I find something interesting that I want to remember, I take a picture and post it lang on IG." Hahaha.
Admittedly, there was a time when I felt the need to buy, buy, buy. But as I grew older, I realized that I can live with less. Quality over quantity. This applies to everything in life. Always.
The steps I've been taking towards green living are nothing grand or newspaper worthy, but I like to think that my drop in the bucket counts. I feel good doing my share, because I believe that every bit of action makes a difference.
So when leading air conditioning and refrigeration solutions provider Concepcion Industrial Corporation (CIC), through its subsidiary Concepcion-Carrier Air Conditioning Company (CCAC), recently launched The Green Footprints Movement, an advocacy that drives conversation about climate change and encourages us to go green, I threw my full support behind it.
"As the most encompassing environmental issue facing us today, climate change must be everyone's agenda" said CIC Chief Executive Officer Raul Joseph Concepcion.
"We want the public to be able to connect their everyday actions and decisions with its environmental impact," shared Harold Pernikar, Jr., CCAC Director and Head of the Consumer Solutions Group.
"Our goal is to provide the public with the knowledge of how they can make small, practical changes that will have significant effect on their own footprints, such as the responsible use of electricity and even making more sensible selections when it comes to the products they use in their homes," said Pernikar.
With Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) Assistant Director Dr. Eva S. Ocfemia; celebrity host and World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature - Philippines National Ambassador Marc Nelson; Concepcion Industrial Corporation (CIC) Chief Executive Officer Raul Joseph A. Concepcion, Concepcion Industrial Corporation (CIC) Executive Vice President for Business Development Rafael C. Hechanova, Jr., and Concepcion-Carrier Air Conditioning Company (CCAC) Director and Head of Consumer Solutions Group Harold Pernikar, Jr.
With a long-standing commitment to the environment The Green Footprints Movement is a testament to CIC's long-standing commitment to the environment, by exercising responsible stewardship - cultivating a culture of sustainability within the company itself, and being mindful of their environmental impact, recycling, monitoring water and waste consumption, and setting goals to reduce their footprint year after year.
It was the first Philippine manufacturer to convert its refrigerators to use environment-friendly refrigerants back in 1995, and is once again leading the industry for its air conditioning solutions. "Ninety-six percent of our air conditioning products have already been converted to using environmentally responsive refrigerants, and we expect to make a 100% product conversion within the year," said Pernikar, who also shared that the switch is being made ahead of the global deadlines set by the Montreal Protocol, which established a timeline for the eventual elimination of ozone-depleting substances.
"With our collective actions, we hand over a better world for the generations to come." said Mr. Rafael C. Hechanova, Jr., Executive Vice President of Concepcion Industrial Corporation.
World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature - Philippines National Ambassador Marc Nelson shares that growing up in Australia, where they are close to the equator, and more susceptible to ultraviolet radiation, their level of awareness about ozone depletion has been ingrained early on. This is also why he is an advocate of green living.
Which is true. When corporations, organizations, individuals, and the government work hand in hand towards sustainable living, we will create a significant impact towards creating a better, safer environment not only for our kids, but also for the generations to come.
Let's do it now. Time may be running out, but there is still time. Let's not waste it. That's a start.
As promised, I'm highlighting here three of our new finds from Fatty Brain Toys: Primary Lab Big Science Set, Super Sorting Pie and Gears Gears Gears! On The Move by Learning Resources.
These toys are proof that learning and fun can go hand in hand together. I usually get distracted when Berry forces (forces talaga haha) me to play with her dolls in a dollhouse, but it was a different experience altogether with these. I am pretty sure you will enjoy spending quality time playing and learning with your little ones with these toys as well.
Berry likes making potions using whatever she can get her hands on: my makeup (sadly she has no respect for Tom Ford lipsticks), alcohol, baby oil, water, nail polish, shampoo, conditioner, lotions - nothing is sacred.
So when Mona Ng of Fatty Brain Toys told me about their Primary Science Lab Set, I knew it was the perfect way to channel Berry's curiosity.
The Lab Set includes a beaker, magnifying glass, funnel, eyedropper, flask, tweezers, safety goggles, 1 large 6" test tube (with lid and stand), 2 small test tubes (with lids and stands), plus 10 Activity Cards.
The tools are perfectly sized for little hands, so they're easy to grasp. For extra safety, unlike the usual lab tools made from glass, these are non-breakable.
For days when we have hours of spare time, I whip out this set so they can do experiments, which is so much better than having them stay inside just watching YouTube videos the entire afternoon. Parents, you know what I mean?
Some of the experiments we've tried from the activity cards: making a Mini Volcano using baking soda and vinegar (this was fun! like the Hi 5 Bubble up volcano), getting old coins to shine using lemon juice (to be honest, it didn't work on our 25 centavo coins, baka better on American pennies talaga) and mixing oil and water (impossible to mix hehe!).
Part of our next batch of experiments this summer will be color mixing (once I buy food colouring from the grocery, I keep on forgetting), a smell test, and if we're brave, collecting bugs we can put in the test tubes. Gasp!
Well, I'm pretty sure Berry can think of more experiments that doesn't involve bugs, once we've exhausted all the experiments on the activity cards.
One thing is for certain, this Primary Lab Set is a winner. Berry feels like a real scientist when she plays with it. Even the boys want to play with it, shaking the fat test tubes with their little hands. Berry and Xavi love saying, "experiment! experiment!"
It ain't rated 5 stars on Amazon for nothing!
The Primary Science Lab Set is designed for children to discover, explore, and experiment with safe and fun products that encourage an early love of science and help foster the development of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math skills. It is ideal for ages 3 and up.
To be honest, I can't resist pies. Edible or otherwise. This Super Sorting Pie by Learning Resources looked like a winner, and I knew Xavi would love it as well. Especially since we're learning about colors, shapes and counting these days.
The small fruit counters and jumbo tweezers encourages our kids to strengthen fine motor skills and develop their pre-writing pincer grasp. The removal top crust doubles as a bowl to hold the fruit counters.
It also teaches our kids about colors and fruit shapes. The removable divider ensures the fruits don't spill into the other color section.
More importantly, it hones early math skills such as grouping, sorting, patterning, classifying objects, counting, learning greater than and less than, and understanding the relationship between numbers and quantity.
There are three double-sided sorting cards included, that fit in the bottom of the pie and provide visual cues to help our kids identify fruit shapes, colors, and numbers. So apart from sorting by color, they can sort by shape, or count, depending on what we will have them do.
A winner of 3 toy awards, you can't go wrong buying this at all.
I just need to keep the counters away from Tepper because I've caught him trying to pop one into his mouth. Told you, the fruits are irresistible. More so with curious little toddlers.
Includes 60 counters (7 fruits in 5 different colors), plastic pie plate with cover and removable divider, 3 double-sided sorting cards, 2 Jumbo Tweezers, and Activity Guide. Pie measures 8 3/4"D. Ideal for ages 3 and above.
While this is a bit too advanced for Xavi, it is never to early to introduce mechanical engineering concepts to him and Berry with this Gears! Gear! Gears! On the Move Building Set.
I have to warn you though, building the race car, airplane and motorcyle ain't easy. A 6 year old will need your help in putting it together even with the instruction booklet.
The upside? It makes for great quality time. We had to put our heads together to figure out how to build each vehicle. Definitely made my brain do some thinking, and taught me about perseverance, problem solving and critical thinking.
Speaking of creativity, there is no wrong way to build actually. The kids are free to design their own vehicle using the gears. We felt a sense of accomplishment seeing all those gears moving together, even with the motorcycle and air plane not yet even fully completed!
And here's our air plane!
We successfully built the motorcyle too, but I didn't have time to take a photo of the finished product because Xavi was too excited to build his own toy. Heehee.
This set can be used alone or with other Gears! Gears! Gears! sets. Ideal for ages 6 and above.
Fatty Brain Toys are available at Rustans Alabang, Makati, Shangri-la, Hobbes and Landes Greenbelt, Rockwell, Fort, Trinoma and Shangri-la, Dash Greenbelt, Fundamentals, Toy Kingdom Megamall, Aura, North Edsa. Mighty Mind is available at Mothercare Fort and Glorietta, National Bookstore Greenhills and Rockwell, and Fully Booked Fort.
This is just but a sampling of the toys we've discovered at Fatty Brain Toys. I still have plenty on my/our wishlist, actually, haha. If you would like to see the complete selection of educational toys from Fatty Brain Toys, please visit their Facebook page, Follow @fattybraintoys on Instagram or contact the following numbers below.
I've always wanted a pair of embroidered slippers from French Sole. There's something fancy yet boyish about it, which by now you'd know I'm a sucker for. A few weeks ago, I finally made a go for it, and I'm pretty sure many of you have also been wanting to do this.
Whenever I am at French Sole, I always find myself looking at this slipper, imagining my initials on it. But at Php19,000 a pair, it cannot be categorized under an impulse buy. I planned on saving the experience for a special occasion.
Knowing how long it takes to get these slippers embroidered, because they are made to order all the way in Spain, and with Mother's Day just a few weeks away, I estimated it was about time for this mother to get it.
So I finally braved asking the Sales Associate about their Monogram Slipper services. I was told it takes about 90 days from order to delivery. Of course, I was already decided, and definitely willing to wait.
STEP 2: Decide on your size.
After some discussion on the waiting time and an overview of how to personalize the slippers, I was asked what I size I wore. I told the SA that I wear a 6.5 in French Sole Henriettas.
I was given a pair of 6.5 and 7 to try on. The SA shares that most customers opt to go a half size up. Which is what I did. I went in the morning, when my feet hadn't expanded as much as it would in the afternoon. I figured I'd be better off with a 7, which while roomy, didn't fall of my feet.
STEP 3: Decide on the color.
This was easy. I wanted black slippers. They also have it in red, and will soon offer these in navy, but I figured, I'd still go for a classic black pair. It's more me.
STEP 4: Decide on the initials for the monogram, color of thread, font style and layout.
Font Color: Black, Red and Gold.
Layout: Single Serif, Double Serif, Overlap Serif, Single Script, Double Script and Overlap Script.
I decided I wanted my initials "CD" on each pair. I chose the thread in gold double script, so it has a clean, elegant feel. I can imagine it already. It's gonna look fantastic.
STEP 5: Putting it all down in paper.
Just to make sure they get everything right, I filled up this form with my contact details, and ticked out the boxes that summarized the size, initials, font color, font style and layout I wanted. Then I signed off it!
STEP 6: Pay. Then the waiting begins.
This is probably the most difficult part, the waiting! Heehee. I just need to wait for the store staff to call me once the shoes arrive, for me to pick up.
Note: It is up to you if you want to pay in full price, or pay half upon order and then pay the remaining half when you get the shoes from the store.
My pair should arrive sometime in May, hopefully in time for Mother's Day! I'll show you my shoes once I get them! Exciting! | {
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Are You Using This Essential Risk Management Tool?
Strategic risk management is the process of identifying, analyzing, and controlling uncertainties that keep an organization from achieving its objectives. Of the many tools available to increase your strategic risk intelligence—such as a root-cause analysis or a workflow diagram—one is especially useful. It's simple but often overlooked: the humble dictionary.
I happen to really like dictionaries. In my school years, you could find me in a corner of the playground reading books during recess. My passion wasn't just a fascination with words. The truth is, I had trouble figuring people out. As an INTP, I found it helpful to research words that didn't make sense, and this gave me the confidence to relate to people of all backgrounds.
I believe most business problems occur when leaders are unwilling or unable to see "blind spots" in their organization, which is why my clients get a "Give-It-To-Me-Straight" approach. Facing problems head-on allows us to see unpleasant truths that are barriers to success. But before we can jump into "fix-it mode," it's essential to know exactly what the problem is. And to do this, we need to agree on the meaning behind words.
A dictionary is an alphabetized set of terms that describes the spelling, pronunciation, and meanings of referenced words.
If you travel internationally, you'll know how it feels to know the right words, yet remain totally confused. Simply using correct words in the correct order does not guarantee comprehension. And if there's no shared understanding, communication did not take place.
$125 million Mars Climate Orbiter disaster, when NASA failed to clarify the unit of measurement; scientists used pound-seconds to calculate the Orbiter's entry on Mars, while the craft was programmed with Newton-seconds.
Errors are less likely to occur when we agree on the context (what's happening), usage (how words are formed and expressed), and meaning (intended significance) of the situation. To reduce the chance of unknowns, we can start by agreeing on which terms are essential and then defining those.
Organizations with high risk intelligence make sure all terms and concepts originate from one primary source. In IT, a data dictionary goes a step further: it describes defines the content, format, and structure of a set of data; the relationships between each element; and rules by which access is controlled. For example, I once worked in a database which had a field for "Name" and another for "Last Name." This led to a lot of confusion: Is "Name" a first name only, or should it contain the full given name? Is it duplicated from another field? The more clearly you define your words, the less frustration you'll have later on.
The best time to define terms is at the beginning of a process. Many organizations have silos of information; each department has their own definition for the same words. This can result in embarrassment or even worse. I recall during one healthcare meeting, our IT specialist was discussing "Old timer's disease" instead of "Alzheimer's disease," and "Lasix" (a diuretic) rather than "Lasik" (laser eye surgery). Although mispronunciations may sound funny at the time, communication errors add up to billions of dollars in damage. The best approach is to clarify everything early on.
A dictionary doesn't have to be complex. It doesn't even have to be professionally printed and bound. In fact, one of my clients developed a list of the commonly used words in his industry and printed out a rough draft. When he showed the list to his staff at their weekly meeting, he was shocked by the positive response. Every employees wanted a copy, and several suggested new terms to add. Rather than a "boring list of words," this process gave the company more clarity, a practical team-building tool, and became a reference point for future discussions.
First, consider terms that are used most often with your customers, internally in day-to-day operations, and in the industry at large. If you want, this can begin as a brain-storming session at your next staff meeting.
Research what each word means in commonly accepted standards; use online dictionaries, industry publications, and your internal corporate reference materials.
Consider the context, usage, and meaning of each word (what is implied, how it is delivered, what the next step should be), and create a definition that best describes the meaning of the word for the most people possible.
Review the draft definitions with your team, and create a final version.
Publish the dictionary in an easily accessible format.
Share the terms and definitions at staff meetings, in marketing materials, on your website, and in conversations with clients.
Finally, update your dictionary regularly, add new terms as they emerge, and alert your team so they can adjust their own reference materials.
It's a good idea to review your dictionary every few months, and continue to involve your staff and management team in future "definition projects" such as Policies and Procedures, Workflow Diagramming, and Job Descriptions.
You can see an example of an organizational dictionary here on my website.
I used all the steps above and continue to update it regularly. Have fun storming the castle!
In my next few posts, I'll discuss The Two Precursors of Meaning and an Overview of the 5 Types of Strategic Risk.
Are you are a business owner who feels frustrated about planning for the future? Schedule a free call so we can discuss ways you can regain control.
Grace LaConte is a Strategic Risk Expert who helps executive leaders find and fix organizational vulnerabilities. Using her experience as a Risk Officer and Director in healthcare and technology companies, Grace shares a refreshingly honest approach to uncovering hidden risk opportunities. Learn more at http://laconteconsulting.com, or connect with her on Twitter @lacontestrategy.. | {
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Larry Ribstein: In Memoriam (1946-2011)
The Politicization of Antitrust
FTC v. Qualcomm: Analyzing the theory of the case
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The FTC should address how (and whether) it assesses causation as it looks to define "informational injury"
Geoffrey Manne & Kristian Stout — 8 November 2017
The FTC will hold an "Informational Injury Workshop" in December "to examine consumer injury in the context of privacy and data security." Defining the scope of cognizable harm that may result from the unauthorized use or third-party hacking of consumer information is, to be sure, a crucial inquiry, particularly as ever-more information is stored digitally. But the Commission — rightly — is aiming at more than mere definition. As it notes, the ultimate objective of the workshop is to address questions like:
How do businesses evaluate the benefits, costs, and risks of collecting and using information in light of potential injuries? How do they make tradeoffs? How do they assess the risks of different kinds of data breach? What market and legal incentives do they face, and how do these incentives affect their decisions?
How do consumers perceive and evaluate the benefits, costs, and risks of sharing information in light of potential injuries? What obstacles do they face in conducting such an evaluation? How do they evaluate tradeoffs?
Understanding how businesses and consumers assess the risk and cost "when information about [consumers] is misused," and how they conform their conduct to that risk, entails understanding not only the scope of the potential harm, but also the extent to which conduct affects the risk of harm. This, in turn, requires an understanding of the FTC's approach to evaluating liability under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
The problem, as we discuss in comments submitted by the International Center for Law & Economics to the FTC for the workshop, is that the Commission's current approach troublingly mixes the required separate analyses of risk and harm, with little elucidation of either.
The core of the problem arises from the Commission's reliance on what it calls a "reasonableness" standard for its evaluation of data security. By its nature, a standard that assigns liability for only unreasonable conduct should incorporate concepts resembling those of a common law negligence analysis — e.g., establishing a standard of due care, determining causation, evaluating the costs of and benefits of conduct that would mitigate the risk of harm, etc. Unfortunately, the Commission's approach to reasonableness diverges from the rigor of a negligence analysis. In fact, as it has developed, it operates more like a strict liability regime in which largely inscrutable prosecutorial discretion determines which conduct, which firms, and which outcomes will give rise to liability.
Most troublingly, coupled with the Commission's untenably lax (read: virtually nonexistent) evidentiary standards, the extremely liberal notion of causation embodied in its "reasonableness" approach means that the mere storage of personal information, even absent any data breach, could amount to an unfair practice under the Act — clearly not a "reasonable" result.
The notion that a breach itself can constitute injury will, we hope, be taken up during the workshop. But even if injury is limited to a particular type of breach — say, one in which sensitive, personal information is exposed to a wide swath of people — unless the Commission's definition of what it means for conduct to be "likely to cause" harm is fixed, it will virtually always be the case that storage of personal information could conceivably lead to the kind of breach that constitutes injury. In other words, better defining the scope of injury does little to cabin the scope of the agency's discretion when conduct creating any risk of that injury is actionable.
Our comments elaborate on these issues, as well as providing our thoughts on how the subjective nature of informational injuries can fit into Section 5, with a particular focus on the problem of assessing informational injury given evolving social context, and the need for appropriately assessing benefits in any cost-benefit analysis of conduct leading to informational injury.
ICLE's full comments are available here.
The comments draw upon our article, When 'Reasonable' Isn't: The FTC's Standard-Less Data Security Standard, forthcoming in the Journal of Law, Economics and Policy.
In consumer protection, cost-benefit analysis, data security, federal trade commission, ftc, international center for law & economics, law and economics, privacy, regulation, regulatory reform, section 5 data security, Federal Trade Commission, ftc, FTC Act, Informational Injury, section 5
Speaking at events next week on privacy/data security and merger enforcement
Geoffrey Manne — 31 May 2017
I'll be participating in two excellent antitrust/consumer protection events next week in DC, both of which may be of interest to our readers:
5th Annual Public Policy Conference on the Law & Economics of Privacy and Data Security
hosted by the GMU Law & Economics Center's Program on Economics & Privacy, in partnership with the Future of Privacy Forum, and the Journal of Law, Economics & Policy.
Conference Description:
Data flows are central to an increasingly large share of the economy. A wide array of products and business models—from the sharing economy and artificial intelligence to autonomous vehicles and embedded medical devices—rely on personal data. Consequently, privacy regulation leaves a large economic footprint. As with any regulatory enterprise, the key to sound data policy is striking a balance between competing interests and norms that leaves consumers better off; finding an approach that addresses privacy concerns, but also supports the benefits of technology is an increasingly complex challenge. Not only is technology continuously advancing, but individual attitudes, expectations, and participation vary greatly. New ideas and approaches to privacy must be identified and developed at the same pace and with the same focus as the technologies they address.
This year's symposium will include panels on Unfairness under Section 5: Unpacking "Substantial Injury", Conceptualizing the Benefits and Costs from Data Flows, and The Law and Economics of Data Security.
I will be presenting a draft paper, co-authored with Kristian Stout, on the FTC's reasonableness standard in data security cases following the Commission decision in LabMD, entitled, When "Reasonable" Isn't: The FTC's Standard-less Data Security Standard.
Conference Details:
at George Mason University, Founders Hall (next door to the Law School)
3351 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VA 22201
View the full agenda here
The State of Antitrust Enforcement
hosted by the Federalist Society.
Panel Description:
Antitrust policy during much of the Obama Administration was a continuation of the Bush Administration's minimal involvement in the market. However, at the end of President Obama's term, there was a significant pivot to investigations and blocks of high profile mergers such as Halliburton-Baker Hughes, Comcast-Time Warner Cable, Staples-Office Depot, Sysco-US Foods, and Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna. How will or should the new Administration analyze proposed mergers, including certain high profile deals like Walgreens-Rite Aid, AT&T-Time Warner, Inc., and DraftKings-FanDuel?
Join us for a lively luncheon panel discussion that will cover these topics and the anticipated future of antitrust enforcement.
Albert A. Foer, Founder and Senior Fellow, American Antitrust Institute
Profesor Geoffrey A. Manne, Executive Director, International Center for Law & Economics
Honorable Joshua D. Wright, Professor of Law, George Mason University School of Law
Moderator: Honorable Ronald A. Cass, Dean Emeritus, Boston University School of Law and President, Cass & Associates, PC
Panel Details:
at the National Press Club, MWL Conference Rooms
529 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20045
Hope to see everyone at both events!
In administrative, announcements, antitrust, consumer protection, data security, federal trade commission, ftc, george mason university school of law, international center for law & economics, law and economics, mergers & acquisitions, scholarship bert foer, Competition law, conference, data security, ftc, James Cooper, joshua wright, labmd, mergers, privacy, ron cass, section 5, Unfairness
FTC v Amazon: With every victory in court the FTC loses a little more
Geoffrey Manne — 27 April 2016
Yesterday a federal district court in Washington state granted the FTC's motion for summary judgment against Amazon in FTC v. Amazon — the case alleging unfair trade practices in Amazon's design of the in-app purchases interface for apps available in its mobile app store. The headlines score the decision as a loss for Amazon, and the FTC, of course, claims victory. But the court also granted Amazon's motion for partial summary judgment on a significant aspect of the case, and the Commission's win may be decidedly pyrrhic.
While the district court (very wrongly, in my view) essentially followed the FTC in deciding that a well-designed user experience doesn't count as a consumer benefit for assessing substantial harm under the FTC Act, it rejected the Commission's request for a permanent injunction against Amazon. It also called into question the FTC's calculation of monetary damages. These last two may be huge.
The FTC may have "won" the case, but it's becoming increasingly apparent why it doesn't want to take these cases to trial. First in Wyndham, and now in Amazon, courts have begun to chip away at the FTC's expansive Section 5 discretion, even while handing the agency nominal victories.
The FTC largely escapes judicial oversight in cases like these because its targets almost always settle (Amazon is a rare exception). These settlements — consent orders — typically impose detailed 20-year injunctions and give the FTC ongoing oversight of the companies' conduct for the same period. The agency has wielded the threat of these consent orders as a powerful tool to micromanage tech companies, and it currently has at least one consent order in place with Twitter, Google, Apple, Facebook and several others.
As I wrote in a WSJ op-ed on these troubling consent orders:
The FTC prefers consent orders because they extend the commission's authority with little judicial oversight, but they are too blunt an instrument for regulating a technology company. For the next 20 years, if the FTC decides that Google's product design or billing practices don't provide "express, informed consent," the FTC could declare Google in violation of the new consent decree. The FTC could then impose huge penalties—tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars—without establishing that any consumer had actually been harmed.
Yesterday's decision makes that outcome less likely. Companies will be much less willing to succumb to the FTC's 20-year oversight demands if they know that courts may refuse the FTC's injunction request and accept companies' own, independent and market-driven efforts to address consumer concerns — without any special regulatory micromanagement.
In the same vein, while the court did find that Amazon was liable for repayment of unauthorized charges made without "express, informed authorization," it also found the FTC's monetary damages calculation questionable and asked for further briefing on the appropriate amount. If, as seems likely, it ultimately refuses to simply accept the FTC's damages claims, that, too, will take some of the wind out of the FTC's sails. Other companies have settled with the FTC and agreed to 20-year consent decrees in part, presumably, because of the threat of excessive damages if they litigate. That, too, is now less likely to happen.
Collectively, these holdings should help to force the FTC to better target its complaints to cases of still-ongoing and truly-harmful practices — the things the FTC Act was really meant to address, like actual fraud. Tech companies trying to navigate ever-changing competitive waters by carefully constructing their user interfaces and payment mechanisms (among other things) shouldn't be treated the same way as fraudulent phishing scams.
The court's other key holding is problematic, however. In essence, the court, like the FTC, seems to believe that regulators are better than companies' product managers, designers and engineers at designing app-store user interfaces:
[A] clear and conspicuous disclaimer regarding in-app purchases and request for authorization on the front-end of a customer's process could actually prove to… be more seamless than the somewhat unpredictable password prompt formulas rolled out by Amazon.
Never mind that Amazon has undoubtedly spent tremendous resources researching and designing the user experience in its app store. And never mind that — as Amazon is certainly aware — a consumer's experience of a product is make-or-break in the cut-throat world of online commerce, advertising and search (just ask Jet).
Instead, for the court (and the FTC), the imagined mechanism of "affirmatively seeking a customer's authorized consent to a charge" is all benefit and no cost. Whatever design decisions may have informed the way Amazon decided to seek consent are either irrelevant, or else the user-experience benefits they confer are negligible.
As I've written previously:
Amazon has built its entire business around the "1-click" concept — which consumers love — and implemented a host of notification and security processes hewing as much as possible to that design choice, but nevertheless taking account of the sorts of issues raised by in-app purchases. Moreover — and perhaps most significantly — it has implemented an innovative and comprehensive parental control regime (including the ability to turn off all in-app purchases) — Kindle Free Time — that arguably goes well beyond anything the FTC required in its Apple consent order.
Amazon is not abdicating its obligation to act fairly under the FTC Act and to ensure that users are protected from unauthorized charges. It's just doing so in ways that also take account of the costs such protections may impose — particularly, in this case, on the majority of Amazon customers who didn't and wouldn't suffer such unauthorized charges.
Amazon began offering Kindle Free Time in 2012 as an innovative solution to a problem — children's access to apps and in-app purchases — that affects only a small subset of Amazon's customers. To dismiss that effort without considering that Amazon might have made a perfectly reasonable judgment that balanced consumer protection and product design disregards the cost-benefit balancing required by Section 5 of the FTC Act.
Moreover, the FTC Act imposes liability for harm only when they are not "reasonably avoidable." Kindle Free Time is an outstanding example of an innovative mechanism that allows consumers at risk of unauthorized purchases by children to "reasonably avoid" harm. The court's and the FTC's disregard for it is inconsistent with the statute.
The court's willingness to reinforce the FTC's blackboard design "expertise" (such as it is) to second guess user-interface and other design decisions made by firms competing in real markets is unfortunate. But there's a significant silver lining. By reining in the FTC's discretion to go after these companies as if they were common fraudsters, the court has given consumers an important victory. After all, it is consumers who otherwise bear the costs (both directly and as a result of reduced risk-taking and innovation) of the FTC's largely unchecked ability to extract excessive concessions from its enforcement targets.
In consumer protection, federal trade commission, ftc, law and economics, litigation, regulation, section 5, technology 1-Click, Amazon, authorized consent, consent order, damages, ftc, injunction, Kindle Free Time, section 5, Unfairness, user interface
Voting Now Open for 2016 Concurrences Writing Awards
Alden Abbott — 29 January 2016
I urge Truth on the Market readers to signal their preferences and help select the 2016 antitrust writing awards bestowed by the prestigious competition law and policy journal, Concurrences. (See here for the 2015 winners.)
Readers and a Steering Committee vote for their favorite articles among those nominated, which results in a short list of finalists (two per category). The Concurrences Board then votes for the award-winning articles from the shortlist. (See here for detailed rules.)
Readers can now vote online until February 15 for their favorite articles at http://awards.concurrences.com/.
Among the nominees are three excellent papers written by former FTC Commissioner Joshua D. Wright (including one written with Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg) and one paper co-authored by Professor Thom Lambert and me (the four articles fall into three separate categories so you can vote for at least three of them):
Academic Article IP Category: Douglas H. Ginsburg, Koren W. Wong-Ervin, and Joshua D. Wright, Product Hopping and the Limits of Antitrust: The Danger of Micromanaging Innovation, http://awards.concurrences.com/articles-awards/academic-articles-awards/article/product-hopping-and-the-limits-of-antitrust-the-danger-of-micromanaging.
Academic Article General Antitrust Category: Joshua D. Wright & Angela Diveley, Unfair Methods of Competition after the 2015 Commission Statement, http://awards.concurrences.com/articles-awards/academic-articles-awards/article/unfair-methods-of-competition-after-the-2015-commission-statement.
Academic Article Unilateral Conduct Category: Derek Moore & Joshua D. Wright, Conditional Discounts and the Law of Exclusive Dealing, http://awards.concurrences.com/articles-awards/academic-articles-awards/article/conditional-discounts-and-the-law-of-exclusive-dealing.
Academic Article General Antitrust Category: Thomas A. Lambert and Alden F. Abbott, Recognizing the Limits of Antitrust: The Roberts Court Versus the Enforcement Agencies, http://jcle.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2015/09/14/joclec.nhv020.abstract and http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2596660 (downloadable version).
All four of these articles break new ground in important areas of antitrust law and policy.
(Full disclosure: Wright and Ginsburg are professors at George Mason Law School. I am on the adjunct faculty at that fine institution and Wong-Ervin is Director of George Mason Law School's Global Antitrust Institute.)
In antitrust, federal trade commission, intellectual property, section 5, truth on the market antitrust, Intellectual property, joshua wright, section 5
FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright gets his competiton enforcement guidelines
Geoffrey Manne — 13 August 2015
Today, for the first time in its 100-year history, the FTC issued enforcement guidelines for cases brought by the agency under the Unfair Methods of Competition ("UMC") provisions of Section 5 of the FTC Act.
The Statement of Enforcement Principles represents a significant victory for Commissioner Joshua Wright, who has been a tireless advocate for defining and limiting the scope of the Commission's UMC authority since before his appointment to the FTC in 2013.
As we've noted many times before here at TOTM (including in our UMC Guidelines Blog Symposium), FTC enforcement principles for UMC actions have been in desperate need of clarification. Without any UMC standards, the FTC has been free to leverage its costly adjudication process into settlements (or short-term victories) and businesses have been left in the dark as to what what sorts of conduct might trigger enforcement. Through a series of unadjudicated settlements, UMC unfairness doctrine (such as it is) has remained largely within the province of FTC discretion and without judicial oversight. As a result, and either by design or by accident, UMC never developed a body of law encompassing well-defined goals or principles like antitrust's consumer welfare standard.
Commissioner Wright has long been at the forefront of the battle to rein in the FTC's discretion in this area and to promote the rule of law. Soon after joining the Commission, he called for Section 5 guidelines that would constrain UMC enforcement to further consumer welfare, tied to the economically informed analysis of competitive effects developed in antitrust law.
Today's UMC Statement embodies the essential elements of Commissioner Wright's proposal. Under the new guidelines:
The Commission will make UMC enforcement decisions based on traditional antitrust principles, including the consumer welfare standard;
Only conduct that would violate the antitrust rule of reason will give rise to enforcement, and the Commission will not bring UMC cases without evidence demonstrating that harm to competition outweighs any efficiency or business justifications for the conduct at issue; and
The Commission commits to the principle that it is more appropriate to bring cases under the antitrust laws than under Section 5 when the conduct at issue could give rise to a cause of action under the antitrust laws. Notably, this doesn't mean that the agency gets to use UMC when it thinks it might lose under the Sherman or Clayton Acts; rather, it means UMC is meant only to be a gap-filler, to be used when the antitrust statutes don't apply at all.
Yes, the Statement is a compromise. For instance, there is no safe harbor from UMC enforcement if any cognizable efficiencies are demonstrated, as Commissioner Wright initially proposed.
But by enshrining antitrust law's consumer welfare standard in future UMC caselaw, by obligating the Commission to assess conduct within the framework of the well-established antitrust rule of reason, and by prioritizing antitrust over UMC when both might apply, the Statement brings UMC law into the world of modern antitrust analysis. This is a huge achievement.
It's also a huge achievement that a Statement like this one would be introduced by Chairwoman Ramirez. As recently as last year, Ramirez had resisted efforts to impose constraints on the FTC's UMC enforcement discretion. In a 2014 speech Ramirez said:
I have expressed concern about recent proposals to formulate guidance to try to codify our unfair methods principles for the first time in the Commission's 100 year history. While I don't object to guidance in theory, I am less interested in prescribing our future enforcement actions than in describing our broad enforcement principles revealed in our recent precedent.
The "recent precedent" that Ramirez referred to is precisely the set of cases applying UMC to reach antitrust-relevant conduct that led to Commissioner Wright's efforts. The common law of consent decrees that make up the precedent Ramirez refers to, of course, are not legally binding and provide little more than regurgitated causes of action.
But today, under Congressional pressure and pressure from within the agency led by Commissioner Wright, Chairwoman Ramirez and the other two Democratic commissioners voted for the Statement.
Competitive Effects Analysis Under the Statement
As Commissioner Ohlhausen argues in her dissenting statement, the UMC Statement doesn't remove all enforcement discretion from the Commission — after all, enforcement principles, like standards in law generally, have fuzzy boundaries.
But what Commissioner Ohlhausen seems to miss is that, by invoking antitrust principles, the rule of reason and competitive effects analysis, the Statement incorporates by reference 125 years of antitrust law and economics. The Statement itself need not go into excessive detail when, with only a few words, it brings modern antitrust jurisprudence embodied in cases like Trinko, Leegin, and Brooke Group into UMC law.
Under the new rule of reason approach for UMC, the FTC will condemn conduct only when it causes or is likely to cause "harm to competition or the competitive process, taking into account any associated cognizable efficiencies and business justifications." In other words, the evidence must demonstrate net harm to consumers before the FTC can take action. That's a significant constraint.
As noted above, Commissioner Wright originally proposed a safe harbor from FTC UMC enforcement whenever cognizable efficiencies are present. The Statement's balancing test is thus a compromise. But it's not really a big move from Commissioner Wright's initial position.
Commissioner Wright's original proposal tied the safe harbor to "cognizable" efficiencies, which is an exacting standard. As Commissioner Wright noted in his Blog Symposium post on the subject:
[T]he efficiencies screen I offer intentionally leverages the Commission's considerable expertise in identifying the presence of cognizable efficiencies in the merger context and explicitly ties the analysis to the well-developed framework offered in the Horizontal Merger Guidelines. As any antitrust practitioner can attest, the Commission does not credit "cognizable efficiencies" lightly and requires a rigorous showing that the claimed efficiencies are merger-specific, verifiable, and not derived from an anticompetitive reduction in output or service. Fears that the efficiencies screen in the Section 5 context would immunize patently anticompetitive conduct because a firm nakedly asserts cost savings arising from the conduct without evidence supporting its claim are unwarranted. Under this strict standard, the FTC would almost certainly have no trouble demonstrating no cognizable efficiencies exist in Dan's "blowing up of the competitor's factory" example because the very act of sabotage amounts to an anticompetitive reduction in output.
The difference between the safe harbor approach and the balancing approach embodied in the Statement is largely a function of administrative economy. Before, the proposal would have caused the FTC to err on the side of false negatives, possibly forbearing from bringing some number of welfare-enhancing cases in exchange for a more certain reduction in false positives. Now, there is greater chance of false positives.
But the real effect is that more cases will be litigated because, in the end, both versions would require some degree of antitrust-like competitive effects analysis. Under the Statement, if procompetitive efficiencies outweigh anticompetitive harms, the defendant still wins (and the FTC is to avoid enforcement). Under the original proposal fewer actions might be brought, but those that are brought would surely settle. So one likely outcome of choosing a balancing test over the safe harbor is that more close cases will go to court to be sorted out. Whether this is a net improvement over the safe harbor depends on whether the social costs of increased litigation and error are offset by a reduction in false negatives — as well as the more robust development of the public good of legal case law.
Reduced FTC Discretion Under the Statement
The other important benefit of the Statement is that it commits the FTC to a regime that reduces its discretion.
Chairwoman Ramirez and former Chairman Leibowitz — among others — have embraced a broader role for Section 5, particularly in order to avoid the judicial limits on antitrust actions arising out of recent Supreme Court cases like Trinko, Leegin, Brooke Group, Linkline, Weyerhaeuser and Credit Suisse.
For instance, as former Chairman Leibowitz said in 2008:
[T]he Commission should not be tied to the more technical definitions of consumer harm that limit applications of the Sherman Act when we are looking at pure Section 5 violations.
And this was no idle threat. Recent FTC cases, including Intel, N-Data, Google (Motorola), and Bosch, could all have been brought under the Sherman Act, but were brought — and settled — as Section 5 cases instead. Under the new Statement, all four would likely be Sherman Act cases.
There's little doubt that, left unfettered, Section 5 UMC actions would only have grown in scope. Former Chairman Leibowitz, in his concurring opinion in Rambus, described UMC as
a flexible and powerful Congressional mandate to protect competition from unreasonable restraints, whether long-since recognized or newly discovered, that violate the antitrust laws, constitute incipient violations of those laws, or contravene those laws' fundamental policies.
Both Leibowitz and former Commissioner Tom Rosch (again, among others) often repeated their views that Section 5 permitted much the same actions as were available under Section 2 — but without the annoyance of those pesky, economically sensible, judicial limitations. (Although, in fairness, Leibowitz also once commented that it would not "be wise to use the broader [Section 5] authority whenever we think we can't win an antitrust case, as a sort of 'fallback.'")
In fact, there is a long and unfortunate trend of FTC commissioners and other officials asserting some sort of "public enforcement exception" to the judicial limits on Sherman Act cases. As then Deputy Director for Antitrust in the Bureau of Economics, Howard Shelanski, told Congress in 2010:
The Commission believes that its authority to prevent "unfair methods of competition" through Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act enables the agency to pursue conduct that it cannot reach under the Sherman Act, and thus avoid the potential strictures of Trinko.
In this instance, and from the context (followed as it is by a request for Congress to actually exempt the agency from Trinko and Credit Suisse!), it seems that "reach" means "win."
Still others have gone even further. Tom Rosch, for example, has suggested that the FTC should challenge Patent Assertion Entities under Section 5 merely because "we have a gut feeling" that the conduct violates the Act and it may not be actionable under Section 2.
Even more egregious, Steve Salop and Jon Baker advocate using Section 5 to implement their preferred social policies — in this case to reduce income inequality. Such expansionist views, as Joe Sims recently reminded TOTM readers, hearken back to the troubled FTC of the 1970s:
Remember [former FTC Chairman] Mike Pertschuck saying that Section 5 could possibly be used to enforce compliance with desirable energy policies or environmental requirements, or to attack actions that, in the opinion of the FTC majority, impeded desirable employment programs or were inconsistent with the nation's "democratic, political and social ideals." The two speeches he delivered on this subject in 1977 were the beginning of the end for increased Section 5 enforcement in that era, since virtually everyone who heard or read them said: "Whoa! Is this really what we want the FTC to be doing?"
Apparently, for some, it is — even today. But don't forget: This was the era in which Congress actually briefly shuttered the FTC for refusing to recognize limits on its discretion, as Howard Beales reminds us:
The breadth, overreaching, and lack of focus in the FTC's ambitious rulemaking agenda outraged many in business, Congress, and the media. Even the Washington Post editorialized that the FTC had become the "National Nanny." Most significantly, these concerns reverberated in Congress. At one point, Congress refused to provide the necessary funding, and simply shut down the FTC for several days…. So great were the concerns that Congress did not reauthorize the FTC for fourteen years. Thus chastened, the Commission abandoned most of its rulemaking initiatives, and began to re-examine unfairness to develop a focused, injury-based test to evaluate practices that were allegedly unfair.
A truly significant effect of the Policy Statement will be to neutralize the effort to use UMC to make an end-run around antitrust jurisprudence in order to pursue non-economic goals. It will now be a necessary condition of a UMC enforcement action to prove a contravention of fundamental antitrust policies (i.e., consumer welfare), rather than whatever three commissioners happen to agree is a desirable goal. And the Statement puts the brakes on efforts to pursue antitrust cases under Section 5 by expressing a clear policy preference at the FTC to bring such cases under the antitrust laws.
Commissioner Ohlhausen's objects that
the fact that this policy statement requires some harm to competition does little to constrain the Commission, as every Section 5 theory pursued in the last 45 years, no matter how controversial or convoluted, can be and has been couched in terms of protecting competition and/or consumers.
That may be true, but the same could be said of every Section 2 case, as well. Commissioner Ohlhausen seems to be dismissing the fact that the Statement effectively incorporates by reference the last 45 years of antitrust law, too. Nothing will incentivize enforcement targets to challenge the FTC in court — or incentivize the FTC itself to forbear from enforcement — like the ability to argue Trinko, Leegin and their ilk. Antitrust law isn't perfect, of course, but making UMC law coextensive with modern antitrust law is about as much as we could ever reasonably hope for. And the Statement basically just gave UMC defendants blanket license to add a string of "See Areeda & Hovenkamp" cites to every case the FTC brings. We should count that as a huge win.
Commissioner Ohlhausen also laments the brevity and purported vagueness of the Statement, claiming that
No interpretation of the policy statement by a single Commissioner, no matter how thoughtful, will bind this or any future Commission to greater limits on Section 5 UMC enforcement than what is in this exceedingly brief, highly general statement.
But, in the end, it isn't necessarily the Commissioners' self-restraint upon which the Statement relies; it's the courts' (and defendants') ability to take the obvious implications of the Statement seriously and read current antitrust precedent into future UMC cases. If every future UMC case is adjudicated like a Sherman or Clayton Act case, the Statement will have been a resounding success.
Arguably no FTC commissioner has been as successful in influencing FTC policy as a minority commissioner — over sustained opposition, and in a way that constrains the agency so significantly — as has Commissioner Wright today.
In antitrust, Efficiencies, error costs, exclusionary conduct, exclusive dealing, federal trade commission, ftc, law and economics, monopolization, resale price maintenance, section 5, settlements, UMC symposium antitrust law, Commissioner Wright, Edith Ramirez, Federal Trade Commission, ftc, guidelines, joshua wright, Maureen Ohlhausen, section 5, UMC, unfair methods of competition
Joshua Wright, Martin Gaynor and Past FTC Officials to Speak at ICLE Event on Apple and Amazon Cases
Geoffrey Manne — 28 July 2014
The Federal Trade Commission's recent enforcement actions against Amazon and Apple raise important questions about the FTC's consumer protection practices, especially its use of economics. How does the Commission weigh the costs and benefits of its enforcement decisions? How does the agency employ economic analysis in digital consumer protection cases generally?
Join the International Center for Law and Economics and TechFreedom on Thursday, July 31 at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company for a lunch and panel discussion on these important issues, featuring FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Economics Martin Gaynor, and several former FTC officials. RSVP here.
Commissioner Wright will present a keynote address discussing his dissent in Apple and his approach to applying economics in consumer protection cases generally.
Geoffrey Manne, Executive Director of ICLE, will briefly discuss his recent paper on the role of economics in the FTC's consumer protection enforcement. Berin Szoka, TechFreedom President, will moderate a panel discussion featuring:
Martin Gaynor, Director, FTC Bureau of Economics
David Balto, Fmr. Deputy Assistant Director for Policy & Coordination, FTC Bureau of Competition
Howard Beales, Fmr. Director, FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection
James Cooper, Fmr. Acting Director & Fmr. Deputy Director, FTC Office of Policy Planning
Pauline Ippolito, Fmr. Acting Director & Fmr. Deputy Director, FTC Bureau of Economics
The FTC recently issued a complaint and consent order against Apple, alleging its in-app purchasing design doesn't meet the Commission's standards of fairness. The action and resulting settlement drew a forceful dissent from Commissioner Wright, and sparked a discussion among the Commissioners about balancing economic harms and benefits in Section 5 unfairness jurisprudence. More recently, the FTC brought a similar action against Amazon, which is now pending in federal district court because Amazon refused to settle.
The "FTC: Technology and Reform" project brings together a unique collection of experts on the law, economics, and technology of competition and consumer protection to consider challenges facing the FTC in general, and especially regarding its regulation of technology. The Project's initial report, released in December 2013, identified critical questions facing the agency, Congress, and the courts about the FTC's future, and proposed a framework for addressing them.
The event will be live streamed here beginning at 12:15pm. Join the conversation on Twitter with the #FTCReform hashtag.
11:45 am – 12:15 pm — Lunch and registration
12:15 pm – 2:00 pm — Keynote address, paper presentation & panel discussion
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company – Rehearsal Hall
641 D St NW
Questions? – Email [email protected]. RSVP here.
See ICLE's and TechFreedom's other work on FTC reform, including:
Geoffrey Manne's Congressional testimony on the the FTC@100
Op-ed by Berin Szoka and Geoffrey Manne, "The Second Century of the Federal Trade Commission"
Two posts by Geoffrey Manne on the FTC's Amazon Complaint, here and here.
About The International Center for Law and Economics:
The International Center for Law and Economics is a non-profit, non-partisan research center aimed at fostering rigorous policy analysis and evidence-based regulation.
About TechFreedom:
TechFreedom is a non-profit, non-partisan technology policy think tank. We work to chart a path forward for policymakers towards a bright future where technology enhances freedom, and freedom enhances technology.
In administrative, announcements, antitrust, consumer protection, cost-benefit analysis, error costs, federal trade commission, international center for law & economics, law and economics, regulation, section 5, technology Amazon, Apple, consumer protection, Federal Trade Commission, ftc, icle, section 5, techfreedom, Unfairness
The FTC's in-app purchasing complaint against Amazon reflects its flawed, per se approach to unfairness
Today the FTC filed its complaint in federal district court in Washington against Amazon, alleging that the company's in-app purchasing system permits children to make in-app purchases without parental "informed consent" constituting an "unfair practice" under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
As I noted in my previous post on the case, in bringing this case the Commission is doubling down on the rule it introduced in Apple that effectively converts the balancing of harms and benefits required under Section 5 of the FTC Act to a per se rule that deems certain practices to be unfair regardless of countervailing benefits. Similarly, it is attempting to extend the informed consent standard it created in Apple that essentially maintains that only specific, identified practices (essentially, distinct notification at the time of purchase or opening of purchase window, requiring entry of a password to proceed) are permissible under the Act.
Such a standard is inconsistent with the statute, however. The FTC's approach forecloses the ability of companies like Amazon to engage in meaningful design decisions and disregards their judgment about which user interface designs will, on balance, benefit consumers. The FTC Act does not empower the Commission to disregard the consumer benefits of practices that simply fail to mimic the FTC's preconceived design preferences. While that sort of approach might be defensible in the face of manifestly harmful practices like cramming, it is wholly inappropriate in the context of app stores like Amazon's that spend considerable resources to design every aspect of their interaction with consumers—and that seek to attract, not to defraud, consumers.
Today's complaint occasions a few more observations:
Amazon has a very strong case. Under Section 5 of the FTC Act, the Commission will have to prevail on all three elements required to prove unfairness under Section 5: that there is substantial injury, that consumers can't reasonably avoid the injury and that any countervailing benefits don't outweigh the injury. But, consistent with its complaint and consent order in Apple, the Amazon complaint focuses almost entirely on only the first of these. While that may have been enough to induce Apple to settle out of court, the FTC will actually have to make out a case on reasonable avoidance and countervailing benefits at trial. It's not at all clear that the agency will be able to do so on the facts alleged here.
On reasonable avoidance, over and above Amazon's general procedures that limit unwanted in-app purchases, the FTC will have a tough time showing that Amazon's Kindle Free Time doesn't provide parents with more than enough ability to avoid injury. In fact, the complaint doesn't mention Free Time at all.
Among other things, the complaint asserts that Amazon knew about issues with in-app purchasing by December of 2011 and claims that "[n]ot until June 2014 did Amazon change its in-app charge framework to obtain account holders' informed consent for in-app charges on its newer mobile devices." But Kindle Free Time was introduced in September of 2012. While four FTC Commissioners may believe that Free Time isn't a sufficient response to the alleged problem, it is clearly a readily available, free and effective (read: reasonable) mechanism for parents to avoid the alleged harms. It may not be what the design mavens at the FTC would have chosen to do, but it seems certain that avoiding unauthorized in-app purchases by children was part of what motivated Amazon's decision to create and offer Free Time.
On countervailing benefits, as Commissioner Wright discussed in detail in his dissent from the Apple consent order, the Commission seems to think that it can simply assert that there are no countervailing benefits to Amazon's design choices around in-app purchases. Here the complaint doesn't mention 1-Click at all, which is core to Amazon's user interface design and essential to evaluating the balance of harms and benefits required by the statute.
Even if it can show that Amazon's in-app purchase practices caused harm, the Commission will still have to demonstrate that Amazon's conscious efforts to minimize the steps required to make purchases doesn't benefit consumers on balance. In Apple, the FTC majority essentially (and improperly) valued these sorts of user-interface benefits at zero. It implicitly does so again here, but a court will require more than such an assertion.
Given these lapses, there is even a chance that the complaint will be thrown out on a motion to dismiss. It's a high bar, but if the court agrees that there are insufficient facts in the complaint to make out a plausible case on all three elements, Amazon could well prevail on a motion to dismiss. The FTC's approach in the Apple consent order effectively maintains that the agency can disregard reasonable avoidance and countervailing benefits in contravention of the statute. By following the same approach here in actual litigation, the FTC may well meet resistance from the courts, which have not yet so cavalierly dispensed with the statute's requirements.
In consumer protection, federal trade commission, markets, section 5, technology Amazon, Amazon.com, Apple, Commissioner Wright, Free Time, ftc, In-app purchases, Kindle, section 5, Unfair Practices, Unfairness
The FTC doubles down on its egregious product design enforcement with a threatened suit against Amazon.com
Geoffrey Manne — 2 July 2014
The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that Amazon is getting — and fighting — the "Apple treatment" from the FTC for its design of its in-app purchases:
Amazon.com Inc. is bucking a request from the Federal Trade Commission that it tighten its policies for purchases made by children while using mobile applications.
In a letter to the FTC Tuesday, Amazon said it was prepared to "defend our approach in court," rather than agree to fines and additional record keeping and disclosure requirements over the next 20 years, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
According to the documents, Amazon is facing a potential lawsuit by the FTC, which wants the Seattle retailer to accept terms similar to those that Apple Inc. agreed to earlier this year regarding so-called in-app purchases.
From what I can tell, the Commission has voted to issue a complaint, and Amazon has informed the Commission that it will not accept its proposed settlement.
I am thrilled that Amazon seems to have decided to fight the latest effort by a majority of the FTC to bring every large tech company under 20-year consent decree. I should say: I'm disappointed in the FTC, sorry for Amazon, but thrilled for consumers and the free marketplace that Amazon is choosing to fight rather than acquiesce.
As I wrote earlier this year about the FTC's case against Apple in testimony before the House Commerce Committee:
What's particularly notable about the Apple case – and presumably will be in future technology enforcement actions predicated on unfairness – is the unique relevance of the attributes of the conduct at issue to its product. Unlike past, allegedly similar, cases, Apple's conduct was not aimed at deceiving consumers, nor was it incidental to its product offering. But by challenging the practice, particularly without the balancing of harms required by Section 5, the FTC majority failed to act with restraint and substituted its own judgment, not about some manifestly despicable conduct, but about the very design of Apple's products. This is the sort of area where regulatory humility is more — not less — important.
In failing to observe common sense limits in Apple, the FTC set a dangerous precedent that, given the agency's enormous regulatory scope and the nature of technologically advanced products, could cause significant harm to consumers.
Here that failure is even more egregious. Amazon has built its entire business around the "1-click" concept — which consumers love — and implemented a host of notification and security processes hewing as much as possible to that design choice, but nevertheless taking account of the sorts of issues raised by in-app purchases. Moreover — and perhaps most significantly — it has implemented an innovative and comprehensive parental control regime (including the ability to turn off all in-app purchases) — Kindle Free Time — that arguably goes well beyond anything the FTC required in its Apple consent order. I use Kindle Free Time with my kids and have repeatedly claimed to anyone who will listen that it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Other consumers must feel similarly. Finally, regardless of all of that, Amazon has nevertheless voluntarily implemented additional notification procedures intended to comply with the Apple settlement, even though it didn't apply to Amazon.
If the FTC asserts, in the face of all of that, that it's own vision of what "appropriate" in-app purchase protections must look like is the only one that suffices to meet the standard required by Section 5's Unfairness language, it is either being egregiously disingenuous, horrifically vain, just plain obtuse, or some combination of the three.
As I wrote in my testimony:
The application of Section 5's "unfair acts and practices" prong (the statute at issue in Apple) is circumscribed by Section 45(n) of the FTC Act, which, among other things, proscribes enforcement where injury is "not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition."
And as Commissioner Wright noted in his dissent in the Apple case,
[T]he Commission effectively rejects an analysis of tradeoffs between the benefits of additional guidance and potential harm to some consumers or to competition from mandating guidance…. I respectfully disagree. These assumptions adopt too cramped a view of consumer benefits under the Unfairness Statement and, without more rigorous analysis to justify their application, are insufficient to establish the Commission's burden.
We won't know until we see the complaint whether the FTC has failed to undertake the balancing it neglected to perform in Apple and that it is required to perform under the statute. But it's hard to believe that it could mount a case against Amazon in light of the facts if it did perform such a balancing. There's no question that Amazon has implemented conscious and consumer-welfare-enhancing design choices here. The FTC's effort to nevertheless mandate a different design (and put Amazon under a 20 year consent decree) based on a claim that Amazon's choices impose greater harms than benefits on consumers seems manifestly unsupportable.
Such a claim almost certainly represents an abuse of the agency's discretion, and I expect Amazon to trounce the FTC if this case goes to trial.
In consumer protection, federal trade commission, markets, section 5, technology Amazon, Amazon.com, Apple, Commissioner Wright, ftc, In-app purchases, Kindle, section 5
Adam Mossoff's Senate Testimony on PAEs, Demand Letters and Patent Litigation
Adam Mossoff — 15 November 2013
Below is the text of my oral testimony to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, the Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance Subcommittee, at its November 7, 2013 hearing on "Demand Letters and Consumer Protection: Examining Deceptive Practices by Patent Assertion Entities." Information on the hearing is here, including an archived webcast of the hearing. My much longer and more indepth written testimony is here.
Please note that I am incorrectly identified on the hearing website as speaking on behalf of the Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property (CPIP). In fact, I was invited to testify soley in my personal capacity as a Professor of Law at George Mason University School of Law, given my academic research into the history of the patent system and the role of licensing and commercialization in the distribution of patented innovation. I spoke for neither George Mason University nor CPIP, and thus I am solely responsible for the content of my research and remarks.
Chairman McCaskill, Ranking Member Heller, and Members of the Subcommittee:
Thank you for this opportunity to speak with you today.
There certainly are bad actors, deceptive demand letters, and frivolous litigation in the patent system. The important question, though, is whether there is a systemic problem requiring further systemic revisions to the patent system. There is no answer to this question, and this is the case for three reasons.
Harm to Innovation
First, the calls to rush to enact systemic revisions to the patent system are being made without established evidence there is in fact systemic harm to innovation, let alone any harm to the consumers that Section 5 authorizes the FTC to protect. As the Government Accountability Office found in its August 2013 report on patent litigation, the frequently-cited studies claiming harms are actually "nonrandom and nongeneralizable," which means they are unscientific and unreliable.
These anecdotal reports and unreliable studies do not prove there is a systemic problem requiring a systemic revision to patent licensing practices.
Of even greater concern is that the many changes to the patent system Congress is considering, incl. extending the FTC's authority over demand letters, would impose serious costs on real innovators and thus do actual harm to America's innovation economy and job growth.
From Charles Goodyear and Thomas Edison in the nineteenth century to IBM and Microsoft today, patent licensing has been essential in bringing patented innovation to the marketplace, creating economic growth and a flourishing society. But expanding FTC authority to regulate requests for licensing royalties under vague evidentiary and legal standards only weakens patents and create costly uncertainty.
This will hamper America's innovation economy—causing reduced economic growth, lost jobs, and reduced standards of living for everyone, incl. the consumers the FTC is charged to protect.
Existing Tools
Second, the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) and courts have long had the legal tools to weed out bad patents and punish bad actors, and these tools were massively expanded just two years ago with the enactment of the America Invents Act.
This is important because the real concern with demand letters is that the underlying patents are invalid.
No one denies that owners of valid patents have the right to license their property or to sue infringers, or that patent owners can even make patent licensing their sole business model, as did Charles Goodyear and Elias Howe in the mid-nineteenth century.
There are too many of these tools to discuss in my brief remarks, but to name just a few: recipients of demand letters can sue patent owners in courts through declaratory judgment actions and invalidate bad patents. And the PTO now has four separate programs dedicated solely to weeding out bad patents.
For those who lack the knowledge or resources to access these legal tools, there are now numerous legal clinics, law firms and policy organizations that actively offer assistance.
Again, further systemic changes to the patent system are unwarranted because there are existing legal tools with established legal standards to address the bad actors and their bad patents.
If Congress enacts a law this year, then it should secure full funding for the PTO. Weakening patents and creating more uncertainties in the licensing process is not the solution.
Lastly, Congress is being driven to revise the patent system on the basis of rhetoric and anecdote instead of objective evidence and reasoned explanations. While there are bad actors in the patent system, terms like PAE or patent troll constantly shift in meaning. These terms have been used to cover anyone who licenses patents, including universities, startups, companies that engage in R&D, and many others.
Classic American innovators in the nineteenth century like Thomas Edison, Charles Goodyear, and Elias Howe would be called PAEs or patent trolls today. In fact, they and other patent owners made royalty demands against thousands of end users.
Congress should exercise restraint when it is being asked to enact systemic legislative or regulatory changes on the basis of pejorative labels that would lead us to condemn or discriminate against classic innovators like Edison who have contributed immensely to America's innovation economy.
In conclusion, the benefits or costs of patent licensing to the innovation economy is an important empirical and policy question, but systemic changes to the patent system should not be based on rhetoric, anecdotes, invalid studies, and incorrect claims about the historical and economic significance of patent licensing
As former PTO Director David Kappos stated last week in his testimony before the House Judiciary Committee: "we are reworking the greatest innovation engine the world has ever known, almost instantly after it has just been significantly overhauled. If there were ever a case where caution is called for, this is it."
In antitrust, federal trade commission, intellectual property, licensing, litigation, patent, regulation, section 5 antitrust, broken patent system, consumer, demand letters, ftc, legislation, licensing, mccaskill, mossoff, non practicing entity, PAE, patent assertion entity, patent reform, patent troll, podcasting patent, section 5, senate, wifi
Commissioner Wright Responds to Section 5 Symposium
Josh Wright — 2 August 2013
Joshua Wright is a Commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission
I'd like to thank Geoff and Thom for organizing this symposium and creating a forum for an open and frank exchange of ideas about the FTC's unfair methods of competition authority under Section 5. In offering my own views in a concrete proposed Policy Statement and speech earlier this summer, I hoped to encourage just such a discussion about how the Commission can define its authority to prosecute unfair methods of competition in a way that both strengthens the agency's ability to target anticompetitive conduct and provides much needed guidance to the business community. During the course of this symposium, I have enjoyed reading the many thoughtful posts providing feedback on my specific proposal, as well as offering other views on how guidance and limits can be imposed on the Commission's unfair methods of competition authority. Through this marketplace of ideas, I believe the Commission can develop a consensus position and finally accomplish the long overdue task of articulating its views on the application of the agency's signature competition statute. As this symposium comes to a close, I'd like to make a couple quick observations and respond to a few specific comments about my proposal.
There Exists a Vast Area of Agreement on Section 5
Although conventional wisdom may suggest it will be impossible to reach any meaningful consensus with respect to Section 5, this symposium demonstrates that there actually already exists a vast area of agreement on the subject. In fact, it appears safe to draw at least two broad conclusions from the contributions that have been offered as part of this symposium.
First, an overwhelming majority of commentators believe that we need guidance on the scope of the FTC's unfair methods of competition authority. This is not surprising. The absence of meaningful limiting principles distinguishing lawful conduct from unlawful conduct under Section 5 and the breadth of the Commission's authority to prosecute unfair methods of competition creates significant uncertainty among the business community. Moreover, without a coherent framework for applying Section 5, the Commission cannot possibly hope to fulfill Congress's vision that Section 5 would play a key role in helping the FTC leverage its unique research and reporting functions to develop evidence-based competition policy.
Second, there is near unanimity that the FTC should challenge only conduct as an unfair method of competition if it results in "harm to competition" as the phrase is understood under the traditional federal antitrust laws. Harm to competition is a concept that is readily understandable and has been deeply embedded into antitrust jurisprudence. Incorporating this concept would require that any conduct challenged under Section 5 must both harm the competitive process and harm consumers. Under this approach, the FTC should not consider non-economic factors, such as whether the practice harms small business or whether it violates public morals, in deciding whether to prosecute conduct as an unfair method of competition. This is a simple commitment, but one that is not currently enshrined in the law. By tethering the definition of unfair methods of competition to modern economics and to the understanding of competitive harm articulated in contemporary antitrust jurisprudence, we would ensure Section 5 enforcement focuses upon conduct that actually is anticompetitive.
While it is not surprising that commentators offering a diverse set of perspectives on the appropriate scope of the FTC's unfair methods of competition authority would agree on these two points, I think it is important to note that this consensus covers much of the Section 5 debate while leaving some room for debate on the margins as to how the FTC can best use its unfair methods of competition authority to complement its mission of protecting competition.
Some Clarifications Regarding My Proposed Policy Statement
In the spirit of furthering the debate along those margins, I also briefly would like to correct the record, or at least provide some clarification, on a few aspects of my proposed Policy Statement.
First, contrary to David Balto's suggestion, my proposed Policy Statement acknowledges the fact that Congress envisioned Section 5 to be an incipiency statute. Indeed, the first element of my proposed definition of unfair methods of competition requires the FTC to show that the act or practice in question "harms or is likely to harm competition significantly." In fact, it is by prosecuting practices that have not yet resulted in harm to competition, but are likely to result in anticompetitive effects if allowed to continue, that my definition reaches "invitations to collude." Paul Denis raises an interesting question about how the FTC should assess the likelihood of harm to competition, and suggests doing so using an expected value test. My proposed policy statement does just that by requiring the FTC to assess both the magnitude and probability of the competitive harm when determining whether a practice that has not yet harmed competition, but potentially is likely to, is an unfair method of competition under Section 5. Where the probability of competitive harm is smaller, the Commission should not find an unfair method of competition without reason to believe the conduct poses a substantial harm. Moreover, by requiring the FTC to show that the conduct in question results in "harm to competition" as that phrase is understood under the traditional federal antitrust laws, my proposal also incorporates all the temporal elements of harm discussed in the antitrust case law and therefore puts the Commission on the same footing as the courts.
Second, both Dan Crane and Marina Lao have suggested that the efficiencies screen I have proposed results in a null (or very small) set of cases because there is virtually no conduct for which some efficiencies cannot be claimed. This suggestion stems from an apparent misunderstanding of the efficiencies screen. What these comments fail to recognize is that the efficiencies screen I offer intentionally leverages the Commission's considerable expertise in identifying the presence of cognizable efficiencies in the merger context and explicitly ties the analysis to the well-developed framework offered in the Horizontal Merger Guidelines. As any antitrust practitioner can attest, the Commission does not credit "cognizable efficiencies" lightly and requires a rigorous showing that the claimed efficiencies are merger-specific, verifiable, and not derived from an anticompetitive reduction in output or service. Fears that the efficiencies screen in the Section 5 context would immunize patently anticompetitive conduct because a firm nakedly asserts cost savings arising from the conduct without evidence supporting its claim are unwarranted. Under this strict standard, the FTC would almost certainly have no trouble demonstrating no cognizable efficiencies exist in Dan's "blowing up of the competitor's factory" example because the very act of sabotage amounts to an anticompetitive reduction in output.
Third, Marina Lao further argues that permitting the FTC to challenge conduct as an unfair method of competition only when there are no cognizable efficiencies is too strict a standard and that it would be better to allow the agency to balance the harms against the efficiencies. The current formulation of the Commission's unfair methods of competition enforcement has proven unworkable in large part because it lacks clear boundaries and is both malleable and ambiguous. In my view, in order to make Section 5 a meaningful statute, and one that can contribute productively to the Commission's competition enforcement mission as envisioned by Congress, the Commission must first confine its unfair methods of competition authority to those areas where it can leverage its unique institutional capabilities to target the conduct most harmful to consumers. This in no way requires the Commission to let anticompetitive conduct run rampant. Where the FTC identifies and wants to challenge conduct with both harms and benefits, it is fully capable of doing so successfully in federal court under the traditional antitrust laws.
I cannot think of a contribution the Commission can make to the FTC's competition mission that is more important than issuing a Policy Statement articulating the appropriate application of Section 5. I look forward to continuing to exchange ideas with those both inside and outside the agency regarding how the Commission can provide guidance about its unfair methods of competition authority. Thank you once again to Truth on the Market for organizing and hosting this symposium and to the many participants for their thoughtful contributions.
*The views expressed here are my own and do not reflect those of the Commission or any other Commissioner.
In antitrust, federal trade commission, section 5, UMC symposium Competition law, Efficiencies, Federal Trade Commission, ftc, Harm to Competition, section 5, UMC
Geoffrey Manne on the Importance of Sensible Guidance for UMC Enforcement
Geoffrey Manne — 1 August 2013
Geoffrey Manne is Lecturer in Law at Lewis & Clark Law School and Executive Director of the International Center for Law & Economics
Josh and Maureen are to be commended for their important contributions to the discussion over the proper scope of the FTC's Section 5 enforcement authority. I have commented extensively on UMC and Section 5, Josh's statement, and particularly the problems if UMC enforcement against the use of injunctions to enforce FRAND-encumbered SEPs before (see, for example, here, here and here). I'd like to highlight here a couple of the most important issues from among these comments along with a couple of additional ones.
First, there is really no sensible disagreement over Josh's harm to competition prong. And to the extent there is disagreement over the proper role for efficiencies, given the existence of compelling arguments that we don't need Section 5 at all (see, e.g., Joe Sims and James Cooper), what might have seemed like a radical position in Josh's statement that the FTC enforce UMC only where no efficiencies exist, Josh's position is actually something of a middle ground. In any case, the first prong of Josh's statement (the harm to competition requirement) really should attract unanimity, as it essentially has here today, and all of the FTC's commissioners should come out and say so, even if debate persists over the second prong. This alone would provide an enormous amount of certainty and sense to the FTC's UMC enforcement decisions.
Second, sensible, predictable guidance is essential. In her recent speech, echoing the fundamental issue laid out so well in Josh's statement and elaborated on in his accompanying speech, Maureen notes that:
For many decades, the Commission's exercise of its UMC authority has launched the agency into a sea of uncertainty, much like the agency weathered when using its unfairness authority in the consumer protection area in the 1970s. In issuing our 1980 statement on the concept of "unfair acts or practices" under our consumer protection authority, the Commission acknowledged the uncertainty that had surrounded the concept of unfairness, admitting that "this uncertainty has been honestly troublesome for some businesses and some members of the legal profession." This characterization just as aptly describes the state of our UMC authority today.
It seems uncontroversial that some guidance is required, and a pseudo-common law of un-adjudicated settlements lacking any doctrinal analysis simply doesn't provide sufficient grounds to separate the fair from the unfair. (What follows is drawn from our amicus brief in the Wyndham case).
The FTC's current approach to UMC enforcement denies companies "a reasonable opportunity to know what is prohibited" and thus follow the law. The FTC has previously suggested that its settlements and Congressional testimony offers all the guidance a company would need—see, e.g., here and here, where Chairwoman Ramirez noted that
Section 5 of the FTC Act has been developed over time, case-by-case, in the manner of common law. These precedents provide the Commission and the business community with important guidance regarding the appropriate scope and use of the FTC's Section 5 authority.
But settlements (and testimony summarizing them) do not in any way constrain the FTC's subsequent enforcement decisions; they cannot alone be the basis by which the FTC provides guidance on its UMC authority because, unlike published guidelines, they do not purport to lay out general enforcement principles and are not recognized as doing so by courts and the business community. It is impossible to imagine a court faulting the FTC for failure to adhere to a previous settlement, particularly because settlements are not readily generalizable and bind only the parties who agree to them. As we put it in our Wyndham amicus brief:
Even setting aside this basic legal principle, the gradual accretion of these unadjudicated settlements does not solve the vagueness problem: Where guidelines provide cumulative analysis of previous enforcement decisions to establish general principles, these settlements are devoid of doctrinal analysis and offer little more than an infinite regress of unadjudicated assertions.
Rulemaking is generally preferable to case-by-case adjudication as a way to develop agency-enforced law because rulemaking both reduces vagueness and constrains the mischief that unconstrained agency actions may cause. As the Court noted in SEC v. Chenery Corp.,
The function of filling in the interstices of [a statute] should be performed, as much as possible, through this quasi-legislative promulgation of rules to be applied in the future.
Without Article III court decisions developing binding legal principles ,and with no other meaningful form of guidance from the FTC, the law will remain unconstitutionally vague. And the FTC's approach to enforcement also allows the FTC to act both arbitrarily and discriminatorily—backed by the costly threat of the CID process and Part III adjudication. This means the company faces two practically certain defeats—before the administrative law judge and then the full Commission, each a public relations disaster. The FTC appears to be perfectly willing to use negative media to encourage settlements: The House Oversight Committee is currently investigating whether a series of leaks by FTC staff to media last year were intended to pressure Google to settle the FTC's antitrust investigation into the company's business practices.
Third, if the FTC doesn't act to constrain itself, the courts or Congress will do so, and may do more damage to the FTC's authority than any self-imposed constraints would.
The power to determine whether the practices of almost any American business are "unfair" methods of competition (particularly if UMC retains the broad reach Tim Wu outlines in his post) makes the FTC uniquely powerful. This power, if it is to be used sensibly, allows the FTC to protect consumers from truly harmful business practices not covered by the FTC's general consumer protection authority. But without effective enforcement of clear limiting principles, this power may be stretched beyond what Congress intended.
In 1964, the Commission began using its unfairness power to ban business practices that it determined offended "public policy." Emboldened by vague Supreme Court dicta from Sperry & Hutchinson comparing the agency to a "court of equity," the Commission set upon a series of rulemakings and enforcement actions so sweeping that the Washington Post dubbed the agency the "National Nanny." The FTC's actions eventually prompted Congress to briefly shut down the agency to reinforce the point that it had not intended the agency to operate with such expansive authority. The FTC survived as an institution only because, in 1980, it (unanimously) issued a Policy Statement on Unfairness laying out basic limiting principles to constrain its power and assuring Congress that these principles would be further developed over time—principles that Congress then codified in Section 5(n) of the FTC Act.
And for a time, the Commission used its unfairness power sparingly and carefully, largely out of fear of reawakening Congressional furor. Back in 1980, the FTC itself declared that
The task of identifying unfair trade practices was therefore assigned to the Commission, subject to judicial review, in the expectation that the underlying criteria would evolve and develop over time.
Yet we know little more today than we did in 1980 about how the FTC analyzes each prong of Section 5.
Moreover, courts may not support enforcement given this ambiguity, and in our Wyndham brief we supported Wyndham's motion to dismiss for exactly this reason (and that was brought under the Commission's unfairness authority where it even has some guidelines). As we wrote:
Since the problem is a lack of judicial adjudication, it might seem counter-intuitive that the court should dismiss the FTC's suit on the pleadings. But this is precisely the form of adjudication required: The FTC needs to be told that its complaints do not meet the minimum standards required to establish a violation of Section 5 because otherwise there is little reason to think that the FTC's complaints will not continue to be the Commission's primary means of building law (what amounts to "non-law law"). But even if the FTC re-files its unadjudicated complaint to explain its analysis of the prongs of the Unfairness Doctrine, it will not have solved yet another fundamental problem: its failure to provide Wyndham with sufficient guidance ex ante as to what "reasonable" data security practices would be.
The same could be said of the FTC's UMC enforcement. Section 5(n) applies to UMC, and states that:
The Commission shall have no authority under this section or section 57a of this title to declare unlawful an act or practice on the grounds that such act or practice is unfair unless the act or practice causes or is likely to cause substantial injury to consumers which is not reasonably avoidable by consumers themselves and not outweighed by countervailing benefits to consumers or to competition. In determining whether an act or practice is unfair, the Commission may consider established public policies as evidence to be considered with all other evidence. Such public policy considerations may not serve as a primary basis for such determination.
Finally, applying this to FRAND-encumbered SEPs, as I have previously discussed, is problematic. As Kobayashi and Wright note in discussing the N-Data case,
[T]he truth is that there was little chance the FTC could have prevailed under the more rigorous Section 2 standard that anchors the liability rule to a demanding standard requiring proof of both exclusionary conduct and competitive harm. One must either accept the proposition that the FTC sought Section 5 liability precisely because there was no evidence of consumer harm or that the FTC believed there was evidence of consumer harm but elected to file the Complaint based only upon the Section 5 theory to encourage an expansive application of that Section, a position several Commissioners joining the Majority Statement have taken in recent years. Neither of these interpretations offers much evidence that N-Data is sound as a matter of prosecutorial discretion or antitrust policy.
None of the FTC's SEP cases has offered anything approaching proof of consumer harm, and this is where any sensible limiting principles must begin—as just about everyone here today seems to agree. Moreover, even if they did adduce evidence of harm, the often-ignored problem of reverse holdup raises precisely the concern about over-enforcement that Josh's "no efficiencies" prong is meant to address. Holdup may raise consumer prices (although the FTC has not presented evidence of this), but reverse holdup may do as much or more damage.
The use of injunctions to enforce SEPs increases innovation, the willingness to license generally and the willingness to enter into FRAND commitments in particular–all to the likely benefit of consumer welfare. If the FTC interprets its UMC authority in a way that constrains the ability of patent holders to effectively police their patent rights, then less innovation would be expected–to the detriment of consumers as well as businesses. An unfettered UMC authority will systematically curtail these benefits, quite possibly without countervailing positive effects.
And as I noted in a post yesterday, these costs are real. Innovative technology companies are responding to the current SEP enforcement environment exactly as we would expect them to: by avoiding the otherwise-consumer-welfare enhancing standardization process entirely—as statements made at a recent event demonstrate:
Because of the current atmosphere, Lukander said, Nokia has stepped back from the standardisation process, electing either not to join certain standard-setting organisations (SSOs) or not to contribute certain technologies to these organisations.
Section 5 is a particularly problematic piece of this, and sensible limits like those Josh proposes would go a long way toward mitigating the problem—without removing enforcement authority in the face of real competitive harm, which remains available under the Sherman Act.
In antitrust, federal trade commission, section 5, UMC symposium Federal Trade Commission, ftc, google, N-Data, section 5, UMC, unfair methods of competition, Wyndham
James Cooper on a Sensible Limit to the FTC's Section 5 Authority
totmauthor — 1 August 2013
James Cooper is Director, Research and Policy at the Law & Economics Center at George Mason University School of Law
In this posting, I sketch out a sensible limitation to the FTC's Section 5 authority. This domain should be narrow, focusing only on harmful conduct that but for the application of Section 5 would remain un-remedied.
As a threshold matter, the FTC explicitly should renounce its reliance on early Section 5 case law like S&H and Brown Shoe and write from a clean slate. No serious antitrust enforcer today would consider challenging the conduct at issue in these cases, yet, in each of its recent standard-setting cases, the Commission dutifully invokes the language in S&H and Brown Shoe like a sacred talisman that will conjure the authority to act beyond the "letter and spirit of the antitrust laws." This dicta, however, comes from seriously outmoded cases. For example, S&H upheld the Commission's challenge to the practice of preventing unauthorized green-stamp exchanges, and cited approvingly a Section 5 decision from 1934 that condemned the practice of selling penny candy to children in "break and take" packs, because "it tempted children to gamble and compelled those who would successful compete with Keppel to abandon their scruples by similarly tempting children."[1] Brown Shoe and S&H were decided in the era of Schwinn and Utah Pie. Sherman Act case law has moved light years in the direction of economic literacy since then, and the Commission should recognize that had the Supreme Court entertained Section 5 case in the past forty years, precedents like S&H and Brown Shoe likely would have met fates similar to these outmoded cases.
Second, the FTC should not use Section 5 when the conduct at issue is reachable under the Sherman or Clayton Acts. Section 5 should never be used as a trump card to reduce the Commission's burden to show a practice is harmful to consumers. If the Commission cannot carry its burden under the Sherman Act, then presumably the conduct is not likely to be a threat to competition.
Third, the Commission must explain how consumers would benefit from expansion of the antitrust laws beyond the current Sherman Act limits. Again, merely because there is old Supreme Court language blessing an expansive Section 5 does not ipso facto convert Section 5 enforcement beyond the Sherman Act into a welfare-enhancing exercise. Accordingly, demonstrable consumer harm must be a necessary condition for invoking Section 5 against a particular practice.
Further, to mitigate the possibility of errors, and hence the probability that FTC action is welfare enhancing, the practice in question should be one that is unlikely to generate cognizable efficiencies. Thus the FTC should limit itself to the type of conduct that would be subject to per se or a "quick look" condemnation – the type of conduct that can be assessed without an elaborate inquiry into market characteristics. It should avoid using Section 5 to challenge conduct that would require complex balancing.
How would such a standard treat the FTC's portfolio of Section 5 cases? First, ITCs involving small firms would remain. This conduct is not reachable under Sherman Act and is likely to generate substantial consumer harm. At the same time, the risk of deterring beneficial conduct is minimal, although as one moves from private solicitations to engage in price fixing or market allocation towards public communications and unilateral conduct, the calculus changes. Relatedly, involving information sharing seems sensible to retain as well. Like ITCs, this conduct is not reachable under the Sherman Act (assuming sufficiently low market shares), poses a significant threat to competition, and it is hard to justify on efficiency grounds. Of course, the Sherman Section 1 can reach agreements among competitors to exchange competitively sensitive information, so this genre of cases should be limited to instances where an agreement cannot be shown. Further, as in the ITC case, the FTC needs to tread carefully as the conduct moves further from direct and private exchanges of future competitive actions toward unilateral public announcements of current and past price and output decisions. Bolstering the case for the use of Section 5 in these cases is that both ITCs and information sharing cases fall under the broad rubric of incipient harms. Legislative history and subsequent Supreme pronouncements suggest that Congress intended Section 5 to concern itself with incipiency – a concern lacking in the Sherman Act.
The FTC should abandon its use of Section 5 to reach breaches of FRAND commitments. Although policies that encourage participation in standard setting are likely to be beneficial to consumers, it is not evident that Section 5 is the best – or even a good – vehicle to address these issues. That hold-up may result in a higher end price for consumers is insufficient to justify use of Section 5. There are a host of institutions arguably better suited than the FTC to handle these policy issues, including Article III courts, the ITC, the Patent & Trademark Office, Congress, and self-regulatory bodies. As Commissioner Ohlhausen remarked in her dissent in Bosch, the FTC appears to lack "regulatory humility when it usurps the resolution of FRAND disputes from these other fora.
Finally, deceptive conduct in business-to-business relationships – such as that alleged in Intel or Dell– should be left out of the portfolio entirely. To the extent that deception gives rise to, or helps maintain, monopoly power, it is reachable under Sherman Section 2. Otherwise, deception should be left to the domain of contract law or business torts. Further, these practices should not be challenged under UDAP, which should be confined to deception that directly involves consumers.
[1] S&H, 405 U.S. at 242-43 (quoting FTC v. R.F. Keppel & Bro., Inc., 291 U.S. 304 (1934)).
In antitrust, federal trade commission, section 5, UMC symposium antitrust, Competition law, Federal Trade Commission, ftc, section 5, UMC
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A few years ago, a close friend's birthday was fast approaching and as usual, we were stumped for gifting ideas. Finally we zoned on to the fact that the friend was a shopaholic. That's when I called Pooja Dhingra, the founder and owner of Le 15 pâtisserie in Mumbai. After a careful discussion with Dhingra, we settled on a dozen shopping themed cupcakes. Two days later, I went to pick up the cupcakes and was delighted by the frosted pink delicacies that came with a quirky but tasteful icing in the shape of a bag, a stiletto and clothes. My friend of course was delighted and almost refused to eat the cupcakes. When she did eat them, we realised that unlike most cupcakes these weren't dry and the frosting wasn't overpoweringly sweet.
So, I was understandably excited when I got Dhingra's baking book The Big Book of Treats. The lavishly-produced dessert book is splashed with mouth-watering photos of Dhingra's goodies including peanut butter brownie cups, Nutella squares, white chocolate and rose sponge cake and of course her delicately-flavoured macarons which she's best known for. The book starts with a Baking 101 guide which takes readers through commonly used ingredients, essential equipment and techniques and tips. Some of them are really useful, like the distinction between baking soda and powder and the handy conversion table.
The rest of the book is divided into Cookies, Bars, Brownies; Cakes, Tea Time goodies, Tarts, Cupcakes, Frostings, Truffles, Desserts and Macarons. Dhingra offers a range of recipes from basic ones such as chocolate chip cookies and vanilla cupcakes to the fancier ones like chai cupcakes and green chilly truffles. Each recipe comes with a little note where Dhingra talks about her work at Le 15, her team, shares personal anecdotes and sometimes recommends variations as well. For instance, in the eggless passion fruit truffles recipe, Dhingra suggests that if you can't find passion fruit, which isn't easily available in the Indian market, you can substitute it with any fruit purée such as mango, strawberry, or apple.
We decided to give Dhingra's recipes a whirl in our oven. We started with the dark chocolate fudge bar, which tastes like a brownie-like fudge. We first melted dark chocolate with butter, following Dhingra's Baking 101 tips. While that mixture cooled, we whisked together free-range eggs, castor sugar and vanilla. The chocolate mixture was folded in and our kitchen was as fragrant as a real-life bakery with the cocoa, butter and vanilla doing its magic. Flour, baking soda and almonds were added. The recipe called for white chocolate chips, but we decided to experiment and tossed in some butterscotch chips instead. Dhingra recommends roasting the almonds before adding them to the batter, a tip that made sense as it improves the flavour immensely. Twenty minutes later, the batter had doubled in size and the butterscotch was smelling heavenly.
We impatiently waited for the loaf to cool before cutting it into mini bars. We found the recipe easy to follow, and the conversion chart ensured that it was an effortless switch between grams and cups while measuring the ingredients. The bars were not too sweet, they were crispy on the outside and gooey but chewy inside, a perfect snack for that 4pm craving. The almonds added a subtle crunch while the butterscotch chips melted in our mouths. And best of all, it took us less than an hour to get this dish together, and that's including baking time. Next, we plan to try the mango tart, and then we hope to roll up our sleeve and dedicate a few hours to mastering the macaron. | {
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Ginsburg Misses Supreme Court Arguments For First Time After Cancer Surgery
By Nina Totenberg
Domenico Montanaro
Published January 7, 2019 at 8:51 AM CST
Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg poses for the official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 30, 2018.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is not taking part in Monday's oral arguments before the court.
The 85-year old liberal justice underwent surgery for cancer last month and also recently broke several ribs after a fall.
Ginsburg had not missed a day of arguments since she was confirmed to the court in 1993.
Despite not physically being at the court, she will be participating in the cases by reading the briefs and the transcripts of the oral arguments.
Ginsburg had hoped to be back on the court for arguments, but Dr. Douglas Mathisen, chairman of thoracic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, warned that getting back to work too quickly after this kind of surgery could mean "one step forward and five steps back."
Ginsburg is expected to make a full recovery and be back on the court.
"These days we are seeing more and more patients in their 70s and 80s make relatively quick recoveries," Mathisen said last month before Ginsburg's surgery, "because we are detecting so many more lung cancers at early stages" when treatment is far more effective and successful.
This is Ginsburg's third bout with cancer. In 1999, she was treated for colorectal cancer; a decade later, she was treated for pancreatic cancer.
Ginsburg is one of four ideologically liberal justices on the court. President Trump has shifted the court in a more conservative direction, appointing two Supreme Court justices — Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh replaced the court's swing justice, Anthony Kennedy, for whom he clerked.
The court this term has deliberately avoided politics in the cases it is hearing, under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, but the prospect of Trump appointing a third justice has liberals very nervous, especially as the 2020 elections approach.
Ginsburg has become a cultural icon for the left, with the nickname "The Notorious RBG" getting attached to her for her sharp dissents, and in the past year, there have been at least two widely distributed motion pictures memorializing her life — the RBG documentary, which premiered at Sundance last year, and On the Basis of Sex, which is out in theaters now. Ginsburg is played by Felicity Jones.
Ruth Bader GinsburgU.S. Supreme Court
Nina Totenberg
Nina Totenberg is NPR's award-winning legal affairs correspondent. Her reports air regularly on NPR's critically acclaimed newsmagazines All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition.
See stories by Nina Totenberg
Domenico Montanaro is NPR's senior political editor/correspondent. Based in Washington, D.C., his work appears on air and online delivering analysis of the political climate in Washington and campaigns. He also helps edit political coverage.
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No, Ruth Bader Ginsburg Does Not Intend To Retire Anytime Soon
"I will retire when it's time," the 83-year-old Supreme Court justice said in an interview with NPR. She also shares wedding advice from her mother-in-law and reads a letter from her late husband. | {
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PARIS, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The French Senate on Wednesday voted in favour of allowing the state to lower its minority stake in gas and power group Engie, despite rejecting a proposal to privatise airport operator ADP earlier in the week.
The French state owns 23.64 percent of Engie's capital and 34 percent of the shares' voting rights, and is required by law to keep at least 33 percent of the voting rights.
Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told the Senate that if Engie wanted to issue new capital to finance its expansion, the state would have no choice but to subscribe to respect the law.
"That is why we ask for the possibility to lower the state's stake in Engie below the legal limit," Le Maire told senators.
The government has given no indication of how much of its shares it may want to sell.
The Senate, controlled by the conservative opposition, voted 250 against 92 in favour of the government proposal.
A no-vote could only have delayed the operation, rather than definitively block it, since the Assemblee Nationale lower house of parliament - where President Emmanuel Macron's centrist LREM party has a comfortable majority - has the final vote.
"The logic is the same for all government asset sales, we want to give (these companies) the chance to grow and develop," Le Maire said, adding that Engie would boost its investment in renewable energy, notably biogas and offshore wind power. | {
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If you care about gay rights, you might want to rethink your drink.
Gay rights groups are boycotting Russian vodka after the country cracked down on gay activists and pride parades, the BBC reports. In addition, new legislation makes it illegal to teach "non-traditional values" (ie. gay-friendly values) to children.
On June 29, a gay pride parade in St. Petersburg was attacked by thugs and several marchers were badly beaten. Police then rounded up the marchers (not the thugs) and arrested them. You can see photos from this and related events in this shocking photo essay from Buzzfeed.
The boycott started in the U.S. a few days ago and has since spread to other countries. Gay bars have pulled Russian vodka from their shelves and an online petition is calling for Manchester to "untwin" from its sister city St. Petersburg. Protesters have dumped vodka on the street in front of the Russian consulate in New York City and taken to Twitter with hashtags such as #dumpstoli and #dumprussianvodka.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia almost two decades ago but there's been a severe backlash against the LGBT community in recent years.
One major vodka brand, Stolichnaya, has come out with a public statement in support of gay rights and says it shouldn't be targeted by the boycott. They say that while they use Russian ingredients, they are in fact a Latvian company.
There's an ongoing discussion in the LGBT about expanding the boycott to include other Russian products and also the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Places of worship have long been points of interest for travelers. Solemn and usually quite ornate, these buildings provide a window onto a community's history and values and often give visitors a much-needed pause while pounding the sightseeing pavement. Cathedrals are typical for this kind of touring. But have you ever thought to pay a visit to a synagogue?
My fascination with exploring synagogues began on a trip to Willemstad, Curaçao, home of Mikvé Israel-Emanuel, the oldest active Jewish congregation in the Americas built in 1651. Several years later, I had the opportunity to visit the Paradesi Synagogue in Cochin, Kerala, India. Constructed in 1568, it is the oldest "active" synagogue in India – "active" because there are fewer than 20 Jews left in Cochin, most having emigrated to Israel. Coincidentally, I learned about the Jews of Cochin from an exhibit at the 6th and I Synagogue, a historic synagogue in Washington, DC, that is now used primarily as a community center and arts space.
The Jewish diaspora is thriving in many parts of the world. Yet in places like Cochin and Mumbai, the local Jewish community is dwindling, giving impetus to visiting some synagogues before they are shuttered or left to become museums. The following are some of the synagogues I have seen or wish to explore on my travels.
From an island microslum in Colombia to a haute enclave in central Paris, the ten most crowded islands in the world bear scant similarities in class or culture. In fact, every entry in the top ten comes from a different country. But being islands, each shares the common thread of scarcity – whether it be land, resources, or housing. In general, these islands are prophetical microcosms for an overcrowded earth – finite spaces where self sufficiency governs and demand pierces supply.
With the world's population racing higher and higher, and the "megacities club" accepting new members yearly, some day the earth could bear the traits of one of these densely packed islands.
Story: This island located in St. Pete is a collection of 18th and 19th century buildings with some Soviet built apartment blocks lining the Gulf of Finland on the western shore. The communist housing ethos of the twentieth century called for rows and rows of tight apartments, and this historic island in Russia's second city was not immune to the sprawl. This created the compact quarters of Vasilyevsky island. Famous for its old school stock exchange and giant Rostral columns, the island is popular with tourists.
Story: This small island in central Stockholm once served as a hub of industry for Stockholm's industrial operations. The easy boat access allowed for ease of shipping by boat, and the island factories manufactured an array of goods, from massive lamps for lighthouses to vacuum cleaners. Eventually, as the industrial applications became outmoded, the island became home to several apartment towers. Today, the island is crammed full of smiling Swedes living in apartments with (presumably) tasteful modern furniture.
Story: Perhaps the most stylish island in the world, Île Saint-Louis is a marvel of 17th century urban architecture and planning. Narrow roads and some of the priciest real estate in the world have allowed the island to remain relatively calm, despite its location in central Paris. While Île Saint-Louis is off of the tourist radar for most, this island in the Seine River embodies the classic Parisian spirit, worthy of an afternoon stroll with a perfect sorbet from Berthillon. The island is named for France's canonized King, Louis IX.
Story: In 1626, the Lenape Indians sold Manhattan island to the Dutch for a bag of axes, hoes, iron kettles, duffel cloths and other 17th century garb worth about $24 (roughly $1000 in modern value). It is safe to day the island has grown ambitiously from this humble transaction. The center of the financial universe is now home to many – truly a place where the world lives. The island once known as New Amsterdam, and briefly, New Orange, shadows America's story, both tragic and triumphant.
Story: Salsette, an island off the western coast of India, is home to Mumbai and its sprawling suburbs. As a poster boy for "New India," Mumbai is as dichotomous as it gets, at once the wealthiest city in south Asia and also home to one of the world's largest slums – the notorious Dharavi. Dharavi is an island within an island, a super-slum with roughly one million people spread out over an area less than a square mile. At the other end of the spectrum, Salsette Island is also home to extreme wealth. The house known as Antilla is a 400,000 square foot giant that towers with some of Mumbai's tallest buildings. Truly a contrast from the squalor in Dharavi, the private residence houses six people, can accommodate 168 cars, has 9 elevators, and an ice room with snow flurries.
Story: The Maldives is one of Asia's top tourist destinations, with 26 atolls and 1,192 islands offering beach perfection. At its center is the capital city – Male. Male is a humbly sized island of just a couple square miles. It is stuffed full of people, hotels, mosques, and office towers that efficiently utilize the scare land resources. While landfills have reclaimed some land from the sea, most progress is made vertically rather than horizontally. The modern downtown island in the middle of the Indian Ocean is a stark aberration from the deserted islands that dot most of the Maldives.
Story: Hong Kong is the land of a thousand towers, clustered most densely on the island of Ap Lei Chau just southwest of Hong Kong Island. Ap Lei Chau served as the settlement for Hong Kong Village, theorized to be the etymological source for the famous larger territory of Hong Kong. Strangely, Ap Lei Chau translates to Duck Tongue Island, said to be named for the island's shape. It is filled with high rise residences and even a winery.
Story: This bantomslum in the middle of Lake Victoria is a fishing village perched precariously on half a sphere of rock. The residents take in large hauls of the Nile Perch – a poster boy for River Monsters that can grow to a comedically large size. Migingo is famous for a decades-old dispute between Kenya and Uganda over the sovereignty of the small island. There is even a facebook page where individuals can "like" declaring the island Kenyan. (The page has twice as many followers as there are residents on Migingo.) Uganda agrees with this claim, most of the time, though the tiny rock island is not the issue – the fishing rights are.
Story: The most densely populated island in the world is a microslum off the coast of Colombia. This tropical island is located in the emerald waters of the idyllic Caribbean, though is packed so tight that most activities are done off island. Schooling, football, graveyards, and work all take place away from Santa Cruz del Islote. The island park is the size of a small tennis court, and fresh water must be shipped in by Colombian Navy ships. Santa Cruz del Islote also does not have electricity. What the island favela does have is people, lots of them. To visit the world's most packed island, hop on a ferry from Tolu, Colombia. The nearby hotel of Punta Faro can arrange tours of the island.
This quick trip around the world by filmmaker and photographer Alex Profit is a stunning display of photo-tourism. The video embarks on a journey through Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Tokyo, New York and London. It will cure your nagging fits of wanderlust for the duration of its five minute run-time. Beyond that though, you may experience an uncontrollable urge to visit Barcelona or one of the other many locales documented.
The video was made by compiling 2000 photographs from eight separate locations. It took Alex twenty-four days to travel to all of the locations and get the shots. That is covering a lot of ground, fast. If you could choose to travel to any of these locations, which one would you choose? | {
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A tale of love and life
grandMA2 Rocks on Tony Award-winning "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"
© Joan Marcus
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch," the unconventional rock musical that recently captured four Tony Awards, may not be your grandma's Broadway show, but its use of grandMA2 lighting consoles keeps the edgy production on track at the Belasco Theatre.
"Hedwig and the Angry Inch" is John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's gender-bending musical tale of life, love and a botched operation. It won Tonys for its star, Neil Patrick Harris; co-star Lena Hall; and lighting designer Kevin Adams – Adams's fourth win. The play also received top honours as Best Musical Revival.
The lighting and video for "Hedwig" were programmed on two grandMA2 full-size consoles. During rehearsals Kevin Adams, video designer Ben Pearcy, associate lighting designer Paul Toben and second assistant lighting designer Jimmy Lawlor used grandMA onPC stations to monitor the production. Now, both lighting and video run nightly on a single grandMA2 light with an MA onPC command wing and an MA NPU (Network Processing Unit) as backup in the compact booth. Brian Dawson is the board operator.
"grandMA2 offered us a really good networking solution that enabled us to have multiple programmers on the system during rehearsals and give display feedback for the designers," says lighting programmer Benny Kirkham; Zach Peletz is the video programmer. "The show is very dynamic and we had to get it done quickly. Using grandMA2 and all its tools was the only choice to get the look we wanted."
Kirkham notes that the show "is supposed to depict a one-night-only concert by a punk rock group, so we had to create some of the insanity of that with the design. Kevin really walked the line well creating a show that's wild and anarchic without creating a distraction. The whole package comes together, and everything in the design works perfectly!"
Adams met Kirkham on the new Blue Man Group show at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas where they worked on a grandMA2 console. They reunited for "Hedwig," and Adams was "delighted" to partner with the programmer and the grandMA2 again.
Adams liked grandMA2's graphical "Magic Sheets on the monitors," which meant he "never needed any paper" to speed up recalling control channel numbers. "I had a lot less info in front of me; I never needed any channel numbers. I could just point to the layout that Benny and I shared. It was very visual and intuitive. An entire layer of frustration went away."
Adams also liked the colour monitors. "With 'Hedwig' we have mostly moving lights. With the monitors in colour it was easier to understand what was happening live."
Kirkham notes that Adams "became quite a fan of the grandMA2" during the course of "Hedwig's" production. "It's fast and has the best effects engine on the market, which enabled us to create the look and feel we wanted," he says. "The grandMA2 was great at managing tracking and cue data – and there's no board that can fire up the popcorn machine as well as grandMA2 can!"
Kirkham says he's never been involved in a production as "collegial" as "Hedwig." "Every change moved the show to an even better place," he reports. "We're very proud of it."
"I've enjoyed working with Benny and the grandMA2 very much," Adams concludes.
PRG supplied the lighting equipment. A.C.T Lighting, Inc. is the exclusive distributor of MA products in the USA and Canada.
Used equipment:
2 x grandMA2 full-size
1 x grandMA2 light
1 x MA onPC command wing
1 x MA NPU (Network Processing Unit)
"It's an amazing system"
Phantom of the Opera debuts in Quebec with grandMA3
Phantom of the Opera has been an international phenomenon for more than 30 years. Now, the French concert version of the hit musical has debuted in Montreal and Quebec City where lighting designer...
Project of superlatives
MA Lighting for the Elbphilharmonie
In January 2017, the Hamburg Elbphilharmonie was ceremoniously opened featuring a stunning building design by the Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron. This marked the beginning of a new chapter in the...
grandMA2 for Land of Kalevala
A celebration of Finnish history
Land of Kalevala is currently being staged at the Finnish National Opera, with set, projection and lighting designed by Mikki Kunttu.
The performance is about Finland in which the epic 19th century...
grandMA2 performs at Jiangsu Centre for the Performing Arts
Reliability and flexibility praised
The Jiangsu Centre for the Performing Arts, located at the Olympic Sports Center in Jiangsu Najing, is the largest modern theatre in China second in size only to the National Grand Theater located in...
La Traviata staged at Joburg Theatre with grandMA2
"It is easy, fast and never crashes"
Simon King is flying solo after working at the State Theatre in Pretoria for 28 years. He recently took a seat behind a grandMA2 full-size to light La Traviata, a stirring love story brought to The...
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May 2012 e-Newsletter
Boroughs Publishing Group News
Boroughs Opens Its First
Romance Short Story Contest:
@ FIRST SIGHT
In one blink of an eye, you're hooked.
"OH, HENRY!" she said. "Is that an e-reader in your pocket, or are you just feeling romantic?"
Looking to get noticed? Boroughs is offering a great opportunity for you to show off, whether you're published or unpublished, whether you're a first-time author or have a trunk full of novels under your bed. Short fiction is the simplest of all art forms—and the trickiest. With a limited amount of space to show us your world, your characters, their conflict…and then prove why they just have to be together, you have to be smart, be sexy, be different. And it has to happen in the blink of an eye.
Think you can succeed? We know you can.
TELL YOUR FRIENDS, TELL YOUR NEIGHBORS,
THE CONTEST HAS BEGUN!
The contest opens today and closes 11:59 p.m. PST, July 1st 2012.
TO SUBMIT
Send the following to [email protected]:
a short ROMANCE story of 6,000 to 10,000 words, double spaced, Times New Roman 12 point, with one-inch borders, submitted in MS Word.
Please put your story title in the header flush right.
Please DO NOT put your name on the body of the story, as the rounds will feature anonymous judging, but in your query letter include your name and contact information, the story title and its suggested sub-genre.
In the subject line of your submission email, please put "@FS: [YOUR STORY TITLE]"
"the pitch": a 15 to 25 word encapsulation of the story. Be brilliant. You will be judged on this!
Remember, the contest is open to published and unpublished authors alike. And you may enter more than once, but please submit each story separately.
Each story should be self-contained enough to feature a resolution of any inherent conflicts and provide at least a happy-for-now ending. Looking for a place to get started? Here's a thought: Use side characters of your previously written novels or back story connections of your characters that part and meet again.
PHASE 1: On July 3, 2012, story titles and pitches will be posted ANONYMOUSLY on our website for open voting. Those that receive the top 25% of the vote in their sub-genre will be selected as SEMI-FINALISTS to go on to…
PHASE 2: On July 17, 2012, the story's first page (or first ~250 words) will be posted ANONYMOUSLY on our website for votes along with the title and pitch. In addition, our Editors will weigh in. The top three stories in each sub-genre will be selected as FINALISTS to go on to…
PHASE 3: On July 24, 2012, the first three pages of the story will be posted for voting. Bit by tantalizing bit you'll see who has what it takes—and so will we. The announcement of the winner of the @ FIRST SIGHT contest will be made at 5:45 p.m., Friday, July 27, 2012, at our Publisher Open House at the RWA convention in Anaheim, California, and the results will be Tweeted and publicized on our website.
Beginning on July 3, 2012, and for each phase of the contest, you and everyone you know should visit www.boroughspublishinggroup.com, find the link to the @ First Sight contest, then cast your votes for stories that tickle your fancy and make you want more. You may vote for every story you like.
ALL FINALISTS will be offered:
A contract to have their story published and sold by Boroughs Publishing Group
A full editorial process to make their story shine
THE FINALIST with the most popular website votes will be offered:
A critique by an editor of a full-length manuscript submission to Boroughs, with a turn-around time of two weeks
THE WINNER, chosen from our FINALISTS by our editorial staff, will receive:
cover art specifically tailored to the story
A critique by our Editor-in-Chief of a full-length manuscript submission to Boroughs, with a turn-around time of two weeks
75% of the winning story's net royalties
Boroughs Joins
Publishing Against Diabetes
Boroughs Publishing joins numerous industry professionals, authors and publishers alike, in the fight against diabetes, donating to the annual online auction run by New York Times bestselling author Brenda Novak.
Boroughs has offered up:
Critiques of three (3) FULL manuscripts within a two (2) month turnaround, 1 of which will be critiqued by Editor-in-Chief Chris Keeslar;
Critiques of five (5) partial manuscripts—the first five chapters—with a one (1) month turnaround, 2 of which will be critiqued by Editor-in-Chief Chris Keeslar; and
Ten (10) copies each of our debut author's books, Tumbleweed Heights, Nobody's Angel and The Genie Ignites.
Boroughs is just one of a multitude of donors. Since its inception, this annual auction has raised over $1.3 million (cumulatively), and they're looking to break $2 million in the near future.
The auction is open at this very moment and will run through May 31, 2012. This year they're even giving away a free iMac or PC of equal value to the person who makes the most bids, regardless whether that person wins the most items. So, make some bids! Let's go cure some diabetes!
http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com
Boroughs About Town (& Country)
In Anaheim
For those of you who don't know, the Romance Writers of America national convention will be held this year in California, at the Anaheim Marriott, July 25th - 28th.
For those of you attending, Boroughs invites you to join us for the following events in our Hospitality Suite – Room #355 at the Anaheim Marriott:
Friday, July 27, 2012, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Boroughs Spotlight, Author & Editor Meet & Greet and Open House
At 5:45 p.m. we will announce our @ First Sight Contest winner!
Saturday, July 28th, 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Author Pitch Sessions
Sign up on our web site!
RWA remains the best single resource for aspiring romance writers, bringing together authors, editors and all types of publishing professionals. For information about the conference, go to: http://www.rwa.org/cs/conferences_and_events.
For information about RWA or a chapter near you, visit: http://www.rwa.org/cs/about_rwa.
In Toledo
Boroughs was invited to spend an afternoon with the Maumee Valley chapter of Romance Writers of America in Toledo, Ohio, on Saturday, April 28th. (Thanks, ladies!) The MVRWA chapter boasts a fantastic mixture of published and unpublished authors, and all present agreed it was one of the best and most informative meetings in recent history.
For those of you who can't pick him out, that's our Editor-in-Chief on the far left. Liz Edelstein from Heroesandheartbreakers.com was also in attendance.
Interested in having Chris or someone from Boroughs visit your chapter? Send a request with event details (including date) to [email protected].
Romantic Times Book Reviews interviewed Editor-in-Chief, Chris Keeslar and wrote:
Video Interview: Editor Chris Keeslar
By RT Book Reviews, May 17, 2012:
Chris Keeslar planted his publishing roots as an editor at Dorchester Publishing, where he spent many years working with authors including Marjorie M. Liu, Victoria Alexander, Lynsay Sands and more. Now, Keeslar is spearheading the new Boroughs Publishing Group, an e-book house, where he will continue his practice of taking chances and discovering new author voices. RT's Morgan got a chance to talk with Keeslar about his new endeavor and find out what Boroughs is looking for and how authors can submit their manuscripts. So what does Boroughs want? Keeslar shares that an author's vision is key, and while he's partial to urban fantasy and paranormal romance stories, he wants books that give their hero and heroine a happily ever after. Ultimately, romance is near and dear to this editor's heart, and we can't wait for what's on the horizon for Boroughs.
You can watch the entire interview at RT's Daily Blog:
http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/video-interview-editor-chris-keeslar and on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVgkXb6ZtQU.
E-Musements
A short monthly piece to show what's happening in the editor-in-chief's brain...and in his office. Besides reading. Lots of reading.
Advice: Pitch Your Voice
I spent the other weekend in Toledo talking about all the changes occurring throughout the publishing industry. Wow, there are a lot. It can be daunting, really, as much as exciting. But one thing I'm happy to report will never change. First and foremost, regardless of your experience level or the innovations of product delivery, writing is about communication.
So, as a writer, focus on that: Communication. Your key to success is conveying everything you want to convey to the appropriate audience in the appropriate manner—a manner you've determined by listening to them before you speak. Know who you are. Know who they are.
If you don't know who your audience is, it's you. At least, that's a great place to start. You're most likely writing for someone who has the same tastes as yourself but doesn't have the same drive to create. That makes things easier, no? Start thinking about the elements that work for you when you're reading. What really makes you gasp, groan, sigh or buy the next thirty installments of the series? Can you do the same? Next start thinking about what you'd do, how you would have characters act differently in similar situations and how you could make a story even more romantic than the best book you ever read. Don't look now, but you're finding yourself. You're finding your Voice. Not as tough as you thought, eh?
When authors or teachers or editors tell you to "Find your voice," they're not just talking about what words you use and how you naturally arrange them; they want you to discover that inner core of yourself that makes you write, what it makes you write and why. Your Voice is what's quintessentially you. It's what you as a writer offer the world. It's your soul: unique, immutable, beautiful.
People—aspiring authors in particular—are guilty of a serious crime: They elevate writing to a Herculean task. Well, maybe it is one. But the strenuous part comes from committing to and believing in your vision while still paying attention to your audience, connecting their hopes and dreams to your own. But it makes the task easier to delineate: Become a good communicator, you'll be a good writer.
Amusingly, I find authors who have tackled the task of writing a book then shy away from something as simple as a pitch. There's no good reason. If you can do one, you can do the other. A pitch is just using your Voice to tell a friend why they should read a book, see a movie or listen to a song. That friend just happens to be an editor, and the book just happens to be yours. You should know better than anyone what makes it awesome.
Where you get to hear the people who make publishing–and Boroughs especially–what it is.
Author Introduction: Staci Weber & Sara Dailey
Staci Weber & Sara Dailey are avid readers, English teachers, friends, wives and soccer moms. They have been teaching together for the past eight years and writing together for four. Pack of Lies is their second young adult novel.
We want to start by saying how excited we are to be working with Boroughs. We could not be happier with the way our book turned out, and to have a group of professionals so enthusiastic about the story assures us that our baby is in good hands. We were so nervous! We wanted to write a series, much like some of our favorite adult paranormal romance series, where each novel is from the point of view of a different character—or characters as it happens in Pack of Lies. About a third of the way into the manuscript we decided to use three different first-person POVs. We feared the series would be a tough sell for a few reasons. One, it's about werewolves, and two, it's told in those alternating points of view. But we forged ahead regardless. It was the type of series that we wanted to read, and we simply hoped that others out there would too. Judging from feedback, you do!
So, we were asked today—and it's a question we get a lot—how two people manage to write same story together. Well, four years ago, when we started our first novel, we had absolutely no idea how it would work or what we were in for. We just sat down with one laptop and passed it back and forth until the book was finished. This is probably why it took us over a year to write! Since then we have changed things a bit, but some things remain the same. We still try to meet at Starbucks once a week to plan, organize, and write together. The only real difference is that now we each have our own laptops, and we each write our own chapters. Forward progress!
We have run into a few problems along the way—like finding time between school and soccer games to get together to write or make our individual chapters flow together—but we always find a way to make it work. Our passion remains strong. One of the first and hardest things we learned about writing together was that we have to be honest. If something isn't working or just doesn't sound right, we have to speak up about it and not let our feelings get in the way. Luckily, we have been friends for quite a while and are comfortable enough with each other to speak our minds.
Despite the problems, writing as a team has been an absolute blessing. We can't imagine writing without each other. When we get a good review, we can celebrate together; when we get a bad one, we can talk trash together. We give each other the confidence to get our work out there for people to read, which can be really scary, but no matter what, when you're part of a team you get to have twice as much fun. And that's what writing's all about. Having fun.
Thanks—and we hope you enjoy Pack of Lies!
Boroughs at RWA Anaheim
RWA Conference - San Antonio
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In his August 20 Facebook post, Ian Somerhalder shares a 'mind-blowing' article written by his wife Nikki Reed for Elle.com. He says 'It's what I want to spend the rest of my life doing-finding solutions to old and dangerous problems'. He has spent many years in his 'Vampire Diaries' chair thinking about his character Damon's life, his own and the planet… He has met many people of varying ages who 'inspire' him and those around them are some of the most impactful moments and relationships he's ever known. Nikki Reed inspires him to DO and BE more so our world can be a better place.
What lead her to this train of thought is the Humane Society is currently supporting a shelter in Louisiana that is run by prison inmates. 'The Humane Society gave this shelter the tools and the insight it needed to function. The shelter then gave the inmates the insight they needed to find purpose-to do better.' and it worked.
'So let's start changing our approach altogether The lack of compassion we find in kids that are obsessed with violent video games or who threaten their peers online have one thing in common-their interactions aren't rooted in anything real You can't see, touch or smell anything through a screen' you aren't truly communicating with anyone.' This tends to have a numbing affect and after a while they don't see how their actions affect the planet..
If everyone saw the positive not the negative in people 'what a wonderful world it would be.
Nikki wants to know what makes you 'feel good about yourself,…can you dance ,write,sing,run, swim, recite poetry, play the piano., She wants people to email her directly for a chance to be mentioned in the next edition of her column.
Thanks to http://facebook.com/iansomerhalder and http://tinyurl.com/omj40yj for the information. Please read. | {
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Will all four political parties agree to work together for the sake of Derby City Council?
Could Labour bow to pressure to return to a committee system in a week that could see all four party leaders sit round the table to thrash it out?
Zena HawleyAgenda editor
The clock is ticking. The ballot boxes may have been put away, the campaign posters taken down and the losing candidates may be licking their wounds - but the repercussions from the 2018 Derby City Council election are far from over and the four political parties have just over two weeks to sort themselves out.
The loss of three seats by Labour, including leader Ranjit Banwait, which resulted in the party relinquishing its one-seat overall majority, and the gaining of two seats by the Conservatives and one seat by UKIP, while the Lib Dems remained unchanged with a total of five seats, has left the council with no overall control.
So what happens next? One thing for sure is that the kingmakers in this situation are definitely the Lib Dems. With their five seats they have the power to make or break a bid for power by either the previously ruling Labour group, which now has 23 seats, or the Conservatives, who are on 20 seats. The three seats of UKIP could also prove to be a powerful tool in some of the possible permutations of power sharing too.
But Lib Dem group leader Councillor Ruth Skelton, who held her Blagreaves seat comfortably, has said from the start of campaigning back in March that she did not want to enter into a power-sharing coalition with any party.
Councillor Ruth Skelton retain her Blagreaves seat for the Lib Dems at the 2018 council election
Instead, she wants to see a different form of governance introduced to run the council - the committee system. In recent years, the council has been run using the cabinet system.
Derby City Council elections 2018: seven key moments as authority goes to no overall control
Under the committee system, a council elects a leader to represent the authority and wield executive power. Power is exercised by a number of committees, made up of councillors in proportion to their parties' representation on the council. If a committee is unable to make a decision, or a minority group wishes to challenge it, the decision may be referred to a meeting of the full council for a final decision.
The cabinet system, which has been favoured by Labour up until now, sees the majority party elect a leader, who then chooses a cabinet of eight members (in Derby's case), which makes all the decisions away from the council chamber and then nods them through formally at public cabinet meetings without any debate. It has been said by several political commentators that the cabinet system excludes everyone except the cabinet, even the other councillors from the same majority party.
If the committee system was introduced, Ms Skelton feels there would be no need for council leaders from different parties to do deals and she feels optimistic because Derby UKIP and Derby Conservatives are already in favour.
Who could replace Ranjit Banwait as Derby Labour group leader?
She said: "That means we hope that the Labour group, which has resisted attempts to change the system previously, might come around to what I am suggesting.
"The current system means that the electorate and its views are not being represented and it could lead to fairer debate.
"I think a move could be made quite quickly if everyone agreed to go down the committee path and it would be good for everyone and what Derby needs.
"I am hoping that Labour will listen to reasoned argument on this subject and we can get the city up and moving again.
"The Lib Dems are holding a group meeting early this coming week to discuss the situation further."
UKIP leader Alan Graves, who successfully defended his Alvaston seat last Thursday, said the council needs to work towards a committee system but said that could take a while to sort out.
UKIP's Alan Graves kept his seat by beating Labour's Thomas Spray
He said: "I think this cannot be implemented immediately, due to legal council procedures and council officer time. So there is still an interim period where we have to come to some arrangement.
"The biggest issue is the resistance of the Conservatives to work with UKIP. They have never supported any of our motions at full council including, ironically, the one in July 2017 to consider introducing a committee system. There is a long way to go before we can see how the future of Derby is looking.
Amber Valley Borough Council results - see how the Conservatives increased their majority
"Derby wants and demands change, that is very clear. If the three other parties (including UKIP) do not agree on a way forward then Labour would quite happily carry on. It is up to the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and UKIP to forge some sort of agreement.
"All the UKIP councillors on the council have a duty to do the right thing for all those who voted for us."
Matthew Holmes, Conservative group leader will be addressing his members on Tuesday to gauge reaction to the election results.
Conservative group leader Matthew Holmes
He said: "We've been in this situation before back in 2010 and it's a frustrating time for the public and the media because of the uncertainty of moving forward under no overall control. However, the experience I and others gained during that process will stand us in good stead as we work to find a stable way forward for the city.
"Clearly the onus is on either Labour as the largest group or the Conservative as the second largest to lead. Where the Lib Dems or UKIP as the two smaller groups could play a part remains to be seen. I can't say what the outcome will be at this stage because, genuinely, I just don't know.
"I'm sure they'll be lots of speculation, in fact there already is, but I urge everyone to allow the time needed for a prospective administration to emerge, whatever that may be. The council is still functioning and officers are more than capable of managing areas that find themselves without cabinet steer for the time being.
All things politics in Derbyshire
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"What I would like to re-assurance residents and the business community in Derby is that, in the absence of a council leader, I will be happy to assist if called upon to do so in the period before the council's annual meeting in regard to any urgent matters. I'm sure other senior councillors, regardless of political party, will also do the same."
The Labour group, still sore from its mauling at the polls on election night, has to elect a new leader before the party can take up the power struggle on the city council.
Councillor Baggy Shanker, speaking on behalf of Labour agreed it was early days to know what the outcome of the next two weeks would be.
Independent candidate Phil Ingall and Labour's Baggy Shanker (Image: Derby Telegraph / Ian Hodgkinson)
He said: "As a party, we need to heed the message that people in Derby are fed-up with what has been called the city's 'toxic politics'. Our pledges have already been quite clear and we need to speak with the other parties to see which of them shares our vision and if they plan to deliver on the pledges.
"For example, we are committed to opening a new pool and performance venue, what do the other parties think of that. And we are committed to no closing libraries and children's centres - who shares that vision?
"All four party leaders should sit down together and thrash out this situation. Everyone needs to get together. The Conservatives clearly had a good election night and there is a mandate for change in the city.
"I personally would not rule out a committee system but it would not be a return to the old-style it would have to be an alternative one and maybe the compromise would be the introduction of a four-year electoral cycle, unlike the thirds system that we have currently when a third of the council comes up for election each year."
Changing to a four-year cycle was put forward by former leader Ranjit Banwait in 2016 but was voted out in full council by the opposition parties.
Ranjit Banwait had a colourful four years as Derby City Council leader
Perhaps with a hung council the time is right for the four-year cycle, it seems certain that Labour will try to use that as a bargaining chip.
One thing is certain, it is important that the four parties sort themselves out in time for Wednesday, May 23 when the new mayor is sworn in during the morning. Then later in the day, the council's annual general meeting takes place when it would be useful to have some agreement among parties otherwise it could be a stalemate situation in the chamber over any motions.
But the mayor-making could be the first sign that change is coming. Currently, the deputy mayor is Labour councillor Paul Bayliss, who with Labour backing in the chamber would have automatically step up to become mayor. But now that backing is not forthcoming, it is likely that UKIP, Lib Dem and Conservatives will combine their vote to elect a non-Labour mayor - perhaps a Tory one instead?
We've just launched our very own app for Android and Apple devices which can be tailored to deliver the news and sport that you're interested in.
UK Independence Party
Ranjit Banwait
Derby City CouncilFears bad air pollution in Derby has caused 'preventable' Covid deathsBut Derby City Council has denied claims made by the city's former Youth Mayor | {
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Seafood Experience Australia Ltd (SEA) is proud and privileged to have funded this video/DVD.
This short documentary is about a Seafood Industry Champion who passionately shares his approach, views and visions on future directions toward multi-dimensional Career Pathways and an innovative approach to Education and Training. Joe Coco is one of the pioneers in Queensland Prawn Farming, a highly credentialed Vocational Trainer and a graduate of the National Seafood Industry Leadership Program (NSILP).
Utilising Australia's, and possibly the World's, largest "Mobile Aquaculture Training Unit", Joe explains how the hi-tech and innovative facility works and showcases the end product of market size Barramundi and vegetables grown by the students. This seafood and salad approach enables young people to see how it is possible to grow a wholesome healthy nutritious meal through aquaculture. Additionally it promotes the opportunity to discuss within the schools issues such as obesity and chronic diseases and how a healthy nutrition diet will assist future generations avoid the today's major health issues. Such projects also give students a real life and hands-on experience allowing them a sense of ownership to the project.
From a training perspective the video also demonstrates an innovative approach to delivery and assessment methods catering for a range of students that have low or high literacy and numeracy levels. It complements the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority's role to make mandatory "Primary Industries" subjects from Kindergarten to Year 8 in the first stage of its process and then continue on to senior subjects and VET programs within schools.
Finally, with Joe's passion and his longer term vision, he shows opportunities for Indigenous, urban, rural and remote training, providing equilibrium in learning and job opportunities across the spectrum. | {
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In celebration of Women's History Month, eTech.TV shares a segment about Women in Tech & Gaming featuring Games Geeks Tech. In this segment, GGT Founder Desi Sanchez, conducts an interview with Andrea Mozo, Founder of SherosGameClub in Jersey City, NJ.
Register your child for Sheros Game Club at https://sherosgameclub.com/register/ & tell them Games Geeks Tech sent you! and make sure you also stop by the GamesGeeksTech Website for more inspiring and fun stories on gaming, tech and general geekery, and for our weekly podcast segment, the GGT Talk on The Grindhouse Radio which reaches 3.5-4 million listeners weekly :).
You can stay in touch with GGT by following them at @GamesGeeksTech on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook & Twitch! Enjoy! | {
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Flash Fiction - COLD FAIRY MOON by Linda Mooney
COLD FAIRY MOON
A fantasy romance flash fiction
Sassa sensed him coming up from behind her. Her heart sped up a little, but she kept her attention focused on the large crowd gathered in the distance. More specifically on the fireworks and other things people were shooting into the sky.
Brinn sat down next to her. "What 'cha doing?"
"Watching."
He gaze out at the celebration. "It's loud."
"It always is."
"But they seem happy."
"I bet they are."
He cast her a side eye. "You sound…"
"Bitter?"
"Cynical."
She snorted in reply. To her surprise, he scooted closer to her, to where their shoulders almost touched.
"It'll be the new year pretty soon. That's always a reason to be happy," he observed.
"Why?" Realizing how she must sound, Sassa apologized. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean for it to come out sounding the way it did."
"It's all right. No offense taken."
A shriek of joy rent the night sky as another rocket zoomed upward and exploded in a kaleidoscope of colors. Brinn raised an arm to point to something overhead, and the feel of it brushing up against hers sent a little thrill through her. Glancing over at him, she noticed the delight on his face.
"See that?" he asked.
She following his pointing finger. "Yeah. So?"
"It's a full moon tonight. Know what people are calling it?"
Sassa grinned. "Other than a full moon?"
"They're calling it the Cold Fairy Moon."
"It's supposed to be an omen of good luck."
This time she reared back to give him a quizzical look. "Good luck?"
Spreading a big grin across his face, Brinn nodded.
"With a Cold Fairy Moon?"
"What does that even mean? That fairies get cold?"
The smile drooped slightly. "I guess that's what they think."
"Or that fairies are cold-natured?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, Sassa. I'm just repeating what I've heard."
Realizing she'd trodden on his good nature again, she reined her tone in. "So what kind of good luck is this moon supposed to bring?"
"A happy new year." He appeared reluctant to elaborate.
"Is that all?" she pressed.
"Well, I heard someone say that dreams will come true. People will find true love. There'll be better health all around, and everyone will find happiness."
She blinked. "All because of a Cold Fairy Moon?"
"All because this Cold Fairy Moon appears on New Year's Eve."
She stared up between the bare tree limbs at the huge, milky white orb that sat almost directly above them. "Did someone ever tell them that fairies don't get cold?"
He chuckled. "I don't think it matters to them."
He moved his arm again, this time bumping against hers and sending another little shiver through her. He noticed the slight movement. "Are you sure you're okay?" His hand folded over hers. Unconsciously, she spread her fingers to let him lace his between them.
"Yeah. I'm sorry I'm being such a goose. I do hope the Cold Fairy Moon brings us good luck this next year."
A loud explosion made her jump. Instinctively, she leaned over to Breen and clutched the front of his shirt. His other arm went protectively around her shoulder. She turned to look at him as the sky turned a brilliant blue, then red, then yellow.
They were almost nose-to-nose. She didn't want to disengage herself from his embrace, but neither did she want him to think she was asking…
Oh, shoot. What does it matter?
"So we're supposed to find love, happiness, and good health?" she confirmed.
"And have our dreams come true."
"How's that going to happen? Do we have to…ask?"
It was difficult to read the expression in his eyes. Luckily, she didn't have to.
Slowly, almost hesitantly, he closed the distance between them to touch her lips with his. It was a sweet kiss. A warm kiss, in spite of the chilly temperature. Sadly, it ended too soon. Sassa didn't try to hide her disappointment when he pulled away.
"I guess it depends on who you ask, and what you ask for," he softly replied. "Sassa? I'm tired of seeing you so sad. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to find love."
It was difficult to tell what sound was louder—the crowd of revelers, the fireworks, or her thudding heart.
"Brinn." She got no further. He leaned in again to kiss her a second time, another sweet, warm, but too-brief pressure. When he released her, she almost reached for him.
"I have a request to make. I'm going to ask," he informed her. "Give me a chance, Sassa. Let's both start the new year afresh. Let's look for happiness together. Let's work on being healthy together. Let's…see what love has in store…for the both of us. Whaddya say, Sassa? Are you willing to give us a chance?"
She drew a shaky breath. Would now be the time to tell him how much she'd been wishing to hear him say what he was saying? She cast her eyes upward once more at the brilliant moonlight flooding the world. The Cold Fairy Moon. "All I have to do is ask?" she whispered.
"Uh-huh." He raised an eyebrow at her. "And I'm all ears."
Her eyes automatically went to the side of his head. Brinn had some of the sexiest looking ears of any man she'd seen. Their pointed tips almost curled.
"I would love to start this new year fresh with you," she confessed. "I'm ready for some happiness."
"And love?"
She didn't try to hide her smile. "And love."
Another bone-jarring boom rattled the sky, ending in cascading white trails.
Brinn got to his feet and held out a hand. She took it, and he helped her to her feet.
"Come on. How about we go somewhere where it's not so noisy? Where we can look at the moon in private?"
"Sounds wonderful."
Spreading his iridescent wings, Brinn launched himself off the twig they'd been sitting on. Sassa unfolded her wings to follow after him, and together, they soared into the sky, keeping just above the treetops to avoid being seen as the celebrations continued throughout the night.
Labels: Cold Fairy Moon, Fantasy Romance, flash fiction, Linda Mooney, short story
HERE BE NEWS for Monday December 28, 2020
Welcome to HERE BE NEWS, where each monday we bring you all the latest from the fantasy romance authors at Here Be Magic:
Tuesday December 22, 2020: Author Deborah A. Bailey discusses the challenges of writing fiction and nonfiction.
Wednesday December 23, 2020: Author PG Forte shares an excerpt from Winter World of Love on WIP-It Wednesday!
Did you get a new e-reader for Christmas? Stock it with awesome reads from today's bestselling and hot new authors: http://bit.ly/2020StockingSale #PNR #UF
And if you didn't get a new e-reader, check out our contest for a chance to win one!
http://bit.ly/2020StockingSale
WiP-It Wednesday for December 23, 2020
PG Forte: I'm currently working on a new short Christmas story set in my Winter Hearts Steampunk world. When it's done (hopefully by week's end) Winter World of Love will be available ONLY to members of my FB Readers Group, The Crone's Nest. Here's a sneak peek at the cover and an excerpt. Link to join the Crone's Nest will appear below. Enjoy!
Republic of New Texacali
Ophelia rubbed her sleeve across the glass of the airship's porthole hoping that if she cleared away the condensation, the view outside would improve. But to no avail. The wintery landscape—rocky earth lightly dusted with snow, stunted trees and gray-green shrubs—continued to flash by at a dizzying pace. "Dario?" she called—but quietly, trying to keep the alarm from her voice. "We seem to be traveling extremely fast."
"Amazing, isn't it?" Her husband, perched beside the pilot's seat, flashed a smile at her over his shoulder. "I told you the ride would be smooth. Why, it hardly feels like we're moving at all."
"Yes," Ophelia repeated faintly. "Amazing." She folded her hands in her lap, in an attempt to project poise, but the cold weather—or perhaps her own inner tension—caused the fingers of her injured hand to twist and bend at such odd angles that the resultant jumble of digits looked ridiculously awkward. She grabbed her muff from the seat beside her and thrust her hands inside, where at least she'd be spared the sight of them.
"What's wrong?" Dario asked gently. "You're not frightened, are you? Because, I assure you, we're quite safe."
"Frightened?" Ophelia forced a smile. "Oh, good heavens, no." She clenched her hands together a little more tightly. "I'm just…surprised, that's all."
There was absolutely no sense in arguing the point. Of course, Dario believed them to be safe. She had no idea why he thought that needed saying. Not when he was currently demonstrating that belief by allowing their eight-year-old son to pilot the airship.
But a belief, no matter how sincerely it was held, was not a fact. And it just so happened that Ophelia had her own thoughts on the wisdom of entrusting so important and delicate an operation to a child. Regardless of how intellectually advanced said child happened to be. "But, even so, this rate of speed is surely not necessary?"
"Maybe not, but really, Lia," Dario chided. "There's nothing at all to worry about. I promise you! This ship could easily go much faster. I'd be happy to show you, if you'd like."
"Oh, pray, do not!" Ophelia protested. "I find this present rate of speed quite sufficient. Really, I do."
"I'm forgetting. You're used to traveling only on very large ships, aren't you? Very well." Dario tapped one of the levers on the control panel. "Here, Arthur. This one—the throttle—pull back on it a bit. Yes, like that. There's a good lad."
"The thing to remember about big ships," Dario said, addressing Ophelia once again, turning his back on Arthur even as the boy matter-of-factly slowed the ship to a less nerve-wracking speed. "Is that they're harder to maneuver. It takes more time to alter their course, more space to turn them. So, of course they move more slowly—they'd have to. They also tend to have relatively weak engines and, much like traditional sailing ships, they rely largely on the wind to take them where they need to go."
"I'm sure you're right," Ophelia allowed, recalling the ponderous transcontinental cruiser that had brought her here. Old, and not in the best of shape, every minute it had stayed aloft had seemed a miracle. Had that fateful, and perilous-seeming, voyage really taken place only a year ago? It seemed a lifetime had passed since then. So much had happened. So much had changed. "However—"
"This little craft, on the other hand, besides being smaller and more responsive, was designed with an aerodynamic shape that lets it slice through the air with very little resistance," Dario explained, clearly warming to his topic. "Also, for its size, it boasts an extremely powerful engine. If you'd just let me demonstrate, I'm sure I could make you feel more comfortable."
Ophelia shook her head. Why could not Dario understand that it would make no difference? It didn't matter how powerful the engine was, or how smooth the ride. It wasn't even really the speed, per se, that frightened her, or even the fact that it was her baby who held their lives in his inexperienced hands; it was the thought of them falling out of the sky, the pain they'd experience upon impact, the all but inevitable bursting into flame. Having literally crashed and burned a year ago, albeit not while in an aircraft, she felt her fears were not unreasonable.
Of course, she hadn't exactly communicated those fears to Dario because…oh, because she didn't want him to fuss. She didn't want it to be one more thing about her that needed fixing. She wanted him to stop looking at her like she was a failed project and more like, well, a lover. A wife. As someone desirable; not someone who was merely hopelessly flawed.
"Papa—look!" Arthur interrupted, briefly stopping his mother's heart (and, not incidentally, proving her point) by gesturing at something beyond the ship's front windscreen, and letting go of the steering wheel as he did. "Horses! But why are they out here all on their own? Are they escaping?"
"Where?" Dario leaned in for a better look, casually reaching out a hand, as he did, to steady the wheel before it could begin to spin on its own and send them all tumbling to their deaths. "Oh, yes, I see them. No need for alarm, my boy. I believe that's a herd of wild mustangs you've spotted."
"Wild? D'you mean they don't belong to anyone?"
With his free hand, Dario ruffled his son's hair. "On the contrary, Arthur. They belong to themselves. Which is as it ought to be for all God's creatures."
Ophelia felt a surge of emotion. This easy relationship between Dario and their son—the son she'd denied him for so long—the implicit faith, trust and affection, the shared interests, the casual acceptance, was everything she'd dreamed of, and barely dared to hope for, when she'd first thought to bring Arthur to New Texacali. And, even now, all these months later, after they'd all settled into their new life and their new routine; after they'd re-established themselves as a family; long past the point where she should have become inured to it, the sight still had the power to bring tears to her eyes.
Although, if she were honest, they were not always tears of joy.
Because this could have been the life they'd always had—if she and Dario had made different choices earlier in their marriage. If they'd reacted differently to provocation; if they'd been more open and honest with one another; if they'd trusted each other more, then, perhaps, the entire last nine years could have been like this; not just the past nine months.
To read more (when it's finished!) join The Crone's Nest: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheCronesNest
Labels: Christmas stories, free read, PG Forte, Steampunk
Challenges in Writing Fiction & Non-Fiction
I've met a few fiction authors who have also wanted to write non-fiction books. Maybe because they want to share their expertise, or want to provide writing tips or some kind of coaching. It can be tricky when you want to go from one to the other. It's been a balancing act for me for many years.
My first professional writing job was as a catalog copywriter for JC Penney, where I wrote about women's fashions and toys. In that position I learned how to put a lot of description into a very small space. We were limited to 1 or 2 sentences of copy to describe an item. That included all the selling points the customer needed to know. To make it even more of a challenge, the copy had to be engaging and not just a list of features.
On the plus side, when you're forced to make every word count there's no room for fluff or filler. My copy had to sell the item to the reader. It had to catch their attention and provide all the information they needed to make a decision to buy.
Writing lean is something I still do today. Which might explain why I tend to favor novella-length books when I write. Though I did write one book with over 100K words, that isn't my norm.
After several years in catalog copywriting, I changed careers into IT, which is about as far away as you can get from writing sales copy.
During my time as a computer programmer, I didn't write any fiction, or non-fiction for that matter. During that time I put my fiction writing on hold. There was never enough time to focus on my interests outside of work, and being on-call took up a lot my leisure time.
What's really funny is that when I decided to transition into technical writing, I was once told by an HR person that I was "too technical to write." As though those years in IT somehow wiped away all my communications skills.
Unfortunately I think a lot of people believe that it's hard (if not impossible) to bridge the gap between creative writing and non-fiction writing. That's obviously not true, though. I know of a few non-fiction authors who later decided to publish novels. So it is certainly possible to do both.
As a technical writer my "voice" has to be more formal. Usually the passive voice is the way people in corporate communicate. But unless you want to put your readers to sleep, I wouldn't recommend it for fiction.
Of course writing non-fiction books doesn't have to be like writing technical documentation. Non-fiction authors can, and do, write in very creative ways. But it can be daunting to go from writing one to the other. Not to mention that, just as I had with that HR professional, expectorations can end up discouraging the author who wants to do both.
It can also be tough letting go of the passive voice, or the instructional one so that you can write fiction. So it never hurts to take classes (if you've only ever written one or the other) and to do free writing in order to find your own voice.
What helped me bridge the gap between those two writing styles was to start a blog. At first my writing was quite formal, but in time I was able to loosen up a bit. At times it's still challenging, especially when I'm working on a book. It's not always easy to turn off my work laptop and forget all the technical items I've been working on all day.
But I can say that blogging did help me when I wrote my first book, Think Like an Entrepreneur: Transforming Your Career and Taking Charge of Your Life. In fact, many of the blog posts ended up being included. Though at that time I was also writing and publishing short stories.
My first published novel, Hathor Legacy: Outcast was rewritten about 3 times, which isn't exactly a bad thing. It took a while for me to get into the fictional world I was building, and let go of the more formal language I'd been using at work. Looking back, I don't think I was completely successful in letting go of the formal structure. But it taught me how to do better the next time around - which is always good.
To me, the big difference between fiction and non-fiction is allowing yourself to get lost in a character (and a fictional world). Sure, you can have creative non-fiction as well, but that's not what I'm referring to here. Business writing (even if you're a coach writing about personal experiences) still isn't the same as writing from a character's POV.
But, if you enjoy writing and you do it regularly, I think you can find your balance between the two. That's how you get better at it. No matter what it is: short, long, non-fiction, fiction, poetry - just write it.
Once you're writing, you might find it's not so much about striking a balance as it is finding the flow. Maybe by that point, it won't really be challenging at all. It will be a natural way for you to tell your stories and express the things you want to say.
Labels: fiction, writing
HERE BE NEWS for December 21, 2020
Thursday December 17, 2020: Maureen Bonatch wraps up the year with a contest, a cookbook and a cutie. :)
Several of PG Forte's holiday-themed books are on sale between now and the end of the year. IRON, OAK, Finders Keepers and This Winter Heart are all available for only .99 each.
Previously published as The Oak King.
Twice each year, Aine Murphy ventures into the woods to hold ceremonies to honor the Oak King and the Holly King, never dreaming these Lords of the Forest could be anything more than myth. When the legends spring to life in front of her, how can she help but fall for the sexy demi-gods she's loved all her life?
From midwinter to midsummer, Fionn O'Dair rules the Greenworld as the Oak King--a role he feels is beyond his abilities, and one that dooms him to a loveless future, forever craving the one man he can never allow himself to have. How can he resist what Aine offers--the sweet devotion that soothes his aching soul, and the slim chance to live a "normal" life as her husband, if only for half a year?
Holly King Kieran Mac Cuilenn never desired a human lover--until now. Seeing Fionn and Aine together fills him with longing for the love he threw away and awakens feelings he thought he'd buried with the last Oak King. Is there enough magic in the solstice to correct the mistakes he made years ago? Or is he doomed to be forever left out in the cold?
Buy Links at: https://www.pgforte.com/celtic-legends
Sometimes finding what you want is the easy part.
Caleb is a bionic soldier with little-to-no memory of his past. Aldo's an undercover cop who's searching for the man who got away. Then there's Sally, an ER physician who used to be married to Aldo's late partner, Davis. Sally's just looking for a reason to keep on getting up every day.
This holiday season, chance will bring them together and give them an opportunity to help one another find what they each want most. But every gift comes with a price. And keeping what they've found once they've found it?
Yeah, that's gonna be the hard part.
Buy Links at: https://www.pgforte.com/finders-keepers
This Winter Heart
Eight years ago, Ophelia Leonides's husband cast her off when he discovered she was not the woman he thought she was. Now destitute after the death of her father, Ophelia is forced to turn to Dario for help raising the child she never told him about.
Dario is furious that Ophelia has returned, and refuses to believe Arthur is his son - after all, he thought his wife was barren. But to avoid gossip, he agrees to let them spend the holidays at his villa. While he cannot resist the desire he still feels for Ophelia, Dario despises himself for being hopelessly in love with a woman who can never love him back.
But Dario is wrong: Ophelia's emotions are all too human, and she was brokenhearted when he rejected her. Unsure if she can trust the man she desperately loves, she fears for her life, her freedom and her son if anyone else learns of her true nature...
Buy Links at: https://www.pgforte.com/winter-hearts
Nineteenth century Ireland. Blacksmith Gavin O'Malley is a bitter man, with a heart as hard as the iron he forges. He wants his life back--the one that was stolen from him the day his wife died in childbirth, taking their firstborn son with her.
When Aislinn Deirbhile, an immortal, shape-shifting fae, arrives on his doorstep, he knows he's in luck. For Aislinn can give Gavin everything he's been missing: A devoted-seeming wife in the image of his beloved Mairead, and children who are sure to outlive their father. Now, all he has to do is find a way to keep her--without losing his immortal soul in the process.
But Aislinn has an agenda of her own. On the run from a vengeful fae lord who's vowed to either make her his or end her existence, she knows the iron that allows Gavin to take her captive will also keep her pursuers at bay. In order to put herself permanently beyond her enemy's reach, however, Aislinn will need something more. She'll need to win Gavin's heart and convince him to willingly part with a piece of the very soul he's trying to save.
That Christmas was the happiest Gavin had known since childhood. He was up early for Christmas Mass, leaving the house shortly before dawn, and leaving a pouting Aislinn in his bed with the promise he'd be back within a few hours time to fix breakfast for her.
While the world lay silent and cold, he made his solitary way into town, his path lit only by the stars that sparkled overhead and the Christmas candles that burned in the front window of every house he passed. And a thought occurred to him, as he walked along the empty lane, that each flame was a sign of hope for the future—and that, perhaps, he could feel an answering flicker, newly kindled in the darkness of his own heart. And he laughed at himself then, for putting on such airs and for the absurdity of his thoughts and his breath puffed out in little white clouds that melted away in the frosty air.
When he got to Saint Ita's he found a seat in the very last pew, where he'd be sure of being among the first out the door when mass ended. He didn't take Communion, although he'd made his Confession just the day before and he was sure Father Cullen would remark on that fact the next time he saw him. But too much had happened between then and now and his soul did not feel easy with the thought of it. Although he'd still have sworn to anyone who'd asked him that the woman he'd made love to the day before had been his wife, a small part of him doubted whether the Church—or Mairead herself—would choose to see things in quite the same way.
Not that he regretted his actions of the day before. To the contrary, he felt more at peace with himself that morning than he had in many a year. But his mind was so consumed with thoughts of repeating the act he barely heard a word of the service and hurried off as soon as it was over, before anyone could engage him in conversation, or take notice of his agitation.
Then it was home again, where breakfast and a sulky fae awaited him. Aislinn was wearing her own, repaired green dress and, at Gavin's request, she once again resumed her impersonation of Mairead. It was obvious she was less than happy about it, however. But Gavin was in a good and generous humor so, once the goose was cooking, he took a few minutes to tease her out of her bad mood. He sat her on his lap, just as if she were his bride in truth, and fed her pieces of orange, tickling her as she tried to eat them until she laughed and then licking at the juice as it ran down her chin, until, finally, her smile was restored. And she rewarded him with several songs while he saw to the rest of the meal.
He did nearly spoil things again, though, before the food was even on the table for he would speak mockingly of the fae and their heathen ways, and question the usefulness of a woman who couldn't even cook a decent meal for herself, just to watch her eyes smolder. And, also, to remind them both that she was not Mairead. But when at last he bowed his head to make his prayers—over Christmas dinner, at his own table, and with the semblance of his wife seated across from him, once again smiling at him indulgently—he was all but overcome with gratitude. Even knowing it to be an illusion, and a short-lived one at that, he still felt as though he'd been granted a taste of the life he'd once hoped would be his and he felt anew the wonder of the day.
Bring It Back(list) ~ IRON by PG Forte
I've put several of my holiday-themed books on sale between now and the end of the year. IRON, OAK, Finders Keepers and This Winter Heart are all available for only .99 each.
Labels: Bring It Back(list), ebook sales, holiday romance, PG Forte
Wrapping Up the Year with a Contest, a Cookbook & a Cutie
This has been an ugly year for many of us, so why not wrap up the year with a cutie, a free cookie cookbook, and a chance to win a gift card to start off 2021 with some positive vibes.
Scruff happens to be my writing assistant, in that he blocks my chair so that I'm often forced to stay in my seat longer than I anticipated or risk running him over. He reminds me to take breaks when he decides that it's time to play with a toy, or that he needs a treat.
Scruff can help put life into perspective with his no worries attitude. Unless, of course, it's about delaying dinner time, now that's something to worry about.
A Cuddly Cutie
2020 didn't look anything like we planned, leaving us all looking a bit shell-shocked— like Scruff here— and I'm ready to start 2021 with a clean slate.
Many of us have been spending more time at home this year, or working remotely, so Scruff decided to see what all the fuss was about. He didn't see the allure since he rarely leaves home anyway and has never had to dress up for work.
Scruff's "people" have been home far more than usual this year. This is good for the company and sometimes extra treats, but it really cuts into nap time.
Scruff's advice for when all else fails, or everything gets to be a little too much, is to take a nap—or at least feign sleep until everyone leaves you alone while you recharge.
Want to see more of Scruff? He's a regular in my newsletter so be sure to sign up.
A Cool Contest
Enter right here to win a gift card for yourself for after the holidays & find new authors to read during the holidays!
A Cookie Cookbook
If you're signed up for my newsletter, or follow my author Facebook page- you might be already baking up some goodies because you would've gotten this free cookbook already. If not, grab it now and start baking up some treats!
Click here to download your free copy of the Garden Gourmet Cookie Cookbook
Have Your Own Furbaby? Share a Pic of Your Cutie in the Comments- Happy Holidays!
Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line.
Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter Be the first to know about Maureen's book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazon and/or signing up for her newsletter
Labels: 2020, cookbook, dogs, ebook sale, free ebook, holiday recipes, Maureen Bonatch, short stories
THE ANGEL AT THE TOP OF MY TREE
Contemporary Fantasy Romance
(Although this is a sweet romance, it contains scenes of violence.)
After purchasing a beautiful and unique antique angel tree topper, Marq North is excited to gift it to his long-time girlfriend, but he should've known she appreciates a bigger price tag more than sentimental value. Why has he wasted years of his life trying to buy her love? When she tells him she's ending their relationship right before the holidays, he's almost…relieved.
Ione and her fellow archangels are used to the rise in demonic activity during Samhain, but at Christmas? That is a surprise to them all. Yet it seems more and more people are focusing on the greed and commercialism these days rather than the real reason for the season. And the demons plan to take advantage of mankind's vulnerability and overtake as many mortals as possible this time of year. It's up to Ione and Heaven's best protectors to save every valuable soul.
He'd swear he saw her literally fall from the sky, to find her injured and vulnerable. After Marq rescues her, he discovers she's the spitting image of the angel doll. She says her name is Ione, and claims to be an archangel. After he offers her a place of safety in order to recover, he finds she's become jaded through the years, which has him determined to have her see that it's not greed, but the love of giving that makes this time of year special.
Despite knowing she must return to Heaven, or risk drawing the demons' wrath to Marq, Ione wants to remain with her rescuer, but she must let him go to save his life as he did hers. After all, a relationship between a mortal and a celestial being would never work.
Or can it?
Warning: Contains hot cocoa, a flaming sword, a celestial mission, a red sweatshirt, similar names, and discovering that sometimes the best gift on or under the Christmas tree is love.
Tuesday December 8, 2020: PG Forte takes a trip down memory lane...
December is the Month for Christmas With a Twist!
And you can get all 3 of these ebooks for just 99c each!
TUFFY CLAUS
It's another night on the job for Deputy Sheriff Barbara Mero, giving chase to a suspect in a stolen vehicle. But when someone beats her to the perp, she's not sure whether to step in or not. Before she can stop him, a sledgehammer-wielding bearded biker on a red Harley delivers his own punishment, but with his parting words, Babs isn't so sure he's another bad guy.
After further investigation, Babs knows this vigilante "Santa" meant well, but there's no proof he was even there. And after a few more run-ins with the red-cloaked badass, she's torn between duty and justice, but in her heart she knows he's the real deal.
You see, there's a side of the story of Santa that doesn't get told, and that's where Dominik comes in. Being the twin to Kris, Dom's job isn't near as merry, though still necessary, answering the letters from the kids who want more than just toys. Those who want a better, safer life, food, and shelter. Basic needs a kid shouldn't have to wish for on Christmas. Although he's accepted his own lot in life, Dominik still has one regret. It's a lonely life.
There's another side to jolly old Saint Nick, and he ain't a saint.
Warning! Contains German chocolate cake, a modified red Harley, Sadie, justice served, a child's letter to Santa, a coffee date, and the promise of love when no hope of love had ever existed.
Tickle My Candy Cane
Tales of the Blakeney Sisters, Book 2
Humorous Erotic Urban Fantasy Paranormal Romance
$0.99 e / $6.99 p / $6.95 a
Once upon a time, there lived a man with five rambunctious daughters. They were an average American farming family except for one minor detail. The man was a warlock, and all of his daughters were witchlets--half witch and half human.
With Christmas only two days away, Tamberly Blakeney has given up hope of finding her heart's call this year. That is, until Jonathan Mauk walks into the market and into her life. With the magical swirl of a candy cane's stripes, she knows he is the man meant to be her lifelong love. But first he has to pass the sex hex test, which she is sure won't be a problem.
What she doesn't realize is that there is something in Jonathan's past that deeply disturbs her father. And until Daddy gets all the answers, there could be hell to pay.
SILENT NIGHT, FINAL NIGHT
A Paranormal, Post-Apocalyptic, Christmas Horror Story
by Linda Mooney writing as Gail Smith
A family on the run, searching for food, shelter, and others not infected.
A plague is wiping out the population, stealing the humanity from people and turning them into monsters. Kem and Armand are willing to do whatever it takes to protect their daughter and survive. Nothing is promised, not life, not their next meal, not even a decent night's rest.
The quality of life is quickly diminishing. How much is too much? How long until the fight for survival is no longer worth it, and it's time for a dignified end rather than a slow, painful death?
Labels: Bring it Backlist, Christmas stories, Linda Mooney, new releases, PG Forte
Bring It Back(list) - December is the Month for Christmas With a Twist!
Labels: 99 cents, Bring It Back(list), Carolyn Gregg, Gail Smith, Linda Mooney, Silent Night Final Night, Tickle My Candy Cane, Tuffy Claus
Wrapping Up the Year with a Contest, a Cookbook & ...
Bring It Back(list) - December is the Month for Ch...
New! THE ANGEL AT THE TOP OF MY TREE, a Contempora...
HERE BE NEWS for Monday December 7, 2020
Why I Don't Read Blurbs | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
Reading notes (2021, week 16) — On virtuous leaderships, the weak case for grit, and the misinformation virus
Apr 20, 2021·31 min read
Antoine de Ruffi School in Marseille, France, by TAUTEM Architecture + bmc2 architectes — "The architects have voluntarily limited the number of architectural and technical components to guarantee simplicity and longevity and to ensure easy maintenance. Built with 'low carbon,' light-colored concrete, between the pearl white blanc and beige of the coquina sand, the building was poured in place and without joints. The painstaking work of the 'skin' has produced alternating parts of coquina and smooth, mat and shiny surfaces and an interplay of light and shadow in the embrasures." (Photographs: Luc Boegly)
Reading notes is a weekly curation of my tweets. It is, as Michel de Montaigne so beautifully wrote, "a posy of other men's flowers and nothing but the thread that binds them is mine own."
In this week's edition: Why leaders must be both of good character and competent to achieve sustainable success; where's the evidence that grit predicts success?; the more you know, the more vulnerable you can be to infection; why applied history matters; are we enslaved by the finer things in life?; Nikolai Gogol in the twilight of empire; subway to Studio 54: a bygone New York; and, finally, Moby and our case against cows.
Virtuous leadership
Virtuous Leadership: Does It Help Organisations Thrive? is the translated title of a Dutch article by Martijn Hendriks, an assistant professor at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands, in which he gives an overview of the research literature on the relationship between virtuous leadership and the flourishing (of people) within organisations. What follows is an unpolished translation of the original article from M&O Tijdschrift voor Management and Organisatie (Boom Uitgevers, Amsterdam).
For those interested in the many references mentioned in this article, I simply refer to the research paper Virtuous leadership: a source of employee well-being and trust, by Martijn Hendriks, Martijn Burger, Antoinette Rijsenbilt, Emma Pleeging, and Harry Commandeur, published in Management Research Review, Vol. 43 No. 8, 2020.
Despite the long list of corporate leadership scandals, 'character' typically plays a marginal role in the training and evaluation of leaders. This suggests that virtuous leadership is viewed as of secondary importance or as harmful to the leader or the organisation (Seijts et al., 2019). On the other hand, there has been a long-standing belief that a leader's character is a fundamental building block for effective and sustainable leadership as it shapes his goals and behaviours, and can therefore have a strong impact on the organisation, individuals within the organisation and the leader himself (Peterson and Seligman, 2004).
This belief that leaders can succeed by doing what is morally right has made a comeback in the last decade (Wright and Goodstein, 2007; Flynn, 2008; Crossan et al., 2017). An inspiring example is Greystone Bakery, founded by Bernard Glassman to help an underprivileged local community in New York, by offering jobs to people with few job opportunities (through an open hiring policy) and by returning the profits to the local community. The approach of this successful social enterprise is nicely summed up in the company's credo: "We don't hire people to bake brownies, we bake brownies to be able to hire people."
Not all leaders are equally virtuous. Some are naturally more virtuous than others, but also the divergent beliefs about the consequences of righteous leadership are an important reason why leaders differ in their willingness to act righteously. This raises the question, what is the connection between virtuous leadership and the flourishing of (people within) organisations?
[Flourishing individuals and organisations are regarded here as functioning well in the sense that they achieve their goals in a sustainable manner, while virtue is aimed at pursuing and improving the good rather than merely avoiding the bad.]
What is virtuous leadership?
Character is inseparable from virtues. Good character arises from and is visible through the routine practice of virtues (Newstead et al., 2020). In turn, virtuous behaviour stems from core values and the intrinsic motivation to do the morally right (virtue ethics). Good behaviour is not virtuous if it is motivated by the achievement of a certain result (utilitarian ethics) or the fulfilment of norms and obligations (deontological ethics). Thus, virtuous leadership is based on character and demonstrated by voluntary (intrinsically motivated and deliberate) virtuous behaviour in relevant situations (Hackett and Wang, 2012).
There are many virtues, but literature and cultural traditions highlight several core virtues that transcend all other virtues. The list of core virtues, as well as the interpretation and relative importance of these virtues, substantially but not completely overlap between cultural traditions (Hursthouse, 1999).
Four core virtues
Riggio and colleagues (2010) define virtuous leaders in Western societies as leaders who act in accordance with four core virtues: prudence or practical wisdom, moderation, justice, and courage. These were considered the four Cardinal virtues in ancient Greek philosophy (Aristotle and Plato) and the Judaeo-Christian tradition (e.g. Thomas Aquinas), and have had a profound influence on Western thinking. They can therefore be regarded as the most important virtues for leaders in Western societies.
Peterson and Seligman (2004) and Hackett and Wang (2012) conclude that they are also core virtues in most other cultures and can therefore be seen as global core virtues of leaders. Crossan and colleagues (2017) demonstrate that these four cardinal virtues are also seen as essential in a sample of North and Latin American leaders. So we can say that virtuous leaders worldwide must have at least the following characteristics: make morally right choices to achieve virtuous goals, through morally right means (prudence or practical wisdom), control of one's emotional responses and desire for self-enrichment (moderation), give others what they deserve (justice), and persist in acting as is believed to be morally right, despite the risk of negative consequences (courage).
According to Artistotle, courage or fortitude enables a person to stand firm against and endure the hardships of life, to restrain fear, or to moderate fear in the face of danger, all done in accordance with reason. (Painting: Fortitute, 1470, by Sandro Botticelli (c. 1445–1510); tempera grassa on wood, 167 x 87 cm. Part of the colection of the Uffizzi in Florence, Fortitude is one of seven panels representing the Seven Virtues, commissioned by Florence's Tribunale della Mercanzia, the body overseeing the city's guilds. Piero del Pollaiolo (1441–1496) painted six panels and the series was completed by Sandro Botticelli in 1470. Fortitude is one of his very first works.)
After evaluating both non-Western and Western cultural attitudes, Peterson and Seligman (2004) concluded that there are six universal core virtues: the four cardinal Western virtues mentioned above, plus compassion (i.e. treating others with love, care and respect treating) and transcendence (ie connecting with the surrounding universe and thereby providing meaning).
The framework of Hackett and Wang (2012) focuses more specifically on the perspectives of Confucius (East Asia) and Aristotle (Western) and adds two core virtues mentioned by Confucius to the four Western cardinal virtues: honesty or trustworthiness, and compassion. So both frameworks argue that humanity is a core virtue. Although not explicitly mentioned by aristotle and Plato, it implicitly emerges in Western cultural traditions as an essential virtue and is seen by modern ethics scholars as essential in Western societies.
Consensus on framework
Thus, there is far-reaching consensus about the broad framework of virtuous leadership, but context-dependent nuances are important.
In Africa, for example, the following four core virtues emerge: reliability or honesty, courage, humanity, and humility (Adewale, 2020). Another example is that transcendence is the most important virtue in Buddhism, but it is not seen as essential in many other schools of thought. Crossan (2017) illustrates that leaders in North and Latin America believe that virtuous leaders should also possess some other core virtues, such as responsibility, integrity, humility, drive, and the ability to cooperate.
Another important side note is that other virtues are emphasised in the more pragmatic, less theoretically grounded and ethical-oriented organisational psychology (Meyer, 2018; Sison and Ferrero, 2015). For example, Cameron (2004) considers forgiveness, trust, integrity, optimism, and compassion to be core elements of virtuous organisations. Crossan (2017) emphasises that prudence is seen as the central virtue by modern leaders in North and Latin America. This is consistent with Aristotle's belief that prudence is the 'mother of all virtues' (Flynn, 2008; Riggio et al., 2010).
Following Aristotle, ethics scholars do emphasise that the cardinal virtues form a whole, which means that people rarely possess certain core virtues but not others and that these core virtues only lead to positive outcomes together (see, among others, MacIntyre, 1984). For example, a prudent but cowardly leader will not be very effective in promoting employee happiness. And the righteous actions of a leader lacking humanity will not be fully appreciated by others. Empirical evidence confirms that employees often judge that leaders score consistently high on all virtues or consistently low on all virtues (Riggio et al., 2010; Thun and Kelloway, 2011; Wang and Hackett, 2016; Hendriks et al., 2020).
However, considering specific virtues in specific situations remains important, because the importance and the specific role of virtues is context-dependent (Riggio et al., 2010). Different scales have been developed to measure the character and virtue of leaders. To measure the character of leaders, Peterson and Seligman (2004) developed the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS). It doesn't measure virtues explicitly, though, because the developers consider them to be too abstract and general to measure. Instead, the VIA-IS measures the 24 positive character traits that form the basis of the six core virtues distinguished by Peterson and Seligman (2004). Thus the character traits bravery, tenacity, integrity, and vitality are the building blocks of the virtue courage. Riggio and colleagues (2010) and Wang and Hackett (2016) later developed validated scales that explicitly measure the virtues of leaders through questions to employees.
Prudence or practical wisdon is described by Aristote as an intellectual habit (virtue) enabling the person to deliberate properly in order to choose the virtuous course, the right means of action in any here and now situation. As such, it is primary over the other cardinal virtues. (Painting: Prudence, 1470, by Piero del Pollaiolo (1441–1496); tempera on wood, 168 x 90.5 cm. Prudence is one of six paintings by Piero del Pollaiolo for the Seven Virtues, commissioned by Florence's Tribunale della Mercanzia. Collection of Le Galleria degli Uffizzi, Florence)
Do employees flourish through virtuous leadership?
Good leadership promotes employee flourishing in three important ways. First, virtuous behaviour can have a substantial impact on the objectively observable job characteristics and outcomes of employees. Giving due praise and recognition to employees, for example, can have a positive influence on the career opportunities of employees. The fair allocation of work tasks can have a positive influence on the work content of employees. And showing compassion can have a positive influence on the work-life balance.
But virtuous behaviour can also harm the objective situations of employees if others, for example competing companies, take advantage of it. For example, certain virtuous behaviours can lead to a poorer competitive position and, as a consequence, lower job security.
Second, virtuous leaders can make followers flourish through a subjective process; trust is a central mechanism in this respect (Hendriks et al., 2020). The character of leaders is a primary source of trust in the leader because trust is primarily built when virtuous behaviour arises from intrinsic motivation and is deliberately and consistently applied in relevant situations (Dirks and Ferrin, 2002). This perspective suggests that character-based virtuous leadership can strengthen trust more than other, related leadership styles, which are traditionally associated with trusts, such as transformational and ethical leadership.
This is because those leadership styles are not fully focused on character, but also focus on behaviour that generally generates less trust, such as compliance with rules or moral duties (a deontological focus) and goal-oriented behaviour (a teleological focus). Trust, in turn, is the catalyst of different attitudes and behaviours that make followers thrive. This includes aspects directly related to the leader (such as satisfaction with the leader and the relationship between leader and follower), organisation-related attitudes and behaviours (such as being able to identify with the organisation; Schaubroeck et al., 2013) and broader psychological aspects (such as reduced work stress; Liu et al., 2010). Together, these processes make trust in a leader essential for employee prosperity (Dirks and Ferrin, 2002; Hendriks et al., 2020).
Third, through their virtuous behaviour, leaders can influence the virtuous behaviour of others in the organisation through internalisation, fostering a more virtuous organisational climate (Cameron and Winn, 2012). Positive organisational psychologists argue that virtue in organisations, in turn, leads to a self-reinforcing spiral of positive practices (such as prosocial behaviourand increased commitment), as well as positive feelings (such as emotional well-being, and job engagement satisfaction; Cameron et al., 2004). Besides, the virtue of the organisation has buffering properties, giving organisations the resilience to face difficult times, for example through increased solidarity and trust (Cameron et al., 2004; Nikandrou and Tsachouridi, 2015).
Consistent picture
Because coherent measures of virtuous leadership have only recently been developed, they have been used only by a small number of studies. However, the available studies paint a consistent picture: employees with virtuous leaders thrive more. Riggio et al. (2010) and Hendriks et al. (2020) show that employees in Western countries who rate their supervisor as more virtuous score better on several dimensions of work-related well-being, such as moral identity, psychological empowerment, identification with emotional well-being, and job satisfaction). The study of Wang and Hackett (2016) shows that American employees with more virtuous leaders also had higher general well-being (happiness and life satisfaction) and performed better within their job responsibilities ('in-role') and beyond this range of duties ('extra-role'), even after correcting for the charismatic style of leaders.
These findings are consistent with the positive relationships found between individual virtues and employee performance and well-being. Thun and Kelloway (2011) found in their study with North American employees that employees with prudent leaders had a more affective engagement, employees with moderate leaders had more confidence and that employees with more fellow human leaders had more involvement, psychological well-being and trust in the leader. Prottas (2013) shows in a sample of American employees that employees with upright leaders have higher well-being, while Mackey et al. (2017) show that exploitative forms of leadership are associated with lower performance and less well-being of employees. At an organisational level, virtue is also related to better performance and well-being of employees (see, among others, Chun, 2009).
Despite the abundant correlational evidence that employees flourish more with virtuous leaders, further research using coherent measures of virtuous leadership in different contexts (such as industries) is needed to better identify causal relationships.
Self-Restraint, one of the virtues of Buddhism, pertains to the sense organs to achieve right concentration of mind: "If this is not attained, knowledge and insight which see things as they really are will not be attained" (Tachibana, 1992). Consequences for not having self-restraint take the form of vanity and binding one's self to human passions. (Sculpture: Head of Buddha, 5th–6th century, Afghanistan, probably Hadda; stucco with traces of paint, 19.1 x 12.1 x 11.4 cm. Collection of The Met, New York)
Do leaders flourish through virtuous leadership?
A major reason why leaders regularly behave mischievously is their belief that acting righteously will have negative consequences, both for themselves and the organisation. In some situations, especially in the short term, mischievous behaviour can indeed have positive effects. For example, fraudulent behaviour regularly yields objective (financial) benefits in the short term. However, current empirical evidence consistently shows that virtuous leaders tend to flourish more. Wang and Hackett (2016), for example, show that virtuous leaders have higher hedonic well-being and are more effective leaders in organisations.
The literature on character strengths, which is mainly rooted in positive organisational psychology, shows that the use of a person's character strengths and working on character weaknesses can be conducive to subjective well-being (eg Seligman et al., 2005), sense of purpose at work (Littman-Ovadia and Steger, 2010) and work performance (Lavy and Littman-Ovadia, 2017). Positive associations are often also found in studies of specific virtues. Sosik et al. (2012) find that the courage, social intelligence and especially integrity of leaders in corporate America are positively related to how their executives and board members rate the performance of these leaders.
An American experiment by Robinson et al. (2013) shows that others are more willing to do business in the future with CEOs who are compassionate. In relation to the well-being of the leader, Krause and Hayward (2015) find that more practical wisdom (prudence) is associated with a stronger sense of self-esteem and more hope. Thus, current literature suggests that virtuous leaders tend to flourish more. These findings confirm that good character is fundamental to effective leadership and that there is generally no 'trade-off' for leaders between virtuous behaviour and self-interest.
Six mechanisms
In theory, there are several mechanisms by which virtuous leaders perform better. First, a significant portion of the performance of leaders depends on the performance of employees and, as noted, virtuous leadership generally has a positive impact on employee performance.
Second, investors, customers and suppliers are more willing to do business with virtuous leaders. This has a positive influence on both the performance and the well-being (e.g. self-esteem) of the leader (Robinson et al., 2013).
Third, virtuous leaders tend to be more awe-inspiring because they are more respected and trusted. This allows them to implement their vision and ideas more effectively in the organisation (Yukl, 2010).
Fourth, virtuous leaders tend to be more engaged at work. For example, they experience work as more meaningful (Bass and Riggio, 2006), which helps in achieving personally valued goals (Arjoon, 2000).
Fifth, good character helps leaders in the ethical decision-making process (Crossan et al., 2013), promoting effective decision-making.
Sixth, virtuous behaviour has intrinsic benefits. For example, a large number of studies show that prosocial behaviour makes a person happier (Dunn et al., 2008).
And finally, virtuous leaders have better relationships and foster a virtuous organisational climate, which relates positively to both job happiness and performance (Cameron and Winn, 2012).
Do organisations flourish through virtuous leadership?
Good leadership can contribute to better performance of the organisation as a whole, through the positive associations with the performance of leaders and employees. On the other hand, a lack of virtuous leadership can damage the company's reputation and thus make the company less attractive to investors, customers and suppliers (Shanahan and Seele, 2015).
They are better at mitigating risks than those whose behaviour is guided by deontological and utilitarian thinking (Chakrabarty and Bass, 2015) and, as a result, attract responsible investors. However, virtuous behaviours can also be costly, such as compensating for potential negative impacts on ecological environments or local communities.
The literature on the virtue of organisations has examined the sum of these positive and negative effects. In this literature it is generally found that the virtue of the organisation is associated with positive performance of the organisation, for example, better financial performance (such as higher profitability) and better operational performance (such as increased customer loyalty and lower staff turnover; for an overview see Meyer, 2018). At the team level, Palanski et al. (2011) find that behavioural integrity leads to better performance as a result of greater transparency and trust in the team. Also, the 2007 global financial crisis and many corporate leadership scandals at, among others, Enron, WorldCom, Hewlett-Packard and Siemens and more recently Barclays, Volkswagen and Samsun, illustrate that neglect of virtuous leadership can cause serious harm to organisations and the economy.
The main conclusion of this literature review is that the current evidence shows that employees, organisations, and the leaders themselves tend to flourish more when the leader has a virtuous character and displays virtuous leadership. An important consideration is that the current evidence is primarily correlational and that more research is needed to better determine the causal impact of virtuous leadership on thriving in organisations in different contexts.
The findings of this literature review provide initial support for Hannah and Jennings (2013) proposition that leaders must be both of good character and competent to achieve sustainable success and that both alone are insufficient. This general pattern also suggests that the concerns of many leaders are unfounded, that virtuous leadership is adversely affecting themselves or their organisations.
The findings imply that organisations can potentially benefit greatly from fostering virtuous leadership. However, it should always be remembered that virtue is a reward in itself and does not require a positive instrumental outcome.
The weak case for grit
"It might surprise you to find out how little evidence there is to support the idea that boosting students' 'grit' — their propensity to tenaciously attack difficult problems they encounter rather than give up — is a reliably effective way to improve their school performance or to close long-standing education gaps," Jesse Singal writes in The Weak Case for Grit, an excerpt from his book The Quick Fix: Why Fad Psychology Can't Cure Our Social Ills (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2021).
Grit's popularity is largely due to the work of the concept's inventor and chief evangelist, Angela Duckworth. In her 2013 TED talk, which has almost 21 million views as of August 2020, she presents grit as a new way of looking at, among other things, the old problem of school achievement: "In education, the one thing we know how to measure best is IQ. But what if doing well in school and in life depends on much more than your ability to learn quickly and easily?"
"The media have helped spread the idea that Duckworth discovered something new and exciting […]. Her book has been a long-term bestseller. The Obama Department of Education expressed a lot of enthusiasm about grit, and The Sacramento Bee reported in 2015 that some schools in California were giving students a 'grit' grade. Yet Duckworth doesn't appear to have ever explicitly claimed that she had discovered a reliable way of increasing grit. At one point in her TED talk she said, 'Every day, parents and teachers ask me, «How do I build grit in kids? What do I do to teach kids a solid work ethic? How do I keep them motivated for the long run?» The honest answer is, I don't know.'"
A few months after her 2013 TED Talk, Duckworth won the MacArthur grant for clarifying the role that intellectual strengths and personality traits play in educational achievement. But "[t]he evidence for her strongest claims about grit's efficacy still hasn't arrived," Singal argues. "Almost two decades since she started her research, it has not been established that grit is a genuinely useful concept that tells us much that we didn't already know — or that it can be boosted, anyway. As Duckworth and her colleagues acknowledge in their very first paper on grit, personality psychologists already have a concept that seems similar: conscientiousness."
"[T]here was never much in the literature to support either of the two ideas that launched grit on its way: that it was more useful than conscientiousness and that it seriously outperformed 'traditional' measures of cognitive or, in the context of military training, physical performance. It is difficult to justify Duckworth's statement that grit 'beats the pants' off older, more established measures. Many of the examples she gives consisted of studies in which the predictive usefulness of grit wasn't compared with its most obvious competitor, conscientiousness, in which grit simply didn't perform as well as traditional measures, or both," Jesse Singal writes in The Weak Case for Grit. (Photograph: Angela Duckworth at het desk at the University of Pennsylvania, by Zave Smith)
Which leaves the concept where, exactly?
The most comprehensive answer, according to Singal, came from Marcus Crede, a reform-minded psychologist who has made it his mission to critique what he views as questionable findings in his field and has a particularly keen interest in education and workplace performance.
"Both grit and conscientiousness seem to be measuring the same underlying concept, argue Crede and his co-authors [Michael C. Tynan and Peter D. Harms in Much Ado About Grit]. Therefore, they suggest, grit's popularity might be the result of the jangle fallacy in which people believe that two things that are actually the same are different simply because they have different names. That is, if Duckworth had published research showing that conscientiousness can, to a certain extent, predict academic success, other researchers would have rolled their eyes and said, 'Of course, we already knew that.' But by presenting a seemingly new concept with a catchy name, Duckworth might have gotten a great deal of mileage out of an idea that had been part of the literature all along (which is not to suggest that this was some sort of intentional obfuscation on her part). NPR reported in 2016 that Duckworth, responding to this critique, said she would prefer to think of grit as 'a member of the conscientiousness family,' but one with independent predictive powers.
As for the question of grit's malleability, there isn't much evidence of reliable, scalable interventions for increasing conscientiousness or grit. That isn't to say conscientiousness remains immutable across the life span. 'Happily, many studies show that conscientiousness does change with age,' Brent Roberts, a leading personality psychologist […], told [Singal] in an email. 'And, not only does it change, but typically for the better — it goes up … Of course, changing slowly, incrementally, through life experiences is nice, but may provide little solace to the parent of a teenager who remains unmotivated.» (Sure enough, one of Duckworth's key early papers includes a chart showing average grit differences by age that exhibits this general pattern.)"
All of this, Singal argues, "offers a strong reason to be skeptical of the claim that grit instruction — or any sort of similar effort, really — could make much of a dent in the massive problem that is American educational inequality. But I'd go a step further: It may be unfair to poor kids to focus on grit. Doing so reflects a blinkered understanding of how inequality operates and perpetuates itself. It could be that the grit hype caught on because of its seductive promise to spare us a great deal of trouble. A serious effort to make life less unfair for neglected kids would likely require enacting bigger, more ambitious redistributive social programs — social programs that are very unlikely to be enacted given the state of 21st-century American politics. Grit, by contrast, is a quick fix."
[Rerun] Angela Duckworth on Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance | Scott Barry Kaufman
Angela Duckworth researches self-control and grit, which is defined as passion and perseverance for long term goals…
scottbarrykaufman.com
The misinformation virus
"Lies and distortions don't just afflict the ignorant. The more you know, the more vulnerable you can be to infection," Elitsa Dermendzhiyska writes in The misinformation virus.
"To fully grasp the pernicious nature of the misinformation virus, we need to reconsider the innocence of the host. It's easy to see ourselves as victims of deception by malicious actors. It's also tempting to think of being misinformed as something that happens to other people — some unnamed masses, easily swayed by demagoguery and scandal. […] But as it turns out, misinformation doesn't prey only on the ignorant: sometimes, those who seem least vulnerable to the virus can prove its keenest hosts, and even handmaidens.
Startling evidence for this possibility comes from Dan M Kahan, professor of law and psychology at Yale University who has been studying how ordinary people evaluate complex societal risks. One strand of his research is trying to shed light on the sometimes dramatic disparity between public opinion and scientific evidence. Together with a small group of researchers, in 2010 Kahan set out to demystify this disparity in relation to global warming. At the time, despite widespread consensus among climate scientists, only 57 percent of Americans believed that there was solid evidence for global warming, and just 35 per cent saw climate change as a serious problem. 'Never have human societies known so much about mitigating the dangers they face but agreed so little about what they collectively know,' Kahan wrote.
One explanation, which Kahan calls the 'science comprehension thesis,' holds that people have insufficient grasp of science, and are unlikely to engage in the deliberate, rational thinking needed to digest these often complex issues. It's a plausible explanation, yet Kahan suspected that it doesn't tell the whole story.
In the 2010 study, published in Nature in 2012, Kahan and his collaborators measured subjects' science literacy and numeracy, and plotted those against the participants' perceived risk of global warming. If the science comprehension thesis was right, then the more knowledgeable the subjects, the more they'd converge towards the scientific consensus. Surprisingly, however, the data revealed that those who scored high on hierarchy and individualism — the hallmark values of a conservative outlook — exhibited the opposite pattern: as their science literacy and numeracy increased, their concern for climate change actually declined. What explains this seeming paradox?
Kahan argues that rather than being a simple matter of intelligence or critical thinking, the question of global warming triggers deeply held personal beliefs. In a way, asking for people's take on climate change is also to ask them who they are and what they value. For conservatives to accept the risk of global warming means to also accept the need for drastic cuts to carbon emissions — an idea utterly at odds with the hierarchical, individualistic values at the core of their identity, which, by rejecting climate change, they seek to protect. Kahan found similar polarisation over social issues that impinge on identity, such as gun control, nuclear energy and fracking, but not over more identity-neutral subjects such as GMO foods and artificial sweeteners. In cases where identity-protective motivations play a key role, people tend to seek and process information in biased ways that conform to their prior beliefs. They might pay attention only to sources they agree with and ignore divergent views. Or they might believe congruent claims without a moment's thought, but spare no effort finding holes in incongruent statements: the brightest climate-change deniers were simply better than their peers at counter-arguing evidence they didn't like. This hints at a vexing conclusion: that the most knowledgeable among us can be more, not less, susceptible to misinformation if it feeds into cherished beliefs and identities. And though most available research points to a conservative bias, liberals are by no means immune."
"The illusory truth effect, as it's known, suggests that the easier to process and more familiar something is, the more likely we are to believe it. […] This can pose a challenge for corrections that work by repeating the original misinformation. Consider, this retraction to a myth prone to ensnare hopeful new mothers: 'Listening to Mozart will not boost your child's IQ.' The tiny 'not' mid-sentence is all that sets the myth and its correction apart — and it's easy to imagine that as time passes and memory fades, that 'not' will wash away, leaving Mozart's symphonies and smarter babies linked together in memory, and making the myth more familiar," Elitsa Dermendzhiyska writes in The misinformation virus. (Painting: The Boy Mozart, 1763 on commission by Leopold Mozart, anonymous, possibly by Pietro Antonio Lorenzoni (1721–1782); oil on canvas, Collection of the Mozarteum, Salzburg)
"In a 2003 study, Geoffrey Cohen, then a professor of psychology at Yale, now at Stanford University, asked subjects to evaluate a government-funded job-training programme to help the poor. All subjects were liberal, so naturally the vast majority (76 per cent) favoured the policy. However, if subjects were told that Democrats didn't support the programme, the results completely reversed: this time, 71 per cent opposed it. Cohen replicated this outcome in a series of influential studies, with both liberal and conservative participants. He showed that subjects would support policies that strongly contradict their own political beliefs if they think that others like them supported those policies. Despite the social influence, obvious to an outsider, participants remained blind to it, and attributed their preferences to objective criteria and personal ideology. This would come as no surprise to social psychologists, who have long attested to the power of the group over the individual, yet most of us would doubtless flinch at the whiff of conformity and the suggestion that our thoughts and actions might not be entirely our own.
For Kahan, though, conformity to group beliefs makes sense. Since each individual has only negligible impact on collective decisions, it's sensible to focus on optimising one's social ties instead. Belonging to a community is, after all, a vital source of self-worth, not to mention health, even survival. Socially rejected or isolated people face heightened risks of many diseases as well as early death. Seen from this perspective, then, the impulse to fit our beliefs and behaviours to those of our social groups, even when they clash with our own, is, Kahan argues, 'exceedingly rational'. Ironically, however, rational individual choices can have irrational collective consequences. As tribal attachments prevail, emotions trump evidence, and the ensuing disagreement chokes off action on important social issues.
It's easy to despair over all the cognitive quirks, personal biases and herd instincts that can strip our defences against the ever-evolving misinformation machinery. I certainly did. Then, I found Elizabeth Levy Paluck. She is a psychologist at Princeton University who studies prejudice reduction, a field in which a century of research appears to have produced many theories but few practical results. In 2006, she led an ambitious project to reduce ethnic hostilities in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She blended a number of prominent theories to create a 'cocktail of treatments': a radio drama, in which characters from different communities modelled cooperation and mutual trust; a talk show whose host read audience letters replete with messages of tolerance, and who encouraged listeners to put themselves in the shoes of outgroup members. Nothing worked. After a year of broadcasting, prejudice remained as entrenched as ever.
For Paluck, this was 'an empirical and theoretical puzzle,' prompting her to wonder if beliefs might be the wrong variable to target. So she turned to social norms, reasoning that it's probably easier to change what we think others think than what we ourselves do. In 2012, Paluck tested a new approach to reducing student conflict in 56 middle schools in New Jersey. Contrary to popular belief, some evidence suggests that, far from being the product of a few aggressive kids, harassment is a school-wide social norm, perpetuated through action and inaction, by bullies, victims and onlookers. Bullying persists because it's considered typical and even desirable, while speaking up is seen as wrong. So how do you shift a culture of conflict? Through social influence, Paluck hypothesised: you seed supporters of a new norm and let them transmit it among their peers. In some schools, Paluck had a group of students publicly endorse and model anti-bullying behaviours, and the schools saw a significant decline in reported conflicts — 30 per cent on average, and as much as 60 per cent when groups had higher shares of well-connected model students.
I've wondered recently if […] misinformation is becoming part of the culture, if it persists because some of us actively partake in it, and some merely stand by and allow it to continue. If that's the case, then perhaps we ought to worry less about fixing people's false beliefs and focus more on shifting those social norms that make it OK to create, spread, share and tolerate misinformation. Paluck shows one way to do this in practice — highly visible individual action reaching critical mass; another way could entail tighter regulation of social media platforms. And our own actions matter, too. As the Scottish biologist D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson said in 1917, 'everything is what it is because it got that way.' We are, each and every one of us, precariously perched between our complicity in the world as it is and our capacity to make it what it can be."
And also this…
"Forget the seduction of grand theories and presentist moral judgments. To learn the lessons of the past, the great foreign policy analysts of our age must rediscover the art of historical discernment," Iskander Rehman argues in his essay Why applied history matters.
"For centuries, a solid grounding in history was considered essential both to the conduct of statecraft, and to the prosecution of military strategy. From the Ancient Greeks to the Victorians, the careful study of past events lay at the heart of 'practical wisdom,' or prudence, and the mastering of such a historical techne was perceived as one of the finest political arts. Not only did history teach humility, it was also a school of statesmanship, that provided a mental 'workshop within which basic ideas about core policy issues (could) be hammered out,' thus enhancing future strategic performance. As Polybius famously noted in the Histories,
'There are two ways by which all men can reform themselves, the one through their own mischances, and the other through those of others (…) For it is the mental transference of similar circumstances to our own times that gives us the means of forming presentiments of what is about to happen, and enables us at certain times to take precautions and at others, by reproducing former conditions, to face with more confidence the difficulties that menace us.'
And indeed, for statesmen grappling with the uncertainty of their present circumstances, the business of liaising between the universal and the particular has often been conceptualized in terms of a temporal process, with the hope that the lessons of yesteryear hold the promise of better ascertaining future outcomes. As Yaacov Vertzberger has rightly observed, history teaches by analogy, enlightens by metaphor, and educates by extrapolation; but analogy can mislead, metaphor can be misplaced and extrapolation misguided. The acquisition of a historical sensibility should thus go hand in hand with a certain degree of intellectual caution — one that avoids succumbing to deterministic historical narratives, and that does not systematically rely on analogical reasoning as a means of predictive inference.
Perhaps most importantly, the accomplished historian is a skilled manager of complexity and a processor of information — someone trained to detect patterns of cause and effect. The great Harvard historian John Clive thus once wondered whether,
'… historians, especially those dealing with abstract entities like groups and classes and movements, have to possess a special metaphorical capacity, a plastic or tactile imagination that can detect shapes or configurations where others less gifted see only jumble and confusion.'
If so, then it would seem as though the historically trained mind reflects many of the mental processes most prized by generals and statesmen. Political and military judgment, like historical study, demands a capacity for integration, for perceiving qualitative similarities and differences, and a 'sense of the unique fashion in which various factors combine in the particular situation.'
And yet despite the seemingly obvious benefits to be derived from its study, applied history appears to have fallen out of favour. As much of American political science has become more positivist in its intellectual leanings — with a heightened focus on quantitative methods, and theoretical abstraction — it has also become more narrowly self-referential. When contemporary political scientists do draw on military history, they often do so in a limited and self-serving way, retroactively selecting case studies that appear to confirm their parsimonious theories. The past is thus often viewed as a 'treasure house, to be plundered in search of illustrative effect, rather than being examined and analyzed for its own sake.' This dispiriting state of affairs, however, should not solely be attributed to the evolution of political science. Indeed, within the embattled academic field of history itself, the study of military and diplomatic history has been shunted to the sidelines, and the production of policy-relevant works of historical analysis is often frowned upon. On popular national security or foreign policy websites, military and diplomatic historians remain heavily outnumbered by political scientists."
"The problem, however, is not that too many people draw on Thucydides, Clausewitz or Sun Tzu, but rather that they often do so superficially, self-servingly, and seem to not have fully read the texts in question. Unfortunately, the same charges can also often be levied at their critics — especially those in the field of political science — who frequently fail to properly engage with the relevant primary and secondary literature. (Consider, for example, this recent academic roundtable on the so-called 'Thucydides Trap,' which does not incorporate a single classicist or ancient historian),"Iskander Rehman writes in his essay Why applied history matters. (Mosaic: Thucydides mosaic from Jerash, Jordan, Roman, 3rd century CE. Collection of the Pergamon Museum, Berlin)
"Meanwhile, many of the most well-examined case studies in the security studies literature — from America's approach to carrier warfare to the Wehrmacht's adoption of the blitzkrieg strategy during World War II — are by now overly familiar. Vast spans of military history, from late antiquity to the early modern era, are considered less relevant to contemporary concerns and almost uniformly ignored, with contemporary international relations scholars drawing the overwhelming majority of their historical case studies from the twentieth or twenty-first centuries. The great French historian Marc Bloch famously inveighed against this tendency for analysts to consider only the more recent historical periods to be the most relevant, caustically asking,
'What would one think of the geophysicist who, satisfied with having computed their remoteness to a fraction of an inch, would then conclude that the influence of the moon upon the earth is far greater than that of the sun? Neither in outer space, nor in time, can the potency of a force be measured by the single dimension of distance.'
One could apply the same metaphorical association — of distance versus relevance — to geography as well as time. Granted, there is most definitely, as scholars such as David Kang have repeatedly urged, a pressing need for more substantive work focused on Asian diplomatic and military history. Acquiring a better understanding of China and India's military pasts, along with seminal texts such as Arthashastra or The Three Kingdoms, for example, is essential to understanding both Asian behemoths' respective strategic cultures and ideational outlook. That being said, the oft-subsidiary assumption that one should automatically dismiss certain periods in history or strategic traditions as irrelevant to contemporary challenges in Asia, is not only shortsighted, but also somewhat disconcerting. Is the underlying premise of such culturally freighted arguments that the lessons to be derived from European history are somehow solely for Europeans, and the lessons and insights from Asian history only for Asians? Can we not somehow all pool and learn from our collective historical experiences rather than hive them off into our respective sub-disciplinary corners?
Moreover, there is an additional risk nested within such culturalist assumptions: that of falling victim to the more insidious variant of regional essentialism promoted by authoritarian state actors such the People's Republic of China. Indeed, Beijing has long insisted that its supposedly exceptional historical trajectory entitles it to an unprecedented degree of deference on the basis of a so-called 'different historical model of international relations.' It is not immediately apparent, however, that China's much-touted 'tributary model' of international relations provides a better repository of insights into its current behavior in the South China Sea, than, say — the Valois and Plantagenet dynasties' sophisticated use of lawfare for purposes of territorial contestation in the fraught decades leading up the Hundred Years War. Lessons can be gleaned and applied across different cultures as well as across different periods. There are most certainly rich seams of world history that remain woefully underexplored, but the default posture should not be to argue in favour of further disciplinary siloization, but rather to read more, to read deeper, and to read across traditions."
You can also listen to Rehman's excellent essay, read by Leighton Pugh.
EI Weekly Listen - Iskander Rehman: Why applied history matters - Engelsberg Ideas
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There are many different ways in which luxury, technology and easy-living can ensnare us or box us in. In many ways, this is a modern and relatable phenomenon, but it goes back at least to the Roman writer, Tacitus," Jonny Thomson notes in Lessons from the Roman Empire about the danger of luxury.
The use of luxury to win over a people is a tactic mirrored across time, ranging from cheap opium that was shipped to China by the British to cheap American TVs and refrigerators that inevitably worked their way into the USSR. "But the most relatable example for most of us today is our relationship with Big Tech. Companies like Facebook, Apple, and Google slowly and surely wire our lives into their algorithms and platforms. Social media are designed and calibrated to be deliberately addictive. Time- or money-saving services, like cloud-based storage, have become so universal, that going back is becoming impossible. It's increasingly the case that we don't even know our passwords for things — we let our phones or apps invent and store them for us. A new technology or service is initially a luxury, until it becomes so normalized and ubiquitous, so essential, that we can't go back to the time before it appeared. What was once a 'want' becomes a 'need.'"
"The Britons were enslaved, not by chains, but by their desire for good wine and elegant dinner parties, Tacitus noted. In fact, the governor of Britain, Agricola, deliberately sought to pacify this tribal warrior society by the 'delightful distractions' of warm baths, togas, and education," . As Tacitus wrote, 'The naïve Britons described these things as 'civilization,' when in fact they were simply part of their enslavement," Jonny Thomson notes in Lessons from the Roman Empire about the danger of luxury. (Photograph: Sepulchral inscription for P. Cornelius Tacitus, the consul and historian. Collection of the Museo Epigrafico, Rome)
"E. M. Forster's novella, The Machine Stops, imagines a world where every facet of life is provided by 'the machine.' There are buttons 'to call for food, music, clothing, hot baths, literature and, of course, communication with friends.' How prescient has this turned out to be? Today, we have Uber, Skype, Hello Fresh, and Amazon Prime. Our friends and family are also plugged into the machine. Is it possible to leave?
Though we view technology as liberating, it also boxes us in. If we believe Tacitus, we are now enslaved by the things we once saw as luxury. It's the job of philosophy to see these chains for what they are. And, as we examine our lives, we can then choose to wear them happily or start the long hard journey of throwing them off."
In 2019, The New Yorker published a short essay by Oliver Sacks, The Machine Stops, in which he writes about the parallels between what he sees around him and the world described by E.M. Forster in The Machine Stops.
The Machine Stops
My favorite aunt, Auntie Len, when she was in her eighties, told me that she had not had too much difficulty adjusting…
www.newyorker.com
"When it came time to join the civil service himself, [Nikolai Gogol] had little interest in or patience for the entire endeavor. His middling grades at his lyceum in outside Kiev meant that, upon graduation, he had to enter the service at the 14th rank — the lowest," Jennifer Wilson writes in Among the Rank and File.
"In 1828, Gogol moved from Ukraine to St. Petersburg to find work, landing first at the Department of State Economy and Public Buildings and then at the Department of Domains. Shortly after starting, he was diagnosed with hemorrhoids — which turned out to be a blessing in his eyes since it gave him an excuse to quit the post, which involved long hours sitting at a desk. 'I am very glad this happened,' he wrote to a friend.
Throughout his tenure in the civil service, Gogol more than once failed to return on time from a leave of absence, though this does not seem to have had much of an effect on his career (in fact, he was promoted after one of these delinquencies). He frequently wrote his mother letters to register his misery and frustration with the entire system and its effect on the residents of St. Petersburg: 'No spirit sparkles in the people, everyone here is a clerk or official, everyone talks of their departments or ministries, everything is suppressed, everything is steeped in the trivial, insignificant labor in which their lives are pointlessly wasted.'"
"Through his tiny mistakes — misplaced plumes and miscategorized clerks — Gogol not only created a fictional world of his own but also mapped the unstable hierarchy and shaky ground of the actual one," Jennifer Wilson writes in Among the Rank and File. (Painting: Nikolai Gogol, 1841, by Otto Friedrich Theodor von Möller; oil on canvas, 59 x 47 cm. Collection of The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)
"It is tempting to see in Gogol's satirical tales a kind of precursor to David Graeber's Bullshit Jobs: A Theory, his study of corporate bloat and capitalist inefficiency. Indeed, Graeber's taxonomy of meaningless jobs and the people who hold them — flunkies, goons, duct tapers, box tickers, task makers, and bean counters — reads similarly to Gogol's characterizations of the mind-numbing civil service positions open to him. Yet Gogol was ultimately less interested in the drudgery of office work than in the kind of people who built their lives around titles, prestige, and arbitrary notions of superiority. He drew on the grotesque and perfected the absurd in depicting their shallow worries and pointless cruelty. He also revealed the arbitrariness underpinning Peter's supposedly meritocratic system: Mislabeling the ranks and ascribing the wrong kinds of jobs to certain titles, Gogol created his own world of random hierarchies, and in turn revealed the randomness of the real one."
Skaters, dancers, hustlers, boxers… The Swiss photographer Willy Spiller prowled the streets of New York from 1977 to 1985, capturing characters from all walks of life. He currently has his first solo exhibition at Bildhalle, Amsterdam (from April 10th until May 22nd).
Source: Subway to Studio 54: a bygone New York — in pictures
A Train to Far Rockaway, 1978 — "His longtime friend and companion Paul Nizon once said: 'I've often asked myself what made Willy Spiller's photography so forthright, so refreshing and so riveting.'" (Photography by Willy Spiller)
Edna on Wheels, 1979 (left) and Leroy in Harlem, 1984 — "The series New York, 1977–1985, was shot while Willy Spiller lived in the Big Apple."
Sunday Morning on Orchard Street, NY, 1980 — "Whether he focused his camera on subway rides, dancers at the legendary Studio 54 or hip-hop culture in the streets, Spiller captured many facets of a bygone world."
A Train to Brighton Beach, 1977 — "His images have appeared in numerous European newspapers and magazines and he has received prizes for both his published and exhibited work."
Elevated Station 180 St, 1982 — "Paul Nizon concluded: 'I believe it's a blend of unabashed curiosity and roguish complexity combined with a fraternal sense of compassion.'"
Lunch on Broadway, 1982 — "And that is the reason Spiller sides with humanity, which is just another way of saying that he has an innate love of mankind."
Moby, whose real name is Richard Melville Hall, was given his nickname by his father, shortly after birth. It's a reference to the family's ancestry; Moby is the great-great-great nephew of Herman Melville, the author of Moby-Dick (Photograph by Jonathan Nesvadba)
"If there's one animal in this world that has every reason to wipe all fucking humanity off the face of the earth, it's the cow. Cows approach us with innocence and vulnerability and we respond with torture and murder. If you spend some time with cows you will find out what beautiful animals they are. Playful, social and curious. Really, if there was such a thing as a cosmic court, we would have long since lost our case against cows." — Moby, from Moby's whole kit and caboodle (de Volksrant Magazine, April 17, 2021)
Reading notes will be back next week, if fortune allows, of course. In the meantime, if you want to know more about my work with senior executives and leadership teams, please visit markstorm.nl. You can also browse through my writings and follow me on Twitter.
helping senior executives and leadership teams navigate complexity with wisdom & clarity of thought
Cardinal Virtues
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Tribal Families in Qatar
Qatar is home to a number of tribal families in addition to the ruling al-Thani family. These include the al-Khalifa, the al-Sudan, the al-Saud, the Utubi, the Bani Khalid, the Qawasim, the al-Musallam, the al-Ainain, the al-Attiyah, and the al-Kuwari. Several of these families, such as the al-Sudan and the al-Musallam, predate the al-Thani family's arrival in Qatar. The al-Khalifa and the al-Saud are kin to the rulers of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, respectively, while the al-Sudan and the Bani Khalid are among Doha's oldest residents. The latter received exceptional rights and privileges, including exemption from the pearl taxation. Thus, without the intervention of the British in 1868, either Bahrain or Saudi Arabia might have subsumed the Qatar peninsula under the al-Khalifa or al-Saud family or an old, established family might have emerged organically as the kingdom's ruler.
Doha neighborhoods are effectively tribal neighborhoods and the family council, or majlis, makes decisions about both personal and community matters. Tribal allegiance carries over into the structure and processes of Qatar's political system. Where electoral systems exist, most citizens vote according to their tribe; this divides representative institutions along tribal lines, helping to diffuse dissent.
The al-Khalifa, a branch of the Utubi Arabs from Central Arabia, migrated to Kuwait and from there expanded their trading, fishing, and piracy activities into Bahrain and northern Qatar. By the 19th century, they were the dominant family in the Northern Gulf region. Under the al-Khalifa, the northwestern city of Zubarah served as the economic center of Qatar. The rise of the Doha-based al-Thani family and its successful efforts to separate Qatar from the al-Khalifa-led Bahrain shifted the balance of power and the center of trade to the south. This centuries-old tribal rivalry continues, embodied by the dispute between Bahrain and Qatar over the Hawar Islands. However, there is an extensive web of intermarriage between the two families and today, the al-Khalifa are considered the second most powerful tribe in Qatar.
The al-Attiyah are another historically important family that have also strategically married into the al-Thani family. The mother of former Sheikh Hamad was a member of the al-Attiyah family. These marriages have resulted in prominent state appointments, including Qatar's first chief of police and, more recently, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Energy, and chief of staff of Qatar's armed forces. The family is historically associated with the army.
The al-Sudan tribe accompanied the al-Khalifa on their migration from Arabia, settling in in northern Qatar where they undertook both agricultural and fishing activities. They are among the oldest of the tribes, as evidenced by their domestic presence in a central Doha neighborhood.
The Bani Khalid were a powerful Arab tribe that asserted their independence from the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century. In Qatar they established fishing villages and ruled much of al-Hasa and Qatar before the rise of the al-Sauds. They are among the oldest of the tribes but have lost almost all of their influence. The al-Ainain family was the tribe's most prominent clan, controlling Doha until its exile in the 1820s to Wakra in the southernmost part of Qatar.
The Al-Musallam have the longest recorded history in Qatar. An Ottoman source from the 16th century designates a member of the family as the Sheikh of Qatar. They dominated the northern Qatar settlements of al-Huwaila and Zubara until the arrival of the Utubi al-Khalifa. However, by the 1820s, they were outnumbered by the al-Thanis and other allied tribes.
The al-Kuwari family shares a common ancestor with the al-Thanis and cooperates closely with the ruling family. This makes them highly influential and results in appointment to important government posts. Originally based in Doha, in 1878 they moved to Fuwayrat on Qatar's northeast shore in protest of Jassim bin Muhammad bin Thani's alliance with the Ottoman Empire.
Christopher M. Blanchard. Qatar: Background and US Relations. Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2010.
Allen Fromherz. Qatar: A Modern History (Washington D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2012).
Mehran Kamrava. "Royal Factionalism and Political Liberalization in Qatar." The Middle East Journal 63(2009): 401-420.
Rosemarie Said Zahlan. The Making of the Modern Gulf States: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. (Reading: Ithaca Press, 1998).
See also: Qatar | {
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Neal Dunn
Conservative For Congress
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Former U.S. Congressman Steve Southerland
Tallahassee, Fla. – Former United States Congressman Steve Southerland (R-FL-2) today announced he has endorsed Panama City Surgeon, U.S. Army Veteran and Republican Candidate Neal Dunn for Florida Congressional District 2.
"This is not just another former congressman endorsing a candidate," said former Congressman Southerland. "I have examined the field thoroughly and feel strongly that Neal Dunn is the best conservative Republican candidate and is the only candidate I have endorsed for this race. He and his wife, Leah, are conservative Christians with a long family history of military service and sacrifice. He also has a distinguished career as a surgeon treating many thousands of North Florida families. He knows firsthand the failures of Obamacare and is the candidate most capable of repealing and replacing that broken system with one that is patient centered and market based."
"Neal and Leah are business owners who know how hard it is to start and run a successful business, meeting payroll, growing jobs and working through the maze of government regulations," continued former Congressman Southerland. "Neal's background in the military, medicine and business is crucial to these times. His life perfectly qualifies him to speak for and fight for North and Northwest Florida families. Neal is a conservative with solutions that work and because of our shared belief in hard work and honest dealings, I stand behind Neal Dunn 100 percent."
"I thank my dear friend, Steve Southerland, for his support of my campaign," said Dr. Dunn. "I share former Congressman Southerland's sentiments about North and Northwest Florida and just how important it is for our district to be well represented in Washington by strong conservative leadership. I know what it takes to make our community healthier and our economy stronger, and the need to repeal and replace Obamacare and for businesses to thrive and grow. And, I pledge, if elected, to help restore America's faith in Congress. We must get government out of the business of health care and stop putting mandates on our business community that hamper job growth and economic prosperity. I am also concerned about the growing threat posed to our families by the dark shadow of terrorism. My lifetime of experience has prepared me to address this."
U.S. Congressman Jeff Miller
Panama City, FL – Republican Candidate Neal Dunn today announced that Congressman Jeff Miller (R-FL-1) has endorsed his campaign for Florida Congressional District 2.
"North Florida needs a conservative who is committed to serving our veterans, shrinking the size and scope of the federal government and safeguarding our Second Amendment rights," said Congressman Miller. "Neal Dunn shares the same conservative values as many of us in our community, and he has demonstrated a commitment to the ideals and principles of the Founding Fathers. I believe his background as a veteran and surgeon makes him uniquely qualified to represent the Second District of Florida in Congress."
"Congressman Miller is a staunch advocate for veterans issues; and, as a veteran, I applaud his dedication, as well as his accomplishments," said Dr. Dunn. "Congressman Miller and I also agree that our current tax system impedes economic growth, and we must do all that we can to encourage small business growth, and reduce and remove excessive and burdensome government regulations. With Congressman Miller's support, I look forward to continuing to spread our conservative message in Congressional District 2 and fighting for a better North Florida."
Since announcing his candidacy for Florida's Congressional District 2, Dr. Dunn has been endorsed by former U.S. Congressman Steve Southerland, former Speaker Allan Bense, former Senate President Don Gaetz, former Speaker Will Weatherford, and Representatives Dennis Baxley, Jay Trumbull and Elizabeth Porter.
Florida Speaker Allan Bense
Dr. Neal Dunn, a Panama City surgeon, announced in Tallahassee his candidacy for the 2nd Congressional District in 2016, pledging to focus on the economy and national security and to "reform and replace" the federal Affordable Care Act.
Dunn, introduced at the Florida Press Center by former Speaker of the Florida House Allan Bense, described himself as "an unapologetic conservative Republican." He earlier announced his candidacy for the U.S. House last week in Panama City.
He predicted the GOP will control the Senate, House and the White House after the 2016 election and said their first priority will be an overhaul of Obamacare. He said to do so, Congress will need members "who have represented patients, not bureaucrats."
"Given the importance of this issue, I think it makes sense for the people of North Florida to send someone to Washington who actually understands the complexities of health-care delivery and the importance of the patient physician relationship," he said.
Dunn, 61, served 10 years as a U.S. Army surgeon before spending 25 years as a surgeon in Panama City. He is the founding president of the Advanced Urology Institute, a practice with 45 doctors and more than 400 employees in North Florida, and he founded Panama City Urology Center & the Bay Regional Cancer Center.
He serves as chairman of the Bay Cares program, a nonprofit that annually provides $30 million of free specialty care to the working poor. Last year, the Bay County Health Department named him a public health hero, Bense said.
Florida Speaker Will Weatherford
Tallahassee, Fla. – Republican Candidate Neal Dunn today announced that former Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives Will Weatherford has endorsed his candidacy for Florida Congressional District 2.
"As exemplified by his service in the military, as well as the medical practice he built, Neal Dunn has shown Floridians that he is a dedicated leader and, above all else, a true public servant," said former Speaker Weatherford. "Through his experiences, Neal understands the issues that are important to Floridians, including health care, the economy and the importance of the military to our national security."
"I truly believe Neal embodies the conservative principles that North Florida possesses and is the voice that Congressional District 2 needs serving as their representative in Washington; and, I am happy to lend him my support," continued former Speaker Weatherford.
"I am grateful to receive former Speaker Weatherford's endorsement in my bid for Congressional District 2," said Dr. Dunn. "As a staunch conservative who shares many of my same beliefs, former Speaker Weatherford is the epitome of a leader in Florida politics. As I continue to campaign on the three issues most important me – health care, national security and the economy – receiving the support and encouragement from him is humbling."
Florida SENATE PRESIDENT DON GAETZ
Tallahassee, Fla. – After making his way from Panama City to Tallahassee to announce his Republican candidacy for Florida Congressional District 2, Panama City Surgeon and United States Army Veteran Neal Dunn today announced that former Senate President Don Gaetz (R-Niceville) has endorsed his candidacy.
"Neal Dunn is one of us here in North Florida," said Senator Gaetz, who served as President of the Senate from 2012 to 2014. "In his own military career and the military service and sacrifices of his family, he personifies the values and needs of our retired military and the communities that host our bases and missions. In his distinguished career as a medical doctor caring for thousands of North Florida families, he knows firsthand the health care issues that affect our communities. In his successful business career, he faces the same struggles as the rest of us in meeting payroll, growing jobs and working through the maze of government regulation."
Senator Gaetz continued, "Neal's life perfectly qualifies him to speak for North Florida and to fight for North Florida. He is a conservative with solutions that work. I am honored to support him for Congress."
Rep. Dennis Baxley,
rep. Jay Trumbull & Rep. Elizabeth Porter
Neal Dunn, Republican candidate for Florida Congressional District 2, today announced that Florida House Representatives Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala), Jay Trumbull (R-Panama City) and Elizabeth Porter (R-Lake City) have endorsed him in his campaign.
"As a physician, Neal Dunn has been a leader in conservative health care policy here in Florida," said Representative Baxley. "No one is better prepared to help lead the repeal of Obamacare than Neal. I am happy to lend him my support."
"Neal is an advocate for issues that matter to Floridians, including supporting our military, growing our economy and repealing Obamacare," said Representative Trumbull. "He is the conservative voice District 2 needs in Congress, and I am proud to support his campaign."
"I am happy to join with my fellow Republican House members in endorsing Neal Dunn in his campaign for Congressional District 2," said Representative Porter. "As a leader in his community, Neal has proven his dedication and commitment to our area, and I know that North Florida will be in good hands with Dr. Dunn."
"I would like to sincerely thank Representatives Baxley, Trumbull and Porter for their support," said Dr. Dunn. "I am grateful that these Florida House Representatives have put their faith in me, and lent me their endorsement as I continue to advocate for a conservative agenda on issues that matter most to our community, including helping to strengthen our economy, grow our workforce, support our military and repeal Obamacare."
Law Enforcement Endorsements
Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen
Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford
Congressional Endorsements
Andy Harris
Kay Granger
Michael Burgess
Phil Roe
Richard Hudson
Tom McArthur
Trent Franks
Health Care Endorsements
AKSM Urology PAC
AMGEN PAC
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American Society of Anesthesiologists - ASAPAC
American Urological Association
Chesapeake PAC
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Eli Lilly & Company PAC
Florida Medical Association
Florida Women's Care
Healthcare Leadership Council
Hospital Corporation of America Good Government Fund
Large Urology Group Practice Association
National Community Pharmacists Association
National Emergency Medicine PAC
UPS PAC
National Endorsements
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Bay Builders & Contractors Association
Can Manufacturers Association
Cole PAC
Committee for Advancement of Cotton
Committee for the Advancement of Southeast Cotton
Common Sense Common Solutions PAC
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JM Families, Inc.
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Short Line Rail Road PAC
SunTrust Good Government PAC
Help us elect a conservative leader
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Paid for by Friends of Neal Dunn | {
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22% of Older Adults in Israel Experienced Financial Decline during Covid-19
Over 1 million people over age 65 live in Israel, and despite the 'return to routine' – about a fifth of them feel they have no-one to turn to. "The main issue is financial, but it usually affects their physical or mental state," says the CEO of JDC-Eshel The original article in Hebrew on the […]
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Green Day Care in Bedouin Society
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Donate: A Crowd Funding Campaign for Communities in Mixed Cities
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Hapoel Shavim Tel Aviv Wins Presidential Award for Inclusion and Diversity
Breaking down barriers—with sports! Israeli soccer team Hapoel Shavim Tel Aviv, a mixed league of people with and without disabilities, was recognized on Wednesday for its collaborative efforts and teamwork – on and off the field. Shavim Basport ("Equality in Sports"), a cooperation between Joint-Israel Unlimited, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, and soccer leagues […]
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I Can Too: Coming to Terms with My Disability | By Amit Lerman
"If you want to succeed, you have to take risks," says Amit Lerman, a participant in the Shibolim (Sheaves) program at the Ruach HaSadeh pre-military leadership academy for religious men. In this blog, Amit shares about learning to deal with his disability and urges everyone to see the good in their limitations.
Joint Legal Service Wins 'Pillars of Excellence' Award
We are pleased to announce that the Accessible Legal Services for People with Disabilities project won an award for best "Partnership and Collaboration." The prize was bestowed by the Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies (NJHSA), an association which provides welfare services to Jewish communities in the United States, Canada and Israel. The project is […]
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The Future Is Already Here: Artificial Intelligence Reshapes the Labor Market
The Avodata Project, which is in the advanced stages of development, will provide information about changes and trends in the job market. It is led by the Ministry of Labor and Joint-TEVET in collaboration with retrain.ai, an Israeli startup that specializes in artificial intelligence.
Joint University Wins Digital Award
We are pleased to announce that our virtual learning platform—Joint University—won the IT Award 2020 for Outstanding Computing bestowed by People & Computers. The award, which was presented at an online ceremony in Tel Aviv, recognized the university's exceptional work during the COVID-19 pandemic. Available to our employees around the world, Joint University provides over […] | {
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"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
other subredditsCrimsonCowboy
Writing Snippets: Post/Write a Fanfiction Scene, Story, or Idea: Forest of Dreams
CrimsonCowboy |2 pointswritten 1 day ago ago
A Forest of Dreams? OK.
Imagine, if you will, a moment where music seems to play in your head out of sheer excitement at finding for the first moment your favorite section.
Or perhaps, a moment of relief, as a problem seems soon to be rectified.
Or perhaps, a sigh of defeat, as the volume that describes your problem is a thousand pages thick. Rest well, the index is probably pretty good.
Or perhaps, a moment of levity, as a societal problem is addressed in a fictional sense, but with apparent overtones to the prevailing societal happenings.
Or perhaps, a story set so far in the future, that common sense breaks down and all you are left with is a strange sense of wonder and hope, or despair?
Welcome, weary traveler, to the Canterlot Technical Library.
I want to conclude the zompony apocalypse with...
The conturemeasure.
It had been demonstrated previously that laser light will dispel dark necromanitic influences. Something about it's coherent light's inherent 'harmony'.
Tami and Oson flew in with Quantum providing covering fire. "Java! We need your glass blowing skills NOW!"
Java Stout was a chemical engineer, and knew very well how to manipulate semi-molten glass. Chemistry equipment typically did not come pre-assembled. He smiled. "I'm on it."
As Quantum from the rooftop kept their house zombie-free with her crossbow, the other three worked on their conturemeasure.
"Mirrors affixed to the tubes. Testing reflectivity. Bugger, needs adjusting."
"Pressures not right... Resetting with the vacuum pump..."
"Voltage should work right. AH! NO! CIRCUIT BOARD ON FIRE"
"Put it out PUT IT OUT! Agh! I have to redo that... Is the transformer at least ok?"
"Yeah, it doesn't smell burnt..."
"How are we going to hook up cooling water?"
"I already grabbed a garden-hose hookup. And we have the tubes to run it up to the roof."
"Test run, minimal power. Goggles up, everyone."
"...."
"Awesome. Let's go save Canterlot."
Quantum Shift hefted the device the others had built. It was plugged into the mains and the water supply. Four separate tubes of carbon dioxide, connected to a high voltage supply and each between two mirrors. And it was ready.
She aimed the device down the street, and smiling, let loose a beam of infrared laser light. The spell affecting the zombies immediately dissipated, and they fell.
Meanwhile, Tami and Oson had once again taken to the air. They were carrying the sheet of steel, which they had precious few moments to polish before this. Tami let's out a loud squawk to indicate their position, and sees the focusing dot - a cheap laser pointer - align itself on the plate.
They were going to be the reflector of an infrared laser beam. And they were going to shine it over the entirety of Canterlot, street by street, block by block.
Quantum pushed the trigger. The countermeasure was active.
Tami and Oson flapped down. Tami said, "Java... I need a cup of coffee, and some kind of meal. Blast and Damn, we should've used an aluminum sheet..."
Oson nods; "That thing was heavy, though with the wind at that altitude, it's momentum kinda helped."
"Still heavy as all get out... Gwa... I need to work-out more..."
Oson flits up and pecks a kiss on Tami's forehead. "I think you'd look and feel lovely. Though you look just fine as you are."
The gryphoness pauses. She then reaches for and grips the changeling. "I love you so much, Oson."
Quantum has been listening to the radio. "Everyone, bad news. They haven't caught the necromancer. Reanimation. We need to pull off that stunt again."
Java shakes his head. "And I had just started the waffles..."
Tami slams her empty mug down. "I. Am Now. IRATE!"
Which type of pony would you be?
CrimsonCowboy |2 pointswritten 6 days ago ago
Earther, or changeling. I write fanfics, and the characters are... very bad at magic. So, they invent technology to solve their problems. The changeling can't change well, the unicorn can't use magic very well, the gryphon, is well, a gryphon. And the earther is just rather strong and clever.
Another character is an Earther, and really good at the technology game.
So, whatever I get, technology will be built to deal with the issues that are not addressed.
[WP]: "I'm not special at all just average," you said. The scientist scans you and replied: "You don't understand, there is no record of you in any other multiverse. All the choices you have made are the only choices available to you."
"Well, statistically, we're average. But only because we have diverse interests. And I know for a fact, we're not the only ones like us in the multiverse." Oson nodded after the last sentence.
Tam's points at the basement. "We keep the dimensporter down there. More tools, and a safer place in general to run it."
The Multiverse Guard is perplexed. "You... Can travel between dimensions as well?"
"Let me tell you, it was a pain mapping out the coordinates. Anyway, the mirror-dimension has roughly the same versions of ourselves." Tam shakes her head and mutters quietly, "Worst summer vacation ever."
Jav's speaks up from the kitchen. "We can demonstrate! I got a fresh bottle of vodka I'd like to share with them!"
He wanders forward, vodka in tow. Lifting the bottle, he states, "It's like... The only thing we can exchange. Vodka is non-chiral, so the mirror flip-age doesn't make, like, toxic amino-acid combinations." He grabs a sticky-note pad, writes a message on it, and heads downstairs.
A large mirror with devices and runes on it awaits in the basement. Oson points out, "That's the fixed dimensporter; we figured out how to reach other dimensions by changing the orientation of the field generators. That one's kinda stuck on with glue, so... Fixed to the mirror dimension it is."
Jav's flicks a switch, and the machine hums. With a shimmer, a portal is opened. He tosses the plastic bottle through, and moments later, another is tossed back. He pulls the note on it off, flips it around, and holds it up to the light. "The text is inversed, so I have to read it from behind.... Ah! 'Share and Enjoy!' I intend to, mirror me."
The Multiverse Guard is stunned. "There... are two of you?"
Jav shrugs. "At least. Want a drink? We can go over our multiverse map with you."
The Guard grips the wall. "This might be why I was called to investigate you... You are singular individuals, that's for certain... How many dimensions have you crossed?"
Oson replies immediately. "Twenty seven. Three to the third. We needed a lot of coordinates to figure out where home was. The mirrored versions of ourselves have done likewise."
This was proving a much more perplexing investigation than he had counted on. "I... would very much like that drink."
Writing Snippets: Post/Write a Fanfiction Scene, Story, or Idea: Epic
I'll be honest, I've dozens of these that are all stuck on cliffhangers. Place characters in strange situations, then... get distracted and let the conclusion puzzle itself in my mind.
Death. Always so much death. So rarely, necessary.
'Blast and damn,' thought Quantum Shift, 'I really, really wish we could have a calm weekend for once.' She loads another bolt into her crossbow and takes aim.
Java Stout slides the roof panel open, and with his magic offers the Earth Pony perched on the roof a mug. The crossbow fires, and she turns to grip the mug. She sips, then guzzles it. "Strong. Cold. Black."
Java smirks. "Heh. Just how you like it."
She holds the empty mug out, and Java grips it again with his magic. "Thanks, Java..." She loads another arrow.
"Hey, you're up here, keeping everyone on the block safe. Gotta help where I can. Miss Shibu even sent some treats over with a special note to you."
TWANG Quantum loads another arrow. "Oh? What did it say?"
Java rubs his head. "Um... I think the sum of it was, I'm sure this isn't your fault, and thank you for protecting us."
TWANG "Well, we certainly aren't necromancers. So yeah, she's right on that front." TWANG
The radio-set next to her crackles. "OI! TAMI TO QUANTS, WE HAVE FLYERS FOLLOWING US! NORTH-WEST-WEST, INBOUND WITH CARGO!"
"OSON TO QUANTI! AT LEAST TWENTY!"
Quantum stares at the radio-set. She turns to Java, "Did you hear that?"
He is frowning. "Yeah... and they can't fly as fast ladened with supplies..."
Quantum stares North-West-West. She can see the incoming hoard. She pushes the transmit button. "I have a plan. Dive low when you see the flare. I'll pull out the big gun. JAVA!"
He snaps to attention. She says, staring at what is coming. "Two teacups. Spatial contraction generator. Two harmonized arrows. My heavy crossbow. Get them." She pushes transmit again, "It'll take a minute to brew the tea for the chaos generator. Hold tight, look for the flashbang."
Twefy 'fi Oson and Tami Owlson are laden with the parts needed for the countermeasure they had designed. Copper wire, Iron plates, heavily doped silicon, silvered mirrors, glass, and worst of all of, a tank of compressed carbon dioxide gas.
And a zombie horde was behind them.
"Bloodly. Fucking. Lovely." Tami says to herself.
Oson is panicking. "Look for the flare?! LOOK for the flare?! They're gonna fire a chaos-derived spatial contraction field super-luminal bolt at a position near us!"
Tami glares at their house. "And Quants has great eyesight..."
The flare goes up.
"DIVE! DIVE! Dive you glorious bitch, DIVE!"
"No no no no no AAAAAAGH!"
A gryphon and a changeling make a steep dive out of the air as they approach their house.
Their house responds with a burst. Matter that has a harmonization ruin on in can move at super-luminal speeds through a chaos-derived spatial contraction field.
Inside of an atmosphere, there is an immediate problem with this. Atmospheric resistance.
This is why Quantum Shift had a face mask. She had learned with the first test of this ridiculous experiment that the blast back was... Significant.
The blast-forward, as suggested, was significantly larger.
Quantum wiped the mask's lenses clear, and loaded the second arrow. "Java, anything on the radio?"
Java shouts up, "Oson says they still have at least five inbound!"
Quantum smiles. "This is why I requested a second harmonized arrow.
Quantum raises her face-mask to to reload the crossbow. She lowers it. "JAVA! Get onto the radio!"
"I'm, uh, right next to it."
"Is that the only zombie horde?!"
Java sets the radio to speaker. The radio shouts back, "IT'S JUST ON US! FIRE FIRE FIRE!"
This dog that directed police to a burning building to save his owner.
CrimsonCowboy |1 pointwritten 11 days ago ago
Looks like a husky to me.
How many times have police stopped you for playing Pokémon Go?
I was getting out of work around 11pm, after a show had concluded. I was in my car, catching for a few minutes. I drove a block and parked in front of a gym to take it. A cop stopped nearby, and came over, suspecting that I was drunk as they noted the previous behavior.
I stated I was playing Pokemon Go, and they were OK with that, but they noted there was no parking on that side of the street. I apologise, and move on. In my defense, it was the middle of winter and everything barring the center of the road was covered in snow.
Writing Snippets: Post/Write a Fanfiction Scene, Story, or Idea: Snow Day
CrimsonCowboy |2 pointswritten 21 days ago ago
"Frickin' Windegos! Get off my roof, I have a dinner to serve!"
"I swear, whatever necromancy cooked up these critters needs to be unwound."
Nah; in this silly alt-universe, changelings, for the most part, want the ponies to survive. The ponies just seem hell-bent on self-destruction.
Prevent that. By any means necessary.
Hearth's Warming. Typically a time of getting together, exchanging gifts, and repeating the tales of "Hey, don't commit genocide." Or the other holiday favorite "Hey, remember that story about not committing genocide? Don't do that."
Tami Owlson, griffon, said "I'm kinda amazed you ponies haven't killed each other off by now."
Quantum Shift, earther, replies, "It took some time. But we're better now."
Tami scowls. "Wait. Were these real stories?"
Twyfi 'fi Oson, changeling, raises a holey hoof. "I... I read through the archives about this day. Yes. They did attempt to genocide themselves, twice. The second time we tried to intervene. It was a success."
Quantum stares at her. "You... Your kind was involved in Hearth's Warming?"
Oson looks down. "... Yes. The ghosts, the illusions, it was all changeling magics. We really don't want you to die. And screw the cold."
She looks to the hallway closest - lines of snow-ware hung up to dry. She had, as a cold-blooded creature, four of the racks of her snow-gear drying, and a power-supply hooked up recharging her lead-acid batteries she kept in special saddle bags to drive some heating coils.
Java Stout, unicorn, shouts from the kitchen. "Ha HA! I did it! Triple falafel! It shouldn't be possible, will probably taste awful or at best questionable, and I am amazed it didn't explode when I kept putting it back into the fry oil!"
This raises their attention. They had been conversing over a Hearth's Warming vinyl they had found. They turn their attention to the kitchen; Java had indeed made a three-layer falafel. In fact, he had made an awful lot of them.
This is the problem with haven a drunken chemist as a roommate who likes to cook. Strange things will happen. The falafels were the least of it. The punch was the last of it.
When they had completed their meal, they were quite full and quite drunk. They decide to wrap themselves up, and with a songbook Oson had in her library, head out into the wilds of Canterlot winter to serenade the public and distribute the excess falafel.
This was one of the best Solstice Celebrations they had. As opposed to when they decided to "Make a great light." This led to more questions from the guard than they preferred. Just sharing a very sanitary food product was a lot easier.
If you had enough money to build your dream house, what's a strange room/feature you'd include?
I like a lot of these ideas, but I can add some weird ones. Tracks for robotic arms to run along the ceiling. The ceiling would be steel reinforced concrete. There would be a massive battery bank nearby, and a vertical wind turbine would be spinning in the background. The walls would be steel or aluminum plates that could be removed easily to upgrade the infrastructure.
Writing Snippets: Post/Write a Fanfiction Scene, Short, or Idea: Pony of a Different Color
Java Stout was not a happy pony at the moment.
He was, normally, a lanky, blond and earth colored unicorn.
Normally.
To the giggling of his housemates as he sets down a jug, he relates the tale.
"So, the experiment was to manufacture some of the simpler azo-dyes.
"The problem with azo-dyes is as fallows.
"The "azo" part of it comes from the nitrogen double-bonding between two rings of carbon."
He holds out his hooves and adjusts their distance. "Because it has two rings, it's very stable."
He gestures about. "And that distance between the two rings strongly suggests to all these atoms a photon it should emit. Want a different color - add something to those rings to change the electrical charge keeping the rings apart.."
Java holds his hooves apart. "Change the charge, change the photon it can give out."
He takes a long drink, and refills his glass. "What happens if a newbie tries to prepare one and... One second, I'm having difficulty with this." He takes another long drink.
He finishes the beer, and lets his head slam against the table. "What happens when, they get the reaction wrong, then wrong again, then finally, right, but have somehow figured out how to make the reaction an explosive."
He takes another long drink. "That's the reason half the class has to retake that test, and why I'm azo-dyeded like a freaking flag."
He takes another drink, and sighs. The technicolor pony looks up. "So, how was your day?"
Writing Snippets: Post/Write a Fanfiction Scene, Short Story, or Idea: Boats!
CrimsonCowboy |2 pointswritten 1 month ago ago
Not soon enough. There is, on average, four atoms of plutonium in you. And as a result of theses tests, we can, by carbon dating, figure out how old organ tissues are.
An... awful lot of them, actually.
This was directly in response to Fallout: Equestria.
Harbormakers are a reference to Project Plowshares - the peaceful utilization of atomic energy. And in their home dimension, the only one. Seeing it weaponized... Well, who am I do judge?
We detonated harbormakers in our only atmosphere.
But wait... There is no ship!
Usual cast. Griffon, Tami Owlson; Changeling, Twefy 'fi Oson; Unicorn, Java Stout; Earther, Quantum Shift.
Setting: A dimension they were trapped in long enough to collect enough data to traverse to another in the goals of mapping the multiverse well enough to get home.
The Geiger counter immediately started clicking upon entry to this dimension. It was an overcast wasteland. Quantum Shift immediately spoke up, "Masks up, everyone. We don't want to breath this."
They all equipped their respirators, the faceparts designed unique to their species, but the filters easily swappable and rated for filtering hydrochloric acid and asbestos. Quantum gave a thought to this; what was the reactivity of a monoatomic radioactive material with the chemically infused fibers of the filter? Well... If it was a metal, at the least, it's probably going to react with the filter material chemically and bind to it... She decided to ask Java about this later.
This gave her pause. She looks about this blasted landscape, and asks, "Hey... Why in the all-hells is the gieger counter clicking so hard? Java, can you give me a quick spectrogram?"
Java Stout pulls out the tool they mostly use for determining the chirality of the target dimension's molecules - a compact spectrograph unit. He takes a sample of the soil and places it in the machine.
He immediately recoils. "Traces of Uranium, Thorium, Radium, Lead, and... Oh, hell's no. Plutonium?! Why the hell is that in the environment?!"
Twefy 'fi Oson begins breathing heavily through her mask. "Plutonium is only made in laboratory reactors! Why is it out here?! ARE YOU SURE?!" She is beginning to panic.
Java nods. "The spectral lines match up with that element."
"WHY IS IT OUT HERE?!"
An explosion occurs in the distance. A mushroom cloud grows, and the Geiger counter clicks something feirce.
Tami Owlson stares. "Was that... Was that a harbormaker?"
A second blast follows. "Oh, that was definitely a harbormaker. Everyone, get down. There is going to be a shockwave. What fucktards detonate one of those above ground?!" Tami grasps Oson and holds her beneath herself while orienting herself in line with the blast, tucking her head underneath her; Java and Quantum try to make themselves as flat as possible against the ground.
The shockwave rushes over them, carrying loads of radioactive dust. They have successfully oriented themselves to prevent most of it sticking to their fur or feathers, but the Gieger counter is clicking.
When the second shockwave hits, the Geiger counter clicks even more.
They get up. Tami asks, "Everyone alright?"
The affirmation follow. Though Oson adds, much to everyone's chagrin, "There must've been an electrical pulse - the thaumameter reset itself. We lost an hour's worth of data."
"So we need to spend 25 hours in this crap-sack dimension."
Another blast in the distance. The same drill. And, afterwards, noting the Thaumameter has once again been reset.
Tami shakes off the doubtlessly contaminated dust. "We need to get out of this hellscape if we want any chance to characterize this dimension's coordinates. Oson, if they have harbormakers, they must have radio. See if any fuckhead is transmitting. I'm going to take a look at the land from above."
Oson nods, and pulls out her radio. Tami frowns as she takes to the skies. This was the worst possible "summer vacation". Every dimension, shittier than the last. Sun and moon, she couldn't wait till they had enough data to get back home. This sucked.
"Why," she silently asks herself, "Why do these worlds fucking hate themselves so much?"
The landscape is barren and grey. She can see the dust settling from the harbormakers. There is very clearly no waterway to make a harbor in. All that can be seen is what remains of a small city.
Harbormakers. In a city.
She screams, "WHAT THE FUCK?!"
A sharp noise is heard to her left, then another. She looks to the ground - there are ponies there, and are pointing a machine at her. It flashes. Another sharp noise near her, on the right side, a few moments later. Realization flashes across her mind.
She flaps her wings and enters a powered dive. "GUYS! CHEMICALLY PROPELLED METAL! WE NEED TO RUN!"
People that "forget to eat", how are you able to ignore the sensation of hunger/hunger pangs?
CrimsonCowboy |1 pointwritten 1 month ago ago
I wish I knew. It possibly has something to do with my alcohol consumption. I will, however, wake up, regularly consume something with [a lot of] caffeine in it, head to work, and start to malfunction due to a simple lack of calories. Then have breakfast at 10 pm.
What loophole did you exploit for years before someone found out?
College bookstore had a full refund return policy first week; assuming you dropped the course, return the books, bada bing bada boom, here's your money back.
I had a large format scanner. I got up to 300 pages an hour.
Writing Snippets: Post/Write a Fanfiction Scene, Short Story, or Idea: Cockatrice
Tami was leaned down next to Pearl. She still didn't fully understand chicken-scratch. And was asking questions.
Oson comes over. "So, the magic effect really is transmitted through the infrared-bands. Neat. Uh. What are you asking Pearl?"
Tami keeps her gaze. "How to swear in chicken."
Engineers. Asking the important questions.
Edit: Chicken goggles are actually a thing.
"I thought we agreed we wouldn't have a pet here. What with, well, the extreme dangers that we repeatedly experience." Quantum was concerned.
Oson points at the phone book. "I have checked every animal shelter in the area. None would take a cockatrice, and Pearl has been around ponies so long she shouldn't be released into the wild."
Quantum looks down. She sighs. "... How do we make her safe?"
"The petrify-effect is mostly based in the infrared bands. So... um.... Corrective goggles?" She taps her own lenses that correct for her compound-eyes' extreme nearsightedness.
"We'd have to make them..."
"The only place open right now is Screwdrivers..."
Java whoops. "Hardware store run!"
"For the love of - stop trying to petrify the employees, they just make minimum wage! Gwah..." Tami scribbles out the chicken-scratch that the cockatrice seems to understand.
She holds up another sheet of paper. "We are here to build you goggles, so you can live among us safely."
She regrets that her understanding of chicken-scratch is limited to what could be deduced from a newspaper, which alas, does not feature curse words.
Because this little bastard was starting to get on her nerves...
They had succeeded on one end. Rose colored goggles to block out that hateful petrifying gaze. A small pet bed. A litter box. They weren't entirely certain that was appropriate, but the library was closed and they really didn't want to break into it again.
Talking with their landlady was a bit more awkward. Their rental contract did not mention pets. Miss Shibu, Diamond Dog, was very forgiving, and on seeing the bespectacled Pearl, instantly fell in love. "Aren't you the sweetest little thing!"
She handed Pearl a treat. "I save these for my sons, but it seems like you might enjoy them too."
Pearl gobbles it up, and nuzzles Miss Shibu.
Taking care of a pet is somewhat hard. But, with four people, it can be done. Quantum takes Pearl out on her early morning runs, Java takes her on his late evening trips to the grocers. Tami and Oson bring her out in the afternoon, between classes.
And Pearl's intelligence was a boon - when it was written "Don't chew these cables, it's bad for you.", she only had to test this once before realizing that yes, these crazy people are actually looking out for me.
It is somewhat absurd, having a cockatrice as a pet. Though this was far from the absurdest thing they have done.
"See, this is why we don't go to house parties. Literally everyone is stoned." Tami Owlson smacks her face in frustration.
She shouts, "Does anyone even see the host? Aaugh.... Oson, can you see if the DJ had any decent music in their collection? I can't stand any more of that vocoded shit."
Java Stout raises a hoof. "Uh, I can probably help with that better. I used to be a DJ at WCTU."
Tami shakes her head. "Fine, get on it. Oson, Quants, you know anything about this kinda shit? Because I really don't want to have to explain this to the guard without something to back it up."
Quantum Shift had been looking at the statues. "Well, they seem to have been having a good time."
Twefy 'fi Oson is panicking. She normally doesn't like social gatherings, and this one has taken a hard turn for the worse. "It... It's medusa syndrome... Which means either the drinks were spiked with a hyper-calcifier... Or there is a cockatrice loose."
Quantum frowns. "I really find it awkward that we need to bring tool kits to even these sorts of events. Everyone, goggles on! Java, finish putting on some sick kicks and come over here to analyze the punch. Oson, Tami, you've two have the best sense of smell. Find us a chicken. I'm going to check the rest of the house for more of these... Poor bastards."
Tami, griffon, is somewhat dismayed. This is a frat house. And she is being asked to sniff it.
Clearly, life could be worse. But it could sure be a hell of a lot better.
Oson is similarly disgusted. But knows a bit about psychology of animals. "It's probably scared. Check the hiding places you'd expect a cat to seek out."
Java shouts, "The punch is just spiked with booze. So it's option two."
Tami grumbles to herself. "Blast. And. Damn."
"Hello little - Gwah! It nipped at me!" Oson pulls her holey hoof away from the small area next to the refrigerators.
Tami sighs. "Lemme try something... I think I remember enough of that chicken-scratch to write a message... Bugger all, I hope this little shit is literate." She begins to draw lines on a pad of paper.
We mean you no harm.
We think everything about this was stupid.
We really don't want the guard involved.
Can you please undo this?
It cocks it's head. It moves as if to bite Tami, but she realizes it's just reaching for the pen.
Yes, if you get me out of here.
Tami reads the note. She smiles and offers a talon to the cockatrice. It exits the area it had been hiding in. Tami picks it up, and says loudly, "Everyone, we have come to an agreement."
Quantum is staring at the host of the party. "We are never attending one of these events ever again. I saw... Horrible things upstairs."
Two other ponies blush and look to the ground.
Tami adds, cockatrice under her arm, "And we're taking Pearl with us. Using her like you did... You sick fucks."
Oson adds, "It isn't right what was done."
Java chimes in next to the now drained punch bowl. "Also, your taste in music is terrible. Great punch, though."
The quartet takes their leave, and wonder what to do with Pearl.
Writing Snippets: Post/Write a Fanfiction Scene, Short Story, or Idea: The Other Hives
Heh. I've posted the middling points here in the past; they have their warp drive, but no space-industrial complex. Another phase I need to implement, but I always used cheat codes in SimCity, so building a Luna City to manufacture the ships requires a different batch of research that may very well lead me to running for city council.
When I world-build, I world-build hard.
I wanted to write a MLP/Star Trek thing. But the thing is, you need to have a space program to even start that. The chain of events leading up to a warp drive is... Difficult with their anachronistic levels of technology. So, I need to work through the tech tree.
Operation Moonshot: The secret society of the world, keeping the peace and sharing the secrets that one race or another discover, decides a space-race would be a great new solution for generating love. Before the Nightmare Moon event, of course. Still haven't worked out all the details; my geopolitics isn't on point.
It has been a rough couple of months working foodservice. Ironic the last thing I posted was about a disease requiring Canterlot's lockdown. Then in reality, everyone forgot how to cook for themselves. And just three weeks ago, over half our staff had to quarantine, and guess which social-life-less lucky bastards had to cover them. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaCommonCrawl"
} |
Short Story Help Needed
July 12, 2019 Café Society28 Comments
As the heading says, I am looking for some help here. Six months ago I started a Readers Group in the retirement complex where I now live. We meet once a month and share our reading experiences since we last met over tea, coffee and a large box of biscuits. It's been very successful, not least because it has brought some people out of their apartments who would not normally join in with other activities. One of these is my friend Graeme, who is in the early stages of dementia. I think he is so brave to come and join in our discussions despite the fact he is finding it increasingly hard to recall what he has read. I have suggested that he makes a few notes about what he wants to say to bring with him and that has helped but the time is coming when getting pleasure from a full length novel is going to be more difficult and so I tentatively asked if he would be interested in reading some short stories. The problem is that, like me, Graeme primarily reads for plot and short stories don't always fit with that type of reader's tastes. Furthermore, his real passion at the moment is Dan Brown and with my very limited knowledge of the genre I can't think of a collection I could recommend that would fit his preferences. I brought very few volumes of short stories with me when I came here and they are nearly all written by women. I certainly don't have anything I think would be suitable. Can anyone suggest anything that might be appropriate? I would be very grateful and I know Graeme and his wife would be as well. Thank you in advance.
Reading Groups, Reading Matter
Reviews ~ Catching Up
June 21, 2019 Café Society14 Comments
I've really fallen behind with my reviews over the past couple of weeks, partly because I've had a lot of preparation to do for other projects and partly because once more the dentist is looming large in my life. She told me on Tuesday that all the excavating that had to be done back in April when the rogue root was discovered embedded in my jaw means that before any restoration can be done I'm going to have to have a bone graft and a pin put in place. "You might want to clear your diary for the following week," she said, rather ominously. I am choosing to interpret that as, "expect at least a fortnight of untold misery". At least, that way, if I'm over-reacting I will have been prepared for the very worst. Anyway, in order to clear the decks I thought I would just offer a series of mini reviews so that I can start afresh at the beginning of next week.
An Officer and a Spy ~ Robert Harris
This was the second from my 15 Books of Summer list. It's the first time I've joined in with this particular challenge and I can already see that I have approached it all wrong and may need to reorganise myself. Nevertheless, that did nothing to dim my pleasure in this book. As I've said before I chose it because I wanted to know more about the Dreyfus Affair, which rocked France during the last decade of the Nineteenth Century and wasn't really resolved until almost the end of the 1900s. I've had a patchy experience where Harris is concerned but I thought this book was excellent. Told from the point of view of a French Army Officer, Georges Picquart, it starts on the morning on which Dreyfus, found guilty of passing secrets to the Germans, is publicly humiliated by having all the insignias of rank and regiment torn from his uniform. Picquart has been involved in bringing this about and is rewarded by being placed in charge of the intelligence unit that had been responsible for bringing Dreyfus down. Once he has access to all the unit's secrets, however, Georges starts to suspect that the case against Dreyfus may well have been at best flawed, at worst manufactured, and so begins to dig more deeply into the affair. What he discovers is a conspiracy to protect the positions of the men in power in both army and state at whatever cost to the truth even if that cost should include men's lives.
This is a chilling story extremely well told. It is particularly chilling because of the parallels so easily drawn with our own times: the incipient anti-semitism at the heart of national institutions, the conspiracy to cover-up the wrong doings of men of power, and the ease with which the media can stir up mob hysteria in the populous. It needs Picquart at its heart, a man determined to uncover the truth despite the cost to himself, otherwise the reader would come away thoroughly ashamed to be a member of the human race.
A Closed and Common Orbit ~ Becky Chambers
This was the novel chosen for Wednesday's book group meeting and it provoked a lot of discussion. It is the second in a sequence of three science fiction books and although those who had read the first thought you didn't need to know what had gone before the rest of us disagreed. The storyline stood on its own, but we felt we had missed a lot of the 'world-building' that had happened in the first novel and were at times floundering a bit. Like most science fiction, the book asks questions about the way in which a society works which can be seen as relevant to both the fictional world and our own. In this instance these were mainly to do with the autonomy of the individual, gender fluidity and the definition of sentience. Although not everyone agreed with me, my own feelings were that these were treated with too light a hand. I did find myself wondering who the intended audience was, because personally this was a book I would have given to teenagers rather than to adults.
Black Summer ~ M W Craven
Just before Christmas, I wrote about The Puppet Show, the first in Craven's Washington Poe series, here. As I said then, Craven was my crime fiction discovery of the year and Black Summer has only served to reinforce this view. DS Washington Poe is now back with the Serious Crime Analysis Section (SCAS) full time. Based, as it is, in Hampshire, this means that he spends far less time than he would like in his beloved Cumbria but this changes when a young woman walks into the Alston library and tells the police officer based there once a month as a 'problem solver' that she is Elizabeth Keaton. As far as the law is concerned Elizabeth Keaton was killed six years previously and it was Poe who was mainly responsible for putting her father, world famous chef, Jared Keaton, behind bars for her murder. If Elizabeth is still alive then Jared is innocent and given that very few people would argue that he is a dangerous psychopath, this doesn't bode well for Poe. Matters become even more complicated when Elizabeth vanishes for a second time and the evidence seems to suggest that Poe has something to do with her disappearance. Never one to suffer fools gladly, the DS has made enemies in his home force and as some of those climb the ranks they are only too pleased to have the opportunity to bring him to book. However, while Washington may have enemies he also has friends, two in particular: his immediate boss, DI Stephanie Flynn and the brilliant, if socially inept, young analyst, Tilly Bradshaw. When, at two in the afternoon, Poe texts Tilly to say that he is in trouble he expects that she will drop everything and turn up sometime the following afternoon. Fifteen hours early at three in the morning isn't quite been what he's been counting on, but Poe is Tilly's friend and in her book that's what friends do. Tilly Bradshaw is one of my favourite characters in fiction. Her incisive mind cuts through everything. I don't care that she frequently doesn't know how to act in a social situation. Tilly tells it how it is and I applaud her for it. What is more, she is brilliant at discerning patterns and, although I don't think there is quite enough Tilly in this book, she it is who finally has the insight that explains what is going on and leads the case to its conclusion. Possibly the best thing about this book is the way in which it ends because it makes it clear that there is going to be a third in the series. If you enjoy crime fiction and you haven't read Craven then I can't recommend him too highly.
20 Books of Summer, Book Reviews, Crime Fiction, Literary Fiction, Reading Groups, Science Fiction
Bellman and Black ~ Diane Setterfield
February 21, 2019 Café Society13 Comments
At a time when everyone else in the blogging world seems to be reading Diane Setterfield's latest novel, Once Upon A River, I found myself picking up her previous offering, Bellman and Black, it being this month's choice for one of my Book Groups. I didn't particularly enjoy Setterfield's first novel, The Thirteenth Tale, even though it was such a commercial success, and the fact that it was promoted on the cover as a ghost story didn't do anything to attract me to this second volume – I haven't read ghost stories since I was fourteen. But that's the whole point of a Book Group, isn't it? Or at least it is of the two to which I belong. We read books we would otherwise never have picked up because we trust the instincts of the other group members. I find it very hard to believe, but this particular group is now in its seventeenth year and during that time I have discovered several authors whose books I would never normally have picked up but who now feature regularly on my reading lists. So, remembering that the person who had chosen this also introduced me to David Mitchell and Kamila Shamsie, I dived in.
When William Bellman is ten, cheered on by his cousin Charles and friends Fred and Luke, he takes up his catapult, pulls off a remarkable shot and kills a rook. This is the novel's opening scene and the reader is encouraged to believe that this incident will colour everything that happens to William from that day on. Although a grandson of the local Mill owner, it is not William who is in line to take up the business but his cousin, Charles. However, Charles has no interest in the business, indeed no interest in living in England. His love of painting takes him off to Italy and it is William who joins Paul, his uncle, in the family concern and whose fresh eye and keen brain soon transforms the Mill and all the associated trades. When his grandfather dies and Paul takes over there is nothing left to stand in the way of William one day succeeding his uncle and not only running, but substantially expanding and innovating the Mill himself. Happily married and with four small children everything seems to be going William's way until an unnamed epidemic (we speculated either typhoid or diphtheria) hits the village and his wife and three youngest children die while Dora, his eldest, is left both disabled and disfigured.
At each of the funerals he is called upon to attend William is drawn to a shadowy figure in black, someone he feels he should know but just can't quite pin down in his memory. Memory is something that William avoids, even though Dora tries to recall the family life that they had once known. William is all to do with thought and as the book reminds us,
[there] is a story much older than this one in which two ravens – which are nothing but large rooks – were companions and advisors to the great God of the north. One bird was called Huginn, which in that place and time meant Thought, and the other Muninn, which meant Memory.
In giving himself over entirely to thought and neglecting to remember his family and all those who were important to him, William cuts himself off from the people who love him and who might have saved him as he becomes more and more obsessed with meeting what he sees as an obligation to the black-coated, shadowy figure from the graveyard. And yet, ironically, it is memory which is at the root of his next great business success as he goes on to found the magnificent London emporium, Bellman & Black, where everything you need to commemorate your recently departed loved one can be found under one roof. It was the description of the building and the fitting out of this store (one bound to bring almost unlimited success at the height of Victorian mourning traditions) that I enjoyed most. Bought up in trade and with a love of ordering and organising, I was fascinated by the minutiae of how William builds this new business from quite literally the ground upwards. But, although his name is over the door and on all the carriages and letterheads, the mysterious Black is never seen and gradually his absence begins to build in importance in William's mind and brings about the novel's conclusion.
We had a really good discussion about this book, mainly because although we had all found it eminently readable, we none of us thought that it quite held together. Our main complaint was that Setterfield had started too many ideas and not really developed any of them sufficiently. Too often we felt we were having to search for an explanation as to how a particular incident fitted into the overall scheme of things and as a result the ideas, if not the narrative itself, seemed disjointed and not fully developed. Our estimation of the character of William, however, differed. While some found his obsession with his work disturbing and difficult to understand, others felt it chimed with the experience of trying to build a career in a challenging climate. Ulitimately, of course, William fails because to be obsessed with death in life is to deny living, until all that is left is death itself, those things which make living worthwhile having never been enjoyed. The book begins and ends with William's death. Whether or not he can be said to have lived in the interim is for the individual reader to decide.
Book Reviews, Literary Fiction, Reading Groups, Wednesday Book Group
Sunday Retrospective ~ February 17th 2019
It's been a busy week! It started with a visit to the dentist, never a good move. In this case even less of a good move than usual as we ended up planning an intensive programme of further visits over the next six months or so. There's a passage in one of Helene Hanff's books where she tells how she has been intending to visit London only to discover that she is going to have to spend her savings on dental treatment instead. I know just how she must have felt. As I watched the projected costs mounting I could hear Jolyon Bear (he who keeps hold of the purse strings) in my head telling me that it is going to be the library for me for the next year or two.
Then I had my first assignment to write for my Shakespeare course – only 500 words, but that actually made it all the more difficult. I just about managed it (518) in as much as I answered the question, but there was no room for eloquence and I always feel that anything you write should take account of the "music" of the words as well as the content. This felt more like a simple check list of the points I needed to make than anything else. Submitting it electronically was fun too as the instructions provided bore very little resemblance to what actually happened when I tried to download it onto the University site. In the end one of the other students (a software engineer) and I found a way to get round the problem but IT support and I are going to have words tomorrow morning. A Russell Group University should not be making mistakes like that.
So, all in all there has been very little time for reading or blogging this week. I have just finished Mari Hannah's latest Oliver and Stone novel, The Scandal, which comes out at the beginning of March so I will leave a review until nearer the publication date. I like Hannah's work very much and for the most part this was no exception. My one quibble was that she stood on a particular soapbox and thumped a particular drum rather too loudly and obviously and weakened her argument as a result, but more later.
I am also halfway through Diane Setterfield's second novel, Bellman and Black which is next week's Book Group choice. I was one of the few people who didn't like The Thirteenth Tale. I was getting along fine with it until about three quarters of the way through and then the plot lost credibility for me and I felt cheated. I was getting along fine with this book too until yesterday when it suddenly took a turn that left me feeling a bit grubby for reading it, so I'm not certain how I'm going to respond to what I still have left to read. Still, at least there will be something to talk about next Wednesday. One of the things that I am most interested in is how unusual a choice it is for the person whose turn it was to select the book. I'm also interested in the fact that I feel that way. Perhaps we stereotype each other as particular categories of readers too easily. It's a lazy way of thinking.
Reading Groups, Shakespeare, Sunday Retrospective
New Book Group
October 22, 2018 Café Society24 Comments
Having settled into my new surroundings one of the things that I wanted to do was expand my circle of local friends. I chose where I was going to move to quite deliberately because I already knew a good number of people living here, but they are all from within a certain circle and I thought it would be good to broaden that out. The obvious way forward was to join a(nother) book group, but there were certain problems with that. Firstly, the local library group already has sixteen members, which I consider too many for a decent discussion, and secondly, I belong to two groups which read and discuss specified novels and having two books a month dictated by other people's tastes is quite enough, thank you. So, I approached the library about starting a different sort of group, although one that I have had experience of before, and this evening we are to have our first meeting.
The idea is very simple. We (no more than a dozen or it becomes impractical) will meet once a month to each talk briefly about what we have read since the last time we got together. There are all sorts of benefits to this sort of group. No one feels any pressure to read something they are not enjoying. There isn't the problem of everyone trying to get hold of limited library copies of the same book. (The librarians particularly like that aspect!) You can come along even if you are still struggling with whatever you were trying to read last month and simply comment on your progress or lack thereof. It doesn't matter how you have accessed the book; there is one young woman interested who is blind and always uses audiobooks. And, perhaps most importantly, you get to 'meet' new authors that you might never otherwise have thought of reading. This is how I first came across writers like Patrick Gale and Richard Russo, now both 'must reads' as far as I'm concerned. This latter point can mean that even though we don't set out to be a discussion group discussion will often arise because over time a number of people will have read the same book and inevitably have a variety of views about it. (Note to self: don't damn anything outright, it might be someone else's favourite ever book and you may never see them again.)
I have no idea how many are going to turn up this evening. We have advertised the group in the library and in the local newspapers. (The Bears were very aggrieved that only my picture turned up in the Bromsgrove Standard; they thought it would have been much more effective if they had been included as well, probably quite rightly.) I am expecting at least four but the librarians say they have had several enquiries from people who haven't spoken to me so it could be that we are full from the word go. I shall just have to wait and see. Further reports as the week progresses!
Library Group, Reading Groups
Marching Forward
March 3, 2016 Café Society12 Comments
February was not really a great reading month, I'm afraid. With the exception of a couple of very good crime novels, Claire McGowan's A Savage Hunger, which I reviewed in the previous post, and Alafair Burke's The Ex, the review for which will be in the next edition of Shiny New Books, I wasn't really knocked out by anything else that I read. Mind you, as a month it had a lot to live up to given that my January reading included Elizabeth Strout's My Name is Lucy Barton and Eva Dolan's After You Die and, even though it had an extra day, February is still a short month so I won't complain too much but just look forward to March and hope for better things.
My book group reading consists of two re-reads balanced by not only a book but an author that is new to me. The Monday Group asked for some crime fiction and as that is a group set up to look at novels shortlisted for book awards I decided to go for Sara Paretsky's Blacklist which won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger in 2004. I'm not certain how well this is going to go down, but I enjoy the way in which Paretsky explores the links between crime, politics and big business interests and makes it clear that while you may catch the people at the bottom, or even those in the middle, at the moment bringing down those at the top is still proving more than difficult. If nothing else it will introduce almost everyone in that group to an author they haven't read before.
The other re-read is Huxley's Brave New World. I did this with a different group a couple of years ago and it works really well in discussion not only in respect of its literary merits but also in terms of asking just how prophetic the author's vision was. I have to say that I'm not certain myself that Huxley intended it to be prophetic but it's a good point for debate, nevertheless. My only qualm about that one is that we have one member in the group who always wants happy books, suitable for (and I quote!) ladies of a certain age. I'm not sure quite what she's going to make of this.
The author new to me is Adam Foulds and the book that has been chosen is his first novel, The Truth About These Strange Times. Other than that I've had quite a job getting a copy from the library I know nothing about this at all, so if any of you have read it and have any comments before I start on it next week I shall be interested to read them.
As far as other reading goes the month is going to primarily taken up with tackling all those books that I said I was going to read over my long weekend off. I hadn't realised just how tired I was and in the end I found myself doing more re-reading simply because I hadn't the energy to tackle anything new. I did read one of the review copies I had on hand and I began Helen Dunmore's Exposure, but, for personal reasons, I've found it a particularly difficult read and I'm having to take it just in small sections. I'll talk more about that when I review it. That does mean, however, that I still have Slade House and The Noise of Time waiting to be read as well as a couple of crime novels to review for NetGalley. Given all that I don't think I should be looking any further ahead right now. I can add to the list if I find I'm running out of material. At the moment, that seems unlikely.
Crime Fiction, Looking Forward, Monday Book Group, Reading Groups
Sunday Round-Up
January 24, 2016 Café Society17 Comments
I was hoping to get several more reviews written over the course of this past week but, as so often happens, life got in the way, so in lieu I'll just offer a few quick thoughts about the two most recent book group discussions on Ian McEwan's The Children Act and David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet.
The group with which I read The Children Act were most exercised by whether or not the main character, Fiona Maye, was believable. For me, however, this wasn't really the issue. I think I've reached the point where I just accept that McEwan has no idea how women think and behave and so I let that stand as a given and concentrate on what else I think he is concerned with. In this novel I was more interested in what it was he was trying to say about the law and the individual's relationship with it. It seems clear to me that this is his primary interest. Why else start with what is an overt reference to Dickens' Bleak House?
London. Trinity term one week old. Implacable June weather.
I decided in the end that what McEwan was trying to examine was the way in which, even in situations where our children's wellbeing is at stake, we want to place the onus of decision onto an outside body, despite the fact that, in his opinion, this is to abdicate our personal responsibility. He offers several examples of families passing through the courts whose children are in need of medical or educational intervention and in each instance there is a sense of parental relief when the outcome is decided by someone else. However, he also provides examples of two such cases where the judge concerned has made a mistake that has had life long repercussions for the families involved and his ffinal* verdict on Fiona appears to be that she needs to recognise her responsibility to exercise judgment in her behaviour towards children outside of the trappings of the court as well as within.
There are a lot of seems and appears in that because I don't think McEwan manages to make his point of view clear, possibly because, as so many of the group recognised, he doesn't make Fiona herself believable. And, while I don't disagree with the idea that we all need to take responsibility for the welfare of society in general and especially of children, I'm also bothered by an approach which seems to question the centrality of the judiciary. Yes, they sometimes get it wrong, but what happens if you take the law away? I have run across a number of literary instances recently that very strongly make the point that if the law is bent, neglected or personalised then the very pillars on which society stands are threatened. I'm teaching The Merchant of Venice this term and not only The Duke and Balthazar/Portia recognise the irretrievable damage that will be done to the State if Shylock is denied his bond, so too does Antonio, who very definitely has the most to lose. Then, it's not long since I reviewed Claire McGowan's latest Northern Ireland based novel, The Silent Dead, where the question of retaliatory 'justice' is foregrounded and in which the ffinal* judgment is that however fflawed* the justice system might sometimes be it is infinitely superior to what would happen if there was no system at all. And I have never been able to forget the conversation between Thomas More and his son-in-law in Robert Bolt's play A Man For All Seasons:
Roper: So now you'd give the Devil benefit of law!
Roper: I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you — where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country's planted thick with laws from coast to coast — man's laws, not God's — and if you cut them down — and you're just the man to do it — d'you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake.
We take decisions out of the hands of the law at our own peril, I think.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet was a much happier reading experience. I was so glad that this had been chosen because I have been trying to ffind* time to read more David Mitchell ever since being bowled over by The Bone Clocks, however, he is not a writer you can hurry and there just hasn't been a large enough space when I could explore his earlier novels.
As far as Mitchell goes, this, I understand, is a comparatively straightforward narrative, although exploring a complexity of issues, mostly to do with the question of translation. Many of the main characters in the novel are interpreters who work for the Japanese state as linguistic go-betweens for the ruling powers and the Dutch traders of the late eighteenth century. But, while they may haltingly fffind* the words for a literal translation, interpreting the society behind the words is a very different matter. Even as the novel draws to a close the reader is left puzzling over a nation that can be so isolationist that it will not allow a son who is half Japanese and whose mother is dead to leave to be with his Dutch father. The writing is beautiful, the characterisation superb, but it is a solid read, so don't embark on it unless you have the time to give it the attention it deserves.
I hope the forthcoming week is going to be slightly easier, especially as I've already got behind in my course on Dorothy L Sayers and could do with a few spare hours to catch up. I have discovered, however, that it is possible to have too much of a good thing even where books are concerned, and my reading of the Wimsey novels has slowed considerably. In particular, I fell foul of Five Red Herrings, which I seem to remember not being very keen on when I read the books the ffirst* time round. I'm now half way through Have His Carcase and should really do my best to ffinish* it over the weekend. What are your plans for a damp and soggy Sunday afternoon, I wonder?
N.B. I do know how to spell the words marked thus*, but the WordPress program is refusing to spell them with just one 'f'. It's two or nothing, so I have chosen to go for two. Is anyone else having this problem?
Book Reviews, Reading Groups, Reading Matter, Wednesday Book Group
A Spool of Blue Thread ~ Anne Tyler
January 9, 2016 Café Society17 Comments
About a third of the way through Anne Tyler latest novel, A Spool of Blue Thread, the entire Whitshank family set off to spend a week at the beach. This isn't a spur of the moment vacation. Not only do the Whitshanks spend the same week on the Delaware coast every summer, they spend it in the same house. And, they are not the only family with fixed habits when it comes to taking a holiday.
"The next-door people are back," Jeannie called, stepping in from the screen porch.
Next door was almost the only house as unassuming as theirs was, and the people she was referring to had been renting it for at least as long as the Whitshanks had been renting theirs. Oddly enough, though, the two families never socialized.
They may not socialise, but the Whitshanks do speculate about the nature of the family and watch for changes year by year.
[T]hey continued to come, the mother taking her early morning walks along the beach…the daughters in the company of boyfriends who metamorphosed into husbands, by and by, and then a little boy appearing and later a little girl.
"The grandson has brought a friend this year," Jeannie reported. "Oh, that makes me want to cry."
"Cry! What for?" Hugh asked her.
"It's the … circularity, I guess. When we first saw the next-door people the daughters were the ones bringing friends, and now the grandson is, and it starts all over again."
"You sure have given these folks a lot of thought," Hugh said.
"Well, they're us, in a way," Jeannie said.
And, just as the Whitshanks watch the changes in the next-door family so we, the readers, do the same for them. When the book begins we have as unfocused a notion of the dynamics in Tyler's Baltimore family as their holiday neighbours do. Do we
find the Whitshanks attractive? Intriguing? [Do we] admire their large numbers and their closeness? Or [have we] noticed a hidden crack somewhere?
Well, if we haven't noticed the crack, indeed the cracks, by the time we read about the annual holiday then we haven't been paying enough attention, because what Tyler gives us in this novel is a portrait of an apparently stable, loving family that unwinds as we observe it. Like a spool of thread which, when first purchased, appears tightly bound and compact, the moment you start to pull at a loose end the whole structure begins to fall apart. What is more, once that has happened, you can never rewind and recover the sense of completeness and perfection that you had before. Indeed one crack exposes another and then another until there is little left of the image with which you began.
The process begins slowly enough. We are aware from early on that the elder Whitshank boy, Denny, is a source of family disquiet, but it isn't until Denny himself, in a reported conversation with Abby, his mother, drops the bombshell that Stem, the youngest Whitshank, is in fact not a Whitshank at all, that the process really begins to gain momentum. And from then on in we watch as all that we have been led to believe about the stability of the family, all the stories that they have told about the Whitshank past, the stories on which their sense of who they are is built, crumbles before our eyes. We move back through the generations, discovering at each stage how different the reality of the Whitshank's family history is from the picture that they present to the world.
And yet, they are still Whitshanks. Oh, it may be Stem, the abandoned child, who shares their name but not their blood, who takes on that family name in the form of the business, but it the end it is Denny who proves himself to be the direct descendent of those first Baltimore Whitshanks, Junior and Linnie Mae. In a reflection of the circularity that Jeannie recognised in their beach-side neighbours, the novel concludes with Denny's return to a woman who clearly loves him but to whom, in an echo of his grandfather's earlier behaviour, he has been unable to commit, and we are left with the sense that perhaps this time he really will be able to build a relationship that has some lasting stability. It may not be as strong or as perfect as they would like the world to think, but it will have a utility out which a future can be forged. Some of that trailing thread is being rewound and while it may not be possible to return it to its original pristine condition it will serve for the day to day purpose of holding a family together.
While the Whitshanks may not be the picture of family perfection that they would like to appear, Tyler's depiction of them comes pretty close to perfection. Time and again I found myself drawing parallels between situations in either my own family or those of people to whom I am close enough to have been allowed to see the cracks. And for me, I think her greatest achievement is the sense of hope that she provides for such families. Because, despite the flaws, the difficulties, the betrayals, that we witness, in the end we recognise there is still love in this family, there is still mutual support, there is still a sense that while the thread may not be as tightly bound as it could be, they are all part of that same spool. This may be a novel that charts our growing awareness, as outsiders, of the dysfunctional nature of the Whitshank family, but ultimately it is also a novel that says, in fact, any family at which you look closely is probably going to be pretty dysfunctional one way and another. But you know what? In the end they are going to survive because they are bound by that blue thread and as long as it isn't actually severed it can be wound back in and remain whole. And, as Jeannie points out, the family we are observing is us, in a way, which means that Tyler is also saying that there is a good chance for the survival of any family, just so long as you're willing to hold on tight to the end of that spool of blue thread.
Book Reviews, Monday Book Group, Reading Groups
I am always envious of those readers who seem to be able to look forward to the coming year and make reading plans which they confidently forecast they are going to be able to carry out successfully. For me this has always seemed to be the surest route to failure. It's a bit like the Great Expectations experience writ large. As the year goes by so I am repeatedly faced with my inability to live up to the predictions I made with such confidence back at the beginning of January. Nevertheless, I still continue to try and beat the fates by outlining my intentions even if it is only in the broadest possible way. So here goes for 2016.
At the top of the list go three dozen or so books many of which I don't yet know the titles of. These are the books that I'll need to read for my three book groups and the August Summer School. January's selections are Anne Tyler's A Spool of Blue Thread, Ian McEwan's The Children Act and David Mitchell's The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet. The first two will be re-reads but the Mitchell is new and I'm excited about that as I really loved The Bone Clocks and have wanted a reason to fit more of his work into the schedule ever since.
Another inescapable list will be books to do with the Shakespeare plays I shall be teaching during the year. The groups focus on one play a term and this year we are going to be studying The Merchant of Venice, Othello and Antony and Cleopatra. Lots of blood and violence there then. Othello and Antony and Cleopatra were my A level texts and it will be interesting to come back to them from a very different point of view. We don't focus on close readings but rather on how the plays fit into the era in which they were written, their publishing history and the ways in which they have been produced on the stage from Shakespeare's time to the present. This year, for at least one of the plays (The Merchant of Venice) there will be an updated novel version available as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare project. Howard Jacobson's Shylock Is My Name is due to be published in February. I have been very sceptical about this enterprise, but having heard Jacobson talk about the book last summer I probably will read it. Tracy Chevalier is tackling the Othello re-write, but there is no publication date as yet.
The other reading to which I am already committed is that for my course on Dorothy L Sayers. I still have more than half a dozen of the Peter Wimsey novels to finish as well as all the short stories. I am not a short story reader and I suspect I shall only tackle those if it becomes obvious that I can't complete the module without doing so. The course finishes at Easter but I'm hoping that it will jump start another project I've had in mind for some time. I read an inordinate amount of crime fiction but without any real direction or purpose. What I would like to do is use the essays in The Companion to Crime Fiction as an organising tool to undertake a more deliberate exploration of the genre, be that through a chronological approach or according to sub-genre. I'm particularly interested in the ways in which plots are organised and how they are signalled to the reader. Has that changed over time? Are there specific features associated with specific sub-genres or perhaps specific countries of origin? What I would really like to do is set up another book group to facilitate discussion but whether I would have the time to run a fourth is doubtful.
Over and above these, as it were, social reading commitments there is, of course, my little list. I've already marked down any of my 'must read' authors who have books due between now and the middle of the year and as soon as I can I shall put in library reservations for them. In any one twelve month period the number of novels I get through in this category probably runs to about thirty so, when you add that to what I've already outlined, you're coming very close to the hundred odd books that I get through in a year. Perhaps then I had better stop at this point or there will be no room for any serendipitous reads that I discover as 2016 goes on. Will I, I wonder, have the courage to come back in twelve months time and see how well I've managed to stick to my forecast? That, I suspect will depend on how successful I've been.
Crime Fiction, Reading Groups, Reading Matter, Shakespeare, Summer School, Theatre
Life Class ~ Pat Barker
December 10, 2015 Café Society11 Comments
One of the things I really appreciate about belonging to a book group is that every now and again a novel will turn up on our schedule that has somehow slipped out of my tbr pile before I've managed to get round to reading it. This was the case with Pat Barker's Life Class and, as it was the first of a trilogy, that has meant that I have also had to postpone reading Toby's Room and the more recently published Noonday. It was because the member who suggested it wanted to read Noonday but, like myself, hadn't read the earlier novels, that we ended up discussing Life Class at the beginning of the week and we had some very differing reactions to the novel.
I expect that by now everyone else has encountered the work and knows what it is about so very briefly, as a reminder, it is set just before and then, latterly, about a month into, the onset of the First World War. Initially we meet three art students studying at the Slade under the renown surgeon turned teacher of life drawing, Henry Tonks. Paul Tarrant, Kit Neville and Elinor Brooke each display very different talents and very different approaches towards their work as artists. Paul seems to be able to do nothing to please Tonks and is seriously questioning whether he has made the right decision in coming to London. Kit, on the other hand, has had some success and is prepared to be as commercial as is necessary to make money from his art. Elinor perhaps has the most difficult time because she has to battle not only to get her work appreciated but also with the prejudice against a woman studying art rather than preparing herself for what is generally seen as her real role in life, namely as someone's wife. The difference in the ways in which each of these characters face their situations is expertly drawn and appreciating this set of contrasts prepares the reader for the more substantial contrast to come.
Nothing, however, prepares the young artists for what is about to happen. The move into the clearing stations for the wounded in France is as sudden for the reader as was the onset of war for the peoples of Europe. Paul in particular is completely unequipped for the Life Class in which he now find himself enrolled as he encounters the reality of what can be done to the human body in the name of war and the suffering that consequently ensues. Now the disarticulated limbs are not simply plaster casts studied for aesthetic purposes, they are the shattered remains of young men who had no idea of what they were heading out to when they enlisted and now no real idea as to what they are fighting for. The clearing station becomes another studio as artists turned surgeons struggle to understand the ways in which the human body works in order to save the lives of those who have become their unwitting 'models'.
In general, we were in agreement about the book seen simply in the terms I've described. We all very much enjoyed it, although there was one dissenting voice who thought that the first section was too long. Where we differed was in respect of the way in which Barker had made use of real people to populate her work of fiction.
In many works of historical fiction mention will be made in passing of individuals who actually existed. That is the case here both with Tonks and with Ottoline Morrell, who later in the work befriends Elinor. No one had a problem with that. Discussion centred, rather, on the question of the extent to which the characters of Paul, Kit and Elinor were based on real artists of the day. Locally we had an exhibition last year of the works of Richard Nevinson and it didn't take much to link him with Kit, especially as Nevinson's given name was Christopher. One of the most striking works in the show was of a large barn being used as a hospital before there were any real medical facilities set up in France. this is exactly the situation that Kit and Paul find themselves in when they first go out with the intention of serving as ambulance drivers. Rather more tentative was the identification of Paul as Paul Nash. What we know of Paul Tarrant's background doesn't fit, even though Nash did have considerable wartime experience. However, Elinor is more easily linked to Dora Carrington, not the least because her connection to Ottoline Morrell would bring her into the Bloomsbury circle, the group of painters and writers with whom Carrington is inevitably associated. Where we, as a group, differed was in how far we thought we should take what we knew of the real people into consideration when discussing the actions of the characters in the novel. Is it valid, for example, when asking whether or not Elinor's conduct in a given situation is believable to justify your response by reference to what you know of Dora Carrington's actual behaviour?
I'm still not certain where I stand on this. If you, as the reader, are not in a position to make those identifications and draw those parallels then the character that the writer has offered has still to be able to stand up to scrutiny when you question the nature of their behaviour. And yet real people do behave in ways which if you attributed them to a character in a novel no one would endorse as credible. In the end we had to agree to differ because the discussion was getting quite heated. I wonder what you think? | {
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BSV Quasar Upgrade
Network Stats
nChain's Road to Genesis and unlimited BSV scaling at CoinGeek Seoul
CoinGeek
The first day of CoinGeek Seoul was dedicated to Bitcoin's technical power, and there was a lot of talk about how Bitcoin is coming more powerful on its road to Genesis. Several developers from nChain, led by Technical Director Steve Shadders, took the stage to explain exactly what they're doing to bring Bitcoin SV (BSV) back into alignment with Satoshi's original vision, and allow it to scale the blockchain to an unlimited degree.
Shadders began the discussion by giving a bit of a history on Bitcoin, describing how it was held back needlessly by Bitcoin Core developers. But now that it's following its original vision once again as BSV and being allowed to scale, it's showing very healthy growth, with constantly increasing transaction counts, block sizes, and usage, all positive indicators that its going in the right direction.
He then teased a few big changes coming when BSV returns to its genesis. OP_RETURN, which was limited for so long, will soon have the ability to have multiple OP_RETURNs in the same transaction. Big numbers is coming to BSV, allowing it to have cryptography in script for the first time. It will also expand beyond the current three scripting options to have many more.
One point he explained at length was the deprecation of Pay-to-script-hash (P2SH), which is being done for both technical and philosophical reasons. It's being made up for by the introducing of accumulator multisig, and dove deep into the code of how that will work.
The goal of all this is to increase the security of zero confirmation transactions, or zero conf. Building confidence in zero conf is important to scaling, Shadders explained, because it builds confidence that bigger things can be done without a potential lack of security or funds.
Shadders then introduced Daniel Connolly, Lead Developer of the Bitcoin SV node project, to explain to the crowd what Terranode is. "Terranode is bitcoin server software that has been rebuilt from the ground up for enterprise and scale," he explained simply.
What it hopes to accomplish is 50,000 transactions per second, with big blocks and big transactions. It will do this with better messaging, allowing for large data and streaming data support. It will also have more efficient data stores, keeping only what's necessary to keep the blockchain going.
Terranode already exists in an experimental stage, working on both the Mainnet and Scaling Test Network (STN). He also noted that a P2P system is currently in development.
Next, John Murphy was welcomed to the stage. He is the Lead Developer of the Nakasendo SDK team.
What is Nakasendo? If you've been following Dr. Craig Wright's writings, you'll already be familiar with the concept. It allows for public shared secrets or functions, without individual members giving up any privacy involuntarily. "You don't have a single private key, the private key has been split into multiple shares and these can be distributed across multiple parties or players," he said.
Murphy conducted a live demonstration of working Nakasendo code for the audience, demonstrating that the tools to allow board members to make decisions for their enterprises on the blockchain is already within reach.
Finally, Dr. Alex Mackay, a researcher at nChain, took the stage in the afternoon to talk about how simplified payment verification (SPV) can be introduced in a low bandwidth process to increase merchant adoption.
To spread crypto adoption, Mackay noted, crypto payments have to get closer to how fiat payments work, and specifically, how we traditionally pay for items at a check-out counter. The customer needs to be able to spend BSV without being online, putting the burden on the merchant to broadcast the transaction.
To do this, a low bandwidth SPV system is the solution. Customers will have wallets which can be offline the majority of the time, with only the ability to pay for transactions with contained block headers UTXOs, Input Txs and Merkle paths. Merchants, on the other hand, will have systems which can be branched throughout a location with a central hub, receiving those payments and broadcasting them to the blockchain.
It's a system that may not be too far away from reality, as it's been built to work with BIP270.
The folks at nChain hope that these new pieces of infrastructure will help BSV towards its goal of scaling, and every single element discussed by the team at CoinGeek Seoul does that in one way or another. Faster transactions, bigger blocks, and more possibilities are being promised to the users and enterprises who chose BSV.
Bitcoin SVCoinGeek ConferenceCoinGeek SeoulGenesisNakasendonChainSPVTerranode
Energy is the spirit of CoinGeek Seoul
CoinGeek's conference in Seoul has barely started, but its theme is already clear. And you don't need to understand computer code to get it. Just walk the halls in Le Meridien hotel and you can feel it.
It's all about energy. The energy in the Bitcoin SV ecosystem. The energy of entrepreneurship in China and the Far East. And the energy in prospect as Bitcoin SV continues to evolve as a technology, with its important Genesis upgrade just a few months ahead.
The energy was palpable in the line of people waiting to get into the sold-out Bitcoin Association meetup at the top of the hotel opposite the conference venue last night. And it's obvious when you look at the crowded schedule of speakers at the two days of the conference, many of them making their first appearance on the platform that CoinGeek is offering them.
They're not all new to the game. Some, like Stephan Nilsson, the founder of UNISOT, have spoken before. But 'regulars' such as Stephan have come to Seoul with even more confidence than they had at the CoinGeek Toronto conference back in May.
Since then, Stephan has acquired investors, staff and – most important – potential customers who are knocking on his door, he says. His ambition, to provide supply chain tracking using the BSV blockchain, carries conviction because of his previous experience in the industry. Last year he was working out how the salmon industry in his native Norway could benefit from the security and detail that blockchain technology offers. Now he's working to produce an 'off the shelf' supply chain solution that could be used in any industry.
Newcomers were actively encouraged to take part in the Seoul conference by a new feature, Pitch Day, where 14 BSV-based startups were invited to present in front of a panel of investors. One of them, a Chinese startup, CityonChain, was another example of the energy with which the opportunities created by BSV are being taken up in China in particular.
CityonChain invites users to 'buy' a city with BSV payments. It offered an empty map of the world and waited for people to start bidding for cities. They did. Many cities were snapped up for one US dollar each – the starting price which CityonChain had set. But it's what happened next that was interesting. Owners were free to resell their cities and it soon became clear that there were buyers out there. The city of Seoul, for instance (below), was resold after a couple of weeks for $2999 – with CityonChain taking a cut of the transaction. The person who bought Seoul is now asking a $2 million. That's real optimism! The idea is for city owners to make money by taking advertising and providing other services – such as placing the CoinGeek Conference logo on the map.
The point, in a wider context, is that people are coming up with business ideas, making money from day one, and expanding the BSV ecosystem. At the same time, they're generating transactions on the BSV blockchain that will ensure the profitability, and therefore future security, of the network.
Nobody would deny there's a degree of tribalism in the crypto world. But what feels healthy about the BSV tribe in Seoul is that there's an outward-looking focus on developing technology and creating new products and services. It's the users and customers that this conference is interested in, not crypto rivals, or even, how we got here. The energy is directed to building the future. And it's in the nature of building on BSV, that success for one promotes success for all.
Bitcoin SVCityOnChainCoinGeek ConferenceCoinGeek SeoulGenesisSouth Korea
The Bitcoin Vision: Episode 23
Founding President of the Bitcoin Association Jimmy Nguyen brings us this week's episode of the Bitcoin Vision from Siberia, Russia. Nguyen had the privilege of being one of the guest speakers at the recent Baikal Blockchain and Crypto Summit, where he educated the delegates about Bitcoin SV (BSV) and why it's the only blockchain project that's able to scale to meet enterprise needs.
The BSV community continues to prepare for the eagerly anticipated Genesis protocol upgrade set to take place in February 2020. Everyone in the BSV ecosystem will have a role to play in the upgrade — from miners, to developers, to wallets and exchanges. And to make it easier and more convenient to keep up with all the developments leading up to the upgrade, you can enable notifications directly to your email via a new feature on the Bitcoin SV website.
Nguyen also highlighted the recent developments by BSV/DEVS directory, the one-stop shop for all Bitcoin SV-related developer resources. It announced recently on Twitter that it is now supporting user accounts. Users can now claim any listing as theirs and also make any edits or updates as they deem fit. The directory also added support for file uploads, giving the users the ability to attach manuals, specifications and other related materials to their applications.
For the non-developers, there's something for you as well. The OnChain BSV/MAPS feature is constantly being updated with new locations where BSV is accepted by merchants near you.
BSV Galaxy is a Bitcoin SV artists collective allowing members to find and collaborate with other members, as well as business development of artists projects. As the founders noted on the website, the platform seeks to "help you to use the Bitcoin SV Blockchain to create new tools, applications, and ultimately change the world into a better place using Proof of Work."
For the week's Satoshi shoutout, Nguyen applauded the Bitcoin SV Node Team. Lead developer Daniel Connolly recently wrote a blog post about how the BSV blockchain has proven itself as a reliable method of processing enormous numbers of transactions. The post was written to correct a false narrative that had been advanced by some crypto media sites that the Bitcoin SV blockchain had undergone a three-way fork after the Quasar protocol upgrade. The post puts to bed these allegations and clarifies that the BSV network is performing reliably and is still proving itself to be the superior blockchain project.
While you're at it, also check out the previous episodes of The Bitcoin Vision here.
Bitcoin AssociationBitcoin SVGenesisThe Bitcoin Vision
Steve Shadders: Bitcoin SV proving it can scale for businesses now
Bitcoin SV's (BSV) recent Quasar upgrade is cause for much celebration, as it not only helped return Bitcoin one step closer to its original protocol, but also introduced a whole new level of blockchain scaling to BSV. CoinGeek's Sarah Parsons caught up with nChain Technical Director Steve Shadders at a recent London BSV meetup, where they talked about the upgrade and its importance.
The London BSV gathering was a merry one, as the Quasar upgrade went as well as you could hope for. "We're kind of giving a bit of a post-mortem of the Quasar upgrade, I think I can safely say that it was a very boring event, which is fantastic because with enterprise software changes, that's kind of exactly what you want," Shadders said. "I mean, we had an operations stream set up and we had contact with all of the kind of key players in the Bitcoin SV ecosystem. But we pretty much sat there and watched the upgrade activate. We fired Satoshi Shotgun and mined a block bigger than 128MB, which was necessary to lock the upgrade in. And it all went pretty smoothly, nothing unexpected. So yeah, job done."
Parsons asked Shadders what businesses should take away from the Quasar upgrade. "I think it's really quite critical for businesses that are looking to invest time and money in building a service on top of Bitcoin SV, Shadders replied. "Because most services, I mean, if you're building a business, the aim is to scale. You want your business to start at whatever size it does, and it gets bigger and bigger, and bigger, and bigger. And of course, if your business is related to Bitcoin that means it's got to be able to scale on top of Bitcoin."
While other crypto hobby projects have promised that their blockchains will be ready at some point in the future, Shadders explained that such a thought process just won't cut it for the real Bitcoin. "Now, I think, our philosophy at the Bitcoin SV Node team is that it's not good enough for us to say to people, 'Oh, by the time your business has scaled, we'll be ready. Trust us,'" he said. "What we're actually doing with the Quasar upgrade is demonstrating right now, that we can handle the future scale of whatever your business is. So you've got the confidence, not hoping that we'll be able to pull it off some time in the future, we're showing that it can be done right now."
Bitcoin SVCoingeek CoinversationsGenesisQuasarSteve Shadders
Crypto media creates fake news after Quasar upgrade
Bitcoin SV (BSV) recently underwent the Quasar protocol upgrade, lifting the block size hard cap from 128 MB to 2 GB. The upgrade enables BSV to increase the number of transactions processed per second from the current 300+ to 1,000+, making it the only Bitcoin project that unlocks the true power of Bitcoin's original design, proving that it's not a hobbyist project.
And as would be expected of any protocol upgrade in the Bitcoin ecosystem, there were a few minor set-backs and opportunities to improve; however, a few media outlets and research firms blew this out of proportion, reporting that there was a temporary fork of the blockchain into three chains.
According to one media outlet, over 35% of nodes failed to follow the update and this was portrayed as a monstrosity. It further claimed that this was the result of miner centralization in the BSV ecosystem, with small miners were just acting as pawns, standing no chance of making a profit.
One of the most misquoted and misunderstood events was with Money Button. The wallet went down for a few hours after its BSV node ran out of memory and crashed during a stress test. The Money Button team quickly upgraded their underpowered node to be sufficient for the largest block sizes that are currently possible.
Some media outlets quoted Money Button's blog post in which it stated, "Since we do not earn money from transaction fees like miners, it will be too expensive for us to run a node."
While this is true, the Money Button team went ahead to explain that wallets don't need to run a node. Instead of entering an arms race in upgrading infrastructure, the wallets are best served by moving towards the Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) as Dr. Craig Wright envisioned when he launched Bitcoin a decade ago. This was conveniently omitted from these reports.
BSV has also been criticized for being ambitious and futuristic enough to increase the block size hard cap. According to some, these "unrealistic" block sizes will prove to be an attack vector, effectively making BSV less secure. What's more, there have been claims that current hardware is unable to handle such volumes.
These claims have been proven false. As is publicly available on the BSV website, the recommended system requirements for BSV miners prove that mid-range hardware can sufficiently participate in BSV mining.
On July 24 when the Quasar protocol upgrade occurred, BSV functioned exactly as Satoshi Nakamoto envisioned. A majority of the miners were running one of the Quasar update compatible versions. For the miners, the upgrade was a godsend since it gave them more responsibility over Bitcoin and enabled them to earn more from transaction fees than they have previously. After the upgrade, the non-consensus chain was mined for a short time until the miners on that chain were economically incentivized to join the consensus chain. After all, this is how Satoshi intended for Bitcoin to function.
There have been calls for Bitcoin to scale for years now. Ironically, when BSV found the solution through the Quasar protocol upgrade, some media outlets were quick to criticize. The little mishaps as happened with Money Button aren't something to criticize but rather to learn from. In any case, in the past, we've seen plenty of global businesses experience hitches in scaling. Amazon is the best example, with the global e-commerce giant being known to experience technical difficulties on days such as Black Friday. However, no one ever calls Amazon out and asks them to stop selling so much. Similarly, BSV will continue to scale and fulfill Satoshi's vision of a global secure and scalable peer-to-peer payments system.
Bitcoin SVGenesisQuasar
Bitcoin SV handles 2 million transactions in massive stress test
With the recent historic Quasar protocol upgrade, which saw Bitcoin SV's (BSV) maximum block size increased to 2GB, Operation Data Blast immediately proved that the upgrade was successful, creating world record block sizes from transactions full of content data. Just recently, Chinese BSV supporter Aaron Zhou wanted to test the blockchain's ability to handle as many transactions as possible.
As he reveals in his blog post, "Bitcoin SV main network stress test report @ 2019-08-03," Zhou felt a stress test for a massive amount of transactions was necessary. During the test, which lasted for more than two hours, he broadcast more than 2 million transactions, creating a blocks of 808,000 transactions with a size of 210MB and another of 702,000 transactions, with size 183MB. All told, this resulted in transaction fees of over 2 BSV for each of the mentioned block.
The BSV blockchain performed admirably, with no blocks orphaned, and no block reorganizations being needed. However, it did show that the stress of that many transactions could cause temporary outages with some blockchain and wallet services.
For example, Zhou noted that Blockchair, Money Button, WhatsOnChain, BitcoinBlocks.live and Bchsvexplorer all had temporary setbacks during the stress test. While this could be due to the same node memory issues that service providers have has experienced in the past, it's also possible that their website and database services, totally unrelated to the blockchain or their nodes, couldn't keep up with the speed and load of updates created by the blockchain.
Zhou made sure to commend BSV.BTC.com, Bitfire.io, Mempool, and Unwriter's applications, which all worked perfectly during the stress test
Zhou's conclusions were such:
Quasar is an important network upgrade, and BSV is on the road to dealing with massive transactions and continued expansion.
1. Large block propagation and verification, normal
2. Massive transaction dissemination and verification, normal
But you can do better. It is noted that the two chunks are very long-out, because it is a very time-consuming operation to verify massive transactions, which is where future improvements can be made.
The lesson to take away from this stress test is that the blockchain is ready to handle the load, but the businesses who contribute to its infrastructure will need to keep pace.
The BSV Node team has informed CoinGeek that it was able to handle the load of the stress test with only 8GB of memory in its node, but recommends having 16-32GB of RAM to be safe. At the same time, make sure the rest of your infrastructure, like web services and connecting databases, can keep up with the impressive load of transactions coming across the blockchain.
Now that Bitcoin is professionalizing, it's important that everyone involved professionalize as well. BSV is not a hobby project; it's the future data ledger and digital currency of the world, and it requires the infrastructure to support it for those ambitions. As great as this test could have gone, the real transactions will be coming soon, and all partners involved will need to be ready for it to prove that BSV is the blockchain for enterprise usage.
Aaron ZhouBitcoin SVGenesisQuasar
Operation Data Blast shows Bitcoin SV's power
Erik Gibbs
On Sunday, thanks to the recent Quasar upgrade on Bitcoin SV (BSV) that raised the block cap to 2 gigabytes (GB), BSV enthusiasts conducted a large initiative to upload data to the blockchain. Not only was it successful, but it reiterated the fact that on-chain scaling of an order of magnitude larger than anyone thought possible on a blockchain is possible and sustainable.
Operation Data Blast, as the event was called, brought "hundreds of Bitcoin Society members" together to "upload meaningful media onto Bitcoin's public blockchain." The activity is still underway, as of this writing, and is expected to last through "Monday lunchtime in Asia Pacific." By providing a large window, BSV and crypto enthusiasts from around the world have an opportunity to participate.
According to Dr. Roy Murphy, who helped organize the event, "Bitcoin isn't where it should be after a decade. Being usurped by various entities with nefarious intent has created forks of the original protocol and the carefully orchestrated manipulation by these bad actors have destroyed many of the key tenets of Bitcoin, whilst coercing bucket-shop crypto exchanges to capture the trading Tickers of Bitcoin (XBT and BTC) by centrally governed entities whose objective is to command and hobble the Bitcoin protocol via the hostile takeover of protocol development."
He adds, "With this in mind, 'Operation Data Blast' is the swan song, a last hurrah to those who spent so much time and effort into diminishing the integrity and genius of Satoshi Nakamoto's creation. It's giving 'the bird' to those who restricted Bitcoin to 1MB [megabyte] blocks, servicing a paltry 7 transactions per second to line the pockets of those interests whose only wish was corruption, anonymity, control, destruction and power."
If anyone expected the large data upload to be a burden for the BSV blockchain (and there were definitely some BTC shills counting on it), they were greatly disappointed it. On the evening of July 28, as pointed out by Derek Moore on Twitter, "Bitcoin SV produced 4 ~250 MB blocks and a plethora of big blocks today during a User-Activated Stress Test (UAST) during which valuable data was archived on-chain, totaling about 2.5 GB of multimedia & hypermedia content."
The Quasar upgrade on BSV was nothing short of a huge success. When the Large Hadron Collider was preparing to slam two particles together in September 2008, many people thought the world was going to come to an end. When BSV announced it would be raising the block cap to 2GB, many people that the crypto world was going to come to an end. Just like CERN proved them wrong in 2008, BSV has proved everyone wrong in 2019.
Bitcoin AssociationBitcoin SVGenesisOperation Data BlastQuasarScaling Test Network
2GB blocks achieved: BSV Quasar upgrade proves to be more than successful
Bitcoin SV (BSV) successfully rolled out the Quasar update on July 24 in an effort to push the block size cap up to 2 gigabytes (GB). Despite assertions by anti-BSV shills that the sky would come crashing down after the upgrade was complete, just the opposite has happened. Not only was the update successful, but several 2GB blocks have already been seen — six in a row, as a matter of fact.
The blockchain hasn't crashed, the Bitcoin ecosystem hasn't come to a grinding halt, and it hasn't started raining fishes. What has happened, though, is that WhatsOnChain shows consecutive 2GB blocks being mined on the BSV Scaling Test Network (STN). The STN is a live network that is available for businesses to use to test limits for their applications before launching them on the mainnet.
2GB blocks on STN!! pic.twitter.com/6y2pbCb3qG
— WhatsOnChain (@WhatsOnChain) July 24, 2019
Shortly after the Quasar update was live, the first 148MB block was seen. This effectively cemented Quasar as the new software for the BSV blockchain. Knowing that 2GB blocks are easily achieved, there is a considerable more amount of development that can take place on the BSV network.
The 147mb block is now buried under 6 additional blocks. I think we can call it now.
Quasar upgrade is locked in. https://t.co/HU8dqzEIEo
— Shadders (@shadders333) July 24, 2019
According to the Bitcoin Association, "The Quasar upgrade represents a key step in BSV's journey to unlock the massive on-chain scaling power that was always possible with Bitcoin, and enable BSV to become the global enterprise blockchain. BSV can already handle 300+ transactions per second comfortably; this capacity is continually being expanded and is expected to cross 1000+ transactions per second in the coming months after the Quasar network upgrade. This level of capacity can compete with VISA payment network capacity and also supports enterprise applications."
BSV has now become the first — and only — blockchain to process 2GB blocks on-chain. While virtually everyone else said it couldn't be done, BSV has proven that Satoshi was correct when he asserted in his early writing that large block sizes were not only possible, but were expected on Bitcoin's blockchain. Bitcoin Core (BTC) pundits have asserted since the beginning of time that anything larger than 128 megabytes (MB) would cause the blockchain to implode.
With Quasar in place, the next step is the Genesis upgrade. This is planned for next February and is designed to completely remove all block-size caps. If building business solutions on the blockchain is feasible with a 2GB limit, imagine the possibilities with no limit.
Bitcoin AssociationBitcoin SVGenesisQuasarScaling Test Network
Bitcoin SV increases default block size hard cap to 2GB with Quasar upgrade
Bitcoin has taken another big step in returning to its original protocol and pursuing its path of massive scaling. The Bitcoin SV Node team are planning a July 24 upgrade of the Bitcoin SV (BSV) network, nicknamed the "Quasar" protocol upgrade. With the upgrade, the BSV network will have a significantly higher default block size "hard cap" of 2GB.
Previously outlined by the Bitcoin SV Node team's July 13 blog post, "Quasar upgrade 24th July recommendations – roadmap to Genesis part 2," the only change of the update is to increase the hard cap on block sizes; however that is a significant change indeed. The previous hard cap of 128MB has already been hit by the BSV community, with real world usage reaching that limit several times in the past four months.
In testing on the BSV Scaling Test Network, BSV has already proven to be capable of mining much larger blocks, with 1.4GB blocks mined in testing. Now that larger limits are rolling out to the mainnet, the whole world can experience the benefits of massive blockchain scaling made possible on BSV. The greater block capacity will enable 1,000+ transactions per second on the BSV network, and even higher with more technical improvements.
As the BSV Node team has noted, the 2GB block size limit is a default "hard cap." Miners are free to set their hard cap to a lower level. In fact, miners representing a significant portion of the BSV network mining hash have signaled that they will set their hard cap to 512MB, which would form a different form of hard cap—the "consensus" hard cap. For the BSV Node team's recommendations and instructions for mining nodes and anyone else who runs an instance of Bitcoin SV software ("blockchain listeners" who do not write to the blockchain, such as exchanges and wallet operators), refer to their blog post here.
The Quasar upgrade is a key step toward the ultimate goal. When the Genesis protocol upgrade comes on February 4, 2020, Bitcoin will be returned to its original protocol as closely as possible while removing entirely the default hard cap. Going forward, protocol developers will not determine a default hard cap setting. Instead, scaling will be truly unlimited, and miners will have the freedom to set block size limits to numbers they are comfortable with, and market forces will determine how much Bitcoin can and will scale, as Satoshi Nakamoto originally intended.
Only with the scaling on the BSV blockchain—through the Quasar upgrade and then what Genesis will unleash in 2020—can the world's enterprises build to the level they require. As limits are removed from the Bitcoin blockchain, more transactions can be handled per block and transaction fees will remain very low; thus big businesses can begin transferring their business models to a blockchain that can handle the countless of payments and data transactions—including at a micro-level—they require in a new digital economy powered by Bitcoin.
And unlike other attempted blockchain platforms, which either can't or are unwilling to scale massively, BSV is proving that by scaling block sizes massively, transaction fees are kept low enough to enable new business uses, while greater volumes of transaction fees possible with bigger blocks create an incentive for miners to keep the blockchain secure.
The Quasar update is already an important leap forward in Bitcoin's history, allowing it to handle significantly more volume than any other public blockchain. It is just a step along the road to Genesis though, when Bitcoin will return to its original protocol and Satoshi Vision of unlimited scaling.
Bitcoin SVblock size limitGenesisQuasarScaling Test Network
Bitcoin SV and the roadmap to Genesis
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The Bitcoin SV (BSV) project continues to do what no other blockchain thought possible—scale on chain in a massive way that puts it in line with what is seen by the world's major credit card companies. The project has been steadily working on different aspects of the "Roadmap to Genesis" and Steve Shadders has issued an update on the progress. To say that BSV is capable of doing what no other blockchain can do would be an understatement of epic proportion.
According to the latest information, the roadmap from last August until the second quarter of this year has seen all of the items fulfilled, or close to being completed, except for one, parallel block validation. This was put on the back burner in favor of other network improvements that were expected to provide a greater return on investment.
Coming soon will be a network upgrade called Quasar. It is currently scheduled for July 24 and centers on increased scaling capabilities. According to Shadders, "We have previously signalled an intent to raise the cap to 512MB however after consultation with the Bitcoin Association (the owner of the Bitcoin SV project) and miners representing a significant majority of hash rate it has been decided that the Bitcoin SV software will implement a default of 2GB in July."
The logic behind the increased default is simple. By raising the cap, and allowing miners to set a limit of 512MB, the network will be able to see more scaling as it becomes necessary without having to introduce additional upgrades or forks.
The next big upgrade following Quasar is scheduled for February 4, 2020. It will provide a number of protocol restoration changes designed to return the network to the original Bitcoin protocol. It is aptly called Genesis and is scheduled for "11 years, 1 month and 1 day after the original Genesis block."
The announcement continues, "The Genesis upgrade will also address scaling. We believe that by late in 2019 the Bitcoin SV node software will have implemented all of the safety mechanisms required to allow us to eliminate the block size cap altogether and let miners manage it without intervention from developers. So long as those changes are completed we intend to bring the planned date for allowing unlimited block size forward by almost a year and lift the cap completely in the Genesis upgrade."
Unlike blockchains such as Bitcoin Cash that allowed developers to make all the decisions, BSV is publishing data in order to receive community feedback before moving forward. This creates a completely transparent network that is truly decentralized and built by the community, not by a few individuals who want to control the entire ecosystem.
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On the heels of his Genesis node, Unwriter introduces Babel
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Bitcoin developer Unwriter has quickly become one of the most proficient coders for the Bitcoin SV (BSV) blockchain. Just after announcing his new Genesis BitDB node project, he's at it again, this time introducing another BitDB node. The latest endeavor is called Babel.
In a new Medium post by the developer, Unwriter reveals the new BitDB node, explaining that it is designed for data-only Bitcoin applications. Instead of being used for money transfers, the platform is able to query those apps that use the OP_RETURN code to store data.
As Unwriter states in the post, "Most Bitcoin applications that use the blockchain as a database DO NOT need all the transaction details, because they only need to query OP_RETURN outputs and a couple of other attributes." He adds that many of the features offered in a full node query, such as script database or graph database, are useful for many Bitcoin apps, but not all of them need to be able to access all of the data at the same time.
Babel was designed to provide a streamlined mechanism that will query OP_RETURN outputs, as well as only a few other useful attributes. It is "a subset of the Genesis.Bitdb designed specifically for data intensive Bitcoin applications."
As with Genesis, Babel relies on the original address format of Bitcoin. Because it is streamlined, it is faster and more efficient than a full BitDB node and doesn't use as much memory. Since it is a subtree of a full node, it incorporates the same Bitquery format as do the other nodes.
Babel only stores OP_RETURN output – the rest is stored as "null;" any transactions that don't include an OP_RETURN output are ignored. Inputs are reduced to only store the input addresses, not the hash and index of previous transaction. In addition, the output produced by queries on Babel only contain push data – b0, h0, s0, b1, h1, s1, b2, h2, s2, etc.
According to Unwriter's post, "Because the transactions are stored in BitDB according to the same schema as the full node, you can easily switch between a Genesis node and a Babel node.
"Because it stores much less than a full node, the Babel node can stay lean, which means more people will be able to afford to run the node in the future, not to mention higher performance that comes from specialization."
Babel, like Genesis, is currently in beta. Once it is tweaked, Unwriter will make it open sourced and he welcomes all data builders to begin using it as it transforms.
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If you care about gay rights, you might want to rethink your drink.
Gay rights groups are boycotting Russian vodka after the country cracked down on gay activists and pride parades, the BBC reports. In addition, new legislation makes it illegal to teach "non-traditional values" (ie. gay-friendly values) to children.
On June 29, a gay pride parade in St. Petersburg was attacked by thugs and several marchers were badly beaten. Police then rounded up the marchers (not the thugs) and arrested them. You can see photos from this and related events in this shocking photo essay from Buzzfeed.
The boycott started in the U.S. a few days ago and has since spread to other countries. Gay bars have pulled Russian vodka from their shelves and an online petition is calling for Manchester to "untwin" from its sister city St. Petersburg. Protesters have dumped vodka on the street in front of the Russian consulate in New York City and taken to Twitter with hashtags such as #dumpstoli and #dumprussianvodka.
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Russia almost two decades ago but there's been a severe backlash against the LGBT community in recent years.
One major vodka brand, Stolichnaya, has come out with a public statement in support of gay rights and says it shouldn't be targeted by the boycott. They say that while they use Russian ingredients, they are in fact a Latvian company.
There's an ongoing discussion in the LGBT about expanding the boycott to include other Russian products and also the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Places of worship have long been points of interest for travelers. Solemn and usually quite ornate, these buildings provide a window onto a community's history and values and often give visitors a much-needed pause while pounding the sightseeing pavement. Cathedrals are typical for this kind of touring. But have you ever thought to pay a visit to a synagogue?
My fascination with exploring synagogues began on a trip to Willemstad, Curaçao, home of Mikvé Israel-Emanuel, the oldest active Jewish congregation in the Americas built in 1651. Several years later, I had the opportunity to visit the Paradesi Synagogue in Cochin, Kerala, India. Constructed in 1568, it is the oldest "active" synagogue in India – "active" because there are fewer than 20 Jews left in Cochin, most having emigrated to Israel. Coincidentally, I learned about the Jews of Cochin from an exhibit at the 6th and I Synagogue, a historic synagogue in Washington, DC, that is now used primarily as a community center and arts space.
The Jewish diaspora is thriving in many parts of the world. Yet in places like Cochin and Mumbai, the local Jewish community is dwindling, giving impetus to visiting some synagogues before they are shuttered or left to become museums. The following are some of the synagogues I have seen or wish to explore on my travels.
From an island microslum in Colombia to a haute enclave in central Paris, the ten most crowded islands in the world bear scant similarities in class or culture. In fact, every entry in the top ten comes from a different country. But being islands, each shares the common thread of scarcity – whether it be land, resources, or housing. In general, these islands are prophetical microcosms for an overcrowded earth – finite spaces where self sufficiency governs and demand pierces supply.
With the world's population racing higher and higher, and the "megacities club" accepting new members yearly, some day the earth could bear the traits of one of these densely packed islands.
Story: This island located in St. Pete is a collection of 18th and 19th century buildings with some Soviet built apartment blocks lining the Gulf of Finland on the western shore. The communist housing ethos of the twentieth century called for rows and rows of tight apartments, and this historic island in Russia's second city was not immune to the sprawl. This created the compact quarters of Vasilyevsky island. Famous for its old school stock exchange and giant Rostral columns, the island is popular with tourists.
Story: This small island in central Stockholm once served as a hub of industry for Stockholm's industrial operations. The easy boat access allowed for ease of shipping by boat, and the island factories manufactured an array of goods, from massive lamps for lighthouses to vacuum cleaners. Eventually, as the industrial applications became outmoded, the island became home to several apartment towers. Today, the island is crammed full of smiling Swedes living in apartments with (presumably) tasteful modern furniture.
Story: Perhaps the most stylish island in the world, Île Saint-Louis is a marvel of 17th century urban architecture and planning. Narrow roads and some of the priciest real estate in the world have allowed the island to remain relatively calm, despite its location in central Paris. While Île Saint-Louis is off of the tourist radar for most, this island in the Seine River embodies the classic Parisian spirit, worthy of an afternoon stroll with a perfect sorbet from Berthillon. The island is named for France's canonized King, Louis IX.
Story: In 1626, the Lenape Indians sold Manhattan island to the Dutch for a bag of axes, hoes, iron kettles, duffel cloths and other 17th century garb worth about $24 (roughly $1000 in modern value). It is safe to day the island has grown ambitiously from this humble transaction. The center of the financial universe is now home to many – truly a place where the world lives. The island once known as New Amsterdam, and briefly, New Orange, shadows America's story, both tragic and triumphant.
Story: Salsette, an island off the western coast of India, is home to Mumbai and its sprawling suburbs. As a poster boy for "New India," Mumbai is as dichotomous as it gets, at once the wealthiest city in south Asia and also home to one of the world's largest slums – the notorious Dharavi. Dharavi is an island within an island, a super-slum with roughly one million people spread out over an area less than a square mile. At the other end of the spectrum, Salsette Island is also home to extreme wealth. The house known as Antilla is a 400,000 square foot giant that towers with some of Mumbai's tallest buildings. Truly a contrast from the squalor in Dharavi, the private residence houses six people, can accommodate 168 cars, has 9 elevators, and an ice room with snow flurries.
Story: The Maldives is one of Asia's top tourist destinations, with 26 atolls and 1,192 islands offering beach perfection. At its center is the capital city – Male. Male is a humbly sized island of just a couple square miles. It is stuffed full of people, hotels, mosques, and office towers that efficiently utilize the scare land resources. While landfills have reclaimed some land from the sea, most progress is made vertically rather than horizontally. The modern downtown island in the middle of the Indian Ocean is a stark aberration from the deserted islands that dot most of the Maldives.
Story: Hong Kong is the land of a thousand towers, clustered most densely on the island of Ap Lei Chau just southwest of Hong Kong Island. Ap Lei Chau served as the settlement for Hong Kong Village, theorized to be the etymological source for the famous larger territory of Hong Kong. Strangely, Ap Lei Chau translates to Duck Tongue Island, said to be named for the island's shape. It is filled with high rise residences and even a winery.
Story: This bantomslum in the middle of Lake Victoria is a fishing village perched precariously on half a sphere of rock. The residents take in large hauls of the Nile Perch – a poster boy for River Monsters that can grow to a comedically large size. Migingo is famous for a decades-old dispute between Kenya and Uganda over the sovereignty of the small island. There is even a facebook page where individuals can "like" declaring the island Kenyan. (The page has twice as many followers as there are residents on Migingo.) Uganda agrees with this claim, most of the time, though the tiny rock island is not the issue – the fishing rights are.
Story: The most densely populated island in the world is a microslum off the coast of Colombia. This tropical island is located in the emerald waters of the idyllic Caribbean, though is packed so tight that most activities are done off island. Schooling, football, graveyards, and work all take place away from Santa Cruz del Islote. The island park is the size of a small tennis court, and fresh water must be shipped in by Colombian Navy ships. Santa Cruz del Islote also does not have electricity. What the island favela does have is people, lots of them. To visit the world's most packed island, hop on a ferry from Tolu, Colombia. The nearby hotel of Punta Faro can arrange tours of the island.
This quick trip around the world by filmmaker and photographer Alex Profit is a stunning display of photo-tourism. The video embarks on a journey through Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Shanghai, Tokyo, New York and London. It will cure your nagging fits of wanderlust for the duration of its five minute run-time. Beyond that though, you may experience an uncontrollable urge to visit Barcelona or one of the other many locales documented.
The video was made by compiling 2000 photographs from eight separate locations. It took Alex twenty-four days to travel to all of the locations and get the shots. That is covering a lot of ground, fast. If you could choose to travel to any of these locations, which one would you choose? | {
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WHY I: INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR OF THE LONDON SURF FILM FESTIVAL DEMI TAYLOR
Cornish born and bred lady-slider, the London Surf Film Festival Director, author and screen writer Demi Taylor has been a stalwart of the surf-ciné world and the global creative surf movement. Co-author of numerous surf and travel books with her partner Chris Nelson, 7 years ago Demi & Chris gave birth to a vision to celebrate the unique and iconic British surf industry. Years down the line, The London Surf Film Festival is a beating heart not just of the UK surf scene, but the global waters, hosting international film-makers, surfers, ocean lovers, dreamers and thinkers.
Demi's honest love for the water and surfing is a testament to what chasing and pursuing your passions can lead to. I have been lucky to work with and enjoy spending time with Demi at numerous London Surf Film Festivals, and thought it about time I pinned down the doyen of all that is surf cinema down for a natter. Kick back for the next in the WHY I series of interviews with inspiring women, with author, surfer, purveyor of good vibes, and co-founder of the London Surf Film Festival, Demelza Taylor.
With a child-hood routed in travel and a connection to the ocean and all its rich, rewarding treasures, Demi Taylor is a name quietly synonymous in the surf industry with fostering and promoting creativity and the celebration of surf-culture. Growing up in Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and California, it was only when returning to the "wild-west shores of Cornwall, "– Penwith – ("where the world falls into the sea" according to Demi), in the last decade that Demi began to "really know and feel that I'm from here. Before, that sense of place wasn't really important."
A life-long lover of the ocean, whether that was in Saudi Arabia or during "relentless" day trips to Sennen, surfing and travel, and all the rewarding creative endeavours that can come from enjoying the fruits of mother nature's waters, Demi ruminates that
"I think the sea always meant freedom to me. "
A bonafide water-baby if there ever was one, the sun-kissed, smiling face of Demi can often be seen exploring both British or international waters, surfing "but anything (within reason) goes – I bodysurf, bellyboard, ride a surf mat – always underinflated, I have quite a few boards but am madly in love with my Bing…".
An honest passion for surfing led Demi to score her "dream gig" working on the PR (team) for Quiksilver and converse at Exposure after graduating. A baptism of fire into the high-energy and high-fun world of action sports, like many of us who have lived, loved, worked and breathed in the action sports industry, it is those unforgettable moments that this awesome industry of ours can proffer that are so memorable. Demi laughs that "I certainly got a real education at the Quikcup – that over night party train from Biarritz to Les Arcs is the stuff of legend…50 of the world's best surfers, skaters, snowboarders plus all the boardsports press… beers, pizzas and… well, what happened on the train stays on the train !"
But where in this story did the foundation of the London Surf Film Festival, the iconic UK-based celebration of surf culture and cinema that has fast become the nucleas and beating heart of creative celebration and the bringing together of our patchwork of awesome souls in the surf industry, find it's place?
"It was born where all the best ideas come to life, round the kitchen table" Demi begins. In "2010 Chris Nelson (my boyfriend and writing partner) and I were talking about the UK surf community and the creativity that exists on our shores. We realised there wasn't really an event that celebrated what we have here in the UK. We're both writers who have been writing about surfing and travel for the last 20 years really – books & articles.
Demi with partner and London Surf Film Festival Co-Founder Chris Nelson
We were already in touch with a lot of great filmmakers, photographers, makers & doers about their projects so it just seemed like a natural progression to bring those creatives together and create a platform for them… about 6 months later in 2011, LS/FF was born. We had Keith Malloy bring his beautiful film Come Hell or High Water to the first event and we were off!".
The amount of time, love and passion that is clearly poured into the LSFF, the curation of its program and its bringing together of some of the industry's most stoked, influential, colourful and brilliant souls is apparent if you have ever connected with or been to the festival. I will never forget some of my favourite moments of the festival having been a long-term attendee myself. Getting goosebumps on my arm watching North Of The Sun by Norwiegen film-makers Inge Wegge and Jorn Ranum, and seeing them surf beneath the Northern lights. Celebrating UK based surfer Oli Adams' success with him as he took home British film of the year for his one-man creation The Hunt For Hipmasama in 2014. Sitting through 5 hours of film and forgetting my bottom complaining as I was blown away by some of the most raw and beautiful film-making I've seen full stop, that projects and epitomises what I love about surfing.
Demi at LSFF 2014 with Laura Enever Whitney Gilmore, Isabel Freeman, Ava Warbrick, Elsie Pinniger and Steph Gilmore
Demi shares the thought process of what goes into the formulation of LSFF, in that "every year we try to curate a festival that resonates with us and what's going on both in the UK and in the wider surfing world so that it's an authentic slice of surfing right here and now. "
"We wanted it to be a community event for everyone and to bring together and celebrate the creativity that exists in surfing as well as the sheer level of talent both in and out of the water through art, music, photography, makers, doers….".
I love LSFF it for its intoxicatingly authentic and happy bringing together of those passionate about the water in its many creative and active guises. If you haven't explored surf-cinema, there are so many highly talented souls creating incredible works of art that effectively portray that hard-to-pinpoint energy and raw appeal that surfing proffers. I wonder if Demi had always been surf a cinéphile in her life, as she is now synonymous with being a huge catalyst for the celebration for surf cinema now? "I was a member of the Bradbury Junior School film club so I went to school on a Saturday morning to watch movies in the school hall… does that count??" she laughs. Adding that
"I've always loved the multi-dimensional way of telling a story through film bringing together sound and vision to create a narrative. "
A story-teller herself, Demi adds that "story telling has always been a big part of surf culture – telling tales of waves ridden, points discovered, places been. It's an important aspect of any community, that oral tradition, it binds people together and creates the folklore that is the bedrock of a culture. "I too see the importance and of chronicalling the mystical nature of surf culture. As Demi attests,
"You realize as heroes, pioneers and friends are lost, that if those stories aren't recorded they're gone forever."
This year saw the passing of one of the most iconic founding-fathers of the international surf world, Jack O'Neill, founder of surf-brand O'Neill, creator of the modern wetsuit, and instantly recognizable pirate-patched wonder of the water. With so many global paddle-outs held in Jack's honour following his passing, Demi shares that ". This year we were honoured to be asked to write the tribute film celebrating the life of Jack O'Neill. In doing so we were given the opportunity to talk to those who knew Jack the best and really explore the impact of this incredible surfing pioneer….".
THE LSFF's 7th inception finds Demi "STOKED! We're lucky to work with some pretty epic people and we have some very talented people coming to the event to present their work, so yeah, I feel pretty stoked." With her highlights of this time including the "1st night at LS/FF 2011 full house, …beers with friends, Steph Gilmore, Chasing Zero live AV set last year … I still have tingles, The Shorties – creating a platform for homegrown filmmakers, the shaping booth year 3, introducing UK creatives to each other…Then of course that time the boys from Reef played, and Colin Macleod, Auction for the Promise Club… it's been pretty fun."
With her partner Chris Nelson, Demi is also busy weaving stories and creations within the industry.. Co-writers of "The Ripple Effect" for Redbull TV, Demi and Chris spent last year writing this documentary series that explores the lives and achievements of some of youth cultures "most exciting entrepreneurs – from the founders of Atari, Moog Music, Wired Magazine to the likes of GoPro and Hurley… it's been great putting all that film watching to good use."
Demi is a driving force especially within the UK surf scene, a tireless champion of bringing together like-minded souls, of fostering talent and creativity and of the radical, different patchwork that makes up the UK surf scene, an unfamiliar playground for many global surfers who may even date the existence of waves on these small isles. I enquire as to what it is about our funny little industry here in Britain that Demi loves?
I love the way we all pull together and we get stoked on what other people are achieving. There's plenty of room for everyone! There are all the big events and comps but what really stokes my fires are the events on the fringes meaning there's something for everyone – whether you ride a surf mat or a vintage single fin – you can find your crew….what we have in the UK is pretty special."
At the heart of Demi Taylor's talented and multi-armed creative is that genuine love for surf and travel. A particular trip in 2001 appears to have really served as a catalyst and ignited change, when Demi "quit my job in PR in 2001, bought a camper van and Chris and I headed off on a year-long odyssey along the Atlantic Coast of Europe travelling from the Orkney Isles to Morocco. We spent a year surfing, road ripping, writing, researching, interviewing, exploring and photographing came home, got a publishing deal and it set us off on a new path. We've written I think 7 surf and travel books together…".
This formidable force is unstoppable and with more "surfing, writing, travels and films" on the horizon, the future is sure to be an exciting place for Demi Taylor.
Find out more and head to the London Surf Film Festival
WHY ISophie Everard October 20, 2017 Comment
BLOGGER YOI DOCHI'S TAKE ON MAD TO LIVE RETREATS
RETREATSSophie Everard October 24, 2017 Retreats, RETREATS, Travel
A WEEK WITH THE ACTION ACADEMY
FITNESS, SPORT, TRAVELSophie Everard October 1, 2017
[email protected]
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\section{Our Implementation}
We implemented our solution in MP-SPDZ \cite{mp-spdz}. It features
fixed-point computation, that is, the fractional number $x$ is
represented as an integer near $x \cdot 2^k$ for some $k$. Addition and
subtraction are straight-forward due to linearity while
multiplication is implemented as integer multiplication followed by
truncation. This truncation can either mean rounding to the nearest
integer or the more efficient probabilistic truncation where rounding
down is the more likely the closer the input number is to the
floor. See Catrina and Saxena~\cite{FC:CatSax10} for more details.
Standard logistic regression uses the sigmoid function based on the
exponential, and computing the loss requires the logarithm
function. Our implementation of these is based on the code provided in
SCALE-MAMBA \cite{scale-mamba} by Aly and Smart \cite{ACNS:AlySma19}.
A particular helpful feature of MP-SPDZ in some protocols including
the one used here is the implementation of dot products of fixed-point
numbers with constant communication. See Dalskov et
al. \cite{cryptoeprint:2019:131} for more details. Due to this
optimization, we decided not to use mini-batches but the whole training
set at once for simplicity.
The benefit of the optimization increases with the size of the batch.
Our implementation can be straightforwardly generalized to mini-batch training.
Given the decisions above, we ran our implementation with a few
parameters on AWS \texttt{c5.9xlarge}, namely the precision of
fixed-point truncation and the duration. For the former, there is a
choice of probabilistic and exact truncation.
Considering the latter, we saw that
it takes about 100 epochs for the loss to get close to zero without
using mini-batches. Therefore, we ran our implementation either for
100 or for 200 epochs, or until the loss was below $10^{-4}$.
Table \ref{table:results} shows the five-fold cross-validation accuracy
and running time
for each combination of parameters and dataset. Each values is
averaged over 100 runs. Note that the running times are taken from the
same run as the accuracies and therefore use only 80\% of the
respective dataset.
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{@{}lllcc@{}}
\toprule
Dataset & Duration & Truncation
& $F_1$
& Time (sec) \\
\midrule
\multirow{6}{*}{GSE2034} & \multirow{2}{*}{100} & Probabilistic
& $0.670 \pm 0.070$
& 8 \\
&& Exact
& $0.666 \pm 0.068$
& 20 \\
& \multirow{2}{*}{200} & Probabilistic
& $0.674 \pm 0.063$
& 14 \\
&& Exact
& $0.670 \pm 0.066$
& 38 \\
& \multirow{2}{*}{Variable} & Probabilistic
& $0.657 \pm 0.091$
& 6 \\
&& Exact
& $0.650 \pm 0.091$
& 22 \\
\midrule
\multirow{6}{*}{BC-TCGA} & \multirow{2}{*}{100} & Probabilistic
& $0.994 \pm 0.007$
& 21 \\
&& Exact
& $0.994 \pm 0.008$
& 43 \\
& \multirow{2}{*}{200} & Probabilistic
& $0.994 \pm 0.007$
& 38 \\
&& Exact
& $0.994 \pm 0.009$
& 77 \\
& \multirow{2}{*}{Variable} & Probabilistic
& $0.995 \pm 0.010$
& 8 \\
&& Exact
& $0.994 \pm 0.011$
& 17 \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{Five-fold cross-validation accuracy and running times of our
implementation}
\label{table:results}
\end{table}
The implementation used for these timings is different to the
submitted version in two points: The submitted version would only use
a single thread because the evaluation criterion was changed from a
single host to several shortly before the deadline. Furthermore, the
improved version uses the dot product optimization more
consequently. We have seen that this reduces the running time by about one
third.
Given the result, one would choose 200 epochs with probabilistic
rounding for the best accuracy and variable duration with
probabilistic rounding for faster inference at the cost of accuracy.
However, we did not have
time to run these evaluations before the deadline. From the limited
information we had at the time, we decided to submit the training with
200 epochs and exact rounding.
We achieved slightly better accuracy than logistic regression with plaintext
computation, because a limited precision helps improve generalization on these two datasets.
\section{Introduction}
In this section, we summarize the
task.\footnote{\url{http://www.humangenomeprivacy.org/2019/competition-tasks.html}}
Participants were invited to implement machine learning (ML) training in
multi-party computation (MPC). MPC allows a set of parties to
jointly compute on data hold among each other without revealing anything other
than the result of the computation. In the current context this means
that a set of healthcare providers holding measurements about cancer
patients and healthy individuals can jointly compute a ML model
detecting cancer without sharing the measurements.
The training algorithm must be suitable to the GSE2034 \cite{gse2034}
and BC-TCGA \cite{BC-TCGA} breast cancer datasets. The organizers provided a subset of both. For GSE2034, this
contains 142 positive (recurrence tumor)
and 83 negative (no recurrence normal) samples,
each with 12,634 features. On the other hand, the subset of BC-TCGA
contains 422 positive (breast cancer tissue)
and 48 negative (normal tissue) samples
of 17,814 features each. The organizers
provided a reference model, and the submissions were expected to perform similarly.
In terms of security, the competition asked for three-party computation
with one semi-honest corruption. This security model has received
widespread attention because it does not require relatively
expensive cryptographic primitives such as oblivious transfer or
homomorphic encryption. Instead, so-called replicated secret sharing
suffices, where every party holds two out of three random shares which
sum up to a secret value~\cite{CCS:AFLNO16}. Furthermore, semi-honest
security requires that even corrupted parties follow the protocol,
which allows the creation of optimized protocols for specific
purposes, for example probabilistic truncation
\cite{cryptoeprint:2019:131}.
For the evaluation, the organizers asked for Docker containers that
would be run on three hosts in a local cluster. The submissions were
required to finish within 24 hours, and they were ranked on accuracy,
performance, and communication.
\section{The Model}
\renewcommand{\P}{\mathrm{P}}
\newcommand{\mathrm{N}}{\mathrm{N}}
\newcommand{\mathrm{TP}}{\mathrm{TP}}
\newcommand{\mathrm{TN}}{\mathrm{TN}}
\newcommand{\mathrm{FP}}{\mathrm{FP}}
\newcommand{\mathrm{FN}}{\mathrm{FN}}
We evaluated the performance of the following baseline models using plaintext computation
\begin{description}
\item[Logistic] Logistic regression based on mini-batch stochastic gradient
descent (SGD) with constant learning rate and momentum.
The model is trained for a fixed number of 100 epochs. In each mini-batch of 16 samples,
we re-balance the positive and negative classes by re-sampling the same number of
samples from these two classes;
\item[MLP] A multilayer perceptron with two hidden layers of 256+64 ReLU~\cite{relu} neurons.
We apply dropout~\cite{dropout} with probability 0.5 to the hidden layers to avoid over-fitting. The
model is trained by SGD for 100 epochs using the same mini-batches as Logistic;
\item[Linear SVM] A linear SVM classifier with $L_2$ regularization and typical settings.
We use scikit-learn's~\cite{sklearn} implementation with a stopping tolerance of
$10^{-3}$ and other default settings;
\item[Random Forest] A random forest classier~\cite{tin95} with 100 trees
based on scikit-learn's~\cite{sklearn} implementation;
\item[Reference] The reference model provided by the iDASH committee, which is a
deep 1D convolutional network composed of Residual blocks~\cite{resnet}.
We train the model using the Adam optimizer~\cite{adam} with a fixed learning rate of
$10^{-4}$ for 30 epochs.
\end{description}
In these models, both Logistic and Linear SVM correspond to a single-neuron model.
The main difference between these two methods is the loss function:
Logistic minimizes the cross-entropy between the target label and the prediction,
while Linear SVM minimizes the squared Hinge loss.
The detailed hyper-parameter configurations are omitted for brevity. We tried to
achieve a representative accuracy score for each method. Further tuning these
methods can give marginal improvement. We tried to compare all methods using
similar settings such as how the mini-batches are constructed and how the
performance is evaluated.
Denote $\mathrm{TP}$ (true positive), $\mathrm{FN}$ (false negative) to be the
population of the ground truth positive class; denote $\mathrm{TN}$ (true negative), and
$\mathrm{FP}$ (false positive) to be the negative class. Then the $F_1$ score
of these two classes are given by the harmonic mean of the precision and recall,
that is,
\begin{equation}
F^{\P}_1 = \frac{2}{\frac{1}{\frac{\mathrm{TP}}{\mathrm{TP}+\mathrm{FP}}} + \frac{1}{\frac{\mathrm{TP}}{\mathrm{TP}+\mathrm{FN}}}} = \frac{2\mathrm{TP}}{2\mathrm{TP} + \mathrm{FP} + \mathrm{FN}},
\quad
F^{\mathrm{N}}_1 = \frac{2\mathrm{TN}}{2\mathrm{TN} + \mathrm{FP} + \mathrm{FN}}.
\end{equation}
Then we evaluate the classification performance based on the weighted $F_1$ score
\begin{equation}
F_1 = \frac{\mathrm{TP}+\mathrm{FN}}{\mathrm{TP}+\mathrm{TN}+\mathrm{FP}+\mathrm{FN}} F^{\P}_1 + \frac{\mathrm{TN}+\mathrm{FP}}{\mathrm{TP}+\mathrm{TN}+\mathrm{FP}+\mathrm{FN}} F^{\mathrm{N}}_1,
\end{equation}
which is a population-weighted mean of $F^{\P}_1$ and $F^{\mathrm{N}}_1$.
See Table~\ref{table:models} for our cross-validation accuracy scores and timing results.
Observe that MLP does not improve over Logistic, because the training data is
linearly separable and prone to over-fitting.
The poor performance of the reference model, despite its expensive training
cost, is due to over-fitting. One may improve further its performance with
a carefully designed optimization procedure, e.g., based on dynamic learning rates.
However, the benefit is quite limited in light of the high complexity to implement it.
Eventually, we decided to go ahead with logistic regression because
its accuracy comes close the
other models while its simplicity promised a more efficient
implementation.
In the next section, we will show that our MPC implementation
slightly surpasses the plaintext implementation of logistic regression and
comes even closer to the linear SVM classifier in terms of accuracy.
\begin{table}
\centering
\begin{tabular}{@{}r|cc|cc}
\toprule
& \multicolumn{2}{c|}{GSE2034} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{BC-TCGA} \\
Model & $F_1$ & Time (sec) & $F_1$ & Time (sec) \\
\midrule
Logistic & $0.666\pm0.062$ & 3 & $0.995\pm0.006$ & 8 \\
MLP & $0.664\pm0.066$ & 35 & $0.994\pm0.007$ & 39 \\
Linear SVM & $0.677\pm0.058$ & 1 & $0.996\pm0.006$ & 0.3\\
Random Forest & $0.592\pm0.055$ & 0.6 & $0.988\pm0.011$ & 0.8\\
Reference & $0.650\pm0.075$ & 68$^\star$ & $0.987\pm0.008$ & $139^\star$ \\
\bottomrule
\end{tabular}
\caption{Weighted $F_1$ score and computational time in seconds with plaintext computation.
All reported number are averages over 20 runs of five-fold cross validation (100 folds in total).
The reported time in seconds is measured on an Intel~Core~i5-7300U CPU.
The upper-script ``$^\star$'' means that the timing is performed instead on a NVidia Tesla P100
because the experiments could not finish in reasonable time.}
\label{table:models}
\end{table}
| {
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Woman with West Nile Virus shares her story
Kristin Adams Oklahoma's first confirmed case
Updated: 10:52 PM CDT Aug 28, 2013
Michael Seiden
An Edmond woman is sharing her story after she became infected with the West Nile Virus.Nine days ago, Kristin Adams was rushed to a hospital in Oklahoma City."I was getting really tired, and I was sleeping a lot from 9 in the evening until 9 in the morning," said Adams, who is staying with her parents in Edmond while she continues to fight the disease. "I just thought, 'Oh! I'm working out hard.' I didn't think anything of it. Then. I contracted a fever of 101."The 30-year-old underwent a series of tests before doctors diagnosed her with West Nile Virus."Your head hurts so bad," she added. "I can't even explain it."Kristen said she was also diagnosed with viral meningitis, which causes her legs and hands to shake uncontrollably.There has only been one confirmed case in Oklahoma, but most victims have no idea they're infected."If I can help save a young child or an elderly person or someone my age, then it is worth me spreading the word," she said.In Oklahoma, the WNV season runs from May to November. The first case for 2013 was confirmed in an Oklahoma county resident in the middle of August. Persons are at greatest risk of exposure to infected mosquitoes from July through October in our state. Persons of any age can become ill after being bitten by an infected mosquito, but those over the age of 50 are at greater risk of developing serious illness involving the nervous system.Over 80 percent of people infected with the virus never become ill.If people do become ill, most cases are mild with symptoms such as a fever, headache, tiredness and body aches that go away on their own. Some people may develop a rash on the trunk of the body.In more severe cases, persons can develop meningitis or other neurological disease, according to the state health department.
EDMOND, Okla. —
An Edmond woman is sharing her story after she became infected with the West Nile Virus.
Nine days ago, Kristin Adams was rushed to a hospital in Oklahoma City.
"I was getting really tired, and I was sleeping a lot from 9 in the evening until 9 in the morning," said Adams, who is staying with her parents in Edmond while she continues to fight the disease. "I just thought, 'Oh! I'm working out hard.' I didn't think anything of it. Then. I contracted a fever of 101."
The 30-year-old underwent a series of tests before doctors diagnosed her with West Nile Virus.
"Your head hurts so bad," she added. "I can't even explain it."
Kristen said she was also diagnosed with viral meningitis, which causes her legs and hands to shake uncontrollably.
There has only been one confirmed case in Oklahoma, but most victims have no idea they're infected.
"If I can help save a young child or an elderly person or someone my age, then it is worth me spreading the word," she said.
In Oklahoma, the WNV season runs from May to November. The first case for 2013 was confirmed in an Oklahoma county resident in the middle of August. Persons are at greatest risk of exposure to infected mosquitoes from July through October in our state. Persons of any age can become ill after being bitten by an infected mosquito, but those over the age of 50 are at greater risk of developing serious illness involving the nervous system.
Over 80 percent of people infected with the virus never become ill.
If people do become ill, most cases are mild with symptoms such as a fever, headache, tiredness and body aches that go away on their own. Some people may develop a rash on the trunk of the body.
In more severe cases, persons can develop meningitis or other neurological disease, according to the state health department. | {
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} |
# **A Generation of Radical Educational Change**
How much have teachers and their pupils benefited from the top-down, Westminster-led control of policy held in place by a powerful national inspection regime?
_A Generation of Radical Educational Change: Stories from the field_ is an exploration of the revolutionary impact of the greater and continuing involvement of central government in education policy making, which began in 1976 and was accelerated by the 1988 Education Act and subsequent legislation.
In the book, a dozen distinguished contributors from a wide range of sectors explain and reflect on how they worked to do their best for their schools, teachers and pupils in these years of great change. They understand the reasons, explained by Lord Baker in his early chapter, for a National Curriculum in 1988, and also the reasons for a more effective national inspection system. Yet their stories accumulate to become a powerful critique of the top-down policies of the last two decades. These policies, they say, have been too numerous, short-term, incoherent and partisan; governments have been indifferent to professional opinion and serious research, and have relied excessively on measurable outcomes and simplistic Ofsted judgments. Our current system is narrower and less democratic than it was, but evidence is hard to find that English pupils are doing any better in international comparisons.
The combined reflections in this volume are timely in these years of lively educational debate, as are the suggestions for future policy. _A Generation of Radical Educational Change_ is an invaluable read for current and aspiring headteachers, policy makers and those with an interest in education policy and how it evolves.
**Richard Pring** is currently Professor of Education at Winchester University, UK, and was previously Director of the Department of Educational Studies, University of Oxford, UK (1989–2003).
**Martin Roberts** was appointed to the headship of The Cherwell School, Oxford, UK (1981–2002). At present, he is a member of the Academic Steering Committee of The Prince's Teaching Institute.
# **A Generation of Radical Educational Change**
Stories from the field
_Edited by
Richard Pring and
Martin Roberts_
First published 2016
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
_Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business_
© 2016 Richard Pring and Martin Roberts
The rights of Richard Pring and Martin Roberts to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
_Trademark notice_ : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
_British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data_
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
_Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data_
Names: Pring, Richard. | Roberts, Martin, 1941–
Title: A generation of educational change: stories from the field/edited by
Richard Pring and Martin Roberts.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge is an imprint of
the Taylor & Francis Group, an Informa business, [2016] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015019499| ISBN 9781138941892 (hardback) |
ISBN 9781138941915 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781315673417 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Education and state – Great Britain – History – 20th century.
| Education and state – Great Britain – History – 21st century. | Educational
change – Great Britain – History – 20th century. | Educational change –
Great Britain – History – 21st century.
Classification: LCC LC93.G7 G46 2016 | DDC 379.41 – dc23LC record
available at <http://lccn.loc.gov/2015019499>
ISBN: 978-1-138-94189-2 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-94191-5 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-67341-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo and Stone Sans
by Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon, UK
# **Contents**
_List of contributors_
_Foreword_ _by Baroness Estelle Morris_
_Background_
**PART I Introduction: setting the scene**
**1 History and overview of changes 1976–2014**
_Martin Roberts and Richard Pring_
**2 The revolution begins**
_Lord Kenneth Baker_
**PART II Schools**
**3 The early years**
_Wendy Scott_
**4 Primary education: can we escape the legacy of elementary education?**
_Tony Eaude_
**5 Secondary education 1976–2015: a shire county view**
_Martin Roberts_
**6 A view from the island: a very personal story**
_Kenny Frederick_
**PART III Higher and further education**
**7 Evolution of teacher training and professional development**
_Richard Pring_
**8 The evolving idea of a university**
_Richard Pring_
**9 Further education and the case for vocational preparation**
_Geoff Stanton_
**PART IV Accountability, examinations, qualifications**
**10 Assessment: the need to 'do nothing'**
_Tim Oates_
**11 Accountability and inspection**
_Pat O'Shea_
**PART V Reflection on policy matters**
**12 From 'optimism and trust' to 'markets and managerialism'**
_Sir Tim Brighouse_
**13 Schools: a shifting landscape**
_Margaret Maden_
**14 1944–2015: towards the nationalisation of education in England**
_Sir Peter Newsam_
**PART VI Role of the media**
**15 Media and education in the UK**
_Peter Wilby_
**Conclusions**
**16 Stories from the field – summarised**
_Richard Pring and Martin Roberts_
**17 The way forward for the next generation**
_Richard Pring and Martin Roberts_
_Appendix: major education acts and reports_
_Subject index_
_Name index_
# Contributors
Lord Kenneth Baker had a distinguished political career as a minister in first the Thatcher and then the Major governments. From Minister for Information Technology in 1981 he was promoted first to the Environment and then from 1986 to 1989 to Education where he initiated the decisive reforms that are the main subject of this book. He then became Chair of the Conservative Party and after that Home Secretary. As a life peer, Lord Baker of Dorking, he joined the Upper House in 1997 and with the late Lord Dearing set up the Baker–Dearing Trust, which currently promotes energetically University Technical Colleges (UTCs).
Sir Tim Brighouse started teaching in schools and was a deputy head by the age of 26. He then moved into educational administration becoming CEO of Oxfordshire via posts in Monmouthshire, Buckinghamshire and the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). After achieving great success as CEO of Birmingham he then, as Chief Commissioner, led the transformation of London's schools through the London Challenge. He was knighted for services to education in 2009.
Tony Eaude is Research Fellow at the Department of Education, Oxford University, and an independent research consultant. After working in special and primary schools he was for nine years headteacher of a multi-cultural first school in Oxford. He has written widely on primary and early years education, notably Thinking through Pedagogy for Primary and Early Years (2011) and How Do Expert Primary Classteachers Really Work? (2012).
Kenny Frederick spent her teaching career teaching in inner-city schools. She has just retired after 17 years as headteacher of George Green's school on the Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets. She is passionately committed to an inclusive education for all pupils whatever their needs. A former member of the Executive of the National Association of Head Teachers, she has written frequently for The Guardian and commented on educational issues both on television and radio.
Margaret Maden became a deputy head aged 31 at a time when men dominated senior positions in secondary schools. She soon became headteacher of Islington Green School, and later director of the Islington Green Sixth Form Centre, gaining a national reputation for her achievements. From there she moved first to Warwickshire as Chief Education Officer and then to Keele University to run the Centre of Successful Schools. She has written many articles and books. From 1999 to 2002 she was a member of the National Commission for Education.
Sir Peter Newsam started his working life as a civil servant before spending a few years teaching in Oxford. He then moved into educational administration. Chief Education Officer of the Inner London Educational Authority from 1975 to 1981, he then chaired the Commission for Racial Equality. In the early 1990s he directed the London Institute of Education, before becoming Chief Schools Adjudicator. He was knighted for his services to education and to racial equality. His papers and other publications are now held at the Institute Library and London Metropolitan Archive
Pat O'Shea, from teaching English in a Kent comprehensive school, became a lecturer at the Oxford University Department of Education, and subsequently Deputy Head of Peers School, then nationally famous for its innovative curriculum. She then became a headteacher, first of Bottisham Village College in Cambridge and second of Lord Williams' Thame in Oxfordshire. A much respected LEA adviser and SIP adviser, until recently she was an Ofsted inspector. Jointly with two former headteachers she now runs an education consultancy.
Tim Oates is Director of Assessment, Research and Development at Cambridge Assessment and was appointed in 2011 by the Coalition government to lead the National Curriculum Review Expert Panel. His career has been in educational research at the London Institute of Education, the National Council for Vocational Qualifications and the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority. His many publications have won for him an international reputation. His 'Could do better – using international comparisons to refine the National Curriculum' has been particularly influential. In recognition of his contribution to education, he was honoured with the CBE in 2015.
Richard Pring retired in 2003 as Director of Oxford University Department of Educational Studies after 14 years, having previously been Dean of the Faculty at Exeter University, lecturer in Curriculum Studies at the Institute of Education, teacher at Goldsmiths College and a London comprehensive, and Assistant Principal in the Ministry of Education. From 2003 to 2009, he led the Nuffield Review of 14–19 Education and Training for England and Wales. Richard Pring is a Fellow of Green-Templeton College Oxford, where Sir David Watson was Principal from 2010.
Martin Roberts was headteacher of The Cherwell School in Oxford for 20 years, in which time it changed from a struggling ex-secondary modern to one of the best-regarded schools in the county. He then helped to create the Prince's Teaching Institute, which is now the leading provider of subject-specific training for secondary teachers. He has written articles and books, the latest of which is in collaboration with Michael Young and others, 'Knowledge and the Future School', 2014.
Wendy Scott, OBE, is currently honorary president of TACTYC (Training, Advancement and Co-operation in Teaching Young Children). Headteacher of a nursery school, she then moved to Roehampton Institute as senior lecturer in early years' education. From district inspector first for ILEA and then for Kensington and Chelsea, she became a registered Ofsted inspector. She has also been Chair and Chief Executive of the British Association of Early Childhood Education and an adviser to the Department for Education.
Geoff Stanton worked for 20 years in FE colleges, as a teacher and subsequently as an FE teacher trainer. For eight years he was Director of the Further Education Unit (FEU), which pioneered pre-vocational courses. He was also Special Adviser to the Commission on Adult Vocational Training and Learning. He is currently a member of the Qualifications Committee of the OCR Examination Board of the Council of the City and Guilds. In the last 15 years he has been engaged in numerous research and development projects, leading to a range of publications.
Peter Wilby helped to run a university newspaper while still a student at Sussex University. He began his adult career at The Observer in 1968, becoming its Education Correspondent four years later. He has become one of the country's leading education journalists, writing also for the New Statesman and The Sunday Times. He has had periods of editing The Independent on Sunday and the New Statesman. Nowadays he writes as a columnist for the New Statesman, The Guardian and The Observer.
# Foreword
Baroness Estelle Morris
Many people teaching today will have witnessed the present education revolution since its start; others will have joined along the way. The careers of longer serving teachers frame the years of this period of change in schools. They will have qualified before the days of the national curriculum, national testing and inspection, and will be able to remember when local authorities, not central government, were at the centre of what happened.
They are the generation who have seen the changes at first hand, but, if change is to be an ally and not a threat, all of us need to understand its context and the journey we are travelling.
The contributors to this book have played key roles at important times in different parts of the education service. Some have been champions of change, others would have preferred a different route, all have had to try to make the changes work. In this sense, these chapters set out the often conflicting views and opinions that have been the background of education policy and practice for three decades and in doing so they come together to build a narrative of the times.
Anyone looking back at this period could describe it as a time of upheaval. School and college structures, curricula, inspection frameworks, qualifications have all been introduced, amended, and often discarded before there has even been time to properly assess their impact. Sometimes the reasons for change have been badly explained; often the initiatives have seemed relentless.
Yet there have been strong strands of continuity as well. The principles of greater autonomy, a national framework offering an entitlement for all young people, the need for teachers to be held to account, the importance of school and college leadership and the impact of high quality teaching have been threads that have stood the test of time.
Education doesn't exist in isolation, and the pressures for change come as much from outside the system as within. It is no coincidence that a period of great change in education has been also a time of significant change in the wider society.
Greater demands on services, less tolerance of failure, the belief that everyone must succeed and the freedom to exercise choice, all characterise the present public attitude to key services – and these too have been some of the pressures for change.
Equally, the speed of development in communication and the opportunities offered by digital technology have transformed our understanding of how children learn, and schools must reflect this if they are to remain relevant to those they teach.
Education has at times led change – the achievement of ethnic minorities, for example – yet in other areas it has been slow to change. Schools embraced educational technology long after most other sectors and they are only just beginning to give it the importance it deserves.
These are not easy times for those who teach but, at its core, education remains the greatest route to freedom, self-respect, fulfilment and social justice. It will always attract the attention of others who share the ambition to change the world for the better and, as a result, it cannot and must not stand still.
Although change will be an ever-present force for those who work in education, we must get better at how we lead it, manage it, evaluate it and take others on the journey. This book is not only a testament to the past but a most valuable source of wisdom for the future. We should all learn from it.
Editors' note: Virtually all the text of this book was written in the months before the General Election of May 2015. We have left it unchanged since, in the few months since then, the Conservative government, which replaced the Coalition, has left the main thrust of educational policy-making unchanged, as exemplified by its drive against 'coasting schools' and its continuing pressure on schools to become academies.
# Background
The 1944 Education Act introduced secondary education for all in a 'maintained system' – that is, a system maintained by local education authorities in partnership with the voluntary bodies (mainly the churches) who owned many of the schools, along with the teaching profession and with central government (which had overall responsibility for ensuring there would be sufficient schools and teachers).
The 70 years since this major Act of Parliament have seen considerable changes:
* to greater government control in the partnership between central, local government and schools;
* in the evolving structure of 'secondary education for all' up to 16 (then education or training for all up to 18);
* in the creation of a teaching profession (through initial and continuing professional education) appropriate for these changes and higher aspirations;
* in the development of a national curriculum;
* in developing systems of testing and examining to reflect the achievements of all;
* in the increasing accountability of schools and of the system; and
* in the world of employment and higher education into which pupils are to enter.
Throughout this period, there have been considerable demographic and economic changes to which schools, colleges and the system have had to adapt, some more successfully than others.
More recently, many of the principles of the 1944 Education Act have given way to a system that:
* puts much greater power in the hands of the Secretary of State (diminishing thereby the powers of local authorities);
* has introduced voluntary, private and for-profit organisations into the control of schools; and
* made accountability much more focused on measurable targets.
The changes since 1976 are very substantial, therefore – indeed, revolutionary.
Much has been written about these developments, but in a fragmented way. What too often are lacking are concrete examples, which give life to successes and difficulties as schools, colleges, teachers, education establishments, examination boards and local authorities navigate their way through the changes.
This book, therefore, seeks to provide cases of the hopes and fears, the successes and failures over four decades in response to national policies. Then, drawing on these accounts and learning lessons from them, the book looks to the future, making a number of proposals for the way forward.
# [Part I
Introduction](content.xhtml#bck_part1)
Setting the scene
# [1
History and Overview of Changes 1976–2014](content.xhtml#bck_Ch01)
Martin Roberts and Richard Pring
## Introduction
The last 40 years have witnessed such radical changes in the educational and training system that few who are now engaged in teaching, and few among the general public, can have much conception of where the system has emerged. But it is important that they should do so. It is important to see how and why a system has changed in order to understand it critically and to see how it might be changed yet further for the better.
This book therefore seeks to provide an account of those changes, not simply through a historical narrative (although such a narrative permeates the chapters and is explicitly provided in this introductory chapter), but also through the experiences of those who have lived and worked through the changes and who have had to adapt, often critically, to them.
In Chapter 17 we draw together some of the major themes that emerge from the following chapters and make some recommendations for the next generation.
## Setting the scene
In particular, the 1944 Education Act preceded our history by several decades. But reference to it is necessary for two reasons. First, it shaped the educational system for 30 years, and the period covered in this book reflects the gradual erosion of that post-war political settlement. Second, such a reference shows starkly how matters have changed.
The 1944 Act created 'a national service locally administered'. It established a partnership between central government (which had ultimate responsibility for overall expenditure), local education authorities (which provided education to all children 'according to age, ability and aptitude'), the voluntary bodies (that is churches and non-denominational bodies that provided many of the schools now entering the national system) and the teachers. The Minister had two major responsibilities – to ensure there were enough school places for all pupils and to ensure there were enough teachers to teach them. The Minister had no control over what was taught or how it was taught – these were regarded as too important to be put in the hands of politicians. After all, a war was being fought against totalitarian governments whose government ministers controlled the schools and what was taught in them.
The Act never dictated how 'according to age, ability and aptitude' should be interpreted. That was in the hands of the local education authorities (LEAs) and the teachers. Most LEAs interpreted this for the new secondary system of education in terms of three types of school fitting (in the words of the 1943 Norwood Report) three types of adolescent, namely, grammar schools for the few capable of abstract thought and interested in ideas; technical schools for those interested in and capable of the application of ideas in technology; and secondary moderns for the majority who were more concerned with practical activities and the immediate environment. However, some authorities – London County Council, West Riding of Yorkshire and Leicestershire – decided to develop schools attended by children of all abilities and aptitudes as comprehensives.
Subsequent years saw the gradual questioning of this threefold division of adolescents and therefore of schools – a questioning that was evolving significantly during the period covered by this book.
Hence, this chapter provides an outline of the political and social changes that impacted on educational institutions between 1976 and 2015, as these have affected the 'national system locally administered'. Our contributors illuminate many of them in the following chapters.
## The political context
### Labour and Conservative governments 1945–2015
In the 70 years since the Second World War, Labour formed governments for 30 years, the Conservatives, including a Tory-dominated coalition, for 40. In our chosen period since 1976, Labour governed for 16, the Conservatives for 23. The sequence was as follows: Labour 1945–1951 (Attlee), Conservatives 1951–1964 (Churchill, Eden, Macmillan, Douglas-Home), Labour 1964–1970 (Wilson), Conservatives 1970–1974 (Heath), Labour 1974–1979 (Wilson, Callaghan), Conservatives 1979–1997 (Thatcher, Major), Labour 1997–2010 (Blair, Brown), Conservative–Liberal Democrat Coalition 2010–2015 (Cameron).
The 1970s were a watershed in British politics. The quadrupling of the oil price after 1973 led to extraordinary inflation, which hit a record 25 per cent per annum in 1975. Simultaneously destructive industrial unrest caused the British economy, already weak, to lurch from crisis to crisis. In 1976, Denis Healey, Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, had to negotiate a huge loan from the International Monetary Fund. The implicit consensus between the two main parties began to break. The final breaking point was the 'winter of discontent' in 1979 when public sector workers, fighting the attempt of Callaghan's government to sustain a pay policy, went on strike. Rubbish piled up in the street. Schools closed. A public sense that something was badly wrong helped Mrs Thatcher to power. Conservative policy after 1979 consciously shook off the One Nation Toryism of Macmillan and Heath. Similarly Blair's New Labour, which emerged in the 1990s, distanced itself in policy as well as in name from the Labour values of Wilson, Callaghan and Attlee, further developing policies initiated by Mrs Thatcher.
### The pre-1970s consensus
In 1954, The Economist coined the term 'Butskellism' to describe the common features of the policies of Butler, the Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Gaitskell, his Labour counterpart. They both accepted the main achievements of the Attlee government, particularly the welfare state (which meant comparatively high and redistributive taxation) and the nationalisation of the country's major industries. They believed in a mixed economy with both private and public ownership. They were Keynesian in that they believed that the state should increase public spending in times of crisis to sustain overall demand and avoid significant rises in unemployment. They accepted that trade unions mattered and believed in the effectiveness of local authorities.
### The Thatcher/Blair consensus, 1979–the present
The Thatcher government rejected Keynesianism, which it considered to be the cause of serious inflation and the enemy of private enterprise. Influenced by Friedrich Hayek who argued for a diminished role for the state and by Friedman who considered inflation a greater threat than unemployment and whose monetarist doctrine stated that inflation was best reduced by the government controlling the amount of money in circulation, the Conservative government managed to bring inflation under control but at the price of high unemployment, which reached 3.2 million in 1985. Rather than a mixed economy it proved a firm believer in the superiority of private enterprise over public ownership. Major industries were privatised, for example British Gas and British Rail, and where possible market forces were given ever-greater freedom. The 'big bang' of 1986 deregulated the financial markets of the City of London and made possible, for good and ill, the rapid expansion of the City as a major player in global finance.
The Centre for Policy Studies, founded by Sir Keith Joseph in 1974 together with Margaret Thatcher and Alfred Sherman, argued the case for a Social Market economy and privatisation of such public monopolies as education and health – more deregulation and liberalisation. It considered 'educational vouchers' but thought that too big an undertaking. The philosophical thinking of Hayek and Friedman thereby entered into the management of public services in general and education in particular. It was cogently expressed by Sir Keith Joseph, later to become Secretary of State for Education, that:
the blind, unplanned, uncoordinated wisdom of the market is overwhelmingly superior to the well-researched, rational, systematic, well-meaning, cooperative, science-based, forward looking, statistically respectable plans of government.
(Joseph, 1976)
Thatcher's government kept a strict control over public expenditure, capping the funds it made available to local government, which it regarded as bloated and too close to the unions. As for public services, where she could not privatise, Mrs Thatcher centralised.
A new 'management language' was emerging in a series of Government White Papers that straddled the Thatcher/Blair years. The shift in the control and management of public services was explained in a series of Government White Papers from HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office: Modern Public Services in Britain: Investing in Reform (1988, Cm. 4011); Public Services for the Future: Modernisation, Reform, Accountability (1998, Cm. 4181); The Government's Measures of Success: Outputs and Performance Analyses (1999, Cm. 4200); Modernising Government (1999, Cm. 4310). One important consequence of these White Papers (and thus of the 'modernisation' of public services) was what was referred to as 'public service agreements'. These were agreements over funding from HM Treasury, first to Departments of State in terms of overall targets, which were then 'cascaded down' in more precise forms, to the institutions that were the responsibilities of the respective Departments. In education, this was spelt out partly in terms of the pro portion of students at different schools achieving so many GCSEs at different grade levels. But that gradually emerged as a way of rewarding teachers through 'performance-related pay'.
Where possible Thatcher's government cut income tax (for example, Lawson's 1988 Budget, which reduced the tax on the rich to 40 per cent and on everyone else to 25 per cent). As for the trade unions, breaking their power was a Thatcher priority, broadly supported by public opinion. Here 1984 was the key year when Scargill, the Marxist leader of the National Union of Mineworkers, who had humiliated Heath's government a decade earlier, called an all-out strike to end pit closures. The government was well prepared with plenty of coal stocks and police effectively deployed to prevent aggressive picketing. After a year the miners went back to work, totally defeated. The government passed a series of laws that severely restricted the power of the unions.
The Conservatives were able to stay in power for 18 years, but not because their policies were particularly popular. In the general election of 1987, when Mrs Thatcher was at her strongest, she won only 42 per cent of the vote with a turnout of 75 per cent of the electorate. Labour's problem in the 1980s was that it was dominated by the Left and the trades unions, and its moderates had split away to form the Social Democratic Party, which was to merge with the Liberals. Social and economic changes had undermined Old Labour and its traditional working class support in declining industrial areas. More voters thought of themselves as middle class. If Labour was ever to gain power, Blair with his small group of allies – Brown, Mandelson and Gould – decided that the party needed to be rebranded as New Labour and to accept the main Thatcherite policies of privatisation, low taxes, friendly towards business, cool towards the unions and local government, and centralising where public services were concerned. With the UK needing to compete in an increasingly global market, Blair and Brown saw no alternative but to encourage free enterprise. Blair, though he thought Mrs Thatcher a bit dotty, had much respect for her achievements, and she came to regard him as her real successor.
Like Thatcher, Blair's popularity was less well-rooted than it seemed. The main reason for New Labour's success in 1997 was the unpopularity of the Conservatives. He won only 44 per cent of the vote, less than Attlee and Wilson, and the voter turnout was lower too, at 71 per cent. His popularity declined in 2001 to 42 per cent of the voters, with 59 per cent voting. In 2005, his share of the vote had further declined to 35 per cent, with 61 per cent of the electorate voting. Throughout these years of radical reform neither Conservatives nor Labour had the explicit support of more than one in three of the electorate. After 2001 it dropped to one in four. More and more young people did not bother to vote.
Though in many ways the New Labour government had its distinctive policies, particularly with regard to relieving child poverty and support of minorities, the main thrust of its economics was similar to that of its predecessor, so much so that Peter Riddell writing in The Times commented that 'an economist from Mars would conclude that the same government had been in charge throughout the second half of the 1990s'.
## The implications for education of this dramatic political change post-1979
### Erosion of the political consensus
What did this mean for education? Before 1976, the political consensus accepted that schools should have freedom over the curriculum and gave LEAs the funding and discretion necessary to develop systems that best met local needs. Broadly speaking, it supported the end of selection at 11 plus and the spread of comprehensive schools. In the early 1970s Mrs Thatcher, as Secretary of State for Education, oversaw an accelerating comprehensive programme. The Schools Council, an advisory council on curriculum development and examinations, dominated by teachers but abolished by the Tory Sir Keith Joseph in 1984, was set up in 1964 by the Tory Sir Edward Boyle. The universities, expanding after the Robbins Report of 1963, were independent of government controls, their funding coming mainly through the independent Universities Grants Committee (UGC). Further Education (FE) too was expanding but remained the responsibility of LEAs.
However, when Callaghan spoke at Ruskin College in October 1976 this consensus was disintegrating. Within a few years, governments reduced education spending, the powers of local government and the independence of teachers. They encouraged the market through greater parental choice and a variety of schools (for example, Grant Maintained, City Technology Colleges, Specialist Schools, Academies, Free Schools and University Technical Colleges). The main criterion of the success of the education sector was to be seen in the extent to which it contributed to the economic success of UK plc. Ofsted would ensure accountability. And that accountability was expressed and conducted increasingly in the new language of management, that is, in terms of targets and performance indicators.
The key legislation, of course, was the 1988 Education Act, which in effect replaced that of 1944. Now the government was in charge of pupils' learning, establishing a detailed National Curriculum with ten levels of assessment, and funding directly (by-passing the LEAs) the new City Technology Colleges. From a 'national system locally maintained' was evolving a 'national system nationally maintained'.
The Conservatives had a deep-seated distrust of what they tended to describe as the 'education establishment', which in 2013 the Coalition Secretary of State, Michael Gove, referred to less decorously as 'the Blob'. This distrust had in the early 1970s been reflected in the Black Papers, edited by Cox and Dyson (1967–1972) for the Centre for Policy Studies, which attacked in particular the growing attachment to comprehensive schools. They were particularly suspicious of university-based teacher training, as reflected in Sheila Lawlor's paper 'Teachers Mistaught' (Lawlor, 1990).
By the Higher and Further Education Act of 1992, both higher and further education passed under greater government control. Mrs Thatcher distrusted university teachers as much as schoolteachers. A Higher Education Funding Council (HEFC) replaced the UGC and made sure that universities directed their efforts towards national priorities as defined by the government that, again like schools, were to increase the economic competitiveness of the UK. As for further education, the polytechnics became independent of LEAs, were renamed universities and funded through the HEFC. Other FE colleges also passed out of LEA control and were funded through the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) until the new Learning and Skills Council took on its functions in 2001. Both the Labour and Conservative parties in the twenty-first century came to believe that Higher Education (HE) and FE fees were unavoidable, though they argued about the fees' level.
New Labour accepted the main thrusts of Tory education policy, Choice and Diversity (the title of John Patten's White Paper in 1992) becoming a mantra. Blair thought teachers were among the forces of conservatism hampering him in his mission to modernise Britain, as set out in the White Papers referred to above. LEAs fared no better. When New Labour introduced its Academies programme in the 2002 Education Act, they would be directly answerable to the Secretary of State. In other ways New Labour was even more centralising than the Conservatives, enacting many laws and regulations and creating quangos. It was stronger too on accountability, Ofsted swelling in its size and authority after 1997. The influential teacher unions of the 1970s, particularly the National Union of Teachers (NUT), declined, especially after the protracted but fruitless strikes of 1985–1987.
Again there was considerable continuity when the Coalition took over from Labour in 2010. Michael Gove, the new Secretary of State, accelerated the Academies programme, introduced academy chains to establish many more academies run by churches, charities and for-profit companies such as Serco and Capita, and increased diversity and choice by introducing Free Schools. He continued the custom of Secretaries of State, if with unusual passion, to intervene in the curriculum and assessment.
As more women were working and keen to return to work after child-bearing, early years and nursery education gained a higher profile. One of the last Acts passed by John Major's government was the Nursery and Grant-Maintained Act of 1996, the aim of which was to encourage the expansion of nursery schools. A major and valuable initiative of New Labour was the Sure Start Programme, aimed at families living on benefits. It was intended not only to give potentially deprived children a better start in life but to help their mothers back to work. Since 2010 the Sure Start local programmes have become Sure Start Children's Centres and have the theoretical support of the main parties. Furthermore, the Labour government's 2004 Childen's Act Every Child Matters set out five outcomes for all children (be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution to society, and enjoy economic wellbeing). However in the post-2008 austerity, many of the Centres have suffered cuts.
### Examinations and examination standards
GCE O- and A-Level examinations started in 1951. In 1976 schools could choose from syllabuses offered by eight independent boards, which had started as university-run enterprises and had university teachers actively involved in the setting and evaluation of papers. They could also choose CSE syllabuses for their less academic pupils. The Certificate of Secondary Education was introduced in 1962 (first sat for in 1965) to provide a final examination goal for secondary modern students originally intended for the next 40 per cent of the ability range, after the 20 per cent who took O Level. It is worthy of note that, until this time, there were no publicly funded examinations for those not taking O-Level examinations. The CSE was conducted by many regional boards. However, as more schools went comprehensive, this dual system became increasingly clumsy and the two systems merged, with the first exams sat in 1988. GCE boards also merged and so now there are four main ones – AQA, Edexel, OCR and WJEB. Active involvement by university teachers is less. A new examination between GCSE and A Level, AS, was introduced in 2000. Much to the irritation of teachers, pupils and their parents, ministers tinkered frequently with exam details, for example, coursework and the recent proposal to decouple AS Level from A Level (see Chapter 10 for a deeper understanding of these changes).
The English and Welsh exam system has chalked up some impressive achievements. It caters for ever-increasing numbers, setting and marking to a tight timescale each year. Standards appear to be rising substantially over time. In 1976 only 23 per cent of pupils gained 5 A-C O-Level passes and 15 per cent of school leavers gained no grade at all. In 2014, 69 per cent reached the equivalent GCSE score with hardly any candidates failing to get at least one grade. At A-Level in 1976 only about 70 per cent gained at least one pass. In 2014 it was 96 per cent.
However, the question of whether or not present examinations are as difficult as their predecessors is hard to answer. Where A-Level pass rates are concerned, comparing 1976 with 2014 is impossible because in 1976 the results were norm-referenced, allowing only a fixed percentage to pass. In the 1980s the Boards introduced criterion referencing – that is, meeting specific levels achieved, not determined by formerly agreed norms. Some critics ascribe the striking improvements in grades to changes in the format of the exam papers. The syllabuses specify in greater detail how marks are allocated, and teachers have become evermore skilful in getting their pupils to concentrate on these specifications. Many of these critics would then argue that 'teaching to the test' in such a way is not obviously good educational practice. Recently teacher confidence in the reliability of the marking has lessened and the Boards have had difficulty in finding well-qualified markers. Moreover, in the attempts to bring equivalences between different sorts of examination within a single system, a National Qualifications Framework (NQF) was established in the 1990s, superseded by the Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) in 2007, intending to show how the myriad of vocational, prevocational, GCSE and A-Level qualifications related to each other in terms of equivalence in standard, even though they were radically different in content and purpose. By deft use of equivalences, schools' GCSE results rose dramatically, as did their place in the league tables.
In 2008 New Labour set up Ofqual to supervise the whole system. Successive governments have used this apparent (though, as indicated above, severely questioned) improvement in exam results, especially at GCSE, to argue that their reforms are working. The jury is out on this case. Not until the late 1990s did the Education Reform Act (ERA) reforms bed down. GCSE results improved rapidly from their start in 1988. Would they not have continued to improve if schools had been left to get on with the job?
### Vocational education and training
In 1851, the year of the Great Exhibition, Britain was the leading industrial power whose inventors, engineers and technical prowess were the envy of the world. Soon that status was challenged, first by the USA and Germany and latterly by Asia. Since the nineteenth century, the inadequacy of our technical and vocational education, particularly in comparison to continental Europe, has been a frequent refrain. The Royal Commission on Technical Instruction articulated it strongly in 1884, so did the Spens Committee in 1938. The 1944 solution to the problem, new technical schools, failed because the near bankruptcy of the immediate post-war years meant that only a handful were ever built. Between 1945 and 1976 the best vocational education occurred in some secondary modern schools or post-16 colleges offering examinations provided by the City and Guilds of London Institute (CGLI) and by the RSA.
An important thread of the 1976 Ruskin speech was the need for the education system to respond more directly to the needs of the world of work. The collapse of manufacturing during the 1970s and 1980s and the jump in unemployment as a result of the first Conservative budgets after 1979 made technical and vocational education a priority of every government since then. A priority it may have been but, of all the unequivocal policy failures of the last 40 years, the inability to create a thriving vocational offer for 14–19-years-olds must rank among the worst.
Therefore, to promote more vocational education in schools, the Department for Education established the Further Education Unit (FEU) to develop general education courses and qualifications based on occupation-related interests. The FEU published a series of papers, beginning with A Basis for Choice and Vocational Preparations. These led to a series of ever-changing qualifications – CGLI 365, succeeded by CPVE, succeeded by DoVE, succeeded by 14–19 Diplomas, succeeded by nothing yet.
The Conservative government did get off to a good start in 1982 when it announced TVEI, the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative, which tied in with these pre-vocational courses. Run not by the DfE but the Manpower Services Commission, established in 1974 so as to by-pass LEAs in the promotion and financing of employment-related activities in colleges and schools, it funded local projects where schools, colleges, LEAs and businesses developed their own schemes. The Education Reform Act (ERA) in 1988, with its emphasis on a new National Curriculum, effectively scuppered TVEI, which by 1997 had petered out. The Thatcher government also set up the National Council for Vocational Qualifications which established a system of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and employer-led Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) to take responsibility for local youth training needs. In 1995, Major's government called on Sir Ron Dearing, who had already 'slimmed down' the National Curriculum, to bring some coherence to a messy range of academic and vocational qualifications. He recommended three pathways, (i) GCSEs/A Levels, (ii) GNVQs (General NVQs) and (iii) NVQs.
New Labour set up a new quango, the Learning and Skills Council, to provide a more coherent approach to education and training. However, in its short life of nine years that coherence eluded it. There were simply too many national, regional, local organisations and business interests competing for student-led funds. Experts clamoured for a new approach that would bring 'parity of esteem' between the academic and vocational pathways. In 2004 the Tomlinson Report on the 14–19 Reform seemed to find a way forward with its plan for an overarching Diploma. However, despite its widespread professional support (and the Secretary of State, Ed Balls' claim that this would be the qualification of choice for all 14–18 year olds), Prime Minister Blair vetoed it as electorally too risky as it might seem to challenge the A-Level gold standard. A new big idea of Advanced Diplomas sank under the weight of its ambitions. The essence of the British problem with vocational education was, as Alison Wolf put it in 2002, that it was 'a great idea for other people's children'. The many attempts to design an effective vocational pathway were for the most part designed by civil servants and advisers who themselves had little experience of industry and business and had no thought of encouraging their own children to follow such a pathway. Most pupils, looking at the world around them, decided that their life chances were better if they stuck to GCSEs and A Levels.
The Coalition government abolished the Learning and Skills Council and called in Alison Wolf to review the existing state of vocational qualifications. She recommended a cull of many of the Applied GCSEs and other qualifications that had emerged over the years, endorsed BTEC as an A-Level equivalent and apprenticeships as a good way forward (Wolf, 2011). The government accepted her recommendations. Nonetheless our technical and vocational provision remains poor compared with much of the developed world.
## Social contexts
### Female empowerment
The first challenges to the many post-war conventions, which were to change British society irrevocably, occurred in the 1960s. These conventions included the importance of marriage, the disapproval of sex outside marriage and of divorce and only a limited number of jobs being regarded, at least by the middle classes, as suitable for women. In the 1970s, the pace of empowerment quickened. Germaine Greer's Female Eunuch was published in 1970 and feminist attitudes proved infectious. Also in 1970, the Labour government passed the Equal Pay Act, following the 'Made in Dagenham' strike of female machinists at the Ford plant. The contraceptive pill became available on the NHS in 1975. Women increasingly believed that the opportunities which men had always taken for granted should be also open to them and that they could organise their lives to seize them.
This new ambition was expressed particularly clearly in education. Girls had always done better than boys at 11+ but in the 1980s they did better at GCSE, continued into the sixth form and then on to university. By 1996 women applicants just about outnumbered male ones but, by 2014, when a record number of students (about 40 per cent of the cohort) entered university, women significantly outnumbered men. There remained an issue about choice of subjects, with physics and technological subjects still being male-dominated both at school and university. Nonetheless, though full equality had yet to be achieved, the transformation of British society has been great. Britain had had a female prime minister. Whereas in the 1979 election, 11 women had been elected to Parliament, in 2010 it was 142. Many of the country's outstanding headteachers were female, and England's women's cricket, football and rugby teams often did better on the international stage than their male counterparts. For the most part, schools and universities (even the once proudly segregated Oxbridge colleges) contributed positively to this change.
### Immigration and race relations
Another socially transforming trend has been immigration. Starting after the war with immigrants from the West Indies, others from the Indian sub-continent soon followed. By 1956, the new immigrant population was assessed at about 180,000 and rapidly increased during the 1960s. Governments quietly approved of immigration as its mainly cheap labour boosted the economy. However, immigration caused public disquiet, which was extravagantly though popularly expressed in 1968 by the Conservative MP Enoch Powell in his 'rivers of blood' speech. Successive governments have tried both to limit immigration by a series of Immigration Acts and to encourage racial harmony by such measures as the Race Relations Acts of 1968 and 1976. Efforts to limit numbers have failed. In 1981, the immigrant population had reached more than 2 million, about 4 per cent of the population. According to the 2011 census, the proportion of whites had fallen to 86 per cent, with ethnic minorities rising to more than 10 per cent. They tended to be concentrated in conurbations, especially London and the West and East Midlands. This increase has been due partly to legal immigration (though much unquantifiable illegal immigration has taken place) and people seeking asylum from trouble spots like Somalia, and partly to the higher fertility rates of immigrant families. In recent years, immigration from countries of Eastern Europe that are members of the EU, particularly Poland, has risen sharply. In 2013, though the Coalition government was trying to lessen it to 'tens of thousands', net migration into the UK was c.212,000.
Relationships between the races have often been difficult. Serious race riots occurred in 1981 in Brixton, Toxteth and Moss Side (mainly against the police), in 1985 in Brixton and Birmingham, and in 2001 in some northern towns. The Ouseley Report in 2003, Community Pride, Not Prejudice, made strong recommendations on the important role of schools. The worst riots of all in 2011, which started in London and spread to other cities, had racial elements. They were sparked by the police shooting of a black man who they suspected of gun crime, and more than half the rioters were black youths. However, many white youths attacked the police and property, making the rioting more anarchic than racist.
A low point in race relations came in 1993 when a black teenager, Stephen Lawrence, on his way home from school, was murdered by a white gang. The Metropolitan Police botched the inquiry and failed to bring the suspects to justice. The subsequent Macpherson Report accused the Met of institutional racism.
The DfE, LEAs and urban schools have responded to this immense challenge impressively. The impact of London Challenge on the performance of these schools in particular has been impressive. But, much previously, the Wilson government started Section 11 funding to help ethnic minorities. This funding continues as the Ethnic Minority Achievement Grant (EMAG). Almost without exception schools have committed themselves to an explicit anti-racist agenda.
### Religious trends
English people, though most still call themselves Anglican, have largely stopped being practising Christians. Barely 10 per cent attended church regularly in the 1970s and that number has steadily fallen. Though the Church of England remains the national Established Church, it came to look increasingly anachronistic, especially because of its protracted debates about homosexuality and whether women could become priests. On the other hand, it should be noted that the 1944 Act, in order to create a national system, had to include within it 'voluntary controlled' (Anglican) and 'voluntary aided' (Catholic) schools that, at that time, provided education for the majority of pupils. The national system was, and remained until recently, a partnership between the government, the local education authorities and the churches.
Paradoxically, within education, Christian and other 'faith' schools have flourished. In 1976 the only 'faith' schools were Christian or Jewish. They proved popular and tended to show up well in the league tables that appeared in the 1990s. Their supporters argued that their religious ethos gave their schools extra cohesion and purpose; their critics, that they did better simply because their admissions procedures favoured able pupils. By 2014 not only were there more Christian schools (one of which taught the 'creationist' explanation of evolution) and Jewish ones, but in addition 18 Muslim, eight Sikh and four Hindu. Blair's New Labour government particularly encouraged new 'faith' schools though many warned that they were potentially socially divisive.
Governments still required all non-faith state schools to have a daily collective act of worship of a broadly Christian character, a requirement that most, supported by their governors and parents, ignored. When in 2014, a few schools in Birmingham with predominantly Muslim pupils, some 'faith' schools, some not, developed distinctly Islamic traits, the Coalition government quickly drew up a list of 'British' values that all schools had to be seen to foster. The list of values was unexceptional, including respect for English laws, individual freedom and the toleration of other people's beliefs. They do not include any mention of Christianity.
### Minorities
Britain became a more tolerant society. As well as more accepting of different races and religions, the disabled got a better deal. The Disability Discrimination Act of 1995 aimed to ensure that disabled people were treated in a fair and equal way, especially with regard to shops, facilities and services. Wherever possible, disabled people should feel integrated. The Warnock Report of 1981 about Special Needs reflected the same philosophy. Physically disabled pupils and those with learning difficulties should attend mainstream schools. Although the subsequent Special Needs regulations have been strongly criticised by many, including Baroness Warnock, schools and colleges have fulfilled the aims of the report.
Another area of human activity to which Britons generally have become more tolerant is sexual differences. Homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967. 'Coming out' grew more common. Eventually, though the Tory Right and many religious groups opposed it, the Coalition government legislated for same sex marriages.
### Inequality, poverty and class
Britain remained one of the most class-conscious nations in the world. Though the class system was more porous and more people thought of themselves as 'middle class' and lived what was seen as a middle-class life style in housing, taste and holidays, an upper or upper-middle class continued to dominate. With the decline of the trade unions, the Labour leadership became more meritocratic while the Tories retained a leadership with independent school and Oxbridge backgrounds. One clear consequence of the Thatcher revolution was increasing inequality. Comparatively high levels of unemployment left many working-class people in poverty and dependent on benefits. Wealth did not obviously trickle down from the rich to the poor, and London and the South East obviously prospered more than the North. Blair and Brown certainly tried to tackle inequality after 1997 but by and large they failed. The 2008 crash and following recession, the worst since the 1930s, made matters much worse, and the popular perception was that the austerity measures of the Coalition after 2010 hit everybody hard except the rich.
That inequality was reflected particularly in education where 7 per cent of the pupils are educated in independent schools, many of which are much more lavishly resourced than those within the state system, reinforcing the class divide.
In education, New Labour tried a number of policies of which Sure Start proved the most lasting. It set up Education Action Zones (EAZs) in 1998 as part of a New Deal for Communities. These to some extent were modelled on the Education Priority Areas that had been created in 1962 and that enabled resources and extra teachers to be directed at schools in deprived inner-city areas. Another initiative, Excellence in Cities, aimed at inner-city schools, was launched the same year as the EAZ's. The EAZ's foundered after a few years but Excellence in Cities proved more effective. Initially New Labour aimed its new Academies at poverty stricken areas. For its part, the Coalition has created a 'pupil premium' aimed at disadvantaged children in order to reduce the attainment gap between them and their peers. Though the evidence is mixed, a combination of such initiatives, of others like the London Challenge of 2003 and the success of many individual schools serving deprived areas, seem to have improved examination results, and more importantly, raised the aspirations of many of our most disadvantaged pupils.
### Youth culture
Youth culture is an amorphous topic but one that obviously affects schools. Often it is defined by activities that interest the media, social problems that schools are expected to solve – drugs, alcohol abuse, knife crime, teenage pregnancies, early sexualisation, lack of respect for authority, racism and so on. Other trends may be more important since they could affect pupils' attitudes more generally: for example, excessive interest in celebrities, consumerism and interactive mobile phones and tablets, disinterest in national or international politics in local clubs and societies, or more positively a greater commitment to educational success. In his Education in Britain 1944 to the Present (2003) Ken Jones detected 'a new student culture emerging in which successful examination performance had a central part'. Pink Floyd's 'We don't need no education' of 1979 resonated less.
However, accounts of education usually neglect the importance of the Youth Service, which serves young people still at school. According to the National Youth Agency in 2010, 28 per cent of all 13–19-year-olds were in contact with some form of youth service, many of them from the most desperate backgrounds in terms of family breakdown and potential abuse. But youth centres suffered worst from the cuts to the education budget at the beginning of the Coalition government. In Greater London, eight of its thirteen youth centres were closed. In some other local authorities there was 100 per cent closure.
### National identity
Britain joined the European Union in 1973. As the years have passed, critics of the EU have grown more vociferous and gained greater public support. Governments have granted greater devolution to Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Should England and its regions have greater autonomy is a live question in 2015, so too is how healthy is British democracy? Ethnic minorities, notably Muslim communities, seem to be retaining their own cultural values. Governments have expected schools to contribute to a sense of national identity, whether it was the Conservatives requiring more British history in the National Curriculum, or New Labour introducing compulsory citizenship education, or the Coalition insisting on 'British values' being taught. Such initiatives pose difficult philosophic questions for teachers in a free society.
### The digital revolution
Currently education systems are grappling with the implications of this technological revolution, which began in the late 1970s and has accelerated since then. British governments were swift to respond to it. From 1981 to 1984 the Thatcher government gave £8 million to schools through its Microelectronics Education Programme (MEP). Both primary and secondary schools purchased in large numbers the BBC Acorn computer and Research Machines (RM) products. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) became part of the National Curriculum. New Labour strongly supported greater investment in ICT. It set up the British Education Communication and Technology Agency (BECTA) in 1999 and made £230 million available to schools. ICT and Computer Science courses proliferated. However there were problems. For headteachers, investment in the best technology posed significant problems, partly because of the cost, partly, in the early years, because of reliability and partly because of the pace of innovation. Pupils too often had more sophisticated equipment at home than their schools. Teacher training lagged behind the investment in hardware and in the early twenty-first century pupils reported being bored with their ICT lessons, which focused on the introduction of comparatively undemanding computing skills. The numbers taking GCSE and A-Level courses fell. The Coalition government abolished BECTA in 2010 and in 2014 had the National Curriculum in ICT revised so pupils would gain a deeper understanding of computer technology through learning, for example, what algorithms are and how to create and debug computer programs.
In most schools digital technology is now ubiquitous, with electronic white-boards, iPads and other tablets, an array of computers in staff rooms and departmental offices, and linking parents to the school. As yet the impact on learning remains unclear. Most teachers agree that used well, digital technology improves motivation and is an immediate help with individual project work. It seems to be proving a real help for pupils having difficulty with basic literacy and numeracy. There are however no obvious signs yet of digital technology superseding the teacher at the heart of the learning process.
## Conclusion
Consequently, there have been 40 years of radical political and economic change and of far-reaching social trends, to which schools, colleges and universities have had to respond. The central question on which the contributors to this book reflect is the extent to which the Thatcher-Blair-Cameron consensus has created an educational policy framework that has enabled our teachers to help their pupils flourish to their individual benefit and to the advantage of their country.
## References
Jones, K., 2003, Education in Britain 1944 to the present day, Oxford: Blackwell.
Joseph, K., 1976, Stranded on the middle ground?: reflections on circumstances and policies, London: Centre for Policy Studies.
Lawlor, S., 1990, Teachers Mistaught, London: Centre of Policy Studies.
Wolf Report, 2011, Review of Vocational Education, London: DfE.
# [2
The Revolution Begins](content.xhtml#bck_Ch02)
Lord Kenneth Baker
## Introduction
In 1976 James Callaghan, the Prime Minister, startled the educational world by making a speech that dared to question the quality of education being provided in many schools. Prime ministers were not meant to do this; they should not trample in the sacred vineyard of a school's curriculum. Callaghan's views were strongly opposed by virtually all the different bodies in education: teachers, teacher unions, schools, colleges, local education authorities and the departments of education in universities. Indeed his own Secretary of State, Shirley Williams, opposed his views and so little was achieved, but by the 1979 election he had started the ball rolling.
When Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister in 1979 it was expected that there would be new and innovative ideas introduced on education and some were tried, like school vouchers, but after a short time they were withdrawn. The Assisted Places Scheme gave state pupils a scholarship to attend certain private schools – this was the first measure to be scrapped by the Labour government in 1997. But there were no major radical steps in the development of a national curriculum and by 1985 there was a general feeling that little had been achieved. Indeed Oliver Letwin, an adviser in No. 10 to Margaret Thatcher and who was later to become a cabinet minister under David Cameron, sent a minute to the Prime Minister in 1982 when Letwin was returning from politics to banking, which started, 'Dear Prime Minister, You have failed in education'. He could have softened his minute by saying, 'Your ministers have failed' or 'Your government has failed' but no, he attributed it to Margaret's own personal lack of interest in making significant educational changes.
The whole education scene in the mid-1980s had been dominated by a teachers' strike that had been ongoing for 18 months. In 1986 Margaret decided that she really had to make a change – Keith Joseph, her education minister whom she admired enormously and listened to a great deal, said he wanted to step down. I was lucky enough to be asked by Margaret to become the Secretary of State of Education and Science at a time when British industry was highly critical of the output of schools: many students on leaving school were barely literate or numerate and many were ill-disciplined for the world of work.
## Secretary of State of Education and Science
When I went to see Margaret Thatcher on my appointment in May 1986 I expected to be given a list of things that she wanted done, but that wasn't how it happened. She said to me, 'Kenneth we have the teachers' strike and we must try and resolve it as soon as possible, but as regards policy go away and work up some ideas and come back to me in a month's time'. This was just what I wanted because I had my own ideas as to what needed to be done. She warned me about the Department for Education (DfE) and I remember her saying to Keith Joseph in 1983, 'You have an awful Department'. I set about shaping the changes with discussions, always roundtable, with senior civil servants, the other ministers, and my political adviser Tony Kerpel to agree what changes we would like to see.
There were two changes in particular that I wanted to introduce. I had come to realise that a national curriculum was necessary as the current arrangement meant that every school shaped its own curriculum, and so when you had a good headteacher you had a good curriculum; with a mediocre headteacher a mediocre curriculum; and with a poor headteacher a poor curriculum. Moreover there was tremendous inconsistency all over the country so when a family moved from, say, Northumberland to Devon their children joined a very different almost foreign system of education. I agreed very much with the phrase that Rab Butler once used, that all children should go through 'the common mill of education'. That was the really inspiring justification of the National Curriculum.
I also wanted to establish Technical Schools. Back in 1981 when I was the minister of Information Technology I had visited a college in Notting Hill that specialised in taking 16-year-olds who had left the education system with no certificate whatsoever and training them in computing. It was very interesting to see young people, particularly black students, sitting at computers, enthusiastic to learn and paying great attention. They knew among other things that to make music well they had to master a computer. In the wake of the Brixton riots in April 1981 we established a network of such colleges called Information Technology Centres (ITechs) across the country and I saw real transformation in the experience and life opportunities of their students. I had talked about the possibility of establishing such colleges with Keith Joseph on several occasions but never really got anywhere.
I compiled a list of proposals for the Prime Minister that included:
* The establishment of a national curriculum in a number of basic subjects.
* The provision of testing the achievement of students at the ages of 7, 11 and 14.
* The publication of the results of schools – league tables.
* The establishment of colleges independent of local authorities – City Technology Colleges – focusing upon computer technology, being funded partly by business.
* A system whereby schools as a result of a ballot of parents could move to become grant-maintained, independent of local education authorities.
* Polytechnics to cease being controlled by local authorities and become independent education institutions.
* Probably one of the most important changes: to devolve the management of a school's budget from the local education authority to the management of the head and the governing body. A trial in Cambridgeshire had shown secondary schools could do this and I built on this; and
* Per capita funding for schools and universities so that money would follow the student.
After many ministerial discussions this list was approved and it featured in the 1987 Conservative election manifesto, running over nine pages. It was the most systematic and thorough overhaul of education since 1945. After the election it fell to me to put flesh on the bones. I knew these proposals would be controversial, even to many Conservative local education authorities, so I was at great pains to balance the various working groups with a complete range of views and opinions from Left to Right, from top to bottom. I hoped that some curriculum groups would be free of controversy, like maths, but not at all. Feudal armies seemed to march in favour or against students being allowed to use calculators, to learn tables by heart, or to teach calculus below 16. It took some time to get agreement. I knew that history would be controversial so I took pains to get an outsider involved – Commander Michael Saunders-Watson who owned a stately home with a large educational wing attached to it and who was later to become chairman of the National Library. On English I appointed some of the people on the Right who had written the Black Paper series – very controversial and critical papers of the educational system – in the hope they would come up with a rigorous proposal, but I was to be disappointed – they were not concerned with basic punctuation or grammar. I set up another group, headed this time by an engineer, to produce a much more down-to-earth curriculum.
I also set about selling the idea of City Technology Colleges to groups of businesses. I went to see all the large companies likes Rolls-Royce, ICI, and Shell but they were not interested at all. They wanted the basic state system to be improved, but none were clear how that might be done. Then I turned to entrepreneurs like James Hanson, Harry Djanogly, John Hall, Phil Harris, Stanley Kalms, Geoffrey Leigh and Peter Vardy, who were prepared to put £1 million towards sponsoring a school and get involved with a curriculum that aimed at improving the quality of education and life chances of its students. Eventually, long after I had left the Department, some 15 City Technology Colleges existed, the first of the academies and still some of the most successful schools in the country.
It was clear that the comprehensive system imposed by the Labour government in the 1960s was failing our children. All-ability classes were holding many back and the staying on rate at 16 was one of the lowest in the developed world. Only 12 per cent of our 18-year-olds went on to higher education. The remaining grammar schools, together with the private schools, were creating an elite of very well-educated students. What I wanted to achieve was for state-funded schools to strive to do as well and give to parents the greater choice in deciding which school was best for their children.
The Labour Party said they were opposed to virtually everything I had introduced and they promised to repeal them once in government. It was important therefore for the Conservatives to stay in office as long as possible to ensure that the reforms had bedded down. In the event there was not a general election that Labour could win until 1997 and that allowed the National Curriculum and the other reforms to be established. I am very glad to say that Tony Blair, his first Education Secretary David Blunkett, and their education adviser Andrew Adonis kept intact 90 per cent of the reforms I had introduced. In fact Tony Blair came to develop academies using the City Technology College as his model. He wanted more schools to be independent of local education authorities, and Andrew Adonis encouraged Blair to announce in 2004 that Labour wanted to see a target of 200 academies established. When Labour left office in 2010 there were in fact 273.
The changes were so radical that many Conservative authorities did not like them and sought to continue running their own schools. There was always a number of backbench MPs who tried to weaken the changes, by example setting a very high level of support in the parental elections for Grant Maintained Schools. Throughout Margaret Thatcher gave me her full support and that's what you expect from a great leader supporting one of her embattled ministers.
The overall impact of my proposals was to devolve as much power as possible to the individual schools and colleges. The metaphor I used at the time was that I wanted to move things out from the hub of the wheel to the rim, because at the rim schools could be independent and use their own inventiveness and creativity. I was often accused of concentrating too much power in the centre by creating the National Curriculum but I was quite prepared to defend it – the government was right to create the basis of core knowledge that pupils should follow, and I never attempted to tell teachers how to teach it. There was sufficient choice within the National Curriculum for schools to be as varied and creative as they wished to be.
The big regret I have from that time was that I was unable to extend the teaching day by at least one period. I did not bring in that change because in the eventual settlement of the teachers' strike I had to agree the number of hours that a teacher spent a year teaching. If it was increased by 45 minutes I would have opened up a huge new Pandora's Box of debates with the unions and I was not prepared to undertake another battle with them.
So what did I learn as an education reformer?
* First, if you want to change fundamentally the performance of traditional schools, you must create an institution that can show that it will lead to a better result for students. Parents, students and the local community must be able to see the new institution actively working. We had to get a City Technology College up and running. It was not easy as local authorities were not willing to create competition by releasing an empty school. One of the few education authorities held by the Conservatives was Solihull and they offered a failing and closing school in Kingshurst, and we were lucky to find an outstanding head, Valerie Bragg. The Kingshurst CTC soon became one of the most successful schools in the country, a position it holds to this day. This CTC became an exemplar for a further 14.
* You cannot secure reform alone. To develop CTCs I appointed Cyril Taylor, an independent education expert, who injected dynamism into the team that I had set up in the Department. Tony Kerpel, my personal and political adviser, became a key figure particularly by ensuring that my intentions were understood by the key officials in the Department.
* You do need allies. The educational establishment in the universities was hostile to any politician who wanted something fundamentally different. The teacher unions were predictably hostile, but I remembered Keith Joseph's advice to me: 'Don't make the mistake I made of attacking the teachers'. I decided to get the parents on my side. The publication of school results was key since it gave to parents essential information that could allow them to exercise choice for the education of their children. Parents were also given a vote to decide whether their school should be Grant Maintained. A new variety of schools gave parents for the first time an opportunity to choose.
In 1997 I left the House of Commons and I was pleased that Tony Blair's first government, David Blunkett his first Education Secretary, and Blair's main educational adviser Andrew Adonis decided to accept the reforms that had been implemented since the passing of the Education Reform Act in 1988. The only significant change was the abolition of Grant Maintained Schools, which had to be brought back under the control of local authorities – it was Labour's sop to the Left, but even that was partially reversed with the later introduction of Trust Schools.
## University Technical Colleges
Over the years I had kept in touch with Ron Dearing whom I had first met when he was the Chairman of the Post Office and after his retirement I was the first to offer him a post in education with the Council for National Academic Awards, the body that regulated polytechnic qualifications. The position launched him in a very influential post-retirement career in education – he produced several key reports on student fees, curriculum reform, technical qualifications and foreign language in primary schools, quite apart from actively supporting new Christian academies. We met up again in 2007 and decided that the one thing that was missing in the English education system was good technical high schools.
The model Ron Dearing and I developed we called University Technical Colleges. They were for students from 14 to 18 and we both agreed that Mike Tomlinson's report to the Labour government supporting a 14–18 curriculum was absolutely the correct direction for English education. UTCs operate from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. for 40 weeks of the year. This extended day and shorter holidays added a whole extra teaching year over the four years. The curriculum would devote 40 per cent of the teaching time for 14–16-year-olds to practical, technical, vocational hands-on learning, and 60 per cent to the basic GCSE subjects – English, maths, the three sciences, a foreign language and a humanities subject. The other key features were that a university would be asked to sponsor the UTC – this meant that the university would go into the UTC to help with teaching and to introduce students to the resource riches of a university. The university would also be partly responsible for shaping the specialist curriculum. In this it would be helped by local companies and employers who knew what skills were needed locally. The Baker Dearing Educational Trust (BDET) expects employers not only to help shape the specialist technical curriculum with the university, but also to provide projects for the students and then help with teaching them.
The BDET is grateful to the Edge Foundation for granting us £150,000 to get started. We used the grant to print a brochure explaining UTCs and to commission Exeter University to produce a report on how all the schemes and proposals to improve technical education since 1870 had failed.
Ron and I then went to see the Schools Minister Andrew Adonis who immediately liked the UTC idea and said that he would provide financial support for two. We were buoyed up by this generous support and decided that I should begin by approaching a university. I rang up Julia King, the Vice Chancellor of Aston University, one of our leading engineering universities, and who is herself a qualified engineer. Julia liked the UTC concept very much and committed her university to support us. We then won the support of Birmingham Council, where the education director and leader of the council, Mike Whitby, provided an empty site very close to the university. We met with several local employers – national and small – who wanted just this sort of school: the Aston University Engineering Academy is today over-subscribed.
Ron Dearing and I then had to make a big decision. Should we proceed with the two UTCs for which we had the government's support by getting them open in, say, two years and then measuring their success after a further three or four years? This would mean if the UTCs were successful we would not find out until 2014–2015. We agreed that the demand for such schools was so pressing we must get as many going as soon as possible, but we also recognised that such a policy had real risks. These were novel and unique schools blending technical and academic education, and while some would succeed there could also be failures. Undaunted we decided to go flat out to establish as many as we could. We managed to get five groups interested to establish the first five UTCs, and sure enough two ran into difficulties. But the next 12 UTCs were infinitely better – some are now outstanding – it was a reminder that the path of reform is never a faultless road.
As an election was approaching in 2010 it was necessary to win the support of the other political parties. I met David Cameron, the Leader of the Opposition, George Osborne, and Michael Gove all of whom liked the UTC idea and committed an incoming Conservative government in their manifesto to establish 12 UTCs. David Cameron picks up new ideas very quickly and saw how UTCs could certainly help with his 'Broken Society' by engaging the disengaged 13–14-year-olds who were fed up with the education they were getting in their comprehensives. I am glad to say that UTCs have gained all-party support: created under Labour and expanded under the Coalition.
The target of all UTCs is to ensure that when students leave at 16 or 18 none should join the ranks of the unemployed – no NEETs. It is a target that we meet. UTCs are major agents of social mobility: we provide opportunities for thousands of young people that they would not have had if they had remained at their previous schools.
One of the extraordinary features of the UTC movement is that it has been left to a charity, the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, to be the main promoter of UTCs and also to help them to become properly established as well as to ensure they meet the criteria of their specialist technical curriculum. This requires our charity to retain a significant team of ex-headteachers and inspectors, and to maintain a constant relationship with officials in the DfE and in some cases with local education authorities. If it had been left to the DfE to promote UTCs I do not believe that by now as many as 60 would have been approved.
# [Part II
Schools](content.xhtml#bck_part2)
# [3
The Early Years](content.xhtml#bck_Ch03)
Wendy Scott
## Introduction
It has been extremely interesting to reflect on the radical change in education over two generations. The trajectory of changes in early years education, as this chapter will show, though as radical as those affecting primary and secondary sectors, is different and more complicated.
I must immediately acknowledge the deep and lasting value of the Froebel training that I undertook between 1958 and 1961. Having refused to go to Cambridge and instead entering the Froebel Educational Institute (FEI) with the intention of teaching secondary maths, I was waylaid by the early years programme. It was taught socratically, and included the philosophy, psychology, sociology and history of education. During the three-year course, we also had lectures from health and social services professionals as well as artists and artisans. Molly Brearley, the FEI Principal, had a strong influence on Children and their Primary Schools, the Plowden Report, which was published in 1967.
Although more recent research has questioned some conclusions of the Report, Plowden's central tenet remains as true for effective education of young children in 2015 as it was in 1967: 'At the heart of the educational process lies the child'. In the early years, children have not yet learned to be pupils. They bring such varied expectations and experience with them to school, that teachers must pay attention to each individual in the context of their families and cultures. The most radical change in education policy since the 1980s is that individual children's needs and broader potential achievements have become secondary to the current standards agenda, directed by political ideology that is aligned with a simplistic economic model.
## Teaching 1976–1981
In 1974, I returned to teaching after seven years at home looking after my two young children. I was appointed to open a new nursery class during the brief period of expansion of nursery provision in Education Priority Areas, introduced by Margaret Thatcher when she was Secretary of State for Education. Given a headteacher with little awareness of or interest in the early years, and a demountable classroom across the playground from his office, I had complete autonomy on curriculum and organisation and was able to work closely with parents and also with health visitors and the probation service. This freedom continued throughout the time I was teaching, up to the mid-1980s.
## Headship 1981–1986
I then became the teaching head of a demonstration nursery school on a university campus. This role involved full curricular, pastoral and management responsibilities in addition to full-time teaching. As headteacher, I had total freedom to design and implement the curriculum in collaboration with outstanding staff, and had control of the budget, apart from the costs related to the premises and staff salaries. The nursery built strong links with lecturers: I believe it was the first school in the country to introduce philosophy seminars for four-year-olds, and our ground-breaking work with the BBC B computer and the remote-controlled 'turtle' was made possible through additional expert support from the college. We welcomed many students and visitors from around the world; at this time, there was global interest in the enlightened British approach to primary and early years education.
Because of the advantages the nursery school enjoyed, we were able to specialise in the education of children with language difficulty and delay, and worked closely with other services. A speech therapist agreed to hold her clinic in an adjoining tutorial room. There she was able to observe her clients in a naturalistic environment through the one-way windows and advise on children where there were concerns. A school doctor came in regularly to undertake health checks. The publication of the Warnock report on Special Educational Needs (SEN) in 1978 provided a framework for our commitment to work on SEN.
I was fortunate in having a headship at a high point for nursery education and consider that this was the time in my career when I was able to have the most effective influence on children, their families, students and other colleagues through respectful reciprocal relationships.
## Some of the main developments in nursery education and the early years curriculum
I left headship in 1986. As I moved to a variety of non-school posts, it will be useful at this stage to outline some of the main national policy shifts in both nursery education and the early years curriculum.
### Nursery education
Historically, the provision of nursery education has been patchy across the UK. The Effective Provision of Preschool Education (EPPE) study showed that highly qualified early years staff make a crucial difference to children's achievement, at least up to the end of Key Stage 2, but although they have by far the highest proportion rated outstanding by Ofsted of any part of the education system, the number of maintained nursery schools in England since the 1990s has fallen by more than 20 per cent. They are often the preferred setting for inclusion and social care referrals for vulnerable children and their families. Sixty per cent of nursery schools in England already offer funded places for disadvantaged two-year-olds and more are in the process of setting this up. Given the difficulty of finding sufficient high-quality places for the two-year-old programme, these placements are a vital resource. Nevertheless, maintained nursery schools are facing an uncertain future as a result of reducing budgets and the drive to a Single Funding Formula across providers in each local authority (LA). Nursery school headteachers now have to manage very complex demands, especially where the school forms part of a Children's Centre. In common with primary and secondary education, the role of headteacher has changed considerably, not least because of the high levels of accountability. The particular demands of work in disadvantaged areas, where outreach to parents is a high priority, are not generally recognised, although the recent introduction of the Pupil Premium, albeit at a much lower level than for school-aged children, will go some way to addressing these problems.
In 2013, the Education Select Committee recommended that government should 'set out a strategy for ensuring the survival of those [maintained Nursery Schools] that remain'. The government response to this recommendation failed to address the issue and showed a worrying lack of understanding of the distinctive qualities of nursery schools led by specialist headteachers.
### Key government initiatives from 1989
Just after the introduction of the National Curriculum for children of statutory school age, the DES published guidance on The Education of Children Under Five, written by HMI in 1989. It provided illustrations of a play-based curriculum expressed through nine interlinked areas of learning and experience, which offered
a broad, balanced, differentiated and relevant curriculum which takes into account the assessment of children's progress, promotes equal opportunities irrespective of gender, ethnic grouping or socio-economic background, and responds effectively to children's special educational needs life.
The Rumbold Report (1990) provided an authoritative guide to provision for the early years, which remains pertinent to this day and informs the principles of the current Early Years Foundation Stage. These are hard to sustain given the increasingly demanding expectations of school readiness and other accountability measures.
In 1992, the government commissioned a discussion paper, Curriculum Organisation and Classroom Practice in Primary Schools, which recommended among other things that the teacher should be an instructor rather than a facilitator and that there should be a more direct emphasis on subject teaching. Written by Robin Alexander, Jim Rose and Chris Woodhead, it became known as 'The Three Wise Men's Report'. Tricia David, Audrey Curtis and Iram Siraj-Blatchford (three wise women), concerned by the focus on instruction and the likely negative effect of this on the early years, countered in 1993 with a well-referenced booklet Fostering Children's Learning in Nurseries and Infant Classes.
In 1996 the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority identified Desirable Outcomes for Children's Learning before Compulsory School Age (DLOs). This was the first time that outcomes had been specified in early years and there was considerable unease among practitioners who feared that teaching would be unduly influenced by expectations of outcomes rather than being seen as extending children's learning in a developmentally appropriate way.
The DLOs were replaced by the Labour government that came into power in 1997, who instead put in place Early Learning Goals as part of the Foundation Stage, introduced in 2000.
As nursery provision expanded through Sure Start (see below), which drew in younger children, Birth to Three Matters was published in 2002 to provide information, guidance and challenge for all those with responsibility for the care and education of children up to the age of three. It valued and celebrated babies and children, recognised their individuality, efforts and achievements, and acknowledged that all children have a need to develop learning through interaction with empathetic people and exploration of the world around them, from birth. The Framework took the child as its focus, steering away from subjects, specific areas of experience and distinct curriculum headings.
The Birth to Three Matters Framework, though based on a thorough analysis of the literature and welcomed across the sector, was discontinued in 2012, following the review of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the Early Years Profile (the assessment at the end of the Foundation Stage) undertaken by Dame Clare Tickell in 2011. This resulted in a simplification of the Profile, and combined regulatory standards and guidance for children from birth to the end of the reception year. Higher expectations were introduced for literacy and mathematics. These, combined with the downward pressure from the Year 1 phonics check, are leading to a significant increase in teacher-led instruction, making it more difficult to respond to spontaneous events and children's existing knowledge and interests.
The simplified EYFS Profile may become voluntary from 2016, although the Study of Early Education and Development (SEED) project, recently commissioned by the DfE, relies on Profile data for the 5,000 children they are following through to the end of Key Stage 1, and assessments undertaken by the health service are linking with it too. Annual entry to primary school means that a whole class is admitted in the September of the year in which children become five, although the statutory age of entry is the term after a child's fifth birthday. Many children are thus only just four on entry to school. Pre-schools and nurseries, which have proliferated in the private, voluntary and independent (PVI) sector since 1997, lose the influence and example of the older cohort of children, and the children themselves, particularly the youngest in the group, have a major adjustment to make when they enter their reception class.
PVI nurseries and pre-schools are staffed by people with generally lower levels of qualification than obtain in nursery and reception classes in primary schools; this divide between the maintained and non-maintained sectors is a continuing issue. In 2011, the Coalition government commissioned a review of early years qualifications from Professor Cathy Nutbrown. Foundations for Quality was published in 2012. Among other things, it recommended that a specialist qualification should be established for early years teachers, equipping them to work with children from birth to seven. The government response to this was to establish entry qualifications comparable to those for teacher training and to re-badge as Early Years Teachers the cadre of Early Years Professionals who had a graduate-level qualification, without granting them Qualified Teacher Status. This is causing considerable frustration and confusion.
The split in provision for the Foundation Stage in the UK is unusual; most other European countries have a coherent early years curriculum, offered in one setting, typically for children up to the age of six or seven, and staffed by professionals well qualified in early years pedagogy. Downward pressures for more formal approaches are increasing in England. The phonics check in Year 1 and the drive for narrowly defined school readiness as well as the raised standards in the EYFS Profile are resulting in unrealistic expectations of what children know and can do, achieved at the expense of more effective approaches to learning with understanding. Summer-born and premature children are particularly at risk of misdiagnosis of special educational needs. Proposals for on-entry baseline assessment designed to enable measurement of school effectiveness are causing concern as they will take teachers away from their first priority of settling up to 30 new children into school. Accountability is increasingly to a system, rather than to children.
## LEA Inspector and Adviser 1987–1990
In 1987, I became a District Inspector for the Early Years with the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). I had been impressed by papers on the impact of race, class and gender on achievement published by ILEA in the 1980s and was delighted to join the Authority. My role offered unequalled opportunities to learn from expert colleagues and to observe a wide range of practice across nursery schools and classes in four London Boroughs. It involved the line management of an expert group of advisory staff; the induction of up to 100 newly qualified EY teachers annually; links with specialist teachers' centres and experience of inspection as a professional and constructive way of working with schools. It offered the capacity to support new initiatives as well as to make proactive intervention where necessary. ILEA recognised that work in the early years requires specialist expertise and funded any primary teacher who converted to nursery teaching for a term's re-training. Secondary teachers were required to undertake a year-long course.
The unjustifiable abolition of ILEA resulted in the loss of considerable expertise, including specialist Teachers' Centres, among them the Centre for Language in Primary Education (CLPE), which is now an independent UK charity with a global reputation for the quality of its research into literacy and teaching. For many years CLPE pioneered approaches to formative, observation-based assessment, creating the Primary Language Record (PLR). The PLR was recommended by the Cox Committee, which developed the English National Curriculum as a model for a national system of record keeping and is now in use in widely differing systems throughout the world.
## Unitary Authority Inspector/Adviser 1990–1993
In 1990, I was appointed as the primary and early years' inspector in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC). This role demanded broader responsibility across the primary age range, working with specialist subject inspectors on the National Curriculum; supporting and moderating the introduction of Standard Assessment Tasks in Key Stage 1; a strong focus on professional development; and implementation of the Children Act 1989.
It was instructive to move from the largest Education Authority in England to RBKC, one of the smallest. Links with Social Services were close, although the Director of Education at the time turned down the innovative possibility of a combined service. Given the complexity of the role of current Directors of Children's Services, he was perhaps wise, although the implementation of the Children Act would have been more effective given joint working. The Borough was served by two health authorities that had radically different approaches to collaboration. Regrettably, professional boundaries still persist in some areas, in spite of the opportunities offered by Sure Start, and growing political awareness at local as well as national level.
It was during the three years that I worked in RBKC that Standard Assessment Tasks at the end of Key Stages 1 and 2 were introduced. The first tasks for seven-year-olds were designed around active learning, providing challenges to children to design a maths game and to have first-hand experience of scientific experiments. This required a learner-centred way of working, which was better aligned to children's interests than more formal approaches. Although complex to administer, it gave multi-layered opportunities to show what each child understood and could do and was arguably a more informative assessment than current, more limited tests. I learned a great deal in my role as moderator in this and in assessing children's progress in reading and writing.
It is a source of concern as well as regret that the role of local authority advisers and inspectors is now seriously undermined due to the introduction of academies and free schools, as well as heavy budget cuts.
## Ofsted Registered Inspector and Nursery Inspector and Trainer 1993–1998
The establishment of Ofsted in 1992 meant that many local authority inspectors became redundant. I was fortunate to be offered early retirement, as having a pension released me to do voluntary work as well as to undertake Ofsted training as a Registered Inspector and also a Nursery Inspector and Trainer. My first experience as a member of an Ofsted team was the inspection of a large primary school under the guidance of an HMI who led eight of us through a five-day inspection. He insisted that the inspection team and all the staff met together before the inspection started, and explained in detail what we would be doing. His final remarks to the teachers were: 'If you don't feel you have had the best professional development for free by the end of the week, then we will have failed'. As a Registered Inspector myself, I always remembered his words and still consider that it is unprofessional and wasteful not to build constructively on the detailed observation involved in inspection. For several years, I chose to tender for inspections of maintained nursery schools in differing local authorities across the country, as I was interested to see how this non-statutory service was supported, both professionally and politically.
Since then, Ofsted has become a data-driven organisation, which is particularly unhelpful in the early years when assessment and evaluation need to be holistic and judgements must be nuanced, taking into account many aspects of children's lives. Given that inspections are now brief, usually with one unmoderated inspector, it is worrying that Ofsted is deemed to be the sole arbiter of quality across the early years. For a while, early years was not reported on separately in Section 5 school inspections. This has now been reinstated, but there are concerns about the lack of knowledge and relevant experience of some inspectors. It is to be hoped they will be guided by the definition of teaching given in Ofsted's evaluation schedule for inspections of registered early years provision:
Teaching should not be taken to imply a 'top down' or formal way of working. It is a broad term which covers the many different ways in which adults help young children learn. It includes their interactions with children during planned and child-initiated play and activities: communicating and modelling language, showing, explaining, demonstrating, exploring ideas, encouraging, questioning, recalling, providing a narrative for what they are doing, facilitating and setting challenges. It takes account of the equipment they provide and the attention to the physical environment as well as the structure and routines of the day that establish expectations. Integral to teaching is how practitioners assess what children know, understand and can do as well as take account of their interests and dispositions to learn (characteristics of effective learning), and use this information to plan children's next steps in learning and monitor their progress.
## Voluntary organisation
From 1994 to 1997 I was Vice-Chair and then Chair of The British Association for Early Childhood Education (BAECE, now known as Early Education), then Chief Executive, from 1997 to 2000.
Moving to freelance working enabled me to offer voluntary support to Early Education. At that time, Cheryl Gillan, then a junior minister in the Department for Education and Employment, opened discussions on the need for childcare, and plans to introduce nursery vouchers were announced. On behalf of Early Education, I gave evidence to the Education Select Committee on the undesirability of the scheme, which would have made planning and quality control difficult.
## New Labour 1997–2010
In 1994, the RSA published Start Right, a report written by Sir Christopher Ball, which strongly endorsed the importance of the early years, recommending that all children should have access to high-quality nursery education, which should also support parents. With the election of a Labour government in 1997, a strong policy of expansion of provision for young children was introduced that gave powerful impetus to Early Education's work. The growing recognition of the value of investing in the early years enabled the appointment of a Development Officer in each of the four countries of the UK and also a Chief Executive, thanks to grant funding.
When the research into the Effective Provision of Pre-school Education (EPPE) was announced in 1997, I was invited to join the consultative group and am very pleased that they took up my suggestion of including some maintained nursery schools in the project. These emerged consistently as offering the highest-quality provision, with a positive influence on children's later achievement at least until the end of Key Stage 2.
My involvement in the selection of Early Excellence Centres, which were introduced as models for joint working, drew on my varied experience. I also attended meetings in Westminster as a 'Friend of Sure Start', where possibilities were discussed as the Labour government shaped its thinking about early years care and education. It was an exciting time, full of possibilities for improving provision for young children and their families. Day-care mattered, but the focus was very much on children's learning and on supporting parents, in recognition of the crucial importance of the home learning environment.
## 1999 Chair of the Early Childhood Forum (ECF)
Dame Gillian Pugh, the first director of the Early Childhood Unit at the National Children's Bureau, saw the need to bring together different services with varying perspectives so that they could learn to understand each other and to collaborate. She instituted the Early Childhood Education Forum, now the Early Childhood Forum (ECF) in 1993. This brought together the major national organisations concerned with the care and education of young children from the PVI and the maintained sectors. Services for children with special needs, parents, governors, inspectors and local authorities from across the UK were also represented. The over-riding purpose was to speak with a united voice in pursuit of agreed aims. The ECF grew to a total membership of nearly 40 organisations with an interest in early years; observers from the Departments of Health and Education and from Ofsted attended meetings. It was highly influential in the development of Sure Start, and I was honoured to become the first elected chair.
The ECF worked on proposals for an approach to the early years curriculum for some time and published Quality in Diversity in Early Learning in 1998. This is a major piece of work directed by Vicky Hurst, which involved practitioners and academics from all sectors across the country, who put together an agreed framework, influenced by New Zealand's inclusive Te Whariki curriculum, as a guide to provision for children from birth to six. This was superseded by the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, a government-imposed framework, developed in consultation with expert advisers. In spite of this child-centred guidance, the prescriptive Literacy and Numeracy Strategies introduced into primary schools in 1998 resulted in pressure on nurseries and pre-schools to begin to do more formalised work in these areas of learning.
Since the Coalition government came into power in 2010, there has been strong ministerial control of the curriculum and assessment across all key stages. The revised Early Years Foundation Stage sets statutory standards that all early years providers, in the PVI sector as well as in maintained schools, must meet.
An EYFS Profile must be completed for each child at the end of the reception year in primary school. The main purpose is to provide a rounded and accurate assessment of individual children's levels of achievement at the end of the EYFS. The profile describes each child's attainment against 17 early learning goals, together with a short narrative about their learning characteristics. It is increasingly being used by health professionals as a measure of children's achievement, and is included in the SEED (Study of Early Education and Development) research project as a baseline measure, so current proposals that it should become voluntary are of concern, especially as this is allied to the introduction of a baseline measure for all children on entry to the reception year.
The current emphasis on progress rather than on simple measures of achievement is welcome, but is resulting in counter-productive demands on staff due to simplistic expectations of linear progression, which must be evidenced in detail for each child. Assessment now rules practice, and teachers no longer have scope to apply their professional judgement and to ensure that children have a rounded educational experience. The prime areas of learning, namely personal, social and emotional development, communication and language, and physical development are being sidelined in the push for academic achievement. This is disastrous in the early years, where the focus should be on broader intellectual growth.
## Sure Start
Sure Start was one of the most radical policy initiatives undertaken in this country. Norman Glass, who was Deputy Director (micro economics) in HM Treasury between 1995 and 2001, was the person who brought it about, alongside Margaret Hodge MP, Minister for Children. I never imagined that I would attend consultations in the Treasury, let alone meet a civil servant with such sympathy with the aims of the programme and grasp of the issues. As his obituary in The Independent noted, Norman chaired the Comprehensive Spending Review that led to the setting up of Sure Start. He ensured the programme was based on good research evidence and underpinned by core values. He was keen that childcare not be 'captured' simply as a route towards the greater employability of parents: it should be both cost effective and socially just, to ensure that children had the best possible start in life.
Glass went on to lead the Interdepartmental Review, which resulted in the creation of a Cabinet Committee on Children and Young People and a cross-departmental Children's Unit to coordinate policy and administer the proposed Children's Fund. He chaired the official steering group to implement the Sure Start programme, which was designed to narrow the gap in achievement between more and less advantaged children, now an increasing problem.
## Adviser to the Department for Education and Employment 2000–2002
I attended several meetings of the Friends of Sure Start after Labour came into power in 1997 and was appointed to the DfEE in 2000 as part of a team working with the newly established Early Years Development and Childcare Partnerships (EYDCPs) across England, helping to develop effective multi-professional collaboration and planning for growth.
The expansion of nursery classes under Thatcher had been short-lived, and provision for non-statutory early years education across the country remained patchy, depending largely on political priorities in different local authorities; indeed, the Pre-school Playgroups Association (now the Pre-school Learning Alliance) was founded in 1962 in order to fill the gaps in the availability of nursery schools and classes. Historically, independent and private providers have also been part of the mix. When the Labour government decided to expand provision, giving an entitlement to 12 hours of nursery education to all three- and four-year-olds and allowing choice as to sessions attended, it relied on PVI nurseries to fill the gaps. The push towards collaboration and multi-agency working was expressed through EYDCPs in each local authority. There was a wide range of existing provision, which was very scarce in some areas. The qualifications of staff in the PVI sector were generally lower than in maintained nursery schools and classes, although staffing ratios were better. A recent proposal to trade improved qualifications for lower ratios of adults to children was rejected by the sector.
As well as considerable professional challenge, this period gave me deep insights into the very different approaches to early years care and education across the south east of England and the influence individual politicians, local authority officers, or practitioners could have, at both micro and macro levels. I also learned a lot about the complexities of a government department.
I already knew that any proposal that took up more than a single A4 sheet of paper was unlikely to be considered and that long-term strategic thinking had little traction as each government made its own decisions. Criticism was not welcome unless accompanied by proposed solutions. I discovered that the timeframe for policy change was shorter than a parliamentary term, as it was conditioned by finances. A Comprehensive Spending Review, when the Treasury allocates funding to each Ministry, takes place every two years, so planning is tied to that. However, the Education Department sees an annual battle over spending priorities between the various divisions, for example schools, special needs, FE and so on. A new initiative such as Sure Start must show that it is effective very quickly, or lose further investment. This explains the rushed implementation, not just of Sure Start, but of other initiatives, for example the Neighbourhood Nurseries or the current push to make provision for disadvantaged two-year-olds. The Sutton Trust has recently advised that this policy should be slowed down until enough places of good enough quality are available, but it is nevertheless proceeding, with schools encouraged to take these very young children into a less than ideal situation.
I saw little evidence of corporate memory in the Department, partly because of the career structure in the Civil Service, where people tend to move on every two or three years. This churn means that continuity is compromised. Governments claim that evidence-based policy prevails and that consultations are meaningful, but my experience, endorsed by subsequent observation, suggests that decisions are largely ideologically based and the use of evidence may be selective, even when drawn from research commissioned by the government itself. I checked recently on consultation procedures, and the DfE confirmed that each submission counts as a single response, even if it comes from a large group. I was told that some are read more carefully than others. It is admirable that an analysis of responses is now put up on the DfE website, but the clear statement that a proposal will happen, although only a minority of people agree, is not very reassuring. It is disheartening that the Minister who advocates direct instruction grounded in prescribed phonics programmes has no experience of the complexity of literacy teaching and is advised by people who gain financially from the policy.
It was refreshing to spend the following year working with the Early Excellence Programme and its evaluation. Just over a hundred Centres were identified as models of good multi-professional practice. In every case, there was dynamic, determined and visionary leadership, and a sympathetic and enlightened local authority also contributed to their success. These Centres were important in addressing the underlying aim of Every Child Matters (ECM), introduced in 2004 with the aim of safeguarding children and giving each one the best chances in life. Now that ECM has been withdrawn and the Department for Children, Schools and Families has become the Department for Education, one has to wonder whether every child does still matter. Recent cuts mean that Children's Centres have been closed, or are accessible for very short hours and only able to offer signposting to declining family support and other services.
## Working as a consultant in China and the Maldives as well as the UK 2000–2007
A very interesting career development emerged just before I moved to work with the government in 2000. I was asked to welcome a high-level delegation of visitors from China who wanted to find out about the British approach to early years education. A professor from the Normal University in Beijing had looked around the world and decided that our approach was what was needed to enable China to broaden its provision so that children could be more expressive and creative. The British Council funded several such delegations over five years and also supported annual visits of English Early Years experts to different parts of China. I have subsequently worked for UNICEF in a post-tsunami programme developing early years provision in the Maldives, where there is a similar acknowledgement of the value of our heritage of high-quality early education. The tragedy is that we are losing our focus on quality in England, as the prime aim of support for children's learning and development is being displaced by the push for affordable childcare, and the pressure for ever-earlier formal teaching is resulting in the loss of children's confidence in themselves and of their disposition to learn.
## Conclusion
The erosion of overarching educational values and ethical principles at policy level means there is no longer a proper context for constructive, reasoned debate. Unrealistic expectations and inappropriate top-down pressures are undermining the stated principles that underpin the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage (2012), which covers the education and care of all children up to the end of the reception year. Teachers of all age groups need scope to customise education to individual pupils, not only in order to accommodate cultural differences, but also to take account of the changes and chances that are part of life for us all.
In 2008, Graham Allen MP advised the government on ways of eliminating or reducing costly and damaging social problems for individuals. His report examined how this could be done by giving children and parents the right type of evidence-based programme, especially in the children's earliest years. Allen warned:
If we continue to fail, we will only perpetuate the cycle of wasted potential, low achievement, drink and drug misuse, unintended teenage pregnancy, low work aspirations, anti-social behaviour and lifetimes on benefits, which now typifies millions of lives and is repeated through succeeding generations.
The report stresses that only early intervention can break the inter-generational cycle of dysfunction and under-achievement. Socially and emotionally capable people are more-productive, better-educated, tax-paying citizens who can help our nation to compete in the global economy, and make fewer demands on public expenditure.
In 2010, Frank Field endorsed Sure Start by saying that investment in the Foundation Stage and support for families and parents are the most effective ways of ensuring that young people are able to break through economic and social barriers to achieve in later life.
All political parties appear to be committed to investment in the vital early years as a means of equalising children's life chances at a time when poverty and inequality are increasing. The current political climate and blame culture, the deliberate rejection of expert advice from specialists who have dedicated their professional lives to education, and the highly selective use of evidence are demoralising staff and harming children's life chances. Nevertheless, teachers, with support, can do much to help create a more equal society.
Advice to future policy makers:
* Implement in full the recommendations of the Nutbrown Review of early years qualifications, and provide mentoring for all working in the early years.
* Reform the accountability system, ensuring that it is primarily to children and families, and convert inspection into a positive opportunity for improvement and professional development.
* Take decisions on the curriculum away from politicians and recognise teachers and other staff as professionals.
## Notes
1 Ofsted 2013 Evaluation Schedule for Inspections of Registered Early Years Provision, guidance and grade descriptors for inspecting registered early years provision p. 7, footnote 8.
2 Graham Allen MP, 2011 Early Intervention: The Next Steps, Independent Report to the Government, Ref: 404489/0111 Department for Work and Pensions and The Cabinet Office
## Further reading
Association of Teachers and Lecturers (2002) Inside the Foundation Stage, a report on practice in reception classes. London: ATL.
Blakemore, S.-J. (2000) Early Years Learning: The POST Report. London: Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.
David, T. et al. (2003) Birth to Three Matters: A Review of the Literature. London: DfES Publications.
Department for Education (2014) Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. London: DfE Publications.
Early Years Curriculum Group (1995) Four-Year-Olds in School: Myths and Realities. Oldham: Madeleine Lindley.
Gopnik, A. (2000) The Philosophical Baby: What Children's Minds Tell Us about Truth, Love, and the Meaning of Life. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Goswami, U. (2015) Children's Cognitive Development and Learning. CPRT Research Survey 3.
Save Childhood Movement, www.savechildhood.net/ and www.toomuchtoosoon.org/. TACTYC Occasional Papers, www.tactyc.org.uk/occasional-papers/.
WAVE Trust (2013) Conception to Age 2 – The Age of Opportunity. London: DfE Publications.
# [4
Primary Education](content.xhtml#bck_Ch04)
Can we escape the legacy of elementary education?
Tony Eaude
## Introduction
My career as a primary teacher started in a suburban school in 1976, a few weeks before the speech in which Prime Minister James Callaghan launched what came to be called the 'Great Debate' and about ten years after the Plowden Report (1967), which represented a vision of primary education very different from that of elementary schools before the 1944 Act, where:
* the curriculum involved a narrow emphasis on what Alexander (2010, p. 242) calls Curriculum 1 ('the basics'), with little time for Curriculum 2 ('the rest');
* teaching was mainly based on instruction and transmission of content knowledge; and
* teachers were poorly qualified.
In 1980 I moved to a large school in a new town, becoming deputy head in 1983. I was appointed as headteacher of a first school in 1989, just after the 1988 Education Reform Act, and left that post in 1998 to study for a doctorate. Since then, I have worked independently, mostly researching and writing about young children's education and working with teachers in primary schools and teacher educators. So, my professional life falls neatly into three main periods, with cut off points in 1989 and 1998.
The next three sections describe the key changes in these periods in the curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, accountability and school structures and reflect on less tangible aspects such as how these changes were perceived at the time. I then provide an overview of these four decades of change in relation to primary education. The final section suggests lessons for those concerned with policy and practice, if primary education is to escape from the enduring legacy of elementary education.
## From 1976 to 1989
As a primary class teacher, in the 1970s and 1980s, I had considerable autonomy over the curriculum. Teachers were expected to hear children read regularly and do mathematics, much of it practical and working through text books. There was a strong emphasis on art, physical education and what was usually called topic work. I was able to choose a topic for a half-term or a term. The idea of 'good primary practice' was prevalent. Although never clearly defined, this often involved starting from a first-hand experience or an artefact and children writing, drawing, measuring and finding out more about it.
Teachers could, within the constraints of breaks, assemblies and hall times, structure the timetable as they wished. I adopted an integrated day with some separate lessons, especially for maths and handwriting, but most of the timetable was not divided into separate lessons or subjects. The day usually ended with me reading a story. Children were expected to organise their own time, often over a few days. For example, I recall two boys spending most of two days completing a beautiful painting of a fish. My teaching involved relatively little direct instruction and was largely what Alexander (see Eaude, 2011, pp. 14–) calls facilitation, underpinned by a philosophy that children should be allowed to develop at their own pace and that this should involve a broad range of experiences.
The curriculum was largely a matter for the school to decide, prompted but not determined by national policy. The early 1980s saw a greater emphasis on science. Increasingly, from the middle 1980s, our school developed an approach to teaching reading based on 'real books' (as opposed to a reading scheme). Following the Swann Report (1985), which called for schools to cater more for the needs of an ethnically diverse society, my largely white school undertook a great deal of work about racism, resulting in my doing the DES 20-day course on ethnic diversity.
There was little detailed lesson planning and no expectation, except in the first year or two of teaching, that one's plans would be scrutinised. I was on my own for most of the time at my first school, teaching all subjects except music. At my second, team-teaching meant that two teachers were responsible for two classes between them. Support from learning support assistants was usually for only one or two sessions a week, with their role often washing paintbrushes or hearing individual children read. Teachers had no expectation of non-contact time.
There were no external tests. Some teachers tested times tables and spelling regularly. I did neither, though was, at my first school, encouraged to concentrate more on children learning their times tables. Nor was there regular monitoring or inspection. I recall attending a conference in around 1980 on accountability addressed by an HMI, who gave little indication of what this might involve in the future. In 1981, when HMI came to inspect the school, no one seemed worried, and teachers did not change how they worked. The inspectors did not seem to have a clear plan. For instance, I remember one asking a colleague to point him towards any science. I thought that we would be criticised for an approach to teaching reading that left many of our children – mostly from disadvantaged backgrounds – poor readers. No report was published, and no individual feedback was received, though the head said that the school had been judged to be in the top 10 per cent nationally. Nothing seemed to change as a result.
The 1981 Education Act meant that schools were required to identify, and make provision for, children with Special Educational Needs (SEN), helping to provide more consistent assessment of need and provision. The middle 1980s were characterised by industrial unrest, in which I, as the local secretary of the National Union of Teachers, was heavily involved, but there was very little direct interference from government or the Local Education Authority (LEA) affecting how I taught.
I, and my colleagues, worked hard but felt that we were largely in control. Teaching was enjoyable despite all the frustrations inherent in the task. We were fairly sure that what we were doing was on the right lines, and primary education in England was highly regarded. There was a sense of optimism that in hindsight seems more like naïveté. It now seems remarkable the extent to which teachers and schools were trusted and given autonomy, how untouched by external events most teachers were and how little most of us working in primary schools in the 1980s saw what was coming.
One should always be cautious of generalising from personal experience, but my experience illustrates a few wider trends. The research (for instance Alexander, 2010, p. 30 and Campbell and Neill, 1994, p. 177) indicates that progressivism was never as prevalent as often thought and nationally provision was very uneven, with a lack of consistency across the system and low expectations in several respects. The curriculum was largely dependent on the school's, and the headteacher's, priorities. Reading, writing and mathematics were emphasised, but the importance of a broad range of experiences, creativity and catering for 'the whole child' was recognised. There was little external pressure on schools and almost no structural change. Teachers were trusted and mostly left alone, though whether that trust was justified is arguable. It was the age of what Hargreaves (2003, pp. 125–9) calls 'permissive individualism'.
## From 1989 to 1998
In 1989, I became the headteacher of a multi-cultural first school in East Oxford with some 300 children. The first two years were ones of relative calm, although the implementation of the 1988 Act was starting to change primary education. Then, on 15 June 1991, one of the two buildings was severely damaged by fire. As a result, we worked on a split-site with most of the school in temporary accommodation for two years, while the school was rebuilt. I then stayed for another five years. So the second period of my career was as a headteacher, roughly from the 1988 Act until just after the election of the Labour government in 1997.
A key principle underlying the introduction of the National Curriculum was that of entitlement, to try and ensure greater consistency of provision. The 1990s also saw a move towards inclusion, with more children with special educational needs educated in mainstream schools. My main recollection of the first National Curriculum is the huge number of ring binders containing a very detailed, subject-based set of requirements. Primary teachers struggled to understand these and find ways of integrating the contents into coherent plans and topics. Soon, it was clear that the National Curriculum and assessment procedures were absurdly top-heavy. The 1994 Dearing Review led to a slimming-down of content but the structure, based on separate subjects, remained unchanged.
Standard Assessment Tasks (SATs) were introduced in English, mathematics and science, involving a mixture of tests and Teacher Assessments, in our school only for seven-year-olds. My most vivid memory is of the chaos of trying to assess how well individual children understood the idea of 'floating' by placing oranges in buckets of water. As a school, we struggled for some while with a cumbersome method of collecting evidence for Teacher Assessment. With the governors' support, I refused to return the school's data, on the grounds that these were simplistic outcome measures which did not reflect what really mattered most, but after two years then complied.
I was not inclined to introduce significant changes in pedagogy to a school that was both popular and good, though some teachers were inevitably better than others. I wanted to retain a cross-curricular approach and trusted and tried to support teachers, recognising and accepting that they had different strengths. In 1995 or 1996, Robin Alexander challenged those attending a headteachers' conference to define good primary practice, reflecting Simon's (1981) and his own (2004) belief that teachers are extraordinarily reluctant to discuss pedagogy. My (silent) response was that of course I could, given a little time. However, increasingly, pedagogy was affected by external demands, based on raising standards of attainment in Curriculum 1.
The most significant changes came in external accountability, particularly with Ofsted inspections and published reports. As headteachers, we were ill prepared for what inspection involved and the consequences of not meeting what was expected. One nearby school, inspected early in the cycle, was unexpectedly put into special measures. As a result, other headteachers took more notice of how to satisfy the demands of inspection teams, with a strong emphasis on (often hastily prepared) written policies. In 1998, my school was inspected and received a reasonably favourable report. However, I remember feeling very resentful that an inspection team who know little of the complexity of the context could produce so definitive a report based on a three-day visit, on criteria with which I disagreed, when I had worked there for nine years and many colleagues for far longer.
The introduction of Local Management of Schools (LMS) affected me as headteacher considerably. The funding formula continued to reflect historic patterns, where primary schools were funded less generously than early years (rightly so) and secondary and tertiary education (for reasons that are less obvious). The workload implications were considerable, not least because this coincided with the time after the fire. Initially, managing the school's budget was exciting, and much of any 'spare' money was spent on employing more support staff, but the process became far more time-consuming and difficult with increasing pressure on school budgets.
The change of culture that accompanied LMS was evident, even at the time, notably with the money that accompanied a child on the basis of being on the register on one day in January. Early on, I delayed the transfer of a child for a few days to help a neighbouring school that was struggling. Once, on the day itself, I suggested that a child transferring to us should start that same afternoon. Worst of all, I remember doing a quick calculation of the financial benefit over several years if a family of four joined the school, though this had no influence on my decision whether to admit.
Structural changes, such as grant-maintained schools, outside local authority control, as part of a policy based on parental choice, affected primary schools less than secondary schools. Locally schools continued to try and preserve the role of the LEA, which had, in my own situation, been very supportive at the time of the fire and subsequently. However, it soon became clear that the LEA's role was changing, with a reduction in advisory services and advisers moving into a more inspectoral role.
As a headteacher, my energy was for most of two years taken up with the aftermath of the fire, when the emphasis was on rebuilding the school and maintaining staff morale. However, my main focus was always based on meeting the needs, as I perceived them, of a varied, ethnically diverse, school community. For instance, this led to the introduction of halal meals, which proved largely uncontroversial. However, when single-sex swimming was introduced to accommodate the wish of Muslim parents, this proved much more so. While national policies were important, local issues remained my main concern, except when inspection was imminent.
The 1990s were a time of frequent, and often exciting, exhausting and unwelcome, change – in the curriculum, in funding, in accountability – all of which had implications in terms of relationships, identity and beliefs. While I tried to remain true to my philosophy, this became increasingly difficult as external demands became more insistent in an age of greater regulation.
## From 1998 to 2015
In 1998, I left headship to undertake a masters' degree and then a doctorate, looking at how teachers of young children understand spiritual development. Since 2003, I have worked independently, researching, writing and working with teachers and teacher educators, mostly in areas associated with spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and primary teachers' pedagogy and expertise. I continued to teach young children until about two years ago. The third period of my career has spanned the 13 years of Labour governments and the five years of the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition, in various roles, mostly outside schools.
The most obvious change in relation to the curriculum and pedagogy has been the level of government involvement, with the explicit rationale (see Barber, 2005) that primary teachers needed to be told how to teach, as a route towards 'informed professionalism'. The National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies were introduced in 1998 and 1999, respectively, prescribing not only content but how it should be taught. For instance, the Literacy Hour was based on a model of instruction, with each lesson divided into discrete sections, with teachers expected to plan and follow a largely pre-planned script. A subtle but important change of emphasis occurred from 'pupils should . . .' in the 1988 National Curriculum to 'teachers should . . .' in the National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies. The Strategies were amalgamated in 2003 into the Primary National Strategy. While adopting the Strategies was not compulsory, only a brave minority of schools did not adopt them.
These initiatives were followed by Excellence and Enjoyment (DfES, 2003) and Every Child Matters (TSO, 2003), which led to the Children Act of 2004. The former called for learning to be more enjoyable, arguing that a dichotomy between that and standards of attainment is false. While this may, in principle, be true, the remorseless pressure for results meant that this was greeted with scepticism. The emphasis on the whole child and interagency collaboration in Every Child Matters was widely welcomed. The 2006 Rose Review on reading signalled the start of a greater emphasis on phonics. The number of new initiatives – and this list is far from complete – was considerable, leading to initiative fatigue.
The Coalition government has given mixed messages, continuing to intervene and exercise control, while saying that headteachers and teachers should have greater autonomy. So, for instance, the prescriptive nature of the 2013 National Curriculum in English and mathematics and the introduction of the phonics test for six-year-olds indicate how reluctant politicians are to trust professional judgement, especially in the primary sector. Teachers are required to use one particular method (systematic, synthetic phonics) of teaching reading and are increasingly exhorted to adopt methods from countries in East Asia to teach mathematics. Academies and free schools, outside local authority control, are not required to teach the National Curriculum, on the basis that this will encourage innovation. However, if so, it seems incomprehensible why this should not apply in all schools.
Since 1997, primary education has been increasingly driven by the demand to raise children's scores in English and mathematics, resulting, to some extent, from the international comparisons in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment). The result is a focus on what Ball (2003) calls 'performativity' and is linked to accountability mechanisms where Ofsted judgements are heavily influenced by the data. Assessment of pupils has become very 'high-stakes' and when talking to headteachers and teachers the discourse is often dominated by what Ofsted have said, or will say next time they visit.
The years from 1997 to 2010 saw much more money allocated to young children's education. This was particularly evident in relation to the early years, less so for primary schools, though they are significantly better funded than before 1988. Teachers were entitled to 10 per cent of their time for planning, preparation and assessment and became used to having a second adult to provide additional support. A huge investment in computers was often wasted because teachers were unsure how best to use them to enhance learning.
My interest in recent years has been in trying to answer the question of what really constitutes good primary practice, based on research about how young children learn. In Eaude (2011, 2012), I discuss issues related to pedagogy and expertise, indicating that teaching a class of young children is much more complex than any assessment of one lesson, however 'outstanding', can capture and requires highly qualified teachers and sustained professional development.
The last 17 years have seen government, of whichever party, increasingly legislating and trying to micro-manage, not only the detail of the curriculum, but how it is taught, based on techniques, programmes and 'what works'. Yet ideas such as effectiveness and 'what works' only make sense in relation to aims and depend heavily on context. What works in one respect may have damaging consequences in another, for instance where an emphasis on decoding words may improve test scores but militate against reading for pleasure. Any suggested alternative to a remorseless emphasis on raising scores in literacy and numeracy is treated with scorn and the indication that this implies low teacher expectations. This was epitomised by the immediate dismissal by the government of the Cambridge Primary Review (Alexander, 2010) when it was published in 2009.
The language has increasingly been one of military metaphors and education as a commodity; of standards, targets and delivery, reflecting a greater emphasis on teaching than on learning, and on children as vessels to be filled rather than eager learners to be encouraged. Teachers have been subjected to greater regulation and surveillance through a prescriptive National Curriculum and data on attainment being made public. Accompanying this has been an emphasis on performativity and what the Cambridge Primary Review (Alexander, 2010) calls a culture of compliance – 'just tell us what to do and we'll do it'. Fear permeates the system.
## Looking back
Reflecting on four decades of change risks the dangers of nostalgia for a golden age that never existed and of over-generalising, when the extent and impact of change, inevitably, vary between contexts. My experience is far from typical but illustrates some wider trends.
Much has not changed a great deal. Children of primary age are taught for most of the week by one teacher in a class of about 30, though there is more adult support. Most children behave well most of the time and spend a large part of the week reading, writing and doing mathematics, though the emphasis on these is now much greater. Teachers continue to try and meet the broad range of children's needs, taking account of policy, though they are much more driven by external expectations.
There have been improvements. The National Curriculum has helped to provide a level of entitlement and been welcomed by most teachers and parents/carers. Mathematics – or at least numeracy – is certainly taught better, and children with disabilities, bilingual children and looked-after children are, mostly, catered for much better, largely as a consequence of the move towards entitlement and inclusion. There is little doubt that primary teachers plan more carefully – they certainly spend much longer doing so – and collaborative planning is more common.
Much has, in my view, got worse. The focus on performativity reflects, and leads to, an over-emphasis on measurable results and content knowledge. Paradoxically, the scope of the curriculum has shrunk while its size has increased. Particularly damaging for young children has been the loss of breadth and balance, with reduced time and importance for the humanities and the arts. One may question whether such a curriculum is genuinely inclusive if many children are not engaged with what interests them. This is exacerbated by the tendency towards adopting instructional and transmissive teaching methods at an increasingly early age, to try and cover curriculum content within a set time and achieve short-term results. For many children, notably those with special educational needs and/or not attaining well, the curriculum is fragmented, with a plethora of interventions designed to 'drive up' standards. Planning is often inflexible, focused on literacy and numeracy and dominated by content, based on 'scripted instruction', leaving little space for 'disciplined improvisation', to use Sawyer's (2004) terms. The rhetoric of setting teachers free remains hollow if assessment and accountability mechanisms are so high-stakes that these determine what happens in the classroom.
For me, teaching a class of young children has always been hard work, but also enjoyable – at least most of the time. However, there is far less enjoyment, for teachers and children, with more pressure for results. The last four decades have seen a move from permissive individualism to regulated surveillance, affecting everyone from teachers to headteachers to local authorities. This is evident in the tendency of many headteachers and teachers to try and guess what will help them most in the next inspection, rather than basing their decisions on evidence or professional judgement.
The last 25 years have seen continual political interference and attempts to micro-manage, resulting from a short-term desire to achieve measurable results. Policy is based on, at best, a sketchy and partial view of evidence from research, and frequently on the political complexion of the government, or even the whim of a minister. The result has often been selective policy borrowing, despite the well-attested difficulty, and potential danger, of doing so (see Phillips and Ochs, 2003), with claims often based on data of questionable reliability and validity.
The culture of primary schools has changed profoundly but gradually, with considerable consequences for teachers as well as children. Ball (2003) argues that what he calls the terror of performativity requires teachers to organise themselves in response to targets, indicators and evaluations and to set aside personal beliefs and commitments. Initiative fatigue and a culture of compliance have altered many teachers' ideas of professionalism, moving broadly from one based on autonomy towards one based on compliance. Nias (1989) argued that the close link between primary teachers' professional and personal identity meant that they were affected particularly strongly when asked to act in ways that conflicted with their beliefs.
Two major difficulties with an approach based on prescription are that:
* the context of the primary classroom is so fluid that teachers require a wide repertoire of pedagogies and the judgement to respond appropriately; and
* prescription inhibits rather than encourages the development of expertise, especially in a context where immediate, measurable results are required.
Whereas the amount of legislation and guidance has massively increased, many structures designed to support schools have fragmented. While LEAs were often frustrating and bureaucratic, their demise has had serious consequences for primary schools, because most are too small to have the necessary specialism and advice. In other professions, from medicine to law, accounting to engineering, there is a long period after qualification akin to an apprenticeship where people are still learning. Yet, in teaching, especially in primary schools, there is too often no expectation of, or coherent structure for, sustained professional learning.
As a teacher and headteacher, I relied mainly on short courses and a very sketchy knowledge of Piaget and Vygotsky. Students – both in initial teacher education and at masters' level – engage with research far more than I did at comparable stages of my career. However, serious engagement with research findings, as opposed to responding to data, is too often absent among those teaching in schools, in part because of the pressure to meet requirements in terms of attainment. The lack of a solid research basis for pedagogy has made the profession vulnerable to political interference, affecting primary schools especially because this opens the door to simplistic, but inappropriate, models of how to teach young children.
The importance of primary education continues to be downplayed, with primary schools' role often seen as mainly to ensure that children are 'secondary-ready'. This reflects a lack of vision among policy makers and politicians of primary education being about much more measurable outcomes in literacy and numeracy and what can be measured. Although primary schools are far better resourced than in the 1980s, funding is still skewed against primary schools. And initiatives such as the Strategies, and suggestions that teachers of young children do not need to be qualified – as with what came to be called 'Mum's army' in the 1990s – reflect an ongoing belief that those who teach young children do not have, or require, a similar level though different type of qualification and expertise as those teaching older ones.
Despite many improvements, the focus on Curriculum 1 and models of teaching that rely heavily on instruction mean that primary education has not escaped the legacy of the elementary school. While education has been a greater political priority, politicians seem not to have learned that top-down imposition has huge limitations. Long-term improvement requires a partnership where politicians establish the framework and trust teachers to teach and not always to be accountable for their every action. The implications are considered in the next section.
## Looking to the future
Much of this chapter may seem very remarkable to those whose experience of primary schools is only in the last 20 years. However, there must be, and is, an alternative to the narrow legacy of elementary education, neither harking back uncritically to the period before 1988 nor falling into the prescription and micro-management since.
There is a growing consensus that major policy decisions must not be dependent on political short-termism. For instance, Bell (2015), previously Her Majesty's Chief Inspector and a senior civil servant, recently argued for 'trusting the frontline' and less political interference. While he was referring to science teachers, this is no less true in primary education. As Fullan (1991, p. 117) claims, 'educational change depends on what teachers do and think. It's as simple and complex as that'. But the policy context within which teachers work affects what, and how, they teach. So, there is a strong argument for a body independent of government to provide an evidence-based and long-term view of the curriculum and assessment.
It is too easy just to blame politicians and policy makers. If the profession is to avoid being open to political interference, teachers, both as a group and individually, must articulate what constitutes good primary teaching, across the curriculum, drawing on both experience and an increasing knowledge of how young children learn and how adults can enable this.
Neuroeducational research provides some promising evidence, though one must be wary of thinking that knowledge of how the brain works is easily translated into practical applications and of neuromyths such as that everyone is either a visual, auditory or kinaesthetic learner. The Teaching and Learning Research Programme (TLRP, 2006) argued for the importance of learning relationships in all phases, and Mercer (2000) and many others have highlighted the centrality of children's talk, emphasising the social and active nature of learning. Both are especially important when working with young children. Gardner (1993) and Dweck (2000) have rightly challenged simplistic notions of intelligence and fixed ability, which underlie much of the current policy. In particular, both teachers and policy makers need to take account of the evidence (see Alexander, 2010, chapter 14) that a broad, balanced and engaging curriculum leads to higher standards of attainment in the long term. The humanities and the arts must not just be an add-on when the serious work of literacy and numeracy allows. A world of constant change requires more emphasis on qualities, attributes and dispositions – in children and teachers – such as resilience, creativity and criticality and on procedural knowledge, if young children are to learn actively through experience (see Eaude, 2011, pp. 62–5) and if schools are to be genuinely inclusive.
Teachers, and children, must recapture a sense of risk, adventure, creativity and enjoyment. Expectations must be broad as well as high. Because context is so important, more flexibility and reliance on teachers' judgement is required, if learning is to be reciprocal. For instance, technology offers many opportunities, but interactive white boards can, paradoxically, lead to a transmissive style of teaching. While subject knowledge is important, the challenge for primary class teachers is to develop pedagogical content knowledge (see Shulman, 2004, p. 203) in many subject areas and a wide repertoire of pedagogies, so that links can be made across subject boundaries. This emphasises the importance of formative assessment and of primary teachers having a deep understanding of child development, and for policy to be focused more on improving teacher quality and expertise. As Hargreaves (2003, pp. 127–9) suggests, this requires a move away from individualism and towards collaboration within professional learning communities.
If such developments are to occur, policy must enable rather than make these difficult. Politicians have to recognise that they can set the framework but not try to micro-manage what happens in classrooms, either by dictat or using indirect levers. Funding is important, but even more so is a culture of less change and interference, with:
* a reduction in the current obsession with grading of schools, teachers and children;
* a revision of accountability mechanisms, to end the culture of compliance and encourage greater trust in teachers' judgement and professionalism;
* a more coherent set of structures to support schools and teachers; and
* a greater emphasis on teacher education as a continuum, with structured opportunities, especially in the years soon after qualification.
These are necessary in all phases. But, to escape the legacy of elementary education, primary education requires a clearer articulation of its aims, recognising that the standards agenda is too limiting and that we must build on improvements made in recent years while not forgetting broader lessons from the past and from research. This will be hard and may take another 40 years. We will need to be optimistic but without being naïve, 'living without illusions without being disillusioned', as Gramsci wrote, if we are to create a system of primary education to meet the broad range of young children's needs, now and for a future of constant change.
## References
Alexander, R. (ed.) (2010). Children, their World, their Education: Final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review. Abingdon, Routledge.
Alexander, R.J. (2004). Still no pedagogy? Principle, pragmatism and compliance in primary education. Cambridge Journal of Education, 34 (1), 7–33.
Ball, S.J. (2003). The teacher's soul and the terrors of performativity. Journal of Education Policy, 18 (2), 215–28.
Barber, M. (2005). Informed Professionalism: Realising the Potential. Presentation to a conference of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, London.
Bell, D. (2015). Science education: Trusting the Frontline, via www.reading.ac.uk/news-and-events/releases/PR618539.aspx.
Campbell, R.J. and Neill, S.R. StJ. (1994). Primary Teachers At Work. London, Routledge.
DfES (Department for Education and Skills) (2003). Excellence and Enjoyment: A Strategy for Primary Schools. Nottingham, DfES Publications.
Dweck, C.S. (2000). Self Theories: Their role in Motivation, Personality and Development. Philadelphia, Psychology Press.
Eaude, T. (2011). Thinking Through Pedagogy – Primary and Early Years. Exeter, Learning Matters.
Eaude, T. (2012). How Do Expert Primary Classteachers Really Work? A critical guide for teachers, headteachers and teacher educators. Critical Publishing: www.criticalpublishing.com.
Fullan, M. (1991). The New Meaning of Educational Change. London, Cassell.
Gardner, H. (1993). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. London, Fontana.
Hargreaves, A. (2003). Teaching in the Knowledge Society: Education in the Age of Insecurity. New York, Teachers College Press.
Mercer, N. (2000). Words and Minds – How We Use Words to Think Together. London, Routledge.
Nias, J. (1989). Primary Teachers Talking: A Study of Teaching as Work. London, Routledge.
Phillips, D. and Ochs, K. (2003). Processes of Policy Borrowing in Education: Some explanatory and analytical devices. Comparative Education, 39 (4), 451–61.
Plowden Report (1967). Children and their Primary Schools – A Report of the Central Advisory Council for Education (England). London, HMSO.
Sawyer, R.K. (2004). Creative Teaching: Collaborative discussion as disciplined improvisation. Educational Researcher, 33 (2), 12–20.
Shulman, L.S. (2004). The Wisdom of Practice – Essays on Teaching, Learning and Learning to Teach. San Francisco, Jossey Bass.
Simon, B. (1981). Why no pedagogy in England? pp. 124–45 of Simon, B. and Taylor, W. (eds) Education in the Eighties: The central issues. London, Batsford.
Swann Report (1985). Education for All – Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Education of Children from Ethnic Minority Groups. London, HMSO.
The Stationery Office (TSO) (2003). Every Child Matters. London, TSO.
TLRP (Teaching and Learning Research Programme) (2006). Improving Teaching and Learning in Schools. London, TLRP (see www.tlrp.org).
# [5
Secondary Education 1976–2015](content.xhtml#bck_Ch05)
A shire county view
Martin Roberts
## 1976–1988 Bedfordshire and Oxfordshire: powerful LEAs, new comprehensives, curriculum freedom
### Sandy Upper School to 1980
LEAs responded to Tony Crosland's 10/65 circular at different speeds. Bedfordshire, then Conservative controlled, did not rush to reorganise. Rather it carefully husbanded its resources and introduced a three-tier system that made best use of its existing schools in a predominantly rural county. Where there were gaps in the secondary provision it built new 13–18 upper schools. One of these new schools was in Sandy on the A1. When I was appointed in 1974 as Deputy Head I was one of 11 teachers responsible for creating a new 13–18 Upper School and Community College. We started with 130 Year 9 pupils in temporary accommodation in the grounds of the old secondary modern. By 1980 we had grown to 1300 pupils and 75 staff in buildings, that had risen around us.
It was a marvellous job. My own background was highly selective – independent schools and Oxford with my first post teaching history at Leeds Grammar School – but I had become convinced, like so many of my generation, that social justice demanded the end of selective schooling. Within the framework provided by the LEA, which in the case of Bedfordshire was relaxed, we could create the kind of school we believed in.
What was that? Such a school would enable its pupils to get the best possible jobs, lead fulfilling lives and become good citizens. A new comprehensive school would do all those things better than the old selective system. In particular it would raise the aspirations of all its pupils. What did we need to be successful? A good headteacher: that we had in John Francombe, intelligent, essentially traditional in much of his thinking, strict and fair. A good staff: getting a new school started enabled us to attract some able teachers. Good discipline: strong heads of year created an effective pastoral system alongside a strict code of behaviour held in place by detentions and sometimes the cane (corporal punishment was not abolished in English state schools until 1987). A general ethos that pupils and their parents appreciated: we had replaced a small secondary modern and with our new buildings, which were open to the community in the evenings, we had no difficulty winning local support.
An appropriate curriculum: Sally Tomlinson, in her Education in a Post-Welfare Society (2001) describes how the new comprehensive schools approached the construction of their curricula. Some tried to maintain the old grammar school academic offer for their more able pupils and a more vocationally directed 'secondary modern' provision for the rest. Though at Sandy Upper we were building on a secondary modern base, we constructed a common curriculum for all in the Third Form (Year 9), which was based on a range of subjects, some academic, such as French, and some more practical, such as woodwork. In Years 10 and 11 we had a core of English including literature, maths and science plus options examined either through GCE O Levels or CSEs. Initially our only clearly vocational courses were RSA Secretarial Studies and CGLI courses run by our Technical Department.
We appointed heads of department on a subject basis and then allowed them considerable freedom. For support, they could look to the local LEA. For example, we found the history adviser Cynthia Cooksey excellent. She was an enthusiast for the Schools Council History Project as were we. Staff could look to other professional support through subject associations such as the ASE for science and NATE for English.
As for accountability, we measured our performance primarily through our GCE and CSE results. John used to have an annual meeting with Heads of Department. In an era before appraisal and performance management we aimed to have a professional ethos where all staff would do their best and expect to be chased by the senior team if they did not. HMI came the term after I left and gave the school's performance a thorough, supportive analysis, confidential to the staff and governors.
Central government did not impinge upon us except through two major committees of enquiry – Bullock on Language for Life and Warnock on Special Needs. Curriculum advice came from the Schools Council.
### The Cherwell School, Oxford 1981–1988
#### The downs and ups of being an LEA school
When I told Ernest Sabben-Clare, the kindly headmaster of Leeds Grammar School (then quasi-independent with 'direct grant' status), that I intended to join the state sector, he tried to change my mind. LEA bureaucracies, he told me, suffocate good teachers. I remembered his advice in my first years in Oxfordshire as I negotiated over the telephone about staffing levels, getting leaky roofs repaired, securing new buildings and defending our exceptional if maverick RE teacher from the RE adviser who wanted to be sure that he was following the Agreed Syllabus. My first success as a new head was to get my district officer to agree to increase the school's staffing allowance for 1981–1982 from 36.2 to 36.4!
The situation in the City of Oxford in 1981 was significantly different to that of rural Bedfordshire. Oxfordshire had reorganised piecemeal in the sixties and seventies and its Conservative-controlled council had botched the reorganisation of the city by creating, on the cheap, a three-tier system with seven small to medium-sized upper schools. This was at a time when school rolls were beginning to fall and for these upper schools to be able to run viable sixth forms, their number needed to reduce by at least two or possibly three. The LEA began a consultation about which schools were to close that was to run indecisively for the next two decades, creating harmful uncertainty for its schools during that period.
Against such a background, my priority had to be increasing our pupil numbers and strengthening the sixth form. Unlike rural Bedfordshire, in Oxford parental choice was already a reality. Cherwell, with 633 pupils, was an ex-secondary modern, in inadequate buildings with a poor local reputation. It sits in the heart of North Oxford, a suburb of the city that has the highest concentration of graduates of anywhere in England, with possibly the exception of Hampstead, and in easy reach of numerous independent schools. (It also contained two among the most deprived wards in Oxfordshire.) We needed urgently to win the confidence of this well-educated and generally prosperous neighbourhood. That determined our curriculum offer: broad and balanced, including strong art, drama and music. Once results were on an upward trend and discipline secure, our roll increased steadily, which led to more frustrating discussions with the LEA. Its statistics department continued to forecast incorrectly that our roll would fall, and so our only additional accommodation came in the form of temporary classrooms. By 1990, we had 1,000 pupils, with a sixth form of 250. A third of our accommodation was in huts. I used to teach Y9 history in one of them in a gloomy corner of the site. It was too cold in winter, too hot in summer and showed wear and tear only too quickly.
To be fair to the LEA, financial restraints in the 1980s and 1990s gave it little room to manoeuvre. After a high point in 1975, education's share of government spending fell back, only rising again under New Labour. It needed a clever deal, initiated by an architect governor, involving the sale of some surplus land for undergraduate accommodation, which enabled a substantial building programme to proceed in the early 1990s.
There were, though, many compensations working for Oxfordshire. The CEO was Tim Brighouse, at an early stage in his remarkable career (see Chapter 12). He was brilliant at strengthening an esprit de corps among Oxfordshire schools. The Oxfordshire Secondary School Head Teachers Association (OSSHTA) flourished and decamped annually to Bournemouth to confer with Tim and his LEA team. Brimming with ideas, he got most of us to sign up to a joint scheme with Leicestershire, the Oxford Certificate of Educational Achievement (OCEA). Tim realised that academic attainment was just a part of the achievements of young people and that, if an accredited recording of personal achievements could be made, such a record would both motivate less academic pupils and encourage schools to value highly extra-curricular activities. An innovator himself, Tim encouraged us to innovate.
The LEA also had a sensible self-evaluation process that encouraged staff and governors to evaluate their own performance and then discuss the evaluation with their local councillors. With my lively governors I found this a stimulating activity.
Nationally, the takeover of education by the Thatcher government was beginning. In 1982 Sir Keith Joseph had funded and supervised, not by the DES but by the newly created Manpower Services Commission (MSC), projects that would improve areas where the government considered the existing system defective. One of these was TVEI, the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative, in which LEAs competed to win MSC money. Tim Brighouse identified Oxford City as the local area most likely to benefit from TVEI. Our 1984 bid succeeded. Led by LEA officers and involving the College of Further Education and local businesses we made considerable progress collaborating to devise new vocational courses accessible to 14-year-olds in the city. In 1986, Tim engineered a year's secondment for me to plan the 16–18 phase of TVEI which I finished in 1987. Nothing came of it. In Westminster the DES and MSC had been battling for the control of education. The DES won and in 1988 proceeded with the introduction of the National Curriculum, fatally undermining TVEI nationally. So a turf war between politicians and civil servants destroyed an important and timely vocational project.
The worst year of my headship was 1985–1986 when the teachers' strikes were at their height. The claim for better pay was in many ways justified, but the tactics of the teacher associations were uncoordinated and counterproductive. The government was in no mood to negotiate, and media and public opinion grew more hostile the longer strike action lasted. I had to deal with three associations following different kinds of action while minimising the harm to the pupils. Each day I had to decide how many classes could take place, how could adequate supervision be organised at break and lunchtime and how to keep hard-pressed parents informed about what was going on. The harm done was great and lasting. Many teachers who had worked to rule during the strikes refused to resume the extra-curricular activities that formerly they had led. For example, Drama at Cherwell, which had previously been brilliant, was not to recover for a decade. By the Teachers Pay and Conditions Act of 1987, Kenneth Baker, who had succeeded Sir Keith Joseph as Secretary of State, abolished the previous pay negotiating procedures and put in their place an advisory Pay Review Board. Teachers now had to work 1,265 hours per year at the direction of the headteacher, a ruling that led to endless discussions about what should be within 'directed time'. These strikes greatly weakened the teacher associations and strengthened the government's conviction that teachers needed policing.
## Revolution, the Education Reform Act (ERA) of 1988 and its aftermath: powerful central government, weakened LEAs, more autonomy for schools
Then in 1988 came the Education Reform Act. Insofar as it affected secondary schools like Cherwell, its main elements were the National Curriculum, open enrolment giving greater parental choice of school, the opportunity to create schools independent of the LEA (Grant Maintained schools) and Local Management of School (LMS), which required LEAs to delegate a substantial part of their education funds to schools on a per capita basis, giving heads, with their governors, new powers to manage the school's budget.
### Seen as a headteacher 1988–2002
Though I had a keen interest in politics and education policy in particular, I somehow missed the changing mood in Westminster. I had read the Black Papers and the headlines about William Tyndale but thought them right-wing sensationalism. I do not remember the Ruskin speech, or being upset by the abolition of the Schools Council, or realising the political novelty of TVEI. Substantial extra funding was then more than acceptable, whatever the source. So when the outlines of ERA appeared in the Conservative manifesto for the 1987 election, which Mrs Thatcher won with an increased majority, I was amazed how radical it was. It transformed my role as a headteacher. By and large I had gained promotion because of my interest in creating effective curricula. ERA took that curriculum responsibility away and instead made budget management and marketing the school my prime responsibility. The shift of funding through LMS inevitably altered the relationship between schools and the LEA, substantially weakening the latter.
In theory, I supported a National Curriculum, but, because it was implemented top-down and driven by distrust of teachers, its introduction was needlessly controversial and chaotic. The content of three 'core' subjects and seven 'foundation' subjects had to be defined as did ten levels of performance. Ring-binders of 'interim' then 'final' reports of the subject working groups piled up on my desk. Secretaries of State came and went in quick succession – Baker, Macgregor, Clarke, Patten. In 1993, teachers boycotted the new Key Stage 3 tests. The original NC plan was too detailed and had to be slimmed down considerably. During these years of chaotic change I had to keep bewildered and often angry staff teaching their existing courses well. Then once decisions were made centrally about the new courses and the timetable for their introduction I had to ensure that they were introduced smoothly.
## History in the National Curriculum: a case study
Of the NC subjects, history caused the most controversy in which I became involved, as in 1988 I was Chair of the Secondary Committee of the Historical Association (HA). The right wing of the Conservative Party disliked much of the history being taught in schools. It particularly disliked the influential Schools Council History Project (SCHP), which built its course on the methodology of history including empathy (the skill of getting inside the culture and minds of people in a particular period). The Conservative Right thought SCHP too short on facts, especially on British history, and too long on skills, particularly empathy. Backed by much of the national press it declared war on trendy history teachers who spent too much time on soft skills and not enough on the great achievements of Britons over the centuries. English teachers faced a similar challenge from the Conservative Right, who wanted the canon of great English literature to be the essence of the NC English.
A dilemma we faced at the HA was that, unlike any European country other than Albania, history in England was not compulsory to 16. We regarded the subject as central to any serious understanding of the world in which young people were growing up and had as our priority safeguarding its new foundation subject status. Professor Ralph Davis, President of the HA, and I co-authored a draft core curriculum that included 50 per cent British history, which might prove helpful to those empowered to create NC history. We had underestimated how strongly many of our colleagues felt about any prescription in general and prescription by a Tory government in particular and met considerable criticism. Baker then set up a Working Group, chaired by a member of the landed gentry, Commander Saunders-Watson. In the circumstances it did a brilliant job, managing to combine enough British history with enough of the elements of the SCHP. Mrs Thatcher hated it, but after considerable debate, including in the media, it was finally agreed. Professor Davis and I then did our best to rally history teachers behind the Working Group. However, our efforts were in vain. Sir Ron Dearing, called in to sort out the emerging unworkability of the original overcrowded Baker National Curriculum, decided that history, geography, art and music should become optional at 14. Another Working Group had to rewrite the original 11–16 versions to fit the 11–14 age range.
This episode demonstrated a number of things – the lack of a coherent philosophy underpinning the National Curriculum; the dangers of partisan politicians interfering with curricular details; the malfunctioning of the Department for Education; the low esteem in which teachers were held by the Conservative administration; the role of the press unhelpfully simplifying and sensationalising complex issues, for example the teaching of varying historical interpretations; and the time, energy and money wasted by political in-fighting.
It was all to happen again 25 years later when the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, an enthusiastic amateur historian (he was an English graduate), decided to write the review of National Curriculum history in 2013. It was so idiosyncratic and unworkable that some of us thought that he and friends had put it together one evening aided by an excellent bottle of whisky. Along with 20 others I was summoned to Westminster to a meeting chaired by Gove himself and asked to come up with something workable. This a number of us did. Our version seemed acceptable to history teachers who had been outraged by the original Goveian version. Our revision was not that different to the one Professor Davis and I drafted in 1988.
### Parental choice, GM schools and LMS
Parental choice was already active in Oxford, but the open enrolment clauses in ERA intensified it. By 1988 Cherwell was already over-subscribed, but that over-subscription increased. The correlation between a school's popularity and the desirability of its location became evermore obvious.
No secondary schools in Oxfordshire went GM. I think that this was largely due to the Brighouse factor, though Tim had left by then and was on his way to Birmingham. There was a sense of loyalty to Oxfordshire and the belief that local democracy was worth preserving.
I found LMS liberating if initially terrifying, the financial responsibility of the governors and myself now being measured in millions of pounds rather than thousands. The ability to appoint additional staff when needed was the crucial benefit plus being able to redecorate and make minor improvements to the premises. Once we had LMS I could see no reason to leave the LEA.
### Tests, targets and league tables
By 1993, when the tumult of ERA had subsided, I had been in post for 12 years. Parents seemed happy with the way the school had progressed, and I was disinclined to allow national politicians to blow us off course. Our governors agreed. They were broadly left of centre – my Chair of Governors was a former educational journalist. We came to live with the publication of each year's exam results, which the local press immediately turned into league tables. Of 36 Oxfordshire schools we were usually sixth or seventh at GCSE and first or second at A Level. As long as we stayed close to these positions I avoided pressurising the staff to give greater emphasis to improving examination performance per se rather than teach in a stimulating way. Concentrating on exam grades at all costs leads to a Gradgrind, deadening, essentially anti-educational culture. I had the same attitude to externally set targets. On the whole we were slowly improving on most measures, as a consequence of internal policies that were shared by governors and most staff. When appraisal and performance management became a national requirement, I worked with staff to find a 'modus operandi' with which they were comfortable. Nowadays, Ofsted would doubtless class me as complacent and insufficiently directive.
### Specialist schools
One effect of the government's many interventions in the curriculum and the assessment was to dissuade schools from innovating themselves but to get involved in government projects that had funds attached. Of the many initiatives pouring out of Whitehall the major one we took on was to become a specialist school, not because we saw any merit in the specialism concept, but funding continued so tight in the 1990s we needed the linked funds. We opted for the science specialism since it would mean the minimum alteration to our curriculum. In due course we succeeded. It was during the application that I became aware of the 'gaming' schools, which were now having to play to hit the targets set out in their application. We had an external consultant advising us. I commented that the GCSE improvement targets looked demanding. He advised me not to worry but to change from our traditional courses to the new Applied GCSEs, which were easier. When I indicated that such a change would not be in our pupils' interest, 'then you will have problems' was the gist of his comment. With the proliferation of new GCSEs and vocational courses, 'equivalences' between courses became a live issue about which Whitehall found consistency difficult. As for the specialist initiative, the Coalition government killed it in 2010. As an approach to secondary education it had won only a few adherents among teachers and parents.
### Ofsted
As with the National Curriculum, I thought that the introduction of a reformed national inspection system was desirable. Taxpayers paid for state schools, which should therefore be accountable. I assumed that the previous HMI system, which took schools as it found them and was respected for its thoroughness and quality of its advice but did not inspect frequently enough, would be streamlined but visit schools more often. What emerged was very different, driven by the Conservative belief that teachers needed policing. Schools would be inspected every four years by teams of private inspectors supervised by reformed HMIs. Ofsted's Chief Inspector became a major public figure. Two, notably Chris Woodhead and Michael Wilshaw, gained reputations as scourges of weak teachers and schools. Cherwell experienced two inspections before I retired in 2002. The first in 1993 to my surprise was a team from the LEA led by an adviser I knew well. It was a tame affair but not unhelpful. The second, which came in 1999, was very different. In the intervening years Ofsted had become more number-crunching and the 1999 team arrived with some inaccurate data that indicated that the school was going rapidly downhill. Its information omitted the existence of two units in the school, one for autistic pupils and another for the visually impaired. We had not helped our cause by ignoring the NC regulation to make technology and MFL compulsory to 16. I failed to achieve any rapport with a humourless Lead Inspector and was only able to turn the inspection round by arranging a lunch half-way through the inspection for him and some of my best-informed governors. Eventually we emerged as a good school with some outstanding features, which in the circumstances was a relief. I was angered though, not only by the team coming misinformed, but by how disruptive it was. Staff had put so much into the late January inspection that it was not until March that the school was back to normal.
### New Labour and 'education, education, education'
My immediate reaction to Tony Blair's election in 1997 was that a new era had dawned. Disillusion followed swiftly. What Blair meant by education was an intensely focused enterprise, directed from Whitehall, which would produce pupils trained to enable Britain to compete successfully in the international struggle for economic competitiveness. As Michael Barber reiterated, there needed to be a 'step change' in the culture of most schools. School leaders needed to concentrate 'relentlessly' on school improvement as measured by exam results in order to achieve 'world class' standards. Target-setting and Ofsted were the major agent's to achieve this step change. The DfE and Ofsted number-crunched more remorselessly. Lip service was paid to other vital elements of schooling like creativity and ethics, but they were peripheral since their outcomes were qualitative and immeasurable. The stress on international performance was not new to Labour. When first I became a headteacher, we were found wanting in comparison with Japan, then it was Germany and later, thanks to PISA and TIMMS, with South Korea and Shanghai.
### The reorganisation of the three-tier to a two-tier system in Oxford
My last years were spent working with the LEA to replace the 9–13 Middle Schools. It was a difficult exercise as some of the Middle Schools were much loved, especially the one immediately across the road that Cherwell was to absorb, and only successful because of a determined CEO, Graham Badman. Hardly anyone now doubts that it was a vital step to take in the interests of future generations, but I do wonder now, as all the Oxford secondary schools and some of the primaries are academies, how such a desirable city-wide reorganisation could ever occur.
## Looking from outside 2002–2015
In 2002, I helped establish a new Prince of Wales charity, the Prince's Teaching Institute (PTI), which has given me a new perspective on recent changes in thinking at national level about curriculum design. PTI organises subject-centred Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for state school teachers. It first ran annual residentials for teachers of English literature and history, then, because of teacher demand, added maths, science, geography, art, music and MFL. We now have a project-based scheme known as the Schools Programme, annual headteachers conferences and a programme for beginning teachers, which has expanded over three years from 150 to 700 participants. Nationally, one secondary school in five now takes part in PTI activities. Research indicates that good teachers must be subject experts and subjects must be central to any secondary school curriculum. Consequently, we link our university experts to excellent experienced teachers who lead workshops on key topics. From the start our courses have been designed by teachers for teachers. Happily independent, we concentrate on what constitutes inspiring subject teaching and avoid getting embroiled in immediate concerns like how to do well at Ofsted. Our teachers tell us that we are filling a CPD vacuum, as most other CPD concentrates on generic school improvement, getting better exam grades or preparation for Ofsted.
What kept me involved in PTI activities was a growing realisation that, among university-based educationists and within the DfE of New Labour, subjects were regarded as obsolete. What really mattered were transferable skills like the 'competences' of the RSA Opening Minds project and Information Technology, which should make knowledge acquisition an individual web-based exercise. The teacher should stop being 'the sage on the stage rather the guide on the side'. I have been strongly influenced by Michael Young's Bringing Knowledge Back In (2009), which argues that the central function of all schools is to pass on powerful subject-based knowledge to all pupils. If only elite schools offer well-taught subjects to their pupils, and the less advantaged take the skills and competences route, a new bipartite school system will emerge with the life chances of pupils being directly affected. Powerful subject knowledge for all is essential for social justice.
Obviously, the impressions I have gained from 13 years of PTI conferences are anecdotal, stemming from conversations I have had with hundreds of teachers. The first is that a succession of Westminster initiatives has left teachers reeling. Whatever Michael Gove's virtues, his whirlwind approach to policy making without regard for teacher opinion took ministerial interference in the details of education policy to a new extreme. The second is that Ofsted has for most teachers become an ogre, distorting the activities of too many schools. Many headteachers are obsessed with the extraordinary amount of data now available to them through the statistical tool RAISEonline, which is inevitably quantitative rather than qualitative. Another obsession is how to get into the 'outstanding' category and, once there, stay there. Third an increasing number of teachers are losing confidence in the examination system, especially GCSE. So detailed are the specifications and the mark schemes that desiccated 'teaching to the test' is too often the norm. Warwick Mansell's brilliant Education by Numbers, the Tyranny of Testing (2007) confirms this depressing trend. A fourth is that many schools have allowed the DfE to do their curriculum thinking for them. Perhaps most serious of all, government busyness militates against teachers being able to think about what should be their priorities – for their pupils, the extent to which their school best meets the needs of their communities, and innovation. Fifth and last, for a variety of reasons, headteachers are increasingly reluctant to allow teachers time out of school for any CPD that is not directly linked to gaining better exam grades or impressing Ofsted.
As a way out of the present turmoil, the idea of a Royal College of Teaching has emerged from PTI discussions. Over the last two years, Chris Pope, Co-Director of PTI, has worked hard and skilfully to persuade the major teacher organisations that such a college, the immediate responsibilities of which should be CPD and ITT, is well worth considering seriously.
## Reflections
Great improvements have occurred in these four decades. One of the most important has been the integration of young people with special needs, their greater opportunities and the greater tolerance of other pupils. The advances made by women both at school and as teachers have been remarkable. At Cherwell, only physics and technology remained male-dominated by the time I retired. In 1981 there were only a handful of female headteachers in Oxfordshire, mainly heads of girls' only schools. Now there are more women heads than men. The quality of classroom management in most schools is much better, partly because of changes in ITT but also the greater direct monitoring of individual teachers by Senior Leadership Teams. There has also been a considerable increase in the number of pupils going on to university and FE.
These changes, however, have been evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The revolution that is the subject of this book has been in the comparatively sudden takeover by central government of control of educational policy making between 1988 and 1993 and its ramifications.
There have been benefits. We needed a national curriculum and now have one, though why it is not required of all the schools in the land is a mystery to me. We needed a national system of inspection. We now have one of the strictest in Europe that, whatever its faults, provides parents with useful comparative information about all the state schools in their locality. We have fewer failing schools. Exam results have generally improved, but to what extent is a matter of fierce debate. Education is a political priority and the Secretary of State for Education a senior figure in the Cabinet. Coverage of education in the media is much more extensive. Consequently, more parents and their pupils know that education matters. Teachers' pay and working environments are better.
Harm, however, has been done. Politicians have proved both partisan and inconsistent. Inconsistency is demoralising to teachers and a waste of money. I could cover pages with examples of initiatives that have come and gone since 1988. Here are some of the most grievous. In 1988 Professor Higgenson reported on A Levels. He had achieved a professional consensus that the country needed more and leaner A Levels. Mrs Thatcher vetoed it. For her the existing A Levels were 'the gold standard' of the English system. In 2004 Mike Tomlinson, again with the backing of key professionals, recommended a radical reform of 14–19 with an overarching diploma that would cover both academic and vocational subjects. Tony Blair, anxious about a potentially hostile national media, would have none of it. We have seen how TVEI came and went and how specialist schools lasted little more than a decade. Twenty years later came the Advanced Diplomas, which Ken Boston, head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) described as the most important educational reform in Western Europe since 1945. The planners were over-ambitious and out of touch with school and college realities. The initiative was already in trouble by 2008 and cancelled by the Coalition government in 2010. 'Connexions', launched with a fanfare in 2000, was intended to transform the careers advice for young people. It was flawed from the start as its designers were never clear whether it should be a universal or targeted service. I represented the Oxfordshire headteachers at fruitless meetings when Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes attempted to get the new service going. Again, over the years, the initiative withered. The Learning and Skills Council was set up in 2001 to give the existing 16-plus system a good shake-up. New headquarters were found in Coventry. Nine years later it was disbanded.
The big issue is teacher autonomy. My main responsibility as a headteacher was to recruit the best quality teachers I could find and then give them considerable freedom. I only interfered when I thought things were going wrong. The more professional freedom teachers have, both in relation to their pupils and assisting in the direction their school is travelling, more often than not their pupils will benefit. But what limits should governments place on that freedom? In 1976 these limits were too weak. In 2015, because of the revolution in government controls described above, they are too strong, suffocating inspiration, initiative and innovation.
Since 1988, the politicians have distrusted teachers. So many mistakes could have been avoided if politicians and teachers could have achieved a workable partnership. However, neo-liberals advising Mrs Thatcher maintained that the professions were a self-serving cartel that prevented the market bringing progress. Tony Blair remained suspicious, if in a more pragmatic way. Most politicians thought that they knew enough about education from their own and their families' experience that they would be intelligent policy makers. The increasing interaction of Westminster politics and the 24/7 media (see Chapter 15) encouraged them, thinking frequently about the next election, to dream up some headline-grabbing initiative, the serious sustained viability of which was not an immediate consideration. By being told what to do for nearly two decades, teachers have been de-professionalised. They have not, however, helped their own cause. For decades four teacher unions and two separate headteacher associations have competed for membership, and their apparent readiness to prioritise their members' pay and conditions over pupil welfare has contributed to politicians' distrust.
### What then is to be done?
Politicians must step back and trust teachers more.
Responsibility for curriculum and assessment should pass to a genuinely independent body in which the government should have representation and which should regularly review the NC and public examinations every ten years or so. Such a body should encourage innovation.
Ofsted should cease inspecting most schools. Rather it should concentrate on those schools clearly struggling. Other schools should self-evaluate regularly using their own criteria. Ofsted should monitor those self-evaluations.
A Royal College of Teaching should take responsibility for teaching standards and the development of both CPD and ITT. Once it has established its credibility it should also take national responsibility for monitoring performance management in schools.
The really difficult issue is how to revive local democratic involvement in education. The sustained attack by both the Conservative and Labour parties has virtually destroyed LEAs. Appointed regional commissars are no answer. With the present interest in 'localism' and the delegation of Westminster powers to cities or regions, a Committee of Enquiry should consider how to create new forms of local government of education.
## References
Mansell, W., 2007, Education by Numbers, London: Politico's.
Tomlinson, S., 2001, Education in a post-welfare society, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Young, M.F.D., 2009, Bringing Knowledge Back In, London: Routledge.
## Further reading
I found these books particularly helpful in writing this chapter and when reflecting more widely on contemporary issues in education:
Ken Jones: Education in Britain, Polity (2003)
Arthur Marwick: British Society since 1945, Penguin (2003)
Robert Phillips: History Teaching, Nationhood and the State, Cassell (1998)
Alison Wolf: Does Education Matter, Penguin (2002)
# [6
A View from the Island](content.xhtml#bck_Ch06)
A very personal story
Kenny Frederick
## Preparing for headship
I could never be described as a careerist as I spent the first 16 years of my working life working in two schools. I can't help but get emotionally attached to a school and have never been good at flitting from school to school. Even after 16 years I was not particularly ambitious and was enjoying my role as Head of House in a school in Haringey. However, I decided to apply for deputy headship after being told by a senior manager, during a heated argument, that I would never be a senior leader because I was too emotional. This gave me the impetus to move on. Subsequently I moved to become Deputy Head in a girl's school in Hackney in January 1990. A major part of my role was working with the business community and the work-related curriculum. One of the important initiatives at the time was Compact, which was a partnership between business and schools, and a lot of work was done to make sure students were ready for the world of work. Another responsibility was preparing the school for Investors in People (IIP) accreditation, which helped me to learn more about leading and managing people, who are our greatest resource. When I did move on to headship, I used the IIP framework to help me plan my strategy for making the most of our human resources.
About two years into my role as Deputy Head, I realised that I needed to keep my options open and, therefore, needed to learn more about leading schools. Despite my earlier reticence, I acknowledged that I did want to become a headteacher at some point in the future. Working alongside a headteacher who could be (putting it mildly) described as 'autocratic' helped me to make up my mind. I completed my Masters degree at East London University (part-time over two years) in Educational Leadership, where I discovered Tim Brighouse and lots of other education academics, who helped me develop my own vision for a school I would lead (see Chapter 12). Tim's writing was practical and real, and his appreciation for the people he worked with shone through. In addition, I also did a number of leadership courses in preparation for senior leadership, which I funded myself and often completed during the weekends and always in my own time.
I was given little or no encouragement from my headteacher at the time, who started to see me as a bit of a threat and was cross that I had the cheek to think I could put myself on to the same level as she. My life was made even more difficult from that point. After four years in post I decided that I needed to start the application process to get out before I was pushed out! I was successful in securing the headship of George Green's School on the Isle of Dogs in Tower Hamlets in April 1996. I was 43 years old with around 22 years' experience in schools. I was delighted but somewhat daunted at the prospect of becoming a headteacher.
Prior to my appointment as Principal of George Green's School I had been seconded to a boys' school in Hammersmith and Fulham for about six months. This was a school in trouble when the new headteacher had arrived and his one deputy had had a heart attack and his partner who was on the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) was also on long-term absence. An imminent Ofsted visit was expected, and most of the teachers were supply staff. This was swift learning ground for me but it meant that I had little time to do my homework in terms of schools I was applying for. If I had done so, I might have decided against applying for George Green's. Looking back now I am thankful I didn't, as ignorance is often a good thing. I had always worked in the inner city and assumed that the Isle of Dogs would be much like Hackney and Haringey. This it most certainly was not! It was unique.
## Tower Hamlets – the Isle of Dogs
What I had not realised upon appointment in 1996 was that the first BNP (British National Party) counsellor to ever be elected in England was in November 1993 on the Isle of Dogs. He only lasted a couple of months before he was ousted and replaced. However, the people who had elected him were still there when I arrived in April 1996. The discontent of the white population was blamed on the housing policy of Tower Hamlets Council who placed a large number of the incoming Bangladeshi population on the Isle of Dogs. This caused resentment locally and resulted in a very divided community. This spilled into the school, where many students and their parents felt it was appropriate to express overt racist comments and attitudes. It was a difficult time and took many years to overcome and to change attitudes. Bringing the community together so that we could get on with the business of teaching and learning in a safe environment took a great deal of resilience on my part and on the part of my staff.
Therefore, the diverse ethnic background to the school was a crucial consideration in the policies that needed to be adopted and that, as the Principal, I pursued. According to the UK government's Indices of Multiple Deprivation, Tower Hamlets in 2006 ranked as the most deprived local authority in the country, with high levels of unemployment, poverty and poor health. Fifty per cent of the residents were from the black and minority ethnic communities (33 per cent Bangladeshi). Almost 100 languages were spoken locally. The school of about 1,200 boys and girls aged 11–19 reflected that ethnic and linguistic mix. About half the pupils were white (British mainly, but also Irish and other), a third Asian (mainly Bangladeshi), around 20 per cent Chinese, Afro-Caribbean, Somali and other African background. About one in sixty pupils arrived at the school with little or no spoken English. Over 50 per cent of the pupils were eligible for free school meals – more than three times the national average (14 per cent) for secondary schools.
Therefore, one of my first jobs as Principal was to work with staff, pupils and parents to develop our Equal Opportunities Policy and our motto 'All different. All equal'. Getting the community to understand that equal opportunities is not about treating everybody the same but is about meeting individual needs. This helped me counteract the accusations that I was treating different children 'differently', for instance by providing EAL pupils with additional help with their English. This policy remained firm and informed every other policy we developed over the year and it eventually became ingrained into the hearts and minds of our pupils. However, this aspect of our work took many years.
## Dealing with the racial tension
The horrors of 9/11 in New York in September 2001 increased racial tensions further, and we had a particularly difficult situation in November 2001 only a few months after the tragic events unfolded. Islamophobia was rife, and The Guardian (20 November 2001) described one of the most difficult situations we went through when a group of parents leafleted the island to gather support on a Sunday evening following a fight at the school gates on the previous Friday afternoon. Waiting for this group to arrive was frightening but we had no option but to let them in and let them vent their anger. I was the focus of this anger but I had no opportunity to speak calmly to them or tell them what the school was doing to resolve the racial tensions. They screamed at me for about 30 minutes and left. The local newspaper described the school to be in a state of anarchy – which it certainly was not. While this was a horrible experience, it only strengthened my resolve to hang on in there and sort it out!
During this time, when racial tensions were at their highest, we were (mostly) able to keep a lid on the situation while pupils were in school, but we began to hate unstructured time and home time. My staff were having to lead different groups of pupils home at the end of the day (to avoid fighting in the street and local park). Having very narrow corridors, one minor scuffle during lesson changeover would polarise the school along racial lines and would spread out into the streets at the end of the day. Needless to say we were doing lots of work in our curriculum to address the issues at the same time. However, it was very exhausting and was not conducive to good learning. At this time one of our Bengali TAs (teaching assistants), who had by his own admission been a local 'youth' in his time, came up with the idea of taking our 'most extreme' pupils to Belfast to see what a divided community looked and felt like. After a short discussion with my senior team we decided to go with the idea. We had to do something and do it quickly!
It was agreed we would take 40 pupils and these should be those with leadership qualities and the capacity to change their views. We spent time on choosing this cohort and were so surprised that so many wanted to go. Most saw it as a free trip abroad and a week out of school! Once the group was chosen we looked at the staff who would accompany them and work with them for the week. Without a doubt I sent my most talented and experienced teachers and support staff who had good relationships with the pupils. It was a huge risk, and I had nightmares worrying about what might happen on the journey or when they were in Ireland.
The TA, whose idea it all was, sorted out the details of the trip, and they went to the 'Share Centre' in Fermanagh where they lived in 'Big Brother' style houses in mixed groups and where they had to cook for each other and get to know each other properly. My expert staff got them to confront their own racism and ingrained prejudices and to understand what had been going on. They also went to see the 'peace wall' and were shocked to see a city divided by a physical wall. However, the greatest change came after our pupils had the opportunity to meet other students, both Catholic and Protestant, and to spend time with them. Our pupils found it hard to understand what the argument was all about – they are all white and all Christian, what are they fighting about? After a number of history lessons and discussions with these youngsters, our pupils were shocked that many of those they met (not all by any means) were happy with the status quo and did not want to change. They liked things as they were.
When our pupils returned to school they formed the 'Unity Cru' and were led by my TA who went on to become a community manager in later years. They worked together as a mixed group of 40 individuals who were able to influence the whole school population. They learned to mediate and negotiate and to make presentations at assembly and elsewhere, but most of all it was the work they did with 'the youngers' in the playground that made the biggest difference in changing the culture of the school. When small incidents were in danger of exploding into bigger ones, the Unity Cru were there to intervene. We took different groups back to Northern Ireland for a number of years to reinforce the work that had been done there and, as the racial tensions ceased and gang warfare (!) blossomed to replace them, we were able to do useful work on restorative justice that helped to diffuse situations on the island.
The trip to Belfast was an extreme and expensive answer to a very difficult problem. It was just one of the many risks I took during my time as Principal. It was a risk well worth taking and taught me that procrastination is no use to anybody. I had to take a decision and take it quickly. I did not have the money to pay for the first visit but we went anyway and I raised the money from sponsorship afterwards. The trip to Belfast was used as a case study and was written about often. There was a lot of interest in our story, which is fine after the event, but not while you are in the middle of it!
## Responding to government initiatives
During my 17 years as Principal, risk taking and change were constant. Much of this change was a result of government initiatives, but many of the changes were of our own making. Some were in response to what was happening to us (see above) and others were about school improvement. Schools, especially those in challenging circumstances like mine, cannot stand still and need to keep moving forward. In fact we often felt like we were frantically treading water, just to keep our heads above it. While this was exhausting it was also very exciting and created a dynamic can-do culture where there was no problem we could not find a solution to. This is the reason why I have always worked in the inner city in schools on the 'edge'. I am naturally positive and optimistic, which certainly helped me to become very resilient and allowed me to cope well with the stress that comes with the job. Furthermore, I surrounded myself with senior staff and teachers who had a similar attitude.
Changes imposed by the Labour government in their 12 years in power (1998–2010) – (see Chapter 1, p. 16) were largely positive and were not 'new' in the sense that we were not being asked to do very different or very difficult things. Many of these policies were designed to help schools share good practice and were an attempt to develop a more coherent approach to school improvement. I made sure I got involved in various advisory and focus groups and encouraged my staff to do the same. This way we felt we could inform policy change and be done 'with' rather than be done 'to'. This was and is an important fact to consider if we want schools and teachers to embrace change. Imposing changes on schools does not work.
The numerous changes to the Ofsted framework took up a lot of time and energy and have, I believe, stopped many schools taking risks and developing a curriculum to suit the needs of their students. The anxiety about the next Ofsted inspection is never far away. This was particularly true when we were judged as NTI (Needs to Improve) category in September 2008 when our results dropped unexpectedly.
When I first took over as Principal, I found myself in a financial deficit situation. I'd had very little experience of dealing with a budget as my previous head had kept that knowledge to herself. Thankfully, I had governors who had a great deal of expertise and experience in managing finances. We went immediately to asking for voluntary redundancies and found that we were able to get rid of the deficit without too much pain. However, funds were short, and I found myself along with a couple of other colleagues teaching RE (without any previous experience or expertise), as we could not afford to employ a new RE teacher.
As a new head, I discovered that the relationship between my predecessor and senior team and the rest of the staff had been a difficult one. The Ofsted inspection in 1993 (one of the first inspections in England) described 'an atmosphere of distrust between senior leadership and staff'. The situation had gotten so difficult the headteacher had refused to write personal references and instead provided a bland document saying exactly what individuals had done, without any comment about the quality of their work. I, of course, had no knowledge of this and I naïvely expected staff to follow my lead and work alongside me. Thankfully they did.
## 1997: changes under Labour
There was much joy when Labour won the general election in 1997 and 'Education, education, education' was the strapline. Funding increased, and there were many new initiatives. Most of my headship (12 years of it) was under a Labour government and I certainly think we benefited from this. Tower Hamlets was and still is one of the poorest boroughs in England, and, therefore, our schools received almost 60 per cent more resource per pupil than the national average, and we had higher levels of resourcing than almost all other London boroughs. This did not always go down well with heads in other boroughs and counties and I can understand their resentment. However, this high level of funding certainly contributed to the success of the borough, making it one of the most successful in the country. It allowed us to increase the number of teachers and support staff and to provide additional resources for our students.
The Excellence in Cities (EIC) initiative was introduced in March 1999 with the aim of raising standards and promoting inclusion in the inner cities (see Chapter 1, p. 15). We were delighted to embrace this initiative, especially as it was so well funded. The requirements of EIC were clear but not prescriptive, and we were able to decide exactly how we would introduce and shape the different strands into our own schools. This was a challenge we welcomed because we felt it would help us to improve the quality of our school. There were four main strands of EIC. These included:
* Learning mentors
* Learning support units (LSUs)
* Provision for gifted and talented pupils
* City Learning Centre and Education Action Zones
We had already started adding to our workforce and led the way as far as workforce reforms went. Most of these new employees were working as Learning Support Assistants (LSAs), back office staff and finally Learning Mentors. Most of these came from the local community, which really helped to bridge the gap between the school and the community. Learning Mentors proved to be valuable in helping us support some of our most vulnerable children of whom we had many.
The development of the new LSU caused much discussion in our school, and many urban myths spread across the staff, students and parents. 'Swimming with dolphins' was quoted many times and the notion that children were being rewarded for being naughty! However, as with most things, we got over that hurdle and the LSU proved to be very successful in supporting some of our most difficult and hard-to-teach students. The Behaviour Improvement strategy arrived around the same time, and I received a call one day from the private office of Stephen Twigg, Minister for Schools (2004–2005), to see if they could visit for the day and see how we managed behaviour! Of course we agreed to this as we felt that civil servants who were developing behaviour policy ought to see what we were dealing with on a daily basis.
The focus on Gifted and Talented pupils made us think more about this group who had probably been neglected up to now. We could not live with the title Gifted and Talented as it was so difficult to come up with a clear definition of what this meant. Therefore, we settled on More Able and Talented and set about developing a support programme to develop and challenge this group. This involved tracking this group carefully, providing enrichment activities and individual mentoring. What it did not involve was a concentration on teaching. When I look back now and still see the same model in many schools I visit, I am sorry that we did not focus more specifically on strategies for raising achievement in the classroom.
Putting together a bid to become a small Education Action Zone (see Chapter 1, p. 15) with our primary feeder schools on the Isle of Dogs under the EIC banner was something that was very worthwhile. We already had strong relationships with our feeder primaries and we supported each other in any way we could. However, the small Action Zone provided the structure and funding to develop a strategic action plan to work together on improving teaching and learning. We had to go through a very vigorous process in putting our bid together, and I remember a rival group of schools (who were bidding against us) being very angry when we were chosen as the successful cluster. However, the Action Zone group are still working together in a coherent way to get to grips with the many changes that they are expected to make.
The EIC programme ran alongside the Leadership Incentive Grant, of which we were quick to take advantage. I noticed an advert asking for schools interested in taking on a Trainee Head for a year as a training opportunity and could not resist the opportunity to have a free member of SLT for a year! We were lucky to have had three trainees over three years who all went on to be headteachers. They brought three different sets of eyes and added much to our school. My senior team was always welcoming and open and we subsequently went on to host many Future Leader participants in the following years. In addition, we opened up our team to a number of Associate Assistant Heads who were middle leaders, and they also brought a great deal of expertise and ideas to the table. My aim has always been to demystify headship and to encourage others to think of themselves as leaders in the future. I had never been encouraged in this way and used to believe that senior leadership was out of my league.
The Labour government introduced Every Child Matters (ECM) in 2004 (see Chapter 1, p. 15), which was in my opinion the most important and relevant development that I can remember. In fact I wrote my MBA thesis on the subject. The notion and reality of different organisations working together to ensure the needs of our children were ground breaking and worked very well for us. In fact it was the way we were already working but in a very informal way, where my staff had persuaded individuals from other child-centred professions to work closely with us. ECM made these partnerships more solid and provided a framework for brokering relationships and partnerships. We became a designated Extended School, which allowed us to provide a range of services for vulnerable children and their families. For instance, it was much easier to get vulnerable families to come to school for their CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service) appointment rather than go to the centre that was a bus ride away. We were open from 7.30 a.m. for breakfast (provided by Morgan Stanley) and provided activities and childcare (The Place to Be) until 6 p.m. After that, the school sports facilities were used by the community until 10 p.m. at night. The community team and Sports Trust (a charity set up by governors some years before and run largely by sixth formers and ex-students of George Green's) made sure that local people could hire the facilities at a low cost while the business community paid premium prices. The Sports Trust was, and still is, self-funding and is a very efficient way of organising school lettings. ECM made perfect sense to us. It brought together all strands of the school, and we were horrified when the Coalition government decided to change the name of the DCSF (Department of Children, Schools and Families) to the DfE – families were (it seemed) no longer our problem!
## Youth Services
Later on (2006) we were commissioned to deliver Youth Services on the Isle of Dogs and we readily took on this role, despite the fact that it caused so much additional work. We were keen to take this on because as a school we had spent years bringing the different communities together in school only to find they went off to different parts of the island when they left school. The youth clubs were very segregated, and white and black boys went to one club, while Bengali boys went to another. Girls did not attend any youth clubs because they (and their parents) did not think they were safe. The quality of youth services was very poor and when problems occurred in the streets, as they often did, the clubs chose to close rather than work with young people to sort them out. Staff working in the Youth Service at the time were used to working in a particular way and were not used to being led and managed. This had to change, and the process was difficult. However, the outcomes were hugely successful. Clubs were no longer segregated, girls were now participating, and the number of youngsters attending youth clubs rose dramatically, meaning youths were no longer hanging around the streets causing problems. We developed and delivered a relevant curriculum, staff were well trained and well led, and youth clubs were not closed without due notice. It was another big risk that paid off.
## Vocational courses
Many new vocational courses equivalent to GCSEs started in schools in around 2002 (see Chapter 1, p. 11), but this was something we never went in for. Instead we stuck to the more traditional curriculum, including every child doing a humanities subject and a language. At the time we felt that this was the right thing for our pupils, as it gave them all the opportunity to study a wide range of subjects and would enable them to move on to the pathways they chose in the future.
This was a mistake, as the traditional curriculum did not suit lots of our children, and we should have taken more risks with the curriculum. We saw schools around us embrace GNVQs (which we did not feel were of much value), and their results soared. I believe this lift in attainment gave pupils confidence and self-belief, and these schools then went on to climb up the league tables. It was our mistake not to follow suit. However, in 2008, we did revise the curriculum so that it offered more appropriate pathways for all our young people. This development was too late to save us from plummeting results in 2008, followed by a subsequent Ofsted inspection that took us into a 'requires improvement' category. A lesson learned the hard way!
## Inclusion
At some point in 2002 I was invited to a meeting at the local authority to discuss piloting the Index to Inclusion (produced by Tony Booth and Mel Ainscow). As a school we were already well down this road, as we were working so hard to include all members of our community, including those with special needs. The borough (like many others) was keen for schools to include youngsters with physical disabilities and learning difficulties to attend mainstream schools and we were very happy to be part of that movement. The Index to Inclusion was a very helpful document in helping us to audit our school and to find the gaps in provision. I often recommend it to colleagues today. Although our building was totally unsuitable (on seven floors with one unreliable lift), we were designated as the 'inclusive' school in the borough. We had the will and were able to find the way of including young people with a wide range of children with additional needs. Some years later we were able to convince the DfE to fund adaptations to make movement around the school and for the provision of more disabled toilets and other facilities. We gained a reputation for inclusion and it was a reputation we were very proud of. Though the subsequent Special Needs regulations have been strongly criticised by many, including Baroness Warnock, schools and colleges across the country have developed inclusive policy and practice, while many others, who are often those lauded as examples to us all, have rejected inclusion and those children who will use lots of resources and who may not achieve the benchmark re GCSE results. Admission policies need to be more rigorously applied so that those who want to attend a mainstream school have that opportunity. However, the new SEN Code of Practice (see Chapter 1, p. 15) and new funding arrangements are making it more difficult for schools to be fully inclusive.
## Concluding comments
The change of government in 2010 was not a happy time for those of us in education. Policies introduced under the Coalition were more difficult to manage and caused great anxiety. They were seen to be punitive and targeted at schools with challenging intakes and fighting against the odds. My teachers were constantly re-writing schemes of learning and finding new ways to implement new initiatives and changes to exam syllabi. Change was imposed and not based on evidence that it (whatever it was) worked. The worst part was not being consulted or involved. The feeling that we were being 'done to' caused a great deal of resentment. Keeping staff morale high and keeping them positive was a great challenge but was one we managed most of the time. Teachers were blamed for all the ills of society and were constantly being told they were not doing a good job. The workload increased, although we had thought this was not possible. The autonomy of headteachers was a piece of fiction, as we had never been so tightly controlled by central government. The Local Education Authority, who had always been so supportive, lost most of their funding and subsequently most of their personnel. The Ofsted framework continued to change, and the exams criteria changed, making it more difficult for many pupils to gain the qualifications they needed to move forward.
At this point I had reached the ripe old age of 60 and decided it was time to retire and give someone else a chance to lead the school.
# [Part III
Higher and further education](content.xhtml#bck_part3)
# [7
Evolution of Teacher Training and Professional Development](content.xhtml#bck_Ch07)
Richard Pring
## Introduction
The preparation and continuing professional development of teachers have been in constant evolution ever since the 1944 Education Act, that great Act of Parliament which, in the aftermath of the war, created a 'national service locally administered'. Such a national service required of the Minister to ensure, first, there were enough school places for all school-age children, and, second, there were enough teachers trained to teach them. Not for the Minister to say what should be taught or how it should be taught. And not for the Minister to say how teachers should be trained or how their continuing professional development, if any at all, should take place.
That subsequent evolution reflected the changing understandings: of the place of teacher education within a unitary system of higher education; of the place of schools and the profession in that training; of the content of the training and professional development; and of the responsibilities of government. In this last respect, we have seen the autonomy of the profession and indeed of universities increasingly eroded by political intervention.
One might see that historical evolution in terms of positive developments, arising (through public deliberations and subsequent White Papers and Acts of Parliament) from responses to perceived difficulties regarding low standards in many schools or the ideological beliefs of the teacher trainers. The name 'blob', as such an establishment has been called by some politicians, reflects a political concern about the influence of those whose ideas permeate the training of teachers, especially the social and philosophical critiques within colleges and universities. Was John Dewey, taught in our university departments of education, mainly responsible for all the problems of our schools, as I was told by a Secretary of State and a Minister of Higher Education? Much better, it is thought, that attention should be directed more effectively and efficiently to the improvement of learning as that has come to be defined from outside the teaching profession, ever since the 1988 Education Act.
In what follows, I examine that evolution more closely, drawing upon historical record and personal experience – as teacher in training, schoolteacher, teacher of students on the new BEd degree, university lecturer on professional diploma courses, professor helping to bring about the first merger between a prestigious college of education and a university, and finally Director of the Oxford University Department of Educational Studies, when after 100 years that university finally thought the study of education was worthy of a professor.
## Prelude: do teachers need to be trained?
There once prevailed the Platonic idea of the sort of education in which, 'in a place set apart', the guardian class would receive a special sort of education, partly through what was taught but partly through the initiation into a particular tradition, social ethos and network. This was accessible to relatively few (what the nineteenth-century philosopher and poet Coleridge referred to as the 'clerisy') brought up, if not on gymnastics and mathematics, then at least on the classics and games. Prep school, public school and Oxbridge would provide the right kind of educational background. Indeed, this was argued to the Bryce Commission in 1895 by Herbert Warren, President of Magdalen College Oxford, when discussion was conducted on whether the University of Oxford should be concerned with the training of teachers. The student who has read Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Politics and Ethics has whatever theory is necessary for the practice of teaching. But in addition it would be helpful:
that a young man who has passed through an English public school, more particularly if he has been . . . a prefect has had experience in keeping order and maintaining discipline. Thus the average Oxford man, more especially the classical student, ought not to require so long an additional training, either in theory or practice, as is sometimes necessary for students elsewhere.
(Bryce Report, 1895, v. 257)
Indeed, this message was reiterated by Mr Raleigh of All Souls, also to the Bryce Committee, reminiscent of John Stuart Mill's inaugural address at St Andrew's, in which he argued that the university is not a place for professional education (Mill, 1867). According to Raleigh:
It is not the office of the University to train men for teaching, or any other profession . . . his special training must be left to those who are engaged in professional work. Almost any honours man will make a good teacher, and if he has the luck to fall into the hands of a good headteacher.
(Bryce Report, 1895, v. 22)
This view may seem antiquated, but it continues to hover around the corridors of power and in many schools. Training, of whatever sort, is no longer a requirement to teach in schools released from the bonds of local authorities, as well as those that remain in the private sector. It is regarded that, with the right sort of subject knowledge from the university and with the right sort of character, training is unnecessary. Ignorance of what is referred to as the 'disciplines of education' (philosophy, sociology, psychology, history) might indeed be a bonus. One might, as with Teach First, just as well go straight into school where one will be nurtured by mature teachers. The result is that there is a rejection of those developments, especially after the Robbins Report in 1963 (to be explained below), which have shaped teacher education for 50 years and through which I have been engaged with teaching and teacher education.
The question continues to be: Do the training and development of teachers need to be made academically respectable through the support of universities, on the one hand, and, on the other, can the academic respectability of the universities be practically relevant?
## Academic respectability and practical relevance: a fading example
In 1964, I quit the Ministry of Education in Curzon Street, where I had been an Assistant Principal working in my final year in the newly established Curriculum Study Group, which was the forerunner of the Schools Council and which initiated a range of papers in preparation for the new Certificate of Secondary Education. The Schools Council, established in 1964, was a shrewd combination of local education authorities, and representatives from teachers (who were the majority members), HMI, community, and employers and government. The first Joint Secretary, Derek Morrell (the civil servant who in effect created the Schools Council), argued that it aimed to support and to enhance the professional aspect of teaching:
to democratise the processes of problem-solving as we try, as best we can, to develop an educational approach appropriate to a permanent condition of change. . . . this democracy must also be locally organised, bringing together teachers, dons, administrators and others for the study of common problems, some local and others national in their implications.
(Morrell, 1966)
Later in the lecture Morrell spelled out the particular nature of this partnership between teachers (at the centre, not periphery, of these deliberations) and the research interests of the universities to which the teachers might in various ways be attached – not as neighbours knocking on the door of theory but as partners in a shared enterprise.
One influential example of such a partnership was that of the Centre for Applied Research in Education at the University of East Anglia, led by Professor Lawrence Stenhouse. Its Humanities Curriculum Project was founded on Stenhouse's scholarly research into the idea and practice of 'culture', developed in schools by teachers, rigorously evaluated by the university, and supported and promoted by the Schools Council. It gave rise to the tradition of 'action research', putting teachers at the centre of research and supported by research traditions within the universities – described by John Elliott (1991), a member of the Stenhouse team, in his book Action Research for Educational Change. However, there were many examples of such a partnership in the development of curriculum projects – History 13–16, Geography for the Young School Leaver, Design and Technology, Nuffield Sciences, for example.
Much inspired by the ambitions of the Schools Council, I started teaching in a London comprehensive school in 1965. Nothing in my teacher training year at a London college of education prepared me for 1x. When I asked the headteacher in July for my timetable so that I could spend my vacation in preparation, I was told to come in early on the first day of Autumn term. He asked what I had studied at the university. When I replied philosophy, he said he thought so and said I was to have the slow learners – the fifth stream of a five stream comprehensive school. I struggled. But it was the Schools Council that came to my help. The Council saw the need for professional support for teachers through the partnerships established across schools and with university-based curriculum projects. Its Teachers' Centres, throughout the country, provided that support, and it was to the Centre in Highbury and Islington that I went for support, professional engagement, and introduction to relevant thinking and research.
Unfortunately the Schools Council ceased to be granted government support in 1984 and closed. The early fears held by the teachers' unions of government desire to obtain control of curriculum proved correct. Four years later there was the 1988 Educational Reform Act.
## Academic respectability
The nineteenth-century training of teachers took place in training colleges run mainly by the Church of England, though a few emerged from the Catholics and Non-conformists to support their growing number of schools. But, with the extension of secondary education to all, following the 1944 Education Act, there was a need for many more training places and for a deeper, more academic preparation. No longer were they to serve elementary schools that offered a limited education for the poor. A first step was to change the name in 1960 from 'training colleges' to 'colleges of education', and to attach them to regional universities through Area Training Organisations (created in 1955 following the proposals of the 1944 McNair Report).
The aim, following the 1963 Robbins Report, was to bring the colleges within a unitary system of Higher Education, ignoring the objections from those who, believing in a restricted pool of ability, opposed such an expansion. Indeed, the judgement of Mr Raleigh (quoted above) still prevailed in many quarters: 'it is not the office of the University to train men for teaching'. The colleges would not be granted university status. But they would be either linked to universities and thereby be able to take the newly proposed BEd degree (initially a three year Ordinary Degree, then later a four year Honours) to be awarded by their respective universities, or linked to polytechnics with degree awarding powers given to the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA), established in 1965. The Institute of Education of London University, for example, had 30 colleges under its academic wing, from as far away as Canterbury (later to become Canterbury Christ Church University). The training of teachers would be firmly within the university sector – thereby gaining 'academic respectability'.
That, however, gave rise to the need to make the study of education academically respectable. That was not easy. The university lecturer in education was, in the words of Professor Richard Peters of the University of London Institute of Education:
so often like the distraught Freudian ego – at one moment at the mercy of the ids in the classroom, unruly little boys and girls, insatiable in their demands and beyond the control of reason; at another moment feeling the disapproving gaze of the superego in the philosophy, psychology or sociology department, whose discipline is tough, but seemingly disconnected from the world of unreason which teachers have to inhabit.
It was as a result of such doubts and criticisms that attempts were made to make educational studies respectable. At a conference of the Association of Teachers in Colleges and Departments of Education in Hull in 1964, studies for the professional development of teachers were dismissed by Peters as so much undifferentiated mush. Hence began a purposeful attempt to inject an academic rigour that respectability in the eyes of the universities demanded. There was an exponential growth of theory in what were called the 'foundation disciplines' – the philosophy, sociology, psychology and history of education, and finally comparative and curriculum studies.
This I witnessed first hand in my PGCE year. On Friday afternoons the postgraduate trainees would go from their respective colleges to hear the stimulating lectures from Richard Peters in philosophy of education, Basil Bernstein in sociology of education, W.D. Wall in psychology and A.C. Beales from Kings College London in history of education. Peters' book The Ethics of Education (published 1965) became deservedly a textbook on BEd courses, stimulating consideration of the aims of education and of the ethical basis of what is taught in schools. He was accompanied by Paul Hirst whose influential paper on 'the seven forms of knowledge' provided a philosophical background to the study and value of curriculum subjects (Hirst, 1965).
I joined a group of aspiring philosophers and signed up to study for a part-time PhD under the University's Philosophy Board, supervised by Professor Peters. That and similar groups in the other disciplines were most important within the development of educational studies worldwide.
First, the development of the BEd required university teachers – people who could teach philosophy, sociology, psychology and history. The newly developed diploma courses at the Institute were intended to provide these. Hence, college lecturers and schoolteachers were recruited to the courses, made into philosophers (sociologists, etc) and then dispatched to the far corners of the kingdom as missionaries. A series of books was published by Routledge and Kegan Paul (RKP), whose authors were mainly from the Institute of Education. New journals were established (for example, The British Journal of Educational Studies and The Journal of the Sociology of Education). Learned societies were set up, such as the Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain, whose Proceedings published the papers given at the annual conference, which took place at the Beatrice Webb House in Surrey from 1967 and subsequently at the Froebel College.
Second, however, this became a worldwide movement. Israel Scheffler at Harvard University (whose 1958 book Philosophy of Education included papers from Peters and Hirst) published The Language of Education, which analysed in detail the use of 'definitions' in education, 'educational slogans' and 'metaphors', the meaning of 'teaching'. The prevailing Oxford tradition of analytic philosophy had entered into educational thinking, and thereby attacked mercilessly the words and assumptions of, say, the Plowden Report (1967) on primary education – for example, children's 'needs', 'creativity', 'growth'. In a visit to Melbourne University in the 1970s to give the Victor Cooke Memorial Lecture, I witnessed the impact of this literature on teacher education – the almost monopoly of reading material from the philosophers (Peters, Hirst, John and Pat White, Ray Elliott, Robert Dearden) of the London Institute of Education.
## The death of the college
More was required to achieve the respectability to emerge from the Robbins' ideal of a unitary system of higher education. The 1972 James Report: Teacher Education and Training recommended the total abolition of monotechnic teacher training courses and the merging of them into institutions with other undergraduate studies. It recommended three cycles of continuing education, namely, a two-year Diploma in Higher Education, a two-year professional training and then professional in-service provision. It was regarded as inadequate to finish teacher preparation with no more than the successful completion of initial training. However, despite these recommendations, the 1972 White Paper, Education: a Framework for Expansion, dismissed the DipHE and postponed the inservice proposals and thereby the hope of much needed opportunities for continuing teachers' professional development.
By 1976, of the original 151 voluntary and municipal colleges of education, five had merged with universities, 33 were locked in with polytechnics, 63 had amalgamated into 44 newly created institutes of higher and further education, and 21 were earmarked for closure. The changes in institutional provision for teacher preparation were immense: it had become a degree-based profession; it had its own professional degree (Bachelor of Education) and it had become an intrinsic part of higher education within the 'binary system' – not the unitary system envisaged by Robbins, since, except in the case of the few that had merged with universities, colleges were not funded by the University Grants Committee. However, academic autonomy was preserved through the CNAA, which oversaw academic standards in the burgeoning public sector of higher education (including the polytechnics).
But the changes to a unitary system of higher education continued apace through more mergers and through the gradual acquisition of university status. In 1978 I was appointed to Exeter University and engaged in the merger between St Luke's College of Education and the university. The new School of Education, soon to be the largest in the country outside the Institute of Education in London, remained on the St Lukes' site. It was joined there by the staffs of the now former University of Exeter's Department and Institute of Education. Ted Wragg succeeded Michael Brock (appointed as Principal of Nuffield College Oxford) as Director. The success of the new school, in integrating within it the erstwhile separate institutions and in integrating the school within the wider university, owed much to his dynamism, reputation with schools, and combination of practical know-how in the classroom with a grasp of educational theory.
Members of the St Luke's staff had been appointed to the college first and foremost because they were excellent teachers who knew their subjects, though few had higher degrees. Their profiles did not match those of Exeter University's Department and Institute of Education. How could they fit into the academically motivated ethos of a university? There were, therefore, some nervous new members of the university. But, as I wish to develop later (and even conclude), there is a danger in the disdain for 'practical knowledge' – in not seeing the importance of the practical as the basis for the theoretical, not the other way around.
For example, on the BEd primary course, students were taught mathematics by an excellent team of mathematicians for the three or four years of their BEd, and were well prepared for the classroom once they had graduated. Compare this with the present situation, following the demise of the BEd, where only about one in ten of new primary school teachers have more than grade C in GCSE mathematics, following which they have done no mathematics during the next six years prior to their PGCE qualification. It is not surprising that many young people have been ill-prepared for their study of mathematics when they enter secondary school.
A further example would be that of teaching physical education. After the war, the Principal Smeales was determined to bring fame to St Luke's and to do so by creating the best rugby team in the country. He went to Wales to recruit for the training college the best players he could persuade to become teachers, including several internationals. One benefit that the University of Exeter saw in the merger was to have a great rugby team. I have no doubt that the new School of Education produced possibly the best-trained physical education teachers in the country, though (as we were constantly told) rivalled by Loughborough.
As educational studies were made increasingly to look like other undergraduate studies, I see the demise of the professional degree for preparing teachers as a grave mistake. Physical education gradually morphed into sports science. Drama disappeared from most teacher training places. Whereas I entered teaching (even in 1x, the lowest stream in a five-form Year 1) without any knowledge of the different kinds of learning difficulty to be encountered, those who studied for the BEd at the two universities where I was employed (Goldsmiths College and Exeter University) had clear and practical introductions to them.
Students who studied at Goldsmiths College in the late 1960s recall that the BEd degree was made academically respectable through the support of universities and practically relevant through an appropriate curriculum that provided academic knowledge and hands-on experience throughout the four-year programme. A four-year programme enabled students to be academically able and practically skilled, as there was time to address all aspects in sufficient detail. There was a balance of educational studies and specialist subject teaching that was on a par with the BA or BSc course. In addition they were taught how to identify and support children with special educational needs in mainstream schools, by attending stimulating lectures, visiting institutions that specialise in specific learning needs such as epilepsy, dyslexia, autism and Down's syndrome, and by carrying out work experience at an allocated specialist centre. This was followed up by a written assessed dissertation. For example:
We did an intense study on dealing with children with special needs. We all visited a Centre in Kent regarding epilepsy and how to deal with it. Then we had lectures on dyslexia, autism and Down's syndrome, etc. We were required to write an in-depth study with reference to special needs and were required to include work experience. I focused on Down's syndrome, another on children with polio. I spent 2 to 3 weeks as a volunteer at a Centre for children with Down's syndrome over one summer break. This type of study is not included in courses today unless doing a special course.
Such rigour, depth and breadth of preparation over a four-year period are not mirrored in teacher training programmes today. Much preparation and thought was put into the BEd degree by educationalists at that time, and as a result emerging teachers felt supported and prepared for their future careers.
Over time either all colleges merged with universities (e.g. Keswick Hall with East Anglia), or joined a polytechnic, which eventually became a university (e.g. Lady Spencer Churchill and Oxford Polytechnic becoming Oxford Brooks University and later subsuming Westminster College), or evolved slowly into universities (e.g. King Alfred's College becoming the University of Winchester), or simply went out of business. But problems remained.
## Government control
It would have seemed that, in shelving teacher education firmly within the university sector, the preparation and continuing professional development of teachers would have remained safe from government interference. Universities were autonomous institutions. Though receiving money from the government, that money was channelled through the University Grants Committee, established after the recommendations of Robbins to ensure freedom from interference in academic matters. But the government believed that assurance over the quality of teacher training was as necessary as assurance over the quality of teaching in schools. Just as HMI were empowered to enter schools, so should they be empowered to enter universities for this particular set of courses.
In 1983, the government produced a paper, Teaching Quality, spelling out four phases of a teaching career. In 1984, it gave HMI powers of approval on teacher education courses.
Staff Inspector Pauline Perry came to Exeter University to announce the intention. But would the university allow it? It did so because otherwise the government grants would be withdrawn. There was indeed a rearguard action from the redoubtable Ted Wragg. For the first inspection he insisted that he be notified beforehand of the team of HMIs. Following his perusal of the list, he insisted that one of the team be removed because of his known insobriety on a previous occasion and because we could not allow bad influences to be imported into the high level of professional training for which Exeter was noted. The HMI was removed from the team.
In 1988, the government published The New Teacher in School. No doubt on the basis of the now numerous HMI inspections, it criticised the weaknesses in teacher education, especially in terms of the lack of sufficient preparation in the organisation and preparation of learning and of poor assessment and recording of pupils' progress. Had the pursuit of academic respectability diminished practical relevance?
However, 'quality' is an elastic term. It can be stretched to cover many more things than actual performance in the classroom or subject knowledge. There had long been a suspicion from the right wing of politics that educational theory was promoting a left-wing agenda, blaming poor performance, for example, on cultural and social backgrounds rather than on ineffective teaching. In 1969 the first two of the seven Black Papers on Education, edited by Cox and Dyson, were published: Fight for Education and Crisis in Education. These, together with other papers from the Centre for Policy Studies (CPS), identified a cause of the perceived problems in schools to arise from the prevailing theoretical assumptions that, especially following the Plowden Report on Primary Education, permeated education departments – the espousal of child-centred theories of progressive education in particular. Typical was Sheila Lawlor's Teachers Mistaught: Training in Theories or Education in Subjects? (1990) which argued that 'any plan designed to improve the quality of teachers should concentrate on ensuring those in the profession have a mastery of their individual subjects' rather than over the non-subject of education.
The villain of the piece was the American philosopher John Dewey. Anthony O'Hear, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Bradford and appointed by Margaret Thatcher to chair a committee on teacher training, wrote for the CPS the monograph Father of Child-Centredness: John Dewey and the Ideology of Modern Education, and a paper to the Applied Philosophy Society in 1980 that dismissed Dewey as subverting the central aim of education which was the initiation into the cultural richness we have inherited (O'Hear, 1987). These had considerable influence on the Conservative attitude to the 'ideologues' of university education departments. It was shortly after my arrival as Director of the Department of Educational Studies of Oxford University (1989) that I was invited to share a platform with the now retired Lord Keith Joseph at a conference at Wolfson College. Seated next to me at dinner, he ascertained that my name was Pring and then told me that I had caused all the problems in our schools. When asked what led him to that belief, he replied that it was I (or people like me) who had introduced teachers to John Dewey. At roughly the same period I was invited to be interviewed by Melanie Phillips on the radio as to whether we taught John Dewey. The Daily Mail sent a reporter to me to ask whether we taught John Dewey and whether we would promote child-centred education. I was cross-examined by another reporter who made the excuse that he was visiting the department to leave some books to the library. I felt chuffed that I should be seen as such an influential person, though concerned by the increasing political suspicion of teacher education. Should a university department bend to such political pressure? It would not do so in the philosophy or psychology departments – such is the value attached to academic autonomy.
The criticism, however, came also 'from within the fold'. Professor David Hargreaves upset the education academics gathered at the annual conference of the British Educational Research Association in Belfast in 1990 by attacking the value and standards of the research that, to lay claim to be educational, should be serving the training and professional development of teachers – which clearly, he argued, it was failing to do. Despite the enormous amount of money spent on research and the large number of people who claimed to be active researchers, there was not the cumulative body of relevant knowledge that would enable teaching to be (like medicine) a research-based profession; for it to be so it would be necessary to change, first, the content of that research, and, second, the control and sponsorship of it.
This criticism of theory and research in the now university-based teacher education was cumulative – harking back to that made by Lord Skidelsky to a debate in the House of Lords concerning the proposal to transfer responsibility for the funding of educational research from the Higher Education Funding Council to the Teacher Training Agency:
Many of the fruits of that research I would describe as an uncontrolled growth of 'theory, an excessive emphasis on what is called the context in which teaching takes place, which is a code for class, gender and ethnic issues, and an extreme paucity of testable hypotheses about what works and does not work'.
(quoted in Bassey, 1995, p. 33)
Meanwhile, in the course of my 14 years as Director of the department at Oxford, the inspection regime, as in schools, became increasingly more specific. Following the DES Circular of 1989, Initial Teacher Training: Approval of Courses, it set precise 'performance indicators' in preparation for the 'audits'. It became a question then of writing what we wanted to be judged on in the terms of the inspectorate without sacrificing what we believed in.
## Academic respectability and professional relevance: can they be reconciled?
Despite the doubts expressed by Heads of Houses to the Bryce Committee in 1895 about the university being a suitable place for the training of teachers, there was one voice from Oxford that expressed a different opinion. Mr Haverfield of Christ Church foresaw the possible integration between theory and practice and between the academic concerns of the university and the practical purposes of the schools.
The object seems to me to be to get the future teacher thinking about teaching; then, being (on the whole) an educated and capable man, he will probably be able to take his own line.
The dualism between theory and practice, condemned by the aforesaid John Dewey, is surely indefensible. Intelligent practice embodies theoretical perspectives – about aims of education, motivation of the learners, levels of understanding, logical connection of key concepts, impact of cultural backgrounds. Making such implicit perspectives explicit and enabling the teacher to subject them to informed criticism are as central as is the constant critique of theory against practical experience. The theorist needs the practice as much as the practitioner needs the theory. The development of teaching quality in both initial training and professional development requires this interrelationship and the critical attitude in their marriage. One problem with the merger of the colleges with the universities has been the danger of seeing theory (what the universities are good at) imposed upon the practice (which the teachers are good at) without recognising the experiential knowledge that is embodied in that practice.
It was in recognition of that problem that my predecessor as Director of the Department of Educational Studies, Dr Harry Judge, together with the Chief Education Officer of Oxfordshire, Sir Tim Brighouse, created the Oxford Internship Scheme to which all Oxfordshire secondary schools belonged. Eight or more trainee teachers were attached to each school, which was thereby transformed into a 'training school'. Each member of the department was attached to a school as General Course Tutor, linked to the school's Professional Course Tutor, covering the topics that concerned the trainee teachers. Each week they would jointly lead the school-based seminar. At the same time, parallel links were created between the curriculum tutors in the department and the subject teachers in the schools. In addition, subject-based seminars were held back in the department, which brought together the subject tutors from the different schools. Professional development was integrated with initial training. Theory was tested against practice. Practice was informed by theory.
How far can this now be maintained in a modern university, given the changing pressures on them? Should we not learn from Chicago? There the once prestigious School of Education, under pressure to produce world class research, found less and less time to be in schools. It joined the university's School of Social Sciences. The social scientists did not care much for the research of the erstwhile educationists. Educational studies, without friends in schools and without friends in the university, closed down.
Is not the same happening here? Every four years the Research Excellence Framework assesses the quality of research, based mainly on publications in highly cited peer reviewed journals. Each subject department's finances and prestige in the consequent league table affect not only the income for the next four years but also the readiness of the respective universities to maintain particular subjects. The intensive partnerships with schools, so necessary for the quality of teacher education in universities, are less and less reconcilable with the devotion to writing research reports in journals, many of which are rarely ever read. We are likely to see many education departments closed in the coming years, thereby reversing the evolution that has taken place over the last 60 years.
## And in its place?
We are already seeing the consequences of the issues I have raised:
* suspicion of the 'ideologues' (the 'blob') in the university departments of education;
* slow death of the professional degree as a route to Qualified Teacher Status;
* by-passing of the universities by those who have already gained degrees as they enter school through Schools Direct, TeachFirst and indeed 'Troops to Teachers';
* the closing of university departments of education (already begun) and, even when they survive, the closure of particular PGCE subject courses (in Autumn 1914, 27 English, 9 history and 11 geography courses lost funding);
* the continuing suspicion that 'education' is not an appropriate subject for the university. Thus Mr Raleigh of All Souls would have been pleased that, a hundred years later, his advice to the Bryce Commission was being listened to. Is it not once again believed that 'almost any honours man will make a good teacher, and if he has the luck to fall into the hands of a good head teacher'?
And yet is there not a crisis looming in the recruitment and retention of teachers? For the third year, the government is set to miss its target figure for teacher recruitment – a shortfall of 27,000 predicted by 2017. Between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of newly qualified teachers leave the profession within five years. Two-thirds of secondary school heads had difficulty in recruiting maths teachers, according to a poll by the Association of Schools and College Leaders. Concern over teacher supply has been exacerbated by Schools Direct filling only 61 per cent of the places allocated in 2014 – places that otherwise would have been allocated to universities. The problems will be exacerbated in an expanding economy that offers other attractions for would-be teachers. Reasons given for leaving are, among others, the constant teacher bashing and the high-pressure accountability, the excessive workload and relentless pace of change (TES, 30 January 2015). Will it not be necessary to establish once again that partnership between schools and universities in initial training, continuing professional development and research?
But what about professional development – the third phase of the James Report's recommendations? We have seen the central importance of such development in the years following the Schools Council in the 1960s and 1970s. Teachers were in charge, though utilising the knowledge and research to be found in the universities. The Oxford Internship Scheme was a unique partnership between university and schools, as such professional development arose from the shared responsibility for initial training. I am sure there are many other excellent examples. But increasingly, so-called professional development is geared to courses on how 'to meet the standards' imposed by government – a far cry from the autonomous profession experienced by most contributors to this volume when they first started to teach.
However, there are interesting examples, afforded by social media, of teachers once again asserting their professional autonomy. Increasingly, teachers are systematically using the Internet for the professional interactions through which they might advance their professional knowledge and practice. Grass-roots organisations of teachers have arisen such as 'Teachmeet'.
Teachers are doing it for themselves, using social media for professional development and advocacy. . . . In the face of increasingly centralised policy agenda, social media has created spaces for teachers to talk to each other, share . . . learn for each other.
(Hardy, 2014)
## Notes
1 Quoted from my inaugural lecture Academic Respectability and Practical Relevance, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1992.
2 This quotation is from a letter sent to me by a retired teacher, a former student, who does not wish her name to be disclosed.
3 Bryce Report, 1895, v. 167 (In ref: Bryce Report, 1895, Royal Commission on Secondary Education).
## References
Bassey, M., 1995, Creating Education Through Research. Newark: Kirklington Moor Press.
Bryce Report, 1895, Royal Commission on Secondary Education.
Elliott, J., 1991, Action Research for Educational Change. Milton Keynes: Open University Press.
Hardy, E., 2014, Forum 56(2).
Hirst, P.H., 1965, 'Liberal education and the nature of knowledge', in P.H. Hirst (ed.) Knowledge and the Curriculum. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
McNair Report, 1944, Teachers and Youth Leaders. London: HMSO.
Mill, J.S., 1867, 'Inaugural address at St. Andrews', in F.A. Cavenagh (ed.) 1931, James and John Stuart Mill on Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Morrell, D., 1966, Education and Change. London: College of Preceptors.
O'Hear, A., 1987, 'The importance of traditional learning', in British Journal of Educational Studies 35 (2), 102–114.
Peters, R.S., 1965, Ethics and Education. London: Geo. Allen and Unwin.
Plowden Report, 1967, Children and their Primary Schools. London: HMSO.
Robbins Report, 1963, Higher Education. London: HMSO.
Scheffler, I., 1960, The Language of Education, Springfield, Illinois: Charles Thomas.
# [8
The Evolving Idea of a University](content.xhtml#bck_Ch08)
Richard Pring
## Sir David Watson
It had been hoped that Sir David Watson would write this chapter. Unfortunately, he died suddenly in January. He would have been the ideal author since his own professional life (spent entirely in higher education – 'my trade for 40 years') had to cope with the evolving idea of a university and, indeed, contributed richly to that idea. Moreover, the thanks of the present author are due, not just to his many writings on this subject, but in particular to his most recent book, The Question of Conscience, which outlines what he referred to as the successive 'frameworks' imposed on the UK since the Robbins Report of 1963 – coinciding with the period covered in this book. As he claims at the beginning of the book, 'the system has been radically reconfigured for every third or fourth new cohort that has entered it' (Watson 2014, p. xxii).
What follows, therefore, arises very much from Sir David's 'mapping' of that 'reconfiguring of the system', reflected in his own professional life.
His senior management career in higher education began at Oxford Polytechnic before the dramatic reorganisation of higher education in 1992. That followed (finally) the Robbins Report's recommendation for a unitary system of higher education, thus getting away from the 'binary line' that had divided polytechnics and institutions of higher education from universities in terms of financial resources and degree-giving powers. Brighton University was one of the first of the polytechnics to join the university club, and that demanding process took place under the leadership of David Watson, who was Vice-Chancellor from 1990 to 2005. Here we see an instance of that changing idea of a university pioneered within a much expanded system. As Theodore Zeldin wrote in the Foreword to The Question of Conscience,
Sir David demonstrated in Brighton how a university could raise professional training to a higher level and become a catalyst for local community innovation. His advocacy of lifelong learning is bearing fruit.
Thereafter, David Watson became Professor of Higher Education Management at the University of London Institute of Education and then was appointed in 2010 Principal of Green Templeton College, Oxford University's newest college, reinforcing the important role which that college has in linking the academic teaching and research of a university to the professional training of medics, teachers, business leaders and other professionals. But that distinctive contribution to the idea and the practices of the university, reflected in his achievements at Brighton, continued to be developed in his publications, in particular Managing Civic and Community Engagement in 2007 and The Engaged University in 2011.
## The idea of a university
As David Watson demonstrated, it could be misleading to speak of the idea of a university when, under that title, there are many different kinds of institution and when we have witnessed in the period covered by this book a gradual evolution and diversification of that idea within the UK. Indeed, it would be wrong to freeze the idea as defined at a particular moment of time, for universities or institutions of higher education are part of a wider network of social and educational institutions, which itself will constantly be changing in response to changing economic and social factors. But there comes a time, and surely that time is now, when the shift in meaning has been such that particular institutions of higher education should not be seen as universities, even if that title is being claimed or has been bestowed upon them.
A key reference has frequently been John Henry Newman's Idea of a New University where he argues for it as 'a place of teaching universal knowledge'. This is qualified by the claim that its objects are intellectual, not moral, and the 'diffusion and extension of knowledge rather than the advancement'. By 'universal knowledge' is meant those different logical forms of knowledge (defined by their distinctive concepts, modes of enquiry, procedures for verifying the truth) by which we have come to understand the physical, social and moral worlds we inhabit. There is an inheritance of knowing, reasoning, appreciating which needs to be preserved and passed on to future generations. Such an institution (the university), therefore, would need to be broad in terms of the different disciplines of thinking that it offers, and thereby a 'liberal education which viewed in itself, is simply the cultivation of the intellect, as such, and its object is nothing more or less than intellectual excellence' (Newman, 1852, p. 25).
Universities, through their teaching and scholarship, would guard the intellectual inheritance and preserve it through its transmission to the next generation – or, in the words of Michael Oakeshott (1962), introduce such a generation to 'the conversation between the generations of mankind' as they come to appreciate the 'voices' of poetry, literature, history, science. Again, as Anthony O'Hear argued in defence of traditional learning, 'the proper and effective exercise of learning must take place against the background of inherited forms of thought and experience' (1987, p. 102). It is important, in understanding this 'idea', to identify certain conditions for its practical adherence in those institutions established to promote it.
The first was autonomy, that is, freedom, particularly from the state, in deciding what such excellence was, how it might be pursued, who should be selected to engage in it. Inevitably, there are limits to such autonomy, because the pursuit of scholarship and its transmission need resources. And we have seen over 40 or so years how such dependence has shaped the idea of a university.
The second was a certain disdain for usefulness or relevance as the purpose of a university. The preservation, promotion and enrichment of the world of ideas constituted an end in itself – the maintenance of a distinctive form of human life. John Stuart Mill, at his inaugural lecture at St Andrews, agreed that universities should not be places of professional education as:
their object is not to make skilful lawyers, or physicians, or engineers, but capable and cultivated human beings [for] what professional men should carry away with them from an university is not professional knowledge, but that which should direct the use of their professional knowledge, and bring the light of general culture to illuminate the technicalities of a special pursuit.
(Mill, 1867, p. 133)
That seemed to be the idea of the university when I studied philosophy at University College London – three years of exploring ideas, engaging with key texts, interacting with such philosophers as A.J. Ayer, Stuart Hampshire, Bernard Williams, Richard Wollheim and others whose main mission seemed to be that of 'teaching universal knowledge'. Usefulness or 'professional knowledge' never came into it, but I received what Mill would have regarded as 'the general culture to illuminate the technicalities of a special pursuit'. And so I did what several in such circumstances did – I joined the Civil Service as an Assistant Principal.
## Robbins Report, 1963
At the beginning of our period was published the Robbins Report, Higher Education, as significant for higher education as the 1944 Act had been for schools. The Committee took three years to report and it shaped the considerable expansion and pattern of higher education for the next 30 years. It questioned the assumed 'restricted pool of ability', which had limited the number of universities (and thereby access to them). The general principle for entry was that 'the courses in higher education should be available for all those who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so' (Robbins Report, 1963).
That inevitably required a considerable expansion of universities, but also an extension of the idea of a university. Professional usefulness had thereby also become relevant. Thus the Report proposed bringing universities, teacher training colleges, colleges of advanced technology (CATs) and regional technical colleges into a growing 'unitary system' of higher education, with the CATs re-designated as universities. But the distinction was still there between universities and those other institutions of higher education, which were geared to professional preparation and practical usefulness – a 'binary divide' was upheld. However, the higher learning of these non-university institutions needed to be recognised, and thus the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was recommended with degree-giving powers, thereby enabling regional technical colleges and training colleges to offer degree courses, albeit lacking the autonomy of universities. The CNAA was established in 1965. How this played out with the training of teachers is explained in some detail in Chapter 7.
Therefore, one might say that the Robbins Report extended the 1944 principles of publicly funded (and thereby free) secondary education for all pupils to further and higher education.
One further recommendation must not be forgotten. A characteristic of the university idea was academic autonomy. How does one reconcile the massive investment of public money in the expanded universities with the maintenance of autonomy? The University Grants Committee (UGC) was to be established with general oversight over the 60 or so universities in Britain, and it would act as the independent buffer between the government as the source of finance and the universities who were to spend it as they saw fit in the pursuit of their aims.
## The binary divide and its final demise
The attainment of Robbins' 'unitary system of higher education' was slow but gradual from the establishment of the CNAA finally to the 1992 Further and Higher Education Act, when polytechnics were re-designated universities. More new universities were created. But, no doubt arising from concern over such expansion, a Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) was established, one of whose functions was to define 'graduateness'. Universities were under inspection (light though it might seem at first) for quality, thereby impinging somewhat on the autonomy criterion of the university idea. When I arrived in Oxford in 1989, I was on a CNAA panel checking the quality of Oxford Polytechnic's education degree. I also was engaged in the negotiations over the future of Westminster College of Education in the new 'unitary system' – Oxford University validated its professional degree, the BEd. Eventually there was a merger between the polytechnic and the Westminster in the new Oxford Brookes University.
However, the path to the unitary system was a thorny one. The 1972 White Paper, A Framework for Expansion, sought to continue the binary divide in the expanded higher education system – the pursuit of excellence in a disinterested way sat uneasily with the more practical and professional development purposes of colleges of education, colleges of technology, and business and law schools. But there should be, it was argued, a two-year professional diploma that could lead to the CNAA degree (as in the case of the new BEd). In 1981, Shirley Williams' Green Paper on Higher Education proposed three types of university for the sake of appropriate funding – R,X,T, that is, 'research universities', 'teaching universities' and 'research/teaching universities'. Again, this led to nowhere, except that the idea of research and teaching universities seems to have emerged gradually as a result of the RAE (Research Assessment Exercise), later renamed the REF (Research Excellence Framework). A differentiated idea of the university, linked to competition for certain sources of funding, was beginning to emerge.
Nonetheless, the gradual dismissal of the binary divide took different forms: the incorporation into specific universities of erstwhile independent colleges, as in the case of St Lukes College being subsumed within Exeter University (see Chapter 7 for a brief account); the slow handing over of powers to colleges that had been supported by their local university, as in the case of Canterbury Christ Church College, which, under the Collegiate Board chaired by the University of Kent, gradually developed as independent Canterbury Christ Church University. What characterised many of these new universities so developed was the promotion of professional degrees in education, social work, nursing and such like – somewhat removed in essence from the pre-Robbins idea. Finally, in this 'road to independence', the 1988 Education Reform Act enabled polytechnics to become semi-independent corporations free from the control of local education authorities.
However, in preparation for this expansion and differentiation of purpose, there inevitably emerged a gradual erosion of independence. Reference has been made to the establishment in 1992 of the Quality Assurance Agency. But also a University Grants Committee was to be replaced by the University Funding Council, with increased powers to determine the conditions under which universities were to receive funding, thereby opening up the possibility of 'contract funding' and an increase in the number of representatives from outside the university on the councils and governing bodies. Was this the end of the 'dons' dominion', as Professor Halsey called it?
### The Engaged University
This title of David Watson's book, published with colleagues in 2011, points to a development of our idea of universities much influenced by the expansion referred to above, and reflected in the pioneering work at the new University of Brighton, which, under his leadership, 'developed essentially as a confederation of professional schools, created at different times by a community perceiving different needs' (Watson et al., 2011, p. 102).
Thus Coffield and Williamson (1997, p. 2) argue that 'the old elite model has run its course and needs to be replaced'. Such sentiments were reinforced by the 1997 Dearing Report, Higher Education in the Learning Society, which argued that 'higher education is now a significant force in regional economies, as a source of income and employment, in contributing to cultural life, and in supporting regional and local economic development' (Dearing Report, 1997, p. 228).
This was not simply an observation – a recognition of what in fact was the case – but part of Dearing's approving acknowledgement of what universities could and should become. There had been a shift in how we value the kind of knowledge that universities should both develop and teach. The Report spoke of a 'new compact involving institutions and their staff, students, government, employers and society in general'. Such a compact would involve:
* wider access, thereby transforming an erstwhile elite system into a mass system, requiring a more practical and 'useful' orientation;
* a framework of qualifications and programmes, providing for lifelong learning of people who start from different positions and have different aspirations;
* greater relevance of programmes to the social and economic needs of the local and national communities.
Dearing's 'new compact', therefore, made universities beholden to a new set of demands affecting the degree both of internal autonomy and outside accountability in shaping aims, values and indeed governance. And that coincided with 'modernising government'.
## Modernising government – the growth of bureaucracy
The gradual incursion of government into the conduct of universities coincided with a shift in the control and management of public services generally (e.g. regarding schools, in the creation of a National Curriculum and National Assessment), and with the 'language of management' through which those services were to be controlled – the language of targets, performance indicators, audits and delivery. All this was explained in a series of Government White Papers from HM Treasury and the Cabinet Office: Modern Public Services in Britain: Investing in Reform (1988, Cm. 4011); Public Services for the Future: Modernisation, Reform, Accountability (1998, Cm. 4181); The Government's Measures of Success: Outputs and Performance Analyses (1999, Cm. 4200); Modernising Government (1999, Cm. 4310).
As an illustration of this shift in the underlying understanding of public institutions, one might refer to the change in language and practices in universities, following the 'efficiency review' of the Jarratt Commission, established by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors in 1984.
The crucial issue is how a university achieves the maximum value for money consistent with its objectives (2.12). Each department should maintain a profile of 'indicators of performance' to include standing costs of space, utilities (telephones, etc), market share of applications, class sizes, staff workloads, graduation rates and classes of degrees (3.33). A range of performance indicators should be developed, covering both inputs and outputs and designed for use both within individual universities and for making comparisons between institutions (5.4). The headships of departments . . . ideally should be both a manager and an academic leader (4.27).
This is clearly a very different language from that which is met in the writings of Newman or Oakeshott. Indeed, it would seem incompatible with them, namely, that open engagement with key texts, the pursuit of excellence, the fostering of critical enquiry, the struggle with difficult ideas, the entry into the conversation between the generations. The more recently developed professional studies departments were the first to suffer as the government laid down multiple and detailed 'standards' (meaning 'targets') for the newly established Ofsted Inspectorate to check and tick off. My period as Director of the Department of Educational Studies at Oxford coincided with this transition. During the soon-to-pass time of Her Majesty's Inspectorate, I was asked, over lunch in the Rose and Crown, of the 'management system' in the department. Struggling to answer, I finally referred to the regular Friday evening open meetings in the Rose and Crown. Their final report expressed appreciation of 'the light management touch'. Once Ofsted assumed the inspectorial job, there was a change, and time was spent translating the language of education into the language-speak required of the new regime.
The management language has in many ways taken over our understanding of the conduct, governance and understanding of universities. Having a Masters in Business Management is seen as a useful qualification for being a Vice-Chancellor. The newly appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Aston Business School, Professor George Feiger, speaks of universities having to adapt to the marketisation of education with fee income following student. They operate as businesses, though not having shareholders. Therefore, there is the swelling of bureaucracy and thereby a change in the now corporate governance of universities. At the time of my arrival at Oxford in 1989, the proportion of central administrators to established academics was 1:2. That has now been reversed. And there are many tales of the salaries that top administrators receive compared with those of top academics, although Freedom of Information was recently refused at one university on the grounds that such information was 'commercially confidential'.
## The impact of research exercises
When I was an undergraduate in the 1960s, the university was principally (in Newman's words) 'a place of teaching universal knowledge'. Of course, those who were teaching were engaged in scholarship, and they published significant articles and books. But none had to meet targets or publish in journals that rated high on, for example, the Social Science Research Index. The UGC annual grant was given to each university for purposes of both teaching and research, irrespective of the nature and depth of that research. Research or scholarship was seen, in the main, as supporting the main function, namely, that of teaching.
However, the 1990s changed all that. A substantial amount was withdrawn from the central grant only to be returned on the basis of the quantity and quality of research.
Indeed, some are referred to as 'research universities', meaning that research is a major activity within them, supported by external grants for so doing. It is the case that most universities in the UK would now see research to be an important element in the duties of academic appointments.
Such an emphasis was intensified internationally as a result of world league tables of 'top universities' based mainly on the quality of research. In the UK the RAE (now the REF), which takes place every four years, has reshaped the idea of the university and the nature of academic life. Until the 1980s, universities were funded to teach and to devote time to the research and scholarship that would support that teaching. An academic was not pressurised to produce research of 'international standard'. He or she would not be penalised for concentrating upon teaching. The RAE changed that. The third of government funding supposedly to support research and scholarship was withdrawn and then redistributed on the basis of the quality of research – subject by subject. That sum of money is increasingly distributed to fewer and fewer universities, with considerable financial consequences.
The effects of this are several, changing the idea of the university and of the role of academics within them.
First, there is a growing hierarchy within the university sector – at the top of which are the 'research universities' – on the basis of international and national reputation and, therefore, of the greater income from research and from the attraction to overseas students. Further down the scale are 'teaching universities', where scholarship is pursued but much within the context of their teaching responsibilities. What Shirley Williams' White Paper proposed has become real.
Second, within the respective universities, there is an increasing division, between those who do research and those who just teach, on different contracts and different rates of pay. Only those are submitted for the REF whose published work is judged to be of national standard. It is a brave academic who, harking back to the nature of the university only a few decades ago, feels able to focus on the quality of teaching, and not to be intimidated by the need to produce four publications preferably in the reputable journals. Such is the pressure that more and more teaching is handed over to part-time teachers or to post-graduate students, raising doubts as to whether the university is seeing teaching (as with Newman) as its prime purpose.
Third, the competition between universities for league table rankings inhibits the collaboration between disciplines within a university and between universities, a point clearly made by Sir David Watson. A good-quality research paper, arising out of collaboration between more than one department or university, cannot be attributed to more than one person for the purposes of the REF. Better, therefore, to keep the research 'within house'.
## Funding
The quite massive and rapid expansion of universities clearly had an effect on their funding. According to the Dearing Report, the decline in the unit of resource had been 40 per cent in the period of 20 years. According to the Taylor Report (2000), New Directions for Higher Education Funding: Final Report of the Funding Options Group, that decline had continued, but more slowly. No longer could funding depend purely on government grants (as through the UGC, which had been replaced in 1988) and, given the extra public funding, no longer could the management expenditure be handed over exclusively to the decisions of the university. The Report, therefore, spelled out four options: (i) increased public funding; (ii) deregulation of fees so that each university could charge whatever the market could bear; (iii) income-contingent student loans; and (iv) institutional endowments.
The government opted for (iii) income-contingent student contributions through payment of government fixed fees and through a system of loans. This radical development in funding was extended further as a result of the Browne Review into Higher Education in 2010, which recommended undergraduate fees up to £9,000, instead of any government block grants, together with student contributions up to £9,000 to be repaid, once the student earned over a certain amount, over a 30-year period. Furthermore, there would be targeted funding of specific initiatives that, in the view of the government, would support its economic and social agenda.
In other words, there were now 'funding levers', used with considerable impact within research through, for example, the demand from Research Councils for evidence of economic and social relevance and through the search for investment as, for example, from the Science Research Investment Fund or the Joint Research Equipment Initiative. This new dependence both on research and on 'funding levers' (both public and private) inevitably affects the idea of the university as in terms of accountability, autonomy and the disinterested pursuit of excellence. The words 'stakeholders' and 'client satisfaction' enter into the language of universities.
## Online and distance learning
It would have been difficult, before the Robbins Report, to foresee how radical the changed conception of a university could be. The 'idea' of a university once included the notion of a community, interacting through debate and questioning. 'Conversation' would have been seen as an essential element in the development of knowledge and critical enquiry. But such communities became increasingly difficult to maintain as universities expanded to the sizes that prevail today. The pressure for widening access, the rising costs, the employment and family demands on those who sought access, wider conception of its purposes, and the development of communications technology have all led to the most radical solution of all.
Why should courses leading to degrees require congregation in one place and community over a restricted time?
Britain's Open University was founded in 1968, whereby part-time students, scattered far and wide, matriculated to take their degrees in a range of academic disciplines. The Open University pioneered the distance learning mode of higher education. This required a different pedagogy in order to maintain the standards of learning expected of an institution calling itself a university. In the 1970s I was invited by the Open University to write material for one of its courses, with relevant exercises and stringently assessed by panels of academic experts. Weekly sessions were backed up by radio and television recordings; personal supervision was organised through correspondence.
The Internet has transformed that. In 2013–2014, of the students studying for both undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in the UK, 150,000 were with the Open University. Students and teachers meet in 'virtual' theatres and laboratories. Discussions and tutorials take place online and in forums. MOOCSs (Massive Open Online Communication Systems), provided by world-standard universities such as Stanford, Harvard and Michigan, cater for many thousands of students.
Furthermore, the Credit Accumulation and Transfer System (CATS), following the 1998 government paper, The Learning Age, should have been fully functioning by 2003, though it raised problems over the autonomy for the specific institutions taking part and a shift to a more modular system. However, 'transferable credits' may well be the way forward in a changing and more global world.
## Private and for-profit universities
Universities obviously need funding in order to pay for staff and resources. Traditionally, this has come mainly from governments, charitable donors, though increasingly from research grants and student fees. Government support was adequate at a time when only 5 per cent or 6 per cent of the relevant cohort of young people went to university, as in the UK in the 1960s. But now the aspiration is for 50 per cent to attend university. There is, therefore, an increase in fees, to be paid by the students, financed principally from loans that have to be paid back over a period of 30 years.
But such an expansion has given rise to the private and for-profit organisations to offer university education.
The year 1983 saw the foundation of the first private university in Britain, namely, the University of Buckingham, now well established and universally recognised. The university is a not-for-profit institution with charitable status. Its teaching income depends entirely on student fees. It is aligned to the Quality Assurance Agency, which gives assurance on the quality of its teaching at university level.
However, there is now a growth of institutions, some accredited by universities abroad (such as Richmond, the American International University in London, or BPP University, whose parent company is the US Apollo Group). Others are single subject professional training institutions, such as Ashridge Business School and the College of Estate Management. The quality of some of the new arrivals has been severely questioned. As a result, a group of eight for-profit institutions with award bearing powers (including the ones just mentioned and referred to as the 'Russell Group of the private sector') has been set up to disassociate its members from the 'dodgy for-profit' colleges now attracting students, many from abroad.
This raises the question, which remains constant in the face of the changing idea of the university, concerning the compatibility of the pursuit of profit with the idea of a community of learners, teaching universal knowledge and exercising academic freedom.
## Looking to the future
This chapter has outlined the many ways in which universities have changed from some ideal type of 'teaching universal knowledge' in response to changing social and economic circumstances.
First, we saw the widening of purpose and the relevance of university education to community engagement, enhancing the quality of local economic and cultural life – as pioneered by Sir David Watson's University of Brighton.
Second, greater importance came to be attached to research in terms of funding and prestige, leading to a hierarchy of universities (Russell Group research universities, on the one hand, and teaching universities, on the other – and often leading, too, to demarcation within the academic community).
Third, the gradual encroachment on the early, carefully protected autonomy of universities through funding and governance has led to a burgeoning cost of administration.
Fourth, the funding has become increasingly dependent (especially through research grants and 'impact') on relevance to economic and social needs, and to employment.
Fifth, we are witnessing the growth of private and for-profit institutions.
Finally, there is massive development of part-time, online and virtual learning, together with credit accumulation and transfer of qualifications.
It is necessary to ask how far these changes can develop before the title of 'university' is used purely equivocally, bearing few of the qualities and virtues normally associated with that name. For example:
* Is a university still a university when it loses its academic autonomy?
* Is a single-faculty university (e.g. a business school) really a university?
* Should an institution be classed as a university when it has no faculty of humanities or social studies?
* How can independent quality assurance be assured in all these developments, especially where universities are globally spread or when they are in the hands of for-profit corporations?
In an age of credit transfer on a global scale, universities and employers will need to be assured of the standards of those 'universities' from whom they are receiving their students and employees.
## References
Coffield, F. and Williamson, B., 1997, The Repositioning of Higher Education, Buckingham: Open University Press.
Dearing Report, 1997, Higher Education in a Learning Society, London: HMSO.
Jarratt Report, 1985, Higher Education, London: HMSO.
Mill, J.S., 1867, 'Inaugural address at St. Andrews', in F.A. Cavenagh (ed.), 1931, James and John Stuart Mill on Education, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Newman, J.H., 1852, The Idea of a New University, London: Longmans Green (1919 edn).
Oakeshott, M., 1962, 'The voice of poetry in the conversation of Mankind', in M. Oakeshott (ed.) Rationalism in Politics, London: Methuen.
O'Hear, A., 1987, 'The importance of traditional learning', British Journal of Educational Studies, 35(2), 102–14.
Robbins Report, 1963, Higher Education, London: HMSO.
Taylor Report, 2000, New Directions for Higher Education Funding, London: HMSO.
Watson, D., 2007, Managing Civic and Community Engagement, London: Open University Press.
Watson, D., 2014, A Question of Conscience, London: Institute of Education Press.
Watson, D., Stroud, S., Hollister, R. and Babcock, E. 2011, The Engaged University, London: Routledge.
Zeldin, T., 2014, 'Foreword', in Watson D, 2014, A Question of Conscience, London: Institute of Education Press.
# [9
Further Education and the Case for Vocational Preparation](content.xhtml#bck_Ch09)
Geoff Stanton
## Further education – the unknown sector
This chapter cannot trace all the changes that have occurred in the English FE system during the last generation. They are too many, and too complicated to explain briefly to those not already versed in the system. At least with regard to schools and universities most people understand roughly what they do and for whom. But the same cannot be assumed for FE colleges, despite their catering for over 3.1 million people annually.
When attempting to answer well-meant queries about FE I find myself in 'Yes, but . . .' mode. Are most FE students over 19 and part-time? Yes, but more 16–19 year olds attend colleges full-time than attend school sixth forms. Are most FE courses vocational? Yes, but one-third of all 16–18 A-Level students attend colleges. Are most FE courses below degree level? Yes, but 64 per cent of colleges teach foundation degrees. Do colleges prepare people for work? Yes, but colleges also provide 30 per cent of 19+ entrants to higher education.
There are also powerful myths. For instance, some argue that colleges cannot offer the pastoral care available in secondary schools. In fact, colleges are more socially inclusive than school sixth forms. Of those who were receiving free school meals when they were 15, nearly twice as many go on to colleges than are admitted to their own sixth forms, and colleges also have a higher proportion of learners from ethnic minorities. Furthermore, and as I shall describe, integrated courses managed by course teams can offer close support.
Also, many current politicians seem to believe that, for those young people who do not go on to take A Levels, apprenticeships are the primary alternative. The best apprenticeships are excellent, but they vary in quality, and participants have to be employed; they can only be offered by employers, not government. So if a given class of employers is missing in a locality then training in that sector is not available via the apprenticeship route. Most crucially, the number available to young people (as opposed to those over 19) has not increased for a decade. So, despite being massively oversubscribed, apprenticeships still cater for merely 6 per cent of 16–18 year olds. On the other hand, something like 40 per cent of the cohort attend colleges on full-time vocational or pre-vocational courses.
Diversity of provision in the student body is one of the constants for FE. This has attracted criticism, on the grounds that it can result in a lack of focus and is one of the things that hinders public understanding of what colleges do. The Foster Review (2005) of FE concluded that 'FE lacks a clearly recognised and shared core purpose' and argued that this should be 'supplying economically valuable skills'. However, the very next paragraph of the report compromised this clarity by adding that 'the primary focus on skills does not exclude other significant purposes such as promoting social cohesion and facilitating progression'. As if to prove this point, FE was later given a major role in promoting Adult Basic Skills, following the Moser Report (1999). At the time of writing and following the Wolf Report (2011) into 14–19 vocational education, colleges are being asked to ensure 16 year olds who have not attained at least Grade C in GCSE English and maths do so within their first college year. Some colleges are finding this a struggle, but it needs to be remembered that the individuals concerned have often left school because they were not welcome in the sixth form without these grades.
Perhaps colleges have been too responsive and flexible in meeting new demands and target groups, but the irony is that it is the willingness of colleges to do this that has enabled sixth forms and universities to keep relatively stable roles and purposes, and to benefit from greater public recognition as a result.
Lack of recognition is one thing. Invisibility is another. Consider this quote from a speech by Prime Minister Tony Blair talking about plans to raise the participation age:
No dropping out at 16, every young person either staying on in the sixth form or on a modern apprenticeship or job-related training leading to a good career. . . . So substantially more academies, specialist schools, better post-16 provision in 6th forms and 6th form colleges.
(Labour Spring Conference, 2004)
No mention of FE colleges, where most of the new learners were likely to be.
This phenomenon was not new. In 1997 Helena Kennedy wrote in a report for the newly formed Further Education Funding Council (FEFC), 'There is an appalling ignorance among decision makers and opinion formers about what goes on in further education. It is so alien to their experience' (Kennedy Report, 1997). And as recently as 2014, a minister claimed that he was advised by civil servants that he should respond to austerity by 'killing off FE since nobody will really notice' (Vince Cable, as reported on the BBC, 6 October 2014).
So, lack of understanding and invisibility create a problem in writing about changes that FE has undergone in my working lifetime. Therefore, what I shall do is focus on a relatively short period when the ability of FE staff to take professional responsibility for what they taught was probably greater than in a secondary school, and to trace some of the factors that resulted in this being reversed, and centrally sponsored turbulence becoming, if anything, greater than for schools and certainly universities.
In doing so I shall be mostly talking about just one of FE's many client groups. This group shares the invisibility of FE itself. I was recently pleasantly surprised to see them mentioned in an Ofsted Review published in 2015. One of its section headings read 'Where can young people, who do not have five GCSEs or are undecided about their career pathways, go?'. The report continued:
Inspectors . . . found that this issue was exacerbated by school sixth forms, academies, colleges and providers who set high entry requirements . . . This could prevent many young people, often the most vulnerable, from following career pathways that may well be within their grasp with a little more time and effective learning support.
(Ofsted, 2013/2014, para. 66)
What Ofsted does not mention is the fact that since 2014 full-time education has been fully funded only until the age of 18. After that, the rate of funding reduces, reportedly on the assumption that it is mainly used for those repeating A Levels. However, many more learners need the extra year because their school attainments mean that they need three years rather than two to reach level three, and more teaching time rather than less.
All this highlights an issue that I have, over the years, spent some time investigating, namely the process of selection that takes place at 16, even within institutions that are non-selective at 11. Of course, performance indicators and inspection grades are likely to be more favourable if the recruitment of challenging learners can be avoided. There are other ways in which the development of policy has damaged their interests. The shift towards central control and top-down qualifications-led development has brought with it a set of assumptions about what counts as good and rigorous programmes. It is thought that they should be made up of free-standing and recognised academic subjects and assessed in writing at the end. However, during a period when practitioners were able to develop their own approaches, they found that alternative curriculum designs were more effective – for instance, integrated programmes focused on a work-based theme, assessed though the ongoing observation of performance.
In what follows, I concentrate on pre-vocational education, with which I have been closely associated through the Further Education Unit in the 1970s and 1980s.
## Teacher training: a biographical diversion
My first teaching experience was that of teaching physics in secondary schools, at a time when a teaching qualification was not required. However, I learned that knowledge of a subject was not enough to make me a fully effective teacher of it. More than that, while teaching in a large inner London comprehensive I discovered that there were things to be understood about the design and content of learning programmes, as well as pedagogy. Like, I suspect, most grammar school products, I had no concept of the range of attainment and motivations in the population as a whole. When my 15-year-old average attainers asked me why I was teaching them about specific gravity in the way I was, I realised that I had no answer. Or rather I had an answer that was very uncomfortable. Although the structure of secondary education had changed, the curriculum design had not kept up. We were offering a diluted grammar school curriculum – one that was not designed to develop a delight in science, but rather to enable pupils to gain access to the next level up and thence to university. But there would be places there for fewer than 10 per cent of the age group, and my students knew full well that this did not include them. There were things that could have been done about this, but not – as I naïvely imagined – by just being more competent and accessible than some of my own teachers had been.
As a result of this experience, I became more interested in learning about the needs of different kinds of learner, rather than the intricacies of teaching different subjects. Arrogantly, I even wrote to some well-known teacher-training colleges asking to explore this, but was always told that I first had to decide on a subject, then an age group. Then I heard about the teaching of general studies in technical colleges, where it was possible to design at least part of the curriculum in light of the personal needs of the learners, who were otherwise following a course leading to a specific occupation. I obtained a place at Garnett College, which just taught potential FE teachers. I enjoyed this course, not least because I already had a list of issues I wished to explore – another important lesson. The following five years I spent at a technical college in Cheltenham – by far the largest college in the town, but by no means the most well known. This was my first lesson in the relative invisibility of FE.
Later I returned to Garnett College, as a member of staff. All those learning to be teachers there either had a degree or had substantial experience of the working world, or both. This made for groups that were fascinating to teach. I would pick out two features that have implications for current educational issues.
First, since not all students on the course were graduates, they could not be awarded a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) on successful completion, but instead gained the lower-status Certificate in Education. So, people such as experienced chefs or retired merchant navy captains, who had not been to university but had managed very complex situations in the real world, were treated as if they had entered teacher training as school leavers. This was not because they had learned different things or were assessed in a different way from PGCE students. The distinction was made on the basis of the academic qualifications they arrived with. This gave me the first inkling that the hierarchy of levels that feature so strongly in English education might be problematic. There was clearly a prejudice in favour of some kinds of achievement, and some definitions of progression.
Second, while all students had to learn what was called 'general method' (that is, the techniques of questioning, structuring and differentiating relevant to all kinds of teaching), the 'special method' for vocational teachers included a whole raft of other requirements, such as understanding how practical skills could be developed and how industry-standard workshops or kitchens could be designed and used for teaching purposes. Garnett College had such teaching facilities, but my fear is that these days most vocational teacher training is generic, with special methods left to be acquired on their college placement, under the guidance of staff, some of whom do not have the time or resources of their equivalents at Garnett. Inspectors and research confirm that this is the most variable component of FE teacher training (see, for example, Gatsby Foundation, 2015).
The main content of vocational courses was clearly laid down and accepted, and was derived from qualifications produced by awarding bodies such as City and Guilds of London Institute (CGLI) or the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) who had well-established mechanisms for consulting employers and teachers in deciding on a syllabus. In the case of general studies, however, the curriculum had to be designed by the teachers, and varied with the needs of the learners, which were in turn influenced by their age, previous attainment and the occupational areas they were preparing to enter. It also had to be negotiated with the learners themselves, who frequently had to be persuaded of its value. It was no coincidence that, when in later years colleges had to cater for learners with no clear vocational or academic pathway ahead of them – many of whom were unemployed – it was often former general studies teachers who took a central role.
## The negotiated curriculum
I saw this in operation in a later job, as head of the 45-strong Communications and Liberal Studies Department at a large London College. Youth unemployment was escalating. Initially, the college had no fewer than three engineering departments (production, mechanical and electrical). But the economy was changing, and four years later there was only one. Sadly, many otherwise excellent staff found it difficult to adapt. They were used to being able to select students on the basis of their previous achievement and motivation, and were apprehensive about their ability to cope with new groups, many of whom had poor basic skills and were only there because they would lose their unemployment benefit if they did not attend. On the other hand, staff in the communications section of the department had developed, partly through innovative methods promoted by the Local Authority Inspectorate, such devices as learning workshops that were based on activities rather than formal lessons. All teachers of a given group were part of a course team that met as often as weekly. It could monitor how different parts of the course related and make changes if required. The agenda for the meetings was usually a cross-subject review of individual student progress and problems. This differed from my experience of secondary school where staff were grouped together on the basis of shared subjects in a way that made such learner-centred planning impossible.
## Rise and fall of UVP schemes – a case study
In 1976 the government announced the intention to test out approaches to what it called Unified Vocational Preparation (UVP) – 'unified' because the schemes were to be jointly planned and provided by education and training services. The rationale for the programme was that about half of those entering the labour market at 16 received no structured education or training. So UVP was aimed at these employees, rather than the unemployed.
In the same report (Unified Vocational Preparation: A Pilot Approach) the government announced the creation of a unit to undertake the development and review of further education curricula. It was argued that the FE system was 'largely responsive to perceived vocational needs', but that it was 'not well designed to respond to the curricular needs of those who enter further education as full-time students without a specific vocational commitment'. This unit became the Further Education Unit (FEU), which I joined as one of its first two development officers.
The issues that both FEU and UVP were asked to address have not gone away. But what has changed is that now the aim suggested by policy makers would be 'qualifications reform', rather than responding to 'curricular needs'. In developing guidance for UVP schemes my brief was to visit a range of locally developed schemes and to identify factors that led to success in very different contexts. This also contrasts with current approaches, in which change comes from the top down, rather than bottom up.
The UVP pilots were immensely varied, but they all focused on the needs of young people who had entered work at 16, but, because of a lacklustre school career, did not have qualifications necessary to enter a formal training programme, such as an apprenticeship. Because of this they also tended to miss out on the personal support that might come from having a tutor.
I can best illustrate some of the issues with an anecdote about a scheme involving production line operatives. It was run by the training manager, who was – significantly – also a volunteer youth worker. He ran informal group sessions on one afternoon a week, usually focused on how they were finding the adult and working world. One afternoon he noticed a youngster looking particularly glum, and gentle probing revealed that he planned to resign, 'because his supervisor had taken against him'. The previous week the young man had been unwell, and was unable to get to work. But when he did return, far from being sympathetic, his supervisor had been irritated. 'But I had really been ill, and took in a note from my mother to prove it.' When this situation was unpicked, with the help of the rest of the group, it became obvious that the problem was that the young man had not telephoned to report his absence on the first morning. As a result, the start of the production line was delayed. Perversely, if the young man had been an apprentice, his absence might have had less impact, but as an operative who only needed a day's training, he was important from day two. At school and as a reluctant learner, his absence might well have had little impact, and he naïvely adopted the school practice of a subsequent note from his mum.
This was talked through, and the young man was encouraged both to see the point of view of the supervisor, and to think about how bridges might now be mended. But should not correct protocol have been explained earlier? It turned out that it had been, along with what must have seemed a thousand other things on that first confused day. The group leader's youth worker training had enabled him to realise that it was often 'ineffective to offer solutions to problems that the young people had not yet got'. We now talk of teaching 'employability skills', which hardly covers the issue.
Similarly, a tutor on another UVP scheme introduced herself disarmingly as the 'sums lady'. Her analysis of conventional maths lessons was that learners were sitting untroubled in class when someone like her came in and gave them problems they otherwise would not have had. She attempted instead to offer maths as a series of solutions. She therefore ran a drop-in centre, to which young people on the scheme could come whenever they hit a problem in the workshop, or when they were attempting to work out how many more instalments they owed on a motor bike.
It became clear that a common factor on many successful schemes was a process of accompanying people through new experiences, helping them to reflect on them, and only then offering the learning that was demonstrably required. This 'experience–reflection–learning' process was the reverse of the pattern most participants had found in secondary school, where there was a well-intentioned attempt to offer the learning up-front, so as to pre-emptively improve the experience. But this required a degree of compliance and tolerance of boredom that many people do not have – quite understandably. I came to see it as the 'You'll wish you'd listened to me' syndrome. It also means that it is often a serious mistake to require young people to succeed at a broad-based academic programme before allowing them to engage with the adult and working world. Once confidence has been gained through success, even on a narrow front, ambitions widen.
Of course, tutors were not passive when it came to ensuring that learners had experiences that would be fruitful. Many UVP schemes included a brief residential course, often run by organisations such as the YMCA, which ensured that participants were taken out of their comfort zone. This had a powerful effect on apparently streetwise young people. It became apparent that much aggressive or dismissive behaviour was a means of avoiding the unknown.
## Using qualifications as a trigger for funding
Although UVP was never a large-scale scheme, many of the lessons learned were applied to programmes for the young unemployed. But a major problem was that they were approved and funded individually. As schemes grew in number because of the recession, an administratively simpler approach to funding was needed. It was decided that the newly arrived National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) could be used to define the required outcomes, and funding would be triggered by their achievement. At the same time there was (justifiable) pressure to increase efficiency in colleges. The net results were that only what NVQs measured was funded.
Traditionally, education and training programmes were defined in syllabus terms, as a series of topics, and taught over a specified period of time. It required an analysis of past papers to determine the kind of performance required, and only by following a prescribed course was it possible to gain the qualification. NVQs, on the other hand, based their approach on an analysis of what counted as effective performance in an occupational role. If assessment showed that this performance had been achieved, then it mattered not how this had happened.
This enfranchised many experienced workers who had acquired their skills 'on the job' and who did not have the time or resources to enrol on a formal course in order to gain the qualification their skills deserved. But the use of NVQs for courses for the young unemployed provided what has been called 'thin gruel'. In all too many cases the list of competences was treated as a learning programme. This did not allow for issues of transition from school to work, nor facilitate progression. The use of NVQs as triggers for funding and as performance indicators for providers – purposes for which they were not designed – only made things worse. For instance, it resulted in the demise of the short residential courses that contributed so much to social and team development. I cannot help comparing this cheeseparing to the importance we still attach to undergraduates going away to university, despite what this costs.
## Central funding and TVEI as a model for development
Another feature of these initiatives that cast a long shadow was the source of funding, the Manpower Services Commission (MSC). One reason for using this mechanism was that it enabled central government to direct resources to its destinations of choice, and to monitor their use. At that time the Education Department could only make a contribution to the rate support grant received by local authorities, with the request that they use it appropriately. Local politics determined where it actually went, which was often not towards disadvantaged or low-status groups. The MSC, on the other hand, could issue specific contracts and refuse to pay up if their requirements were not met.
I saw some advantages of this approach later when working as the vice-principal of Richmond tertiary college, which provided both academic and vocational education for all local residents over the age of 16. The Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) of 1983 was aimed at providing a new element to the curriculum of all 14–18-year-olds, which in our case meant working with our 11–16 secondary schools, and I acted as the TVEI co-ordinator for the area. The officials working at a national level for TVEI were clear about the aims we should work towards, but did not attempt to prescribe the best way to achieve these in our local circumstances. Instead we were asked to submit our own proposals. We did this in a hurry, and when interviewed about them were tactfully but firmly told that they did not pass muster, as we ourselves came to realise. We were, however, given the chance to re-submit, which we did successfully, largely by drawing on the ideas of the more lively of our teaching staff. Six months or so after the start of our scheme we were visited again by TVEI officials, who checked that we were still on track against our own plan, before signing the next cheque – though we were allowed to modify the plan by agreement and in the light of experience.
It has to be admitted that a lot of the most energetic development activity took place immediately before a visitation, at which time it became possible for the relatively junior staff, who had the ideas, to break though institutional inertia. TVEI has had a mixed press, often because of its diversity being perceived as a problem, but I still think that the balance it struck between the setting of national priorities and allowing for local initiatives and adaptation is something from which we could learn.
## The rise of pre-vocational education
In the late 1970s many colleges began to respond to a demand from young people for whom A Levels were not appropriate, and did not as yet have a firm vocational commitment, but who wished to stay on as full-time students in order to improve their basic education and to explore vocational options. A survey commissioned by the FEU from Garnett College identified over 30 different responses to this demand, and argued for some rationalisation. The one form of response that was seen to be inadequate was the one-year course that repeated school examinations, since this had a high failure and drop-out rate. An alternative approach that seemed to be more promising was what HMI called 'the creation of task-oriented (though not necessarily job-specific) learning situations'.
These were integrated courses, focused on a general occupational area. They were different from the school curriculum in not being subject-based, though they could be designed to achieve similar learning outcomes. In a sense they followed a primary school approach of teaching through topics, but whereas 'the Romans' might be a suitable topic at that stage, for 16–18-year-olds, something that helped with the transition to adult working life was much more appropriate. They became known as 'pre-vocational' courses or as 'vocational preparation'.
The FEU set up a study group, and its report, A Basis for Choice (ABC), recommended a flexible programme that could become more vocationally focused and job-specific as the year progressed, but that would share a core curriculum with similar provision. This core was a result of 'curriculum development by interview', in that its content and methods were culled from a variety of schemes already in operation. The core curriculum was not the same as what subsequently came to be known as 'key skills'. Instead it was expressed in the form of a checklist of:
* those experiences from which students should have the opportunity to learn; and
* the nature and level of performance students should be expected to achieve.
The aims of the core curriculum included literacy and numeracy 'adequate to meet the demands of contemporary society', but also 11 other areas including careers education, physical and manipulative skills, study skills and problem-solving, the acquisition of relevant moral values, and economic and political literacy. Taken as a whole this was perhaps over-ambitious, particularly as different occupational skills had to be added depending on the focus of the course, but at the time something similar was supported by a spectrum of opinion ranging from teacher unions to the CBI, and all the individual elements were being done successfully by somebody somewhere. Also, the term 'checklist' was intended to allow flexibility. For instance, careers education could take the form of job sampling, and not just visiting lecturers.
Currently, our ambitions for a continuation of general education post-16 have been reduced to requiring English and maths in the form of the GCSEs designed for 15-year-olds. The argument for this is that only GCSEs have currency with employers, but the problem is, of course, that the currency derives from the fact that not everyone gets them. They can therefore be used as a selection device, to reduce an impossibly long shortlist. It is not always that the content is what employers want for the jobs they have in mind.
What was recommended in ABC was a course design, rather than a qualification, though reporting by the use of a learner profile was suggested. Attempts subsequently to convert it into a Certificate of Pre-vocational Education (CPVE) were not entirely successful, but it remains an interesting example for a number of reasons:
* It was curriculum- and practitioner-led, rather than driven by a centrally designed qualification.
* It specified learning experiences, and not just outcomes.
* It proposed continuing general education via a vocational interest, rather than setting up general and vocational in opposition to one another.
* It emphasised the value of an integrated programme in which utility of one area of learning (e.g. mathematics) could be demonstrated by its application to another topic.
My view is that an approach that could have benefited many young people has been hindered by the power of an academic paradigm that means that integrated vocational courses are converted into isolated vocational subjects, assessed by methods that privilege certain forms of excellence. Also, the use of a vocational interest as a vehicle for continuing general education, and as a means of providing active careers guidance and smoothing the transition to adult working life, has been confused with the important but different need for more strongly vocational courses that meet specific employer needs. An unfortunate example of this is the Wolf Report of 2011 about 14–19 vocational courses that, while making pertinent criticisms about false equivalences and the malign results of funding individual qualifications rather than whole programmes, also judged pre-vocational courses as if they were intended to be a substitute for apprenticeships.
## The role of advisory bodies and the move to central control
When I first worked at FEU, and then returned there as CEO, the Board of Management was in the form of a representative body. The Chair was appointed by the Secretary of State, but other members were nominated by other organisations. There were members chosen by an employers' organisation (CBI) and by the TUC. Two education officers were proposed, respectively, by the Metropolitan Authorities (assumed to be left-leaning) and the County Councils (assumed to be Conservative). A college principal was balanced by someone from the teaching union. The inspectorate and the Education Department were each represented, but, despite all funding coming from the Department, it was accepted that approval for the programme of work and publications was a matter for the Board as a whole. The assumption at the time was that the curriculum had to be kept a non-political matter, and that, while a central agency might spread good practice and give guidance, the development process – and as we have seen the funding priorities – should be devolved. My sense was that there were still powerful if unspoken memories about the damage to civil liberties that could be done by totalitarian regimes, of the Left or the Right, if they could control what people learned.
The advantage of a representative system was that members usually arrived well briefed on agenda items by officers from their organisations, and could advise and challenge FEU staff on the basis of evidence. A disadvantage was that there was always a chance of members being there just because it was their turn.
The first sign of a changed climate came during the Thatcher government, when the Secretary of State objected to the appointment to the FEU Board of the nominee from the Metropolitan Authorities. The fact that there should be a nominee was still accepted, but the individual concerned was thought to have 'unhelpful' views. The next step was to decree that a new board should all be appointed in an individual capacity by the Minister, so – it was said – as to avoid the 'buggins turn' syndrome. Then, after the FEU began to be funded by the newly formed FE Funding Council (FEFC), I received a call asking about their procedure for approving FEU research reports. I had to explain that despite the source of our funding it was our Board that authorised publications, as well as agreeing which areas should be prioritised for R&D.
The basis for this prioritisation was extensive canvassing of views, via advisory groups and a network of regionally based officers. Also much of FEU's human and limited financial resources went into collaborative work involving college staff, which provided a good deal of useful intelligence. But FEFC thought that these co-workers should be seen as customers, and that FEU's independence was in fact a 'licence for the FEU to choose for itself what to become involved in and whether or not to be helpful'. The answer to the question 'helpful to whom?' turned out to be the National Council for Vocational Qualifications (NCVQ), whose roll-out of the new qualifications were going more slowly than planned. Although FEU had published a number of guides on the curriculum implications of NVQ-type competence-based qualifications, the colleges also needed help on other things that were not part of NCVQ's agenda.
The assumption was that customer requirements would be demonstrated by the workings of the market, rather than through consultation. However, when the time came, FEFC did not create such a market by providing funding to colleges themselves to commission R&D. Instead, FEU's successor organisations have been funded by direct grants from a central agency plus individual government contracts for specific activities. In effect this made government itself the customer, and this is now the current pattern, so that an agency can be closed by a simple withdrawal of contracts.
Another mechanism by which power over educational development has been drawn to the centre is the constant reorganisation of bodies that might otherwise develop a will or a culture of their own. The FEU existed for 15 years, a remarkably long period by modern standards. Five successor organisations have been, and four of them gone again, in the succeeding 20 years.
Since its creation, the FEU as an advisory body had been joined in the educational firmament by other much more powerful organisations. The NCVQ had been set up in 1986 to regulate vocational qualifications. In 1988, the National Curriculum Council (NCC) was set up with the authority to specify the content of school curricula, alongside the Schools Examinations and Assessment Council (SEAC), which oversaw the qualifications system. Personally, I valued the lack of a legislative role for the FEU. It meant that the Unit's influence on practitioners could only be based on analysis and evidence. For government, the Unit could usefully go fly kites. If an idea proved valuable, government could adopt it as its own. If not, it could be disowned.
## Balancing curriculum and qualifications development: the case of core skills
There was a brief but interesting period during which all four organisations mentioned above worked together to formulate a 'core skills' policy for 16–19-year-olds in the areas of communication, problem-solving, personal skills, numeracy, information technology and a modern foreign language. Note that this list is closer to the FEU's suggestions for a 'core curriculum' than the current narrower definition, which concentrates on the subjects of English and maths.
In 1989, government (namely, John Mcgregor, Secretary of State for Education) asked NCC to lead the work. My observation of the process was that sometimes the FEU and NCVQ formed an alliance to emphasise the special features and needs of vocational students, and sometimes FEU and NCC formed an alliance to emphasise the need for curriculum-led as well as assessment-led development. Structuring the learning for pedagogic purposes led to different patterns from when content was structured for assessment purposes. Not all that could be assessed could be equally easily taught. Conversely, there were learning experiences that were known to develop some important qualities that could not easily be assessed for qualification purposes. This core-skills initiative eventually ran into the immovable barrier of A Levels. I attended many meetings where it became clear that it was felt that studying A Levels, particularly in the humanities, was itself a guarantee of a broad education. Once again the academic paradigm was at work. Core skills were needed for vocational students 'because they were only studying one subject'. In fact they were following one vocational course, which might cover, among other things, the social and economic impact of the vocational sector in question, the underpinning science, the numeracy and literacy skills required to succeed as an employee, and the history of the sector's development – a broader programme than some A-Level combinations.
The development process itself, where a useful tension existed between things being curriculum and assessment-led, has since become almost entirely replaced by a focus on qualifications reform. More than this, qualifications design has become centralised, not only with little initial involvement of teachers, but even without a feedback loop that would allow them to modify the design subsequently, in light of their knowledge of learners and their needs.
This has resulted in a series of what I call, by analogy with the motor industry, a series of 'product recalls'. The pattern is remarkably consistent. A product is issued without piloting and without the involvement of those with experience of curriculum design and delivery, often because they are defined as being 'part of the problem'. More recently, even examining bodies have been denied initial involvement, because employers or universities must be 'in the driving seat'. The development process is seen as being linear, and not iterative, as it would be in any other field of development.
Within a very few years the product is discovered to be over-complex, too expensive and failing to achieve its original purpose. Then there is a fundamental review, usually conducted by one of the great and the good from outside the responsible organisation. But this was not planned into the process, and comes after many students have been used as guinea pigs.
The National Curriculum itself was reviewed in this way by Dearing, NCVQs by Beaumont, A-Level reform (misnamed 'Curriculum 2000') by Tomlinson, GNVQs by Capey, and Modern Apprenticeships by Cassells. Sometimes, a product launched with great fanfare is simply discontinued. This has happened recently to 14–19 Diplomas and to the Qualifications and Credit Framework. The more considered and collaborative development processes of other countries are sometimes criticised on the grounds of greater delay and expense, but this is to ignore the cost and damage caused by the need to review our programmes so soon after launch.
The example of 14–19 Diplomas also illustrates the ignorance of FE and its provision mentioned earlier. They were developed after Prime Minister Blair had announced that the recommendations of the Tomlinson Committee about the creation of a single 14–19 framework were not to be implemented, because of a perceived threat to A Levels. In evidence before a select committee, the then Secretary of State was briefed to say this about the proposed new qualifications:
It is the bit that is missing from our education system. We have had, on the one side, theoretical study and, on the other side, workplace training, job training, and there has been nothing that mixed the theoretical with the applied to any great degree.
(Hansard, 2006–2007)
Similarly, in an article published soon afterwards, the official responsible for overseeing our qualifications system claimed that, without the Diplomas, 'the alternative to GCSEs was training courses' (Boston, 2007), and in his select committee evidence the responsible civil servant even claimed that some 14–16-years-olds were 'spending perhaps half or two thirds of their timetable' on 'things that are clearly narrowly focused vocational training' (John Coles, Hansard, ibid.).
All of this was, of course, plain wrong, and ignored the previous government's own GNVQ initiative, let alone the long-established BTEC courses that preceded and then outlived both of the centrally designed schemes.
## Summary and conclusions
I have identified a number of factors that have remained relatively constant over my working lifetime: invisibility of FE and its courses; neglect of half the 14–19 cohort; the diversity of FE; and putting the blame on colleges themselves for this, despite the fact that diversity has protected the traditional role of universities and sixth forms.
Among the things that have changed are: a reduction in representative decision making bodies, and their replacement by individuals appointed by ministers; a shift from curriculum-led change to qualifications-driven 'reform', where qualifications are used both as performance measures and triggers for funding; and an increase in top-down developments and the influence of central government on content.
I am all too aware that I have illustrated these things by reference to a very small part of FE's activities: the area of pre-vocational education. For a broader perspective, see the 2011 Report of the Commission on Adult Vocational Teaching and Learning. But my work as a consultant in other areas of FE over the past 20 years confirms that they do have broader and current application. There are ways of addressing these issues. Development work should be iterative not linear, and both successful and abortive initiatives should be independently evaluated and lessons identified. 'Reform' should not be solely qualifications-driven but should be balanced by the need to identify suitable learning processes. Vocational qualifications should both embody national standards and allow some room for locally designed options to meet specifically local needs and opportunities.
Above all, the domination of the academic paradigm in definitions of excellence, curriculum structures and assessment methods should be recognised and reduced. The value to many of our citizens of continuing general education through a broadly defined pre-vocational programme as well as academic subjects should be recognised. At the same time, appropriately different definitions of excellence should be used for the more strongly vocational programmes being followed by those already committed to a defined career. This should include access to industry standard equipment and staff who are both skilled teachers and credible practitioners in their occupational area. Both will require regular updating. This will, of course, not come cheaply.
## Note
1 Vince Cable, quoted in Brian Wheeler, 'Officials wanted to axe FE colleges – Vince Cable', BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29496475
## References
Boston, K., TES, 30 March 2007.
Foster Review, 2005, Realising the Potential: A Review of the Future Role of FE Colleges. London: DfES.
Gatsby Foundation, 2015, Mentoring and Coaching for Teachers in the FE and Skills Sector in England. London: Gatsby Foundation.
Hansard, 2006–2007, House of Commons Education and Skills Committee. Fifth report of session 2006–2007.
Kennedy Report, 1997, Learning Works: Widening Participation in Further Education. Coventry: FEFC.
Moser Report, 1999, A Fresh Start: Improving Literacy and Numeracy. London: DfEE.
Ofsted Annual Report, 2013/2014. London: Further Education and Skills.
Wolf Report, 2011, Review of Vocational Education. London: DfE.
# [Part IV
Accountability, examinations, qualifications](content.xhtml#bck_part4)
# [10
Assessment](content.xhtml#bck_Ch010)
The need to 'do nothing'
Tim Oates
## Introduction: constant change
This chapter explores the role that assessment and qualifications reform has assumed in overall reform policy in England, focusing particularly on the period 1980 to the present day. The analysis will suggest that its role – already assumed to be substantial by analysts and educationalists (for example, Mansell, 2007) – has been more dominant than presumed.
To make this chapter into a listing of the myriad changes to qualifications and qualifications policy would be both to render it into a boring catalogue, but also to reproduce a historical record that is more meticulously produced by other sources (see Cambridge Assessment, 2014, Register of Change).
A brief look will be sufficient to indicate the constant change that has occurred. The year 1985 saw the end of the CEE (Certificate of Extended Education); 1988 the full introduction of GCSEs; 1994 A* grade introduced; in 1996 GNVQs were introduced, a heavily outcomes-oriented qualification influenced by NVQ developments, and then withdrawn in 2007; Advanced Extension Awards were introduced in 2002 and then withdrawn in 2009; key skills at Levels 1 and 2 were introduced in general education in 2000 and withdrawn in 2013; Diplomas were first taught in 2008 and all Diplomas withdrawn in 2013. A Levels were fully modularised in 2000, and then made linear from 2015. Merely some highlights.
And . . . tiering has been reconfigured at various times in GCSEs; calculators have been allowed and then removed from GCSEs on a number of occasions; coursework serially has been relaxed, tightened and transformed; modularisation has been adopted universally in A Level and GCSE and then abandoned. January sessions for general qualifications became widely used and were withdrawn in 2014. In 2015 there came the removal of controlled assessment; and also in this year, discussion by Labour of 'ditching GCSEs within ten years' (The Guardian, 22 April 2015).
Journalist Peter Wilby's broadside on New Labour thinking targets exactly the tendency upon which I want to focus in this chapter – educational reform policy and accountability arrangements that have undue emphasis on assessment and qualifications. According to Peter Wilby (The Guardian, 14 June 2011), it was Michael Barber who helped to write prime minister-to-be Tony Blair's first speech on education during the 1994 leadership contest and, in 1996, published The Learning Game, which was virtually a handbook for Labour education ministers. The phrase 'standards, not structures' was his, as was the focus on failure: failing councils, failing schools, failing pupils. 'Serious debate about failure', he said in 1995, 'is . . . a precondition of success.'
Michael Barber was right to home in on the huge disparities in attainment – for example in GCSEs – across the education system. In 1989 only 30 per cent of 16–17-year-olds were attaining 5+ GCSE grades A–C (Payne, 2001), with significant variation by school type, ethnic group and social background (Gillborn and Mirza, 2000). But a rightful focus on equity and attainment, using qualification outcomes as an indication of educational quality, became an exaggerated focus on assessment and qualifications as instruments of improvement and reform.
## Complexity of form and function
The use of qualifications and assessment as major instruments of government education policy is not new (see Sahlgren, 2014). Such use intensified in the 1950s, with the introduction of A Levels and O Levels, following the Education Act of the mid-1940s. Although major examinations at 16 and 18 have continued to be produced and owned by independent assessment bodies, successive governments have increased levels of state regulation of the form and content of the examinations, principally through the specification of codes and criteria, and development of increasingly elaborate national regulatory organisations.
But, despite this escalation of central control, it would be quite wrong to cast assessment and public examinations simply as a crude tool of government policy and, particularly, accountability policy. The reality is far more complex. Much of the complexity derives from the multiple functions that are carried by assessment. Other elements of complexity derive from who owns and drives the form and content of qualifications. Newton outlines 20 functions of national assessment (Newton, 2007), while Oates and Coles trace 40 functions of general and vocational qualifications (CEDEFOP, 2010). Some of these functions relate to curriculum intent – that assessment embodies and conveys certain curriculum intentions (e.g. to focus on specific knowledge, skills and understanding). Others relate to standards – assessment conveying 'improvement' targets, being used to monitor 'national standards' and so on.
I am not arguing for complete removal of this complexity. It is likely that the assessments will, in England as in many other nations, continue to carry multiple functions. Rather, I am arguing for recognition of the over-dependence in improvement and reform policy, on assessment and qualifications, and the relative neglect of other factors.
Qualifications and assessment have carried an enormous policy burden from 1988 to the present day. They have been principal instruments of the accountability agenda. Indeed, assessment has been far more dominant in accountability than has generally been recognised. Using public examinations in target-setting and for measuring teacher, school and national performance is an obvious example of assessment-led instruments of control. The role of national assessment at KS1, 2 and 3 in target-setting and performance measurement also was clear. Less obvious was the form of the National Curriculum itself. It is misleadingly titled – the term 'curriculum' is technically a misnomer – and this is no trivial matter. Used correctly, the term 'curriculum' actually refers to the totality of the experience of learning – it encompasses aims, content, methods, assessment, evaluation. Curriculum theory further explains the distinctions between intended curriculum, enacted curriculum and actual learning outcomes. It encompasses 'taught curriculum' and 'untaught curriculum' as elements of the experience of schooling. This is not an over-elaborated view of curriculum. Understanding these elements and the interaction between them is a vital part of understanding the performance of schools and of national arrangements. The National Curriculum obviously states content – the things that should be taught – and it does determine, to a degree, and in certain areas, the pedagogical approach. For example, requiring experimentation in science and development of phonological awareness in English does carry strong implications for pedagogy.
But the National Curriculum is not a curriculum. It is a framework of standards – of desired outcomes. Other countries use a far more accurate term, describing frameworks of outcomes as 'standards'. The moment this term is used, and the current arrangements for national assessment at KS1 and KS2 are added to the 'national standards', it can be seen that the National Curriculum is far more assessment-oriented than curriculum-oriented. It is a framework of standards and assessment that determines aspects of curriculum. It is not a curriculum, it is certainly not the 'School Curriculum' (Oates, 2010). Seen through this more accurate lens, Michael Barber's drive towards standards can be seen as policy pressure on schools that is fundamentally about assessment.
Only with the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies did government action around the National Curriculum begin substantial direct intervention in the form of pedagogy in schools. The Numeracy Strategy appears responsible for a minor elevation and peaking of mathematics attainment in Timss, but remains controversial in respect of curriculum control. John Bangs, the then NUT head of education, regarded the strategies as invaluable professional development support to teachers, while other educationalists regard it as inappropriate subversion of schools' autonomy (Whitty, 2006). As a non-statutory part of government policy, the Strategies do not detract from the fact that the main legislative instrument of government – the National Curriculum and its allied national testing – remains an assessment-oriented instrument; a framework of standards, accompanied by testing arrangements.
Research on the many advantages of having a National Curriculum (for example, Hopkins, 2001) shows many who cite a 'general culture of high expectations' as being an important part of the post-1988 era, with 'high expectations' intensified as a result of the New Labour focus on 'standards'. But while a general culture of high expectations also characterises other high-performing jurisdictions (OECD, 2006), the impact of a general concern for high standards in England has been moderated by the specific impact of detailed accountability measures and the focus on examination standards as the key metric for judging whether 'high expectations' are being met. In other words, the international evidence suggests that a general concern for high expectations is vital and can lead to a general elevation of attainment for all learners. This, however, can be distorted by an intense emphasis on specific measures, leading to a dysfunctional focus on specific learners and/or a very instrumental focus on a restricted set of outcomes (Mansell, 2007; Select Committee, 2008). This combination of assessment and account ability requirements has pushed the English system into a highly outcomes-focused educational culture – in other words, heavily assessment-biased.
During the late 1990s and first decade after 2000, the 'grade C/D borderline problem' emerged widely in the system: the focus on GCSE C/D borderline candidates (capable, with highly targeted support, of just getting into 5 A*–C territory) led to relative neglect of those well above the threshold and well below it (Mansell, op cit). At one time, the then Department for Education and Skills was advocating this focus on C/D borderline candidates as a key improvement strategy despite its known adverse impact on equity (Gillborn and Youdell, 2000). Government failed, for over a decade, to refine the measures into a more equitable form, despite the obvious nature of the emerging problems (Oates, 2014).
The second strong moderation of a general culture of high expectations was the distorting effect of highly instrumental teaching to the test (both in national assessment and public examinations). Again well documented (for example, in evidence to the Select Committee for Education, 2012), the impact has been wide ranging: general narrowing of the curriculum; dramatic rise in strategic retakes in both GCSE and A Levels; narrow assessment-driven instruction; and deleterious impact on both the relation between learning resources and qualifications and the quality of those resources.
'Curriculum narrowing' has manifested itself in a number of ways. 'Teaching to the specification' has increased dramatically through a combination of teacher imperatives to focus on outcomes in accountability and pupils' demands. The latter usually is expressed along the lines of 'Why should I do this?' – 'Because it's in the examination' and combines with a recognition that high grades are of increasing importance in entry to HE and in the labour market. And this narrowing of focus is taking place despite evidence that teaching beyond the syllabus enhances the chances of higher grades. The collapse of 'curriculum thinking' to 'qualifications thinking' within institutions has affected student demand (during the 2010 review of the National Curriculum, evidence cited the dominant lack of student motivation for uncertificated components of the 14–16 curriculum) as well as introducing undue narrowness into overall curriculum development in the 16–19 phase.
## Objective base to pedagogic approaches
In developing this thesis, I will need to spend a short time on the issue of an objective base to pedagogic approaches. Put simply, is there a means of establishing 'effective education', and what is the role of assessment in this? The argument frequently deployed in education is that it is complex, and thus forms of enquiry that seek to establish the superiority of one approach to teaching and learning over another are not possible (Stringer, 2007). It is clear that the complexity argument is correct (Oates, 2010) – education is affected by an interaction of natural phenomena (brain development, limits posed by working memory, etc) and social phenomena (dispositions to learn, parental support to learning, organisation of learning, etc). An issue such as class size is trammelled with this interaction and complexity (Blatchford et al., 2003). But it does not follow that there is no means of discriminating the impact, in specific settings, of specific approaches to teaching and learning, of identifying vital educational imperatives such as the early acquisition of complex language, and of identifying specific facets of educational provision, such as the subject expertise of teachers, as being associated with 'desirable outcomes' (Bell and Cordingly, undated). This is heavily contested territory. The conflict over the role of RCTs (Randomised Controlled Trials) has highlighted the failure of our educational establishment to tackle effectively the question of 'what kind of system are we dealing with when we attempt to understand and manage education?'. This chapter is not designed to work through forensically the details of the debate; I am intending to extract matters associated with assessment, and with change in education. I am building an argument that asserts 'we need dependable assessment to determine the impact of what we do in education'.
Lapsing into 'nothing can be certain; all is relative' (an extreme version of post-modern sentiment) is not unheard-of in the education establishment – both from teachers and from academics. This, however, denies even the possibility of rational action and meaningful communication. A further, more moderated version is that the complexity of education renders systematic enquiry and discrimination between approaches impossible, or so heavily compromised that the endeavour is fruitless. Nowhere is this sentiment more evident than in the area of comparative education, when examining the features of different national systems in the context of PISA. But – although ruling out discrimination merely on contingent complexity rather than a matter of principle – this position denies the power of underlying method and of work that has shown us, for example, the importance of early language learning and high facility in reading (Sylva et al., 2003). If crude empiricism is inadequate, the pessimism of post-modernism is irrational, and the relativist leanings of much contemporary educational theory is less confident than it should be. What body of theory helps us with careful convergence on 'what works', and deliberate management of change in education, rather than a lapse into being passive victims of events?
## A 'critical realist' perspective
In my own work on review of policy development in England, and on comparison of national systems, critical realism has provided some important anchor points. It enables us to understand that, in natural systems, laws apply independently of human thought and action, while in social systems, our theories are part of those social systems, and affect the processes that arise (Bhaskhar, 1998). In natural systems, apprehended by our thought but independent of them, laws apply – Boyle's Law, the Beer-Lambert Law. In social systems, tendencies apply, not laws, and things will persist when all other things are equal – the ceteris paribus provision.
A simple but powerful example is the history of the education of women. Start with an assumption that women are not deserving of education and, as a result of being denied access to formal education, they will demonstrably not know as much of the standard canon as men – they are 'less intelligent'. This appears clearly to justify that they are not deserving of education, since they are apparently of 'lesser intelligence'. The theory about women's abilities actually significantly determines their abilities. But this is not a natural law, it is simply a tendency – one that can be utterly disrupted by adoption of another theory – for example, that women are equally deserving of high-quality education. The 'all other things being equal' principle is important for analysis of change in education. Women will appear less intelligent for the time that the idea of inferiority is dominant. Shift that view, and a lot of things change. What we think and do seriously affects the way in which the education system behaves – and education is affected by a diverse set of ideas and practices, determining the shape of its many features.
Now, a further illustration of ceteris paribus: all other things being equal or held constant. It is true that a specific system of schooling with a late age of starting does not need to be fraught with discussion about practices of how children acquire complex language, if the family culture has a strong tradition of literacy and ensures the majority of children acquire complex language before they start school. But if culture and practices in the family shift, for example because parents feel they need to work extended hours to maintain their standard of living, then schooling can make no assumptions, and had better respond, and fast. Responding to such shifts in complex systems is absolutely the stuff of effective domestic policy (Sylva, op cit).
'All other things being equal' is nowhere more evident than in vocational education and training, where attempts to increase volumes in employer-based training for young people constantly have been adversely affected by shifts in incentives and drivers, emanating from changes in the nature of production, the labour market, profitability and a raft of other economic factors. Vocational education and training also illustrate how 'all other things being equal' can highlight contradictions within the different arms of education and training policy: the drive to very high levels of participation in higher education sends strong messages that the vocational route from 16 is of lower status, and that it is more important to gain a higher education degree of any kind rather than to attend to alignment of learning with the labour market – thus undermining the drive to high-quality, long-duration, employer-based initial vocational education and training.
Because of the way in which our ideas about social systems actually are part of those systems, education is indeed bewilderingly complex. It is not only continually buffeted by external factors (social change, economic issues, demographics), it is also constantly disrupted by internal shifts in ideas and assumptions, theory and practice, where these ideas profoundly affect both the way education operates and the outcomes it achieves.
Critical realist perspectives help us to understand that some things are not arbitrary – the physiology of early and adolescent development, the importance of complex language in cognition – and that other things will only hold true while certain other things are held constant – ceteris paribus: all other things being held constant.
So . . . rather than lapsing into 'well . . . it's all so complex that we can't really know anything or predict anything, then . . .' or the assumption that we are condemned to endless conflict about ideas and to pendulum swings in practice, I want to place assessment in a special position. I believe that it can be and should be held more constant, and that this is an asset for policy makers, not withdrawal of a policy tool.
## Making control easier
Assessment IS easier to control than many elements of education systems. This makes it a very attractive target of reform policy – the first thing to which politicians and reformers turn when they wish to effect change in education and training arrangements. This ease of control stems from many aspects of assessment, but not least from the fact that when it is done, and how it is done are subject to greater regulatory control and social consensus than many other aspects of education. Pupils, parents, educationalists and employers have long agreed that exams should be administered in a highly consistent manner. The fairness and accuracy, that are at the heart of formal 'qualification', are predicated on such consistency. Dependability in recognition of achievement and in signalling attainment is essential to the very notion of 'qualification'. It can be controlled by policy makers since it is a tightly managed set of arrangements in which the participants 'follow the rules' and the controlling agencies have a commitment to and interest in ensuring that those rules are followed. The obvious temptation of policy makers is to use this established, highly proceduralised apparatus as a tool of transformation. With the (quite rational) notion that the washback from assessment is prompt and powerful, policy makers can impose relatively cheap and simple reform on arrangements. The Coalition government's use of the English Baccalaureate requirement (The Guardian, 17 October 2013) was entirely consistent with this approach to reform. Incredibly cheap – nothing more than a statement delivered from the centre regarding the set of GCSE results by which schools would be judged, with a re-casting of data already collected from schools – and with no legislative change required, the government effected a massive and overnight shift in the curriculum preoccupations of secondary schools (The Guardian, 11 January 2011). Timetables and option choices were re-cast, teachers were told that their subjects were no longer a priority. Entry patterns to GCSE underwent a seismic shift. Ministers were themselves shocked at the speed and extent of the re-alignment of arrangements. It appeared to be a strong confirmation of the power of assessment-led system transformation.
## Diversity of educational arrangements – the attraction of assessment
Let us now take a brief diversion into the peculiar diversity of education arrangements in England. It provides another element of the rationale for leaving assessment alone, and keeping it constant. The system in England is large – an annual cohort of over 600,000, compared with 70,000 in Finland and 40,000 in Singapore. But the diversity of arrangements is a feature of England that seldom is commented upon in analyses of reform and development. England has retained the 11-plus in some counties (Lincolnshire, Buckinghamshire, Kent and other minor areas) while others have varying forms of comprehensive education. Some areas deliberately have retained small rural primary schools (Cambridgeshire) while others have embarked on a programme of closures (Worcestershire, Wiltshire). Some areas have retained and are committed to middle schools, some have seen growth in school sixth forms, while others have ensured the growth of sixth form colleges. The age of institutional transfer thus varies considerably across England. UTCs have introduced 14–19 as a new 'phase'. FE colleges are the location of around 30 per cent of A-Level provision and 10 per cent of HE provision (AoC, 2014). The academy and free school developments have increased variation in structural form. Preschool provision is highly diverse, with an increase in nursery provision in primary schools in a number of areas. Local 'economies' of education vary widely, depending on local 'market' composition (for example, in a given area, the existence of dominant independent schools with day school provision can strongly affect local institutional form and policy). The size of institutions varies greatly, as do governance and management forms (federated schools, academy chains, and so on).
The DfE website gives the following description of variants of state schools. The most common ones are (www.gov.uk/national-curriculum):
* community schools, controlled by the local council and not influenced by business or religious groups;
* foundation schools, with more freedom to change the way they do things than community schools;
* academies, run by a governing body, independent from the local council – they can follow a different curriculum; and
* grammar schools, run by the council, a foundation body or a trust – they select all or most of their pupils based on academic ability, and there is often an entrance exam.
And this does not include the many variants of independent schools or reflect the variation among the group of schools that includes Montessori, Steiner, Buddhist and others. And a careful look at the descriptions shows that important dimensions of variation are present in each of the categories – governance, form, curriculum restriction, etc.
Structural variations are joined by variations in curriculum requirement. Unlike Finland, English law does not stipulate the number of hours that should be devoted to specific subjects. The National Curriculum does not apply to independent schools, academies and free schools. But there is more. The 2010 curriculum review detected further dimensions of variation – profound variation running deeply into beliefs regarding the aims of education, models of and assumptions about ability, models of progression, use of teaching assistants, vocational versus academic provision, and other fundamentals.
It is thus hardly surprising that, for any given central innovation (Reading Recovery, Assessing Pupils Progress, the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies, Diploma qualifications), impact is highly variable (Ofsted, 2002). Unlike teaching practice – action distributed across thousands of classrooms – the machinery and implementation strategy for qualifications reform are highly proximal to government – qualifications specifications can readily be reviewed and changed, and then fed into an established, highly structured implementation apparatus run by examination boards. In contrast, the means of directly affecting a system factor such as teacher quality in the existing teacher workforce requires sophisticated policy formation and a highly elaborate implementation strategy.
Such a high level of diversity is not present in smaller, high-performing systems such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Finland. Crucially, my own research in Singapore and Finland shows less diversity in ideas about education and children, particularly regarding ability and models of progression.
It is difficult to exaggerate the challenge that this many-layered diversity poses to policy makers – it ranges across the structure of schooling, the forms of schooling, organisation of learning and ideas about education. As Andy Green (2013) has pointed out, this variation is an enduring feature of the system in England deriving from the way in which modern schooling emerged in the country, and contrasts significantly with the form of emergence of education arrangements in France, USA and Germany. The acute and chronic diversity in arrangements is not going to go away, either overnight or in the near future – the pedigree of the diversity means that it is entrenched, and yet heavily contested (Aston et al., 2013). It poses a genuine challenge to centrally derived measures aimed at innovation and improvement. The effectiveness of improvement strategies tends to be heavily dependent on context. And context in England varies dramatically. Initiatives that reach deeply down into practice are expensive, complex to manage, and recently have been perceived, by both teachers and politicians, as intrusive – prime examples being the Literacy and Numeracy Strategies (Whitty, 2006). In the face of all of these factors, using assessment and qualifications and major instruments of reform looks, to policy makers, like a very attractive option – apparently cheap, and relatively easy.
## Change in assessment: a deceptively seductive option
So . . . cheap and easy, but I believe that change in assessment and qualifications is a deceptively seductive option for effecting change in key aspects of the system such as quality of learning, reduction of within-school and between-school variation and so on.
The first reason has already been outlined: the impact is variable and unpredictable, partly as a result of naïve dependence on a 'trickle down' effect – erroneous assumptions that educationalists always will respond in an optimum way to the challenges of new assessments, and partly as a result of the diversity of the settings into which the new assessment falls.
The second reason is of considerable importance. Assessment is one of the ways in which evidence of the impact of teaching and learning is created. Investigation of and experimentation on human cognition require measurement, as does investigation and development in education (see Mellanby and Theobald, 2014). It is no accident that, in the USA, it is the American Psychological Association that publishes The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (APA, 2014). We need to know the impact of educational development and improvement strategies – and measurement is a key element of this. I am NOT arguing that public examinations and related assessments measure all the outcomes in which we should be interested when investigating and enhancing learning. What I AM arguing is that, for the outcomes that are legitimately assessed by public examinations and assessments, consistency of measurement is vital.
For investigation of whether a change in approach to learning yields benefit, valid and consistent measurement of outcomes is an essential part of method. This is a tenet of psychological research, and is a methodological aspect of many experimental and evaluative studies in education (Mellanby, op cit; Sylva 1999). I believe that the same discipline should enter our thinking about routine educational assessment – public examinations and national tests. These are the means by which we can measure desirable improvements in our system, as well as producing dependable descriptions of what pupils know, understand and can do. This supports an evaluative function, and a communication or signalling function – the latter to be used in admission to programme decisions (e.g. for higher education), and labour market selection. If the measures constantly are changing, we limit our ability to make rational decisions about what works in our teaching and learning, and compromise the dependability of the information that is used in admission and selection.
Although it is far more difficult to reach deeply down into our system with sympathetic and effective innovation targeted directly at practice – innovation that will enhance children's reading, scientific understanding, creative thinking, and so on – it is possible to measure with precision the impact of such innovation if valid and consistent measures are used to detect improvement in outcomes. And this kind of consistent measurement needs to be available over an extended period of time, since educational transformation typically occurs over years, not months, and the improvement often is something that society wishes to sustain. This sustained consistency of measurement is an essential basis of PISA, Timss and PIRLS. In public examinations, Finland provides a fascinating foil to the relentless change in post-16 qualifications in England. Finland's high-stakes leaving examination at 18/19, the Finnish Abitur, has at its core four external examinations in subject disciplines, with one of these being in native language. These exams resemble A Levels extremely closely, in being highly discipline-focused. But the salient feature of the Abitur is that it has not changed in function or form, in any significant way, for over 100 years. Through the periods of relatively slow improvement and through periods of deliberate transformation of all other aspects of the education system, this key measure of outcome was kept stable. During the 1980s, throughout the move from highly selective education to wholesale, committed adoption of a form of Asian comprehensive education, the Abitur remained a consistent reference point in the system. Other aspects of the system – teaching approaches, educational resources, school form, etc – all were attended to directly, not assumed to be transformed through radical change in qualifications. This provides an extreme contrast with England, where assessment-led change has assumed such dominance, and difficult confounding has occurred as a result of assessment reform being used as the main stimulant of change while the assessments simultaneously are depended upon as the prime means of measuring outcomes.
## Problems of change
It is important to recognise that this does not condemn assessment and public qualifications to moribund ossification. Measurement through assessment can be introduced in new areas of disciplines and of human learning, existing measures can be updated, and new measures equated with old ones. But there are limits on this equating, as demonstrated profoundly by the controversial contemporary challenge of linking standards in the new suite of post-2015 1–9 GCSEs with the previous suite of pre-2015 A*-G GCSEs. The tendency in England is to change the entire suite of A Levels and/or GCSEs at the same time, rather than changing specific subjects according to their own necessary timeframe – for example, when new knowledge is introduced to a specific discipline (Oates, 2010). Equating and maintaining standards become highly problematic when wholesale reform of examinations is effected (Bramley, 2013). And the system has been subjected to repeated waves of this wholesale, general reform. Two key elements of 'national standards' – standards over time, and standards between awarding bodies – are threatened by wholesale change in qualifications – adversely affecting confidence in qualifications, the signalling function of qualifications, and the ability to measure the impact of reform measures outside assessment. The recent controversy over the sample assessment materials for reformed maths GCSE – with two of the three national bodies expressing concern that the 'race to the bottom' was opened up by the Regulator's chosen approval process for the new qualifications (The Times Educational Supplement, 6 March 2015) – demonstrates the serious risks posed by all-embracing, ambitious reform processes.
## A conclusion?
There is a strong philosophical, historical and practical rationale for stating this: that changing all things all the time, in a highly diverse education system, will result in chaotic, incoherent development. Of course specific assessments have to be designed well, operate effectively and be refined through evaluation. But endless arbitrary change seriously disrupts system coherence. The very ease with which assessment can be changed from the centre is actually a rationale for it being the one thing that is kept as stable as possible. Stability in assessment should be seen as an asset by policy makers. It should be viewed as an anchor point in a constantly shifting sea – an anchor point that enables us to understand and respond to all the other shifts that occur. The importance of this cannot be overstated. Without consistent measurement, policy makers will not have dependable intelligence on the system. Given the complexity and diversity of English arrangements, enhancing the quality of learning requires sophisticated transformation policies, sensitive to context. After three decades, assessment-led transformation policy has not yet delivered the step-change in system performance that preoccupies policy makers (see The Telegraph, 8 July 2013). Changing assessment has at the same time been ineffective in raising underlying quality and diminished the key quality essential to assessment – the ability to measure key educational outcomes with consistency and precision. Assessment change rips educational capacity from the system, as textbooks, teaching notes, 'polished' lessons all are discarded. As each transformation through assessment has failed to deliver, policy makers have not undertaken radical re-thinking of assessment-led change, they have lapsed into Soviet-style 'one more push'. It is time to realise that stability in assessment and qualifications is a crucial element of a balanced programme of system improvement.
## References
AoC, 2014, College key facts 2014/2015. London: Association of Colleges.
APA, 2014, The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Aston, H., Easton, C. and Sims, D., 2013, What Works in Enabling School Improvement? The Role of the Middle Tier. Slough: National Foundation for Educational Research.
Bell, M. and Cordingly, P., undated, 'Characteristics of high performing schools'. Coventry: CUREE.
Bhaskhar, R., 1998, The Possibility of Naturalism: A Philosophical Critique of the Contemporary Human Sciences, 3rd edn. London: Routledge.
Blatchford, P., Basset, P., Goldstein, H. and Martin, C., 2003, 'Are class size differences related to pupils' educational progress and classroom practices?' British Educational Research Journal, 29 (5) pp. 709–30.
Bramley, T., 2013, Maintaining Standards in Public Examinations: Why it Is Impossible to Please Everyone. Cambridge: Cambridge Assessment.
Cambridge Assessment, 2014, Register of Change Report, Cambridge Assessment.
CEDEFOP, 2010, 'Changing qualifications – a review of qualification policies and practices', Report, European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, Luxembourg. Gillborne, D. and Mirza, H., 2000, Education Inequality: mapping race, class gender and inequality. London: Ofsted.
Gillborne, D. and Youdell, D., 2000, Rationing Education: policy, practice, reform, and equity. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Green, A., 2013, Education and State Formation, 2nd edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Hopkins, D., 2001, School Improvement for Real. London: Routledge.
Mansell, W., 2007, Education by Numbers: The Tyranny of Testing. New York: Politico's.
Mellanby, J. and Theobald, K., 2014, Education and Learning: An Evidence-based Approach. Chichester: Wiley Blackwell.
Newton, P., 2007, 'Clarifying the purposes of educational assessment', Assessment in Education, 14 (2) pp. 149–70.
Oates, T., 2010, 'Could do better': Using international comparisons to refine the National Curriculum in England, Report, Cambridge Assessment.
Oates, T., 2014, 'The qualifications sledgehammer: Why assessment-led reform has dominated the education landscape', in Sahlgren, G.H. (ed.) Tests Worth Teaching To. London: Centre for Market Reform in Education.
OECD, 2006, Education at a Glance. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Ofsted, 2002, The National Literacy Strategy: The First Four Years 1998–2002.
Payne, J., 2001, Patterns of Participation in Full-time Education after 16: An Analysis of the England and Wales Youth Cohort Study. Policy Study Institute.
Sahlgren, G.H. (ed.), 2014, Tests Worth Teaching To. London: Centre for Market Reform in Education.
Select Committee for Children, Schools and Families, 2008, Testing and assessment: Third report of session 2007–2008 Vol 1, GB, Parliament House of Commons.
Stringer, E.T., 2007, Action Research. London: Sage.
Sylva, K., 1999, An Introduction to the EPPE Project. Institute of Education.
Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I. and Taggart, B., 2003, The effective provision of pre-school education (EPPE) project – findings from the pre-school period, Research Brief RBX-15–03. Department for Education and Skills.
Whitty, G., 2006, 'Teacher professionalism in a new era', Paper presented at the first General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland Annual Lecture, Belfast.
# [11
Accountability and Inspection](content.xhtml#bck_Ch011)
Pat O'Shea
## Starting off as an English teacher
In schools in the early 1970s, accountability was not a word that often troubled us. I began teaching English in 1973 in what was then the only comprehensive school in Kent, a very large school whose families belonged to what was disparagingly referred to as 'London overspill'. As young teachers, our three major concerns were the impact of RoSLA (Raising of the School Leaving Age), the teacher recruitment crisis, and the Houghton pay award. The first meant that many 16-year-olds had to stay in school a year longer than they had expected and, even more alarming, be persuaded to take a public examination. The second meant that we started the school year four teachers short in the English department alone, and of those of us actually there, several were in our Probationary Year (NQTs). The third, Houghton, provided some succour, as in my second year of teaching our pay went up nearly 30 per cent at a stroke. (As a dampener to the excitement of this, inflation in 1975 was 24 per cent.)
As a young and inexperienced teacher I do not recall my teaching ever being observed. There were no appraisals, nor even any kind of review of my work. The avuncular head of department and his deputy supported as best they could with ideas and materials, but never watched us teach. The head of department was in any case somewhat distracted throughout 1974, as he stood as the Labour candidate in both the general elections that year. When I applied for this and later teaching posts, the selection procedure consisted solely of an interview with the headteacher. No governors were involved, but I did spend some time with the head of department and perusing the stock cupboard (the usual class sets of An Inspector Calls, Of Mice and Men, and Animal Farm – just as now, despite Michael Gove's aversion to English literature not from England). There was certainly no question of teaching a sample lesson or of meeting any students.
Teachers did not seem to regard examination results as a measure of accountability. At age 14, students were divided into three groups: those who would take no qualifications, CSE candidates, and those on track for the more prestigious O Level. The latter had been designed for the 20 per cent of young people in grammar schools, and could lead on to A Level and thence to higher education. CSE was aimed at the 'next' 40 per cent, so qualifications were deemed inappropriate for the remaining 40 per cent. (It was reading John Newsom's report Half Our Future, while I was supposed to be revising for finals, that made me go into teaching.) The syllabi for O Level and CSE did not overlap. After RoSLA in 1972, all students, more or less, had to take one or the other. This meant that a system of public examinations at 16 designed for the few became a universal point of assessment. This changed its nature, and made possible the later development of the whole apparatus of accountability through performance tables and examination outcomes at 16. It led the way to examination boards becoming businesses vying for custom, examination entry fees featuring heavily in schools' budgets, and the huge change in pace and focus that comes over secondary schools from May to July.
One version of the public exam at 16 was very attractive to ambitious and creative young teachers: the CSE Mode 3. Any teacher could design and propose a syllabus which would be marked and assessed by the teachers in the school through 100 per cent coursework. The course could reflect the enthusiasms and, indeed, political predilections of the proposer. The course and its assessment followed the teaching and its objectives, rather than the other way round. This put teachers in control of every stage of the process of the CSE public examination. We were participants in the Examination Board subject committees, setting syllabi, defining grade boundaries, and devising and developing the curriculum. We were driven by the need to make sure that the exams would suit our students' needs. It almost felt as though we were holding the Examination Board to account.
Although there was some external moderation, we were effectively taking in one another's washing, since we reciprocally moderated courses from other schools. I designed and taught a Mode 3 English syllabus. It included an independent art house film I liked and thought would appeal, some Bob Dylan, and Romeo and Juliet. It was not, to say the least, very coherent or rigorous. I am not proud of the fact that, for several of those who took it in the mid-1970s, it probably remains the only formal qualification in English they have. Complete freedom over the curriculum was no better for learners than excessive prescription.
## Deputy Head at Peers
My years as Deputy at Peers (1985–1992) saw the biggest changes to education and the organisation of schools affecting teachers and students until the current wave. Bob Moon, the inventive head who had come from the ground-breaking Stantonbury Campus in Milton Keynes, had introduced an innovative curriculum based on modular accreditation, similar to that now offered by many universities. Peers had a national profile. We regularly ran Saturday conferences for visiting teachers and heads who wanted to hear about the modular curriculum, and were often invited to conferences around the country to speak about it. We were proud of the work we were doing and its impact on the motivation and achievement of some very disadvantaged and hitherto underachieving young people. Students gained CSEs and O Levels and, from 1988, the new GCSEs, all of them continuously assessed by coursework and module tests. I sold off 300 examination desks, convinced that never again would a cohort of students sit down together to take a public examination. I was wrong.
While I was on maternity leave in 1987, Bob Moon came for tea, to inspect my son and to tell me two things: first, that he was leaving Peers for a chair at the Open University, and second, that when I returned in the autumn and before he left, we would have a full HMI inspection of the school. I received the first item of news with alarm and apprehension, but the second with complete equanimity, because I had no idea what it meant or that it was a serious business. It is said that at that time HMI inspections came round about once every 250 years, in any case at sufficient intervals for most teachers and headteachers to escape inspection throughout their careers. Bob, however, did know that our innovations were on the line, and that much was at stake. Now, those in schools are constantly aware of Ofsted's imminence; it presides implicitly or explicitly over much planning and evaluation; then, the notion of inspection was novel. For the first time I recognised that we were accountable for what we were doing, that we would be externally judged. (My infant son was judged Good with Outstanding features.)
## The HMI inspection
HMI were a cadre of highly experienced and mostly well-respected senior professionals. They were responsible for inspecting and evaluating a few individual schools, but the main part of their work was to provide information on education to the Secretary of State by carrying out and publishing national surveys, thematic studies, and evaluations of the teaching of particular subjects and aspects of school life across the country. About 12 HMI were in the school for most of the week. We took all this in our stride; we thought of the inspection as a kind of supportive professional review. We thought the HMI were interested in our modular curriculum and early use of records of achievement of our own devising (see also OCEA, discussed by Tim Brighouse), as was much of the rest of the secondary education world. On day three of the inspection one HMI was overheard saying to another: 'I have a little list – modular curriculum plus and modular curriculum minus. So far minus is ahead'. This sort of score-card tallying, rather than a more measured evaluative and reflective approach, seemed to us rather shocking.
The report was made available to the school and governors, but was not published until about a year after the inspection, by which time we had a new head and everybody had forgotten about it (HMI school inspection reports had only been published at all since 1983). Despite their misgivings about our unorthodox curriculum, we were relieved when the report was broadly very positive, on the teaching and on the curriculum offer. A significant concern was that the library was thought to be inadequate – this proved useful later when we were able to negotiate the creation of a substantial joint public library on the campus.
All of our curricular freedom was changed by the Education Reform Act of 1988. This legislation introduced parental choice, local management of schools, the National Curriculum, and Key Stages, with objectives for each. There was also provision for City Technology Colleges, which were maintained schools taken out of local authorities, the predecessors of academies. I remember a meeting of heads, deputies, and chairs of governors, at which Tim Brighouse, then Chief Education Officer for Oxfordshire, explained how the combination of these elements of legislation would exercise a vice-like grip on schools and local authorities, to the clear detriment especially of those in disadvantaged and economically deprived areas where educational achievement was low. (The introduction of grant-maintained schools posed a further threat to local authorities and their illusory 'control' of schools.) We were required to publish examination results to parents, although league tables did not begin until 1992, introduced by John Major's government after his surprise election victory. The stated aim then was to give parents the consumer information they needed, to create a free market in school choice. That 'choice' has only ever been patchy at best, varying wildly between rural and urban settings, by class, by faith, and by parents' willingness to undertake informed perusal of all the data. Performance tables, as instruments of accountability, also provide a lever whereby government can directly influence the school system and the curriculum: the later double-weighting of English and mathematics, the introduction of value-added to tackle high-attaining but 'coasting' schools, the down-valuing of vocational qualifications and ignoring any but the first shot at a subject examination, the invention of the EBacc: all provide examples of this.
## Warden of a Cambridgeshire village college
By the early 1990s I was in my first headship at a village college in Cambridgeshire. Because of the rich community dimension to these wonderful schools, headteachers were known as Wardens, an idea of the visionary bureaucrat who founded the village colleges, Henry Morris, CEO in Cambridgeshire in the 1930s. I greatly valued that title, carrying as it does the notion of guardianship of the whole learning community as well as of its young people. By now, the National Curriculum had settled down a bit: the 17 attainment targets and the 17 ring-binders that specified the science curriculum alone had been reduced to a more manageable number. SATs were firmly in place, and, for the first time, we knew how well the youngsters joining us in Y7 had performed against a national benchmark, however flawed.
We were subject to a new-style Ofsted Section 10 inspection in 1994. In contrast to the current approach, the focus was very clearly on the curriculum and its subjects. The inspection team comprised 25 mostly subject specialists from the school improvement service in a neighbouring local authority. Like every inspection team, there was also a lay inspector, a kindly, interested person with no professional experience in education. They were usually deployed to consider matters considered more peripheral than the curriculum, such as attendance, assemblies, and extra-curricular activities.
We had six weeks' notice of the inspection dates. During this time the deputy head spent many of his waking hours gathering data, information, evidence, and documents of every kind. His rather cramped office was stacked from floor to ceiling with dozens of green box files in which these were obsessively filed. Teachers, too, had six weeks to prepare the lessons they would teach during the inspection, and to become anxious about them. During the inspection every teacher knew they would be seen teaching at least once. By Friday afternoon an RE teacher who taught nearly 20 different classes in the school had still not been seen, and was in tears at Friday lunchtime knowing that her fate was closing in on her.
In contrast to the HMI approach at Peers, reports were now written to a common framework, and published within a month. For the first time, we were all clear what the criteria were, and the handbook included descriptions of what each of the seven grades looked like, from Excellent to Very Poor. This clarity was welcome. Inspection was almost wholly subject-based, with inspectors only coming together for large team meetings at the end of the day, in which findings were pooled. Several never met the head, nor understood how the school worked beyond the department they were inspecting. On Thursday the head of PE approached me with a concern about the PE specialist adviser who had made a number of comments revealing these limitations, including asking the head of PE, 'Who is this Warden person, anyway?'.
We had been reassured there would be no surprises in the report, and that proved to be the case. We had to draw up and submit an action plan within six weeks, but that was already there in our school development plan. Lesson observation by heads was not routine or formalised, but the deputies and I were confident we knew our teachers' strengths pretty accurately, from MBWA (management by walking about), and from having active antennae. I had begun at Peers to look at a teacher's results and manually compare what the same students had achieved in other subjects. I later learned to call the resulting measure a residual, when computers made this sort of analysis much easier, and school leaders acquired new skills in data and statistics. We were devising our own systems of data analysis before Raiseonline and FFT came along.
In my second headship, appraisal of teachers and school leaders became part of the annual gardening calendar of a school's work. The processes were somewhat cumbersome, but we tried to make them supportive of teachers' work and complementary to the planning of CPD. The unions were influential in this, and acted as guardians of teachers' interests, so that appraisal was developmental, and not linked to pay in any way. This was to change step by step in later years, with the introduction of pay thresholds, the need for clear evidence against published standards, moves away from a national pay scale, and the stealthy approach of performance-related pay – anathema in the 1990s.
Examination results days began to affect my family life and that of all heads, as holidays in Provence or Tuscany were curtailed so we could be in school on the third and fourth Thursdays of August, to celebrate A-Level and GCSE results with students, but also to issue carefully crafted press statements and begin to calculate what our value-added might be and where we might stand in the league tables. KS2 and KS3 SATs were also externally marked, but the tests were erratic in standard, and their marking was sometimes plainly inaccurate. I may have been one of the few heads who appealed against the KS3 SATs English results on the grounds that they were too high. I knew that if they stood, our GCSE value-added results two years later would look poorer than they should, and I would be held accountable.
## LEA adviser and SIP
After the turn of the century, I was working for a local authority. Oxfordshire LA, like many, had set up and run its own team of Ofsted inspectors, comprising the wide range of subject and phase advisers and inspectors working for the service. We had been inspected by just such an LA team in Cambridgeshire. LA services of this kind were beginning to have identity crises, reflected in the frequent changes of name. They were also grappling with cuts, as central government endeavoured to reduce the influence of local democracy and to introduce market practices. During my time, there were at least five reorganisations (restructuring, remodelling, re-alignment . . .) and at least five different names in as many years. Were we about advice, inspection, improvement, school development, raising achievement, effectiveness? All these words figured in the names of the service.
A further string was added to the accountability bow in 2004: the School Improvement Partner (SIP) scheme was introduced, as part of a so-called New Relationship with Schools. Experienced school leaders and local authority advisers like me could, through training and assessment, become accredited as SIPs. All schools had an SIP with whom they would have a 'single conversation'. The scheme was nationally funded and ran from 2004 to 2010. It was cut as a consequence of a change of government in 2010, despite evidence that it was effective, though not consistently so. As an SIP, I developed a working relationship with schools in a way impossible for an Ofsted inspector, so there was a perspective of evaluation and change over time. We provided external challenge as well as support; schools were accountable, as SIPs reported to their LAs, but could also deploy their SIP to support school initiatives. Discussions about target setting were informed by both comparative data and a knowledge of the context; they could be tough, and many heads valued a robust exchange with a supportive but external fellow professional. Many schools have chosen to continue to seek external support and challenge from former SIPs, but the free market in school improvement services has left schools able to choose not to seek and pay for external advice.
## Becoming an inspector for Ofsted
As I arrived at the LA, the Ofsted teams lost their remit, and six national companies ran inspections in England. (Later, only three companies – Tribal, Serco, and CfBT – won a competitive bidding process for contracts to run inspections across the country. Costs were cut.) In 2005 I trained as an inspector for Ofsted. The training was extensive and expensive. At the end, I spent a whole day sitting examinations in a large area of a posh hotel in Park Lane. It was an extraordinary experience to be sitting at an examination desk, one of a hundred candidates arranged in rows, doing written exams all day, complete with prowling HMI invigilators. Mysteriously, we were only allowed to use a pencil. The experience felt like a throwback: nervousness waiting for the results, relief at passing. We were tested on data analysis, evaluating evidence, applying criteria, writing clearly. It felt adequately rigorous.
As I began inspecting in 2005, the framework and the process were slimmed down enormously. Average-sized secondary schools now had nine or ten inspector days – a team of four or five for two days – and two days' notice of inspections. The emphasis on subjects and the curriculum disappeared, and with it the inspection of subject teaching by specialists in that subject. This was a major step in the decline of the place of the curriculum in the inspection framework. Apart from the growing emphasis on English and mathematics, subjects have been sidelined, and the quality of the whole curriculum, once graded separately, now merits one paragraph in the long list of aspects of leadership and management to which inspectors must attend. With my roots in curriculum development and subject expertise, this seems a significant loss.
Also in 2005, schools' self-evaluation became hugely important. Never compulsory, but always expected, the exercise of completing an SEF was onerous but arguably did much to improve the skills of school leaders, to gather evidence, to interrogate data, to plan improvements, and to evaluate impact. Heads and senior leaders began routinely to observe lessons and grade them, something rarely done before this. Comparative information about schools transformed beyond measure during this time. As deputy at Peers School in the 1980s, on open evenings for prospective parents, each year I scanned the results from the previous year with the aim of finding three things that had improved. I then designed graphs with extended vertical axes to give a visual impression of rapid and impressive improvement. In the 2000s, the accountability measures were plain to all and common across schools. Data dominated our preparation for inspection. Performance tables had been introduced in 1992 in the public domain, but gave only broad-brush data. In the 2000s, Raiseonline provided sophisticated information for school leaders, and for inspectors. For the first time it was easy to compare a school's outcomes with national figures.
Many schools and local authorities subscribed to the Fischer Family Trust. This gave a new perspective on data about progress and achievement in schools, using a complex formula including social and economic make-up, gender, incidence of special needs, deprivation factors, and ethnicity, so that there was more chance of comparing like with like. This provided a very helpful set of comparators but was never made routinely available to Ofsted inspectors. Schools offered it to the inspection team if they chose. Doubts crept in that the weighting of deprivation factors, for example, to give 'contextual value-added', might be seen as an excuse for low expectations, and the contextual part of value-added was removed from later versions of Raiseonline. The effect for us as inspectors was to remove the capacity to give due consideration to the enormous social and economic problems some schools were addressing. Social deprivation was not to be seen as an excuse, rightly so, but nor was it accorded any explanatory power. Schools were expected to compensate for the growing inequalities in society.
During this period, however, I felt that Ofsted provided a broadly accepted national standard of what good practice meant, and I used it as such when providing INSET. The evaluation schedule provided lists of the aspects of the school's work that inspectors must and should consider, in each section. There were also detailed grade descriptions of what constituted outstanding, good, satisfactory, and inadequate practice and outcomes. Ofsted was and is unpopular in schools; the process is often damaging. However, it was possible to argue that the evaluation schedule was a powerful handbook of good practice, and could be used for professional development and to help school leaders improve their schools. The descriptions of what constitute good teaching, good leadership and management, good governance, and what additional factors make them outstanding: all those in schools could draw upon these.
Despite this, there has always been some lack of clarity and evidence about whether Ofsted was an instrument of school improvement or merely its chronicler. Certainly, the motivation of many inspectors, mine included, was to help schools improve by providing an external focused view of what would make the school even better. 'Improvement through inspection' was Ofsted's strapline, though there was no mention of improvement in the Education Act 1992 that created it. Improvement could perhaps come through the action plan that schools (governors, in fact) had to produce and circulate to parents. The idea was that the governors would ensure that the school followed up the inspection, and that parents would hold the governing body accountable. The LA also had a role in ensuring action plans were fit for purpose and, for a while yet, in supporting schools to implement them. This closing of the loop has ceased, however, and the function of Ofsted in helping schools to improve has withered. Local authorities no longer have the capacity to provide practical school improvement support; many schools are not part of an LA or even an academy chain, and so schools seem to be left with judgements and only their own resources to work out how to respond to them. Gerald Haigh quotes American management consultant William Deming: 'You can't inspect quality into a process'. The separation of powers – of inspection from support for improvement – seems part of what has been called the 'decentralisation of blame'. In a climate of much-vaunted autonomy and freedom for schools and their heads, who is responsible if things go wrong, or into decline? Over time, Ofsted's expectations of governing bodies and the extent of their accountability have increased hugely, seemingly to compensate for the diminution of the LA's role as the middle tier. My increasing awareness of the gulf between inspection and school improvement led me to withdraw from inspecting at all. It has also become ever clearer that Ofsted creates unacceptable stress, fear, and pressure for teachers, and several of us could no longer be part of that.
Political imperatives surfaced from time to time in iterations of the Ofsted schedule, under both Labour and Coalition governments. Every Child Matters followed in the wake of the Victoria Climbié case, bringing together national and local leadership of education and the social care of children. Working in education in an LA, it often felt as though direction was lacking, as aspects of the education service were led by people with no background in education. The five priorities of this framework each had a paragraph in an Ofsted report. Inspections at this time became something of a scramble, as each individual inspector had to chase down evidence of our allotted ECM aspects, and also the four aspects of social, moral, spiritual, and cultural (SMSC) development. Inspecting school dinners became routine in order to have something to say about how well a school enabled children to Be Healthy. The five priorities had been developed through discussion with young people, and the aim was laudable, but the implementation became unwieldy.
Safeguarding too came to the fore after the Bichard report on the Soham case. Again, the cause was right, but the mechanism faulty, at least initially. Some schools failed their Ofsted inspection if there were minor administrative errors in the single central record. On one inspection it required several frantic phone calls to head office confirming that errors had been corrected within the hour to ensure that a strong and successful school did not go into special measures because of a typographical failing.
Community cohesion entered the lexicon in 2007 and became an inspection focus, in light of the fears about the rise of the far right and increase in racism. Nobody really knew what community cohesion meant, and the descriptors for it overlapped significantly with other elements of the Ofsted framework, especially SMSC, which had its own judgement grade in an Ofsted report. The new coalition government decided in 2010 that it was no longer important and abolished it, but later introduced a requirement to inspect the promotion of British values instead, in response to developments in some Birmingham schools.
These fluctuations in what schools were being judged on, and the consequent flurry of activity to produce evidence for the newest priority, have intensified under the Coalition. Increasingly, carrying out an Ofsted inspection is about checking for compliance, and chasing down evidence for aspects of school management that had never been subject to inspection before. The clarity of focus on learning and progress, on the quality of teaching and leadership, has been muddied by additions favoured by the Secretary of State. We are now required for the first time to inspect the use of one particular funding stream (Pupil Premium), examination entry policy (because 'early' entry might limit the highest grades), and salary progression and its link to appraisal (to embed performance-related pay). Changes to the accountability framework impose pressure on schools to offer a curriculum that will look well in tables, whether or not it motivates and meets the needs of students.
Increasingly, inspecting no longer felt like the exercise of professional judgement or the opportunity to work with schools to provide a helpful, informed external view. Rather, it felt like operating someone else's instruction manual. After the three national contractors took over, the day rate for Ofsted inspector was reduced by nearly 25 per cent. This major cut in the pay of additional inspectors opened up the gulf between salaried HMI and freelance additional inspectors. It appeared to me that quality also became more variable. HMI Lead Inspectors were almost all exceptionally skilled professionals for whom I had great respect. Increasingly, they were deployed to monitoring inspections, subject surveys, and work with schools in a category, and now lead almost no Section 5 inspections. I had only ever inspected infrequently, but now job satisfaction, never high, plummeted. Inspection provided none of the colleagueship and camaraderie that have been so rewarding through all my working life in schools. The pay cut was less important than the two experiences in 2014 that clinched my decision to stop.
First, additional inspectors received a memo from the Ofsted contract holders to emphasise that Ofsted had no preferred teaching style. It clarified the language it was permissible to use to describe teaching:
Please consider the use of the phrase 'independent learning' or similar phrases as banned with immediate effect . . . inspectors should focus more upon aspects of teaching which will be more readily understood by lay readers and parents such as:
* whether homework is purposeful and regularly set and marked
* whether lessons begin promptly
* whether classrooms are tidy and have stimulating wall displays.
The gulf between this instruction, and the model of a professional, rigorous, fair and consistent approach to helping schools develop seemed unbridgeable.
The second made even more plain the divorce of inspection from school improvement. I attended my final Ofsted training in September 2014. By careful questioning, a participant obliged the HMI leading the training to make explicit that Section 5 inspections had nothing to do with school improvement – this was a matter for monitoring visits and Section 8 inspections. We were to give only judgements, with no advice to teachers in lesson feedback, nor discussion of possible strategies to improve the school further with school leaders. I had already become disaffected with the work of undertaking Ofsted inspection. The territory held by the political agenda was increasing. We caused stress and distress to teachers and heads, who were under huge pressure. Fear does not improve schools for young people. My inspection life is over.
## Reflections
Writing this in the approach to the 2015 election, there is a broad consensus that Ofsted must change, or be replaced. The cost in teacher stress is too high, and the gains are not demonstrable. Ofsted is increasingly driven by political imperatives, is insufficiently rooted in the context of the school, and is intrusive in the demands the process makes. It labels schools, accurately or not, but makes little contribution to helping them move forward. A publicly funded system should, of course, be accountable to those who fund it, and a future model for monitoring and evaluating schools should have at least these features:
* local democratic accountability, through LAs or some other regional forum;
* self-evaluation rigorously tested by triangulation with other local schools;
* a focus on support for improvement, from a range of sources including local expertise;
* a developmental perspective, not a snapshot in time;
* high quality and consistency across the country, assured by a renewed HM Inspectorate or its equivalent.
# [Part V
Reflection on policy matters](content.xhtml#bck_part5)
# [12
From 'Optimism and Trust' to 'Markets and Managerialism'](content.xhtml#bck_Ch012)
Sir Tim Brighouse
It is arguable that are three definably different periods in education policy making in England since Butler's 1944 Education Act. The first lasted for nearly 30 years, the second for 15 between the late 1960s and early 1980s, and the third for another 30 almost to the present, when there are signs that it will give way to a fourth. Each is characterised by values and attitudes that reflect the wider social and economic context of the different periods. I shall argue that the first could be dubbed an age of 'optimism and trust'; the second, one of 'doubt, disillusion and un certainty' and the third, one of 'markets and managerialism', which is even now giving way to another period of transition. As with all 'ages' of history, activity characteristic of one period spills over to the next, but in the context of a different and less accommodating climate as new values catch hold. I shall end by speculating about the next age into which we are now entering, as the limitations of 'markets and managerialism' are being exposed.
My involvement over those 70 years has been as pupil, student, teacher, academic and administrator, progressively observing, writing, and commenting on and seeking to influence policy and practice.
## The age of optimism and trust
The first period, which caught the post-war spirit of optimism (and a determination not to return to the habits of the 1930s), lasted until the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was an age of 'optimism and trust', characterised by partners in education knowing their respective roles and exercising them energetically, as all were agreed that education was a public good and we needed more of it. They behaved interdependently confident that each would play their part.
The Secretary of State had but a handful of powers, the most important of which was the duty of securing a sufficient supply of suitably qualified teachers in different parts of the country. In the process of discharging this ministerial duty, meticulous planning was involved with the Local Education Authorities (LEAs), which supplied local knowledge and ran the Teacher Training Colleges through grants from central government. Likewise too with the Secretary of State's second main responsibility, namely approving the opening and closure of schools, and rationing the size of building programmes against national minimum standards. In this latter duty the Secretary of State initiated an annual bidding process from LEAs, which were expected to ensure that the bids they were all asked to produce were consistent with the 1948 Development Plan. London 'overspill' and unanticipated housing schemes, including the creation of new towns and a birth-rate induced 'bulge' in the number of children requiring schools, soon rendered these 1948 Development Plans redundant. Direct contact between DfE and LEAs mainly focused on buildings and teacher supply. There were few 'circulars' – that is to say, papers asking LEAs to consider action on a particular matter – and no legislation followed the 1944 Act until the early 1970s. Taken together, these ministerial duties and powers were intended to ensure that all children would have a fair deal in terms of their teaching and learning environment.
There was much else to be done in this first post-war period, apart from the need to train teachers and build schools. All the many other matters requiring attention could safely be left to the LEAs. This first period was a golden age for LEAs – their responsibilities, duties and powers legion and varied. Colleges of further education had to be created and staffed to respond to the long-felt need to provide further education and training for 'vocational' students. Every LEA responded to this need, guided by Regional Advisory Councils on which Industrial Training Boards were represented and which were charged with securing a fair spread of accessible courses according to employment needs. Nor did it stop there. Using the same mechanism of 'pooling' of resources, local authorities established advanced further education opportunities through Colleges of Technology and Arts whose degrees were accredited by CNAA (a Council for National Academic Awards) and were later to become polytechnics and universities in the wake of the Robbins report, which also saw the establishment of a wave of new universities in the 1960s. As I have noted, Teacher Training Colleges – later Colleges of Education – were run by LEAs and their work planned through Area Training Organisations (ATOs), and a dozen or so rural LEAs used a similar pooling mechanism to establish Colleges of Agriculture.
Local Education Authorities were busy in this age of post-war reconstruction and expansion. All established a Youth Service and a Youth Employment Service – later called a careers service – and many bought old country mansions and set up adult education residential centres where they ran courses for their local citizens, as well as outdoor pursuit centres for their schools to use. Local advisory or inspection services were established to give advice to schools, whose control of the curriculum and how it was taught was regarded as sacrosanct. Recruited from schools, LEA advisers attempted to persuade school colleagues of the advantages of different approaches to subject teaching and primary school practice, but adoption of the ideas was down to schools. Teachers' Centres, financed by LEAs, ran twilight and weekend courses for teachers whose conditions of service were general and limited solely by convention and tradition.
This brief description captures some of the features of this first period – the age of 'optimism and trust'. Despite a huge national debt, public services were established for all: indeed, a career in the public service, together with what might be called public service values, were regarded as an uncontroversial 'good thing'. This regard for the public service, which seems so odd to modern eyes, was doubtless bolstered by the twilight of Empire, which was run by copious supplies of people from public schools, but perhaps also by the nationalisation of so many services – water, electricity, steel, coal, buses, railways – and by the establishment of the new National Health Service. All classes – upper, middle and working – had careers within public service. It was the main home of professions – architects, planners, lawyers and accountants.
In education, it was for the Secretary of State and national government to set out general policy and for the LEAs to flesh it out in a way appropriate to local circumstances and then implement it. In setting out and formulating policy, the Secretaries of State were advised by civil servants and HMI; they would also consult in depth with William Alexander, the Secretary of the Association of Education Committees (AEC), the representative body of the LEAs, each of which sat within a broader democratically elected set of local authorities. They would also consult with the teacher unions, then dominated by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and its General Secretary Ronald Gould. In practice, for many of the post-war years, Alexander and Gould could heavily influence most policy. Secretaries of State and local councillors came and went. Continuity was provided by Alexander, Gould and the senior civil servants. They were, of course, direct protagonists in terms of Burnham Committee negotiations over teachers' pay but that did not prevent them co-operating to further their common interests. School budgets were determined locally by local authorities through the rates supplemented by the Rate Support Grant, and since the early part of this period was one of low inflation – pay deals were for two-year periods for example – the issue of money was not contentious.
Within most local authorities in this first period, education was seen as the 'cuckoo in the nest' of local government, greedy of resources, consuming 60 per cent or more of most local spending, and a 'law unto itself'. There were no Chief Executives and, in all but the cities, no real party politics: many councillors were Independent. The position of the Chief Education Officer was seen as important. Many of them had distinguished war careers and some of them used their position in very creative and influential ways. For example, Newsom in Hertford-shire, Clegg in the West Riding, Morris in Cambridgeshire and Mason in Leicestershire were all in different ways innovators and extended our ideas of what education could do. The impact of their achievements is still with us, not just in education, but in our wider lives. It is arguable, for instance, that Clegg's influence on the arts has a direct link to that thriving sector today. Locally, every education officer saw it as his – and they were all men – duty to ensure that schools were well staffed, resourced and supported, and they competed with each other in extending what an LEA could and should do to discharge its limited 1944 Act duties.
My experiences in those years lie in five years after VE day in a three teacher primary school in Leicestershire, a brief six week school-phobic inducing spell in a direct grant grammar school and then seven blissful years in a relaxed 'county secondary school' where the prizes were given out by the Education Officer of the Excepted District of Lowestoft in the East Suffolk LEA, whose Chief Education Officer, Leslie Missen, preferred directing his creativity to writing books on 'after dinner speeches' rather than administration. On a full grant, I received the modern-day equivalent of £100,000 for tuition and my living expenses at university. After training to be a teacher and jobs in grammar and secondary modern schools, I became an assistant in Trevor Morgan's Monmouthshire LEA office in charge of sites and buildings. My first week's task, clearly an induction test of my powers of analysis and initiative, was to give a 'school by school' description of what would need to be done if Monmouthshire were to raise the age of transfer to 12, as both a response to the Gittins Report – the Welsh equivalent of Plowden – and the need to go comprehensive suggested in Tony Crosland's circular 10/65. My exercise was academic. Trevor Morgan had no intention of raising the age of transfer to 12 and needed quite a bit of persuasion, as did all in South Wales, that going comprehensive was a good idea. My main responsibility, both there and in my next job, in Roy Harding's Buckinghamshire, was to persuade the DfE to give us large loan consents for school building in the annual bidding round and then brief architects with the resulting work in what were called 'major' and 'minor' building programmes. In Buckinghamshire, there was a new city to be planned, as well as raising the age of transfer to 12. This change enabled selective Buckinghamshire to provide more grammar school places and accommodate the raising of the school leaving age to 16 while still living within the ban on building more places in grammar schools, which central government had imposed in an attempt to pressurise LEAs to end selection. Almost all were primary building projects to accommodate the extra age group at 11 rather than 15. At that time, Buckinghamshire faced an expansion of schools places to respond to house building in south Buckinghamshire, Aylesbury and the creation of Milton Keynes, where the County Council made an exception to its selective stance and, to the astonished dismay of the headteacher of Bletchley Grammar School, approved comprehensive reorganisation. Fortunately, the most influential Conservative County Councillor for that area, Lady Markham, approved of comprehensive schooling. It is hard to see how Buckinghamshire would have received approval for new secondary schooling for the new population within the new city, had they not held their noses and done in one small area what they would never contemplate in the other more affluent areas of their County. Their pragmatism enabled me to help plan Stantonbury Campus, an 'educational village' in Milton Keynes that excited the DfE Architects and Buildings Branch which throughout this first period issued Building Bulletins in an attempt to influence, rather than prescribe, the design of new school buildings. Their favourite secondary examples stemmed from the designs of Countesthorpe in Leicestershire, Sutton Centre in Nottinghamshire and the Abraham Moss in Manchester. In that pre-national curriculum age there was room for innovation and experimentation. At Stantonbury, Roy Harding, Buckinghamshire's CEO, took a calculated risk and appointed Geoff Cooksey, Assistant Secretary from the Schools Council, to run it. It was immense fun, and Cooksey, who might be called a 'progressive', attracted and appointed a remarkable staff, whose deeds have reverberated for decades as teachers from those pioneering years have taken up posts elsewhere.
As a teacher I had experienced the absolute freedom schools enjoyed over the curriculum and how it should be taught. It was a freedom not uniformly exercised. Stantonbury was the exception rather than the rule. For example, the curricula in many grammar schools, and their timetables too, were much the same from year to year. There was more use of the freedom in secondary modern schools, either created for new populations or arising out of the national decision to discontinue all-age schools. Primary practice varied much more, as the teachers were influenced by strong advisory services in a few LEAs: so the West Riding, Leicestershire, Hertfordshire and Oxfordshire became synonymous with progressive primary practice.
The freedom teachers were encouraged to exercise in this period is best illustrated by the Foreword written by the minister to 'Story of a School', first issued in 1949 and re-issued in the 1950s as the sole central advice to primary schools about what they should do. In effect, schools were 'encouraged to experiment as the head who had written the pamphlet had done'.
Perhaps the last national expression of this period's optimism was Margaret Thatcher's White Paper 'A Framework for Expansion' of 1971. It outlined the most ambitious plans for nursery and pre-five education ever contemplated. It was still-born, cut down first by economic crisis and then a change in beliefs on economic policies.
## The age of doubt and disillusion
By the time I left Buckinghamshire at local government reorganisation in 1974, the first age of optimism and trust was giving way to one of doubt and disillusion. The causes were many and varied. The year 1968 witnessed student unrest; 1969 the publication of the Black Papers casting doubt on the progressive methods of teachers and schools and Leila Berg's 'Death of a Comprehensive School', the story of the rise and fall of 'progressive' Risinghill Secondary School in Islington, where later there was a parallel primary school failure – 'William Tyndale' – which led to the Auld Inquiry. And of course there was the oil crisis, which contributed to cutbacks in public services amid massive inflation.
The settled educational world of a 'national service locally administered' was disturbed on other fronts too.
William Alexander and his beloved AEC were sidelined by the creation of the Council of Local Education Authorities (CLEA), a body representing two of the local authority associations, the Association of Metropolitan Authorities (AMA) and the Association of County Councils (ACC). In effect they were the usurpers of the AEC. Newly created Chief Executives and their political leaders in councils where political allegiance to one party or another was the rule, were determined to put over-mighty Education Officers and their committees in their place. I had left Buckinghamshire to join the ACC as Under-Secretary for Education and my tasks included making a fist of CLEA and proving that education, even in the new world of reorganised local government, would still be a force to be reckoned with. At first there were fraught meetings with the AEC and its beleaguered secretary, whose supply lines had been cut off by all the newly created authorities paying their dues to the AMA or the ACC rather than a subscription to the AEC.
Of course, as a young administrator I had known of Alexander's influence. He wrote a 'weekly' column for the journal Education, edited by Stuart Maclure. This was compulsory reading, as was The Times Educational Supplement's leader when Maclure moved to be editor in 1969. Both these characters were wont to have lunch at their club, the Athenaeum, with ministers and senior civil servants on a regular basis. I could tell from Trevor Morgan and then Roy Harding that they each rated Alexander highly and were pleased to be advisers to meetings of the AEC. So Alexander's demise left them and most of their Chief Education Officer colleagues with mixed emotions. The old and trusted lines of influence were broken.
New ones would have to be forged through the AMA and ACC. For me it was an opportunity to see how policy was made at close quarters, albeit at a time of retrenchment and decline. School rolls were falling, and money was in short supply as a result of the oil crisis and hyperinflation. My life was spent in reading and commenting on drafts sent by the DfE to the AMA and ACC prior to public announcement; in writing reports for the ACC education committee, both on these issues and on those raised by members' authorities; and in sitting on various bodies such as the 'Pooling Committee' or the 'Inter-Authority Payments Committee'. These two had arcane rules and procedures intended to ensure a level playing-field for all authorities. If the rules of the first of these were understood there was room for individual officers to have huge influence on policy, practice and the speed of expansion of services. It was through 'Pooling' that advanced further education in the Colleges of Advanced Technology and the polytechnics expanded to form a base for the expansion of higher education over the remainder of the century. It was also to provide me with insights that were to come to my rescue in my first Chief Education Officer's post in Oxfordshire. But that is to anticipate.
Some of my time at the ACC was also taken up in negotiations with the teacher unions, on behalf of the employers, about conditions of service, and in sitting at the Burnham Committee to witness increasingly influential government observers advised what was affordable.
Of course, at this time of inflation, falling school rolls and diminished resources, expenditure was a contested issue. The work of the Expenditure Steering Group for Education (ESGE) was key to budget settlements. In my role at the ACC I attended, along with half a dozen CEO advisers, Treasurer advisers from local government and Treasury and DfE officials who acted as hosts. Key to decision making at this time was the annual report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector Sheila Browne. She was almost Robespierrean in her sea-green incorruptibility: she certainly had integrity and a nerveless capacity to tell the unvarnished truth as she and her inspectorate saw it. It was policy making in a world where the old certainties had evaporated and everything was open to question. Policy was forged no longer through a comfortable debate among a powerful few, as civil servants tried to work out where the power lay in reorganised local government, which still was a vital engine of translating broad policies into practice. I suspect it was then that civil servants began to form a mistrust of local government, which has grown with the years.
In both the first and second ages, the influence of HMI on policy and practice was enormous if unobtrusive, both at the ministerial table and in the classroom. One has only to look at their publication record of national surveys during the late 1970s and early 1980s to see how they were attempting to influence the direction of the education debate.
Of the whole of my career, this period at the ACC was the least enjoyable, although formative and valuable, as I could see at close quarters how policy was made nationally. Within two years I had secured the exciting position of one of three deputies to Peter Newsam, who had become the Education Officer of the Inner London Education Authority, having been deputy to the legendary Alec Clegg in the West Riding, which had been abolished in 1974. I was back at the local scene and closer to the schools where I have always gained my energy and enthusiasm for what might be possible. But by then nationally 'Doubt and Disillusion' were in full flood.
For me, two incidents epitomised that doubt and disillusion. Both were speeches, one by Sir Ashley Bramall, the leader of the ILEA, when he charged his Education Officer, Peter Newsam and his team (of which I was by then a member) to make budget cuts with the words that it was 'time to get rid of some of the expensive horses in the ILEA's many stables, as not all of them are winners'. This was in the same year (1976) as Jim Callaghan's Ruskin speech, the impact of which was to be long lasting and the tone of which signalled the end of the unqualified trust and hope afforded to educational professionals for so long. The curriculum once dubbed a 'secret garden' by a Minister of Education was soon to lose its professional mysteries.
Both these speeches made me realise only too clearly that the post-war consensus was well and truly over. It hadn't yet given way to a third age, as it would in the mid-1980s, of 'markets and managerialism'. But doubt and disillusion were pervasive.
When I took up post in Oxfordshire in 1978, LEAs received another circular enquiring forensically into their curricular oversight. It was clearly a precursor to other action. I set out from a local position to try to influence the direction of national policy. At first it was as a result of an apparent crisis, which we were able to turn into an advantage.
On arrival from the ILEA – an unlikely source for such an appointment by a Conservative-dominated council – the chairman of Oxfordshire's Education Committee, Brigadier Streatfeild, charged with making large cuts, informed me that in his view the best way of doing this was to dismiss 200 teachers. This was where my knowledge of what was called the 'uncapped pool' came in handy. I knew there was no limit on the number of teachers who could be seconded for a term or a year at approved courses at the polytechnics or universities. To the superficially informed, an impenetrable barrier seemed to be that the sending LEA had to pay for a quarter of the salary costs of the seconded teacher. It was possible on closer examination to see that, if an LEA seconded a senior teacher, the costs of a quarter of her salary plus a temporary allowance for the person replacing her, together with the salary costs of Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) – or Probationers as we called them – were less than leaving the teacher where she was. With natural turnover from retirements and teachers moving on, it was easy to see that seconding senior teachers to such courses would solve our financial problems, provided that we could ensure that teachers could continue to live at home. Brigadier Streatfeild, once convinced of the arithmetic, needed no further persuading. Discussions quickly followed with the Oxford University Department of Educational Studies where Harry Judge was Director and with Brian Tongue, the Deputy at Oxford Polytechnic (now Oxford Brookes University). Each was willing and inventive in creating new courses that might be suitable for curriculum thinkers among the teaching profession.
It was all very well to solve a local financial crisis, but I wanted to use it to change national policies in directions that would benefit children's experience of school. In one sense it would do so, in that nobody previously had tried to breathe reality into the recommendations of the James Committee (of which Harry Judge had been a member) that the Continuous Professional Development of teachers should be taken seriously and that, among the measures to achieve this, teachers should have an entitlement to 'sabbaticals'. In effect that's what our solution to a budget cut would ensure, but we wanted more. A couple of years earlier, Michael Rutter had published '15,000 hours: secondary schools and their effects on children', which was the first substantial piece of research that showed that schools and how they are organised make a difference to children's achievement. Oxfordshire secondary heads at the time were very interested in finding ways to improve what was going on. Feeding the intellectual curiosity of teachers through engaging them in self-chosen study in groups and on topics relevant to practice would help. Notwithstanding the cuts and falling rolls, causing the LEA to close some schools, heads and teachers in Oxfordshire recall this period as a golden one, probably as a result both of the secondments and of the sometimes orchestrated purposes for which the teachers took part. Take two examples. Keith Joseph, when Secretary of State, upset local government by announcing that he would top slice up to one half of 1 per cent to fund nationally determined initiatives. He would start with two schemes: one the Technical, Vocational, Educational, Initiative (TVEI) and what was called the Low Attainment Pupil Project (LAPP). Oxfordshire succeeded in a joint bid with Somerset for the latter, and, with Barry Taylor, their
CEO, we focused in part on Feuerstein's work in what we called the 'Thinking Skills' project. Taylor was intrigued by our capacity to add to the scheme by supporting seconded teachers who engaged in action research while carrying out their courses at the polytechnic or the university department.
Once the finances of the pooling device were shared with Taylor and his counterparts, Andrew Fairbairn and Bob Aitken, in Leicestershire and Coventry, respectively, we discussed an ambitious attempt to revolutionise what we saw as a divisive and limiting secondary exam system of GCEs and CSEs. What if such a system could be seen within the context of a broader assessment of pupils' achievements in what we would call the Oxford Certificate of Educational Achievement (OCEA), which would be accredited by Oxford University through its Delegacy of Local Examinations – then a GCE board, on which I sat as a delegate by virtue of holding my post? It would have three parts, one a 'G' part focusing on graded assessments of skills that could be assessed; another, an 'E' part containing records of exam success; and a third, a 'P' section attempting to record personal development. We could second teachers to Harry Judge's department and have them working with the Delegacy in devising the detail.
I simultaneously worked with two colleagues, Gordon Hainsworth (CEO of Gateshead and then of Manchester) and Bill Stubbs, a former colleague in ILEA and Peter Newsam's successor as its Education Officer: they too were promoting, with the Northern and London GCE boards, respectively, developments similar to OCEA. We thought it would be irresistible as it appeared simultaneously in different parts of the country. In practice it was taken over by DfE and ruined by imposition as a National Record of Achievement (NRA). In the process of universal prescription it lost the energy of its teaching progenitors.
Harry Judge was effectively my mentor in those years; a better or wiser one it would be hard to find. He had other plans for affecting policy through local innovation. He had long been doubtful about the effectiveness of the university model for PGCE. Impressed by medical analogy and some models elsewhere, he launched the Internship scheme, which effectively turned the PGCE into a partnership with schools, all of whom through their participation were inclined to focus anew on teaching and learning and staff development. In the years that were to follow, the Oxford Internship scheme shifted the balance of theory and practice and of university and school.
All these exciting ventures were happening at a time of cuts in the age of national 'Doubt and Disillusion'. In short, some of us were behaving as though the virtues of the previous age – strong LEAs and partnerships with heads and teachers in exciting development of the curriculum – still existed. Of course we could read the runes of a new age, but we enjoyed ourselves as we searched for the characteristics of the age that would emerge.
## The age of markets and managerialism
Margaret Thatcher's election in 1979 ushered in an economic policy that set the defining features of this age, which was taken on by New Labour when they were elected in 1997. All the White Papers contained mantra words – 'choice', 'autonomy', 'diversity'; much mention too of 'accountability', with some exhortation towards 'equity' and of course 'excellence'. If the state was going to unleash market forces, it realised it had to regulate.
Just prior to my arrival in Oxfordshire, the council formally resolved 'to publish exam results so that parents could make a better choice of school' – 15 years before publication became a national requirement, and 3 years before parental preference became a required feature of admission to schools arrangements. Encouraged by Brigadier Streatfeild, I had supper with John Redwood, formerly a councillor and shortly to be head of Mrs Thatcher's Policy Unit. His views – to privatise everything and create a quasi-market in education – seemed bizarre at the time and certainly eccentric to the Brigadier, whose background was steeped in public service. The Brigadier encouraged me to think of ways to head off the worst possibilities of accountability. I rejected the idea of local inspectors, because it seemed unlikely that LEA advisers would walk the tightrope of being a 'critical friend' by avoiding the Scylla of 'hostile witness' or the Charybdis of 'uncritical lover'. Instead, we set up a four-year cycle of 'School Self-Evaluation' backed by a stimulating set of questions, 'Starting Points in Self-Evaluation', with the schools involving their staff and a selected outside professional. The outcome was their presenting to a small group of councillors, including the member local to the school.
Finally, I encouraged teachers, parents and governors to respond to Kenneth Baker's 1987 consultation on the 1987 Reform Bill. Local Management of Schools (LMS) seemed long overdue, as the practice of stipulating what a school should spend in great detail seemed antiquated. Removing from schools power over what is taught seemed to me entirely wrong. I wrote a 600-word piece, 'First Steps on a Downward Path', for The Observer, comparing the government with the 'authoritarian church states of the 16th century' and, conjuring 'images of brown and black', I worried 'for my grandchildren'. It provoked a strong reaction, including my having to sit through a Conservative censure motion in the council chamber that was lost, because the council was by then 'hung'. I could not continue to lead a community when all I had fought for seemed lost. I was no longer credible as a leader who could make sense of the external world to the teachers.
I accepted a job at Keele University as Professor and Head of Education Department to start in 1989. So it was from this academic vantage point that I saw LEAs lose their Colleges of FE, Polytechnics and the Colleges of Education. GCSE results were published as league tables, as would be Key Stage 2 SAT results for primary schools in due course. Ofsted was created, and the outcomes of regular inspections of schools were published, as was the name of the first 'failing' school. Meanwhile at Keele, I introduced the Oxford model of the PGCE, taught in schools and the university, supervised Masters and Doctorate students, founded a Centre for Successful Schooling, read voraciously, wrote about school improvement that was fascinating me, and campaigned for a movement called 'Towards a New Education Act' (TANEA). However, if one wanted to influence national policy, being in a university wasn't a good place to be effective.
In 1993 I started a ten-year period as Chief Education Officer in Birmingham. With no responsibility for further and higher education as a result of government action, and with responsibilities for the youth service, adult education and the libraries given to other chief officers, I focused on pre-school and schools, which were my first loves in any case. Armed with a set of recommendations for improvement from an independent enquiry and report chaired by Ted Wragg, and with excellent data, we set about transforming expectations and outcomes in the city. This was not something confined to the professionals: the whole city was caught up in our determination each year 'to improve on previous best'. We harnessed the considerable 'common wealth' of the city – art galleries, music, universities and other performances and the like – to establish a set of experiences or entitlements that we asserted all children should have. Schools were the guardians who would make sure they had them. Simultaneously with teachers and heads we shared a common language and map of school improvement and set targets for improvement from the 'bottom-up' rather than, as the government later imposed, the 'top-down'. We were determined to change the culture of a city, at least so far as education was concerned. After a couple of years, the data (which we collected meticulously and used imaginatively to encourage 'school-to-school' learning) suggested we were succeeding, although, in our efforts to improve, we were hampered by the DfE's inability or unwillingness to give us comparative data by ethnic and socio-economic groups. Instead, we used anecdote to help us search out what might be better practice in other LEAs. Schools enthusiastically embraced the agenda and co-operated one with another in a quest for ever-better practice and outcomes. Between 1993 and 1997, we did this largely unnoticed beyond the city, but one of the local MPs, Estelle Morris, invited David Blunkett frequently for discussions, and I was part of a small group that helped him and Tony Blair prepare their education priorities for government. Indeed, after their election, Blunkett had wanted me to work full-time in a post eventually given to Michael Barber. I had refused, partly because I knew the work with Birmingham was not yet fully rooted, partly because I loved the city and its people and partly because I knew I would fall out with David Blunkett over method. He was inclined to national prescription and imposition, which seemed unlikely to work in somewhere as vast as England. My experience suggested it would breed professional resentment and a loss of teacher energy, which is so vital to school success. In the years after 1997, both David Blunkett and Estelle Morris would tell me when I complained of their agenda that all they were doing was what they had learned worked in Birmingham. In vain did I explain that the agenda – well, most of it – might be fine, but the language (always emphasising failure and 'zero-tolerance') and the method of introducing it were counter-productive.
It is hard to overestimate the excitement of having a government that put education at the top of its agenda. I was offered the Chair of the Standards Task Force by David Blunkett, who withdrew the offer on the grounds that, for it to make a difference, he needed to chair it, but I could be vice-chair. He then made a big request that I should be joint vice-chair with Chris Woodhead, HMCI and head of Ofsted, which, as I thought then and have done ever since, needed total reform. He and I did not get on, as any glance at newspaper coverage of our fairly public disagreements at that time will testify. But I accepted to help in what I saw as a huge opportunity for education to make the difference it could when put centre stage of public policy. I soon saw, however, that the Task Force had little influence and wasn't sorry to resign when Woodhead's 'pilot' inspection of LEAs was taking place in Birmingham and was going to demand all my time to handle, if damage was to be avoided.
I had anticipated, wrongly as it turned out, that New Labour would re-establish 'planning' as a watchword to accompany and limit 'choice', 'diversity', 'autonomy' and 'accountability' in the mantra lexicon of the new government's policy and practice. Certainly they emphasised 'equity' and took many measures designed to make the schooling system less unequal and unfair, especially in the early years where they introduced and exceeded all the measures contained in Mrs Thatcher's stillborn Framework for Expansion White Paper of 1971. Nevertheless, we were still in an age of 'markets and managerialism': indeed, New Labour consolidated their influence. The first 15 failing schools were named and shamed, and 'literacy' and 'numeracy' hours introduced. Their legislation gave yet more powers to the Secretary of State who, from 1945 to 1980, had but three and, by 2015, had added another 2,000 powers, with over 3,000 schools run by direct private contracts with him.
## The London challenge
By 2002, with a second LEA inspection behind me, it was time to retire. But Estelle Morris, by then Secretary of State, had other ideas. London had become synonymous with all that was wrong in education, just as Birmingham had been a decade earlier. Neither reputation was deserved and was more the result of a bad press. Would I be interested in becoming Commissioner for London School and running the London Challenge? It was an irresistible temptation. I was to be given a 'more or less free hand'.
I had written a no-holds-barred attack on markets and managerialism as the Caroline Benn–Brian Simon memorial lecture in 2002, 'Dreams and Nightmares', speculating about two possible scenarios of ever-widening hierarchies of schools in urban areas, on the one hand, the product of market competitions, and, on the other hand, of partnerships of schools in an area, working interdependently and committed to pooling their ideas, skills and knowledge and being judged as a group. What I was witnessing was ever-harsher Ofsted regimes, a use of language that emphasised failure, challenge and 'zero tolerance' of whatever undesirable feature one was trying to eradicate. I asked all ministers to read it and only approve my appointment if they did not think it would embarrass them.
The measures put in place and expertly framed in the London Challenge prospectus and carried through by Jon Coles, the ablest civil servant of his generation, included school-to-school support, a Families of Schools database to support learning from each other, a focus on Continuous Professional Development through the Chartered London Teacher scheme and a small group of part-time expert experienced school advisers who would work with schools that elsewhere (and up to that point) DfE classified as 'failing' because of low GCSE results. We dubbed such schools 'Keys to Success' – a subtle but important change of language intended to contribute to a change in culture. After all, if these schools could transform standards, any school could. Name, blame and shame might make good headlines but it set back the chances of improvement, and I was granted some latitude in London, where my experience as deputy to Peter Newsam meant I was remembered, by teachers now leading schools, as somebody who probably understood their circumstances.
In short, in London we were allowed to try a distinctive set of practices that were tailored to London's needs but within national educational policies. What we tried to encourage was professional trust and schools learning from each other, backed by a database that enabled them to see in forensic detail what other schools in similar circumstances were doing. We talked the language of partnership and, by speculating on different solutions working in different contexts, tried to counter the belief in 'one size fits all', which was then prevalent in policy making.
There remained, however, a belief in the overall efficacy of the 'market', as expressed through creating autonomous competitive quasi-independent schools. This had first surfaced with the Grant-Maintained School, which was abandoned as a model by New Labour in 1997 but was about to make a come-back through the Academies movement.
Ten years on, as politicians celebrate the extraordinary success of London schools, and as researchers seek to explain the phenomenon, the seeds sown then are beginning to surface, and the questions crowd in. Agreement about London is by no means the only political pointer to the direction of the educational weathervane. The main parties, presumably aware of the unreasonable pressures on heads and teachers and the imminent shortage of candidates for both, are agreed that Ofsted is no longer fit for purpose and needs reform, that there should be a Royal (or National) College of Teaching, and that the autonomous independent school is an inadequate and unreliable model on which to plan a successful schooling system. Are perhaps partnerships of schools for very clearly stated purposes – including of course school improvement and teachers' continuous professional development – essential? If so, how should they be funded and held accountable? In the age of creativity, which makes new and different demands on schools, are we holding schools themselves accountable for the wrong things?
In short, there are plenty of signs that the Age of Markets and Managerialism may have nearly run its course and may be succeeded by one of Partnerships and Intelligent Accountability, where democratic influence is regional rather than national and where policies are more overtly based on research evidence tempered by an understanding of context rather than on anecdote and personal opinion.
# [13
Schools](content.xhtml#bck_Ch013)
A shifting landscape
Margaret Maden
## Islington Green Comprehensive School
In October 1976, Prime Minister James Callaghan criticised schools, mildly but firmly, in his Ruskin Speech. I was then in my first year of headship at Islington Green Comprehensive School, part of the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA). I was already conscious of growing doubts about schools, not least through a nearby school's headteacher, Dr Rhodes Boyson, and the part he played in the 'Black Papers'. These raised questions about 'progressive' teaching methods, many of which I supported through Schools Council projects such as history, geography for the Young School Leaver, music and humanities. Through these, teachers developed learning materials and pedagogy alongside university curriculum specialists. They were properly trialled and amended in light of classroom experience. The 'progressive' nature of these appeared to be the ambition to democratise more contemporary scholarship and emphasise the modes of learning particular to each discipline. In the hands of able and motivated teachers, Schools Council projects were demonstrably raising standards of thinking and investigation on the part of pupils. Insufficient evaluation of their impact probably aided those who valued, above all else, more traditional syllabi and rote learning.
Several teachers at Islington Green welcomed the more comfortable challenge-free implications of the Black Papers, something not intended by their authors. The rhetoric at this time now seems naïve. It was, of course, in a context when the secondary school curriculum was primarily determined by examination boards. In primary schools there was no equivalent framework, and one of my main feeder schools, William Tyndale, deepened my anxiety levels about the mounting worries of many parents. I roused the wrath of NUT friends by expressing public condemnation of its teachers barring access to inspectors and 'unacceptable' school governors. None of its antics helped me at all in my determination to galvanise teachers at my school, not through idle polemics but through hard graft and appointing teachers, once the pupil roll increase permitted, who were imaginative and optimistic about their pupils' capabilities.
In 1977, I was invited to address one of the regional conferences in 'The Great Debate', the response of the Secretary of State, Shirley Williams, to her Prime Minister's expressed concerns about the nation's schools. To my best recollection, this was the first and last time I received, as a headteacher, any communication from central government. How very different now. The outcome of the 'Great Debate' was an advisory Circular in which local education authorities were to devise a 'core curriculum' for their schools and the accumulated knowledge of the Schools Council would be 'considered'. Compared with what followed in the 1980s, this was all 'business as usual' and a bit of fudge. Even at the time, it was clear that significant interest groups, including employers' organisations, were dissatisfied with many school leavers. It was quite common for a mere 20 per cent of 16-year-olds to continue in full-time education and training at the end of their time in a comprehensive school. The gap between high achievers and low achievers was not only greater than today but also seen by many as unbridgeable. Primary schools varied from creative brilliance and impressive outcomes to those characterised by an unstructured lack of challenge.
## The Local Authority – London
So that many more 16–19-year-olds could voluntarily and usefully continue their studies, a changed approach was needed. In Islington, better A-Level teaching was provided through a combined approach, with its ten secondary schools working through a sixth form centre. This evolved from a loose federation to a larger college based in former London County Council Board schools. An initial student enrolment of 300, mainly part-time and still formally enrolled in one of 11 local schools, rose to over 500 in its first year, and increasingly, students were full-time as they consciously opted for the more adult ethos and better outcomes. Economies of scale plus high-level teaching skills meant that a wide range of needs could be supported. This is where the role of the local authority proved positive. It quickly located empty buildings, and its architects did wonders with unpromising conditions, making the physical provision both attractive to staff and students and appropriate in terms of specialist facilities.
The ILEA was an odd mixture of brilliance and frustration for its schools. In quickly and imaginatively responding to post-16 inadequacies in Islington, it was at its best, aided and abetted by a new head of service, Dr William Stubbs, and a new Leader, Councillor Frances Morrell, the latter being a resident of Islington. Additionally, Dr Stubbs ensured that I, as Director-designate, visited successful community colleges in the USA and sixth form colleges in England so as to raise aspirations and strengthen organisational planning. Likewise, money was found so that a core of excellent teachers could be appointed as heads of faculty, with teachers from local schools teaching on a sessional basis.
All schools and colleges benefited from the ILEA's Research and Statistics branch. This generated high-quality data about us and our performance and, equally, promoted good practice exemplars of both a qualitative and quantitative kind. With a powerful inspectorate, subject centres were a godsend, where teachers could immerse themselves in the best of their specialisms and meet each other, irrespective of their headteachers' predilections. In 1979, 15,000 hours (Rutter et al., 1979) was published, a rigorous study of how secondary schools in the ILEA with similar pupil characteristics were highly variable in outcomes and, crucially, why. 'Nowhere now to hide' as one head said. This was a project led by Professor Michael Rutter, leading a team of University of London researchers, including Peter Mortimore, who soon afterwards became Director of the ILEA's Research and Statistics Branch. This kind of expert systemic support and challenge represented the 'middle tier', between central government and individual institutions, at its best.
However, in other regards, the ILEA was cumbersome and aggravating. Limited autonomy for headteachers meant that I could not get into my school unless the school-keeper (janitor) allowed it, neither could I require the school bursar to arrange her holiday leave at a time that made sense to the school; both reported to line managers somewhere else in the ILEA firmament. I was keen, with leading governors and teachers, to develop Islington Green as a community school, combining school and adult education, 'open all hours', which I believed would improve our educational relationship with parents and neighbours. It would also enlarge our students' sense of the value and potential of education. However, I was stopped by the ILEA's Youth and Adult Education service which saw our proposal as a threat and its youth club in the school premises five evenings a week (term time only, of course) as sacrosanct. Visits to Leicestershire's community schools merely made me feel worse. When I managed to get funding from the Manpower Services Commission (MSC) for a School-Work Liaison Officer, several leading ILEA councillors complained, saying 'every school will want one if she gets one'. Only the intervention of senior officers secured this, but the time and angst wasted were absurd. The extension of our successful sixth form centre to other inner London boroughs was likewise stymied by the authority's FE lobby. That successful provision depended on the skills and knowledge of FE colleges as well as schools seemed to be lost in the struggle.
## The Local Authority – Warwickshire
The reconstruction of educational systems, accountabilities and powers proceeded at breakneck speed through the 1980s and beyond. GERBIL – the Great Education Reform Bill – took up hours of angry debate among the traditional 'partners' in the education service. At the end of that decade, I was appointed to Warwickshire County Council as its County Education Officer. Councillors took a calculated risk in appointing an LEA novice, a woman at that, with London experience, but they sniffed the prevailing air and decided that headship experience was a more timely criterion. The education department wit expressed widespread surprise at my appointment, commenting that this was like 'Maradona being appointed to Port Vale'. That Warwickshire staff saw themselves as Port Vale spoke legions about this 'Middle England' local authority. Later accusations of local authority 'control' over schools were and are laughable.
My recent experience as a headteacher and Sixth Form Centre Director was certainly helpful in working constructively with headteachers and governors in this shire authority. Initially, I set up working groups of officers and headteachers to prepare a series of proposals for the council and schools as a response to GERBIL. Not all headteachers welcomed the autonomy that was offered, nor the 'freedoms' associated with devolved budgets. The role of officers and inspectors actually became stronger and more creative as school autonomy increased. From my ILEA days, the setting out of a larger vision, backed up with visiting luminaries from the education world, made many of the 380 schools feel more positive about their possible futures. Some were amused, though worried, to hear Peter Wilby, an experienced education correspondent, tell them that he felt that the new National Curriculum was, in effect, 'Mr Baker's dimly remembered prep school timetable', 'Mr Baker' being the Secretary of State responsible for the new structures being put in place.
It soon became apparent that the amiable days of government circulars were over. Schools were to be more publicly scrutinised and reported on. Quantification and grading were soon the main means of 'quality control'. In most shire counties all this was unheard of, as was any kind of local authority inspection. Advisers were important in encouraging the adoption of newer curricular and pedagogic approaches, but the kind of Quinquennial Review, a local school system inspection that I had experienced in London, was unheard of. The Warwickshire advisory team of 11 was developed as a local inspectorate with a brief to help schools work through and, hopefully, thrive in a quite new world. Some of the traditional advisory work persisted: the art adviser arranged visits for teachers to great galleries, home and abroad, and the music adviser ensured that the County Youth Orchestra was open to all, irrespective of family income, and arranged teacher excursions to major Birmingham concerts. In-service training was increased with a new Professional Centre in Leamington Spa. Helping headteachers and classroom teachers confront a rapidly changing context was our main objective, but not at the cost of some traditional customs and practices. Subject Associations were important and the nearest equivalent, for secondary teachers, to the well-resourced subject centres in London. Before budgets were almost entirely devolved to schools, we paid teachers' subscription costs to these vital national associations.
Nonetheless, the early 1990s were an unsettled period of fear and uncertainty in Shakespeare's leafy county, as a raft of central government reforms were absorbed. The appointment of a rather brilliant hands-on deputy, Eric Wood, settled initial rumblings from the teacher unions, both within and beyond the council. Five further education colleges were largely 'autonomous', irrespective of legislation, although it was clear that an expert County Treasurer's department was still needed for both capital and revenue oversight. There was no evidence that a new government quango, the Further Education Council, improved this situation. The profound changes arising from government reforms were made manageable and largely positive as much by informal exchanges and chat across and between officers, county councillors, governors, union reps and teachers as by hundreds of hours of scrutiny of central government documents and more formal council meetings. These less formal exchanges and insights strengthen the real, rather than posited, 'checks and balances' required in the proper management of public bodies . . . and money. Whitehall doesn't always know best.
## School re-organisation
My final four years in Warwickshire were not easy, certainly in terms of my popularity, but hugely important for the county's 244 primary schools and 37 secondary schools. After witnessing a series of failed attempts to close individual under-subscribed schools and the negative reaction to Labour councillors' proposals to 'comprehensivise' the county's five grammar schools, I increasingly worried about the lack of overall strategy with regard to 'surplus places'. Over 20 per cent of our school capacity was surplus to needs, and this meant that we were asking more fully subscribed schools to pay for empty school desks elsewhere. We could gain more than an additional £2 million annually for schools with a more rational system and this, in turn, would trigger capital spending on improving a rather lacklustre set of buildings to the tune of £29 million. Additionally, as the National Curriculum unfolded with its key stage assessments at ages 7, 11, 14 and 16, it was increasingly apparent that our first, middle and upper school system, which applied overall – except in the south of the county – was inappropriate. This system had transfer ages that cut across the new key stages, and it would be clearer to everyone – parents and governors, as well as teachers – if key stage assessments were aligned, for accountability purposes, to one school for each child's educational phase: primary, then secondary.
A massive planning exercise, based on accurate birth data from the Area Health Authority, housing development information from District and Borough Councils and cost analyses from our own County Treasurer, was further supported by work from Price Waterhouse Coopers, our external auditors. We first consulted on basic principles and objectives, then trialled a range of formative proposals in one of our local divisions, North Warwickshire. Over 30 consultative meetings were held, all with predictable results. 'Go away' was the general message. The local Labour MP wanted me sacked. A former NUM member who was the Education committee's Deputy Chair voted for the proposals, even though two of 'his schools' were lined up for closure. He lost his seat at the next local elections because of doing what he believed was right for children. There were threats to 'opt out', as schools sought an escape route through grant-maintained status in order to evade the 'County Plan'. Secondary schools supported the proposals, as they would acquire an extra year group of pupils from the middle schools, as well as new buildings to support these. Over the following three years, as the whole county was involved, some 400 consultative meetings were held. Highly effective officers led these and took a whole load of stick. Senior officers, myself included, alongside leading councillors, attended many meetings under a vow of silence, concentrating on listening to the arguments as they raged on. At one such meeting, the Permanent Secretary from the DES sat silently at the back of the village hall, commenting later, 'I was surprised at the intensity of feelings expressed'. Indeed. On another occasion, when leaving a particularly heated consultative meeting, I saw that the tyres of my car had been cut. On a welcome Saturday break in Stratford-upon-Avon's Jaeger shop, I was concluding a purchase of clothes when the assistant looked at my VISA card and shrieked, 'Oh you're that awful woman who's trying to close all our schools'.
Final approval had to be secured from the Secretary of State for Education. A delegation of leading councillors and myself were able to present our case to the then Minister of Schools, Robin Squire, and sitting there was the Secretary of State, Gillian Shephard. We were courteously treated and on leaving, Gillian Shephard said to me, 'My husband sends you his warmest regards'. Thank goodness her husband was a former headteacher and knew me through that oddly masonic clan. We were fortunate that she was in office and not her predecessor, John Patten. As she had warned me, 'I'll have to let a few go GM you know', and indeed, of the 197 schools for whom legal notices had to be issued for restructuring purposes, five were allowed to 'opt out' and become grant maintained, outside the Local Authority. Actual site closures amounted to 30. These were hotly disputed and they were primarily very small rural schools. We learned that an inverse ratio operates: smallness and rurality of school equal largeness and fury of objections. The Deputy Secretary at the Department of Education and Science later told me that the Warwickshire school re-organisation scheme was the largest the Department or former Ministry of Education had received since the 1944 Act first established the ground rules.
The local passions roused and expressed are now avoided in that local authorities no longer close or open schools. The presumption is that new schools will either be Academies or Free Schools with sponsors, not needing to survey the intricate needs of localities or regions. Whitehall has assumed for itself the boring-sounding but vital business of ensuring that there are sufficient school places for children, ideally, in locations helpful to parents, but all this is done without deep local knowledge. The escalation of performance tables and Ofsted reports means that many parents 'shop around' much more, and so it is that a 'rational' approach to the location, size and type of school is impossible. School closures are assumed to result from market forces, which also encourage the promotion of 'Free Schools', which parents and particular local interest groups set up, irrespective of 'basic need' or the connections to, or impact on, other schools. The growth of multiple faith schools is also evident; that our Warwickshire proposals were underwritten by both the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Authorities was important. I was immensely gratified when the Bishop of Coventry came with me to persuade the Conservative MP in Stratford-upon-Avon to support our plan. We failed totally.
Neither in-depth consultation rooted in locality nor value for money is now considered. By value for money, I mean securing whatever funds are available for classroom work and the finest buildings possible for schools and colleges. Warwickshire's early 1990s re-organisation provided much better buildings across the county and increased spending per pupil, much more equitably spread. Warwickshire's administrative costs as a local education authority remained modest at 73 per cent of the English county average. Hard though the consultation exercise was, it represented public debate at its best, with significant modifications to the officers' original proposals emerging from those long, tortuous exchanges.
## National Commission on Education
In 1991, following Sir Claus Moser's British Association for the Advancement of Science presidential speech, the National Commission on Education was established. A two-year investigation, equivalent to earlier government-sponsored enquiries, was funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. I was one of the Commission's 16 members, and we were asked to investigate and take stock of the rapid changes, which had been set in train during the 1980s in particular. However, the main task was to look ahead some 25 years and think about educational goals and training needs in a way that responded creatively to both economic and social circumstances and 'the needs and aspirations of people throughout their lives'. Our Chair was Lord Walton of Detchant, with much medical educational experience, and other members represented all sectors and phases of education as well as industry and commerce.
The final report, 'Learning to Succeed' (National Commission on Education, 1993), was well received, primarily because our analysis and recommendations were powerfully argued and substantiated with evidence. High-quality research was commissioned, so that the report was rooted in empirical findings, not just from within England and Wales, but also from international studies.
That large-scale, well-resourced and researched commissions of enquiry are now consigned to history is depressing. The current pace of change and rapid reform are not inevitable and are often damaging to those who provide and receive education. Frequent initiatives and shifts of policy require an evidential base as well as every effort to involve and win over the support of teachers, in particular. Germany bucked this trend when it investigated and took action on its low ranking in the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tables, and this was a ten-year exercise (2002–2012). It stressed that 'a much improved research establishment has now fed into teacher training so that teachers are enabled to analyse and diagnose their students' specific problems' (OECD, 2011). In all high-performing systems, there is a similar emphasis on a strong relationship between universities and schools and colleges. In England, Free Schools are allowed, perhaps encouraged, to employ unqualified teachers. However, in Scotland, headteachers are to be required to continue their understanding and knowledge through Masters' courses, and the Scottish government's review of teacher training in 2011 stressed that, for teachers, 'the values and intellectual challenges which underpin academic study should extend their own scholarship and practice, equally' (Scottish Parliament, 2011).
## The Centre for Successful Schools
From the National Commission on Education (1996) came 'Success Against the Odds', a series of case studies of 11 UK schools where pupils demonstrating significant disadvantage had succeeded 'against the odds'.
In this project, well-respected researchers forensically examined the factors that seemed to explain the schools' successes. Published in 1996, it coincided with my move to Keele University as the Director of the Centre for Successful Schools, originally set up by Tim Brighouse. As I read more, visited scores of schools and was asked to speak about the 11 schools in the National Commission's study, it occurred to me that a follow-up study was needed. Five years later, the original team returned to the schools to check on their further progress and found a range of significant changes, with one school having effectively collapsed. Lessons from this school were as instructive as the others who had continued their upward progress, but in markedly different ways. Success Against the Odds: Five Years On (Maden, 2001) is still being widely read, mainly by practitioners in and around schools. This contrasted with increasing amounts of educational research, as I rapidly learned.
I worked at Keele on a half-time contract, but was there at least three days each week. It was an odd experience, after working in schools and a local authority. In the latter, there was a daily sense of collegiality, not always smooth or consensual, but nonetheless materially evident. Meeting and greeting from 8 a.m. or earlier, planned or chance encounters throughout the day all featured as 'work'. Gradual development, in Warwickshire, of 'working from home' was piloted as computers became more important. It was necessary in trialling this to define where and when face-to-face exchanges were needed and preferable. This emerged as an effective and welcome practice.
At Keele, there was not any tradition of day-to-day, hour-by-hour, 'social' working. The 8–9 morning start didn't exist. Many meetings with lecturers were arranged by students through an appointments system rather than through chance encounters. Staff didn't seem to work as a collegium, rather odd given the origin of that term. Increasingly, email exchanges predominated (now text messaging, no doubt). Starting in the late 1990s, more research was needed for the maintenance and improvement of the university's income and reputation. The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE), followed by the Research Excellence Framework (REF), increasingly dominates the work and ethos of university departments. However, when the bulk of 'output' is teachers and other education practitioners, this can sometimes lead to conflicts of interest. In some cases, an older practitioner-learning tradition has left some staff stranded, trying, as required, to produce more esoteric research and publications.
Ofsted now inspects university education departments, so that the vocational preparation of teachers is judged and ranked. With the rise of school-based teacher training through the newer First and Schools Direct schemes, these departments are thus under the additional strain of competition. This, combined with the pressures of the REF, has led some universities to question the continuing role and existence of their education departments' vocational training work. To date, Warwick, Bath and Sheffield have closed their Post Graduate Certificate of Education programmes rather than invest in their improvement along Ofsted lines, especially if the education research output is not helping to raise the university's REF ranking and income.
A welcome change to REF in 2014 was the requirement placed on universities to demonstrate the impact of research on practice, not simply in education. It is certainly in the interests of schools that practice and innovation should be rooted in research, often of an empirical kind. The opposing of practice and theory is extremely damaging. Medical education is rooted in research as well as in practitioner advances and reflection. The same should apply to teacher training and continuous professional development.
## Reflecting on the 'middle tier'
In 2003, the post of Chief Education Officer was abolished when the recommendations of the White Paper 'Every Child Matters' were put in place through Parliament. The reaction to the Victoria Climbié case in Haringey had led to understandable consternation about the public protection of such children, and subsequent events have confirmed this anxiety. Whether the removal of local educational leadership and co-ordination should have been wrapped up in this is a separate matter. I followed up my Warwickshire experiences by writing about 'the middle tier' in education and finding out how these matters were handled elsewhere.
Through my involvement in OECD reviews – Russia and Hesse, Germany – and a special study of Midi-Pyrénées in France (Maden, 2000), as well as attending Council of Europe and OECD seminars on school improvement, I tried to define why and how some kind of middle tier was necessary and helpful in the continuous development of schools and colleges. It was clear that greater 'school autonomy' was being thought about elsewhere, but it was seen as a high-risk strategy if taken too far, especially if a school's improvement halted or stuttered. Experience and expertise should be available locally, both to identify emerging problems and to advise and know where relevant support is to be found. Whether this person is in a local authority as currently organised is arguable, but there certainly needs to be a statutory body employing such advisers.
Related to this is the role of a local or sub-regional authority in tasks that even the best schools cannot carry out, but that affect how well children and young people thrive. Examples include high-level special needs assessment and provision, specialist arts and sporting facilities and instruction administering school admissions, and planning school places. I would argue that local democratic accountability is intrinsic to most of these for the qualitative reasons I have tried to describe in the Warwickshire planning exercise. Answerability to electors – and even to non-voting parents, if such exist – is a civic good and curbs, if necessary, the over-reaching power of headteachers, local-level officers or government civil servants. While I recognise that international visits and knowledge do not offer ready-made models to emulate, I continue to be impressed by the quality and citizen appreciation of local and regional government in, say, France, Germany and Italy. Our lack of a basic law protecting a middle tier of government from central government forays is damaging to the quality of our civic life.
Irrespective of the civic polity, monitoring school performance and encouraging schools to 'do even better' cannot depend solely on published performance data ('league tables') and popularity with parents on school choice. These indicators do not identify further potential or weaknesses soon enough. Neither will the vital institutional health of a well-motivated and skilled staff be assured through such data.
As a former headteacher, I increasingly question the Hollywood star model of headship – 'l'école c'est moi' now appears to be the underlying precept. The way successful orchestras work interests me, especially following my chairing of the Royal Opera House's Education and Access committee. The idea of supremely skilled, proficient instrumental players, often a bit stroppy, working at ever-higher levels of excellence under the right conductor fascinates me. The von Karajan 'dictator' model is recognisable but limited. The Claudio Abbado model is better: he's described as 'a catalyst', his most frequent urging in rehearsal is 'Listen, listen' (to other sections of the orchestra), and we're told that his work with his players is 'a tectonic generative approach to musical architecture, in which Abbado knows how each part relates to the other, how shifting weights and densities in one part of the score will affect and shape the whole landscape of the symphony' (Service, 2012).
This is a more appropriate model of headship than most others proposed by business leadership consultants. The important role of the audience is also greater than most of us imagine, a 'circle of listening' with orchestra members being clear that this dynamic affects their performance. The pupils and their parents in schools likewise affect outcomes and strategies. The sensitive 'ear' is needed, and we should be cautious about charismatic omnipotence as a worthwhile quality. Potentially excellent headteachers are lost to the profession because of this tendency to promulgate a Dragon's Den model of leadership and obtrusive dynamism.
In recent years I have been a school governor and have observed the intense pressures on headteachers as they worry about an unfavourable Ofsted inspection and the slightest downward shift in published performance tables. Public scrutiny is a good thing, even if occasionally uncomfortable, but when scrutiny overload occurs – as I believe is now happening – the development of teaching and of children's learning is adversely affected. The almost total lack of professional space for any kind of innovation is depressing. It is also self-defeating. The high-stakes model of intensive instruction in Shanghai or Singapore schools has been promulgated by recent Secretaries of State, and yet, more critical appraisals of these are side-stepped (Ravitch, 2014). Meanwhile, the steady teacher-centred Finnish model is ignored, even though its development over three decades has resulted in consistently high outcomes. In Finland, teaching is an enviable profession, with high levels of entry qualification, and turnover is very low, unlike in England. The potential of the teachers I see working now is great but unrealised. Headteachers watch their backs; so do teachers; so do governors. The following of laid-down rules from the centre is paramount. Yet measured outcomes are better than those two or three decades ago. Thus, a move towards more local innovation at classroom level and encouragement of the non-measurable in education should proceed, without losing the positive improvements of recent years. Without such a move, we will lose our best teachers.
## Postscript: the educational undergrowth
From my first job as a geography teacher in Brixton in the 1960s through to a professorial chair at Keele University in the early years of the twenty-first century, I have been conscious of informal networking influences on my professional journey. From early NUT days to The All Souls Group, based in Oxford, making contacts from beyond the particular workplace setting has been enlightening. Around the time of the James Commission, investigating teacher training in the early 1970s, some of us set up SPERTTT, the Society for the Promotion of Educational Reform through Teacher Training, and produced a Penguin Education Special for the good Lord James to savour (Burgess, 1971). Later, while at Islington Green School, the Deputy Chair of governors, Professor Maurice Kogan, asked me to join him in establishing The Ginger Group where, again, rambling discussions in a local restaurant led to publications across and between educational sectors and phases. In The All Souls Group, invited members from senior levels of the civil service, higher and further education, as well as local authorities and schools meet three times a year to listen to and discuss with leading practitioners and theorists. By straddling issues from early years to higher education and demonstrating the connections across and between apparently separate components, we enlarge our sense of what we should be trying to achieve. This is a powerful form of continuing education. Writing also helps to distil and analyse our thoughts and experience. What I am now concerned about is the increased separation of educational professionals into their specialist 'silos'. Quality and innovation are thus diminished.
Finally, over my professional lifetime, the position of women has been a marked characteristic of change, mainly improvement. Being rejected for a deputy headship at age 30 on the basis that a 'strong man' was needed was strange. This was followed by a much better post in an Oxfordshire comprehensive where, on this front, the main problem was my membership of the 'Oxfordshire Senior Mistresses Association', its title denoting the lack, until then, of any female deputy heads in Oxfordshire secondary schools. Inner London was used to doughty women, both elected to the authority and professionally, but my 1988 interview in Warwickshire was marked by elected members not being able to decide whether my student days' membership of the British Communist Party was a worse problem than my gender. In 1993, Jenny Ozga included me in her collection of case studies on women in educational management (Ozga, 1993). She interviewed me, then ruefully observed that my progression through the educational world appeared to have been founded on 'male patronage'. At least, this dubious phenomenon is far less likely to occur today for all those able and talented women who run the education world.
## References
Burgess, T. (ed.) 1971, Dear Lord James: A Critique of Teacher Education. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Maden, M. 2000, Shifting Gear: Changing Patterns of Governance in Europe. Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books.
Maden, M. 2001, Success Against the Odds: Five Years On. London: Routledge-Falmer.
National Commission on Education, 1993, Learning to Succeed. London: Heinemann.
National Commission on Education, 1996, Success Against the Odds: Effective Schools in Disadvantaged Areas. London: Routledge.
OECD, 2011, Education at a Glance, Country Note – Germany. Paris: OECD.
Ozga, J. (ed.) 1993, Women in Educational Management. Buckingham: Open University Press.
Ravitch, D. 2014, The Myth of Chinese Super Schools. New York: New York Review of Books, November.
Rutter, M., Maughan, B., Mortimore, P. and Ouston, J. 1979, 15,000 Hours. Open Books, London.
Scottish Parliament, 2011, Teaching Scotland's Future. Edinburgh.
Service, T. 2012, Music as Alchemy. London: Faber and Faber.
# [14
1944–2015](content.xhtml#bck_Ch014)
Towards the nationalisation of education in England
Sir Peter Newsam
## Teacher and administrator
As a teacher for seven years, my main interest was with what happened inside schools: with the curriculum and in learning how to teach better. Since 1963, as a local education authority administrator in four different education authorities, three of them Conservative led, I was necessarily mostly concerned with what the local authority provided or managed outside the schools and colleges they maintained. Earlier, as a teacher in a grammar school immediately adjoining a secondary modern school, I had become directly aware of, as I saw it, the adverse consequences of the 11+ examination. It was the wrong examination at the wrong age, with damaging consequences for far too many children. It was in 1970, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, as Deputy to Sir Alec Clegg, that I became directly involved in discussions on ending selection in Harrogate; this was managed by a Conservative local authority with the widespread agreement of the parents, teachers and governing bodies concerned. As Deputy, from 1973, and then as Education Officer to the Labour-led Inner London Education Authority, ending selection at 45 grammar schools by 1977 proved rather more difficult. But the system of schools then created has provided the secure platform on which London's parents, teachers and governing bodies have since been able to build so successfully.
## The 1944 Education Act: a national system locally managed
Educationally, the Britain of 2014 is a very different place from when I left school in 1947.
In 1947, victory in two wars had recently been enthusiastically celebrated. Britain was close to bankruptcy, with large parts of its major cities and industrial areas in ruins. India's independence had just been achieved, and it was already evident that the further dissolution of the Empire, over which Britain had ruled and from which it had benefited for many years, could not long be delayed.
In the immediate post-war years, Britain was led by people who had lived through a war against totalitarian government. Many had experienced the war at first hand. They did not intend their hopes for the future to be crushed by apparently insurmountable debt. Britain's successful staging of the 1948 Olympic Games was an early statement of that intent, followed by the Festival of Britain in 1951.
At school, we learned of the proposal for a national health service and for an education system that would provide opportunities for all, of the kind that we had taken for granted. There was a widespread feeling among many of my educated-in-war-time contemporaries that we had a duty to play an active part in our country's future.
So much for 1947. Seventy years later, England, though not the rest of Britain, has moved a long way towards nationalising its education system, without its electorate ever having been invited to say whether it wants that to happen. Any account of how this has come about begins with the Education Act of 1944.
The 1944 Education Act was a continuation of earlier thinking. The terms of the Act were devised by an able group of civil servants, working with a small number of politicians of outstanding competence. In its final form, the Act was warmly welcomed by all the parties involved: Parliament, local authorities, teacher unions, the churches, the general public and even the press.
The first of the 1944 Act's two main achievements was structural. It established a, subsequently abandoned, division between primary and secondary education. Primary schools would cater for children up to the age of 11. Thereafter, all children would attend secondary schools up to the school leaving age, soon to be raised from 14 to 15, and beyond. As part of that restructuring, the Act created a secondary school system out of two very different types of existing school. The publicly funded elementary schools, which since 1870 had provided education for most of the population up to the school leaving age of 14, were combined with a group of mostly fee-charging secondary schools, provided by a whole range of denominational and charitable individuals or agencies, that educated children up to the age of 18.
Restructuring led to many long-established and independently managed secondary schools, some denominational but many not, joining the national system as voluntary aided (VA) schools. As they brought their land, their school buildings and their teachers into the national system, these VA schools were allowed to retain important elements of their independent status. VA school trustees formed the majority on the governing body, retained the right to appoint their own staff, to develop their own curriculum and to decide which children to admit to their school. The incorporation of many of these essentially independent schools into the national system for England and Wales was a great achievement. It made possible a stated aim of the Act: secondary education for all.
The 1944 Act's second main achievement was to establish a school system that reflected the values of a democratic society. The Act had been drafted during a war against totalitarian governments in which institutions like schools, and what was taught inside them, were directly controlled by the government. The civil servants and politicians who developed the Act and the Parliament that approved it were unitedly determined to create a structure that would make such a development in England impossible. To that end, the Act ensured that responsibility for the management of education in England and Wales would be shared between the government, elected by the national electorate, and local education authorities, elected by a local electorate. Accordingly, no publicly funded school could become wholly dependent for its wellbeing or its existence on either local or national government acting alone. Neither could open, close or change the character of any publicly funded school without the agreement of the other. Proposals for a new or significantly enlarged school had to be published locally, either by the local authority or by a group of proposers. Any such proposals were then subject to consultation locally. Proposals, with any objections to them, were then sent by the local authority to the Secretary of State. His role was to approve, amend or reject these proposals. For his part, the Secretary of State could not open, close or change the character of any school. He had to await a proposal to do that from the local authority that either already was or would be maintaining it. The 1944 Education Act made it impossible for any school in England or Wales to be directly controlled by an individual government minister or by any individual local authority, because neither could act without the agreement of the other.
The 1944 Act placed a general duty on local education authorities to provide secondary education in schools, 'offering such variety of instruction and training as may be desirable in view of their different ages, abilities and aptitudes'. The Act did not stipulate how this was to be done. It was left for local education authorities to submit their plans on how they intended to meet these requirements. The terms 'grammar school', 'secondary modern school' or 'technical school' do not appear in the Act, but the government had made known its preference for a secondary school system consisting of these three types of secondary school. At a time of acute financial difficulty, this preference for what became known as the 'tri-partite' system was understandable. It broadly fitted the structure of schools already in use and was widely adopted. Existing secondary schools became grammar schools that selected their pupils as they left their primary schools; elementary schools, once primary-aged children were provided for elsewhere, were adapted to become secondary modern schools. Technical schools were provided wherever that proved possible.
The preference of a government for a tri-partite system had no statutory force. Accordingly, several local education authorities, including the London County Council and the West Riding of Yorkshire, decided to meet the age, ability and aptitude criteria by combining in one school what the tri-partite system took to be three different types of pupil requiring three different types of education in three different types of school. Schools designed to meet the full range of the 'aptitudes and abilities' of pupils within one secondary school, rather than between three, became known as 'comprehensive' schools. The London School Plan of 1947 set out the London County Council's reasons for providing schools of that nature.
A second example of shared responsibilities between central and local government was the way in which school places were provided during the post-war years of sharply rising school numbers. Under the Act, the duty to secure sufficient and suitable school places was the responsibility of local government. Central government's role was to control the total amount of expenditure involved and to approve or reject major building schemes proposed by individual local authorities. Governments had to ensure that their own national priorities were met. The most important of these was ensuring that sufficient funds were available to provide 'roofs over heads', schools needed to cater for rising school numbers. Between 1947 and the mid 1960s, local education authorities and successive governments worked together to provide over five million school places within tightly controlled cost limits. The efficiency with which the Department for Education's Buildings Branch helped to make this possible was widely recognised within local government and nationwide.
A third aim of the Act had been to extend the amount and to improve the quality of technical and vocational education. In this, it failed. The cost of the school places needed to raise the school leaving age to 15 meant there was little money left to spend on creating the technical schools required or on the system of national part-time day release the Act had designed to provide continued training for those entering employment on leaving school. These constraints meant that the need to provide systematically for such training, first identified in the latter part of the nineteenth century and only partially developed following the 1918 Education Act, was still not dealt with successfully by the 1944 Act. Despite sporadic efforts to remedy this problem, notably by Kenneth Baker in 1988, it remains largely unresolved in 2014.
## The school curriculum
The 1944 Act deliberately did not deal with the school curriculum. It was not seen as the role of local or central government in a democratic society to require schools to teach pupils particular things in any particular way. Until the late nineteenth century, publicly funded schools in England had been required to work within a nationally prescribed curriculum. Teachers were paid on a set of measurable results achieved by their pupils. After some 20 years, there was general agreement that 'payment by results' had failed.
Under the 1902 Education Act, education became the responsibility of all-purpose local councils, as opposed to single-purpose school boards. In 1904, the Board of Education issued a Prefatory Memorandum, setting out the general aim of the elementary school. The Memorandum contained the following paragraph:
The only uniformity of practice that the Board of Education desire to see in the teaching of Public Elementary Schools is that each teacher shall think for himself, and work out for himself, such methods of teaching as may use his powers to the best advantage and be best suited to the particular needs and conditions of the school.
Subsequently, the Board provided a handbook of Suggestions for Teachers in Elementary Schools. These suggestions covered all aspects of the curriculum and reflected an unchanged approach of successive governments to the role of teachers that lasted until the late 1970s.
Suggestions for teachers in secondary schools were not considered necessary. It was left for a variety of examination boards, working with universities and schools, to cause teachers to adapt their teaching, so far as they thought this necessary, to the questions posed by the examinations themselves.
The 1944 Act did not change the government's attitude towards the primary school curriculum. In 1949, the foreword to the Ministry of Education's publication, Story of a School, simply reproduced the words of the 1931 Consultative Committee's Report on the Primary School:
Instead of the junior schools performing their proper and highly important function of fostering the potentialities of children at an age when their minds are nimble and receptive, their curiosity strong, their imagination fertile and their spirits high, the curriculum is too often cramped and distorted by over-emphasis on examinations subjects and on ways and means of defeating the examiners. The blame for this lies not with the teachers but with the system.
## 1960s: a period of major reports
In 1966, the Plowden Report on the Primary School broadly endorsed this approach to the primary school curriculum. Commentators with an insecure grasp of the history of English education interpreted what had been endorsed by successive governments since 1904 as an example of the supposedly collapsing standards of the 1960s. The evidence, contained in an appendix to the Plowden Report, of the marked improvement in reading standards over the previous 20 years was ignored.
The Department's circular Number 10 in 1965 is an often quoted, but evidently seldom read, example of the relationship between central and local government under the 1944 Act. The circular took the form of a request to local authorities to submit plans for developing comprehensive schools. Requests by circular lacked the force of statute; so local authorities could not be required to respond to the circular. Most did, but others did not. Those that did could not be required to carry out any proposals they had decided to submit.
The 30 years between the 1944 Act and the early 1970s saw little substantial educational legislation, but a succession of well-researched reports on primary, secondary and higher education were published. These included the Crowther (1959), Newsom (1963), Robbins (1963) and Plowden (1967) Reports. The research appendices of these reports ensured that administrators and politicians alike did not lack facts, as well as opinions, on which they could base their decisions.
The 1944 Education Act had staying power. It was based on widely shared principles of the place of education in a democratic society. Its provisions underpinned the expansion and improvement of the education service in England and Wales for some 25 years and created, in the words of Sir William Alexander, a national system locally administered. It was not until early in the 1970s, at which point Part 1 of this autobiography ends, that this balance of responsibilities between local and central government showed the first signs of developing into a national system nationally administered.
## 1972 to 1982: the decline of local authorities
It was during these years that the educational role of local authorities in England, either by accident or design, began to decline.
In 1966, the government had established a Royal Commission on Local Government outside London. In June 1969, the Commission's Report was presented to Parliament. So far as education was concerned, the Report made two crucial proposals and issued a warning. The first proposal was that, to be able to act as a full partner with central government, local education authorities needed to be much larger than many existing ones. The evidence from HMI, the Ministry of Housing and Local Government, local authorities and the Department for Education all indicated that large education services performed better than small ones, some of which were doing poorly. The Commission therefore proposed the creation of 78 education authorities, outside London, with a preferred population of 500,000 and a minimum size of 250,000. These 78 would replace 124 existing education authorities and the 156 other local government bodies with some responsibilities for education.
A second proposal was that, even with larger local authorities, some elements of education, such as further education, would need to be dealt with at a provincial level. The Commission suggested that the newly formed local authorities should, to deal with these issues, appoint some of their members to form eight provincial councils. The Commission did not recommend that a provincial council should be an independently elected body.
In 1970, the government set aside the Commission's recommendations, notably on the need for some provincial local authority presence. Eventually, under the 1972 Local Government Act, 97 local education authorities were created instead of the 78 proposed. In Yorkshire, 13 local authorities, some of which have, predictably, since functioned poorly, were created in place of the five much larger ones proposed by the Royal Commission.
The Commission's powerfully stated prediction that, if local government was not reformed in the way it proposed, 'local government will be increasingly discredited and will be gradually replaced by agencies of central government' has since proved correct.
A second development that substantially reduced the capacity, even the will, of some local authorities to carry out a full range of educational functions was initiated by local government itself. The Bains Report of 1972 was produced by a group of local authority chief clerks. Historically, functional legislation was administered by functional government departments. So educational legislation was devised and administered by a national education department. Similarly, health, police, housing and so on were administered by separate government departments, each responsible for the legislation relating to their function. Until the 1970s, local government committees were organised in much the same way. Senior education officials in local government, working with their education committees, dealt directly with their opposite numbers in the national Department for Education. Similarly, political leaders of education in a local authority dealt directly with education ministers. Both had detailed knowledge of the legislation they were dealing with. Nationally, until the mid-1970s, leaders of local authority education committees and their senior officials formed the highly influential Association of Education Committees. For many of these years, Sir William Alexander, as its Secretary, was able to represent the views of local education authorities directly to senior officials in the Department and to its ministers.
From 1974, most local authorities outside London became corporately managed. Once received by local government, money provided or expenditure authorised by central government departments was, to a varying extent, distributed in accordance with local government priorities rather than those of the government department that was its source. The managerial logic of corporate local government is indisputable; its practical and political consequences for the education service were disastrous, culminating in 2010 in the government removing the word 'education' from the term 'local education authority'. Under the 1944 Act, the local management of schools was the responsibility of education-specific local authorities, with their own chief officer holding the statutorily required office of chief education officer. All that was set aside, and the management of education was no longer seen by politicians, few with any experience of either, as a specific function.
While local government became corporate, government departments stayed functional and could no longer rely on corporate local education authorities deciding to spend money on the department's national priorities. Having won money from the Treasury for one purpose, ministers and their officials were not content to see it used for some other purpose. As the Royal Commission had predicted, central government's reaction was to create organisations outside local government to perform educational functions that had hitherto been exercised locally. Combined with the failure to create local authorities of an appropriate size and in the absence of the Commission's proposed provincial arrangements, this led to the creation of government agencies such as the Manpower Services Commission, the Learning and Skills Council and, later, Connexions and a series of funding and other such agencies created to do what had earlier been done by local government.
Within local government, newly appointed and corporately minded chief executives saw no reason for particular departments, of which education was by far the largest, to retain direct access to any functional government department. Many actively prevented it. From being a central element of the local authority system, education officers, almost all with teaching as well as administrative experience, found themselves spending much of their time dealing with issues that had little to do with their area of expertise. It was during the 1970s that the role of local authority education officer became less attractive as a career. With the decline of that career structure went much of the expertise and understanding needed to manage even a diminished set of educational responsibilities. In 1977, the authoritative voice for local government's education service ceased with the demise of the Association of Education Committees.
My own direct participation in educational administration ends in 1982. By the end of the 1980s, the role of local authorities in education and, in some of them, even their commitment to the education service itself had been further weakened. In a few urban local authorities, irresponsible behaviour had strengthened the government's general distrust of local government.
## Nationalisation of the curriculum and schools
Between 1988 and 2014, two of the main changes to education in England have been the nationalisation of the school curriculum and, at an increasing rate since 2010, the nationalisation of its publicly funded schools. Nationalisation is here defined as a system under which all important decisions are exercised by a single government minister, accompanied by an actual or potential transfer of assets to the state. This process necessarily requires the elimination of local government and other independent institutions from anything more than a peripheral influence on decisions about the form and content of education, either locally or nationally.
The curriculum of schools in England was nationalised in 1988. This replaced the system whereby, since 1904, governments had provided advice on the curriculum, which schools were encouraged but not required to follow. From 1963, under arrangements originating with the Department for Education, a wider range of advice than in the past had been provided by the Schools Council. The Council's members included representatives of teachers, local authorities, universities, officials from the Department for Education and members of HM Inspectorate. The documents the Council produced, its advice, the research it undertook and the experimental work it supported were designed to encourage good practice. Most of what it produced was of high quality.
In 1976, a speech at Ruskin College by the Prime Minister pointed out that the government had a legitimate interest in the curriculum of schools, and that the balance between the role of local government and central government in dealing with this might well require adjustment. His carefully worded statement left open the question of how and to what extent this adjustment would be made. In the years following the Prime Minister's speech, elements in the Department for Education had come to believe themselves better qualified to deal with the curriculum than the Schools Council. They openly expressed dissatisfaction with the Council's work and commissioned a report on its effectiveness. When the report recommended that the Council should continue, in April 1982 the Secretary of State's response was to stop financing it. That left the way open for the nationalisation of the curriculum in 1988.
During the creation of a statutorily enforceable national curriculum, advice from all quarters on its scope and content was, with rare exceptions, ignored. A complex set of curricular requirements, with an accompanying apparatus for ensuring schools were accountable for meeting these effectively, was given the force of statute. The National Curriculum was poorly constructed and imposed in haste. It has since had to be regularly and expensively revised, with teachers having to be retrained to meet new requirements as these have arisen. In 2014, some schools are still required to comply with it while others are not. Its collapse has been gradual, in recent years punctuated by personal and often ill-considered interventions from government ministers.
The nationalisation of schools in England began, on a small scale, in 1988. Twenty-five years later, that process is well advanced. Nationalisation has gone through three stages, best identified by the ministers most closely associated with them. Each stage began with a good idea. The idea behind the City Technology Colleges (CTCs), promoted by Kenneth Baker, was admirable. New and forward-looking sponsors, with a strong commitment to technical and vocationally relevant education, were invited to create and lead a series of enterprising and self-managed secondary schools. The sponsors of these schools would control the governing bodies, appoint their own staff, develop their own curriculum, decide on which children to admit, and be responsible for the financial management of their school.
In creating these schools, Kenneth Baker was either unaware of or deliberately chose to ignore the fact that schools with almost exactly the same degree of self-governance as CTCs already existed as Voluntary Aided (VA) schools. Many of these had been developed as independent schools during the nineteenth century by city companies, the churches and by individuals such as Miss Beale and Miss Buss. To develop more of such schools with appropriate sponsors would not have been difficult. Two things had to be done. First, the 1944 Act requirement that proposers/sponsors of a new school of the kind required had to provide both site and buildings had to be replaced by the need to make only a token or even no contribution to the cost of the new school. Second, local authorities, in submitting their proposals for a new school in their area, as they had done since the 1944 Act, would have had to be required by the Secretary of State to include any proposal they received for a CTC. The Secretary of State would then have had to consider all such proposals on their merits and to decide which to accept, modify or reject. If he decided to approve a proposal for a CTC, it would then have been for the local authority to find the site and, as in the case of VA schools, convey it to the trustees. Within agreed cost limits, the trustees would then manage the construction of their school.
Kenneth Baker's decision to develop CTCs, in itself a good idea, as government schools instead of VA ones, maintained but not controlled by a local authority, was the first move towards replacing local government's role in education with control of individual schools in England by a government minister.
No prime minister since 1997 has been educated in a publicly funded school in England or later had any personal association with the management of any such school. This lack of understanding has made it possible for unelected and inexperienced policy advisers to play an increasingly important role in formulating educational policy. One such adviser, Andrew Adonis, later ennobled as Minister for Schools, had an excellent idea. This was to encourage enterprising groups of sponsors to run independently managed and newly built schools in areas of poor performance. Like Kenneth Baker, he was apparently unaware that the VA model could provide the legally established independent trustees and status that he believed to be necessary. That is presumably why the existence of VA schools is not mentioned in the account Lord Adonis has given of his struggle to develop, against fierce resistance, a type of school that already existed.
## The academy programme
In developing academies in the form of Kenneth Baker's CTC model of school governance, the Secretary of State was authorised, under section 65 of the Education Act 2002, to enter into a contract with 'any person' to 'establish and maintain' a school, at public expense. Contracts formed in this way are at the heart of the academy programme. As the governance structure of VA schools makes clear, academy 'freedoms' can be secured without any such contract. Although, in themselves, contracts serve no useful educational or administrative purpose, what academy funding contracts successfully do – as they are clearly intended to do – is place the minister concerned in ultimate control of the schools or groups of schools contracted to him. Contracts leave it to an individual government minister, the Secretary of State, to determine exactly how much money each school contracted to him receives to run itself each year. If the governing body of any school dependent on a single politician in this way believes itself to be 'independent', it runs a severe risk of deluding itself.
Labour's enthusiasm for contracts in the form of funding agreements has caused a clause to be inserted that reads: 'the Academy Trust cannot assign this agreement'. But the Secretary of State can, and some future one may well decide to assign many hundreds of his contracts to other agencies to manage.
Academies, as essentially government schools, paved the way for Michael Gove. His declared intention has been that all schools in England, willingly or otherwise, should have rolling 7-year contracts with him, terminable by either party after due notice. In giving a Secretary of State what amounts to direct control of an increasing number of England's schools, contracts potentially involve a huge transfer of assets to the state. On becoming contracted to the Secretary of State as an academy, the trustees acquire the site and buildings of any school built and paid for by a local authority. If the Secretary of State's funding contract with those trustees is terminated, that property reverts to the Secretary of State and not to the local authority that originally paid for it. The academy programme is a nationalisation of local assets process in waiting.
As an extension of its legislative approval of the Secretary of State's move to nationalise England's schools, Parliament has further legislated to allow nearly all important decisions about education in England to be made by or on behalf of the Secretary of State, without reference to anyone else, including Parliament itself. Parliament is not a party to the contracts that it has allowed the Secretary of State to make with any set of trustees he finds acceptable. His only evident criterion for establishing the suitability of trustees to run a school at public expense appears to be that they have not been elected by anyone.
The Secretary of State's uninhibited control of education now extends to the examination system, the training or lack of it of teachers, the structure of the governing bodies of academies, including the right to decide whether any of which he disapproves are to be allowed to remain in office, where, whether and at what cost new schools are to be built, and so on.
## What next?
Two consequences of this legislatively authorised control of education by an individual government minister have become evident. The first is that it is very obviously inefficient. Even the straightforward task of relating the number of school places provided to the number of school places required has been mismanaged. Public money is routinely spent on children and students who do not exist. Financial control of academies is defective. Schools are developed where new schools are not needed. This practice of creating extra school places where there are already spare places, apart from wasting money, almost always adversely affects what local schools with spare places can still afford to offer their pupils. Sixth forms are encouraged to proliferate at a time when sufficient teachers of high quality, available to teach a full range of subjects in many existing sixth forms, are lacking. Narrowly defined systems of accountability are created that give teachers perverse incentives for teaching badly. Bad practices are routinely imported from foreign countries. Over the past few years, the list of poorly structured 'initiatives' and ministerial incompetencies has become long and is lengthening.
Control of education by an individual government minister is also leading to increasingly totalitarian behaviour. As Lord Acton put it in 1887, power that verges on the absolute corrupts. The symptoms are unmistakeable. Ministerial hostility to all forms of real or imagined sources of opposition is loudly proclaimed. Enemies of 'reform', a term used to describe any ministerial initiative, however ill-considered, are said to be lurking everywhere. Local government, the universities, the judiciary, the churches, the BBC, non-conforming elements of the press and any form of independent thinking or action from teachers or their unions are all perceived as inherently pernicious. All are treated with contempt. Disciplined conformity, within schools and by everyone connected with them, is to be the order of the day.
The arbitrary and sometimes irrational behaviour of individual government ministers is just one instance of England's general retreat from its democratic past. Now that Parliament, with the notable exception of some of its select committees, has legislated away its ability to exercise effective control of the Executive, Parliament itself is widely perceived as little more than a noisy and largely irrelevant adjunct to the Executive. This has damaging consequences for England as a functioning democracy. It is becoming difficult for England's electorate to find good reasons to vote at parliamentary elections for individual Members of Parliament. Voters correctly perceive that few of the people they vote for have any influence on what the government of the day, once safely elected, then decides to do.
Within narrowing limits, resistance to the government is still permitted, but the form democracy has taken in England is increasingly reminiscent of the 'democratic centralism' proposed by Lenin in 1917. Under such a system, further developed in parts of Europe during the 1930s, people are still allowed to discuss issues and to march about with banners, provided they behave themselves. The deployment of second-hand water cannons would, in the opinion of at least one mayor, help to remind marchers of their duties in this respect. But there is little room left for alternative sources of decision making, even on important local issues. All important decisions in England are now taken by the small group in charge of the government. Intervention from subordinate bodies such as local government, professional bodies, independent researchers or even, other than grudgingly, from Parliament itself is rarely found acceptable. In the wings, another small group of much the same composition awaits its opportunity to replace the existing one.
Education in England has been particularly badly damaged by this nationwide retreat from the widely shared beliefs in what constitutes a democratic society that underpinned the Education Act of 1944. As Friedrich Hayek put it in that same year, 'Nowhere has democracy ever worked well without a great measure of self-government'. That measure of self-government is what the 1944 Education Act secured and has since largely been legislated away.
In 2015, one simple question about education needs to be asked: is England content to place a single individual, the Secretary of State of the day, in what is close to absolute control of all elements of this country's education system? If it is, no action is needed; that is what England's schools and other educational institutions are being frog-marched towards. If it does not, a second question arises: is any political party prepared to put that question to the electorate? That is the question that hangs in the air, awaiting an answer.
# [Part VI
Role of the media](content.xhtml#bck_part6)
# [15
Media and Education in the UK](content.xhtml#bck_Ch015)
Peter Wilby
Today, nearly every British national newspaper has an education correspondent, covering schools, colleges and universities. If the numbers are fewer than they were 20 years ago – when some papers employed as many as three such specialists – that is more a reflection of newspapers' increasing financial difficulties and journalists' higher workloads than of any diminution in education coverage. Some newspapers publish weekly sections devoted to education, though these, too, are much reduced from what they were even 10 years ago. For example, The Guardian's section, published on Tuesdays and branded Education Guardian, was once a separate supplement of 12 pages or more; now the section has gone, replaced by barely half as many pages within the main paper.
Yet education remains a far more high-profile subject than it was half a century ago. Before the 1960s, it was scarcely regarded as a news subject at all. Though the annual teachers' union conferences attracted attention even in the immediate post-Second World War years – mainly because they were (and are) held at Easter, when other news is in short supply – the 'popular' press particularly focused almost exclusively on teachers' pay, often linking it to difficulties in recruitment (Cunningham, 1992). More detailed coverage, particularly in the 'quality' press, tended to focus on universities (especially Oxford and Cambridge), then attended by less than 6 per cent of young Britons, and on fee-charging schools (such as Eton, Harrow and Rugby), rather than on the taxpayer-funded schools attended by the majority of the population.
According to one estimate, there were only three full-time education journalists at the beginning of the 1960s, excluding those working for specialist publications. An education correspondents group – formed to co-ordinate the reporters' access to ministers and other key sources of information – was not formed until 1962, whereas a labour and industrial correspondents group was formed in 1937, and a crime reporters' association in 1945 (Williams, 2009). By the early 1970s, the education correspondents group had around 50 members. In The Times, the number of articles on educational matters rose from 70 in 1960 to 184 in 1967 (Kogan, 1975). In 2013, a search on The Times website identified a total for the year of 439 articles devoted to education. Interviews with education journalists in the mid-2000s found that most of them saw education as 'one of the top specialist areas of reporting . . . comparable in importance to . . . health reporting, crime reporting and business/finance reporting'. Though few had sufficiently long memories to be certain, the general consensus was that it ranked higher than it did in the past (Hargreaves et al., 2007).
The main drivers of this growth in education coverage – on radio and television, as well as in the press – were the politicisation and centralisation of education. Politicisation started in the late 1950s and 1960s, as Britain began to abolish most of its grammar schools, which selected the most academic children after a competitive examination at 11, and to introduce 'all-ability' comprehensives instead. Though the division between the major parties on selective schooling was never a rigid one – Conservative local councils were among the pioneers of comprehensives, and, to this day, the official Conservative policy is that comprehensives should continue – Labour was always more eager to hasten the demise of the grammar schools, by central diktat if necessary.
Until the late 1970s, however, it was widely accepted that what was taught in schools and how it was taught remained a matter exclusively for teachers. The curriculum, as an education minister observed in 1960, was the teachers' 'secret garden', and 'parliament would never attempt to dictate the curriculum'. Or, as the Lancastrian George Tomlinson, education minister during Clement AttIee's 1945–1951 government, more colloquially put it, 'minister knows nowt about curriculum'. In Westminster and Whitehall, the curriculum was not a contestable subject. An education 'parliament' for curriculum and examinations, the Schools Council, was set up in 1965, but it had no formal powers of legislation or direction and was essentially a talking shop in which, though both local and national government were represented, teachers' unions and subject associations held most of the seats. Outside the classroom, nearly all the power in education resided with local councils. Though much of their funding came from central government, they controlled the distribution of money and decided which children should go to which schools. David Eccles, education minister from 1954 to 1957, complained that, 'having succeeded in getting Cabinet support for increased funds for education, he had no real say in how those funds should be spent' (Jarvis, 2014).
Education was covered more thoroughly, and often better, in local newspapers than it was in Britain's national newspapers, radio and TV. The national press, geared to receiving most of its information from Whitehall, Westminster and assorted bodies associated with central government, found it hard to derive significant news from the subject. A row over school admissions in Newcastle, it was thought, would not interest readers in Birmingham. Similarly, a curriculum innovation in Birmingham would not interest readers in Newcastle. Only in the 1960s did the growing numbers of specialist education reporters begin to present some local developments as being of national significance. Newly opened comprehensive schools, for example, might get national coverage. So might radical developments in internal school organisation, curriculum and teaching methods that went loosely under the heading 'progressive'. But universities and the fee-charging, private boarding schools (confusingly known by the English as 'public schools') continued to get more coverage, because both drew on a national clientele that was almost entirely the well-heeled middle classes, the most sought-after audience for advertisers, even in the more downmarket papers.
In this era, nearly all education journalists favoured comprehensive schools and 'progressive' teaching styles. A columnist in the right-wing weekly magazine The Spectator complained in 1972 that all but one of the 48 members of the education correspondents group were 'left-wing, some extremely so'. Even on Conservative papers, they could favour the 'progressive' cause, or at least give it an easy ride, mainly because their editors had little interest in education. C.B. Cox, a Manchester University professor of English, told a conference in Australia in 1981 that newspapers had played a leading role in persuading the public of the merits of 'progressive' teaching. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Cox and like-minded colleagues brought out a series of 'Black Papers' – written by academics and teachers who favoured 'traditional education' – that deliberately attempted, as Cox put it, to 'shift the centre' of debate. They were written in a populist, jargon-free, accessible style and were heavily promoted to the newspapers. The Black Paper editors understood that they could maximise sympathetic coverage by sending the pamphlets to newspapers on Sundays – a thin news day and one on which most specialist reporters would be off work – for publication on Monday mornings. A Labour Education Secretary foolishly assisted them by branding their first publication as 'the blackest day in English education for over a century'.
The Black Papers – alongside their offshoots such as the National Council for Educational Standards, which, again to maximise media coverage, held its conferences on Sundays – turned the tide. The 'traditionalists' had no inhibitions about wooing journalists, making their leaders accessible to the press and trying to reach a mass audience. In contrast, the 'progressives' regarded populism with distaste and the 'capitalist' press with suspicion. The Campaign for Comprehensive Education, for example, had a spokeswoman who could be reached only with the greatest difficulty, took no trouble to conceal her hostility to journalists and insisted that she should never be named.
For all the efforts of the Black Paper editors and their media supporters, the rise of comprehensives initially continued without interruption: in the 1970s, despite the Education Secretary in the first half of the decade being none other than Margaret Thatcher, more were created than in any previous decade, with grammar schools surviving only in a handful of areas ruled by true-blue Conservative councils. The media have little power in education (or indeed in politics generally), at least in the sense of 'transformative capacity' as defined by the sociologist Anthony Giddens: 'the capability to intervene in events so as to alter their course' (Giddens, 1984). But they do create an agenda and a framework – sometimes a very restrictive one – for debate. In the 1970s, the media, influenced by the Black Papers, began slowly to change the agenda. Newspapers eagerly reported research showing the weaknesses of 'progressive' teaching methods – which were nothing like as ubiquitous as journalists suggested – and highlighted the case of a London primary school that, by any standards, had gone too far in its 'progressive' methods, with its teachers apparently training pupils to become members of a revolutionary vanguard while completely neglecting the basics of reading and maths.
Public interest in education was growing, and not just because the media debate was increasingly vigorous and polarised. For most of the twentieth century, education played only a minor role in the lives of the majority of the population. Most people left school in their mid-teens and never returned to full-time education. They took no exams and had no paper qualifications. Some returned to college, a day or two a week, to learn skills for a trade, but many learned skills on the job or found unskilled factory or labouring jobs that were then in plentiful supply. Even many white-collar jobs required only minimal qualifications. Journalism itself required nothing more than a rudimentary knowledge of shorthand and law.
In the second half of the twentieth century, however, career prospects – and, as heavy industry declined, the chances of getting a job at all – depended increasingly on length of education and particularly on credentials acquired at school. Education became a distributor of life chances and a source of growing anxiety to parents of all classes. This made it a subject of interest, not only to newspapers and their readers, but also to politicians.
From the mid-1980s, Margaret Thatcher's Conservative governments introduced dramatic changes in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate education systems, subject to separate regimes), which were largely accepted by Tony Blair's Labour governments from 1997 and then further elaborated by the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition from 2010. Parents were allowed more choice of schools and more say in how schools were run. Schools were required to publish their examination results in standardised form. Local councils were required to distribute funds according to a national formula and to delegate spending decisions to schools, leaving governors and headteachers to determine, for example, how much was spent on books and how much on repairs to buildings.
Crucially, schools were given the opportunity to opt out of local council control and to become 'independent', receiving their money direct from central government; a majority of secondary schools have now taken this route. Private companies and voluntary associations were invited to set up new schools and take over existing ones. Through a new regulatory body, the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), the powers of central school inspectors were greatly enhanced, and Education Ministers increasingly took it upon themselves to order a change of leadership or even closure for 'failing' schools. Most importantly, schools were required to follow a national curriculum, which different ministers determined in varying amounts of detail. Being mostly educated in the humanities, ministers were particularly anxious to specify which novels, plays and poems should be studied for English literature and which events for history. Labour dictated, not just curriculum content, but the methods used to teach reading and maths in primary schools, thus breaching what one professor of education has called 'the final frontier of professional autonomy', which, even as late as 1991, a Conservative Education Secretary declined to cross, saying that, 'questions about how to teach are not for government to determine' (Alexander, 2014).
All this led to an explosion of media interest. The secret garden was now open for everybody to trample over the flowerbeds. In the past, only teachers' pay disputes created the simple dramatic clashes of opposites on which the mass media thrive. These were only peripherally connected to educational issues; they were covered as simple employer–employee battles, similar to other labour disputes. Now, the disputes were about what was taught and how, with highly politicised debates developing about, for example, how the history of the British Empire should be taught and whether English lessons should focus on creative writing or on correct grammar and spelling.
The national media distilled such disputes into a simple opposition between mainly right-wing 'traditionalists' and mainly left-wing 'progressives'. The former favoured a strong emphasis on basic literacy and numeracy; academic subjects such as physics, chemistry, history and literature; formal instruction, with pupils sitting in rows at desks facing the front while the teacher told them what to learn; the 'phonics' method of teaching reading; selection by ability into different 'streams' within schools and, if possible, into different schools; old-fashioned written examinations, usually lasting three hours. The latter supported a more flexible curriculum that did not divide knowledge by rigid subject boundaries; informal or 'discovery' learning where pupils sat in groups and were encouraged by teachers to find things out for themselves; the 'whole word' method of teaching reading; comprehensive schools with 'mixed-ability' classes; and new-style examinations that involved continuous classroom assessment and projects completed in the pupils' own time. Most classroom teachers are pragmatists who do not fall into either camp. They prefer a balanced curriculum and a mixture of teaching and assessment methods. But the media wished to subsume almost every educational issue into the progressive–traditional framework: for example, it was thought desirable to give parents more choice of schools and the private sector more opportunities to run them, because both would bring schools 'back to basics'.
Politicians, working to their own ends, encouraged journalists and media commentators to report education in terms of this dichotomy. Indeed, politicians increasingly presented their policies in tabloid newspaper terms. When Michael Gove, Conservative Education Secretary from 2010 to 2014 and himself a former journalist, introduced a national curriculum that placed more emphasis on factual knowledge, he presented it as an attempt to wrest control of schools from what he called 'the blob': academics, teachers, school inspectors, advisers and local authority officials who were 'enemies of promise', guilty of 'valuing Marxism, revering jargon and fighting excellence'.
Unlike his predecessors, Gove was in a position to get his way. The decentralised governance of English schooling was long a source of frustration to both Westminster politicians and Whitehall civil servants. Education ministers frequently had ideas as to how to improve schools but found they had no levers to make anything happen. For example, when Sir Keith Joseph, one of the chief architects of what became known as Thatcherism, took over as Education Secretary in 1981, he wanted schools to create more pro-business, pro-free enterprise attitudes among young people. To his despair, he found himself powerless to insist on any such change. Like all previous education ministers, he was little more than a spectator, as the teachers' unions and local education authorities – among whom education journalists cultivated contacts as assiduously as they did among ministers, their advisers and civil servants – ran the system.
Largely because he had so little direct power, Joseph badly needed public support for his ideas in order to put pressure on those who were in charge. He wished, for example, to change teachers' working practices and to introduce regular assessment of their performance ('teacher appraisal', it was called at the time). But, since he did not himself employ teachers or determine what or how they were paid – though he did provide the money to fund pay increases – he needed to put pressure on the local council employers and the teachers' unions who, through a somewhat cumbersome machinery (known as the Burnham Committee), negotiated pay and working conditions. Public support and, therefore, press support would be crucial if he were to get his way.
He largely failed. The teachers' unions mounted a highly effective campaign highlighting teachers' poor pay, which required some to take second jobs, heavy workload and propensity to heart attacks and nervous breakdowns. Joseph, by contrast, was, to the despair of his department's press officers, 'unskilled and uninterested' in influencing the media. 'He was often reluctant to meet journalists, and conducted press conferences with ill-concealed distaste and indecent speed' (Wilby, 1986).
Only after Joseph left office in 1986 did the Education Reform Act, introduced by Kenneth Baker, begin to change the balance of power. Baker, like nearly all Joseph's successors (John Patten, Education Secretary from 1992 to 1994, was the only significant exception), was far more media savvy. He launched the first National Curriculum, the first legislation allowing schools to become 'free' of council control and the first experiments in persuading private sponsors to back state schooling. He also solved the problem that Joseph faced in influencing teachers' pay and working conditions by abolishing the Burnham machinery and giving himself power to determine teachers' terms of employment.
By the end of the 1980s, the media narrative was almost wholly focused on an apparent battle to the death between 'traditionalists' and 'progressives' (sometimes called 'trendies') and, after the Conservatives' centralisation of educational power, it had an increasingly political dimension. The events of 1991 showed how the narrative would now develop.
In that year, Leeds council published a report on the outcomes of a programme to transform its primary schools into exemplars of 'good primary practice', which meant – or was thought to mean – making them more 'progressive'. Normally, such a report from a provincial education authority would attract little national press attention. Nobody can be sure why this one was different. Perhaps it was just the date of publication: the end of July, when other news is thin. But some commentators suggested that the Conservative government, facing a tricky general election the following year, tipped off some of the London-based education correspondents, seeing an opportunity to discredit a Labour-controlled city council and associate their main political opponents with falling educational standards.
Whatever the explanation, the coverage of the report, written by Robin Alexander, professor of primary education at Leeds University, dealt a devastating blow to 'progressive' education, possibly the most serious in more than a decade. 'Progressive teaching in schools was £14m failure', was the Daily Telegraph headline. 'The education of millions of primary school children has been blighted in the name of an anarchic ideology', the paper explained. The government's reaction chimed precisely with this press coverage. John Major, who had recently succeeded Margaret Thatcher as Conservative prime minister, used the report to support 'a return to basics' and announced 'the progressive theorists have had their say and . . . they've had their day'. Later, in 1992, Alexander was invited by the government to join an official inquiry into 'the delivery of education in primary schools'. Also appointed to the inquiry were Jim Rose, the then chief inspector of primary education, and Chris Woodhead, the chief executive of the National Curriculum Council; the latter largely accepted the government and media narrative of sturdy traditionalists fighting a rearguard action against a mighty progressive juggernaut. Appointed just before Christmas, they were dubbed 'the three wise men' by the press. When they reported, newspaper headlines screamed: 'Call for return to traditional school lessons' (Alexander, 1997).
Yet, as Alexander pointed out, the Leeds report's main conclusion was that the Leeds project 'was an initiative well worth the Authority's investment', even though it found important weaknesses in some outcomes in some schools. 'A complex and carefully qualified analysis', Alexander wrote, 'was reduced to a simple pathology.' As Alexander saw it, the outcome of the 'three wise men' inquiry was similarly distorted, partly by Woodhead, who re-drafted what was supposed to be 'a discussion paper', partly by the Education Department's press release, partly by the press itself. For example, the report rejected a return to streaming by ability, a favourite demand of the traditionalists. When Alexander made public his reservations about a report that had appeared under his name, the press accused him of a U-turn and called him 'one rather unwise man' (Alexander, 1997). When, nearly 20 years later, Alexander headed an independent investigation into primary education (known as the Cambridge Review), his nuanced reports – which, as he put it, 'exposed the complexity of the data and the difficulty of making hard and fast judgements' – were simplified into headlines mostly designed to discredit an increasingly unpopular Labour government: 'Literacy drive has almost no impact', 'Primary pupils let down by Labour', and so on (Alexander, 2014).
The campaign against 'progressive' teaching was not confined to newspapers. Television played its role too. In the autumn of 1991, in the wake of the Leeds report, a prestigious BBC current affairs programme reported that 'experts with a mania for progressive education have spread a canker through Britain's classrooms'. To illustrate this thesis, the programme went to two primary schools where, according to one study, 'a small and unrepresentative sample of practice was filmed, an even smaller sample remained after editing and, stripped of much of its context, the material actually shown was employed . . . to portray progressivism in simplistic terms' (Wallace, 1993).
The narrative would change little over the next 20 years. Like the 'red menace' of the Cold War era, the 'progressives' were always lurking, never idle in their mission to subvert decent, common-sense, traditional values. The narrative was supported by the frequently repeated judgement that, while the Right won the economic wars (converting the whole world to free-market economics), the Left won the culture wars. 'Trendy' teaching methods, the narrative argued, were imposed for ideological reasons by an 'educational establishment' comprising some prominent heads and teachers, professors of education, teacher-trainers, local authority officers and advisers, and even Her Majesty's Inspectors of Schools whose pronouncements were once treated as the Holy Grail. Even the advent of a Labour government in 1997 did not significantly alter the narrative, though some of the rhetoric was toned down, and Labour ministers made greater efforts to take account of teachers' opinions. The politicisation of schooling has gone to extraordinary extremes. Even the teaching of reading, essentially a technical matter, became a struggle between the 'phonics' method, supported by the Right, and the 'word recognition' or 'look-and-say' method, supported by the Left.
Politicians, meanwhile, have become hugely more sophisticated in using the media to their advantage. When they make policy, they think, not only of how well it will work, but of how they can 'sell' it to the media. All governments aspire to keep 'control' of the media agenda, and no departmental minister will survive for long unless he or she can feed the media with policy 'initiatives'. David Blunkett, Labour Education Secretary from 1997 to 2001, employed a special adviser (separate from the department's press office) who spent at least an hour a day on the media. In the early afternoon of each day, he would ring round the education correspondents and speak to them individually (Bangs, MacBeath and Galton, 2011).
But one effect of the increasing politicisation of education is that ministers often give news of what they regard as 'major initiatives' to the Westminster-based political correspondents, not to the education specialists. Since political reporters are by definition specialists in politics, not education (or health or policing or social services), policies rarely get expert scrutiny. Moreover, the growth in the number of columnists – nearly every newspaper has two or three of them each day – who express opinions on a large range of issues, and are employed for their ability to write provocatively and entertainingly, rather than for their understanding of a particular subject, further marginalises the role of expertise and informed critical scrutiny. Professors of education and other specialist academics are almost wholly excluded both from policy making and from newspaper coverage of education.
Most social media and Internet blogs multiply the amount of poorly informed comment. True, in education as in other areas, the Internet allows a few well-informed voices to bypass the press and to address directly a wide audience in a way that would once have been impossible. The Local Schools Network, for example, defends schools that are run by elected local councils and critiques the growing number of schools run by private chains with meticulously researched comment on its website.
But that is an exception. The narrative of 'progressives' versus 'traditionalists' continues to grip education, and no education minister has made more use of it than Michael Gove, Conservative Secretary of State in the Coalition government from 2010 to 2014. Successive governments, as one account puts it, have set up 'an object of derision' that they then pledge 'to exorcise' (Wallace, ibid). This perfectly suits the media, which has the clash of opposites that it craves and can put nearly all educational issues into this simple framework.
## References
Alexander, Robin (1997): Policy and Practice in Primary Education, 2nd edition. Routledge, London.
Alexander, Robin (2014): Evidence, Policy and the Reform of Primary Education: a cautionary tale, Forum, 6(3), Autumn 2014.
Bangs, John, MacBeath, John and Galton, Maurice (2011): Reinventing Schools, Reforming Teaching: From Political Visions to Classroom Reality. Routledge, London.
Cunningham, Peter (1992): Teachers' professional image and the press 1950–1990, History of Education: Journal of the History of Education Society, 21: 1, 37–56.
Giddens, Anthony (1984): The Constitution of Society. Polity Press, Cambridge.
Hargreaves, Linda et al. (2007): The Status of Teachers and the Teaching Profession in England, Department for Education and Skills, Research Report 831B.
Jarvis, Fred (2014): You Never Know Your Luck: Reflections of a Cockney Campaigner for Education. Grosvenor House, Guildford, Surrey.
Kogan, Maurice (1975): Educational Policy-Making: A Study of Interest Groups and Parliament. Allen and Unwin, London.
Wallace, Mike (1993): Discourse of Derision: the role of the mass media within the education policy process, Journal of Education Policy, 8: 4, 321–37.
Wilby, Peter (1986): Press and Policy: teacher appraisal, Journal of Education Policy, 1: 1, 63–72.
Williams, Kevin (2009): Read All About It! A History of the British Newspaper. Routledge, London.
This chapter is a version of a paper that was first published in Revue internationale d'éducation, 66, September 2014.
# Conclusions
# [16
Stories from the Field – Summarised](content.xhtml#bck_Ch016)
Richard Pring and Martin Roberts
## Overview of contributions
The changes in the educational provision – from early years, through primary, secondary, further and vocational education, to higher education and the training of teachers – have been amply illustrated by the contributions to this book. They have shown especially the revolutionary shift from minimal central control over what goes on in schools to much greater political control, first, through a national curriculum and national assessments, second, through the decline in local authority powers and responsibilities. The recently arrived academies and free schools are contracted directly to the Secretary of State. But higher education, too, has not escaped. The autonomy once protected by a University Grants Committee has been eroded as government has exercised its powers through funding and research to ensure greater relevance to its perception of national needs.
The scene was set by Lord Baker, who, as Secretary of State, introduced the 1988 Education Reform Act, thereby creating the National Curriculum and National Assessment, as well as the local management of schools. These were revolutionary changes arising from a belief that standards were too low in many schools – an understandable belief shared by the preceding Labour government, which, as explained in the introductory chapter and referred to in other contributions, set the ball rolling with Prime Minister James Callaghan's Ruskin College speech in 1976 – a generation of 40 years ago. In particular, the endemic neglect of technical and vocational education, despite many reports on the crisis since 1851, would be challenged through the establishment of City Technology Colleges, directly funded by government and private sponsors, and in a way resurrected by the more recent University Technology Colleges.
What the contributions illustrate are the gains and losses as experienced by those with responsibilities within the system – for example, by the early years' headteacher and ILEA adviser Wendy Scott, who, not denying the need for greater accountability to ensure high standards throughout, regretted the impact of the emerging top-down, short-term interference, undermining the much needed child-focused work of good early years education.
Both she and the former primary school headteacher, Tony Eaude, pay tribute to the Plowden Report of 1967, which influenced primary schooling at the beginning of our era, encouraging the arts and creativity in different forms. However, in their experience, what was often referred to as the more child-centred approach to education was gradually undermined by rigid assessment and accountability. Even how to teach literacy and numeracy came to be directed by government in the 1980s and 1990s. The autonomy of teachers was eroded in a political distrust of their expertise.
Similar concerns were expressed by Martin Roberts, a former head of a large and successful comprehensive school in Oxford. He expressed concern, not about there being a national curriculum framework, but about its mode of implementation. During his period of headship, the National Curriculum was increasingly implemented through an outcomes-driven system of accountability and through growing dominance of the newly established inspectorate, Ofsted, which was data-driven and judgemental rather than, as in the case of the HMI (which it largely replaced in 1992), much more supportive. Kenny Frederick experienced a similar case during her experience of headship in a challenging school in Tower Hamlets. There was a need to transform the racist and islamophobic ethos of the social context that affected the school, thereby creating a very inclusive school. But she pointed to the changes that had come to make the task more difficult, especially the decline in local authority support. On the other hand, both Martin Roberts and Kenny Frederick were able to point to innovations that had made improvements possible – increase in funding, greater opportunities for women, positive approaches to pupils with special needs, and initiatives like 'Excellence in Cities'.
The changes over the half century have paradoxically reflected both mistrust in the professionalism of teachers and yet the transformation of teacher preparation into a university-based profession. Richard Pring gives an account of that transformation and at the same time its gradual erosion, first, through political criticism of the content of that university preparation and, second, through the different routes now available for aspiring teachers – while highlighting the crisis facing the next generation in recruitment and maintenance of teachers, in part resulting from changes in schooling. But higher education, too, has changed, as explained by Richard Pring in a following chapter – from a relatively small group of universities catering for a small percentage of students to a massive increase with much wider student access. It has shifted from a mainly government-funded public service to one dependent on student fees.
Further education, as explained by Geoff Stanton, is the unknown sector of education, much neglected and under-funded as a result, despite the fact that colleges of FE cater for over three million students annually. They have witnessed, too, considerable changes, partly in response to those occurring in schools, which pass on, as it were, the students unlikely to succeed along an academic route. The colleges have provided innovative responses, especially through the pre-vocational courses they developed, to the needs of such students. But there has been a failure of recognition and thus of financial support, together with a bewildering change of programmes and qualifications, known by the flow (or flash flood) of acronyms: UVP, NVQ, TVEI, CGLI365, CPVE, DoVE, GNVQ, NFVQ, QCF, OCEA (and that's just a start).
It is to this changing system of qualifications that Tim Oates turns in a dramatic contrast between the whirligig of changes in England and the stability in other countries (e.g. the post-16 qualification in Finland has not changed in form or function for 100 years). That constant change in form and range of functions that the exam system has to perform (reflected, for example, in the short lives of GNVQ, 14–19 Diplomas, modularisation of A Levels, AS Levels as part of A Level) is one of the most distinctive and frustrating features of the last 40 years – not encouraging for the longevity of yet further changes promised by the political parties. The use and role of examining have been distorted by its use as an instrument of government policy.
One such use is its employment as an instrument of accountability. Certainly, as Pat O'Shea recounts, prior to our period, accountability of schools and the system as a whole left much to be desired. But, once the regime of Ofsted and testing had been in place for some time, the earlier kind of accountability provided by HMI, which was geared to school improvement, became divorced from inspection. The scheme of School Improvement Partners provided good professional support, but, like so many innovations, it had but a short life of six years. Inspection was slimmed down to two days, making judgements with little knowledge of the social context and with a shift of emphasis from curriculum to leadership and management. This reduction in professional support coincided with the enfeeblement of local authority responsibility and support.
The following three chapters (Part V) are written by people who, as well as having taught in schools, have also been Directors of Education in local authorities, dealing with the changes imposed and the increasing centralisation of services. Peter Newsam, Education Officer for the Inner London Education Authority, points to the weakening of local authorities from their partner role in a 'national system locally managed', as had been established by the 1944 Education Act. Such weakness strengthened the power of the Westminster politicians, not only through the curriculum control and assessment regime, but also through the broader 'reforms' of local government. The new corporate model had no room for the once powerful defenders of local democracy and accountability in education, namely, the Chief Education Officers. That understanding is reinforced by Tim Brighouse, whose reign as Director in both Oxfordshire and then Birmingham enabled him to see the shift from the age of optimism and trust at the beginning of our period (as reflected in 'teacher-based school improvement'), through the growing doubt and uncertainty (as trust in teachers gave way to high-stakes testing and increased prescription), to that of markets and managerialism (reflected in the espousal of 'choice', the language of targets and performance indicators, and the contraction out to external bodies (some 'for-profit' companies) of these public services. Margaret Maden, whose career enabled her to witness these changes from the positions of teacher, headteacher, Chief Education Officer and university professor of education, saw the need to adapt to the changes arising from the Education Reform Act, but also the importance of preserving the role of LEAs' advisory services, county in-service training centres and the organisation of schools from the viewpoint of one who knew the local needs and context. Local education authorities may have been driven to near extinction, but the gaping hole thereby left in organisation of education demonstrates the need for a 'middle tier' of organisation.
Throughout these changes, and the professional and public perceptions of them, the role of the press cannot be ignored. Peter Wilby shows how political standpoints entered into the reporting at key stages, particularly in the early 1970s with the Black Papers railing against the prevailing 'progressive ideas' (Teachers Mis-taught being the title of one of those papers). Hence, with the increased politicisation of education, the media tended to subsume issues into the progressive versus traditional, especially at the time when grammar schools were being transformed into comprehensives. In order to keep control of the media, Secretaries of State have fed 'initiatives' to journalists who often were political rather than specialist education journalists.
Of course, our period follows the transformation of the system of secondary education from a tri-partite one into a largely comprehensive system, albeit with that demarcation between able and less able still enforced by the dual examination system at 16 of GCE O Level and Certificate of Secondary Education. It was only in 1988 that the two systems were merged into the one that still prevails, namely, the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) – though for how long is open to question.
# [17
The Way Forward for the Next Generation](content.xhtml#bck_Ch017)
Richard Pring and Martin Roberts
Forty years have passed since Prime Minister Callaghan's Ruskin College speech. A generation of teachers, who commenced their careers then, are about to retire. When they commenced their careers, we had a 'national system of education locally maintained', as legislated in the 1944 Education Act. The Secretary of State had few powers, and those had nothing to do with the curriculum or how it should be taught.
One third of the time through the careers of this generation (13 years), the Education Reform Act radically changed that, giving the Secretary of State far-reaching powers over the curriculum (and its attainment targets and assessment), and over the establishment of schools no longer 'locally maintained' (namely, City Technology Colleges) but contracted to the Secretary of State.
Twelve years later, the City Academies Programme was launched, thereby opening up a system of schools (including the Free Schools) contracted directly to the Secretary of State, but maintained mainly through sponsors of various kinds.
Simultaneously, there has been an intensification of targets and performance indicators, of audits and league tables, by which schools, colleges and universities are held to account.
Therefore, these have been revolutionary times. But many aspects of that revolution are being seriously questioned, as the preceding chapters indicate. Furthermore, whatever the system, its success depends on the sufficient supply of good teachers. Yet there is a crisis looming in the recruitment and the retention of teachers. A shortfall of 27,000 is predicted by 2017, and between 40 per cent and 50 per cent of newly qualified teachers leave the profession within five years. Two-thirds of secondary schools had difficulty in recruiting maths teachers. Reasons given for leaving are constant teacher bashing, high-pressure accountability, excessive workload and relentless pace of change.
Therefore, the post-ERA education system seems now to be in much need of further reform. Although responsible for some necessary improvements, it has opened up a range of problems and is in danger, therefore, of doing more harm than good to many pupils.
Further reasons for questioning the efficacy of these years of continuous government-led reforms stem from international comparisons. One can debate the validity of the PISA tables, but they offer no evidence of England improving its position in recent years. Meanwhile, the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competences (PIAAC) shows us performing very poorly on adult literacy measures. Uniquely within the OECD, the literacy scores of our 16–24 age group are lower than our 55–65 one. Vocational education and training is a black spot. Only 32 per cent of our upper secondary pupils are following vocational courses, compared with the OECD average of 44 per cent. As the government's own advisory group, the Social Mobility Commission, noted in 2014, there is 'a lack of a plan to prepare young people for the world of work and support them through this complex transition'. Educational experts from both the OECD and North America are critical of the inconsistencies of over-centralised political control. In its Education Policy Outlook 2015, OECD analysts noted that, in England, 'rather than build on the foundations laid by previous administrations, the temptation is always to scrap existing innovations and start afresh'. They also comment that, 'the more the government is only one partner among several, the less vulnerable programmes are to being wound up after administrative or personality changes'.
Having seen the evolution of the system of education over the last 40 years, what, in light of the considerable problems emerging, should be the direction of change for the next generation of teachers? In what follows, arising from the contributions to this book, we make the following recommendations and are confident that, if implemented and sustained over many years, they would lead to significant improvements in English education.
## 1 Limit the power and control by central government
Problems arise from concentration of so much power in the hands of a Secretary of State, who is not accountable even to Parliament for many of the decisions made. Those problems include:
* constant changes to examinations and qualifications that have a limited time-span or need soon to be reversed – to the frustration of employers, universities and teachers. There need to be a pause and wide deliberation before further 'reforms' are proposed and the establishment of an independent Examination and Qualifications Council to organise that deliberation and to make final decisions;
* initiative after initiative made in relation to election-driven timetables or in response to 24/7 media interests, rather than to well-researched deliberations; and
* persistent tinkering with curriculum content, which should be left to subject and pedagogical experts.
## 2 Create a 'middle tier' between schools, colleges and government
The pursuit of 'choice' within what has become a 'market of schools', with the drastic weakening of local education authorities throughout this generation, has led to fragmentation of schools, to competition rather than collaboration between them, and to expensively created extra places in some areas, with a lack of school places in others (while pupil numbers are rising). There is a need, therefore, for a 'middle tier' of organisation with a real democratic element to ensure:
* there are the right schools and colleges in the right places;
* schools and colleges work in partnership to ensure a fair spread of scarce resources and staff; and
* those schools receive good advisory support when needed.
## 3 Create a more rational and uniform system of schooling
There is now a bewildering variety of schools ('free', sponsored academies, academy chains, grammar, UTCs, local authority community, voluntary aided, voluntary controlled), each with distinctive forms of governance, funding arrangements and control over admissions. Sense needs to be restored through:
* total transparency of funding, governance and admissions;
* not allowing once again the creation of secondary modern schools through the expansion of grammar schools, either as new schools or by expanding existing ones; and the
* restoration of local accountability of all schools receiving (directly or indirectly through charitable status) public funding.
## 4 Ensure equal funding for pupils across schools and colleges
One result of the many different types of school, arising from different forms of sponsorship, is that the unit of resource varies from school to school, often without educational or social justification. It is important that:
* an agreed common funding formula be established for all pupils at the different age levels, irrespective of type of school;
* grounds for exception (e.g. special educational needs) should be universally agreed and applied; and
* the deficit funding currently applied to post-16, especially to FE, should be rectified.
## 5 Trust the teachers more
The quality of teachers is essential to good education – well educated, well trained, well supported professionally, well respected and well paid. There is now, however, a crisis in recruitment and retention, as described above. Concern over teacher supply has been exacerbated by Schools Direct filling only 61 per cent of the places allocated in 2014. And the provision of training is now increasingly fragmented, as its traditional prevalence in universities is receding. It is essential, therefore, to:
* establish an independent college of teaching (similar to the Royal College of Medicine) as an independent professional body for the regulation and support of teachers, for the provision of guidance on the training of teachers, for advice to government and for the link between teachers and the Secretary of State;
* require all teachers to have Qualified Teacher Status following an approved training course;
* ensure all teachers are required to have regular 'Continuing Professional Development'.
## 6 Make accountability of schools and teachers supportive rather than punitive
Characteristic of recent years has been increased accountability through examination results, testing and data-driven inspection by Ofsted. This has created a climate of fear, teaching to the test, and failure to do justice to the wider range of educational aims and achievements. It is important, therefore, to revert to a system of accountability that:
* is based on professional judgement as well as quantitative data;
* supports teachers in their efforts to improve their teaching;
* reforms Ofsted so that its members help rather than punish struggling schools; and
* encourages self-evaluation, monitored by other teachers.
There is no compelling evidence that Ofsted is contributing to the overall improvement of English education, as it concentrates excessively on individual institutions and not enough on local and regional performance.
## 7 Promote curriculum development, not imposition
'There is no curriculum development without teacher development.' The curriculum, within a broad national framework (but bearing in mind terminal examinations), should be developed by the teachers who know their subject and know their pupils. It should not be controlled by whichever government comes into power and at the whim of the ever-changing Secretaries of State. To assist schools in this task there is a need to:
* establish a National Council for Curriculum Development whose membership should have wide representation from teachers, professional associations (e.g. the Historical Association), universities, employers, inspectorate, government, the wider community; and
* support curriculum development by research evidence, including teacher research, which could be part of CPD.
## 8 Reviewing examining and qualifications
Qualifications, and the examinations leading to them, have been in constant change, often with a short life and often reversed after initial experience. This makes life exceedingly difficult for the teachers who have constantly to change their courses, and for universities and employers who depend on the qualifications for recruitment. It is important to:
* differentiate the different functions of testing and examining (formative and summative, international comparisons, national standards, school performance, personal achievement, remedial needs); and
* establish an independent Council for Examinations and Assessment with wide representation. (It could be integrated with the proposed National Council for Curriculum Development – we have been here before – several times!)
## 9 Promote technical education and training
The country has constantly failed to respect and to provide good-quality technical education and training, as reflected in Acts of Parliament and government papers ever since the 1851 Great Exhibition. The creation of city technology colleges and university technical colleges, together with the 14–19 Diploma in Engineering, are recent attempts to rectify this. It is important:
* to maintain this momentum and to ensure such opportunities are available for all and included in any new curriculum framework, such as a Baccalaureate.
## 10 Restore pre-vocational education in schools and colleges
At a time when all young people are to be in some form of education and training until the age of 18, it is important to consider ways in which, for many, general education can be continued but based on more practical and occupational interests. Hence, there is a need to:
* examine again the thinking and practices that were developed through the pre-vocational initiatives which took place within the last 40 years; and
* ensure greater partnership between schools, colleges of further education and employers, essential for success.
## 11 Benefit from the revolutionary developments within this generation of ICT
ICT and the electronic revolution have opened up immense possibilities for the improvement of learning. It has opened up distance learning in higher education on a massive scale (e.g. MOOCS). In schools and colleges, it has made possible online tutoring and seminars and even virtual social areas and laboratories for the house-bound and excluded (e.g. NISAI). Teacher collaboration and curriculum development have been made possible across schools and colleges. Therefore, it is essential:
* to build urgently on what has been achieved so far through teacher professional development and ready access to the necessary resources.
## 12 Restore 'proper' apprenticeships
Vocational education is essential, but, as the Wolf Report showed, much was of low standard and did not provide the necessary link between the hopes of students and the needs of employers. Although there are many political promises to create more apprenticeships, it is important to preserve the high standard of skill traditionally associated with apprenticeships and improve the routes through apprenticeship to employment. To that end, there is need:
* not to let quantity diminish the meaning and quality of apprenticeships; and
* to make it easier for employers to take on long-term apprenticeships.
## 13 Prioritise independent and professional careers guidance for all
Although this issue did not emerge in the chapters, we believe that the provision of information, advice and guidance (IAG) to students from 14 upwards is patchy and limited, and yet is essential if they are to know about the availability of apprenticeships, the many different university courses and the subject choices necessary to proceed to the right course. Therefore, it is necessary:
* to ensure every secondary school and college of FE has ready access to a professionally staffed, independent and well-informed IAG; and
* to provide courses in school about the different routes that students can take to a chosen career.
## 14 Reconsider the nature, shape and funding of the higher education system
It is now half a century since the Robbins Report. The higher education system has grown and changed, partly as a result of specific reports (e.g. on funding), but in particular because of much wider access and differentiation of higher education functions. Particular issues, however, have arisen through the development of open access, the greater importance attached to research, the entry of foreign and for-profit providers, and the corporate nature of current universities. Therefore:
* this would seem to be the time for another major and comprehensive report – Robbins Mark II.
So, in the interest of the future generations of schools and universities, there needs to be a new Education Reform Act encompassing many of the recommendations of this book and the insights of those who have contributed to it, ensuring a better, positive, productive educational culture.
But, learn from the past! Successful legislation has always followed a long period of deliberation, consultation, open debate and reference to relevant research. Our final recommendation is therefore:
## 15 Pause, think and deliberate, preferably for two years, before further 'reforms'
In the past 150 years, successful and long-standing reforms have followed major and comprehensive reports by commissions established to address problems (e.g. on the future of higher education, on examination reform, on developing a secondary school system). In the nineteenth century, these were called Royal Commissions. In the post-1944 era, they were commissioned by the Central Advisory Committee. They took time to consider every aspect, before finally making recommendations and only then legislated. Therefore:
* a crucial recommendation of this book is that, before any more reforms, a public enquiry should be established into the range of issues raised in this book, representative of the many interested parties, and should collect evidence, institute relevant research, engage in public debate, and finally (after two or three years) report to government, making recommendations for reform.
N.B. While this book was at proof stage Dr Paul Cappon, an international expert appointed by the DfE in 2014–15 to undertake a review . . . which could inform deliberations within the Department', published his findings in Preparing English Young People for Work and Life. Many of his recommendations are similar to the above; e.g. the government tries to do too much on its own; our accountability system needs serious realignment; we should prioritise vocational education, create a new 'middle tier', a College of Teaching and a National Council of Learning. Cappon concurs with the Wolf Review that 'in England strengths occur despite rather than because of its systems and structures'.
# Appendix
# Major education acts and reports
1976 | James Callaghan's Ruskin Speech
Auld Report on William Tyndale School
Assessment of Performance Unit
---|---
1977 | Further Education Unit established. Published A Basis for Choice Taylor Report: A New Partnership for our Schools
1978 | Waddell Commission Report – proposing unified system at 16+
**1979** | **General Election: Conservative victory (Thatcher)**
1980 | Assisted Places Scheme
1981 | Warnock Report on Special Educational Needs A New Training Initiative: A Programme for Action
1982 | Abolition of Schools Council, replaced by the Schools Curriculum and Development Committee (SCDC) and the Schools Examination Council (SEC)
TVEI (Technical Vocational Education Initiative)
1983 | Youth Training Scheme
CPVE (Certificate of Pre-vocational Education)
1986 | NCVQ (National Council for Vocational Qualifications) City Technology Colleges
1987 | Curriculum 11–16 (HMI The Red Book) unified and common curriculum
1988 | Higginson Report on A Levels
1988 | Education Reform Act
National Curriculum Council (NCC) and Schools Examination and Assessment Council (SEAC) established
ILEA abolished
1990 | Rumbold Report (Early Years)
**1992** | **Conservative government victory (Major)**
Ofsted established
White Paper: Choice and Diversity
Further and Higher Education Act: ended binary line in higher education
1993 | Specialist schools encouraged
Technology Schools Trust (becomes the SSAT in 2005)
SCAA (Schools Curriculum and Assessment Authority) created by merging NCC and SEAC (see above, 1988)
1994 | Dearing Report on the National Curriculum
1995 | FEU absorbed into the Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) Dearing Report on HE – proposes fees for full-time undergraduates
1996 | White Paper: Self-government for Schools
(by now there were 163 grammar schools, over 100 GMS, 196 specialist schools, 15 CTCs, 30 language colleges, 151 new technology colleges, assistant places, whereby places in private schools were publicly supported)
**1997** | **General Election: victory for New Labour**
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) formed through a merger of SCAA and NCVQ
White Paper Excellence in Schools: benchmarks, targets, standards, performance management, rigorous inspection
Kennedy Report, Learning Works: Widening Participation in FE Effective Provision for Pre-School Education (EPPE)
1998 | National Skills Task Force (Blair)
Graduate Teacher Programme (GTP) introduced, offering another route into teaching other than the well-established university-based PGCE
Education Action Zones (EAZs) established
National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies for primary schools introduced Sure Start begins
1999 | Excellence in Cities initiative
Moser Report, A Fresh Start: Improving Literacy and Numeracy
2000 | Introduction of city academies
2001 | Ofsted responsible for day care and childminding
Green Paper: Schools: Building on Success: raising standards, promoting diversity, achieving results
2002 | Citizenship added to the National Curriculum Education Act 2002 encourages the spread of academies Birth to Three Matters
2003 | The first Teach First graduates enter schools Ouseley Report: Community Pride, Not Prejudice
2004 | The Childrens' Act (Every Child Matters)
Tomlinson Report on 14–19 Curriculum and Qualifications Reform Higher Education Act: variable fees, foundation degree powers to FEC
2006 | Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) statutory standards for early years providers
Raising age for remaining in education and training to 17
2007 | Ofsted responsible for FE but not universities
2008 | 14–19 Advanced Diplomas introduced
**2010** | **General Election: Coalition (Conservative and Lib Dem) victory (Cameron)**
SSAT loses government support and becomes much smaller Schools Network
Many education quangos abolished – for example, QCA, which had become the QCDA
2011 | Wolf Report on the Reform of Vocational Qualifications Rationalisation of qualifications, many scrapped (e.g. Advanced Diplomas) Free schools and academies vigorously promoted EBacc added as a measure of school performance Nutbrown Review (Early Years)
2012 | GTP programme replaced by Schools Direct and School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT)
2014 | Regional commissioners introduced
2015 | Carter Report on ITT
Government refers a workload review after one-day strikes about pay and workload
## Changing acronyms for the Education Department
From 1964 DES, 1992 DfE, 1995 DfEE, 2001 DfES, 2007 DCFS, 2010 DfE
## Changing Curriculum and Assessment Agencies
From 1964, the Schools Council, 1983 SCDC and SEC, 1988 NCC and SEAC, 1993 SCAA, 1997 QCA, 2008 QCD(development)A and OFQUAL, 2010 QCDA abolished
# Subject Index
academic respectability –, –
accountability xv, , , , , , , , , , –, –, –, ,
AEC (Association of Education Committees)
apprenticeship , –, , ,
assessment , –, –,
Baker-Dearing Educational Trust
Bedfordshire
B.Ed degree , –,
binary divide , –
Birmingham LA –
Black Papers on Education , , , , –,
Brighton University , ,
British values
Bryce Commission , ,
Buckinghamshire LA –
Bullock Report
Cambridgeshire Village Colleges
Careers education ,
Centre for Successful Schools –
citizenship education
City Learning Centres
City Technology Colleges , , , , ,
CNAA , ,
Colleges of Advanced Technology
comprehensive schools , –, ,
core skills –
curriculum , , –, , –, –, –, , , , –, –, , ,
digital revolution –
disability –,
distance learning ,
DLOs
Early Excellence Programme
early years , –, ,
ECF –
Education Action Zone , ,
Education Acts: 1944 xv, –, , , , –, , , ; 1988 Education Reform Act , , , , , , , , , , , , ; 2004 The Children's Act, Every Child Matters , , ,
Education Priority Areas ,
education system , , , ,
elementary education , –, , , –
employers
equality/equal opportunities ,
ethnic minorities and diversity , , , –, , , ,
examinations and qualifications xv, , –, , –, , ; Advanced Extension Awards ; BTEC , ; CEE ; CGLI 365 , ; CPVE , , ; CSE , , , ; Diplomas – , , , –, , , ; DoVE , ; EBacc ; GCE-A level , , , , , , , , ; GCE-AS –; GCE-O level , , ; GCSE , , , , , , , , , , , –, ; GCSE Applied ; GNVQ , , , , , ; NVQ , –, ,
Examination Boards/Awarding Bodies , , , ; CGLI , ; OCEA ; RSA ,
Examinations and Qualifications Council
Excellence in Cities , , ,
EYFS ,
faith schools
Finland (abitur) , ,
Fischer Family Trust
foundation degrees
France
further education , –, –, , ; colleges , –, –
Further Education Funding Council , ,
Further Education Unit , ,
George Green School –
Germany
gifted and talented –
government (central) control xv, , , , , , –, , , –, , , , , , , , ,
Great Debate
Headship –, , , ,
higher education , , , , , , ; history in the NC , ; unitary system , , , , ,
HMI , , , , –, , –, , ,
Humanities , ,
ICT , , ,
Immigration –
Inclusion , , ,
Inner London Education Authority –, ,
international comparisons ,
Islington Green C.S.
Jarratt Commission
key skills
Labour, Conservative and Coalition Governments overview –
labour market ,
league tables , , ,
Learning and Skills Council , , ,
literacy (strategies) , , –, , , –, ,
local (education) authorities xv, , , , , , , , , , , –, , , , –, –, , –, –,
local management of schools , –,
London Challenge , –
London Institute of Education ,
managerialism and language , , –, ; audits , , ; delivery, , ; Manpower Services Commission (MSC) , , ; performativity –, , , ; targets , , , , , , ,
markets , , , ,
Mathematics , ,
media (including 'social') , , –, ,
middle tier –
modular ,
National Commission on Education –
National Council for Curriculum Development
National Council for Vocational Qualifications , –
National Curriculum xv, , –, –, , , –, , , , , –, , , , –
National Foundation Vocational Qualifications
nationalisation of education –
National Qualifications Framework
National Youth Agency
New Labour , , , , –, , ,
Numeracy (strategies) –, , , –,
nursery education/provision , –,
NUT , , , ,
OCEA –, ,
OECD , , ,
Ofqual
Ofsted , , , –, , , –, , , , , , , , , –, , , , ,
Opening Minds (RSA)
Open University ,
Oxford Internship Partnership ,
Oxfordshire –, –,
pedagogy , , , , ,
Peers School, Oxford
performance management (appraisal)
PGCE , ,
physical education ,
PISA , , , ,
Plowden Report , , , , ,
policy/policy makers –, ,
political context –, –,
polytechnics , , , , –
post-16 education , ,
post-modernism
practical knowledge ,
pre-school
pre-vocational , , –, –, , ,
primary education and practice –, –, –
Prince's Teaching Institute –
private, privatisation, for-profit xv, , , –,
progressivism , –, –,
public service ,
pupil premium ,
PVI nurseries , ,
qualification-led reform , –, –
qualifications see examinations and qualifications
Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF) , ,
Quality Assurance Agency , ,
race relation, racisms , , –,
reading , , , , ,
Reports (prior to 1976): 1884 Royal Commission on Technical Instruction ; 1938 Spens ; 1943 Norwood ; 1963 Robbins
research , , , ; Research Assessment Exercise , ; Research Excellence Framework , ,
restorative justice
Robbins Report on Higher Education , , , , , –,
Ruskin speech , , , ,
Sandy Upper School
School Improvement Partners
Schools: Academies , , , , –, , , –, , ; Community ; Comprehensive , , , ; Free , , , –, , , ; Foundation ; Grammar , , , , ; Grant Maintained , , ; Independent , –; Reorganisation –; Secondary Modern , , , ; Self-evaluation ; Specialist , ; Technical , , , ; Voluntary Aided and Controlled
Schools Council , –, , ,
Schools Direct
Schools Examination and Assessment Council (SEAC)
secondary education for all xv,
SEED Project ,
selection at ages and , ,
SIP
sixth forms ,
social class
social context –, , ,
special education needs (SEN) , , , , , ,
standards , , , , –, ,
Sure Start ,
Swann Report
Teach First , ,
teacher autonomy , , , ,
Teacher recruitment , , , ,
Teacher strikes ,
Teacher Training Agency
Teacher Training Colleges/Colleges of Education ,
teacher training/professional development , –, –, –,
teaching profession xv, –, , ,
technical and vocational , , ,
Technical and Vocational Education Initiative (TVEI) , , –
testing xv, , , , ; teaching to , ,
Timss ,
Tomlinson Committee ,
Tower Hamlets , ,
Training and Enterprise Council (TEC)
unemployment
Unified Vocational Preparation (UVP) –
universities , –, –
University Funding Council
University Grants Committee (UGC) , , , , , ,
University Technology Colleges , –, , ,
USA ,
vocational education and training –, –, –, –, ,
voluntary bodies xv, , ,
Warwickshire LA –
world of work
youth service ,
# Name Index
Adonis, A. ,
Ainscow, M.
Alexander, R. , , , ,
Alexander, W. ,
Allen, G.
Baker, K. , , , ,
Ball, S.
Balls, Ed
Bangs, J.
Barber, M. –,
Beales, A.C.
Beaumont
Bell, D.
Bernstein, B.
Bhaskar. R.
Blair, T. , , , , –
Blunkett, D. , ,
Booth, T.
Boyle, Edward
Brighouse, Tim , , ,
Brock, M.
Cable, V.
Callaghan, James , , , , ,
Coleridge ,
Dearing –,
Dewey, J. , , ,
Dweck, C.
Eaude, T. ,
Friedman
Fullan, M.
Gardner H.
Gillborne, D. , ,
Glass, N.
Gove, M. , , , –, –
Gramsci
Green, A.
Greer, G.
Hargreaves, A ,
Hargreaves, D.
Hayek, F.
Hirst, P.
Jones, K.
Joseph, Keith , , ,
Judge, H. ,
Kennedy, H.
Kerpel, A. ,
Letwin, O.
Major, J.
Mercer, N.
Mill, J.S.
Morrell, D.
Morris, E. ,
Newman, J.H.
Newsom, J.
Newton, P.
Nias, J.
Oakeshott, M. –
Oates, T. , ,
O'Hear, A. –,
Perry, P.
Peters, R.S.
Piaget
Plato
Pugh, G.
Riddell, P.
Rose, J.
Rutter, M.
Sahlgren, G.H.
Shulman, L.
Simon, B.
Stenhouse, L.
Sylva, K. , ,
Taylor, C.
Thatcher, M. –, , , , , –, ,
Tickell, C.
Tomlinson, M.
Tomlinson, S.
Twigg, S.
Vygotsky
Wall, W.D.
Warnock, M.
Watson, David –, , ,
Whitty, G. ,
Wilby, P.
Woodhead,C. , ,
Wragg, T. ,
Young, M.
Zeldin, T. –
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PUBLICATION POLICIES OPEN ACCESS POLICY ETHICAL POLICY PLAGIARISM POLICY COPYRIGHT TRANSFER CONFLICT OF INTEREST
DOUBLE-BLIND REVIEW AND EVALUATION PROCESS CHECKLIST FOR AUTHORS MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION SUBMISSION AND RETRACTION OF THE MANUSCRIPTS
25/4Current Issue Ahead of Print Archive Previus Issues Most Accessed Articles
ICMJE COI Form
MANUSCRİPT PREPARATİON
Manuscripts should preferably be written using the Microsoft Word program. The manuscripts should be typed in 12 point Times New Roman characters. Manuscripts should be written double- spaced on one side of the A4 (21x29.7 cm) white paper and throughout the entire manuscript (including headings, abstracts in Turkish and English, main text, references, tables and subtitles) and justified leaving 3-cm margin from both sides. They should be written in accordance with word processor's page layout settings.
Journal Agent Online Article Collection and Evaluation System is being uploaded online, Article and Abstract Information, Information about Institute, Author Information, Responsible Author Information, Article Title, Article Turkish and English Summaries of the Article, Turkish and English Key Words, NoteEdit, File Upload (Full Text - References – Table(s) - Pictures - Graphics – Notes to the Editor ) are recorded separately step by step in the system.
The authors are kindly requested to submit their ORCID numbers obtained the website from www.orcid.org and indicate them in the relevant area at this stage. Abstract and full text should not containinformation about the individuals and institutions participating in the study.
The files must be loaded in the following order.
The electronic article file (Full Text) should be named with the title of the article in capital letters. They should only include "Title (Turkish-English) - Short Title (Turkish-English)", "Introduction", "Materials and Methods", "Results", "Discussion", "Acknowledgement (if) - Conflict of Interest". Each of the sections should be presented on separate pages. The titles of the text sections should appear at the left of the page with capital letters. All pages should be numbered sequentially from the bottom right corner.
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Tables should be prepared and written double-spaced on a separate sheet, and the number and title of each table must be written on top of the table. If abbreviations are given in the table, these abbreviations should be written in alphabetical order as subheadigs. . When previously printed or electronically published tables are used, written permission must be obtained from both the author and the publisher, and it must be sent by fax or mail to the editor of the journal.
Figures, graphics, illustrations, photos and legends should be written double-spaced on a separate sheet. If the abbreviations are given in figures, graphics and illustrations, the expansions of these abbreviations should be written under the subtitle and in alphabetical order. When previously printed or electronically published figures, graphics and images are used, written permission must be obtained from both the author and the publisher, and this must be sent by fax or mail to the editor of the journal.
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Original articles and review articles should not exceed 10, case reports 4, letters to editors 1 page (excluding references, tables and graphics).
In the manuscript, the sections and contents of the manuscript should be presented as follows.
Title: A short title should be used whenever possible. The title of the research, and review articles should not exceed 95 characters (each letter, space, and punctuation marks are considered as one character), in case of case reports, letters and presentations of surgical techniques it should not contain more than 80 characters. Abbreviations should not be used in the title. The title should be written in Turkish and English. A short title should be added as a subtitle which should not exceed 40 characters.
Funds and organizations supporting the research should be mentioned here, If the study is planned to be presented in any congress or if it has been presented before, the name, place, and date (day-month-year) of the congress should be written
The abstracts should not exceed 250 words in the research papers Headings should not be used in summaries (the English translation of the title should be written on the title page). Abstract in Turkish should consist of four subheadings as While abstract in English should include subheadings of Aim, Material and Method, Results, and Conclusion) In case reports and review articles donot contain these sections, and abstracts should not exceed 100 words. English title, and abstract should be. English title and abstract should be word by word translation of the Turksih abstract. Letters to editor, and Editorials do not require abstracts.
Use of abbreviations should be avoided as much as possible in summaries. If absolutely required, abbreviation should be used after its definition is provided in parenthesis at the first mention of the term. Reference should not be used in the abstract.
Key words: In accordance with "Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)" there should be no more than five key words under the summary written both in Turkish and English. Available terms can be used if there is no appropriate term for the "Index Medicus" medical subject headings for the newly entered terms
Introduction: The general conditions of the study settings, the structure and significance of the problem, the specific objective of the study or research tested in the study or observation should be clearly indicated. The primary and secondary objectives of the work should be clearly stated and the predefined subgroup analyzes should be transferred. Only references related to the topic should be used and the data or results of the presented work should not be included in these references.
Material and Method: The informed consent of the patient and the approval of the ethics committee should be acknowledged. A statement must be added that the informed consent was obtained from each participant in clinical trials. It should be noted in experimental studies that all animals were subjected to a humane treatment in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (www.nap.edu/catalog/5140.html).
Definition of optimal working conditions, exclusion criteria and referenced population; the participants in the observational or experimental study must be clearly indicated. Since the relevance of the variables such as age and gender for the purpose of the research is not always obvious, the authors should explain the purpose of using these variables in a research article. The main principles that determine how and why the study is performed using such a method should be clear. References should be shown for established methods, brief descriptions should be given for new methods
The methods, tools (manufacturer's name and address are written in parentheses) and the operations performed should be described in detail to the extent of interpretation of the results. The initials of the drug names should be in lower case, the pharmacological names of the drugs should be used and at their first mention in the text they should be written in brackets in the following order"Generic name, trade name, and Manufacturing firm ". Example: "midazolam (Dormicum, Roche)". The terms should be written in their explicit forms at their first mention in the text, and then their abbreviations ( if any) should be enclosed in parentheses. Frequently used abbreviations should be used as accustomed (iv, im, po and sc). Units must be used in compliance with the International system of units (SIU (Le Système international d'unités),Examples: mg / kg, mL / kg, mL / kg / min, mL / kg
Statistical methods should be provided in sufficient detail so that the readers can reach the original data and evaluate the reported results. Findings should be measured as much as possible and the appropriate margin of error and uncertainty (such as confidence intervals) should be indicated. It is important to avoid relying only on the p-values ??of statistical hypothesis measures that are insufficient to convey important information about the dimensions of the effects. P values ??must be given explicitly. Statistical terms, abbreviations and symbols should be defined. In the last paragraph of this section, statistical analyses used, and the values given by the (±) sign after the arithmetic mean or proportion should be indicated.
Results: The findings, tables and visual material obtained in the study should be written in the order of a certain logic so that the most important ones will take precedence in the text. Graphics, tables, illustrations, and figures should be numbered according to the order of their mention in the text, and should be indicated in parentheses in the text. Data contained in the tables and visual materials should not be repeated in the text. Only important observations should be emphasized or summarized. Tables and figures are placed collectively after the last reference at the end of the text. Only the top title of the table, and graphic or the subheading of figures, illustrations, photos are written in their appropriate places in the text
The numerical results summarized in the Results section should be given not only as derivatives (eg percentages), but with exact numerical values, and the statistical methods used to analyze them should be specified. When scientifically appropriate, data should be analyzed in terms of variables such as age and gender. Tables and pictures should be limited to those necessary to explain and support the discussion expressed in the article. As an alternative to the tables, you should use some kind of graphics on which many entries can be made, and data should not be repeated on graphics and tables. Using non-technical terms such as "random", "explicit", "links" and "example" in the statistics section should be avoided
Discussion: The results of the study are evaluated by comparing them with the international, and domestic literature. New and important aspects of the study and its outcomes should be emphasized. Data and other information presented in the Introduction and Results sections should not be repeated. In experimental studies, we should briefly summarize the main findings and then analyze explanations with possible mechanisms and compare them with other similar studies. It would be appropriate to comment on the implications of these findings for future researches and clinical practices. The objectives of the work should be correlated with the results. However, unmeasured situations and outcomes that are not adequately reinforced by the data should be avoided. The resulting decision arrived must be stated in the last paragraph of the discussion. If the article does not include appropriate economic data and analysis, no particular comment should be made on economic interests and costs. Claims on an incomplete study should be avoided, new hypotheses must be specified when they are confirmed, and their novelty should be clearly emphasized.
Acknowledgment (if any): If you also want to thank the people who can not fulfill the criteria for authorship involved in fundraising, technical assistance, data collection, supervisor of the research group, writing, or department chiefs who just provided general support, and those providing finance and material support, a brief paragraph can be written under the heading of "Acknowledgement.". Written consent must be obtained from the individuals to be mentioned in the acknowledgment section since they may make a sense of data and conclusions they contributed
Conflict of Interest: The authors are requested to declare any existing commercial association that might potentially have a conflict of interest regarding their articles. (eg employment, direct payments, holding shares, holding, consultancy, patent licensing arrangements, or granting honorarium). All financial resources supporting the study should also be declared as footnotes
Tables and Charts: Charts can be saved in a single chart file, tables can be placed in one spreadsheet file on each page. Titles, descriptions and footnotes should be placed on each sheet of paper.
The tables reflect the information in a concise and effective way. They also provide information of the desired quality and precision. The fact that the data are given in the tables rather than in the text usually makes it possible to shorten the text. The tables should not be a repetition of the information in the article
The tables should be demonstrated in brackets in the text. It should carry a short self-heading. According to their appearance in the text, each one should be given a short title, starting from the top left, and numbered sequentially by Roman numerals. There should be no lines on the background, they should be drawn on a white background.. Horizontal and vertical lines should not be used in the table . Each column is given a short or a concise title. Explanatory information should be placed in footnotes, not in headings. Abbreviations should be explained in footnotes. The explanations of the abbreviations should be in the form of subtitles under the table and in alphabetical order. The following symbols should be used in the footnotes, in the following order: *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡. Measures of statistical variables such as standard deviation and standard mean error should be defined. Make sure that each table and graph are mentioned in the text.
There should be no frame around the graphics, no lines on its background, and the background should be white.
When using previously published or electronically published tables and graphics, written permission should be obtained from both the author and the publisher and they should be acknowledged. Permission should be faxed or mailed to the journal editor.
Pictures, Photos and Figures: Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed. Photographs and scans taken with a digital camera should be recorded at a resolution of at least 300 dpi, 1280x960 pixels, in jpg or tiff format. There should be no writing on the picture unless it is compulsory.
Each pictures and figure should be placed on separate pages in a file containing only pictures, figures, and photos . Naming and numbering should be done as subtitles on each page. They should be placed in the text, numbered in Arabic numerals according to the order of their appearance in the text, and shown in brackets in the text When symbols, arrows, or letters that point to specific sections of the figures, and photos are used, these should be explained in the subtitle. If so, the expansions of the abbreviations should be placed under the subtitle in alphabetical order.
Microscope magnification ratio and staining technique used should be explained.
When previously printed or electronically published figures, images, and photos are used, written permission must be obtained from both the author and the printing house and this must be sent by fax or mail to the editor of the journal.
When using the images of people whose face is not hidden and recognizable, written permission must be obtained from them.
References: One should be selective in the use of references, and should include references directly related to the study. Turkish sources should be also used and authors should be sensitive to this issue. Although referencing review articles direct readers to the proper essence of the medical literature, they do not always accurately reflect the original study. Therefore, readers should be provided with as much original research articles as possible. Avoid using summaries as a source.
Authors should compare references with original articles to minimize erroneous references that sometimes occur in published articles. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of refereces and their spelling.
If the authors can not specify whether they referenced a retracted publication or not, they are obliged to check that the references they cited do not belong to the retracted articles. For articles in the journals indexed on MEDLINE, ICMJE considers PubMed (http://www.pubmed.gov) as a reliable source of information on retracted articles. Authors may recognize the retracted articles in MEDLINE with the following search term in PubMed; retracted publication [pt] ( pt in square brackets stands for publication type).
Apart from collective and up-to-date review articles, encompassing reference lists unnecesarily occupy valuable space of the text. As a general rule, the number of references should be maximum 40 in research articles 15 in case reports, 80 in review articles, 80 in review articles and 5 in editorials.
Exchanges of information during personal contacts, unfinished articles, and other unpublished data should not be referenced.
References should be written double-spaced on a separate sheet of paper. References in the text, tables and figure legends are indicated by Arabic numbers. Only the references used in the table or picture subtitles must be numbered according to the order of their first appearance of the table, and figure in the text.
Journal titles should be abbreviated according to Index Medicus. Year, volume, the first and last pages are indicated for referenced journals, while for referenced books only year, first and the last pages are stated.
The following rules should be followed when references are given in the text:
If the surname of the first author of the article to be cited is to be given, the abbreviation "et al." should be added followed by the reference number in superscript "[]", before completion of the sentence.
If no name is to be given in a sentence, then the reference number must be given at the end of the sentence, after the period in a superscript bracket "[]".
If different references will be stated for different expressions within a sentence, each reference must be given within a bracket "[]" before the punctuation mark at the end of the statement.
If there are more than two consecutive sources exist, then the first and last ones should be indicated with a "-" sign between them, i.e: 1-3]; [14-18]; [8-14]
Full surnames of the authors and the initials of their names should be written in references. If the number of authors in the reference is equal to or less than 6, then all authors should be indicated. . If the number of authors is more than 6, then the first 6 authors should be written before the abbreviation "et al." (for international publications) or "ve ark." (for national publications).
The DOI number must be added at the end of the each reference
The format of writing the references should conform to the "Vancouver reference style". Except for the examples below, the web address should be checked in spelling.
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html)
References from International Journals:
Tosun Z, Akin A, Guler G, Esmaoglu A, Boyaci A. Dexmedetomidine-ketamine and propofol-ketamine combinations for anesthesia in spontaneously breathing pediatric patients undergoing cardiac catheterization. J Cardiothorac Vasc Anesth 2006;20:515-19. doi:10.1053/j.jvca.2005.07.018
For national references
Toraman F, Ustalar Özgen S, Sayın Kart J, Arıtürk C, Erkek E, Güçlü P ve ark. Koroner arter baypas cerrahisinde fentanil ve midazolamın hedef kontrollü infüzyon (hki) şeklinde kullanımının anestezi düzeyi ve ilaç tüketimi üzerine etkileri. GKDA Derg 2013;19:113-17. doi:10.5222/GKDAD.2013.113
Additional Issue:
Solca M. Acute pain management: unmet needs and new advances in pain management. Eur J Anaesthesiol 2002; 19 Suppl 25:3-10.
Kahveci FŞ, Kaya FN, Kelebek N ve ark. Perkutan trakeostomi sırasında farklı havayolu tekniklerinin kullanımı. Türk Anest Rean Cem Mecmuası 2002; Kongre ek sayısı: 80.
Murray PR, Rosenthal KS, Kobayashi GS, Pfaller MA. Medical microbiology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2002.
Chapter in a Book
Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.
Gurbet A. Comparison of morphin, fentanyl, and remifentanyl with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) following off-pump coronary artery surgery . (Dissertation). Bursa, Uludağ University, 2002.
Reference from Electronic Media:
United Kingdom Department of Health. (2001) Comprehensive Critical Care Review of adult critical care services. The web site: http://www.doh.gov.uk/compcritcare/index.html
Internet Address:
1996 NRC Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Available at:
http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats/contents. html. Accessed October 20, 2003.
The text should be controlled from the "Check List" before submission. This control will speed up the evaluation process of the manuscript (see Checklist)
Copyright © 2020 Journal of Cardio-Vascular-Thoracic Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Society | {
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APA Group has formally increased its takeover offer for Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (HDF), and HDF has responded that it is superior to the takeover offer by Pipeline Partners Australia. To help with the possible acquisition, APA is to issue $350 million in listed notes.
APA's new offer is 62 cents cash and 0.390 APA securities for each HDF security, giving a value of $2.51 per HDF security based on a price of $4.85 for APA securities.
The offer is above the midpoint of the value range for HDF determined by HDF's independent expert.
The consideration will be reduced by any further HDF distributions paid to HDF securityholders during the offer period. But if APA's offer succeeds, and the consideration is paid by 31 December, HDF securityholders who still hold APA securities will also receive APA's interim distribution.
The offer will close on 4 September unless extended. Pipeline Partners has until 14 August to make a matching offer.
APA has lodged a prospectus to raise $350 million through long dated, unsecured, subordinated, cumulative notes. The proceeds are for corporate purposes, investment in its infrastructure assets, and the acquisition of HDF if it proceeds.
The notes will have a face value and issue price of $100. The first call date is 31 March 2018 and maturity is on 30 September 2072.
Investors will receive quarterly payments based on the 90 day Bank Bill Rate plus the margin, which will be determined after the bookbuild and is expected to be in the range of 4.50 to 4.70 per cent. This implies an initial yield of around 8.14 to 8.34 per cent per annum, said APA.
The bookbuild to determine the margin is on 16 August, the closing date for the securityholder offer and general offer is 10 September, and the notes begin trading on ASX on 19 September. The ASX code for the notes will be AQHHA.
APA expects the notes will provide an amount of equity credit from Standard & Poor's and Moody's.
Chief financial officer, Peter Fredricson said "The Notes offer is part of APA's ongoing capital management strategy, broadening our funding options for the considerable growth and investment opportunities that exist in our business. This includes organic growth investment in APA's pipelines and related infrastructure, in the order of $300 million each year, as well as the possible acquisition of the HDF assets if our takeover is successful.
Private equity takeover target Gerard Lighting Group made a net profit of $17.6 million for 2011-12. The reduction on 2010-11 was $1.9 million. Full year earnings per share were 10.14 cents compared to 11.37 cents the previous year.
Revenue was $389.3 million, down 3.7 per cent.
Managing director, Simon Gerard, said "Over the past twelve months, the Australian lighting market has been impacted by a downturn in residential building consents and continued soft levels of approval for commercial and retail construction. Further, our ability to expand margins was impacted by a competitive landscape influenced by the strong Australian dollar, resulting in increased price competition from our competitors who import the majority of their product.
Shares in Energy Developments touched a three year low of $2.22 on 3 August, then bounced to $2.40 when the company announced a 20 year contract to extend power supply to Xstrada's McCarthur River Mine in the Northern Territory.
Energy Developments has been the sole power supplier to the mine since it opened in 1995. The new contract, which starts in January 2012 and goes to 2033, is to provide 68 MW and construct a new 53 MW gas fired power station. It will partially utilize Energy Developments' existing 24 MW power station. The natural gas will be supplied by Xstrata from the Daly Waters to McArthur River gas pipeline.
The new power station and infrastructure will be funded from a mix of debt facilities and cash reserves.
After what it says were the disappointing results from its recent research into geothermal explorers, August Investments has sold all its holdings in Greenearth Energy, Panax Geothermal and Petrotherm. It retained its holdings in KUTh Energy and Geodynamics.
It also made some small adjustments to its portfolio. Based on the expected profit results for 2011-12, it purchased additional shares in Energy Action and M2 Telecommunications.
Aeris Environmental has issued 1,145,524 shares as consideration for the annual interest of $240,560 on 12.5 million convertible notes issued in a private placement in 2009.
Green Invest has entered a joint marketing and supply agreement with Niagara Conservation Corporation for its Green Plumbers brand in North America and Mexico.
Green Invest said Niagara is one of the leading US designers, manufacturers and distributors of water and energy conservation products, with expertise in the planning, development and management of energy and water efficiency programs for national electric, natural gas and water utility companies. It is also the major supplier of water efficient toilets and other products to the retail market.
Niagara will have an exclusive license to use the Green Plumbers brand for municipal projects and specific Niagara plumbing products.
"GNV believes that Niagara is ideally positioned to assist in growing the Green Plumber and Green Star Brands in North America and Mexico and to maximize employment opportunities for our Green Plumber (USA) members," said chairman, Peter McCoy.
Niagara will pay Green Invest an annual license fee. It will also pay royalties for Green Star Projects. These are projects introduced to Niagara by Green Invest as well as projects sourced by Niagara utilizing Green Plumbers.
The value of the fee and royalties were not disclosed.
Nanosonics says it has responded to customer requests to track usage of its Trophon EPR disinfector by creating a Trophon EPR specific printer and software. These will allow patient records to be easily updated with details of the ultrasound probe and provide the healthcare centre with details of disinfection cycles.
The two new items will be released in the first half of the new financial year, and will add to existing products for the Trophon EPR including wall mounts, trolleys, and service contracts.
The dramatic way in which Phoslock can clear up polluted water bodies is well illustrated in an article in the latest issue of US magazine Land and Water. This discusses how a severe case of liverwort and algae infection at Whitehall Pond in Virginia was cleared up using Phoslock. The situation was so bad the water was called "The Creepy Pond".
The dramatic before and after pictures will remind investors why the environmental investment theme is so important.
Style Ltd has appointed two new non-executive directors and a new company secretary.
Ian Unwin is a Melbourne based consultant with 35 years of management experience in a range of industries in the UK, USA and Australia. This includes five years with the Boston Consulting Group, and 12 years as CEO or COO including Carter Hold Harvey and the Australian Music Group.
Anthony McIntosh manages his family's investments which include listed and unlisted shares, and rural, residential and commercial property.
Company secretary Mark Licciardo is with Mertons Corporate Services, a specialist corporate governance consultancy.
The appointments follow the resignation of chairman Charles Gullotta and company secretary Paul Smith.
Dyesol says its biomimetic dye sensitized solar cell (DSC) technology has excelled in external performance testing and opened the way for the next phase in the commercial development of DSC powered devices.
"Newport Corporation's Technology & Applications Center's Photovoltaic (TAC PV) Laboratory has tested Dyesol's next generation DSC 'strip cell' active area at 7.48 per cent efficiency at one third Sun typical lower light, real world light conditions," it said.
With performance confirmed and an initial proof of concept phase nearing completion, Dyesol Inc.'s US joint venture in Ohio, DyeTec Solar, expects to relocate and expand its workshop to allow it to enter the testing validation and prototype development phase.
This will confirm the product's performance in building integrated applications, which is the last phase before the joint venture commences product development of a DSC enabled glass building façade product for commercial demonstration.
The testing validation and prototype development phase should take 12 to 18 months, and will focus on material evaluation, design, finalizing low cost manufacturing procedures and producing a limited quantity of façade product.
Shares in Earth Heat Resources fell to a two year low of 1.2 cents on 7 August. This was the same day the company announced that it had raised $670,000 to help develop its Copahue Project in Argentina. The placement, to local and overseas sophisticated investors, was at 1 cent per share with one three year option for every two shares and exerciseable at 4 cents each.
Subject to shareholder approval, directors will underwrite up to $73,000 worth of shares under the placement.
"Strong interest has contributed to consideration of a modest rights issue to existing shareholders in the short term, which is likely to be underwritten," they said.
Managing director Torey Marshall said the capital raising and consideration of a future rights issue are to ensure the company has an appropriate balance sheet during the financial gap period ahead of critical decisions to keep the development on track.
"Whilst the current investment market is not good for anyone, our project's development schedule dictates continuous progress and the need for on going, short term funding," he said.
"The Copahue project, a first of its kind in South America, is highly sought after by both debt lenders, power offtake partners and competitors to Earth Heat. This momentum should be continued as a solid response to the value proposition of the project rather than fall victim to current negative capital market sentiment.
Geodynamics took 22 days longer than expected to complete the reverse cementing at its Habanero 4 well, and said that partner Origin Energy will not contribute further to the well's costs.
Geodynamics is now responsible for the ongoing risk and cost of the well. Origin retains the right to resume paying its full contribution and return to full participation at any stage. But Geodynamics said it has no knowledge of Origin's intention at this time.
The well delays occured while completing the reverse cementing of the 251 mm casing in the current 311 mm diameter hole section.
Mr Ward said the decision to use reverse cementing was taken after a review of the Habanero 3 well failure identified that this was the best available method to ensure the safety and integrity of the Habanero 4 well.
This is the first time a reverse cementing operation has been carried out in Australia, he said. "The operation was identified as technically challenging during the design and engineering phase of the well with significant focus over 18 months on planning its execution bringing together experts from both within the joint venture and various organizations from around the world.
The 22 day delay was primarily due to drilling out cement encountered higher than anticipated inside the casing.
The placement of cement has been completed and the cement drilled out to the casing shoe, and an expert review of the logging results concluded that the cement placed in the upper section of the well has met its objectives.
But Mr Ward said "Cement integrity testing at the base of the well has identified that some additional work is necessary to ensure sufficient zonal isolation to protect the higher sedimentary formations from the higher pressures encountered in the bottom of the well. Further remedial work may also be necessary in order to safely conduct stimulation activities and achieve the program objectives.
"Geodynamics is currently preparing to undertake the necessary operation to complete the well section as soon as possible. This entails a 3 to 6 day operation to inject a small volume of cement at the bottom of the well in order to provide the appropriate pressure isolation, following which Geodynamics will undertake further pressure testing of the cement at the base of the well.
"Once a satisfactory pressure test has been achieved, Geodynamics will proceed to drill through the final 216 mm hole section, targeting the previously encountered main fracture system. Geodynamics expects to complete the drilling of the Habanero 4 well by the end of August.
"The total cost to complete the well and associated stimulation and open flow test activities is now estimated to be approximately $50 million, an increase of $1.5 million or 3 per cent compared to the maximum authorized expenditure of $48.5 million agreed with joint venture partner, Origin Energy.
Shares in Hot Rock fell to an all time low of 2 cents on 19 August when the company announced a non renounceable rights issue to raise up to $1.74 million. The one for two offer is at 1.5 cents per share, and is not underwritten.
The capital raising is mainly to fund exploration in its South American projects and attract joint venture partners to fund ongoing exploration and development. The exploration programs including mapping, sampling and magneto telluric surveys will help outline geothermal reservoirs for drill testing.
Panax Geothermal raised $1.1 million under its rights issue. It received applications for $447,161 in the rights issue from 470 shareholders out of 2,400 shareholders. The issue was undersubscribed by 177,442,935 shares and the underwriter, Patersons Securities, will take up 93,262,631 shortfall shares for a total of $652,839.
Shares in Water Resources Group fell to an all time low of 2 cents on 10 August.
On 6 August the company responded to an ASX query about whether its cash burn rate, based on its June quarter report, is sustainable.
Chief executive Brian Harcourt said factors that should be taken into account are the $883,000 in proceeds from the rights issue that closed on 31 July, the program of shortfall placement in progress with $408,000 already raised, and progressive revenue generation over a 10 month build of the desalination plant and then 25 year revenue from water sales with its joint venture partner.
"The company is confident that it will generate sufficient funding from both its rights issue and additional placements, as needed, to continue to operate at its current rate. Overheads will be continually monitored and streamlined until such time as revenue generation commences," he said. | {
"redpajama_set_name": "RedPajamaC4"
} |
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Mon, Feb 1, 2021
Movement and Mindfulness Morning Workshop
9:00 am - 9:15 am Zoom Link
The Learning & Development Team invites you to focus on your wellness with Molly Kitchen. Kick-start your day with invigorating, accessible movement as well as a few minutes of grounding meditation. These workshops will set you up for a calm, focused day and provide you with practical mindfulness tools
you can use and reuse any time. Schedule these breaks as a fun way to start your week, as well as to learn tips for keeping that energy alive each day.
Workday Open Lab/AskIT
9:00 am - 10:00 am Virtual
Workday Open Labs are still happening! Join a session if you have a question about Workday. View the training website (login required) for the full schedule and Zoom info.
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Virtual
Introduction to the Finance Industry Workshop Series -- Loeb Center Session 1 of 5
This is a 10-hour program open to first year students and sophomores interested in learning more about the finance industry and exploring potential careers in finance.
The workshop series will be held February 1-5, 2021, from 6pm – 8pm ET, and will be led by Stephanie Hockman, Loeb Center's Director of the Traub Careers in Business and Finance Program.
The series is designed to help students explore and understand the finance industry, learn industry jargon, consider the intersection of industry players, and distinguish the nuances of roles and responsibilities in the industry. Topics covered during this 5-day, 10-cumulative-hour workshop series include:
1. Overview of the Finance Industry, finance terms, and interaction between the economy and finance
2. Overview of the Sell-Side Investment Bank and potential roles including investment banking (coverage and product), Sales & Trading, Research, and support functions (e.g. legal, compliance, risk management, human capital management)
3. Overview of the Buy-Side of the Industry and the various investment vehicles including:
• Asset Management/Investment Management
• Hedge Funds
• FinTech
• Insurance
• Private Equity (including venture capital, growth equity and LBOs)
4. Overview of Private Wealth Management
5. Role of Institutional Investors in the finance ecosystem
6. Next steps if considering further exploration of careers in finance
REGISTRATION & COMMITMENT:
To register, you must commit to attending all five sessions February 1 – 5 (Monday – Friday) from 6pm-8pm each night. Please register on Handshake by January 28 to secure your spot. You will receive a confirmation email with the Zoom link by January 31.
Questions may be directed to Stephanie Hockman at [email protected].
Tue, Feb 2, 2021
Workday - Expenses & Procurement
10:00 am - 11:00 am Virtual
Join a Workday help session for answers to your questions about expenses and procurement.
Tepper Future Business Leaders Program Information Session - Carnegie Mellon
11:30 am - 12:30 pm Virtual
Come join us on Tuesday, February 2, to hear more about graduate opportunities at Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business!
Taken from https://www.cmu.edu/tepper/why-tepper/index.html:
The Tepper School offers a future-focused business school experience, tailored for the complexity of today's marketplace. Where others see challenges, we see opportunity. Always looking ahead, we are consistently moving the world forward with innovative ideas, creative solutions, and new approaches.
Today, more than ever, the world of business is transformed by technological innovation, the ubiquity of data, and the application of advanced analytics. The Tepper School and Carnegie Mellon have long been renowned for research and teaching that doesn't simply keep pace with business practice but forges ahead, powerfully transforming the way organizations compete and lead.
This event will take place via Zoom. For inquiries about the accessibility of this event or to request any accommodations, please contact the Career Development Center Team at [email protected]. Please make accommodation requests no later than Tuesday, January 26, to give implementation time, however, in all situations, a good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations up until the time of the event.
This event is being conducted over Zoom. As the host, Mount Holyoke College reserves the right to record this session and the event sponsors will give prior notification to event participants of any intention to do so. The recording feature for others is disabled so that no one else will be able to record this session through Zoom. At all times, no recording by any other means is permitted without prior written permission from the event sponsor or as an approved accommodation.
This event is brought to you by a three-college consortia partnership between Amherst, Mount Holyoke, and Smith Colleges' career centers.
Workday for Students
Sessions are meant for students and will cover searching and applying for student employment opportunities, submitting time worked, payslip and tax information.
Middlebury School for the Environment Information Session
Interested in opportunities in environmental studies? Spend six intensive summer weeks in Yunnan Province, China, with dual sites in Kunming and Dali. Connect with faculty, environmental advocates, and NGOs including the Nature Conservancy and Planet Forward, while earning nine credits. Designed for college students and recent graduates.
For more information, please visit: https://www.middlebury.edu/schools-abroad/summer-programs/school-environ....
Wed, Feb 3, 2021
Workday - Student Hiring
Sessions are designed for supervisors and will review the process for creating a student job requisition and hiring student employees.
The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Information Session
Are you a graduating senior looking for a full-time work opportunity in biomedicine? Come join us to learn more about Research Associate opportunities at the Broad Institute!
Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard was launched in 2004 to improve human health by using genomics to advance our understanding of the biology and treatment of human disease, and to help lay the groundwork for a new generation of therapies.
The institute was founded to seize the opportunity that arose from the Human Genome Project -- the international effort that successfully deciphered the entire human genetic code. Despite that accomplishment, scientists knew they still lacked a clear understanding of the genetic basis of disease, and how to translate that understanding into more effective prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
This event will take place via Zoom. For inquiries about the accessibility of this event or to request any accommodations, please contact the Career Development Center Team at [email protected]. Please make accommodation requests no later than Wednesday, January 27th to give implementation time, however, in all situations, a good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations up until the time of the event.
French Table
12:30 pm Virtual
Virtual French Table will start up again beginning January 20. Please join your French Language Assistants for informal conversation in French! French Table is open to students, faculty, and staff. French speakers of all levels are welcome! If you were not enrolled in a French course during fall semester, but would like to participate, please email [email protected] directly.
Lunch & Learn: Dr. Scott L. Rauch '82, President & Psychiatrist in Chief of McLean Hospital
Dr. Scott L. Rauch '82 is President and Psychiatrist in Chief of McLean Hospital, Chair of System Behavioral & Mental Health for Mass General Brigham, and a Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. On Monday, February 3, he will virtually visit Amherst's Loeb Center for a "Lunch & Learn" presentation and conversation about his career path.
Dr. Rauch's principal research interests relate to neuroimaging and the neurobiology of anxiety disorders, as well as healthcare delivery and the use of technology in psychiatry. He received his undergraduate degree with honors in Neuroscience from Amherst College ('82) and attended medical school at the University of Cincinnati. He completed his residency training and a chief residency in Psychiatry, as well as a Radiology Research Fellowship, at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in affiliation with Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Rauch served on the faculty at MGH for more than 15 years, during which he founded the Psychiatric Neuroimaging Research Program, the Psychiatric Neurotherapeutics Program, and the Psychiatric Neuroscience Division. He was appointed to his current leadership roles at McLean and MGB in 2006.
Most recently, Dr. Rauch has been involved in the leadership of several national professional societies, including as past president and current secretary of the Society of Biological Psychiatry, and as past secretary and current Board member of the Anxiety & Depression Association of America. Dr. Rauch has also been inducted into the National Academy of Medicine.
All class years and majors are welcome to attend.
Amherst College Creative Writing Virtual Residency February 2021
1:00 pm on Feb 3, to 4:00 pm on Feb 9
Join us for a virtual independent residency in creative writing. Modeled on writers' and artists' colonies like MacDowell, Yaddo and the Provincetown Fine Arts Workshop, this program offers you the opportunity to devote attention to your fiction, poetry, dramatic writing or creative nonfiction in a supportive environment. Participants will have opportunities for collaborative structured writing and the freedom to choose between social and independent writing each day. Participants are welcome to work on either new or existing projects. And for participants seeking guidance, instruction or simply feedback on their work, we'll offer one-on-one mentoring sessions with program leaders. At the end of the program, we'll come together for a virtual community reading, during which we'll share work produced during the residency. We will meet via Zoom and Google docs from 1pm to 4pm (EST) on February 3rd-5th and February 8th and 9th. The residency is led by writing center associates Roy Andrews and Emily Merriman. Please register via the link below.
Students Only
Using a Prioritization Matrix to Focus on What Matters
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Zoom Link
In times of turbulence and change, it may be challenging to determine what projects take precedent, or how to set priorities when everything seems top of mind. This session will talk through how our priorities may have shifted both individually and within our teams, and how to facilitate a decision-making process using a prioritization matrix tool.
Thu, Feb 4, 2021
DIAL/SELF Youth & Community Services Information Session
Come join us on Thursday, February 4, from 4:30pm - 5:30pm ET to hear more about the 2021-2022 DIAL/SELF AmeriCorps Program!
DIAL/SELF helps young people become independent by connecting them with housing, employment, education and civic opportunities. We believe that all youth possess unique strengths which are enhanced by community support and collaboration and that all youth should have the right to exercise choice in their own lives.
We are a community-based non-profit agency that has been serving the youth and communities of Western MA since 1977. We provide a wide array of services that foster youth empowerment and community service. Over the course of the last four decades, more than 38,000 area youth have been served by the agency in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties and the North Quabbin Region.
This event will take place via Zoom. For inquiries about the accessibility of this event or to request any accommodations, please contact the Career Development Center Team at [email protected]. Please make accommodation requests no later than Thursday, January 28th to give implementation time, however, in all situations, a good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations up until the time of the event.
Virtual Education Pathways Panel: Education in the Age of COVID
How are schools and education programs adjusting to COVID-19 related uncertainty? What does this uncertainty mean for the future of my career in education? Get the answers to these questions while learning about job opportunities at 10 different education organizations. See below for the full list of employers attending.
Employers Attending:
Boston Plan for Excellence
Breakthrough Collaborative
College Advising Corps | Boston University
Generation TEACH
Match Education
Teach for America
Uncommon Schools
Urban Teachers
Fri, Feb 5, 2021
The Learning & Development Team invites you to focus on your wellness with Brenna Werme. Set the tone for your day by calming your nervous system and connecting with ease to your body and breath. These workshops will give you quick, easy tools to reset and release stagnant energy throughout your day.
Sat, Feb 6, 2021
Sophomores: Take the LEAP 2.0 - Change the Way You Experience Spring 2021
Missing the spaces on campus where you could comfortably show up as yourself? Missing meaningful, spontaneous social interactions that all add up to feeling connected and a part of? While there is so much diversity in who we are and how we show up in the world as Amherst students, we are all going through the shared experience of college in the pandemic... Which for sophomores, is a shared experience of college away from college. Which is why we are creating a space for Amherst sophomores (and any other students, on or off-campus who want in!) that will reinvent the Val-sit, go further then a cross-quad hello, and overcome all the space between us. Take the Leap 2.0 is an every-other-week virtual meet-up throughout Spring 2021 that will create connection amidst the distance, find meaning in our and others' experiences, and continue building the friendships and memories that college is made of.
#WHYIMASK WINTER GIVEAWAY
8:00 am on Feb 8, to 12:00 am on Feb 12
Share why you mask and protect the herd in the comment section of the post on the PA, SHE, and Health Ed pages. The first 65 respondents will win a free t-shirt and everyone will be entered for raffle prizes which include Delivery Express gift cards! All students are welcome to post and if you do not have social media, you can send in your response to the PA email. Be sure to include if you are on or off-campus in your post. Questions? Contact [email protected] or call (413) 542-2760.
Caregiver Sessions
9:30 am - 10:45 am Zoom Link
As you may recall, the college asked faculty and staff with caregiving responsibilities to participate in an anonymous survey last fall. The goal was to learn more about how members of our community are doing with managing the demands of work and caregiving during the pandemic.
As part of its response to the survey, the Office of Human Resources is now offering sessions that will provide a forum for caregivers to connect and to share their experiences with one another, including strategies that they have developed to cope with what they are facing. Facilitators may also pass along to HR helpful suggestions that may emerge from these conversations.
Each session will be limited to 25 participants. Additional dates will be added if needed and/or if participants would like to reconvene.
Jodi Foley and Laurie Frankl will be facilitating the sessions. If you have questions, please reach out to them via email at [email protected] or [email protected].
Intro to the Houston Internship Program & Loeb Center Internship Resources
If you're not sure where or how to find an internship, you should consider joining the Loeb Center's Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program. The Houston Program is designed to not only allow Amherst students to apply for quality, vetted internships that are paid, but also provides preparatory guidance and support throughout the summer.
Additionally, the Loeb Center has funding available for students who have secured unpaid summer internships.
Come to this information session to learn about the process for joining the Houston Program, as well as the application process to be considered for funding for unpaid internships.
Hosted by the Loeb Center's Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program. Learn more about the Program here: https://www.amherst.edu/mm/575805
"Amherst Faculty in the Public Arena in the Trump Era and Beyond"
The Department of Law, Jurisprudence and Social Thought, the Center for Humanistic Inquiry and the Amherst College Press invite the Amherst College community to a panel discussion moderated by Professor Austin Sarat, with faculty members who will explore the motives that led them to take on a public role in their writing. Presenters will be professors Lawrence Douglas, Javier Corrales, Catherine Sanderson, Eleonora Mattiacci, Pawan Dhingra and Ilan Stavans.
Register in advance:
https://amherstcollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAsduqprz0pH9MFloDsClMs...
Foundations of Resume Writing Workshop — Hosted by the Loeb Center's Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Virtual
Learn about the skills and strategies needed to create resumes that best represent your unique experiences to land summer internships and future job opportunities. Get comfortable with the Loeb Center's resume approval process and criteria necessary in order for you to apply to opportunities on Handshake.
*This workshop will fulfill the Internship Preparation Workshop requirement for the Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program*
Foundations of Cover Letter Writing Workshop — Hosted by the Loeb Center's Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program
Did you know that you need to write a customized and specific cover letter for every internship opportunity you apply for? Learn the basic formatting and strategies for writing effective cover letters, as well as advanced tips to write exceptional cover letters that will make you stand out.
Student Video Showcase
A virtual screening and Q&A by students in the Amherst College class "Foundations in Video Production"
Videos by:
Leland Culver
Raymond Dixon
Seojin Jung
Anna-Blanca Leake
Frank Peprah
Andrew Rios
Grace Walker
Attendees must register in advance: https://amherstcollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIrceGrrDktEtS8_cbNdGrL...
Renting in New York: A Practical Guide
Planning to relocate to New York City after graduation? Considering a big city move in the future, but feeling overwhelmed by what that might entail?
Join representatives from Cooper & Cooper Real Estate -- a Manhattan-based residential real estate brokerage firm -- for their annual "Renting In New York" webinar workshop. During the session (~45 minutes), agents will break down the ins-and-outs of finding a new apartment in the Big Apple. Topics include: starting your search, neighborhoods & subways, the application process, paperwork requirements, income & credit guidelines, scams to avoid, etc.
With access to over 9000+ buildings throughout NYC, Cooper & Cooper agents are experts at helping graduating students make successful transitions. As former investment bankers (Goldman Sachs, Bank of America) and college grads (Harvard, Northwestern, Columbia MBA), Cooper & Cooper's founders understand the needs of transitioning undergraduate and graduate students. Their mission is to ensure your experience is as smooth and stress-free as possible.
Note: Students who RSVP through the external link AND attend the session will receive a $100 Credit Check Gift Certificate from the firm!
Wed, Feb 10, 2021
Establishing and Communicating Workplace Boundaries
10:00 am - 11:00 am Zoom Link
When working from home, do you find yourself working longer hours, or stepping back into "the office" to just finish up that one thing? How we set and communicate boundaries helps us fight burnout and fatigue. This session will amplify strategies for establishing boundaries for yourself and communicating them to others.
Student Hiring in Workday
City Year Information Session
Join us on Wednesday, February 10, from 11:30am - 12:30pm to hear more about opportunities at City Year!
From City Year's Website (https://www.cityyear.org/about/):
At City Year, we believe that all students can succeed and that developing the skills and mindsets of children and young adults contributes to strong, vibrant communities—outcomes that benefit all of us.
Many students lack access to learning environments and resources they need to thrive in school and in life, due to systemic inequities that disproportionately affect students of color and students growing up in low-income households.
City Year AmeriCorps members serve in schools all day, every day, preparing students with the social, emotional and academic skills and mindsets to succeed in school and in life.
Developing civic leaders
City Year AmeriCorps members not only make a difference in the lives of students they serve, but also acquire valuable skills that help them and prepare them to be leaders in their communities and their careers.
As City Year continues to innovate alongside our school and district partners, we aim to share what we are learning and contribute to a broader conversation about how to ensure equitable access to learning opportunities for all students.
This event will take place via Zoom. For inquiries about the accessibility of this event or to request any accommodations, please contact the Career Development Center Team at [email protected]. Please make accommodation requests no later than Wednesday, February 3, to give implementation time, however, in all situations, a good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations up until the time of the event.
Sessions are meant for students and will cover searching and applying for student employment opportunities, submitting time worked, and tax information.
How to Improve Your Internship Search — Hosted by the Loeb Center's Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program
Have you started your internship search, but feel like you haven't been able to find exactly what you're looking for? Do you feel overwhelmed about the search and want advice about how to organize yourself? You're not alone. Come to this workshop to learn about strategies you can use to search for and secure the right internship or research opportunity for you.
CHI Salon: "Worthless: An Ethnography of Devaluation and Domecide in a Midwestern Trailer Park"
Manufactured homes (MHs), better known as "mobile homes" or "trailers," house an estimated 22 million Americans; however, fewer than 25 percent of all manufactured homes are titled as real estate. Classifying their homes as personal property is the only option for the estimated 7 million residents living in approximately 50,000 mobile home communities (MHCs) across the United States. Although over 90 percent of MHs never move once sited, most municipalities restrict MHs to MHCs, where resident landownership is prohibited.
Drawing on 28 months of ethnographic research in urban MHCs in Lincoln, Neb., in this talk, 2019-20 CHI Fellow Allison Formanack describes how mobile-homeowners create symbolic-- if not economic --value in their homes. As these case studies reveal, the affective labor of home-making produces a hybrid identity-- that is, a deeply meaningful relationship between "home" and "owner" that is as often destructive as it is beneficial.
Allison Formanack is an incoming assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Southern Mississippi. A cultural anthropologist, Dr. Formanack considers the process by which pollution, ruin and "trashiness" is transferred from home to resident in the context of the most maligned housing type in the United States: the "mobile" or "trailer" home. Drawn from 28 months of ethnographic fieldwork in urban mobile home communities in Nebraska, her work finds that immaterial systems of law and finance conditions the materiality of categorically ambiguous "mobile" housing. This creates a state of "im/permanence," or imposed temporariness, which threatens the rights and well-being of an estimated 22 million mobile-homeowners. She is currently working on a book project based on this work, Mobile Home on the Range: Manufacturing Ruin and Respect in an American Zone of Abandonment. Dr. Formanack received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Colorado Boulder, where her research received support from from the National Science Foundation and the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research, among other organizations.
Careers in Grantmaking & Foundations — Advice from Linda Steele '85, Katyana Dandridge '18, and John Abodeely '01
Do you want to have a meaningful impact on your community and support initiatives that fuel change? Are you curious to learn how your disciplinary interests might extend into your professional career? Join us for small group discussions with alumni & other industry leaders to explore how grantmakers and foundations shape economic development, foster thriving creative communities, drive education reform, and much more.
You'll leave this event with:
• an understanding of the work of community and national foundations/grantmakers.
• practical tips from industry leaders on landing jobs and internships.
• the networking connections that are essential in this industry.
This Loeb Center event is co-hosted by Linda Steele '85 and Katyana Dandridge '18 of ArtUp and will feature the following panelists:
• John Abodeely '01 | CEO of the Houston Arts Alliance
• Jennifer Coleman | Program Director, Creative Culture & Arts for The George Gund Foundation
• Carol Coletta | President & CEO of Memphis River Parks, and Senior Fellow at The Kresge Foundation
• Stacey Easterling | Vice President of Programs for the Virginia Piper Charitable Trust
• Chantel Rush | Managing Director of The Kresge Foundation
• B. Sutton Mora | Executive Vice-President & COO of the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis
Thu, Feb 11, 2021
Workday for Faculty
Join a Workday training session for Faculty. Sessions will cover employee self service tasks but will primarily focus on internal awards, student hiring and approval of student hours.
Intro to Networking, Pt 2: Informational Interviewing — Hosted by the Loeb Center's Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program
An informational interview is a conversation with a professional in an industry, field, company, or position that interests you and that you would like to learn more about. It's a valuable opportunity to conduct personalized research with someone whose experience and perspective you think you can learn from.
In this workshop, students will learn how to respectfully reach out to people you'd like to speak with, prepare for the conversation, maintain the relationship, activate your Amherst community through the Alumni Directory, and more.
While this workshop builds off of Part 1 from Fall 2020, anyone may attend regardless of participation last semester.
Prosek Partners: Public Relations Agency Info Session
Curious about a career in public relations? Learn how you can put your liberal arts skills in writing, unpacking ideas and collaboration to use in the fast-paced world of a PR agency. Join Gabrielle Simon, of financial communications agency Prosek Partners, for an information session on working in communications and public relations, what Prosek Partners does for clients, post-graduate job opportunities in Boston, New York, and Connecticut and a lively Q&A session.
Prosek Partners is among the largest independent public relations firms in the U.S., and one of the few domestic, mid-size firms that offers global capabilities through its London office and international network. Specializing in providing a full range of communications solutions to financial and professional services companies, the firm delivers an unexpected level of passion, creativity and marketing savvy. Prosek Partners' "Unboxed Communications" approach brings breakthrough ideas to every client engagement.
Students from all class years and majors are welcome to attend.
Arts at Amherst Initiative Spring Soirée
5:00 pm Virtual
Join the Arts at Amherst Initiative at our Spring Soirée to hear Joseph E. and Grace W. Valentine Visiting Assistant Professor of Music Kate Pukinskis and Mead Art Museum Study Room Manager and European Print Specialist Miloslava Hruba share their recent research. Miloslava will share field notes from her recent survey of printmaking practices in the former Czechoslovakia (1948-1989) with a focus on gender differences within the ideologically and culturally ostracized group of nonconforming artists. Following these presentations, there will be an opportunity for audience Q&A.
While the Spring Soirée cannot take place in person, the AAI Steering Committee is planning to do its best to replicate the welcoming atmosphere that these biannual events traditionally foster by offering contactless pickup of complimentary wine and cheese to the first 20 people who register for the event!
Fri, Feb 12, 2021
Creative Thinking Coffee and Conversation
Wrap up your week with creative skill building and conversation. Join Learning & Development for a conversation and reflection of the LinkedIn Learning videos Becoming an Idea Machine and The Power of Creative Collaboration (about 5 minutes total). While these videos are part of the February LinkedIn Learning Creative Thinking Challenge, participation in the Challenge is not necessary to join the discussion.
Sessions are designed for supervisors and will review the process for creating a student job requisition and hiring a student employee.
Hired Guns? The Politics of Foreign Interventions
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Held Via Zoom, Zoom Link: https://amherstcollege.zoom.u
The Faculty Colloquium Series for 2020-21 presents a lecture entitled "Hired Guns? The Politics of Foreign Interventions" presented by Eleonora Mattiacci, Assistant Professor of Political Science. This lecture will be held via Zoom (see link below). Faculty Colloquium events are sponsored by a group of faculty colleagues who meet informally with the purpose of supporting and promoting the College's commitment to faculty research. The event is open to the Amherst College Community. For more information about the Faculty Colloquium Series please visit this link https://www.amherst.edu/mm/597044
LINK TO THE ZOOM MEETING:
https://amherstcollege.zoom.us/j/97050893817?pwd=VWxwTjBPN0xRakpXQTZiMXh...
Mastering the Digital Internship Interview — Hosted by the Loeb Center's Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program
How do you best prepare for interviews in digital settings? Has an application ever requested that you pre-record a video introduction?
Join us to learn how to effectively prepare for a range of interview formats, answer challenging questions, and present yourself in a professional manner, even if you're Zooming in from your bedroom.
12:00 pm - 12:30 pm Virtual
Take the LEAP 2.0 - Get Connected!
3:00 pm on Feb 13, to 4:00 pm on Feb 14 Virtual
ARE YOU READY TO BE DONE WITH FEELING DISCONNECTED??
Missing the way that being with others has the power to make you feel more human and less stuck in yourself? How about the way that a good shared laugh, or having "real talk" with friends, or simply saying something out loud to another person can all feel like an important reminder that the world is so much bigger than the four walls we can feel trapped in, especially as we navigate all of the unknowns of the pandemic? Part of the magic of Amherst is that it has been a place where all of these things came alive for us daily just by being there. For those who will not be on campus this semester (and those who are, but just want to add new friendships to your being-with-people-again reboot) Take the Leap 2.0 is a completely virtual experience, defying what we know to be possible on zoom, and recreating these feelings of connection in an entirely new space in Spring 2021. This every-other week meet-up will reinvent the Val-sit, go further then a cross-quad hello, and overcome the space between us as we continue building the friendships and memories that college is made of!
"I feel so much better than I did an hour and half ago. That was the most valuable time I've spent on Zoom!" - Student who attended last week's virtual open house
Biology Monday Seminar: Walking and Singing: The Neurobiology of Multitasking in Drosophila"
Osama Ahmed, Ph.D., Presidential Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute, will speak on "Walking and Singing: The Neurobiology of Multitasking in Drosophila."
Locomotion, such as walking or flying, is vitally important for the survival and fitness of practically all animals, and regularly occurs in tandem with other motor actions. Human locomotion, for example, may occur concurrently with talking, and similarly, Drosophila flies can walk and produce complex acoustic signals called "courtship songs." While many components of the neural circuits that control either walking or singing have been identified, the neural substrates that couple these behaviors during multitasking are entirely unknown. Here, I show how Drosophila courtship behavior can be leveraged as a neuroethological model for studying multitasking. During courtship, male flies must attend to and keep up with their potential mates, all the while producing the right songs at the right times by correctly vibrating their wings. My results show that fly chase-and-stop courtship sequences exhibit hallmarks of multitasking: male flies either walk, or sing, or perform both behaviors simultaneously. Through optogenetic activation of locomotor neurons in freely courting male flies and new machine-learning methods for automated behavioral analysis, I reveal performance differences in how flies walk or sing (single-tasking) compared to when they walk and sing (multitasking). These results demonstrate that the fly courtship model is an advantageous and promising framework for characterizing and testing the neurogenetic control of multitasking. These experiments provide a strong foundation and entry point for probing circuit mechanisms that underlie multitasking via brain-wide neural recordings in behaving animals. Identifying these mechanisms will inform our understanding of how neural pathways interact to control, or limit, behavioral simultaneity.
Persons from the college community that wish to attend should please register by sending an email request to the Biology ADC, Karen Racz, who will provide the Zoom link to the event.
Call for Applications: NAIS Mellon Mini-Grants and Residencies | Five Colleges, Inc.
Five Colleges, Incorporated, has been awarded a $2.5 million, four-year grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to help its member campuses transform how they approach Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) with the goal of enhancing teaching, learning and scholarship in the field. As part of this multi-year initiative, FCI is offering mini-grant and residency opportunities to Five College faculty and staff interested in working collaboratively to integrate NAIS into their curricula.
Five College full-time faculty or staff members responsible for creating curriculum are encouraged to apply for mini-grants and lead team projects to develop one or more course modules, a new course, or a cluster or sequence of courses (such as language study). This funding opportunity is also open to faculty with a more multi-disciplinary background and no prior experience in NAIS who are interested in infusing Indigenous approaches into their courses through collaboration with other faculty experts. Mini-grant projects should include multiple faculty and can also include Five College staff, students, and community participants as collaborators. Faculty can also apply for residencies to host Indigenous artists, authors, activists, and community historians. Residencies can span a few weeks to an academic year. Please note that campus policies during the pandemic will severely restrict residencies but creative and/or remote options will be considered.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with two more deadlines this academic year: March 2 and May 2021 (specific date to be determined). Additional rounds of applications will be available through 2022. A virtual Information session will be offered prior to each deadline to assist applicants in refining their proposals. The next information session will be held on February 16 from 4 to 5pm. Applicants are encouraged to attend information sessions and read the Frequently Asked Questions available on the FCI website.
For more information on the NAIS Mellon Mini-Grants & Residencies and to register for the February 16 info session, please visit the FCI website listed below.
Redefining Health: Building Skills for Radical Healthcare Workshop Series
until May 15 Virtual
The Department of Health Education and SHES present a new workshop series on health equity! Co-sponsored with Your Embodied Sexuality (YES!), we will offer monthly workshops that expand our understandings of health and provide skills for navigating healthcare and the systems of oppression that shape it. Workshop topics will include self-managed abortion care, medical fatphobia, medical racism, misogyny in healthcare, birth control information and how to perform your own breast and pelvic exams, gender affirming healthcare, medical ableism, death positivity and planning, and more. (Registration required: sign up link will be available on the Daily Mammoth during the week leading up to each workshop.) Contact [email protected] with additional questions.
February 20 at 3pm EST: Building Abortion Knowledge for Self and Community Care
Facilitated by Women's Medical Fund's Seneca Joyner and Brittany Chung
Come join the folks at the Women's Medical Fund and YES! for a skill-building workshop on abortion care! The interactive workshop will offer helpful information on how to care for yourself and others before, during, and after an abortion. We will be working together to expand our understanding of the differences between various abortion methods and sharing knowledge in order to better equip ourselves and our loved ones. We'll be looking at accessing and experiencing abortion care as whole people who are part of vital, complex communities. The workshop will be a liberation-focused space and an opportunity to discuss the realities of abortion openly and honestly.
March 20 at 3pm EST: Don't Tell Me to Lose Weight: Navigating and Challenging Medical Fatphobia
Facilitated by Isy Abraham-Raveson
The so-called "obesity crisis" is a fatphobic myth that constructs fatness as a disease that needs to be eliminated for the good of society. In fact, fatness is not correlated to disease, and dieting to lose weight isn't sustainable and can lead to major health problems. On top of that, this misinformation, along with discrimination and shame, prevents people in large bodies from accessing the healthcare they need. In this workshop we will challenge commonplace myths about fatness and health and develop self-advocacy strategies to use when faced with fatphobia in healthcare settings.
April 17 at 3pm EST: Subverting the Master's Tools: Effective Strategies for Navigating Racism in Medical Care
Facilitated by Michelle Munyikwa
In this workshop, we will review the concept of medical racism and discuss its implications for folks seeking care in the medical system. After a brief review of the history and politics of racism in American healthcare, we will move on to more applicable concepts. Drawing on the experiences of the presenter and advice from local activist groups, we will discuss concrete strategies for engaging in self-advocacy and advocacy for loved ones navigating a complex, racist system.
May 15 at 3pm EST: Fertile Wounds: An Exploration of Misogyny in Medicine
more information TBD
Unhunch: Spinal Health Workshop
Now more than ever, how our bodies exist in the world has shifted with the adjustment to remote work and wearing masks. We are also in an environment of stress, which impacts our physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. In this workshop you will learn an easy routine to incorporate into your day to enhance your spinal health and wellbeing as well as how to tune in and recognize when you're experiencing extra spinal stress.
Money at Work 1: Foundations of Investing
3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Live Webinar
The OHR Learning & Development Team invites you to a live webinar presented by TIAA to discover how you can manage risk versus reward as well as understand the role of investing and managing risks, ways to help accelerate savings and tools that can help sustain a portfolio.
Buddhist Group
Join us as we meet weekly over Zoom for guided meditation and conversation about how the Buddha's teachings - from interconnection to embodied awareness to skillful relationship to thoughts - can make our daily lives a bit more grounded and happy. You don't need to be Buddhist to attend, and all College students, staff, and faculty are welcome.
For more information please contact interim Buddhist Advisor Harrison Blum ([email protected]).
Black Faith: A Panel and Conversation
Join us as we hear from and speak with Black leaders from the Muslim, Buddhist and Christian traditions on their intersectional experience of race and religion.
Co-sponsored by Religious and Spiritual Life, the Black Student Union and the Multicultural Resource Center
Zoom info and panelist question submission form at link below
Health Education Insta Follower Giveaway!
until Feb 26 Virtual
The Health Education Department presents our Instagram Follower Giveaway! Follow @ac_HealthAndWellbeing on Instagram for a chance to win some great (and delicious) prizes (Girl Scout Cookies and swag) and keep updates on how to improve your wellbeing. The raffle starts Sunday, February 14, and closes Friday, February 26. Follow the instructions in our February 13 Insta Follower Giveaway post, and three winners--remote or on-campus--will win a collection of Girl Scout cookies! Only current Amherst College students, faculty and staff are eligible.
Perfecting Your "No-Guilt" No
12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Live Webinar
The OHR Learning & Development Team invites you to a live webinar presented by Care.com.
Saying no can be uncomfortable and awkward but it's absolutely necessary to avoid burnout and help you remain focused on your most important goals. In this session led by Lisa Abramson, you'll learn a powerful "saying no" framework and get a cheat sheet to make saying no less stressful in the future. After this session, you'll be able to confidently deliver a firm and appropriate no without the side of guilt.
Called an "inspiration" by Oprah, Lisa Abramson is an executive coach, mindfulness teacher, author, and mom of two girls. She teaches overachievers how to develop a resilient mindset and create success that's sustainable.
Blocking Burnout
The OHR Learning & Development Team invites you to a live webinar presented by the EAP, New Directions, to learn how to detect burnout triggers and discover ways to regain enthusiasm at work and at home by becoming more conscious of your needs and motivators.
Lifetime Income: Marketproof your Retirement
The OHR Learning & Development Team invites you to a live webinar presented by TIAA.
You've worked hard to save for retirement. TIAA can help you understand how to create a plan that protects you against key retirement risks as well as helps build a diversified retirement income plan.
Ash Wednesday Prayer Service and Distribution of Ashes
12:00 pm Johnson Chapel
Join a brief worship service marking the start of the Lenten Season and remembering our mortality and the God who holds us in all of it. This year there will be two separate services. Rev. Anna Woofenden, Protestant Advisor, will lead the noon service. Ashes will be individually distributed and self-administered to maintain social distance. Deacon Tom Lynch, Catholic Advisor, will lead the 1:30pm service. Ashes will be imposed on the top of the head of each individual.
Inside Money: Managing Income and Debt
Discover how to help make your money work harder by using your cash flow more effectively, developing good saving habits and better managing debt.
Workday for Managers, Supervisors and Staff
CHI Salon: "The Indian in the Freezer: The Genomic Quest for Indigeneity"
4:30 pm - 5:30 pm Virtual, Zoom
Visiting Professor of Sexuality, Women's and Gender Studies Jennifer Hamilton will present her new book manuscript, The Indian in the Freezer: The Genomic Quest for Indigeneity (under contract with the University of Washington Press). The book explores what she terms "the genomic quest for indigeneity," and follows people, scientific objects, biomedical discourses and capital over time and in space in order to provide a rich ethnographic account of how race, sex and sexuality continue to inform and shape contemporary biomedical inquiry. Hamilton argues that indigeneity is a productive category, particularly in terms of how genomics is imagined. She does the empirical work of tracing how indigeneity circulates and how it impacts the creation of diagnostic technologies and therapeutics as part of a larger intervention in ongoing discussions of how and why health disparities cannot be reduced to naturalized narratives of biological difference. The overall point of the book is to take seriously that if we accept, possibly embrace, the speculative and contingent yet material and consequential dimensions of genomics and the life sciences more broadly, we can potentially shift scientific modes of inquiry to be more inclusive of other possible worlds.
Tomorrow in Focus: Saving for Your Ideal Retirement
Find out how retirement savings, planning and the real benefit of time are essential features of retirement investments.
Designing Virtual Meetings
How many times in the past week have you left a meeting and thought, "that could have been an email"? Studies show that we have more meetings on our schedule than ever during this time of remote work and change. How often are those meetings productive and intentionally thought out? This session will focus on an intentional process for designing and facilitating meetings (both virtual and in-person) to ensure they are worth everyone's while. You will leave the session with an understanding of how to determine the purpose and method for various meetings, as well as a tangible tool to put into use immediately.
Understanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)
You may know about the tax advantages of contributing to a Health Savings Account (HSA), but did you know that HSAs are also a way to save for health care in retirement? This webinar will help you understand unique aspects of HSAs including how they help account owners to pay for current health care expenses and save for those in the future.
Rapaport Lecture: Jason Moran, "The Sound Will Tell You"
This year's Rapaport Lecture will feature jazz pianist, composer and artist Jason Moran, the artistic director for jazz at The Kennedy Center. Moran was named a MacArthur Fellow in 2010. He has recorded 16 solo albums, with the most recent being his third solo piano recording, titled The Sound Will Tell You.
To attend, please register in advance: https://amherstcollege.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_bArSNWdMQyGOSCejVqgOBg
Internship Application Clinic — Hosted by the Loeb Center's Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program
How does a compelling internship application come together? Learn how to put your best foot forward with your application materials by targeting your resume, aligning your cover letter and resume, and conducting adequate employer research to embed into your materials in this group advising and working session.
To attend, please register via Handshake by 12:00PM EST the Wednesday prior (48 hours in advance). If you wish to RSVP after the Wednesday deadline, email [email protected] to confirm available space.
Hosted by the Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program team. To learn more about the Program, visit: https://www.amherst.edu/mm/575805
Cheminar: Professor Robert Gilliard, University of Virginia: "Electronic Tuning in the Main-Group: From Subvalent Organometallics to Novel π-Electron Materials"
3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Via Zoom Link
Abstract: Research efforts in the Gilliard laboratory span diverse areas of chemical synthesis related to the activation of inert chemical bonds, energy storage and molecular hybrid materials chemistry. Our work with s-block metals has resulted in a number of advances in the low-valent and hydridic chemistry of the alkaline earth metals (e.g., beryllium, magnesium), including molecular models for hydrogen storage. Recently, we have begun to study heterocycles "doped" with p-block elements for the development of new π-electron materials with unusual bonding and photophysical properties. This has led to the first examples of pyrene-fused N-heterocyclic germylenes and boranes, thermochromic and thermoluminescent borafluorene materials, and stable borafluorene radicals. Our primary goal has been to isolate molecules in rare electronic states and to provide a link between structure and function. This presentation will highlight our most recent results in these research areas.
CANCELED M@A: A Virtual Season Presents Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello, and Daniil Trifonov, piano
M@A regrets very much to have to inform you that COVID restrictions make it impossible for the artists to offer the following program:
Presenting the fourth free online concert for M@A 2020-2021: A Virtual Series:
Grammy Award winning Russian pianist Daniil Trifonov—winner of Musical America's 2019 Artist of the Year award—has made a spectacular ascent of the classical music world as a solo artist; a champion of the concerto repertoire; a chamber and vocal collaborator; and a composer. Combining consummate technique with rare sensitivity and depth, his performances are a perpetual source of awe. "He has everything and more … tenderness and also the demonic element. I never heard anything like that," marveled pianist Martha Argerich. Trifonov recently added a Grammy Award to his already considerable string of honors, winning Best Instrumental Solo Album of 2018 with Transcendental, a Liszt collection that marked his third title as an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist. As the Times of London notes, he is "without question the most astounding pianist of our age."
Pärt "Fratres" for violoncello and piano
Shostakovich Sonata for Violoncello and Piano D Minor, Op. 40
Rachmaninov Sonata for Violoncello and Piano G Minor, Op. 19
Hailed by the Washington Post as "a seasoned phenomenon," Narek Hakhnazaryan won the Cello First Prize and Gold Medal at the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011 at the age of 22.
until Mar 1 Virtual
Virtual Crafting Classes with Book & Plow
Farming together is a great way to form connections and build community. This is in part because the tasks are repetitive, grounding, and give a sense of accomplishment. Many farmers have "winter hobbies" which possess the same qualities to fill the dark months between fall harvest and spring seeding.
Join campus farmers Kaylee & Julia for virtual crochet and embroidery lessons. Open to all Amherst students, both on campus and remote, on a first come first served basis. Supplies will be provided.
Spring Virtual Get Involved Fair
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm Virtual, https://thehub.amherst.edu/event/6867091
Learn about new organizations! Gain insight on leadership opportunities! Make your organization's presence known! Come to the Spring '21 Virtual Get Involved Fair on the Hub.
To view the event, visit the Hub or click the link below. Please note that only Eboard members can sign organizations up, but anyone can RSVP. Hope to see you there!
Black Movement Makers brought to you by the Peer Advocates
8:00 am on Feb 22, to 8:00 am on Feb 28 Instagram @amherst_pa
The Peer Advocates for Sexual Respect will be highlighting Black Movement Makers who have contributed to work surrounding sexual respect and violence prevention. A different person will be featured daily from Monday, February 22, through Sunday, February 28, on Instagram. Be sure to follow the Peer Advocates @amherst_pa to learn about each of these movement makers! Questions? Email [email protected].
HACU (Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities) Internship Opportunities Information Session
Join us on Monday, February 22, to hear more about internship opportunities with HACU's Corporate Component Internship. For more information, please visit: https://www.hacu.net/hacu/Corporate_HACU_Internship_Program.asp.
HACU National Internship Program - Corporate Component:
The HACU National Internship Program - Corporate Component, partners with some of the leading corporations in the nation to assist them in attracting and hiring the best talent from HACU member colleges and universities. The process is very competitive but rewarding, as many internships lead to full-time roles. Opportunities for both internships and full-time employment are available.
This event will take place via Zoom. For inquiries about the accessibility of this event or to request any accommodations, please contact the Career Development Center Team at [email protected]. Please make accommodation requests no later than Monday, February 15, to give implementation time, however, in all situations, a good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations up until the time of the event.
Holyoke (USA - Massachusetts) Monday, February 22, 2021 at 11:30:00 am EST
Berlin (Germany - Berlin) Monday, February 22, 2021 at 5:30:00 pm CET
Mumbai (India - Maharashtra) Monday, February 22, 2021 at 10:00:00 pm IST
Beijing (China - Beijing Municipality) Tuesday, February 23, 2021 at 12:30:00 am CST
Los Angeles (USA - California) Monday, February 22, 2021 at 8:30:00 am PST
Job Search Foundations: The Resume — Senior Job Search Bootcamp Week
If you are a senior looking for a boost of support in your job search, the Loeb Center team is here for you!
In this special week of workshops designed just for Seniors, Loeb advisors will break down the core components of any job search and give you the tools you need to tackle the process. All sessions are designed to apply to ANY field of career interest.
In this two-part workshop that kicks off the Senior Job Search Bootcamp, get up to speed with a job search-ready resume (4 - 5 p.m. session) and cover letter (6 - 7 p.m. session). A special discussion on personal statement writing will be included in the cover letter session.
Invest time now in these critical documents so you can tackle your search this spring! Attend one or both parts; there is a one-hour break between topics.
Learn more about and register for other sessions in the Loeb Center's week-long Senior Job Search Bootcamp series on Handshake:
-- 2/22: Job Search Foundations: The Resume https://amherst.joinhandshake.com/events/669995/share_preview
-- 2/22: Job Search Foundations: Cover Letters and Personal Statements https://amherst.joinhandshake.com/events/670006/share_preview
-- 2/23: Dynamic Job Search Strategies https://amherst.joinhandshake.com/events/670018/share_preview
-- 2/24: Your Impressive Self: Strategies for Effective Interviewing https://amherst.joinhandshake.com/events/670038/share_preview
-- 2/25: Demystifying Networking: How Relationships Are Key to Any Job Search https://amherst.joinhandshake.com/events/670049/share_preview
-- 2/26: Money Matters https://amherst.joinhandshake.com/events/670062/share_preview
Please join your French Language Assistants for the virtual weekly meeting of French Table. French Table is an opportunity for informal conversation in French, and is open to students, faculty, and staff. French speakers of all levels are welcome! If you would like to join this group, please email [email protected] to receive the Zoom link.
Job Search Foundations: Cover Letters and Personal Statements — Senior Job Search Bootcamp Week
Resume Review Drop-in Clinic with Loeb Center Peer Career Advisors
Meet with the Loeb Center's Peer Career Advisors to have your resume reviewed. Whether it's your first time seeking Handshake resume approval or you simply want to freshen up your for this semester, we are here to help!
Participants should come prepared to the clinic with a completed draft in Google Docs that you can share with a PCA.
The Loeb Center's weekly virtual drop-in clinics run from February 15-March 29th in addition to the Peer Career Advisor appointments that are available for booking via Handshake. If you have questions, email [email protected].
Can I study away as a senior?
Petition a Non-approved Study Away Program! Deadline April 1
Project Connect Spring Sign-ups Open
until Mar 5
Want to get to know more students? Help build community? Learn ways to improve the connections you have? Project Connect is a fun, five-session peer-led program. Participants discuss a series of thought-provoking questions, complete a mini outreach project, and share experiences with a small group of fellow students. Sign up at the following link https://forms.gle/2WnfbfcmgMN1TgXx8
You may contact [email protected] for more information.
Brought to you by the Wellness Team!
Verite Information Session - Summer Internship Opportunities Available!
Come join us to learn more about summer internship opportunities at Verité, an international labor rights nonprofit located in Amherst, MA!
Verité is an Amherst-based nonprofit and award-winning pioneer in the social auditing, training, research, and consulting field. The organization has over 20 years of experience working with Fortune 500 corporations and their local suppliers through our global network of NGO partners. Verité works in over 70 countries to empower companies, factories, NGOs, governments, and workers to create sustainable workplace practices in the factories and communities where our consumer goods are made and the raw materials that go into them are sourced.
This event will take place via Zoom. For inquiries about the accessibility of this event or to request any accommodations, please contact the Career Development Center Team at [email protected]. Please make accommodation requests no later than Tuesday, February 16, to give implementation time, however, in all situations, a good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations up until the time of the event.
Virtual Russian Table
11:30 am Virtual
Please join us for the Virtual Russian Table every Tuesday between 11:30am and 1:00pm EST.
Russian Table offers an opportunity to gather and converse with other Russian-language learners and teachers. Come for the whole time or drop in for a shorter conversation - all levels of Russian speakers are very welcome!
Please email Kristina Diachenko ([email protected]) for the Zoom info.
Peer Support Skills Training
1:50 pm on Feb 23, to 2:50 pm on Mar 10
Have you had feelings of concern for a friend but felt unsure how or if to help? Would you like to learn more about how to use Empathy and Active Listening to become a better communicator? Do you feel uncertain how to start challenging conversations?
The Peer Support Skills Training (PSST) is a first step to becoming part of the Peer Support Network here At Amherst College. Over the course of three two-hour sessions we will work to develop the fundamental skills to support one another and to advocate for yourself more effectively. Importantly this training also includes ways to establish boundaries and safety measures to care for yourself and will review a wide variety of supports you can offer to someone you feel concerned about.
This training does not prepare folks to become primary supports for those in need but can offer a toolbox of techniques for helping those around us access help.
Currently these sessions will be offered remotely via Zoom and are open to all current students at Amherst. We are offering two sessions at this time.
Tuesdays, 3/9, 3/16, 3/23 from 6pm-8pm EST
Fridays, 3/5, 3/12, 3/19 from 10am - Noon EST
For more information and to register for a series, please contact Garrett Fitzgerald at [email protected].
This Program is brought to you by the Amherst College Counseling Center.
Dynamic Job Search Strategies — Senior Job Search Bootcamp Week
Are you ready to get organized and in command of your job search strategy? Whether you're just getting started or feeling stalled out, this workshop will offer you tools and resources to navigate the landscape of job prospects; advice for staying adaptable, energized, organized, and engaged; and concrete suggestions for finding opportunities that are viable and relevant to your interests.
Kinetic Light Screening and Discussion with Alice Sheppard
In preparation for her February 26 public lecture, disabled dancer/choreographer Alice Sheppard will introduce the Five College community to the work of her company Kinetic Light and its undergirding concepts of intersectional disability arts, disability aesthetics, and aesthetic access. We will watch clips of performances, and Dr. Jina Kim will moderate the discussion. Open to the Five College community. Five College Dance students, faculty and staff are strongly encouraged to attend in order to gain a foundational understanding of Alice's work and aesthetic.
Register here: https://amherstcollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUodeiorTopHtxTGn5UpnjF...
Alice Sheppard is the Artistic Director of Kinetic Light, a leading disability arts ensemble. She studied ballet and modern dance with Kitty Lunn and made her debut with Infinity Dance Theater. After an apprenticeship, Sheppard joined AXIS Dance Company, where she toured and taught in the company's education and outreach programs. As an independent artist, she has danced in projects with Ballet Cymru, GDance, and Marc Brew Company in the U.K. and Full Radius Dance, Marjani Forté, MBDance, Infinity Dance Theater, and Steve Paxton in the U.S. Her choreography has been commissioned by Full Radius Dance, CRIPSiE, and MOMENTA.
As a Bessie award-winning choreographer, Sheppard creates movement that challenges conventional understandings of disabled and dancing bodies. Engaging disability arts, culture, and history, she is intrigued by the intersections of disability, gender, and race. In addition to performance and choreography, Sheppard is a sought-after speaker and has lectured on topics related to disability arts, race, and dance. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times and in academic journals.
Jina B. Kim is an Assistant Professor of English and the Study of Women and Gender at Smith College, and a 2016 PhD graduate of the Women's Studies and English Program at the University of Michigan. She teaches and writes about critical disability studies, feminist- and queer-of-color critique, and contemporary ethnic American literature. She is currently at work on a book manuscript titled Dreaming of Infrastructure: Crip-of-Color Imaginaries after the US Welfare State. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in Signs, Social Text, MELUS, American Quarterly, Disability Studies Quarterly, The South Atlantic Quarterly, and The Asian American Literary Review.
An Evening with Trevor Noah
#1 New York Times best-selling author, comedian, and host of The Daily Show in a moderated Q&A with SNL cast member Heidi Gardner.
Trevor Noah is the most successful comedian in Africa and is the host of the Emmy® and Peabody® Award-winning "The Daily Show" on Comedy Central. Under Trevor, "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" has broken free from the restraints of a 30-minute linear show, producing engaging social content, award-winning digital series, podcasts and more for its global audience. In 2020, "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" received six Emmy Award nominations, including Outstanding Variety Talk Series and Outstanding Writing for A Variety Series. Trevor also received NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Host in a Talk or News/Information (Series or Special). "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" also received Webby Awards for Best in Comedy and Best Web Personality/Host, as well as a NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Talk Series. Trevor originally joined "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" in 2014 as a contributor.
Trevor Noah is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" and its young readers adaptation "It's Trevor Noah: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood," which also debuted as a New York Times bestseller. The book received the Thurber Prize for American Humor and two NAACP Image Awards, one for Outstanding Literary Work by a Debut Author and another for Outstanding Literary Work in the Biography/Auto-Biography category.
To view the live stream click the link below. This event is limited to students, faculty, staff, alumni and parents. An Amherst College login is required to watch the event.
Thinking about study abroad or domestic study in 2021-2022?
Casa de Esperanza Service Year for Graduating Seniors Information Session
Casa de Esperanza is a non-profit organization in Houston, Texas providing residential care to children ages birth through six years old who are in crisis due to abuse, neglect, or the effects of HIV. Care is provided in our residential neighborhood by our Hands of Hope Service Year House Parents. House Parents join us for a year of service (generally after finishing their undergraduate degree- although this is not a requirement) and come from all majors- the single unifying factor for all of our House Parents is the desire to serve vulnerable young children. In our program House Parents arrive and complete training as a small group. We accept and process applications on a rolling basis and applicants can indicate their desired start date on their application.
This event will take place via Zoom. For inquiries about the accessibility of this event or to request any accommodations, please contact the Career Development Center Team at [email protected]. Please make accommodation requests no later than Wednesday, February 17, to give implementation time, however, in all situations, a good faith effort will be made to provide accommodations up until the time of the event.
Stress Management for Managers
The OHR Learning & Development Team invites you to a live webinar presented by the EAP, New Directions.
Managers are constantly being pulled in different directions and have high accountability for how a team functions. This can lead to cumulative stress. Learn more about the stress cycle, how to recognize it's impact on health, and strategies to lower stress that can be applied in daily life. This webinar is designed for anyone who actively supervises others.
Join the Queer Resource Center staff and Dr. Darien McFadden & Dr. Sarah Erickson from the Counseling Center for an open discussion and support space centering conversations concerning our current moment, navigating gender, sexuality, identity at large, and what it means to be LGBTQ+ at Amherst and beyond.
Join us via this link: https://amherstcollege.zoom.us/j/98710086723?pwd=WVFmWHl1ODMyWlRpeVpnOXF...
For accessibility needs or concerns, please contact [email protected] or 413-542-5964.
Your Impressive Self: Strategies for Effective Interviewing — Senior Job Search Bootcamp Week
This interactive workshop meets you wherever you are in preparing for an upcoming interview. Strategies, best practices, and current considerations will be shared as well as follow-up resources and training tools. Come learn how to put your best self forward when competing for internships, fellowships, or employment.
CHI Salon: "Spain, the Second World War and the Holocaust"
Join editors Gina Herrmann and Sara J. Brenneis in a discussion of the new publication Spain, the Second World War and the Holocaust: History and Representation (University of Toronto Press, 2020). Herrmann and Brenneis brought together over 30 international experts around the topic of Spain's involvement in World War II, combining the vantage point of Jews who fled Nazi persecution through the Iberian Peninsula, Spaniards who were directly involved in the war and/or imprisoned in Nazi camps, and artists who have created representations of this historical period and its actors. The waves of people-- Jewish refugees and Spanish antifascists alike --who moved across borders, through concentration camps and into exile press us to consider what "home" meant during a moment of unparalleled global strife.
The editors will speak about this collection as the first volume to take this kind of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural view of the period, consider how the volume came together, and discuss some of the more extraordinary takeaways from the book.
Gina Herrmann is a Norman H. Brown Faculty Fellow, professor of Spanish and director of the Harold Schnitzer Family Program in Judaic Studies at the University of Oregon, Eugene. Sara Brenneis is professor of Spanish and department chair at Amherst College.
This event is co-sponsored by the Departments of Spanish and European Studies at Amherst College. Pre-registration is required.
Please note this event will be recorded.
https://amherstcollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcrcO6upj8tE9Na0OjzvYdy...
Solidarity Book Project: Shape the Books that Have Shaped You
Turn your books into art! Sculpt the iconic solidarity fist into books that have shaped your understanding of solidarity. To commemorate our Bicentennial, the College will donate per submission, up to a total of $100,000, to organizations providing Black and Indigenous communities with access to books. Have questions? Join Sonya Clark's make-with sessions to sculpt your books with other members of the Amherst community. Join us at our first session on Feb. 24!
Fostering a Culture of Recognition and Appreciation
11:00 am - 12:00 pm Zoom Link
When was the last time you highlighted a colleague for their good work? Why do we not build appreciation into the culture of our groups? This session will focus on appreciating and recognizing those around us as a tool for supporting comradery and connection.
Demystifying Networking: How Relationships Are Key to Any Job Search — Senior Job Search Bootcamp Week
The Amherst network is one of the greatest assets you have as you navigate your career. This workshop will teach you about the how-to's of successful professional relationship building, and empower you to start today.
FREEDOM! Amherst College's Annual Speaking Competition
Please support student speakers by attending FREEDOM: Amherst College's remote speaking competition. Students from all four class years have written persuasive speeches about this year's theme, "FREEDOM," and will speak compellingly about what matters to them. Speaking prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the event. Please Zoom in to cheer on these FREEDOM speakers on Thursday, Feb. 25, from 4 to 5:15 p.m.
Pre-registration is required for this webinar event. Please register here:
https://amherstcollege.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_uEvv829_SYqTfgEtq2IXNA
Things I Wish I'd Known When I Started In Tech
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm Zoom
Womxn in Computer Science @ Amherst presents "Things I Wish I'd Known When I Started In Tech" by Beth Linker, Class of '98, in this first installment of the WiCS Alumni Speaker Series! Considering going into tech? Join us in this special presentation by Beth to hear their thoughts on planning (and not planning!) a career in the tech industry. Register online at bit.ly/wics-speaker-series for a spot. (Attendees get free t-shirts!)
Verkada: New Grad Analyst Program Information Session
Founded in 2016, Verkada is an IoT security technology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area in the heart of Silicon Valley. Built on the vision of creating the operating system for modern buildings, Verkada's end-to-end building security solution helps modern teams protect people, assets, and privacy.
Verkada is the fastest-growing physical security company in the world, backed by top venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital, Meritech and First Round Capital. In January 2020, Verkada raised a Series C round at a $1.6B valuation and recently ranked #10 on LinkedIn's Top Startups 2020 list.
On the Sales Strategy and Operations team at Verkada, new hires hit the ground running with high-impact projects and work cross-functionally across the organization -- gaining exposure to a wide variety of challenges, processes and data. Those hired will become part of a tight-knit team with a diverse set of backgrounds in sales leadership, consulting, banking, private equity, and software engineering.
Analysts on this team drive key policy and strategic initiatives across the company through data-driven insights and play a key role in developing the analytical basis for executive-level decisions. These roles also focus on building future-proof systems and processes, aiming to optimize existing workflows and strategically designing improvements across systems for the long-term.
Join Phoebe Chan, Sales Recruiter; Phuong Tran '09, Sales Operations Lead and Amherst alum; Bobby Pease, Senior Director of Sales Operations; and Stephen Rickli, Sales Operations Manager, to learn more about the company and its opportunities. All class years and majors are welcome to attend.
Getting Sexy, Not Sick! with the SHEs
Join the SHEs for an exciting workshop and discussion about sexual experience during COVID-19 times! As we are in the midst of a global pandemic, we're still aware of the needs and wants of the students within our community, and we want to make sure students are equipped with the resources and tools to have safe and pleasurable sexual experiences. Access the zoom workshop via the following link: http://tinyurl.com/acsexy-feb-25. For more sex related health education, check out our instagram @ac_she!
Spoken Word Slam for Amherst Students
LitFest kicks off with the Spoken Word Slam, hosted by Daniel Gallant, executive director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. The Slam will begin with performances from reg e gaines and J.F. Seary.
Interested students should register now to participate in this virtual event. Registration is open until February 22.
Daniel Gallant is the executive director of the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the author of the short story collection Determined to Prove, and a playwright, theatrical producer, actor and teacher. His writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Time Out, the New York Post, the Daily News, six anthologies from Applause Books and Vintage Books and elsewhere. He is the recipient of an Eisenhower Fellowship and fellowships from National Arts Strategies and the DeVos Institute, and was recently named to the Fulbright Specialist roster. He has been featured in The New York Times, New York Magazine, Crain's New York, Forbes, Adweek, Inc., The Washington Post and Voice of America; and on CNN, MTV, NPR, NBC, NY1, CBS, Univision, the BBC and other networks.
reg e gaines is author/lyricist of the Tony Award-winning musical Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk and is in his ninth year as artistic director of the Downtown Urban Theater Festival in New York. Most recently, reg directed Through the Looking Glass for Center Theatre Group and Rock WILK's Brooklyn Quartet. He is currently writing and directing two musicals: The 88 and FREE. His spoken-word career began at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, where he was named Grand Slam Champion.
J.F. Seary is a Nuyorican poet and actor. She has performed at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, the Bowery Poetry Club and Le Poisson Rouge in New York City, as well as in London, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Juan, Grand Rapids and Orlando. She has also toured colleges across the United States with her solo poetry show and with the ensemble production HerStory. Seary has taught English and drama for Monroe College, John Jay College and Borough of Manhattan Community College for 13 years. She is currently working on Necromancer (pilot), and she is a co-creator/co-writer for the web series The New York Effect.
Alcahoot! With the SHEs!
Want to relive the glory of high school Kahoot victories? Then come get a shot of knowledge with the SHEs this Thursday night! We will be hosting an alcohol related Kahoot game where you can have some fun and learn some facts about safe drinking. Follow this tinyurl link to access the zoom meeting: https://tinyurl.com/ac-alcahoot-2-25. More information will be posted on our instagram @ac_she or you can email us at [email protected] with any questions. Hope to see you there!
Creative Thinking Coffee and Conversation: Creative Blocks and Problem Solving
Join Learning & Development for a conversation and reflection of the LinkedIn Learning videos "The Origin of Creative Blocks and Why we Need to Remove Them" and "Bite Sized Problem Solving" (about 5 minutes total). While these videos are part of the February LinkedIn Learning Creative Thinking Challenge, participation in the Challenge is not necessary to join the discussion. Use the link below to register and to find the videos being discussed.
Carleton College--Buddhist Studies in India Information Session
Money Matters — Senior Job Search Bootcamp Week
This workshop focuses on how to put your best foot forward in the job search process and beyond. As you enter into life post-graduation, it is important to understand your value proposition and how to communicate it to your employers and how to live within your means to create long term success. In this workshop you will learn how to research salary ranges, how to negotiate salary and benefits, and how to budget effectively.
Five College Dance Annual Lecture: "Under Wired: Intersectional Disability Aesthetics On and Off Stage," Delivered by Alice Sheppard
Five College Dance is thrilled to welcome dancer and choreographer Alice Sheppard for our 2020-2021 Five College Dance Lecture. Sheppard will deliver a public talk via Zoom entitled "Under Wired: Intersectional Disability Aesthetics On and Off Stage." With Kinetic Light's Wired at the center of this talk, Alice Sheppard invites you into a world where intersectional disability aesthetics and culture take the stage.
Leaving aside the deficit-based understandings of medicalized bodyminds, Sheppard lays out the principles of the newly re-emerging disability arts movement.
This event is free and open to the public, with ASL interpretation and captions provided.
Please register here to receive the Zoom link: https://amherstcollege.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYkdOmoqDsuHdaWmzFmCfKw...
Please also visit our webpage for reading and viewing that we encourage you to engage in advance of Alice's talk, in order to situate it within the broader context of her and her company's artistic practice and ethos: https://www.fivecolleges.edu/dance/alice-sheppard-events
Alice Sheppard is the artistic director of Kinetic Light, a leading disability arts ensemble. Sheppard studied ballet and modern dance with Kitty Lunn and made her debut with Infinity Dance Theater. After an apprenticeship, Sheppard joined AXIS Dance Company, where she toured and taught in the company's education and outreach programs. As an independent artist, Sheppard has danced in projects with Ballet Cymru, GDance and Marc Brew Company in the U.K., and Full Radius Dance, Marjani Forté, MBDance, Infinity Dance Theater and Steve Paxton in the U.S. Her choreography has been commissioned by Full Radius Dance, CRIPSiE and MOMENTA.
As a Bessie Award-winning choreographer, Sheppard creates movement that challenges conventional understandings of disabled and dancing bodies. Engaging disability arts, culture and history, she is intrigued by the intersections of disability, gender and race. In addition to performance and choreography, Sheppard is a sought-after speaker and has lectured on topics related to disability arts, race and dance. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times and in academic journals. alicesheppard.com // @wheelchairdancr
A purple poster with white text reads "Five College Dance Annual Lecture" above an image of Alice Sheppard smiling broadly. She is a multiracial Black woman with short curly blond and brown hair. Her lipstick is a bright fuchsia, which matches the straps of her top. She wears a brightly colored necklace with chunky round beads. The photo is by Beverlie Lord. White text reads: "'Alice Sheppard: Under Wired: Intersectional disability aethetics on and off stage.' Friday, February 26, 4:30-5:30 p.m., 2021 On Zoom. Five College Dance Annual Lecture. Free and open to the public. Registration link available at fivecolleges.edu/dance. ASL and captions provided." In the top left corner there is a black and white star logo and the text "FIVE COLLEGE CONSORTIUM." In the top right corner there is a black and white logo of four diagonal slash marks with one more going horizontally through them. In the bottom right corner is a black and white ASL logo of hands. In the bottom left corner there is a black and white logo with two C's in a television icon.
A Conversation with 2020 National Book Award Winner Charles Yu and Nominee Megha Majumdar
Join Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint for a conversation with National Book Award winner Charles Yu and nominee Megha Majumdar, with a welcome from President Biddy Martin. This virtual event, hosted in partnership with the National Book Foundation, is open to the general public and will be followed by a Q&A.
Charles Yu is the author of four books, including Interior Chinatown, winner of the 2020 National Book Award. He received the National Book Foundation's 5 Under 35 Award and was nominated for two Writers Guild of America Awards for his work on the HBO series Westworld. He has also written for shows on FX, AMC and HBO. His fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications.
Megha Majumdar was born and raised in Kolkata, India. She moved to the United States to attend college at Harvard University, where she was a Traub Scholar, followed by graduate school in social anthropology at Johns Hopkins University. She works as an associate editor at Catapult and lives in New York City. A Burning, her first book, was longlisted for the National Book Award and was named a top book of the year by the New York Public Library and NPR.
Thirii Myo Kyaw Myint is the author of a novel, The End of Peril, the End of Enmity, the End of Strife, a Haven, which won a 2018 Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. Her second book, Names for Light: A Family History, was the winner of the 2018 Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize and is forthcoming from Graywolf Press this August. Myint was the recipient of a Fulbright grant to Spain and holds an M.F.A. from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. in creative writing from the University of Denver. She is currently a visiting writer at Amherst College.
A Conversation with 2020 National Book Award for Poetry Finalists Tommye Blount and Natalie Diaz
Join John Hennessy for a conversation with National Book Award for Poetry Finalists Tommye Blount and Natalie Diaz. This virtual event, hosted in partnership with the National Book Foundation, is open to the general public and will be followed by a Q&A.
Tommye Blount is the author of Fantasia for the Man in Blue (Four Way Books, 2020)—a finalist for the National Book Award—and the chapbook What Are We Not For (Bull City Press, 2016). A Cave Canem alumnus and graduate from Warren Wilson College, he has been the recipient of a fellowship from Kresge Arts in Detroit and the John Atherton Scholarship from Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. Blount's work has been featured in Magma, Poetry, New England Review, Academy of American Poets' Poem-a-Day, Ecotone, Ninth Letter, Kenyon Review and elsewhere. Born and raised in Detroit, Blount now lives in the nearby suburb of Novi, Mich.
Natalie Diaz is Mojave and an enrolled member of the Gila River Indian Tribe. Her first poetry collection, When My Brother Was an Aztec, was published by Copper Canyon Press, and her second book, Postcolonial Love Poem, was published by Graywolf Press in March 2020. She is a MacArthur Fellow, a Lannan Literary Fellow, a United States Artists Ford Fellow and a Native Arts & Cultures Foundation Artist Fellow. Diaz is director of the Center for Imagination in the Borderlands and is the Maxine and Jonathan Marshall Chair in Modern and Contemporary Poetry at Arizona State University. She lives in Phoenix, Ariz.
John Hennessy is the author of two poetry collections, Bridge and Tunnel and Coney Island Pilgrims, and his poems appear in The Believer, Best American Poetry, Harvard Review, The New Republic, Poetry, The Poetry Review (UK), Poetry Ireland Review and other journals and anthologies. He is the co-translator, with Ostap Kin, of A New Orthography, selected poems by Serhiy Zhadan, longlisted for the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation, 2021; Hennessy and Kin won the John Frederick Nims Memorial Prize for Translation from Poetry magazine for work included in this book. A former Amy Clampitt Resident Fellow, Hennessy is the poetry editor of The Common and director of undergraduate creative writing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Emily Dickinson's Amherst College
In partnership with Amherst College's Bicentennial, join Museum staff for a talk about the impact of the College on the life of poet Emily Dickinson. The Dickinson family was instrumental to the College during its first 75 years, beginning with Samuel Fowler Dickinson's part in its founding and continuing with Edward and Austin's combined 60 years of service as treasurers. The College was an early and lasting influence in Emily's life, playing an inestimable role in her early education and friendships, and later connecting her to an ever-widening local and global community. Through original photographs and archival documents, encounter some of the people and places that defined the Dickinsons' 19th-century Amherst College, including students, professors, workers and alumni.
Readings by The Common's Literary Publishing Interns: Amherst Students Share Their Own Creative Work
Jennifer Acker '00 will host readings by The Common's the literary publishing interns: Olive Amdur '23, Sofia Belimova '22, Eliza Brewer '22, Whitney Bruno '21, Elly Hong '21 and Isabel Meyers '20.
Jennifer Acker '00 is founder and editor-in-chief of The Common and author of the debut novel The Limits of the World. Her short stories, essays, translations and reviews have appeared in Amazon Original Stories, The Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, Guernica, The Yale Review and Ploughshares, among other places. Acker has an M.F.A. from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and LitFest.
Alumni Authors Cocktail Hour Reading
Jennifer Acker '00 will host brief readings by Calvin Baker '94, Chris Bohjalian '82, Dan Chiasson '93, Edward A. Farmer '05, Michael Gorra '79, Kirun Kapur '97, Elizabeth Chiles Shelburne '01 and Ismée Williams '95. A Q&A to follow.
Acker '00 is founder and editor-in-chief of The Common and author of the debut novel The Limits of the World. Her short stories, essays, translations and reviews have appeared in Amazon Original Stories, The Washington Post, Literary Hub, n+1, Guernica, The Yale Review and Ploughshares, among other places. Acker has an M.F.A. from the Bennington Writing Seminars and teaches writing and editing at Amherst College, where she directs the Literary Publishing Internship and LitFest.
The Poet's Prose: Rereading Joseph Brodsky's Essays Today
This LitFest event features Professors Polina Barskova and Catherine Ciepiela '83, in conversation with Christopher Benfey, Sven Birkerts and Jonathan Galassi about the prose works of the Nobel Prize Winner and 5-Colleges Literature Professor Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996). This event is hosted in partnership with the Amherst Center for Russian Culture.
Polina Barskova is a poet and a scholar, author of 12 collections of poems and two books of prose in Russian. She has also authored a monograph, Besieged Leningrad: Aesthetic Responses to Urban Disaster (2017), and edited three scholarly volumes. Her collection of creative nonfiction, Living Pictures, received the Andrei Bely Prize in 2015; it was published in German by Suhrkamp Verlag and is forthcoming in English from New York Review Books. Barskova edited the Leningrad Siege poetry anthology Written in the Dark (Ugly Duckling Presse) and has four collections of poetry published in English translation: This Lamentable City (Tupelo Press), The Zoo in Winter (Melville House), Relocations (Zephyr Press) and Air Raid (forthcoming from Ugly Duckling Presse). She has taught at Hampshire College, Amherst College and Smith College. Starting in 2021, she will be teaching Russian literature at the University of California, Berkeley.
Catherine Ciepiela '83 is a scholar and translator of Russian poetry who teaches at Amherst College. She is the author of The Same Solitude, a book on Marina Tsvetaeva and Boris Pasternak; co-editor, with Honor Moore, of the anthology The Stray Dog Cabaret; and editor of Relocations: Three Contemporary Russian Women Poets. Her translations have appeared in The Nation, The Massachusetts Review, Seneca Review, The Common, Pequod and elsewhere. Her translation of Polina Barskova's book of poetic essays will appear in the coming year from the New York Review of Books.
Christopher Benfey is Andrew W. Mellon Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College. He is the author of five books about the American Gilded Age, including A Summer of Hummingbirds, which won both the 2009 Christian Gauss Award of Phi Beta Kappa and the Ambassador Book Award. A frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, Benfey is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has held fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities. In 2013, he won the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, which is given to a writer whose work merits recognition for the quality of its prose style.
Sven Birkerts is the author of 11 books, most recently an appreciation of Nabokov's Speak, Memory (Ig Publishing). He co-edits the literary journal AGNI at Boston University, and was for many years the director of the Bennington Writing Seminars. He interviewed Joseph Brodsky for The Paris Review.
Jonathan Galassi has been at Farrar, Straus & Giroux since 1986 and currently serves as president. His most recent publication is a translation of Eugenio Montale's selected poems (part of the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets Series, 2020).
A Conversation with Pulitzer Prize Winner Anne Applebaum
Join Pulitzer Prize Winner Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy in conversation with host Cullen Murphy '74 H'19. This virtual event, hosted in partnership with the National Book Foundation, is open to the general public and will be followed by a Q&A.
Anne Applebaum is a staff writer for The Atlantic and a senior fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, where she runs a project on 21st-century disinformation. She was a Washington Post columnist for 15 years and a member of the editorial board. She is the author of several history books, including Red Famine: Stalin's War on Ukraine, Iron Curtain: The Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944–1956 and Gulag: A History, which won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. Her newest book, Twilight of Democracy, appeared in July 2020. Her writing has also appeared in many publications, including The New York Review of Books, The New Republic, The Wall Street Journal, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy, among many others.
Cullen Murphy '74 is editor-at-large of The Atlantic where he has spent most of his career, and a former editor-at-large of Vanity Fair. His most recent book is Cartoon County: My Father and His Friends in the Golden Age of Make-Believe, a memoir about the large cartoonist colony in Fairfield County, Conn. His other books include Are We Rome?: The Fall of an Empire and The Fate of America and God's Jury: The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World. For 25 years he collaborated with his father, illustrator John Cullen Murphy, on the comic strip Prince Valiant. Murphy was a longtime member of Amherst College's board of trustees and chaired the board from 2012 to 2018. He lives in Massachusetts.
M@A Presents: Dan Tepfer, piano and computer
Virtual performance of "Natural Machines"
Bringing together his undergraduate studies in astrophysics with his passion for music, his groundbreaking multimedia project "Natural Machines" integrates computer-driven algorithms into his improvisational process.
"Combines superb technique with a complex set of impulses: he's a deeply rational improviser drawn to the unknown." — The New York Times
until Feb 10, 2021
2021 Five College Film Festival Submissions Open
Amherst College Museums Summer Internship Program
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Jun 2, 2003, 09:25am EDT |
PeopleSoft's Hard Deal
Making headlines this morning, PeopleSoft says it struck a deal to buy its competitor J.D. Edwards for $1.7 billion in stock.
The terms call for J.D. Edwards shareholders to receive 0.86 shares of PeopleSoft for each share of J.D. Edwards they hold. At $14.10 per share, the deal is valued at a 19% premium over J.D. Edwards's closing price of $11.81 per share on Friday. The combined entity will rank as the world's second-biggest business software company.
Click here for more from the Forbes.com Video Network
U.S. stocks were looking stronger this morning, as investors wait for the release of the Institute for Supply Management's ISM Index for May at 10:00 A.M. ET Along with the manufacturing report, construction spending for April will also be released.
Elsewhere, the dollar strengthened against the yen, following comments made by U.S. President George W.BushGeorge W. Bush that the U.S. backs a stronger dollar. Bush was meeting with other world leaders in France at the G8 summit.
In stocks, ImClone Systems shares could be stronger after results from European trials indicated that its experimental cancer drug Erbitux was as effective as the company claimed, while Genentech said its experimental cancer treatment increased the lives of colon cancer patients 50% more than standard chemotherapy.
And, Vivendi reportedly will say it's selling its Spencer Gifts retail shops to Gordon Brothers Group and Palladin Capital Group for an undisclosed sum.
In other news, Levi Strauss has retained outside counsel for the second time to probe into claims that two fired executives filed false financial statements. Media reports say the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating into the allegations, which center on tax positions that the company took during the late 1980s.
That's it for now. For all the latest business headlines, log on to Forbes.com. | {
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Justia Patents Gas Separation: Processes Patents Electric Or Electrostatic Field (e.g., Electrostatic Precipitation, Etc.) Patents With Cleaning Of Collector Electrode Patents (Class 95/74)
With Cleaning Of Collector Electrode Patents (Class 95/74)
By liquid flushing (Class 95/75)
By scraping or vibrating (Class 95/76)
Abstract: An air cleaner includes a flying body having a main body unit in which a control unit controlling flying movement is stored, and a propeller disposed around the main body as propulsion for floating the flying body; and a dust collector connected to the flying body, and including an intake opening and an exhaust opening. The propeller is disposed inside or under the dust collector, the dust collector electrostatically attracts dust in air flowing from the intake opening, and the flying body is a drone structured so that the propeller takes in air from an upper side and exhausts the air to a lower side.
Assignee: CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
Inventors: Li Luo, Yoshiaki Tatsumi, Kazuki Tsuboi
Method and exhaust-gas treatment device for regenerating an exhaust-gas purification component and motor vehicle having the exhaust-gas treatment device
Abstract: A method and an exhaust-gas treatment device for regenerating an exhaust-gas purification component include charging at least one capacitor and heating at least one sub-volume of the exhaust-gas purification component to at least 900° C. by supplying at least a part of the energy stored in the capacitor. A particle burn-off reaction can be started from the at least one sub-volume for a large volume of exhaust-gas purification components. Exhaust-gas purification components in an exhaust system of an internal combustion engine can thus be completely regenerated in an energy-efficient manner. A vehicle having the exhaust-gas treatment device and carrying out the method is also provided.
Date of Patent: December 13, 2016
Assignee: EMITEC Gesellschaft fuer Emissionstechnologie mbH
Inventors: Jan Hodgson, Christian Vorsmann
RAPPING AN ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATOR
Abstract: For the sake of improving dust removal from an electrostatic precipitator by rapping, the present disclosure proposes an electrostatic precipitator, comprising a flue gas chamber, a collecting electrode, a first rapping arrangement that raps the collecting electrode, a dust hopper, and a second rapping arrangement that raps at least one of the dust hopper and an element located within the dust hopper, wherein the second rapping arrangement is located within an inner chamber defined by the flue gas chamber and the dust hopper. The rapping by means of the second rapping arrangement may comprise rapping at least one of an inner wall of the dust hopper, a structural element located within the dust hopper and connected to at least one inner wall of the dust hopper, a rapping plate located within the dust hopper proximate to an inner wall of the dust hopper, and a baffle located within the dust hopper.
Inventor: Ireneusz MALEC
Device for collecting particles that have a strong electron affinity
Abstract: A device for collecting particles that have a high electron affinity, particularly explosive particles, from a gas, includes a flow channel (12a) in which at least one electrically positive collector electrode (20a) and at least one ionising electrode (18a) are arranged, between which an electrical field is present so that the particles having high electron affinity can be indirectly charged by corona discharge on the ionising electrode (18a) and can be displaced towards the collector electrode (20a).
Date of Patent: October 7, 2014
Assignee: EADS Deutschland GmbH
Inventors: Sebastian Beer, Gerhard Müller, Jan Spannhake, Wolfgang Legner
Modular ductwork decontamination assembly
Abstract: A modular ductwork assembly decontaminates an air stream circulating within a heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. The assembly includes one or more of (a) an ionizing module for removing particulates from the air stream, (b) a sterilization module for neutralizing airborne pathogens present in the air stream, (c) an ozone treatment module for neutralizing pathogens or odoriferous or gaseous constituents or volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in the air stream, optionally (d) baffles for slowing and disrupting the flow rate and promoting turbulence in the air stream traveling through the modules, optionally (e) a fan module for directing a treated air stream, optionally (f) an ozone sensor, optionally (g) a monitoring or ozone control means, and optionally (h) a means of delivering and repurposing generated ozone. Each of the modules is arranged substantially adjacent to at least one of the other modules.
Inventor: Karen Metteer
Air quality enhancement system
Abstract: A system for enhancing air quality by collecting airborne particles. The system includes at least one ground plane, at least one corona point, an ionization field strength adjustment mechanism and a cleaning mechanism. The at least one ground plane is operably mounted proximate to where the airborne particles are present. The at least one ground plane includes at least one ground plane surface. The least one corona point operably is mounted to the at least one ground plane for causing an accumulation of particles to be deposited on the at least one ground plane surface. The ionization field strength adjustment mechanism enables a distance between the at least one corona point and the at least one ground plane to be adjusted. The cleaning mechanism is capable of removing the accumulation of particles from the at least one ground plane surface.
Date of Patent: April 8, 2014
Assignee: Baumgartner Environics, Inc
Inventors: John Baumgartner, Matthew Baumgartner
Hot sieving electrostatic precipitator
Abstract: An electrostatic precipitator and a method of removal of particulates from gaseous flows. A plurality of screens, secured in sets within a central chamber in a housing, include at least one set of electrically chargeable first screens and at least one set of electrically grounded second screens. For each set of chargeable screens, all the screens of the set are provided with an identical electrical charge, either positive or negative, and the set is provided with a plurality of spikes directed at the oncoming gaseous flow. At least one screen cleaning unit selectively acts on the screens of each set. The precipitator can include a plurality of central chambers in a single housing or separate housings, and the chambers can be selectively activated or deactivated. The precipitator provides improved particulate removal from gaseous flows, including hot flows having temperatures up to at least 1200° C.
Assignee: Her Majesty the Queen in right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Natural Resources
Inventors: Kourosh Zanganeh, Zahirul Hasan Khan, Carlos Salvador, Jack Jensen
Self-cleaning electret filter
Abstract: An illustrative filter includes an electret material, which has a long-lasting electric charge, that is at least partially coated or covered with a conductive layer. An optional insulation layer may be disposed over at least part of the conductive layer. If the electret material has a positive charge, then the filter attracts particles with a negative charge, and vice versa. The filter adsorbs the attracted particles until it becomes saturated with particles, at which point the conductive layer is charged to have a polarity that is opposite the built-in polarity of the electret and that matches the polarity of the adsorbed particles. The charged conduction layer repels the adsorbed particles from the filter, cleaning the filter for continued use.
Date of Patent: December 3, 2013
Assignee: Empire Technology Development LLC
Inventor: Yuchen Ma
Automated dust filter cleaning
Abstract: A method of cleaning a dust filter includes applying a negative electrical potential to a first electrode in a first area of a dust filter and applying a positive electrical potential to a second electrode disposed in a second area of the dust filter, wherein a voltage differential between the first and second electrodes is sufficient to cause electrostatic movement of dust from the first area to the second area. Then, the method further includes applying a negative electrical potential to the second electrode and applying a positive electrical potential to a third electrode disposed in a third area of the dust filter, wherein a voltage differential between the second and third electrodes is sufficient to cause electrostatic movement of dust from the second area to the third area, and wherein the first, second and third areas are generally linearly arranged.
Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
Inventors: Kathy L. Brown-Fitzpatrick, Gary D. Cudak, Christopher J. Hardee, James R. Lee, John Lloyd, William E. Lohmeyer, Jr., Andrew H. Wray
Method to control particulate matter emissions
Abstract: A method for removing particulate matter from a particulate-bearing gas stream includes flowing a particulate-bearing gas stream at a first volumetric flow rate to a plurality of ESP units; producing electrically charged particulate matter; collecting electrically charged particulate matter on collection electrode plates; reducing the flow through at least one of the ESP units; sequentially increasing the flow through one or more remaining ESP units in an amount so as to maintain the sum of flow through all of the ESP units at the first volumetric flow rate; subjecting the collection electrode plates in the at least one ESP unit with reduced flow to forces which dislodge the particulate matter from the collection electrode plates; collecting the dislodged particulate matter in a particulate collection receptacle; and withdrawing a gas stream of reduced particulate matter contamination.
Assignee: Chevron U.S.A. Inc.
Inventor: Dong X. Li
METHOD FOR THE ELECTRIC DEPOSITION OF AEROSOLS AND DEVICE FOR PERFORMING THE METHOD
Abstract: The invention relates to a process for the separation of charged aerosols, in which the aerosol is, first of all, separated in a collector electrode, which can be flowed through under the effect of a space charge. For the production of a high electrical potential, electrical charges of the aerosol to be separated are subsequently collected on the collector electrode. Finally, the residual aerosol exiting from the collector electrode is guided through the separation zone at high field intensity. In accordance with the invention, the invention also relates to a device for the implementation of the above-stated process.
Filed: November 4, 2009
Inventors: Christian Lübbert, Ulrich Riebel, Sergiy Lebedynskyy
METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DISCHARGING AN ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATOR
Abstract: A method for cleansing an electrostatic precipitator having a collecting electrode and an emission electrode includes applying a voltage between the collecting electrode and the emission electrode and reducing the applied voltage from a first voltage to a second voltage upon an occurrence of a spark between the collecting electrode and the emission electrode.
Filed: April 2, 2012
Applicant: ALSTOM TECHNOLOGY LTD
Inventor: Anders Johansson
DEVICE AND METHOD FOR TREATING EXHAUST GAS CONTAINING SOOT PARTICLES
Abstract: A method for converting soot particles of an exhaust gas includes providing at least nitrogen dioxide or oxygen in the exhaust gas, ionizing soot particles with an electric field, depositing electrically charged soot particles on inner channel walls of at least one surface precipitator, and bringing at least nitrogen dioxide or oxygen into contact with the deposited soot particles on the inner channel walls of the at least one surface precipitator. A device for carrying out the method includes at least one surface precipitator having a plurality of channels through which the exhaust gas can flow and extending between an inlet region and an outlet region, and at least one deposit inhibitor for electrically charged soot particles provided in at least part of the inlet region, especially allowing the soot particles to be evenly deposited and the surface precipitator to be continuously regenerated.
Applicant: EMITEC GESELLSCHAFT FUER EMISSIONSTECHNOLOGIE MBH
Inventor: WOLFGANG MAUS
Method and apparatus for the enhanced removal of aerosols and vapor phase contaminants from a gas stream
Abstract: The invention provides methods and apparatuses for removing aerosols and, in some cases, vapor phase contaminants, such as mercury, from a gas stream. One method is directed to the removal of additional aerosols from a gas stream from which aerosols have previously been removed by using a screen in combination with a primary aerosol collection device. Another method is directed to the removal of both aerosols and vapor phase contaminants by using a sorbent in combination with a screen. Another method is directed to the removal of vapor phase contaminants by using a catalyst to convert the contaminant to a form that is more easily removed from the gas stream and optionally injecting a chemical to increase the rate of conversion. The invention also provides various apparatuses for use in performing the various methods of the invention.
Assignee: Electric Power Research Institute, Inc.
Inventors: Mark Simpson Berry, Ramsay Chang
Abstract: An electrostatic precipitator and a method of removal of particulates from gaseous flows. A plurality of screens, secured in sets within a central chamber in a housing, comprise at least one set of electrically chargeable first screens and at least one set of electrically grounded second screens. For each set of chargeable screens, all the screens of the set are provided with an identical electrical charge, either positive or negative, and the set is provided with a plurality of spikes directed at the oncoming gaseous flow. At least one screen cleaning means selectively acts on the screens of each set. The precipitator can comprise a plurality of central chambers in a single housing or separate housings, and the chambers can be selectively activated or deactivated. The precipitator provides improved particulate removal from gaseous flows, including hot flows having temperatures up to at least 1200° C.
Applicant: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN IN RIGHT OF CANADA AS REPRESENTED BY THE MINISTER OF NATURAL RESOURCES
Abstract: A method for removing particulate matter from a particulate-bearing gas stream comprises flowing a particulate-bearing gas stream at a first volumetric flow rate to a plurality of ESP units; producing electrically charged particulate matter; collecting electrically charged particulate matter on collection electrode plates; reducing the flow through at least one of the ESP units; sequentially increasing the flow through one or more remaining ESP units in an amount so as to maintain the sum of flow through all of the ESP units at the first volumetric flow rate; subjecting the collection electrode plates in the at least one ESP unit with reduced flow to forces which dislodge the particulate matter from the collection electrode plates; collecting the dislodged particulate matter in a particulate collection receptacle; and withdrawing a gas stream of reduced particulate matter contamination.
Inventor: Doug X. Li
Applicant: BAUMGARTNER ENVIRONICS. INC.
Electro-kinetic air transporter with mechanism for emitter electrode travel past cleaning member
Abstract: Systems and methods for cleaning emitter electrodes of air conditioner systems are provided. The air conditioning system includes an emitter electrode, a collector electrode and a high voltage generator to provide a high voltage potential difference between the emitter and collector electrodes. The system also includes a cleaning member having a channel through which the emitter electrode passes. A plunger mechanism and a spring, or a lever and a fulcrum, are used to force the cleaning member to travel upward along the emitter electrode to thereby frictionally removing debris from the emitter electrode. This description is not intended to be a complete description of, or limit the scope of, the invention. Other features, aspects, and objects of the invention can be obtained from a review of the specification, the figures and the claims.
Filed: February 8, 2010
Assignee: Tessera, Inc.
Inventors: Andrew J. Parker, Charles E. Taylor, Shek Fai Lau
ADVANCED PARTICULATE MATTER CONTROL APPARATUS AND METHODS
Abstract: Apparatus and methods for collection and removal of particulate matter, including fine particulate matter, from a gas stream, comprising a unique combination of high collection efficiency and ultralow pressure drop across the filter. The apparatus and method utilize simultaneous electrostatic precipitation and membrane filtration of a particular pore size, wherein electrostatic collection and filtration occur on the same surface.
Inventors: Stanley J. Miller, Ye Zhuang, Jay C. Almlie
Methods for operating a filtration system
Abstract: A method of operating a filtration system that filters flue gas, which includes particulate matter and a gaseous pollutant. The filtration system may include a fabric filter, which is cleaned with periodic pulse cleanings, a discharge electrode upstream of the fabric filter, which imparts an electric charge to at least some of the particulate matter before the particulate matter collects on the fabric filter, a sorbent, which is injected into the flue gas upstream of the fabric filter and absorbs at least some of the gaseous pollutant, and a fan, which draws the flue gas through the fabric filter. The filtration system may have a pulse cleaning interval setting that may be manipulated by an operator of the filtration system. The pulse cleaning interval setting may be the time between the pulse cleanings.
Assignee: General Electric Company
Inventor: Robert W. Taylor
Particulate matter detection device and particulate matter detection method
Abstract: A particulate matter detection device includes a collection electrode that collects the particulate matter, a discharge electrode that allows a corona discharge to occur when a voltage is applied between the collection electrode and the discharge electrode, a measurement electrode, the impedance between the collection electrode and the measurement electrode changing when the collection electrode has collected the particulate matter, and a measurement section that detects a change in the impedance between the collection electrode and the measurement electrode, the particulate matter detection device detecting the particulate matter by charging the particulate matter contained in the gas by utilizing the corona discharge, collecting the charged particulate matter by the collection electrode by utilizing an electrostatic force, and detecting a change in the impedance between the collection electrode that has collected the particulate matter and the measurement electrode using the measurement section.
Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
Assignee: NGK Insulators, Ltd.
Inventors: Takeshi Sakuma, Yasumasa Fujioka, Atsuo Kondo
ELECTROSTATIC FILTER
Abstract: The electrostatic filter for the separation of dust particles has collecting electrodes (3-7) fixed in a housing (2) through which the gas flows and discharge electrodes (16-20) arranged parallel to them and held stretched between insulators (29, 30). For the cleaning of the collecting electrodes (3-7), a cleaning equipment (33) is fixed to a cable (28) having the discharge electrodes (16-20), which can be moved along the surface of the collecting electrodes to be cleaned by means of a pulling device (30-32) having a coiling drum (26, 27).
Inventor: Jorg MEISTER
SUBSTRATE TRANSFER DEVICE AND SUBSTRATE TRANSFER METHOD
Abstract: A substrate transfer device includes an atmosphere introduction unit and an atmosphere exhaust unit provided at a top and a bottom portion of a main body of the device, respectively; and a substrate transfer mechanism provided between the atmosphere introduction unit and the atmosphere exhaust unit. The substrate transfer device further includes a downward flow forming unit provided, adjacent to the atmosphere introduction unit, to allow an atmosphere to be introduced through the atmosphere introduction unit and to downwardly flow through the substrate transfer mechanism and be exhausted through the atmosphere exhaust unit; and a gas ionizing unit for ionizing the atmosphere and a particle collecting unit for collecting particles included in the atmosphere, the gas ionizing unit and the particle collecting unit being sequentially provided in the direction in which the atmosphere downwardly flows, between the downward flow forming unit and the substrate transfer mechanism.
Applicant: TOKYO ELECTRON LIMITED
Inventors: Jun Yamawaku, Junji Oikawa, Hiroyuki Nakayama
Electrostatic air/oil separator for aircraft engine
Abstract: An air/oil separator for use in a gas turbine engine includes a labyrinth path having an air/oil inlet, air outlet and oil outlet, a device for creating an electrical field within the labyrinth path and a device for creating a suction action at the oil outlet to draw liquid oil from the labyrinth path and for delivering the liquid oil under pressure to a pressurized source of oil in the engine.
Assignee: Pratt & Whitney Canada Corp.
Inventor: Kevin Allan Dooley
METHOD FOR THE REMOVAL OF SMUT, FINE DUST AND EXHAUST GAS PARTICLES, PARTICLE CATCH ARRANGEMENT FOR USE IN THIS METHOD, AND USE OF THE PARTICLE CATCH ARRANGEMENT TO GENERATE A STATIC ELECTRIC FIELD
Abstract: This inventions provides a method for the removal of smut, fine dust and exhaust gas particles from polluted air comprising providing a particle catch arrangement with a charged surface, the particle catch arrangement being arranged to generate a static electric field, wherein the electric field is at least 0.2 kV/m. The invention further provides a particle catch arrangement comprising a surface that can be charged, further comprising a generator arranged to generate charge to the surface that can be charged and to generate a static electric field of at least 0.2 kV/m, wherein the particle catch arrangement is part of or integrated with an object comprising street furniture.
Applicant: Technische Universiteit Delft
Inventors: Willibrordus Nicolaas Johannes Ursem, Johannes Cornelis Maria Marijnissen, Rein Andre Roos
Heating System, Heating and Laminarizing Method, Electrostatic Precipitator, Spray Dryer, Detaching Device and Method for Detaching Particles
Abstract: A heating system for a spray dryer has a heating element, a heating unit having an open-pore metal foam, and a fluid input and a fluid output. The metal foam is arranged between the fluid input and the fluid output so that fluid which flows in through the fluid input and out through the fluid output is laminarized. A method for simultaneously heating and laminarizing a fluid with the aid of an open-pore metal foam is also disclosed, as is an electrostatic precipitator having a sleeve-shaped electrode connected to a base part of the precipitator. Also disclosed is a device for detaching particles from an inner surface of a sleeve-shaped electrode, a method for detaching particles, and a spray dryer with a heating system as above and/or with an electrostatic precipitator.
Applicant: BUCHI LABORTECHNIK AG
Inventors: Mathias Schon, Ralph Baumgartner
System for filtering particulate matter of diesel particulate filter
Abstract: The present invention relates to a system for effectively filtering particulate matter from exhaust gas. Exemplary embodiments of the invention provides a system for capturing diesel-powered vehicle particulate matter in exhaust gas, the system including: a detour channel at the interior of the entrance to the diesel particulate filter, an electrode located in front of the detour channel and operable to ionize the particulate matter, and a control unit operable to control operation of the electrode.
Assignee: Hyundai Motor Company
Inventor: Kangsoo Lee
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR THE ACCELERATION OF AN ELECTROMAGNETIC RAPPER
Abstract: A method for the acceleration of an electromagnetic rapper, particularly for an electrostatic precipitator, which includes a metal cylinder as a hammer, an electrical coil for lifting the metal cylinder and a coil energizer for energizing the electrical coil. For cleaning a surface the metal cylinder is lifted by an initial electrical pulse generated by the coil energizer. The coil energizer supplies the electrical coil with an additional electrical pulse so that the metal cylinder is accelerated when it has reached the maximum point of its trajectory.
Polarity reversing circuit for electrostatic precipitator systems
Abstract: A gas separation apparatus using electrostatic precipitators and mechanical rappers is enhanced by the addition of an opposite polarity refreshing power supply and a switching arrangement. The switching components selectively disconnect the primary power supply and connect the refreshing power supply to the electrostatic precipitator, causing an electrical impulse in the precipitator sufficient to dislodge precipitate from the collector plates. In one embodiment, an RC filter is further provided to control the impulse and reduce the burden that would otherwise be placed upon the refreshing power supply. In a second embodiment, a pair of SCR strings serve as the switches. Cleaning power is delivered from a capacitor through one of the SCR strings using a resonant circuit, the resonance which causes the SCR string to commutate off after the impulse has been delivered.
Filed: January 24, 2006
Inventors: Ralph F. Altman, Robert N. Guenther, Jr., Grady B. Nichols
Air purifier with front-load electrodes
Abstract: An air purifier with front-loading electrodes includes an electrode loading compartment for storing the plate electrodes. When the air purifier is in a closed configuration, the electrode loading compartment cooperates with the housing to fully enclose the plate electrodes. When the plate electrodes need to be removed, the electrode loading compartment can be moved translationally with respect to the housing to define a gap therebetween. The electrode loading compartment can then be rotated to access and remove the plate electrodes.
Date of Patent: June 24, 2008
Assignee: Sylmark Holdings Limited
Inventors: Shengwen Leng, Guangsheng Liu
ELECTROSTATIC COLLECTION DEVICE
Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention relate to an electrostatic collection device and method for extracting impurities from gas. The collection devices includes at least one electrical field for charging particles, where the particles are in a gas, and at least one collection surface for collecting charged particles. The device further includes at least one heating element for heating the at least one collection surface to vaporize the collected particles.
Applicant: SCEPTOR INDUSTRIES, INC.
Inventors: RICHARD R. THOMAS, FREEMAN SWANK, ANDREW FAIRCHILD
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUSLY COLLECTING PARTICLES
Abstract: A collection device for collecting particles from a gas is provided. The device comprises a passage defined by a wall and at least one electrical field within the passage for charging particles, where the particles are in a gas. The device further comprises a moving collection surface for collecting charged particles. The moving collection surface is located within the at least one passage. The moving collection surface rotates through the at least one electrical field and then rotates to a detection device for detection of the particles.
Inventor: Andrew R. Fairchild
Fanless indoor air quality treatment
Abstract: An indoor air quality system for a structure is provided. The indoor air quality system includes a ventilation system and a corona discharge apparatus. The ventilation system directs air through the structure. The corona discharge apparatus is positioned within the ventilation system and is operable to filter the air and to move the air through the ventilation system.
Assignee: Ranco Incorporated of Delaware
Inventor: Nicholas Ashworth
Electrical enhancement of fabric filter performance
Abstract: A method for operating a filter assembly having a filter medium includes applying a constant or nearly constant static DC potential to dust entering the filter assembly and the filter medium, passing dust-laden gas through the filter medium in a first direction through the filter assembly while the filter medium is statically charged with the DC potential, measuring pressure drop through the filter assembly, and, in response to the pressure drop meeting a preset limit, reversing the polarity of the DC potential to thereby allow dust particles on the filter medium to drop off the filter medium.
Method of cleaning electric filter and electric filter
Abstract: The invention relates to a method of cleaning an electric filter and to an electric filter. In the method gas containing particles is fed to a chamber (2) of the electric filter. The gas is further fed to gas channels (5) in an emission system (3) provided in the chamber (2). What is brought about is electric charging of the particles in the gas and attachment to the separation electrode (1). Gas purified of particles is removed from the gas channel (5). The separation electrode (1) is shaken with shaker (8) to remove the particles attached to the separation electrode (1) therefrom. In this method, the gas flow is limited in such a gas channel (5) which adjoins the separation electrode (1) to be shaken by the shaker (8) when the separation electrode (1) to be shaken by the shaker (8) is shaken.
Assignee: ALSTOM Technology Ltd
Inventor: Juha Tolvanen
Spot ventilators and method for spot ventilating bathrooms, kitchens and closets
Abstract: A spot ventilator and method for spot ventilating a localized environment of a building is provided. The spot ventilator includes a passage and at least one corona discharge apparatus. The passage extending between an inlet positioned in the localized environment and an outlet. The at least one corona discharge apparatus positioned in relation to the passage such that a fluid from the localized environment is drawn into the passage through the inlet and is expelled through the outlet. The method of ventilating a localized environment of a building includes the steps of sensing a first change in the localized environment, energizing a corona discharge apparatus to produce an electric wind, drawing air from the localized environment into a passage via the electric wind and expelling the air from the passage through the outlet.
Date of Patent: June 5, 2007
Inventor: Gregory Allen Ehlers
Corona-discharge air mover and purifier for packaged terminal and room air conditioners
Abstract: An air conditioning device for heating and/or an environment is provided. The air conditioning device includes a heat exchanging apparatus, a passage, and a corona discharge apparatus. The passage is in thermal communication with the heat exchanging apparatus and extends between an inlet and an outlet. The corona discharge apparatus is disposed within the passage to draw a fluid from the environment into the passage through the inlet, move the fluid through the passage to permit the heat exchanger to remove or heat the fluid, and expel the fluid through the outlet into the environment. As such, the environment is cooled or heated. Embodiments of the present invention include package terminal air conditioners (PTACs), room air conditioners (RACs), and mini-split heating and cooling systems.
Inventor: Debra Jean Reaves
Electric separator with a rinsing cleaning system
Abstract: Electric oil separator that separates oil from an airflow of a ventilator. The separator includes an emission electrode and a collecting electrode. Moreover, the separator includes an injection device structured and arranged to inject oil as a cleaning fluid onto at least one of the emission electrode and the collecting electrode, so as to inject oil obliquely to a longitudinal axis of the collecting electrode.
Assignee: Hengst GmbH & Co. KG
Inventors: Stephan Ahlborn, Dieter Baumann, Bernhard Batram
Method and apparatus for filtering and drying a product
Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for filtering and drying a product. In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus comprises a container having a plurality of porous walls and a plurality of solid walls that divide the container into a plurality of product chambers, a plurality of vacuum chambers, and, preferably, a plurality of heat transfer chambers. Each product chamber shares at least one porous wall with an adjacent vacuum chamber. Each product chamber preferably shares at least one solid wall with an adjacent heat transfer chamber. According to the method of the present invention, a product is introduced into the product chambers, where the product is held while a substance is filtered from the product through the porous walls and the product is dried by reducing the pressure in the vacuum chambers and the product chambers.
Assignee: Alkermes Controlled Therapeutics, Inc.
Inventors: Paul F. Herbert, Douglas M. Bissonnette, Gregory C. Troiano
Polarity reversing circuit for electrostatic precipitator system
Abstract: A gas separation apparatus using electrostatic precipitators and mechanical rappers is enhanced by the addition of an opposite polarity refreshing power supply and a switching arrangement. The switching components selectively disconnect the primary power supply and connect the refreshing power supply to the electrostatic precipitator, causing an electrical impulse in the precipitator sufficient to dislodge precipitate from the collector plates. An RC filter is further provided to control the impulse and reduce the burden that would otherwise be placed upon the refreshing power supply. The novel separation apparatus and technique offer particular synergy when applied to the effluent stream from a coal-fired electric power plant or other similar gas streams.
Assignee: Electric Power Research Institute
Inventors: Ralph F. Altman, Robert N. Guenther, Grady B. Nichols
Cleaning mechanism for ion emitting air conditioning device
Abstract: A cleaning mechanism for a wire electrode of an air purifier device includes a base, a post having a first end attached to the base and a second end accessible from a location external the housing, a cleaning plate assembly attached to the base, wherein the cleaning plate assembly frictionally contacts the wire electrode when moved relative to the wire electrode. The cleaning plate assembly is movable within the housing when the second end of the post is moved from a resting configuration to a cleaning configuration.
Inventor: Ali Nikkhah
Air-treatment apparatus and methods
Abstract: Air-treatment apparatus and methods are disclosed that are especially suitable for treating the air in a room or other dwelling or working space. An apparatus embodiment of the subject apparatus includes a housing having air-intake and air-output openings. A gas-filter assembly inside the housing receives air entering the air-intake opening and includes a dual-media filter element having a matrix of fibers to which particles of activated carbon are adhered at mutual points of contact without using an extraneous binder. As air passes through the gas-filter assembly, the carbon particles adsorb odor compounds from the air. At least one electrostatic 3-dimensional (E3D) filter assembly downstream of the gas-filter assembly includes a respective charging element sandwiched between dielectric-fiber filters sandwiched between two respective electrically conductive screens. The screens are electrically grounded while the charging element (which is conductive) is connected to a source of high-voltage DC power.
Assignee: Shaklee Corporation
Inventors: John J. Julos, Victor Dragotti, Forwood Cloud Wiser
Method for minimizing bowing of collector plates in an electrostatic precipitator, and a collector plate-clip combination
Abstract: A bow-reduced precipitator collector plate assembly and an appertaining method include a precipitator collector plate that contacts a spring-like stiffening element configured to be attached to a fixed anchor or an adjacent anchoring collector plate. The stiffening element is configured to apply a force in a direction normal to a primary plane, which is generally co-linear but opposite in direction of a direction of bowing, of the precipitator collecting plate.
Assignee: NiSource Corporate Services Company
Inventor: Gregory Ludwicki
Electrostatic filter and a method thereof
Abstract: A filter system with a housing defining a passage between an inlet and an outlet and one or more structures located in the passage in the housing. Each of the structures comprises two or more layers of insulating materials with an imbedded fixed charge located at at least one of the interfaces between the two or more layers. At least one of the structures has an imbedded fixed charge at a charge level of at least 1×1012 charges per cm2.
Filed: June 7, 2002
Assignee: Rochester Institute of Technology
Inventor: Michael D. Potter
Gas particle partitioner
Abstract: A gas particle partitioner (GPP) removes particles from an aerosol with high efficiency and with no or minimum changes to the thermodynamic conditions and chemical composition of the gas phase of the aerosol. A permeable grid electrode surrounds a corona wire and separates an interior corona discharge area from an exterior aerosol charging zone. A particle free fluid washes the corona discharge area to minimize any transport of gas components produced by corona discharge to the aerosol. The charged particles in the aerosol are deflected by an electric field in a fractionator to selectively produce a particle free sample stream, which is then separated by a flow splitter from the aerosol.
Assignee: Rupprecht & Patashnick Company, Inc.
Inventors: Heinrich Fissan, Frank Jordan, Thomas Kuhlbusch
Precipitator extraction method and system
Abstract: An dry horizontal flow electrostatic precipitator wherein a portion of the gas flow passing through the precipitator is extracted from the upper portion of the casing, such extraction flow having a lower particle concentration than gas flow at the bottom portion of the casing due to re-entrainment. The extraction gas flow is extracted by a manifold positioned at the top of the casing.
Inventor: Arthur G. Hein
Vapor purification with self-cleaning filter
Abstract: A vapor filtration device including a first electrode, a second electrode, and a filter between the first and second electrodes is disclosed. The filter is formed of dielectric material and the device is operated by applying a first electric potential between the electrodes to polarize the dielectric material such that upon passing a vapor stream through the filter, particles from the vapor stream are deposited onto the filter. After depositing the particles a second higher voltage is applied between the electrodes to form a nonthermal plasma around the filter to vaporize the collected particles thereby cleaning the filter. The filter can be a packed bed or serpentine filter mat, and an optional upstream corona wire can be utilized to charge airborne particles prior to their deposition on the filter.
Assignee: Battelle Memorial Institute
Inventors: Gary B. Josephson, William O. Heath, Christopher L. Aardahl
Method and apparatus to clean air
Abstract: The invention relates to a method to clean air for separating materials in the form of particles and/or droplets from a gas flow. The gas flow is directed through a collection in which the outer walls are grounded, and in which high voltage is supplied to the ion yield tips arranged in the collection chamber. Thus an ion beam from the ion yield tips towards collection surfaces is established to separate desired material from the gas flow. The electrically conductive collection surfaces are electrically insulated from the outer castings and high voltage is supplied to the collecting surfaces, in which the direct-current voltage has an opposite sign as the high voltage directed to the ion yield tips. The collection surface is totally conveniently and rapidly detached for clean material replacement.
Assignee: Moira Ltd.
Inventor: Toni Niko Ilmasti
Method and system for improved rapper control
Abstract: An improved method and system is provided to control the rapping process used to clean the internal collection plates and discharge electrodes of electrostatic precipitators. The system obtains the performance characteristics of a first rapper and calculates a rapper lift value. The system then obtains performance characteristic data from two or more additional rappers and calculates rapper lift values for each of the rappers. Finally, the system compares the rapper lift value of each additional rapper and adjusts its performance characteristics so that it substantially approximates the performance characteristics of the first rapper.
Filed: July 6, 2001
Publication date: January 16, 2003
Applicant: BHA Group Holdings, Inc.
Inventors: Terry L. Farmer, David F. Johnston, Sven Richter, Michael M. Mahler | {
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It was reported in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle in an article by David Tyler that the Kessler Family LLC of Brighton, NY, the largest franchisee of Friendly Ice Cream Corp., may be interested in buying the chain. The Kessler company said Monday it has retained Mastodon Ventures Inc., a merger-and-acquisition firm in Austin, Texas, to explore "strategic alternatives," including the purchase of some or all of Friendly's assets. The move follows Friendly's announcement last week that it had retained Goldman Sachs & Co. to explore its own set of strategic alternatives. Friendly Ice Cream has a network of 530 franchised and company-owned restaurants and distributes ice cream at 4,500 supermarkets. The company has been in a public battle with Sardar Biglari, head of the Lion Fund and Western Sizzlin Corp., which controls about 15 percent of Friendly's shares. Biglari and associate Philip Cooley are seeking seats on Friendly's board. The company has also drawn criticism from 91-year-old co-founder Prestley Blake, who was 20 when he and his brother opened an ice cream shop in Springfield, Mass., during the depths of the Depression, selling double-dip cones for a nickel. Kessler Family, run by brothers Dennis and Laurence Kessler, is the largest Friendly's franchisee, with 46 restaurants. Reached Monday, Dennis Kessler declined to comment, citing the early stage of the process. Robert Hersch, a principal in Mastodon, said the Kesslers wanted to explore options because "they believe in the Friendly's concept." "Most of this is up to Friendly's," Hersch said. Asked if the Kesslers supported Biglari's effort, he said, "no comment." In addition to the Friendly's restaurants, Kessler Family owns upstate Burger King restaurants.
Play N Trade Sells 200 Video Game Store Franchises in 10 Months This is an interesting "full-service" approach to gaming. They have a "try before you buy" policy, do game console repairs, in-house tournaments, and sell all the gear a gamer needs. Selling 200 stores in 10 months (1,000 store goal in 3 years) is a dangerously fast – how can a young franchisor adequately service so many franchisees? I'm skeptical. Update March 2, 2007: Great comment by a reader: I think this concept will have legs for another 5 years, but then it will crumble. All the new game consoles and obviously the PC games are played in group mode online. Downloading patches and extended game mods are all the rage, so it only make sense to download the original game too (which PC users often do now). So, Play N Trade will live a short life much like video rental and trading. Of all business to invest in, why would you choose a product that would obviously be replaced in the near term? I'd prefer a high-end game center because many kids can't afford the $1,500 – $3,000 for top-of-the-line gaming PCs and video cards. | {
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Ninety-one was Klimper's calamitous year. For a time he had lived very comfortably in Belgium, making a larger income than ever before, and with much less exertion; at five-and-forty he began to look forward to a peaceful retirement in one of the genteel English towns, such as Bath or Leamington, which had always attracted him. Then, of a sudden, Belgium cast him forth: he, and others like him, were forbidden to practise their profession on the hitherto hospitable soil. Flurried by this catastrophe, Klimper made a precipitate 'deal' in booming shares, the end of which was again disastrous. And just upon the close of the year, when he felt himself very cruelly hit, came the illness which kept him on his back for months.
While in hospital, he doubtless meditated not a little on the aspects of life; probably this time of suffering and forced inactivity must be taken into account when one comes to the events of a year or two later. But Klimper was at no time a thoughtless or vulgar-minded man; blackguard, gambler, bookmaker, he never typified his class. As he drew towards middle age a certain gravity appeared in his speech, countenance, and manners — a placid, almost benevolent decorum, strangely at variance with his ways of making a living. Possibly the traits of some very respectable ancestor slowly worked to the surface, transforming him alike in body and in mind. It is no uncommon thing for a man to develop in this way long after the period of ordinary growth. Klimper at five-and-forty had so notably changed from the Klimper of ten years before that an old acquaintance, suddenly coming across him, would with difficulty have recognised the man.
However, when he rose from his sick-bed, he evinced no anxiety to begin a reformed life. It was even with a certain gusto that he returned to the turf and the gaming-table. But accident put in his way an opportunity of blending old experience and dexterity with an honourable function not at all distasteful to that side of his character which hitherto had been obscured. Happening to watch a game of cards at a certain proprietary club, he became aware that one of the players was cheating, and doing it so cleverly that no one else even suspected the fraud. The club proprietor being a friend of his, Klimper spoke to him in private of this matter, and was thanked for his pains. More than that, it was suggested to him that he should become, by secret appointment, protector of fair play in his friend's interest. The club had a good name; its founder was resolved to keep it 'respectable'; and who more competent than Klimper to keep an eye on suspicious persons, to play discreet detective in the card-room? Terms were agreed upon, and Klimper assumed his office.
He discharged it with wonderful zeal and success. A score of years spent among gamblers of every species, in many parts of the world, had rendered him familiar with all the refinements of blackleg ingenuity; he had but to watch and to spot his man. At the same time, his dignity of person, his sober speech, his admirable tact in delicate situations, safeguarded him against unfavourable notice from the members of the club. At this time he allowed his beard to grow, and it assumed a grizzled amplitude sufficient in itself to inspire respect and confidence. It might well be that a sense of judicial authority, of power exercised in defence of truth and honour, subtly affected his whole being. He was still a betting-man, but not as formerly; his transactions were performed in strict privacy, and he never spoke of them. At the club, though facilities of gain constantly appealed to him he played very little, and never exerted himself to win. Disreputable habits lost their savour for him; he found it comparatively easy to live on a modest income, and grew indifferent to his aims of only a year or two ago.
Naturally, he had no sinecure. Respectability and gaming for coin are not very congruous characteristics of a proprietary club. Again and again the bland detective smiled at his prescient skill when some gentleman whom no one else would have mistrusted condemned himself under that remorseless scrutiny. And there was never any scandal; a great part of Klimper's office consisted in the avoidance of such unpleasant necessity. He waited his occasion, perhaps for a few minutes, perhaps for some days. Then the gentleman whose proceedings could not be tolerated found himself; he scarce knew how, in pleasant, frank colloquy, of the most private nature, with the other gentleman so honourably distinguished by his grizzled beard. Such conversations were never long, and they always had a satisfactory issue. In general, the fraudulent gambler disappeared. If another chance were granted him, he very rarely abused Mr. Klimper's lenience.
In one member of the club Klimper felt a strong interest. This was a good-looking and gay young fellow, supposed to be very well off and to have excellent prospects. He played a good deal, and with a proficiency which made Klimper uneasy. He drank, too, and club-gossip associated his name with that of a lady whose influence over him could hardly be maternal. Klimper tried now and then to put himself on terms of closer acquaintance with this young man, but unsuccessfully. Feeling, in a strange way, that his experience, his character, might be invaluable as a protection to one whom he instinctively liked, and who was in obvious need of guidance, the ex-gambler, ex-blackguard, had no choice but to keep aloof and anxiously observe the course of things. Before long he knew that the case professionally concerned him. Yet he did not act; for the first time he had a difficulty in deciding how he should proceed. Again the young man betrayed himself to the unsuspected observer, and now duty called aloud. After five minutes' troubled reflection, Klimper took his measures. With unusual difficulty he procured a private interview. It was more painful than he had foreseen, and it lasted for an hour.
The evening papers of next day announced that this young man had committed suicide. He must have done it as soon as possible after leaving the club. Klimper did not allow it to be known that the poor fellow went away, for good reasons, in a mood of shame and desperation; nor did he like to remember what had passed in that private room.
A few weeks later, the grave gentleman with the long beard chanced to pass by a public hall where, as was announced by posters at the door, someone or other would that evening address young men on the subject of betting. He stood a while in meditation. When the hour came, he had returned; he sat among the audience (or congregation, for the proceedings had a religious character), and listened very attentively. This occasion marked the turning-point towards which Klimper's life had insensibly been directing itself. He resigned his office at the club: he abandoned for ever his old haunts, his old practices. And nowadays he is well known in a certain part of London (where he supports himself by a monotonous pursuit) as an ardent lay preacher who is never so impressive as when 'he denounces the vice of gambling. | {
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Miley Cyrus and The Flaming Lips team up in recording studio
David Renshaw Mar 15, 2014 11:24 am GMT
Wayne Coyne shares image of Cyrus as he confirms his band is recording with US popstar
Miley Cyrus is recording music with The Flaming Lips.
Wayne Coyne, frontman with the US band shared a picture of Cyrus on Instagram along with the caption, "Yup…… Recordin with Miley… High as fuck…. #flaminglips #theflaminglips #tulsa #lovemoneyparty," yesterday (March 14). Scroll down to see the picture now.
Earlier this year, Wayne Coyne and Steven Drozd of The Flaming Lips, joined Cyrus during her gig at LA's Staples Center for a rendition of their classic song 'Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots Part 1'. Cyrus, who is currently halfway through her Bangerz Tour in the US, has previously covered 'Hey Yeah' by OutKast and Dolly Parton's track 'Jolene' during her sets.
http://instagram.com/p/liwFjPJXro/embed/
In February, concert promoter Live Nation was forced to deny that Cyrus's US tour is under the threat of cancellation. Reports had suggested that venues due to host the controversial tour were pulling out prompted by complaints form parents due to the show's controversial content, which includes a section in which Cyrus simulates oral sex on a man dressed as Bill Clinton.
Cyrus previously said that the 'Bangerz' world tour will be "educational for kids". The 'Wrecking Ball' singer also said that her gigs will see fans being exposed to art which they may have never heard about before. This came just a day after the singer posted a picture from her tour rehearsal of herself riding a enlarged hot dog in the air.
Instagram Credit: Getty
Instagram to trial hiding "likes" from other users
Credit: Andy Ford
Iggy Pop announces new record 'Free', "an album in which other artists speak for me" | {
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Jimmy Iovine says he's not leaving Apple – Evotik
By Evotik| 2018-01-10T20:30:03+00:00 January 10th, 2018|APPLE, apple music, jimmy iovine, Media, Personnel, TC, Uncategorized|
Last week, Billboard reported Jimmy Iovine, the person who sold Beats to Apple in 2014, was set to leave Apple in August. Well, Iovine says that's not true, Variety reports.
In a conversation with Variety, Iovine noted that there's more Apple Music and Beats would like to do, saying he's "committed to doing whatever Eddy [Cue], Tim [Cook] and Apple" need him to do to "take this all the way." He added, "I am in the band."
There was some speculation, per Billboard, that an August departure would have been timed with Iovine's shares fully vesting. But Iovine said his "stock vested a long time ago." He later elaborated in an interview following a screening of "The Defiant One" that "there is a tiny portion of stock that vests in August, but that's not what I think about," he said.
The bottom line for Iovine is that he's "loyal to the guys at Apple," he said. "I love Apple, and I really love musicians."
In May 2014, Apple paid $3 billion ($2.6 billion in cash and $400 million in stock) for the headphone maker and streaming music service. As part of the deal, Iovine and Beats co-founder Dr. Dre joined Apple as employees. Iovine previously co-founded Interscope Records and has been involved in the production of more than 250 albums.
While at Apple, Iovine has helped develop and grow Apple Music since its launch in 2015. Under Iovine's leadership, Apple Music moved into video and original programming. Apple Music currently has 30 million subscribers, while Spotify has 70 million subscribers.
Moving forward, Iovine said he plans to "help streaming come to scale."
Featured Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images | {
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Harishchandrachi Factory (2009)
Paresh Mokashi
Nandu Madhav
Comedy, Drama, Foreign
The movie depicts efforts and struggle by Dadasaheb Falke for creating first motion picture in India - Raja Harishchandra.
A Useful Life (2010)
A movie-theater employee adjusts to a new life after the cinema he worked at for over 25 years is forced to shut down.
The Go Master (2006)
The Go Master is a 2006 biopic by director Tian Zhuangzhuang of renowned twentieth century Go master Wu Qingyuan, better known by his adopted name of Go Seigen. The film, which premiered at the 44th New York Film Festival, focuses on the life of this extraordinary player from his meteoric rise as a child prodigy to fame and fortune as a revolutionary strategic thinker, as well as the tumultuous global conflicts between his homeland and his adopted nation. The film also features a scene involving the Atomic bomb go game.
Michael (1924)
A famed artist fights his passion for a male model, until the young man falls for a woman.
Khoya Khoya Chand (2007)
Circa 1960s Lucknow-based author Zafar Ali Naqvi, who has issues with his father and his four wives, including the 4th one who lusts after him, re-locates to Bombay, starts writing for movies, and falls in love with starlet Nikhat Sheikh. Both decide to get married but cancel the plans at the last minute after she finds out that her mother and her live-in boyfriend...
Warrior Queen (2003)
The Celtic queen who shook the Roman Empire. Boudica is one of history's first and fiercest women warriors. Sickened by ceaseless war, the king of the Iceni accepts a treaty with the Romans in exchange for his tribe's continued independence. But oppressively high taxes impoverish the tribe and soon the Romans want something more — slaves. Refusing to submit, the Romans, led by the greedy and psychotic Emperor Nero, move to crush the Iceni and control their lands. Drawing on the strength of her warriors, mystical druidic powers, and her own pain, Boudica unites the historically fractious tribes of Briton to unleash a stunning onslaught on the Roman colonial camps. The ferocity of Boudica's attacks will shake the foundations of the Roman empire and make her a legend.
Grey Owl (1999)
Archie Grey Owl is a trapper in Canada in the early 1930s when a young Iroquois woman from town asks him to teach her Indian ways. They live in the woods, where she is appalled at how trapped animals die. She adopts two orphaned beaver kits and helps Archie see his way to stop trapping. Instead, he works as a guide, a naturalist writer, and then the Canadian government hires him to save the beaver in a conserve by Lake Ajawaan in Prince Albert National Park. He writes a biography, which brings him attention in Canada and invitations to lecture in England. Before he leaves, he and Anahareo (Pony) marry. In England, his secret is revealed. Will Anahareo continue to love him?
A Matador's Mistress (2008)
Scandal erupts over a famous bullfighter's affair with a left-wing actress.
Ed Wood (1994)
The mostly true story of the legendary "worst director of all time", who, with the help of his strange friends, filmed countless B-movies without ever becoming famous or successful.
Sweet and Lowdown (1999)
A comedic biopic focused on the life of fictional jazz guitarist Emmett Ray. Ray was an irresponsible, free-spending, arrogant, obnoxious, alcohol-abusing, miserable human being, who was also arguably the best guitarist in the world.
Mr Nice (2010)
Biopic about 1970s British marijuana trafficker Howard Marks, whose inventive smuggling schemes made him a huge success in the drug trade, as well as leading to dealings with both the IRA and British Intelligence. Based on Marks' biography with the same title.
A Walk in the Woods (2015)
After spending two decades in England, Bill Bryson returns to the U.S., where he decides the best way to connect with his homeland is to hike the Appalachian Trail with one of his oldest friends.
Kafka (1991)
Kafka, an insurance worker gets embroiled in an underground group after a co-worker is murdered. The underground group is responsible for bombings all over town, attempting to thwart a secret organization that controls the major events in society. He eventually penetrates the secret organization and must confront them.
Submarine (2011)
15-year-old deep-thinker Oliver Tate struggles to initiate and maintain a relationship with Jordana, his devilish, dark-haired classmate. As his parents' marriage begins to fall apart, similar problems arise in his relationship with Jordana.
Two Marines and a General (1966)
In May 1943, two American soldiers, Joe and Frank, of Italian descent are searching the North African desert for a German general called Von Kassler, when they are captured by Von Kassler aide Inge Schultze who lets them escape with fake war plans, only Joe and Frank steal the real war plans which pave way for the Allied victory. Months later, the duo once again come up against Von Kassler when they are captured at Anzio and try to outwit the Nazis a second time.
King for a Day (1983)
This film is a comedy about a poor man named Purko. Purko always fails in his attempt to escape from poverty. The film illustrates the social and the moral atmosphere in Bulgaria during the 1930's.
JC Comme Jesus Christ (2012)
Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
Singer Dewey Cox overcomes adversity to become a musical legend.
Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (2015)
When Lou, who has become the "father of the Internet," is shot by an unknown assailant, Jacob and Nick fire up the time machine again to save their friend.
No Way Jose (2015)
Jose Stern, an erstwhile indie-rocker relegated to playing children's birthday parties, is on the verge of turning 40 and at a crossroads in his life.
The eccentric and childish Pee-wee Herman embarks on a big adventure when his beloved bicycle is stolen. Armed with information from a fortune-teller and a relentless obsession with his prized possession, Pee-wee encounters a host of odd characters and bizarre situations as he treks across the country to recover his bike.
Swanee River (1939)
Swanee River is a 1940 American biopic about Stephen Foster, a songwriter from Pittsburgh who falls in love with the South, marries a Southern girl, then is accused of sympathizing when the Civil War breaks out. Typical of 20th Century Fox biopics of the time, the film is more fictional than factual biography.
The Birth Of The Beatles (1979)
Birth of The Beatles is a 1979 biopic motion picture, produced by Dick Clark Productions and directed by Richard Marquand. Focuses on the early history of 1960s rock band The Beatles. It was released only nine years after the announced break-up of The Beatles themselves, and is the only Beatles biopic to be made while John Lennon was still alive. The film tries very hard to be accurate, opening with a written statement read out by a narrator stating the authenticity of the production, emphasising as it put it: "former Beatle, Pete Best" acting as technical advisor.
The Life Story of David Lloyd George (1918)
A biopic of Britain's Great War Prime Minister.
Bettie Page: Dark Angel (2004)
Bettie Page was America's number one pin-up girl in the 1950s and became a cult icon. This biopic tells the story of the last 3 years of her short-lived career, recreating the incriminating bondage films which gave her the nickname "Dark Angel", and led to her mysterious disappearance.
Modigliani (2004)
Set in Paris in 1919, biopic centers on the life of late Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani, focusing on his last days as well as his rivalry with Pablo Picasso. Modigliani, a Jew, has fallen in love with Jeanne, a young and beautiful Catholic girl. The couple has an illegitimate child, and Jeanne's bigoted parents send the baby to a faraway convent to be raised by nuns. Modigliani is distraught and
Providence (2016)
Rachel Cartwright and Mitchell Little both grow up in the small town of Providence, Tennessee. Their paths keep intersecting and at one point it looks like they'll finally get together. But the opportunity slips away and they go their separate ways. It takes a tragedy many years later before they're reunited. This time will they let the moment pass or will they finally overcome their insecurities and connect with their soulmate? This beautiful romance is told silent cinema style, using only dramatic action and a soundtrack of eclectic indie music to portray this emotional journey of love.
Robert Koch, der Bekämpfer des Todes (1939)
Robert Koch (German title: Robert Koch, der Bekämpfer des Todes) is a 1939 German historical drama film directed by Hans Steinhoff and starring Emil Jannings, Werner Krauss and Viktoria von Ballasko. The film was a biopic of the German pioneering microbiologist Robert Koch (1843-1910).
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Battleship Potemkin is the classic silent masterpiece from director Sergej Eisenstein from 1925. The film is based on the true events of the Russian Revolution of 1905. The film had an incredible impact on the development of cinema and was a masterful example of montage editing.
Céline (2008)
A biopic on singer Céline Dion.
Talk to Her (2002)
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
Blancanieves (2012)
A black and white silent move based on the Snow White fairy tale that is set in a romantic version of 1920s Seville and centered on a female bullfighter.
Bruce Lee, My Brother (2010)
Bruce Lee, My Brother is an action-dramatic biopic of the eponymous martial arts legend as told by his younger brother, Robert Lee. It revolves around Bruce Lee's life as a rebellious adolescent in Hong Kong before he sets off for the USA and conquers the world at the age of 18 with only US$100 in his pocket.
Celluloid (2013)
A biopic based on the life story of J.C. Daniel, the pioneer of Malayalam cinema. It is a detailed account on Daniel's life, making of his film Vigathakumaran and the tragic story of Vigathakumaran's heroine P. K. Rosie. The film is particularly based on the novel Nashta Naayika by Vinu Abraham (which details the story of Rosie) and the biography of J. C. Daniel by Chelangatt Gopalakrishnan.
Legend No. 17 (2013)
Biopic of Russian ice hockey legend Valeri Kharlamov from early childhood, rising to the pinnacle of the sport and his untimely death
Louis Cyr : The Strongest Man in the World (2013)
Biopic of Louis Cyr, strongest man in the world at the end of the 19th Century.
Lizzie Borden Took An Ax (2014)
The true story of Lizzie Borden, a young woman tried and acquitted in the 1892 murders of her father and stepmother.
Sardar (1993)
Sardar is a 1993 Indian biopic on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of India's greatest freedom fighters, directed by Ketan Mehta and written by noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar.
De-Lovely is a 2004 American/British musical biographical film directed by Irwin Winkler. The screenplay by Jay Cocks is based on the life and career of Cole Porter, from his first meeting with Linda Lee Thomas in 1918 until moments before his death in 1964.
A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan between the 1930s to 1940s during the Second Sino-Japanese War. Directed by Wilson Yip, the film stars Donnie Yen in the lead role, and features fight choreography by Sammo Hung.
"42" is the powerful story of Jackie Robinson, the legendary baseball player who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier when he joined the roster of the Brooklyn Dodgers. The film follows the innovative Dodger's general manager Branch Rickey, the MLB executive who first signed Robinson to the minors and then helped to bring him up to the show.
8 Mile (2002)
The setting is Detroit in 1995. The city is divided by 8 Mile, a road that splits the town in half along racial lines. A young white rapper, Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr summons strength within himself to cross over these arbitrary boundaries to fulfill his dream of success in hip hop. With future and the three one third all he has to do is not choke.
American Hot Wax (1978)
This is the story loosely based on Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, who introduced rock'n'roll to teenage American radio audiences in the 1950's. Freed was a source of great controversy: criticized by conservatives for corrupting youth with the "devil's music"; hated by racists for promoting African American music for white consumption; persecuted by law enforcement officials and finally brought down by the "payola" scandals.
As the Iranian revolution reaches a boiling point, a CIA 'exfiltration' specialist concocts a risky plan to free six Americans who have found shelter at the home of the Canadian ambassador.
Basquiat (1996)
Director Julian Schnabel illustrates the portrait of his friend, the first Afro-American Pop Art artist Jean Michel Basquiat who unfortunately died at a young age and just as he was beginning to make a name for himself in the art world. Along side the biography of Basquiat are the artists and the art scene from the early 1980's New York.
Before Night Falls (2000)
Spanning several decades, this powerful biopic offers a glimpse into the life of famed Cuban poet and novelist Reinaldo Arenas, an artist who was vilified for his homosexuality in Fidel Castro's Cuba.
A boy named George Jung grows up in a struggling family in the 1950's. His mother nags at her husband as he is trying to make a living for the family. It is finally revealed that George's father cannot make a living and the family goes bankrupt. George does not want the same thing to happen to him, and his friend Tuna, in the 1960's, suggests that he deal marijuana. He is a big hit in California in the 1960's, yet he goes to jail, where he finds out about the wonders of cocaine. As a result, when released, he gets rich by bringing cocaine to America. However, he soon pays the price.
Bride of the Wind (2001)
A biopic of Alma Mahler, the wife of composer Gustav Mahler (as well as Walter Gropius and Franz Werfel), and the mistress of Oskar Kokoschka.
Cadillac Records (2008)
In this tale of sex, violence, race, and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, "Cadillac Records" follows the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Christmas Cottage (2008)
Inspired by the picturesque paintings of Thomas Kinkade, The Christmas Cottage tells the semi-autobiographical tale of how a young boy is propelled to launch a career as an artist after he learns that his mother is in danger of losing the family home.
Cobb (1994)
Al Stump is a famous sports-writer chosen by Ty Cobb to co-write his official, authorized 'autobiography' before his death. Cobb, widely feared and despised, feels misunderstood and wants to set the record straight about 'the greatest ball-player ever,' in his words.
Coco Before Chanel (2009)
2009 biopic about the early life of Coco Chanel. Several years after leaving the orphanage, to which her father never returned for her, Gabrielle Chanel finds herself working in a provincial bar both. She's both a seamstress for the performers and a singer, earning the nickname Coco from the song she sings nightly with her sister. A liaison with Baron Balsan gives her an entree into French society and a chance to develop her gift for designing.
Custer of the West (1967)
Biopic of General George Armstrong Custer from his rise to prominence in the Civil War through to his "last stand" at the Battle of the Little Big Horn.
Dahmer (2002)
On February 15, 1992 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer, one of the world's most infamous serial killers, was convicted of 15 counts of murder and sentenced to 937 years of federal prison. This movie is based on events from his life. Certain characters and events are fictional.
The Red Baron (2008)
Richthofen goes off to war like thousands of other men. As fighter pilots, they become cult heroes for the soldiers on the battlefields. Marked by sportsmanlike conduct, technical exactitude and knightly propriety, they have their own code of honour. Before long he begins to understand that his hero status is deceptive. His love for Kate, a nurse, opens his eyes to the brutality of war.
The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)
"The Motorcycle Diaries" is based on the journals of Che Guevara, leader of the Cuban Revolution. In his memoirs, Guevara recounts adventures he, and best friend Alberto Granado, had while crossing South America by motorcycle in the early 1950s.
Disraeli (1929)
Biopic of the famed British Prime Minister focusing on his concern about Russia's growing interest in the Indian subcontinent and his attempts to buy the Suez Canal. He sees the Canal as the key strategic resource in maintaining the Empire in the East but is unpopular in many quarters. With antisemitism rife at the time, Disraeli finds little support for his plan to purchase the canal or his foreign policy in general. There is no doubt that the Russians are plotting against British interests and he is surrounded by spies, even in his office at 10 Downing St. When the Bank of England refuses to finance the purchase of the available shares he turns to private sources to raise the available cash only to find the conspirators one step ahead of him.
The Consul of Sodom (2009)
Fascinating journey through the life and work of the prestigious Catalan poet Jaime Gil de Biedma, both marked by sexuality and eroticism. Charismatic and somewhat eccentric, brilliant intellectual with extraordinary sensitivity and member of Barcelona's 'gauche divine' in the 60s, Gil de Biedma liked to describe himself as a 'poet of experience' while he suffered dreadfully from the dichotomy strangling him: bourgeois and executive for a multinational by day, communist and homosexual poet by night.
A group of men who were clearing bush for the government arrive back in town, claiming that their friend was abducted by aliens. Nobody believes them, and despite a lack of motive and no evidence of foul play, their friends' disappearance is treated as murder.
Flight for Freedom (1943)
1943 fictionalised biopic about aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart, who disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean in 1937. In the film, Rosalind Russell plays the Earhart alter ego, called Tonie Carter, and Fred MacMurray is her love interest and pilot colleague. In the film, the world famous female pilot sacrifices herself over the Pacific during a world flight in 1937, in order to enable the US Navy to fly over and photograph some secret Japanese installations on nearby islands while pretending to search for her plane.
For the Boys (1991)
With the help of the singer and dancer Dixie Leonhard US-Entertainer Eddie Sparks wants to bring some fun to the soldiers during World War II. Becoming a perfect team they tour from North Africa to the Pacific to act for "the boys". Later they continue their work but when the author Silver gets involved into McCarthy's campaign and is being fired by Eddie, Dixie turns away from him, too. | {
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Invesco Closed-End Funds Declare Dividends
12:15 pm ET January 4, 2021 (PR Newswire) Print
The Board of Trustees of each of the Invesco closed-end funds listed below today declared the following dividends.
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/168499/invesco_ltd__logo.jpg
EX-DATE RECORD DATE REINVEST DATE PAYABLE DATE
01/14/21 01/15/21 01/29/21 01/29/21
Name of Closed-End Ticker Monthly Dividend Amount Per Share Change From Prior Distribution
Management Investment Company
Invesco Advantage Municipal Income Trust II VKI $0.0485 +0.0020
Invesco Bond Fund VBF $0.0565 -
Invesco California Value Municipal Income Trust VCV $0.0475 -
Invesco High Income 2023 Target Term Fund IHIT $0.0500 -
Invesco High Income 2024 Target Term Fund IHTA $0.0467 -
Invesco Municipal Income Opportunities Trust OIA $0.0316 -
Invesco Municipal Opportunity Trust VMO $0.0540 +0.0020
Invesco Municipal Trust VKQ $0.0520 -
Invesco Pennsylvania Value Municipal Income Trust VPV $0.0500 -
Invesco Quality Municipal Income Trust IQI $0.0520 -
Invesco Trust for Investment Grade Municipals VGM $0.0535 -
Invesco Trust for Investment Grade New York Municipals VTN $0.0458 -
Invesco Value Municipal Income Trust IIM $0.0640 +0.0020
Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year will report distributions for federal income tax purposes. The Fund's annual report to shareholders will include information regarding the tax character of Fund distributions for the fiscal year.
1 A portion of this distribution is estimated to be from a return of principal rather than net income. The Section 19 notice referenced below provides more information and can be found on the Invesco website at www.invesco.com.
The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions in 2021 will be made after the end of the year.
In order to comply with the requirements of Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, each Fund will provide its shareholders of record on the record date with a Section 19 Notice disclosing the sources of its dividend payment when a distribution includes anything other than net investment income. The Section 19 Notice is not provided for tax reporting purposes but for informational purposes only. If applicable, this Section 19 Notice information can be found on the Funds' website at www.invesco.com
The amount of dividends paid by each fund may vary from time to time. Past amounts of dividends are no guarantee of future dividend payment amounts.
Investing involves risk and it is possible to lose money on any investment in the funds.
For more information, call 1-800-341-2929.
About Invesco Ltd. Invesco Ltd. is a global independent investment management firm dedicated to delivering an investment experience that helps people get more out of life. Our distinctive investment teams deliver a comprehensive range of active, passive and alternative investment capabilities. With offices in 25 countries, Invesco managed $1.2 trillion in assets on behalf of clients worldwide as of November 30, 2020. For more information, visit Invesco.com.
Invesco Distributors, Inc. is the US distributor for Invesco Ltd. It is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd.
Note: There is no assurance that a closed-end fund will achieve its investment objective. Shares are bought on the secondary market and may trade at a discount or premium to NAV. Regular brokerage commissions apply.
NOT A DEPOSIT l NOT FDIC INSURED l NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK | MAY LOSE VALUE | NOT INSURED BY ANY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCY
Invesco--
CONTACT: Jeaneen Terrio 212-278-9205 [email protected]
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SOURCE Invesco Ltd.
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Sam grew up as a country farm boy in a family of 11 children. He then went on to college in Hobart Tasmania, but found that he was more suited to get straight into work. After working in sales for a few years he found his passion, helping people. He then went and worked as a trainer in Northern Tasmania and soon became training manager, he also did many music theatre productions, & opened his own music studio. Sam has also worked as an Industry Adviser working with young people & industry, indentifying skill shortages and providing solutions and strategies for young people entering the workforce.
Sam's personal life journey changed dramatically 2 years ago when he was involved in a major car accident. Sam had his right arm amputated and lives with a permanent disability in his right leg. Sam was hospitalised for over four months and confined to a wheelchair for nine months. It is the story of Sam's remarkable resilience, his mental strength as well as his physical recovery that has amazed and inspired so many Australians, here & people around the world. Through overcoming such a tragedy Sam launched his business called 'Be Motivated'.
Sam has now spoken to over 50,000 people throughout Australia and overseas. He has been nominated for many awards and more recently won Tasmania's Young Australian of the Year. Sam's message to others is simple. He challenges people to be themselves, believe in themselves, find purpose and focus, nurture their creativity, develop resilient and protective behaviours, conquer obstacles such as fear, set and attain personal goals. In every way imaginable Sam is a living embodiment of the messages he delivers.
Sam is at the forefront of global trends and has the unique ability to transform impossibilities into possible realities. Sam's thought leadership is in corporate & personal turnarounds and his message called BOUNCE. He flies around the world sharing his expertise and his passion in 'Bouncing Forward'.
Sam's passion also stretches as far as India where he has set up his own foundation supporting people living with a disability in some of the poorest places on earth.
"WOW ... this guy is brilliant!! Prepared, truly professional, heart warming and inspiring. Sam's powerful message and delivery kept the audience wanting more and more. Such a positive, warm and delightful soul ... awesome speaker"
"Sam has a way of speaking that not only inspires but makes you feel like you've known him for years after the first smile. His message is one that is at once simple enough to be grasped by everyone who has ever struggled with a problem in their lives, yet profound enough that they could dedicate their lives to following it."
"Sam is a highly engaging speaker with an incredibly important message..."Sam is Sam; you just wind him up and let him go. His enthusiasm, his energy and his sense of humour are infectious. Just being around him is an uplifting experience and always leaves you feeling a bit better about your world"
"Sam's inspirational story and his passion for living touched many of our delegates deeply. Sam had our attendees laughing and in tears – he was both inspirational and motivating . I am sure our delegates who in their work and personal lives face crises will be inspired to bounce forward to new highs. Thank you Sam"
"Sam Cawthorn provided our senior leaders with a presentation that was both inspiring and entertaining in equal measure. Everyone in the room was transfixed by Sam's message of optimism and his ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable personal tragedy. In both business and in life, I think we learn more from the challenges we overcome than from the successes and Sam was able to demonstrate this in a very real way"
"Sam was amazing! Everyone was totally engaged in what he had to say - he gave a powerful message in a captivating manner! We won't forget you Sam!"
"WOW ... this guy is brilliant!! Prepared, truly professional, heart warming and inspiring. Sam's powerful message and delivery kept the audience wanting more and more. Such a positive, warm and delightful soul ... awesome speaker"
"Sam was fantastic! Working within a Motor Accidents environment and seeing how Sam has been able to bounce forward is extremely inspirational"
"Sam is a master communicator. I have never heard anyone quite like him. He will take any audience on a rollercoaster of emotion between laughter and tears. His message is authentic and engaging - no one will leave a talk by Sam unchanged. It is no wonder Sam is in so much demand"
"Sam is an experience. He is entertaining, hilarious, but most importantly, challenging and progressive in his approach as a speaker and as a forward thinker. He is dedicated to creating momentum for the movement our young people need to take up in order to engage in a greater vision for the future including those in poverty with a disability"
"I loved your analogy of bouncing forward opposed to bouncing back which is something I have not heard before, despite attending many self development programs. It is so easy to get caught up in daily life and the fast pace we operate at, it was a great reminder that it's important to keep perspective on everything in life including dealing with any adversity we encounter"
"Sam Cawthorn's presentation was fantastic. Moving, funny , inspirational and thought provoking. Participants of the conference were spell bound"
"I just wanted to say a massive thank you for your help and let you know Sam was FABULOUS! Truly truly amazing, inspiring, fun, I could just go on & on. He truly made our conference a memorable day.So often at these events many speakers try to get the audience to participate and they get one or two responses if that. Sam had every single person in the room participating and transfixed on what he was saying! I was amazed. Can you believe I cried?! No seriously, I did!"
You are the most extraordinary person that I've ever met. Your courage and will to overcome adversity is commendable. I truly feel privileged to have witnessed such an amazing talent. You are changing the world one person at a time. You've changed us.
Sam's obvious passion for life and family shines through so brightly that one quickly forgets that he has been through an horrific accident and a life changing moment… he lifts everyone's spirit in the room. This is true motivational speaking!
Your energy, humour, humility and obvious joy of life no matter what hand you happen to be dealt was inspirational. Also, your style of delivery was perfect for the wide selection of people that we had present.
"Sam is an ordinary guy who has lived an extraordinary experience. He shares his story in a simple 'down to earth' way that makes it accessible to a wide audience. Sam is inspirational!"
Sam is a highly engaging speaker with an incredibly important message…: "Sam is Sam; you just wind him up and let him go. His enthusiasm, his energy and his sense of humour are infectious. Just being around him is an uplifting experience and always leaves you feeling a bit better about your world.
Sam's humour and light-hearted approach to an amazing horrendous ordeal was a good wake-up for me. It had me appreciate and give up complaining about the simple problems I have. I was inspired by who HE has now caused himself to be out of such a journey. That tells the person. Bring it on Sam and go well!
"Sam's presentation was brilliant; he was well researched, dynamic and challenging!"
"What an amazing and positive young man. The energy was incredible, the passion for life made the hair on your neck stand up. I could listen to him all day on any subject."
We found Sam to be inspirational, funny and engaging. He is purely amazing… Thanks Sam, your messages are life changing!
Entertaining, engaging, inspiring and very, very funny - Sam Cawthorn is an amazing individual and any organisation would be mad not to book him as a guest speaker and motivator. I could not recommend him more highly.
Sam is a very engaging speaker and his message of "bouncing forward" resonated with our team. He's a living example of how important it is to stay positive, to be resilient and to keep pushing forward no matter what challenges come.
The stand out session from our conference was Sam Cawthorn. He is brilliant. I laughed, cried then laughed again. Sam was a simply inspirational person. He is 30 years old and one of the most impressive speakers I have ever seen.
Sam's session on the last day of our conference was 'magical'. He fully engaged the crowd with his story, his messages, his wit, heart and his passion. I had a number of attendees that had listened to Sam who that afternoon made some very big changes to their lives. I had another attendee that had his notes from the session still in his pocket that night to remind him of what Sam had said (and he did change for dinner). His impact was widespread and deep. His messages around 'Bouncing Forward', 'the decision not the condition….', 'holding hands in traffic' will be remembered. Sam was truly inspirational and is one of those people that you know is very special and very unique. Thank you for the magic Sam!" | {
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If you use Salesforce together with other cloud storage such as Egnyte to manage important business or marketing information, then you already know how difficult it can be to collaborate and transfer between these two cloud apps. What if files, reports and call logs which are stored in Salesforce can be integrated with Engyte is such way so you can share any of your Salesforce files, documents, notes, or reports via Egnyte?
Imagine having the ability to view Salesforce notes in Egnyte or be able to access contracts documents stored in Egnyte via Salesforce. cloudHQ makes it possible to share data regardless of the format in both! How do we do it? The process involves replicating the data from specified accounts or directories and then synchronizing it to deliver real-time access from either service. Integrating two beneficial enterprise applications, now that is a recipe for success!
Do you struggle to manage data access between multiple cloud services or business accounts? It would be easier if each account could be configured to be viewable and immediately backed up for every user. With cloudHQ, it is as easy as specifying what needs to be accessible from each account! cloudHQ offers the ability to sync Salesforce with Egnyte for real-time access and sharing capabilities.
For example, what do you do if a pertinent file needs to be shared with collegue, but file is in Salesforce but your collegue or client does not have Salesforce account? With cloudHQ, you do not have to spend countless hours downloading document and ensuring that it is the most current. cloudHQ ensures that the document eadily available from Egntye! We also make it simple to configure shares between users for each service and to manage their access accordingly.
When you sync Salesforce with Egnyte, the data is replicated and synchronized in real-time. If a change is made to a note in Salesforce, it will instantaneously be seen in Egnyte. With cloudHQ, the information you need is always available and up-to-date no matter where you are or where it is being accessed! Why go through extra trouble to share important data between cloud applications? cloudHQ provides the integration you need to make collaboration easy and reliable! | {
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stickafork
The official podcast of Feeding Tampa Bay. We talk food and philanthropy with some of the biggest names in Central Florida, and provide a firsthand look at the process of making sure our 700,000 neighbors are fed, happy and healthy.
Learning to Lead from the Front, with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor
We're fortunate to have had the support of Tampa's Mayor, Jane Castor, through thick and thin in recent years. She stood by us during the pandemic, providing Feeding Tampa Bay the attention and resources we needed to ensure nobody went hungry while businesses were closing. And now she's helping guide us through the process of expanding our capability, as we begin construction on a new facility offering more programs and more food out the door. Tune in to hear about her journey from athlete to police officer and finally to mayor of an entire city. And learn how the importance of family and community aided her along the way. And as ever, follow us on your preferred social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay, to see what other guests we've had on the show, and what exciting developments are on their way in the future.
Proving Hunger-Free is Possible with Katie Fitzgerald, President of Feeding America
There was so much more to discuss with our recent guest, Katie Fitzgerald, that we just had to have her back on the show. Last time we talked about the ways that food banks are evolving to address root causes of hunger -- but on today's episode we discuss how that evolution is made possible, and how it's already making regions around Feeding America food banks truly hunger-free. To learn what it really means to be hunger-free, check out another recent episode where our Chief Programs Officer, Matt Spence, breaks it down in simple terms! You can save our episodes for later listening on any of your favorite podcast platforms, and you can see teasers for each one by following our social media accounts @FeedingTampaBay.
Lifting Up Young Learners with Addison Davis, Superintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools
After spending years teaching students directly, Addison Davis finds himself in charge of all the school's in one of the nation's largest counties. How does someone in that position ensure that children are getting what they need to be well-adjusted, successful adults? By working tirelessly to get teachers and parents what they need, and remembering that every child has a story. Tune in to learn how Addison has pushed to improve schools in Hillsborough county in recent years, and what he hopes we can come together to accomplish for the future caretakers of our society. Follow @FeedingTampaBay on your favorite social media platform to learn about the other partners we work with to make Tampa a healthier, happier place!
Creating the Hunger-Free Strategy with Joanna Burleson of the Monitor Institute
Hunger-free means everybody who needs food knows where they can go to get some, as our Chief Programs Officer, Matt Spence, recently explained on our show. And on today's episode we introduce you to the folks who have helped us develop a plan to make Tampa Bay hunger-free. Over the course of the past year the Monitor Institute, and their Managing Director, Joanna Burleson, has helped Feeding Tampa Bay figure out how we can do what we do even better. Together we brainstormed outside the box, talked with members of the community, and pored over research to give ourselves the best edge we can get in the fight against food insecurity. Tune in to learn what it takes to create a plan like this, and what we think we can do now that it's nearly complete. And stay up-to-date on all the other work we're doing in the community, as well as ways you can get involved, by following us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Humans of the Food Bank 2022 - Part 2
Continuing from yesterday's episode of this year's Humans of the Food Bank, we bring you 5 more of our incredible colleagues sharing their personal journeys! Tune in to meet the compassionate souls that work every day to end hunger in Tampa Bay and beyond, and if you missed the first 3 guests, be sure to check out Part 1 of this year's series. Catch all the teasers and highlights from this and other FTB creations by following us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Humans of theFood Bank 2022 - Part 1
Everyone's favorite annual episode is here! We love to wrap up each year with an episode that helps you get to know our staff, who they are, what they do, and why they do it. These phenomenal human beings feed thousands of families all over West Central Florida, and they pour their heart into our mission every single day. Tune in to hear from three of our colleagues who have never been on the show before, and learn how they came to be part of the Feeding Tampa Bay Family. Then, tune in again tomorrow, December 22nd, to hear from four more hunger heroes! And follow us on your preferred social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay to see the work these incredible folks do in action!
How Will Feeding Tampa Bay End Hunger? Our Chief Programs Officer Matt Spence Explains The Strategic Plan
Our beloved show host, Matt Spence, returns to share what he's been up to for the past few months -- which entails everything from Ninja Warrior training to mapping out the end to hunger in Tampa Bay. He and other members of FTB have been assembling expert research and firsthand community member experiences into a strategic plan, which will help us ensure that everyone who needs food in our region will know where to find it. Tune in to learn how we're improving our programs to put more food in schools, improve the physical health of families, and help people establish their own financial stability. And be sure to follow FTB on your favorite social media platform for more insights and updates @FeedingTampaBay!
Katie Fitzgerald, President of Feeding America, Explains the Future of Food Banking
Katie Fitzgerald never intended to work in food banking, but along the storied path to her current position, she learned just how many doorways access to food can open for people across the country. Feeding America is a network of more than 200 partner food banks that cover every county in the United States, and Feeding Tampa Bay is just one part of that massive effort. Our own CEO, Thomas Mantz, joins us on this episode to discuss with Katie how the work that we do creates opportunities for people to change their future, by connecting them with resources beyond just food. Tune in to learn how we hope to provide a voice to the people who are struggling, and who know what they need better than anyone else. Follow @FeedingTampaBay on your favorite social media platforms to learn how you can stand with us in the fight against hunger, providing hope to people in your own community and beyond.
Rescuing Food from Waste with Cammie Chatterton, CEO of Bay Food Brokerage
Billions of pounds of perfectly edible food goes to waste every year in the United States alone. As one of the largest food recyclers in the country, Feeding Tampa Bay is proud to partner with caring individuals like Cammie Chatterton, who uses her role and knowledge as a food broker to make sure that waste is reduced as much as possible. Tune in to learn what a food broker does, and how she became a part of our mission to end hunger in our community. And follow us on your favorite social media platform @FeedingTampaBay to learn how YOU can become part of the mission, too!
Learning about the Humane Society of Tampa Bay's Free Shot Clinic from their CEO Sherry Silk
We know that our pets are family, and their health and happiness is as important to us as our own. That's why we partner up every year with the Humane Society of Tampa Bay to provide free shots for dogs, and free food for families. Having a few less things to worry about builds up the capacity our community members have to deal with struggles that come their way, and we've seen how just a little extra help can dramatically change a life. Tune in to hear from Sherry Silk, CEO of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, on how their organization has grown to help more of our furry friends, and the families that love them. And find us on your favorite social media platform @FeedingTampaBay, to learn about more events like the free shot clinic coming up on Saturday, Nov. 5th -- from 9am-12pm at the Gardenville Park & Recreation Center in Gibsonton!
Helping Through Hurricane Ian with Jim Carpenter of Feeding Tampa Bay
How do we bring stability to our community and even our Florida neighbors? Our Director of Facilities and Disaster Response, Jim Carpenter, joins us at the table once again to share details on how our network prepares and provides relief during a storm, specifically Hurricane Ian. Followed by Rule #7 suggestions from ABC Action News Denis Phillips! You can listen to his full episode (Weather Geeking with Denis Phillips of ABC Action News) on your favorite podcast platform, as well. Follow us on your favorite social media platforms to stay updated on all the ways we help our community in times of need, and to learn how you can get involved in the fight against hunger, too.
Studying Humans and Hunger with Dr. Himmelgreen of the University of South Florida
What does the study of Anthropology have to do with fighting hunger? Well, more than you'd think! Not only does studying human nature tell us tons about how people cope with hunger, it can also tell us how to combat it. On today's episode we sit with our longtime academic associate, Dr. David Himmelgreen, to talk about the ways that people all over the world are alike, and how we learn better ways every day to help them. Wait for it... This is our first podcast episode with a visual follow up, where you can join Thomas and Shannon on an adventure into the worlds of our guests and the community we serve. Tune in for, Stick A Fork In It TV -- brought to you regularly on our YouTube channel. This first one will launch next Wednesday, September 28th. So be sure to follow us there for updates! And to see all the other ways we're working to fight hunger, follow us on your favorite social media @FeedingTampaBay.
Learn How You Can Take Action with Full-Time Volunteer Don Germaise
As a former reporter with ABC Action News, Don Germaise made the decision not to really retire but instead to "hunker down" into a life dedicated to community service. In the Tampa Bay non-profit world, he is the definition of "Take Action". And that is the mantra during September, which is recognized every year as Hunger Action Month, when people all over the country come together to help each other get the resources they need to fill bellies and create a better future. You can take action year round, but tune in to learn more about the ways you can get involved this September, and hear some of Don's amazing tales of volunteering around the world! Follow us on your favorite social media platforms to learn how you can take part in Hunger Action Month, or just take action in your community in general!
Making TampaWell with Dr. Tanuja Sharma & Kim Christine of Tampa General Hospital
Tampa General Hospital believes, like we do, that food is medicine. But they also know that exercise and education are medicine, too, and they're committed to helping our neighbors access all of those things. Through their upcoming grassroots project, TampaWell, they will provide Tampa residents with a community garden and food pantry, as well as guidance on ways to practice "enjoyable movement" and mental health wellness tips. On today's episode we're joined by Kim Christine and Dr. Tanuja Sharma of Tampa General Hospital, and they offer a wealth of insights into ways that men, women, children, and seniors can take simple steps to improve their health on a daily basis. Tune in and see how you might benefit from a little integrated medicine yourself! And follow us on your favorite social media sites @FeedingTampaBay for more information about TampaWell, and other ways that we're partnering with our peers to make Tampa living healthier and easier for everyone!
Packing the Pantries with Nino DeLucia of Vigo & Alessi
No doubt you probably have some Vigo & Alessi food products in your own pantry right now. Well they're celebrating 75 years of being based in Tampa by teaming up with ABC Action News and Feeding Tampa Bay, to help Pack the Pantries of school children and their families in our community! Tune in to learn about Vigo's history from one of the family members that helps bring you some of your favorite Italian and Spanish food products, and also how you can help with our Pack the Pantries campaign this year. Young kiddos need food to grow and learn, and we're grateful to have partners like these standing beside us to make sure that happens! Learn more about Feeding Tampa Bay, our partners, and how you can get involved in the fight against hunger by visiting FeedingTampaBay.org. Or by following us on your favorite social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay!
Crowning Epic Chefs with Shawn Routten of the Epicurean Hotel
2022 marks the SEVENTH year of our much-loved Epic Chef competition, where the top chefs in Tampa Bay face off in a contest of culinary creativity. Guests watch in person or online, enjoying delicious gourmet cuisine and crafted cocktails at the Epicurean Hotel, and on today's episode our guest is the hotel's General Manager, Shawn Routten! Tune in for a quick convo where we learn about the history of the event, the future of the hotel's expansion in SoHo, and some fun facts about Shawn himself. And be sure to tune in for the final night of Epic Chef -- Monday, August 1st starting at 6:45pm! Visit the Feeding Tampa Bay YouTube channel to watch LIVE, and subscribe for notifications about this and future events. And as always, follow us on your other favorite social media @FeedingTampaBay, to learn how you can get involved with our mission of ending hunger in West Central Florida and beyond!
Giving Through Gourmet with Chef Daniel Graves of Trinity Cafe
Trinity Cafe promises to feed all who need food, rain or shine, pandemic or peace, 365 days a year. And the meals are so much more than just basic sustenance. That's thanks in large part to our Executive Chef, Daniel Graves, who has worked everywhere from smalltime local kitchens to massive casino chains over the past 32 years. On this episode Chef Daniel explains what drew him to Trinity Cafe after decades of managing premiere kitchens around the country, and how he and his committed team are able to turn food donations into gourmet meals on a daily basis for our neighbors in need. Want to see some of his expertise in action? Check out our upcoming Epic Chef event, where guests can sample the amazing charcuterie boards he's assembled, and watch some of the best chefs in Tampa Bay face off over the course of three nights! And follow us on all social media @FeedingTampaBay for more updates.
Preparing for the New Daddy Experience with Jake Edling
Becoming a parent for the first time is scary, and the mountains of information we're expected to consume in preparation can be overwhelming. That's why Jake Edling, father of seven and acclaimed dad-expert, wrote "The New Daddy Experience" -- a succinct and grounded guide through the first few months of parenthood. Though it is primarily geared toward new fathers, new mothers can also benefit from the tips, tricks, and truths contained in the intentionally brief collection of pages. On this episode of Stick a Fork in It, Jake explains how he transitioned from life as a company man to life as a dedicated father and teacher, and how he learned to navigate the unpredictable path of parenthood. Find his brand new book for Kindle on Amazon! And be sure to check out our recent Father's Day special episode, featuring some of the dads who work at our food bank. Whether you're having your first child or your seventh, there's so much that can be learned when we share our wisdoms with one anoth…
The Fathers of Feeding Tampa Bay
On this special Father's Day edition of Stick a Fork in It, we welcome a few of the food bank's new and long-time fathers to share stories of the work, play, and growth that goes into raising their little ones. Matt hosts our co-workers Pete, Khalil, and Lemuel, who have sons and daughters ranging from toddlers to teens and beyond, and a truckload of funny and meaningful stories that naturally come with the territory of parenthood. Tune in to learn how they manage their work-life balance, create loving connections with their family, and learn from their own childhood experiences to be the best fathers they can be. To all the dads out there we say, Happy Father's Day! Follow us on all our social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay for more fun insights into our world and the amazing staff that helps us lift up our community every single day!
Feeding Hungry Pets with Melissa Pratt of PetSmart Charities
We all love our furry friends, and the last thing we want is to see them going hungry when we fall on hard times. That's why PetSmart Charities decided to team up with Feeding America, to make sure that pet owners didn't have to make difficult choices in trying to support themselves. Tune in to learn how PetSmart and Feeding Tampa Bay worked together to provide dog, cat, and people food to families during the pandemic, and how you can help support that mission going forward! Follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to learn about the other partners that make our mission of ending hunger possible, and how you can join the movement, too.
The Well Builds Bikes that Move People Forward ft. Jon Dengler of WellBuilt Bikes
Recorded on location at the WellBuilt Bikes shop in the University Mall, we talk philanthropy and philosophy with grassroots community organizer, Jon Dengler. He shares how a single conversation with a homeless neighbor led him to build an organization that works tirelessly to support people struggling with poverty and independence. From opening his home to the unhoused, to starting community gardens, to providing free bikes to customers who complete a bit of community service -- Jon has collaborated with like minds to move mountains for people, without the backing of any major corporate or government funding. Tune in for an inspiring story that will help you to see poverty differently, and how much something small like a working bicycle can mean in helping someone out of a rut in their life. Follow us on social media for more stories like this one @FeedingTampaBay!
Creating A Hub for Humanity with Mary Brown of Gulfside Elementary
What if your child could get a dental check-up without having to leave school? And if your elderly neighbor could get food for free when their money is tight? And if someone could help you navigate confusing government programs online? Well at Gulfside Elementary, all of these things are made possible through the Community Partnership program they are a part of -- and the services offered are available to students, families, and any other residents in the area who need help. On this episode we're joined by the Gulfside Hub director, Mary Brown. And she explains not only how the program works, but how they've already seen amazing, measurable results in the few short years that it's been open. Tune in to learn how community partners have come together to support Gulfside and other schools all over Florida. And follow @FeedingTampaBay on any social platform to see how we're providing support too, so you can get involved!
Cereal for Summer Kicks Off with Kathryn Bursch of 10 Tampa Bay
It's become a tradition over the past 7 years for us to collect thousands of cereal boxes during the summer, to help feed children who normally depend on their schools for breakfast. And we have Kathryn Bursch and her team from local news station 10 Tampa Bay to thank for coming up with the idea and putting it into action. This year's collection is already underway, and Kathryn joins us on today's episode to tell you a bit about Cereal for Summer, and how you can get involved to help feed hungry children! Visit Cerealforsummer.org for more information. And follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to see all the wonderful work being done by our partners like General Mills, who donated over 85 thousand boxes of cereal directly to Feeding Tampa Bay this year!
From Ukraine to You: Finding Peace Amidst Crisis (featuring Ian Adair) - Part 2
We return to our two-part episode featuring our friend Ian Adair from the Gracepoint Foundation, and our conversation about mental health in times of crisis. In part one we focused on the ways that world events, and their inescapable presence on social media, can have a negative impact on our mental health -- as well as ways to combat that impact. But in part two, Ian helps us understand the importance of mental health in the workplace. We spend so much of our lives working, and if that environment isn't one where we feel seen, heard, and understood, it's unlikely that we'll be happy there for very long. If you missed it, click here to check out the previous episode! And if you want to hear the first episode where Ian joined us on the show, click here. Follow @FeedingTampaBay for future updates about the show, and ways you can get involved in the fight against hunger.
What can you do when there seems to be crisis all around you? Mental health guru Ian Adair joins us once again for a conversation about coping in healthy ways with the pandemic, a struggling economy, and now, a war between Ukraine and Russia that has the entire world on edge. He and Thomas Mantz, our Feeding Tampa Bay CEO, dive into the way that social media and news overload can affect us, our children, and our relationships with one another. And this episode has two parts! In part one we discuss the personal ways that people can develop tools for creating peace in their lives, and then in part two (releasing next week) we discuss ways to foster peace and understanding in the workplace. To learn more about how the Ukraine conflict has affected folks right here in Tampa Bay, check out this powerful Tampa Bay Times article by Christopher O'Donnell. And to listen to the previous episode where Ian joined us to talk about his work with the Gracepoint Foundation, click here! Follow us fo…
Celebrating National Women's Month with Contemporary Fiction Author Lisa Unger
Lisa Unger has had a passion for writing stories since she was a girl, and for the past 20 years has put out one new novel each year. She joins us on today's episode to describe how we all have creativity within and how she finds her muse "in the quiet" for her character-driven stories, and what it's like to grow up with a career dream that people tell you is silly or unlikely. We're also joined by a special guest host, our own Kelley Sims, adding to the rich environment of female leaders, mothers, and passionate strivers we celebrate this March during National Women's Month. Tune in to learn how reading is just as important for your children as a healthy meal, and how you can support Feeding Tampa Bay by buying books like Lisa's! Follow us on your favorite social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay for more great insights and future guests!
Learning How to Decriminalize Poverty with Sarah Couture of the Fines & Fees Justice Center
Sometimes all it takes to start the spiral into inescapable poverty is a few unpaid parking tickets. When someone is already struggling with money, small legal fines can result in their license being taken away, and then they often can't earn any money at all. Sarah Couture, Florida Director of the Fines & Fees Justice Center, joins us on this episode to explain how her work seeks to erase these pitfalls from our legal system, so that people who find themselves in trouble don't end up stuck there. A more equitable justice system not only benefits the individuals navigating it, but benefits the system itself, which often relies on the payment of fines and fees for funding. Tune in to learn how telling YOUR story of legal complications can actually make a difference, and also, how a little hot sauce can vastly improve your grandma's patented mac and cheese recipe. And as always, follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay for more tips on how you can help improve your community for your…
Taste Testing Our New "Hops for Hunger" Beer at Big Storm Brewing Company
After a year of perfecting the recipe, we finally get to sit with LJ Govoni and Shannon Brooks to taste their delightful creation, "Hops for Hunger" -- a collaborative project that benefits Feeding Tampa Bay each time somebody buys one of the perfectly-named brews. Big Storm Brewing has been a staple for decades in the Tampa Bay region, and they truly are masters of their craft. On today's episode they walk us through the history of the company, as well as the funny story that led to our partnership with them, and ultimately to this wheaty, citrusy drink idea. And stick around to hear from special guest taste-testers from our own team, and other local nonprofits like John Dengel from Tampa's own WellBuilt Bikes! To see clips from other episodes, or learn more about our mission of ending hunger in Tampa Bay, visit FeedingTampaBay.org, or follow us on your favorite social media platform @FeedingTampaBay! Want to contact us directly with questions or ideas about our show? Email Shannon…
World Series Philanthropy with Howard Grosswirth of the New York Yankees
George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Florida is like a second home to New York's own Yankees. Over the course of their 27 seasons here, some of the biggest names in baseball have trained right in our own backyard. And on today's episode we have the pleasure of reminiscing with Howard Grosswirth, the Yankees' Vice President of Corporate Sales, and a member of the Feeding Tampa Bay board of directors. He shares with us the Yankees' devoted history of supporting their communities, and the ways that the Steinbrenner family continues to be a huge believer in missions like that of Feeding Tampa Bay. With their help, and yours, we are working to make Tampa Bay healthy, happy, and hunger-free. Click here to listen to our episode featuring Brian Auld, President of the Tampa Bay Rays Click here to listen to our episode featuring Ian Beckles, former Tampa Bay Buccaneer Learn more about our partnerships with the Yankees, the Rays, the Bucs, the Lightning and others by visiting our website or…
Humans of the Food Bank 2021 - Board
Behind all of the phenomenal work done every day by our food bank staff and volunteers are the members of the Feeding Tampa Bay board of directors, who guide and support our organization in the mission of ending hunger in our community. On today's episode we are joined by three of those board members, each with their own passionate story about why fighting hunger is important to them, and how their unique positions allow them to do just that. Two of these huge-hearted individuals have been on the show before, so if you missed those episodes, or just want to revisit them, find the links below! And as ever, if you want to find more info about Feeding Tampa Bay and how you can help us lift up the children and families that need us, visit FeedingTampaBay.org. Monica Wilson - Director, Community Food Pantry Roberto Torres - Owner, Blind Tiger Cafe
Humans of the Food Bank 2021 - Volunteers
Tens of thousands of volunteers grace our programs with their presence every single year, and make possible our mission of ending hunger in our community. On today's episode, meet 6 more magnificent humans who have worked side by side with us in recent years, and learn what drives them to keep returning to the front lines every single week. From serving up hot dishes at Trinity Cafe to assisting shoppers in our Publix Community Market, these incredible people have touched the lives of their neighbors in ways they couldn't previously imagine. And we hope that hearing their stories will touch your life, as well. The grand finale of this years Humans of the Food Bank series will feature Feeding Tampa Bay's own board members, and you can meet them here in just a couple of weeks! Follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay for updates, and stay tuned.
Humans of the Food Bank 2021 - Our Team
It's becoming a tradition to spend our last few episodes of the year getting to know the huge-hearted people who carry our mission on their backs. Our food bank is huge, and continuing to grow rapidly, and the people we have to thank for that success come from all over the world, with all kinds of stories and dreams, and they are the folks we'd like you to meet today. Learn how 6 amazing individuals work every day to end hunger in the Tampa Bay area, whether they guide our volunteers in the field, coordinate the food we provide, or spread our message online -- they are all key parts of our philanthropic family, and we know you'll love them as much as we do. Our next episode will introduce some of our veteran volunteers, who have been assisting us for years in feeding their neighbors, both young and old -- so keep an eye out for announcements by following us on your favorite social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay!
Meditating on Mental Health with Ian Adair of the Gracepoint Foundation
Author, comedian, and Executive Director of the Gracepoint Foundation, Ian Adair has spent 25 years managing communications in the non-profit world. He uses humor and human connection to introduce people to the reality that everyone has mental health that needs attending to, and that no one is completely alone in their struggles, even if it feels that way sometimes. On today's episode, he shares the work done by Gracepoint to bring self-care into the workplace, amidst anecdotes about his favorite tacos and his 11-year-old son's hilarious nickname for him. If you're looking for additions to your own self-care routine, consider boosting spirits around you, and in turn your own, by giving back to your community with the gifts of time and talent. Visit our website, FeedingTampaBay.org, to learn about opportunities to get involved with our mission of ending hunger in Tampa Bay -- and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Helping Tampa Bay the United Way with Kari Goetz
Accessible housing, tax assistance, early childhood education -- United Way guides people through some of the most difficult trials that life serves up, and many of us have no idea of the help they offer, all over the world. Kari Goetz of our local affiliate, United Way Suncoast, joins us on this episode and in her theater-honed style explains how so many people who work full time can still fall through the cracks of society. Tune in for a phenomenal convo about safety nets, German food, and the Mouseketeers -- then take a look through our episode list to hear from our other great community partners like the Rays, St. Pete Distillery, and wrestlers from the WWE! Want to get involved in making your community a healthier, happier place? Visit FeedingTampaBay.org to donate or volunteer with us -- or if you're in need yourself, find food in your area that's fresh and free.
Making Life Suite with MaryAnn Renfrow
Raising a family and growing a business on a resort overlooking the sandy shores of St. Pete Beach, MaryAnn Renfrow understands the importance of preserving the nature that guests and locals enjoy every day. That's why she joined the board of Tampa Bay Watch to help restore our waterways and teach the community about them. And when the beaches were empty last year, she dedicated her time and resources to standing with Feeding Tampa Bay in the fight against hunger, which had been made more difficult by the pandemic. Tune in to learn about MaryAnn's lifelong adventures in Pinellas county, how she got into the hospitality industry, and what it was like trying to run a hotel during a nationwide lockdown. And follow us on your preferred social media platform @FeedingTampaBay to learn how you can get involved in the fight against hunger, too!
Need in the News with Gayle Guyardo of Bloom TV
One of our main goals here at Feeding Tampa Bay is to tell the stories of the people we serve each day, and we couldn't make that happen without the help of our friends in broadcast media. Local news icons like Gayle Guyardo, who has been reporting and anchoring for over 25 years, help shine a light on the needs and good deeds in our community, and we are incredibly grateful to each and every one of them. Tune into today's episode to learn how Gayle got into news media, and what it's like to be a reporter chasing down stories to share on TV! And to stay up-to-date with FTB news, follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay, or visit our website at www.FeedingTampaBay.org!
Rays Up the Community with Brian Auld of the Tampa Bay Rays
For the past 7 years Brian Auld has been president of the Tampa Bay Rays, and during that time he has helped foster a culture of community involvement that sports fans everywhere can be proud of. Listen in to learn how he transitioned from teaching 4th grade students to helping the Rays clinch 2 straight AL East championships, and how important it is for the team to be more than just baseball players. We're proud to be partnered with such a compassionate and innovative organization, and look forward to continuing our shared work of bettering our community in every way we can. Go Rays! Follow FTB on social media at @FeedingTampaBay and visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn more about our sports team partnerships -- as well as opportunities to win official swag from your local favorites!
Preparing a Positive Difference with Buck Johnson of Berkeley Prep
Math and science aren't the only things kids should be learning in school, as today's guest on the show will tell you. A food pantry orchestrated by neighborhood schools is an excellent opportunity for children to learn about serving their community, and who the people in that community really are. Tune in to learn how a small church pantry doubled in size after it was passed along to the care of Buck Johnson and his crew of large-hearted teachers and students, and how your community can easily participate in similar projects that lift spirits and fill bellies everywhere. Follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay and visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org for more information!
Epic Chef Master's Edition LIVE
In a year full of change-ups we've altered the formula of our annual Epic Chef event to be a pack even more excitement into a shorter run of shows. If you're not familiar, Epic Chef is our sponsor-supported competition between Tampa's top restaurants, hosted by The Epicurean Hotel in SoHo. This year over the course of three nights we invited the community to watch the head chefs of the top-rated eateries in our city go head to head creating dishes using surprise mystery ingredients from our very own warehouse! Tune in as Matt and Shannon broadcast the festivities, interviewing special guests and sampling the top-tier cuisine being judged by the evening's contest participants. And be sure to keep an eye out for next year's Epic Chef event so that you can be a part of the party, while helping raise awareness and donation money to aid the food-insecure folks in your community. Visit our website and follow us @FeedingTampaBay on social media to stay up to date on our most recent and upco…
Contributing to the Community with Chrissy Lewis and Kathy Castor
On a special edition of Stick a Fork in It, Congresswoman Kathy Castor is interviewed by her daughter Chrissy Lewis, who just completed a multi-department internship with our organization learning about what we do! Then we get to talk in-depth with Chrissy about her experiences interning with us, as well as her own plans on how best to serve our community in the future. And stick around for WTFB to meet Ronkevious Smalls, our Director of Employee Experience, and learn what it's like to actual work at one of the fasted growing food banks in the country. We place a premium on engaging and gratifying culture here at Feeding Tampa Bay, and go the extra mile to make sure that our employees feel like they fit in with the family! Visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn about career opportunities we currently have available, as well as other ways that you can get involved in your spare time!
Farm in a Box with Shannon and Maddy of Brick Street Farms
What if you could grow 3 whole acres of food in a box in your backyard? Well, Brick Street Farms has developed a way to do just that, using hydroponics and metal shipping containers. Their growing methods provide everything a plant needs to produce the healthiest, tastiest veggies it possible can, without a bunch of artificial modifying. Tune in to learn how the process works, and where you can buy some of their greens near you. Learn more about our community partners by visiting our website at FeedingTampaBay.org, and by following us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Cereal for Summer with Scott Nevitt and Katie Fenech of General Mills
General Mills is the company that produces many of your most favorite, most iconic cereals -- but they're also responsible for TONS of other beloved breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods that you can find in any grocery store. On today's episode we're grateful to have Scott Nevitt (Sr. Customer Mgr.) and Katie Fenech (Brand Experience Asst. Mgr.) join us to marvel at the lifelong impact foods like breakfast cereal have on each and every one of us. This year alone General Mills helped us collect over 2 MILLION meals worth of food during our annual Cereal for Summer campaign. Tune in to learn about all the foods in your fridge that you didn't even know came from General Mills, and stick around to meet Kathryn Burch from our news partner 10 Tampa Bay! Kathryn has been helping FTB spread the word about food relief for years, and she shares with us the importance of that message to her and to her media team. Follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to stay up to date on our annual campaigns…
USF - Dr. Eric Eisenberg, Dean of USF College of Arts & Sciences
The University of South Florida stands with Feeding Tampa Bay not only to feed struggling youth in our community, but to understand why they're struggling, and how best to help them. Their faculty and staff are uniquely capable of conducting the necessary research to understand and fight hunger in the demographics we serve, never missing an opportunity to collaborate with us on exciting new projects. We are, better together forming The Center for the Advancement of Food Insecurity and Healthy Communities. On today's episode, meet Dr. Eric Eisenberg, the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, and learn how the three campuses USF has in the surrounding counties provide opportunities to their students and their communities to rise out of their collective struggles and live the lives that are the healthiest and most fulfilling possible. Learn more about our partnerships with USF by following us on social media @FeedingTampaBay! And Go Bulls!
Building Better with Rob Rozmeski of the Zackary Group
It may take a village to raise a barn, but Rob Rozmeski, founder of construction contracting outfit the Zackary Group, did much more than that with far fewer people. Rob knows how incredibly essential it is to have support from your community of loved ones during hard times, and knows maybe better than anyone how important it is to have four walls and a roof for those loved ones to thrive under. So when he agreed to bring our dream of a Feeding Pinellas Community Center in Lealman, we were overjoyed -- and the result has been astonishing. Tune in to hear how Rob was called to give back to his community, through the skills he acquired growing a small business into a mighty one. Then stick around to hear from FTB's own weather/handy man, Jim Carpenter, who has been holding our operation together with his own two hands for the better part of a decade. He explains how FTB acts as a first responder to cities all over the East coast of the country, and how our experience with hurricane afte…
Making Ends Meat with Kevin Ordway of Tyson Foods
You may know Tyson as "the chicken company" but they provide much more than just delicious wings and nuggets to your local grocery store -- they also provide thousands of pounds of food to food banks and veterans around our community. On today's episode Sales Lead Kevin Ordway shares the company's philosophy on philanthropy, and all of the important ways that people can help even when they don't have a massive tractor trailer of chicken to share! Follow @Feedingtampabay on social media to stay up to date on all the ways that you can help too, and visit our website FeedingTampaBay.org to donate or volunteer with us in your community!
Language of Love with Jaclyn Boland of the InterCultural Advocacy Institute
The people we serve come from all walks of life, and an array of cultures. We respect how important it is to meet them in their world -- providing foods and services that are meaningful to them, and to communicate in ways they can easily understand. On this week's episode, we're joined by Jaclyn Boland, CEO of the InterCultural Advocacy Institute, a wonderful organization that has helped us serve the Hispanic and Latinx community in their area. Jaclyn shares the story of her round-the-world journey into cultural philanthropy. Then on WTFB? meet our Community Partnerships Manager, Wilmarie Colon Alvarado, whose job is to ensure that we're serving our neighbors in the best way possible for them personally! Browse our website FeedingTampaBay.org in one of the multiple language options we provide, and sign up for our informational texting service by texting FTBFYI (for English), or FTBPARATI (for Spanish)to 833-530-3663. Don't miss direct alerts about available food and services in your a…
Breakfast and Broadcasting with Miguel Fuller from Hot 101.5
Fans of the Tampa radio station Hot 101.5 have probably listened to the Miguel and Holly Show on their way to work. But for those who are out of range, our guest Miguel Fuller joins us on today's episode about living LIVE on-air, and accepting help in our own times of need. Follow Miguel's odyssey from Atlanta, GA to Tampa, FL, and hear how he came to live a life he never dreamed possible, and why it inspires him every day to give back (and pay it forward)! Listen to Miguel and holly on 101.5 FM from 6-10am, and listen to more episodes of our podcast on your favorite platform (Spotify, Apple Music, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, and more). You can also find the episodes on our website FeedingTampaBay.org, along with plenty of other information about our cause, and ways to get involved.
Making Big Changes with Big E of the WWE
Tampa Bay experienced another first this year with Wrestlemania37! WWE Superstar Big E made an impressive, surprise entrance rocking our brand from head to toe! On this episode we find out Big E's motivation and how many meals the auction of his gear will serve and how he's using his influence to help others as well. Plus! Don't miss a very special WTFB? guest who busts in! (hint: he ALSO might be known to most as WWE's Global Ambassador Titus O'Neil but around here, we call him Thad) And as ever, follow us on social @FeedingTampaBay to stay up to speed on our mission of ending hunger in Tampa Bay by 2025!
The Ultimate Volunteer with Peter Masone of the Tampa Bay Cannons
Few people understand the importance of showing up as well as players on a sports team. And Peter Masone, General Manager of the Tampa Bay Cannons, has been showing up every Saturday for over a year to help us feed his neighbors in Pinellas County. Tune in to learn how the Cannons moved to Tampa Bay, and adopted the community as their own in a time of great need. Then stick around to learn about more amazing opportunities to help out from our Feeding Pinellas Volunteer Supervisor, Antoine Everett! Our newest Trinity Cafe location in St. Petersburg will provide hot food, frozen meals, showers, laundry, and more to folks that are struggling -- and we can't do it without you! Visit FeedingTampaBay.org to see what volunteer opportunities are available, and follow us @FeedingTampaBay on social to see what we do on a daily basis!
Centuries of Service with Matt Mitchell of the YMCA
YMCA's across the nation serve as community hubs where members can exercise, learn new skills, gather with fellow members of their faith, swim, dance, and more. And as CEO of the Tampa Metropolitan Area YMCA Matt Mitchell explains, the collective goal of the organization is to adapt to the needs of their individual communities. So when the pandemic began last year, and members were having difficulty finding child care and food, the YMCA stepped in to provide, at no small cost to themselves. Tune in to learn about all the ways your local "gym & swim" is really so much more than that. And to find out about more of our community partners and ways you can get involved, visit FeedingTampaBay.org and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay!
Speaking the Language with Monica Wilson of the Community Food Pantry
It may come as a surprise to many that food banks exist in some of the more affluent areas around Tampa, let alone that residents actually visit it. But the Community Food Pantry in Carrollwood has been a life raft for hundreds of locals who have fallen on hard times, even before the pandemic. Their fearless director, Monica Wilson, joins us on the show to share how a single experience with her son drove her to take up the fight against hunger, and where that has lead her to today. Then join us for WTFB where our Director of Agency Relations, Catherine Godwin, explains where the heck all of this food comes from, and how a small team of drivers and volunteers get it where it's going. To learn more about what we do, and the partners who help us do it, visit FeedingTampaBay.org, and follow us on social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn @FeedingTampaBay!
Spirits and Sanitizer at the St. Pete Distillery
The Covid pandemic has created lots of unlikely allies, like a food bank and an alcohol distillery, for example. When the city's hand-sanitizer supply dried up, the savvy engineers at St. Pete distillery converted their vats to brew their own version and supply it for free to frontline workers and neighbors in need. We talk (bottle) service with Skip Ragan and Matt Armstrong, before tackling relief contributions from the NFL with former Buccaneer Michael Clayton and Angela Smith of the NFL Off the Field Players' Wives Association! View clips from our recording sessions on our Facebook and Instagram pages @FeedingTampaBay! And visit our website FeedingTampaBay.org/Podcasts to listen to other episodes of Stick A Fork In It.
Making Men of Vision with Ross Anderson
For the past 16 years Ross Anderson has been raising the young men of Tampa Bay out of difficult circumstances and into leaders, thinkers, and achievers. His Men of Vision program has guided literally thousands of children deemed "problematic" by their schools to a place where they can actively choose what kind of successful future will suit them best. Tune in to learn how he has worked such incredible magic, and how the Men of Vision have been an invaluable resource to programs like our Trinity Cafe restaurants in North and Downtown Tampa. Our partnerships spread far and wide, and need just as much support as we do here at FTB -- so follow our social pages @FeedingTampaBay to see the names and smiling faces of the community heroes we work with every week!
For the Love of Tampa Bay with Thaddeus Bullard (AKA Titus O'Neil) of the WWE
A truly great man in both character and physical stature, local wrestling celebrity Thaddeus Bullard joins us on the show to talk hometown philanthropy. Not only has he established a groundbreaking adult learning center at Sligh Middle School in Seminole Heights, but he's partnering with Feeding Tampa Bay so that our FRESHforce culinary trainees can utilize the brand new, high quality kitchen inside! Tune in to learn how he grew from a destitute child into a symbol of strength and compassion for future generations. And on WTFB we're joined by FRESHforce leader Mike Perkins, who revels in the glory of the new facility, and what it means to the hopeful candidates that join our jobs training program. Check out the other huge names from around the Bay that we get to partner with! Follow our social media pages @FeedingTampaBay and visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org.
The Superbowl Special with Ashley Ehrman Wickham of Feeding Tampa Bay
We did it, Tampa! The Bucs are going to the Superbowl, and we're taking the opportunity to share some behind-the-scenes info about all of the phenomenal work the NFL is doing to feed struggling families in our community. Meet one of our Development Team all-stars, Ashley, who helps form partnerships like the one we have with the Bucs to make our mission possible. Learn more about our mission and our partnerships by visiting FeedingTampaBay.org, and following us on social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn @FeedingTampaBay!
Homes and Hope with Mike Sutton of Habitat for Humanity
Through a new partnership with our local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, we're helping to give our neighbors two of the most basic needs on Earth - food and shelter. Our friend Mike Sutton, CEO of Habitat Pinellas & West Pasco, joins us to explain how he and his team are helping families break the poverty cycle, and invest energy and pride into their brand new homes. Tune in to celebrate with us, and learn how you can help feed and house deserving parents and children in your area. Follow us on social @feedingtampabay, and visit our website FeedingTampaBay.org, as well as our partner's website HabitatPWP.org!
Humans of the Food Bank (Part 3)
On this final (for now) episode of "Humans of the Food Bank" we learn all about our annual tradition of naming one employee as Food Banker of the Year. We speak with the previous title-holder from 2019, as well as the CO-winners of the title for 2020. Then on WTFB, our president and CEO explains how this tradition came to be, and what it means to be honored with the title. See the fruits of our staff's collective labor on our social media platforms @FeedingTampaBay, and by checking out our website www.FeedingTampaBay.org to find food or learn how you can help us feed the community! We know we're not alone in our passion for service, and every hand that adds some help brings us closer to our goal of a hunger-free Tampa Bay by 2025!
The crew returns to share the stories of more of our incredible fellow food bankers -- from frontline warriors to behind the scenes miracle makers, the humans of FTB are inspirational, funny and kind. Tune in to meet more of our good friends, and as a treat, the mastermind behind the culture of our workplace that binds us all together behind a common cause -- Jayci Peters! Visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn about volunteer and career opportunities with our organization, and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to see the work we're doing in your community every single day!
A food banker can look like anyone, come from anywhere. But no matter the difference in our age, nationality, or job status, we are all connected by our intense drive to help our fellow human beings. In the first episode of this two-part series, we interview a handful of the incredible souls that make up our team - that share their talents with this mission on a daily basis to deliver TWO MILLION MEALS every single week to our community! Learn what we do, what our individual journeys are that bring us together to provide life-saving nourishment to strangers, and why we are driven to continue doing this work. Visit our website at FeedingTampaBay.org to learn about volunteer and career opportunities with our organization, and follow us on social media @FeedingTampaBay to see the work we're doing in your community every single day!
Substantial Storytelling with Colleen Chappell of ChappellRoberts
Fighting through poverty, cancer, and the loss of a dear friend, Colleen Chappell (co-founder of the ChappellRoberts Branding & Advertising Agency) has maintained her fiery spirit, and worked her way to the upper tiers of the marketing food chain in both locally and nationally. On today's episode she shares with us her journey from first college graduate in her family, to the dizzying heights of the corporate world, to a humbly powerful collection of creatives headquartered in Ybor City. And on WTFB, meet our Community Engagement Manager, Andrea Kitchen, who's self-defined role is to "bring some sexy" to all of our marketing materials and community events! Be sure to follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn to learn how you can get involved, and to hear about upcoming events Andrea is putting on for our partners, friends and families!
Feeding Florida with Robin Safley
Feeding Tampa Bay is just one small part of a vast network of food banks feeding struggling American families. And we couldn't do it without the help of people like Robin Safley, Executive Director of Feeding Florida. On today's episode she compares her experiences in Iron Man triathlon competitions to the marathon that our country has experienced during the pandemic. But through it all, she maintains her trademark optimism: "We're not trying to house people on Mars ... we're trying to connect an asset that exists, with a person who needs it, when they need it, in the right proportion that they need it. Then stick around for WTFB with our own CEO, Thomas Mantz, as he explains the safety net our vast food bank network provides, how it works, and how it has been tested over the past 10 months. For more information and insight, follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn!
Food Pharmacies with Darcy Klempner of Tampa Family Health Centers
Imagine if instead of shaming you for your diet, your doctor sent you home with bags of delicious, healthy food. Well that's the reality at Tampa Family Health Centers, where their team of holistic health specialists recognize the importance of a healthy diet, and also the barriers that keep people from maintaining one. Whether you have diabetes, high blood pressure, or a high BMI, Darcy Klempner and her team can help you manage and reduce your symptoms, while teaching you tips and tricks to manage your own health and wellbeing on a daily basis! And on today's WTFB, meet the unstoppable force behind our healthcare partnerships, Kelley Brickfield, and learn this New Englander came to Florida to lift our neighbors into a new life of nutrition and happiness.
Happiness for Humans with Keri Higgins Bigelow of livingHR
Keri is an entrepreneur with a heart of gold, who for the past 11 years has been helping companies around Tampa Bay create an environment that their employees can feel comfortable in and proud of. In this episode she explains the philosophy that guided her to her role as an uplifter of human morale, and the many methods she's learned along her journey. Then stay tuned for WTFB to learn how our own Chief Culture Officer, Jayci Peters, has introduced a "Grow Code" to Feeding Tampa Bay, to keep us grounded in our mission to make sure that no one in our 10-county area goes hungry on our watch! Learn more about Trinity Cafe by following our shared social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @FeedingTampaBay!
Faith & Feeding with Jeff Darrey of Trinity Cafe
Some people find a mission in life, and rather than waiting until everything falls into place, they start placing everything that's needed on their own. For years our guest and dear friend, Jeff Darrey, has been feeding a hot, healthy meal to people in our community without a single question as to why they might need it. And not long ago, his restaurant, Trinity Cafe, merged with Feeding Tampa Bay to combine our efforts and help our neighbors in ways we never before dreamed possible. And stay tuned for WTFB to hear about the future of fresh meal delivery, being cooked up by our own innovative staff and partners! Learn more about Trinity Cafe by following our shared social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @FeedingTampaBay!
Season 2 Promo
As Summer becomes Fall, we're also moving into a new season on Stick A Fork In It! We're thrilled with the repertoire of exciting guests we've had on the show already, and looking forward to the insights and stories to come. If you missed any of our previous episodes, now is the perfect time to get caught up before a new lineup begins on Sunday, October 11th! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
Healthy Helpings with Rick Bennett of Florida Blue
We're so lucky to have amazing partners like Florida Blue, with wonderful folks like Rick Bennett who sit on our board. Rick joins us on this episode to discuss the ways that Florida Blue prioritizes the health of Floridians, by ensuring that they're not only well-fed, but fed the right foods to maintain their health. And our Chief Development Officer, Kelley Sims, joins us on "What The Food Bank?" to share the exciting details of our upcoming event, Epic Fork Fight! Visit our website FeedingTampaBay.Org to learn how you can tune in for a festive evening of food and fun this coming Thursday, September 17th! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
Park, Walk & Talk with Chief Dan Slaughter of the Clearwater Police Department
On this week's episode we welcome Chief Dan Slaughter of the Clearwater Police Department to the warehouse. We talk about all the ways that law enforcement helps us run our massive new "megapantries" as well as his department's "Park, Walk, and Talk" policy that helps them to better connect with the residents of their communities. Also, tune in to hear from our own Rhonda Gindlesperger, Chief Officer of Operations, and what it's been like delivering over 2 million meals into our communities EVERY SINGLE WEEK! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
Market Management with Marie & Tim Everitt of DTCC
What is a power couple? One that changes the lives of millions of people side by side with Feeding Tampa Bay. On today's episode we introduce you to board member Marie Chinnici-Everitt and her husband Tom Everitt who stand with us every day, in some meaningful way. From warehouse funding to personal shopping in our Publix Community Market. Marie uses her marketing skills and corporate backing from DTCC to guide our job development programs and help expand our storage capacity, and Tim utilizes his experience as a former leader in the banking industry and current Marine Captain to facilitate our internal and external food distributions. Tune in to learn why we love these two so much, and why they choose to be family! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
On the Front Lines with Keri Eisenbeis of BayCare
The unsung heroes amidst the pandemic are our healthcare workers, many behind the scenes. Joining us is VP of Government and Community Relations for BayCare, Keri Eisenbeis, discussing Covid from the front line. We'll also dive in to the EXCITING new opportunities arising out of the partnership between BayCare and Feeding Tampa Bay -- like home meal delivery for recovering Covid patients, and our "Food RX" program, wherein doctors will "prescribe" foods for ailing patients, and Feeding Tampa Bay will fill those prescriptions! Tune in to learn how food is medicine, and how healthy eating can not only prevent health problems, but help to cure them too! Have you followed us on social yet? @FeedingTampaBay we really are EVERY where.
Weather-Geeking with Denis Phillips of ABC Action News
Let's start with Rule #7 because it's that time of year and EVERYbody's favorite meteorologist, Denis Phillips is here to talk hurricane season. With the country still struggling under the weight of the pandemic, storm season feels like more of a threat than ever. But don't freak out! We got you! Tune in to hear from him, as well as our Director of Operations, Jim Carpenter, who keeps Feeding Tampa Bay running smooth and leads our disaster relief efforts when times get tough! Visit Denis' online store to purchase some of his wonderful Rule #7 tumblers and wine glasses to raise money for Feeding Tampa Bay, and drink in style while you're quarantined at home: https://www.etsy.com/shop/rule7shopIf and don't forget if you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Keep up to date on all your weather needs by following Denis Phillips on Facebook.
Covering Pandemics & Protests with J.J. Burton of ABC Action News
One of our local faves and we know yours too, JJ Burton of ABC Action News joins us safely via Zoom to discuss reporting in a time of pandemic and protests, as well as how you can join us for "20 Days for Tampa Bay" all to help serve our struggling neighbors. Follow JJ on Twitter @JJBurtonTV and our friends @abcactionnews too! If you are in need of food don't forget to visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you.
Helping Hearts with Florida State Senator Jeff Brandes
With Florida Senator Jeff Brandes philanthropy is a family affair. Not only has he brought his kids to volunteer at our Pinellas mega pantry over the few past months but his wonderful and creative brood have dreamed up their own way to help fight hunger. Listen in as we ask about his experiences serving the community directly as well as in legislative sessions and hang tight for WTFB? where you get to meet the senator's oldest daughter, Lottie, the very talented leader of the Brandes crew. If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Have an idea of who you might want to sit in the hot seat? Submit guest ideas to us through Facebook messenger @FeedingTampaBay
Publix Partnership with Brian West
Can somebody explain where all the TP went? We have the guy. Brian West and Publix has been an avid supporter of Feeding Tampa Bay and the food banks in the states where their stores make 'shopping a pleasure'. During the pandemic while many were complaining about paper products, Publix was making miracles happen connecting farmers with the people that needed them most. Listen in to learn how they continue to feed and supply their communities, both in their stores and in food lines where we serve with dignity every day. If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Have you followed us on social? Why not? We're everywhere! @FeedingTampaBay
Checking in with Matt & Shannon
After a short break we are back with our hosts Matt Spence and Shannon Hannon-Oliviero, filling you in on the exciting news and updates coming out of Feeding Tampa Bay. Learn about recent changes and additions to our mobile pantries, as well as the huge meal milestones we're so proud to have hit in the past week. If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Have you followed us on social? Why not? We're everywhere! @FeedingTampaBay
ABC Action News with Sean Daly
If you don't know Sean Daly, where have you been? Listen in and enjoy the lovefest because we're not sure who appreciates who more. You'll shed a tear or two, happy and meaningful due to the many stories Sean has already shared during our journey through this beast of a pandemic. There are moments with those that we serve and times with our team that leans in night and day to take care of our community. Follow Sean on Insta and Facebook @seandalytv And know if you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Message us directly on any of our social platforms with questions or ideas @FeedingTampaBay we'd love to hear from you!
Team Rubicon with Chris Brewer
Founded by military veterans, Team Rubicon began working in disaster relief in 2010, and has been growing as an elite response team ever since. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, they have been essential to our effort in keeping the residents of Tampa Bay nourished and safe. Longtime servant leader Chris Brewer joins on the show between shifts in the warehouse, to enlighten us about the efforts of his team, and the ways that people can join the Team Rubicon effort themselves! If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Message us directly on Facebook @FeedingTampaBay if you need any further assistance.
Hillsborough County School Board with Cindy Stuart
Cindy Stuart, the HCSB Member for District 3, fills us in on how students and families are handling the new virtual schooling program, and how schools are continuing to feed students during this uncertain time. Many students normally eat breakfast and lunch at school throughout most of the year, and hard-working administrators like Cindy are ensuring that they don't go hungry while schools are closed during the spring semester. If you are in need of food, visit https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to learn about our programs and partners near you. Message us directly on Facebook @FeedingTampaBay if you need any further assistance.
Rays & Rowdies with Jenn Tran
In this time of crisis sports teams are on the bench but they are knocking it out of the park to help the community! We are thrilled to introduce you to Jenn Tran (representing Rays Baseball and Rowdies Soccer) to thank her for the donation of over 1 MILLION MEALS to the families of Tampa Bay. Learn all about how the team is handling the cancellation of their season, and all about the loyal partnership between the Rays, Rowdies, and Feeding Tampa Bay is innovating to make sure that everyone in our 10-county region remains safe, healthy, and hunger-free now and well into the future. Visit https://feedingtampabay.org/ to find resources for yourself, or to donate to our mission! The Rays and Rowdies will match your donation to DOUBLE it and create up to 2 MILLION additional meals for our struggling neighbors.
Checking in with Chef Rachel Bennett of The Library
It's important to check in on our friends now more than ever, so on this special edition episode we had a conference call with Chef Rachel Bennett of The Library St. Pete to see how she is holding up during the widespread closures of our favorite local eateries. Tune in to hear how she's staying optimistic and busy during this uncertain time, and how you can help our community stay healthy and happy without risking your own well-being! To hear our previous, full-length episode with Chef Rachel, just look for "Food & Fitness with Chef Rachel Bennett" on your favorite podcast platform! And follow @FeedingTampaBay on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn to catch up on all the other awesome things we're doing in the community as well!
Help During Hard Times with Thomas Mantz of Feeding Tampa Bay
Crisis has hit Tampa Bay, our country and world. On this special edition our President and CEO, Thomas Mantz, joins us to explain how we're continuing to serve our community. Not only are children home from school, where some of them get most of their daily meals, but our elderly neighbors are at the highest risk of infection and many of them depend on programs like ours to bring them food. Tune in to learn about the services we're continuing to provide to those that need assistance, and what you can do to help your community hold together during this global trial. We are incredibly grateful to all of our staff and volunteers that have continued to show up every day, despite the personal risk, to carry on our mission of ensuring that no one in our 10-county region goes without a meal on their family's table. Be safe, everyone and please connect with us through any of our social platforms and let us know if we can help you or please go to https://feedingtampabay.org/findfood to find gro…
Time, Talent & Treasure with Roberto Torres of The Blind Tiger Cafe
Watching someone succeed is inspiring and motivating for many, and Roberto Torres is the man to watch in Tampa Bay. An entrepreneur with a passion for giving his time, talent and treasure, Roberto has utilized his multiple growing businesses to improve the lives of those who need a lift. As a member of our board, he shares his talent as a businessman to help guide our mission along a successful path, and we couldn't be more grateful for his insights and his support. Let us know what you think! Message Shannon on Facebook @FeedingTampaBay Follow Roberto on LinkedIn through his page Why Tampa Bay
People in the Margins with Ernest Hooper (formery) of the Tampa Bay Times
Ernest Hooper was a reporter and columnist for the Tampa Bay Times for 27 years, he now sits at the communications helm for the American Cancer Society. "Hoop" is a name that still resonates as a staple in Tampa Bay, covering everything from food festivals to sports and everything in between. A master storyteller, Ernest captures the hearts and imaginations of his readers and listeners, and both Feeding Tampa Bay and Trinity Café have had the privilege to have him alongside us in our mission to fight hunger and address our neighbors with dignity and respect. You won't want to miss a moment of this storyteller's interview that includes a very meaningful family interaction with Barak Obama – listen in, "that's all we're sayin'". Let us know what you think! Message Shannon directly on any of our social profiles @FeedingTampaBay Follow Ernest on Twitter @hoop4you
Food & Fitness with Chef Rachel Bennett of The Library
At just 30 years old Chef Rachel Bennett has already held the position of Executive Chef at multiple high-end restaurants here in Tampa Bay, and received a coveted nomination for the James Beard award. She is a spirited leader in the kitchen who believes in teamwork and experimentation. Chef Rachel became a friend when she was tapped to judge one of our Epic Chef competitions, and displayed a thorough understanding of the culinary world. As a master of food and fitness, she has been a natural ally in our mission to improve the health and capability of our communities, and regularly opens our eyes to new frontiers in food. Don't forget to let us know what you think! Or suggest a guest! You can find us on all social platforms @FeedingTampaBay Follow Chef Rachel on Insta @chef_rbennett
Flavor & Philanthropy with Ian Beckles (formerly) of the Tampa Bay Bucs
The true "Flavor of Tampa Bay" radio host, deejay, social influencer, father of three and expert foodie, Ian Beckles began making our area his home by playing 7 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and has thrived in our community ever since. He also has a special place in his heart for doing good, and uses his driven, go-getter mentality to partner with programs in the surrounding area to support children and veterans in a very hands-on way. Listen in for a few surprises, a little parental advice and learn how he had a hand in helping name our show. Be sure to drop us a line and tell us your thoughts on any of our social – @FeedingTampaBay Follow Ian on Insta @ian_beckles
Episode 0 - Intro
Stick A Fork In It is a show about the incredible work being done in Tampa Bay and its surrounding counties to help residents who struggle with food and financial insecurity. We are a production of Feeding Tampa Bay, the local affiliate of Feeding America, and over the course of our show we will give insight into the world of food banking, and how food connects every single person in a meaningful way. The mission of Feeding Tampa Bay is to promote health and capability in our communities, and to end hunger in our surrounding counties by 2025. That means that anyone living in our 10-county region will have a place to go for a hot meal or weekly groceries if they are ever struggling to make ends meet. The show will also feature local guests and celebrities, from award-winning chefs to sports all-stars. We have tons of partners fighting the same fight in our community, and we're proud to feature the amazing, innovative work that they do. So tune in to learn more about the fight against… | {
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Regulatory Developments in the Mexican Power and Oil & Gas Sectors — Protecting Private Investment
Throughout the past year, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) and his administration (the "AMLO Administration") have vigorously pursued regulatory changes in favor of the state-owned companies the Federal Electricity Commission (Comisión Federal de Electricidad—CFE) and Mexican Petroleum (Petroleos Mexicanos—PEMEX), culminating in the past few months in the submission of amendments to existing law that, if fully implemented, would reorder these sectors in the Mexican economy. We recently explored the AMLO Administration's amendments to the Oil & Gas Law (Ley de Hidrocarburos—LH) (such amendments, the "LH Amendments") and their potential impacts on private investment in a client alert dated May 18, 2021.[1]
In this note, we will discuss the main provisions of the AMLO Administration's amendments to the Electric Industry Law (Ley de la Industria Eléctrica—LIE) (such amendments, the "LIE Amendment") and likely impacts on private investment in the power sector in Mexico. We will also analyze the potential options available to investors that are likely to suffer the economic consequences of the LIE Amendment and/or the LH Amendments.
On March 9, 2021, the Mexican Ministry of Energy (Secretaría de Energía—Sener) published the LIE Amendment in the Official Gazette.[2] The LIE Amendment is, hopefully, the conclusion to a series of governmental actions taken by the AMLO Administration to tip the scales of regulatory power in favor of the CFE, and to reverse the private-investment-friendly Constitutional energy reforms of 2013 and ensuing legislation that was enacted in 2014 (collectively, the "Energy Reform"). For further discussion of the regulatory actions of the AMLO Administration in the Mexican power sector leading up to the LIE Amendment, please see our prior three chapters in this series: Chapter 1, Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.
Key changes in the LIE Amendment include: (i) modifying the dispatch order of power plants to prioritize power produced by CFE irrespective of economic or efficiency merit; (ii) permitting legacy, including in particular CFE, power plants (i.e., those operating before the Energy Reform) to qualify for clean energy certificates (Certificados de Energía Limpia—CELs) for power generated; (iii) allowing CFE (as residential supplier) to purchase power directly from market participants and not exclusively from public energy auctions administered by the National Energy Control Center (Centro Nacional de Control de Energía—CENACE); (iv) mandating that the Energy Regulatory Commission (Comisión Reguladora de Energía—CRE) terminate all existing legacy self-supply permits; (v) mandating that new generation or supply permits by CRE only be granted if the relevant generation activities are consistent with the planning criteria outlined by SENER for the National Electric System (Sistema Eléctrico Nacional—SEN); and (vi) allowing CFE to renegotiate or terminate existing long-term power purchase agreements (PPAs) executed with independent power producers (IPPs) for certain legacy projects, to ensure adherence to law and profitability for the State.[3]
The LIE Amendment may have serious adverse impacts on existing private investment in the Mexican power sector, while also jeopardizing the development of future projects and any appetite for investment therein.[4] [5] Some of the main consequences of the LIE Amendment include:
Curtailment of privately-owned power generation facilities: As a result of the new dispatch priority outlined under the LIE Amendment, private generation facilities may suffer a substantially increased risk of curtailment from the risk that was originally envisioned and included in the financial models prepared in connection with the investments in these generation facilities. This will adversely impact not only their rate of return but also their ability to honor their other obligations. Most of these projects sized their projected generation output considering the "cost efficiency" dispatch preference in force before the enactment of the LIE Amendment. However, with the shift of the dispatch preference in favor of CFE's power plants (including coal-fired and fuel-oil facilities), certain privately-owned renewable generation projects may no longer be able to generate enough revenues to pay their operational costs and/or to service their debt under their financing arrangements. The new dispatch priority policy would particularly discriminate against private renewable power projects with the prior preferred dispatch of more expensive and polluting CFE-sponsored power projects.
CELs for CFE's legacy power plants: Under the Energy Reform, CELs were designed to promote the clean energy transition by forcing energy suppliers to comply with a minimum clean energy consumption requirement to be increased on a yearly basis.[6] By tying CELs to clean energy generation, CELs have an associated market value, which served as a way to promote the development of renewable projects throughout the country. Consistent with such policy, CFE's existing facilities were precluded from receiving CELs, which acted as a de facto booster for CEL prices based on their scarcity. However, following the enactment of the LIE Amendment, market experts have forecasted that the CEL prices will suffer a significant decrease in market value,[7] dropping below even the most conservative prior estimates. This situation could present a huge challenge for developers who relied on the additional revenue generated by the previously projected CEL prices in their financial models, causing potential cash shortfalls, impacts on rates of return and defaults under their financing arrangements and assumptions.
CFE's option to acquire energy directly from the market: Considering that the Mexican Energy Market (Mercado Eléctrico Mayorista—MEM) is still incipient and historical information on Marginal Local Prices (Precio Marginal Local—PML) is quite limited, auctions administered by CENACE for mid-term and long-term PPAs for CFE (as residential supplier) resulted in bankable PPAs that helped project sponsors obtain financing for their projects by providing fixed energy rates and revenues. The auctions held by CENACE were highly competitive and resulted in attractive rates for CFE—with one of the lowest average rates per MWh in the world—while acting as an effective catalyst for Mexico's clean energy transition.[8] The auctions proved to be a viable way for developers and sponsors to secure bankable PPAs through transparent, competitive processes. By allowing CFE to purchase energy outside of the auction process, potential developers interested in investing in Mexico's renewable resources may face additional challenges for developing new projects as it will likely be difficult to obtain bankable PPAs. In addition, it is not clear whether CFE will be subject to the same transparency rules in contracting with third parties as it did through the auctions, which may prove to be an additional obstacle for parties interested in supplying energy to CFE.
Furthermore, if the trend to develop new renewable projects halts, Mexico's ability to benefit from cleaner and cheaper energy offered by renewable projects will be compromised. With the Energy Reform requirement that energy be dispatched on the most economic basis being discarded, power prices are likely to rise, with those costs ultimately being passed down to the Mexican consumer either directly or through the funding of subsidies.
Termination of existing legacy self-supply permits: In the explanatory statements (exposición de motivos) of the LIE Amendment bill sent by AMLO to Congress (which was ultimately enacted with almost no changes), the AMLO Administration claims that the legacy self-supply (auotabastecimiento) regime was "abused" by private companies because third-party offtakers became minority shareholders of the generator with the sole purpose of purchasing energy under that regime.[9] The so called "fraudulent" (or "socios de paja") scheme was, according to the AMLO Administration, against the spirit of the law, which was intended to limit such purchasers to actual or genuine affiliates.[10] Notwithstanding such claims, the corporate structure of each self-supply legacy permit holder was analyzed and authorized on a case-by-case basis by the CRE before the permit was granted. Therefore, terminating existing permits under the AMLO Administration's interpretation of the law could be deemed a retroactive application of the law and unduly discriminatory.
In any event, any such revocation of permits by CRE will be devastating for permit holders as it would render it impossible for them to comply with their energy commitments with offtakers, causing them to default on their existing contractual arrangements across the board, stranding generation assets in the industry and throwing the entire self-supply regime into disarray. Financings in place for these assets will face setbacks from the reduced or limited revenue generating potential.
Conditions for granting new permits: Power generation regulations in Mexico provide for a permit-based regime (i.e. all participants meeting certain requirements are entitled to obtain a permit) as opposed to a concession-based regime (where the Mexican State would grant discretionary concessions to private parties for the use of public goods).[11] The Energy Reform laws required the CRE to authorize permits to applicants that complied with the relevant requirements. CENACE was, in turn, charged with independently verifying if the interconnection of the project was feasible or not and, if not feasible, recommending technical improvements that the permit holder could complete in order to be able to interconnect the project to the grid.[12] Under the LIE Amendment, CRE may now deny a power generation permit on a discriminatory basis to any given applicant ex ante, determining that the power generation project is not consistent with the SEN's planning. This could be a significant bottleneck for any new private generation project in Mexico that would compete with the CFE. The less transparency in the SEN planning, the riper the possibilities for projects to not get off the ground.
Renegotiation and termination of existing PPAs executed with IPPs: Before the enactment of the Energy Reform, CFE was permitted under an exception available pursuant to the Electrical Power Public Service Law (Ley del Servicio Público de Energía Eléctrica) to acquire energy from private producers known as IPPs.[13] Under the IPP structure, power generation projects were auctioned by CFE and a long-term IPP PPA was executed between CFE and the awarded party.
With the enactment of the LIE Amendment, CFE is now able to renegotiate existing IPP PPAs with the relevant sponsors to ensure adherence to (i) law and (ii) "profitability principles" for the Federal Government. Therefore, CFE may now seek to replicate the de facto renegotiations that occurred last year in connection with several gas transportation agreements executed by CFE with private entities—such as the Sempra-TransCanada project to transport natural gas from Texas to Tuxpan through a submarine pipeline.[14] Unlike the natural gas contract renegotiations, which occurred on an ad hoc basis and not on the basis of any legal regime, all IPP project sponsors will now be legally required to sit down and renegotiate their IPP PPAs with CFE or otherwise face potential termination. Such renegotiations pose a serious threat to the economics of such IPPs and their ability to honor their other contractual and financial commitments. They further bring into question the Rule of Law and principles surrounding sanctity of contract.
Considering these potential risks associated with the LIE Amendments, several industry players have expressed concern about possible negative effects on their projects and are now looking more closely to the dispute resolution mechanisms and other options and means of recourse that may be available to them to protect their investments in Mexico. On the local side, judicial claims have been filed by various permit holders resulting in temporary and definitive injunctions suspending the effects of the LIE Amendment nationwide.[15] However, AMLO has stated that his administration will pursue any means available to uphold the LIE Amendment, including sending a new bill to the Mexican congress to amend the Mexican Constitution and Amparo Law to render the LIE Amendment constitutional.[16] Although AMLO's Morena party does not hold enough seats in the Mexican Federal congress—nor in the local State congresses—to pass such a Constitutional amendment, AMLO's statements make it clear that, hell or high water, unwinding the Energy Reform is a top priority for the AMLO Administration.
As can be surmised, the LIE Amendment is likely to create commercial and operational issues for power generators operating in Mexico, particularly as they confer specific advantages upon CFE. Similarly, the LH Amendments' preferential treatment of Pemex and increases in the government's discretionary powers could create significant adverse economic impacts on private investors in the oil and gas sector. Such issues may give rise to a number of complex commercial and investor-state disputes. The nature of any commercial dispute will depend on the specific terms of an investor's commercial contracts, but could include claims against their counterparties (whether state-owned or otherwise) relating to breach of contract, force majeure, "material adverse change" and changes to local laws and regulations.
The nature of any investor-state dispute will turn on a combination of the specific actions taken by the government and the terms of the applicable investment treaties or laws. Mexico is a party to over 40 bilateral and multilateral investment treaties, which give foreign investors a direct right of action against the Mexican government for breaches of international law. Such treaties include bilateral agreements between Mexico and countries like Spain, France, Netherlands, China, Germany, the UAE, Korea and the United Kingdom, as well as multilateral treaties such as NAFTA, the USMCA and the CPTPP.
While the specific terms of each treaty will vary, they each will cover qualifying "investments" made by qualifying "investors," as those terms are defined in the relevant treaties. These treaties will include investments such as physical assets owned in Mexico, equity shares held in a company, debt instruments, property interests, certain contractual rights and other tangible and intangible interests arising out of capital investments made in Mexico. Subject to the nationality of the ultimate investor (or any intermediate company through which the investment is channeled), virtually all of the treaties should apply to investments in the Mexican power sector and oil and gas sector affected by the LIE Amendment and LH Amendments, respectively.
These treaties are intended to protect foreign investors from adverse government actions falling into three general categories:
First, investors are protected against the uncompensated expropriation (or taking) of their property. An expropriation can occur directly, where a government formally seizes title and possession to an investor's property, or indirectly, where the investor retains title and possession of its property, but the value of that property is materially diminished through a government's action (including the passage of laws and regulations). For example, the LH Amendments provide the Mexican government with a discretionary right to "intervene" in the operations of oil and gas permit holders if the government finds there is an imminent danger to national security, energy security or the national economy. These provisions, if acted upon, could be ripe for expropriation claims.
Second, the treaties protect foreign investors against discriminatory treatment. In particular, under the concept of National Treatment, a foreign investor may not be treated worse than a similarly situated domestic investor. Thus, for example, Mexico would have difficulty enacting measures that prefer domestic power generators over foreign power generators operating in the same sectors. Similarly, under the concept of Most Favored Nation, Mexico could not enact measures or take actions that treated foreign investors from one country better than foreign investors from other countries. Overall, the anti-discrimination provisions in investment treaties are intended to ensure that similarly situated parties are treated equally, regardless of nationality. The LIE Amendment appears to give CFE preferential treatment on commercially significant matters such as the electric grid dispatch order rules and access to clean energy certificates in a manner that will disadvantage and discriminate against foreign investors. This may give rise to claims of discriminatory treatment by foreign investors.
Third, foreign investors are protected against unfair and inequitable treatment and are entitled to the full protection and security of the law. These provisions require a host state to ensure a certain level of transparency and stability within the law and may hold a state responsible where its actions undermine a foreign investor's reasonable expectations regarding the investment climate in which it is operating. The LIE Amendment likely will materially affect foreign investors' expectations regarding the operating environment for power generation facilities, including, for example, the criteria in Mexico for access to clean energy certificates, expectations with respect to equal access to dispatch priority on Mexico's power grid and the validity of existing power purchase agreements for legacy projects. Similarly, the LH Amendments will likely create substantial uncertainty in the oil and gas sector, such as through the new "deemed rejection" standard for permit holder requests for consent to assign oil and gas marketing permits if the government has not responded to such requests within the statutory period. That said, the availability of such a claim will depend upon the specific wording of a given treaty. For example, the scope of the "fair and equitable treatment" right in the USMCA is significantly more limited compared to several of Mexico's bilateral treaties.[17]
Investors wishing to bring investment treaty claims against the Mexican government in connection with the LIE Amendment or LH Amendments would need to do so in accordance with the procedures set out in the various treaties. Perhaps most importantly, investors will need to consider how a particular investment treaty affects their right to bring claims in the Mexican courts and, similarly, how challenging Mexico's actions in the local courts could affect their ability to bring claims in arbitration. In this regard, treaties to which Mexico is a party typically fall within one of the following categories:
Treaties in which investors are required to decide between pursuing their claims in the Mexican Courts or in arbitration (i.e. treaties with "fork in the road" provisions). This rule can be found in Mexico's bilateral investment treaties with, for example, Spain, France, Germany and Portugal.
Treaties that give foreign investors the right to pursue claims in local courts first, while preserving the right to subsequently file for arbitration at any time. Under these treaties, a party that wishes to pursue a claim in arbitration must first discontinue any domestic proceedings it had initiated and waive its right to bring any subsequent claims in the courts of the host country. This rule can be found in, for example, the Mexico-U.K. and Mexico-UAE bilateral investment treaties.
Treaties which require investors to exhaust their remedies in the Mexican courts or administrative tribunals before commencing arbitration. An example of such a treaty is Annex 1 of the USMCA under which U.S. investors in Mexico would be required to exhaust local remedies before commencing arbitration against the Mexican government in connection with an alleged breach of the USMCA.
Most treaties to which Mexico is a party also require significant notice to the Mexican government before a claim can be submitted to arbitration, and include prescription periods which bar claims from being brought after a specific period of time (typically three or four years).[18] For example, under several of Mexico's bilateral treaties, an investor is required to provide at least six months' notice to the Mexican government from the date of the event(s) giving rise to the claims before those claims can be submitted to arbitration.[19] Investors are also typically obliged to engage in negotiations with the government before bringing claims in arbitration.
Accordingly, in addition to analyzing their substantive rights under the applicable treaties, investors seeking to bring claims in connection with the LIE Amendment or LH Amendments by way of arbitration under an investment treaty will need to carefully navigate these and other procedural requirements before bringing any such claims.
Special thanks to visiting attorney Pedro Lladó for his valuable assistance with this note.
[1] See "Amendments to Mexican Oil & Gas Midstream and Downstream Regulations," SHEARMAN & STERLING, May 18, 2021.
[2] In the original Spanish, the "DECRETO por el que se reforman y adicionan diversas disposiciones de la Ley de la Industria Eléctrica," Official Gazette website, March 9, 2021.
[3] supra note 1.
[4] Cristobal Riego, "Mexico's electric power reform bill: Who will be most affected," BNAMERICAS, Feb 26. 2021.
[5] Kirk Semple et al, "Mexico Set to Reshape Power Sector to Favor the State,"THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 7, 2021.
[6] Article 121 et. Seq. of the LIE and Article 7 et. seq. of the Ley de Translación Energética.
[7] Cristobal Riego, "Mexico power sector law will dampen investor appetite – experts," BNAMERICAS, March 11, 2021.
[8] Ignacio Fariza, "México generará la electricidad más barata del mundo," EL PAIS, Dec 8, 2017.
[9] In the original Spanish, the "Iniciativa con Proyecto de Decreto por el que se reforman y adicionan diversas disposiciones de la Ley de la Industria Eléctrica," CAMARA DE DIPUTADOS, Feb 1, 2021.
[11] Article 12, 17 and 129 of the LIE.
[12] Article 33 et. Seq. of the LIE.
[13] Article 36 et Seq. of the Ley del Servicio Público de Energía Eléctrica (now derogated by the LIE).
[14] Andrew Baker, "Mexico's CFE To Seek Renegotiation Of Natural Gas Supply Contracts," Feb 11, 2019.
[15] David Saul, "Juez otorga suspensión definitiva a reforma eléctrica de AMLO," March 19, 2021.
[16] Karol Garcia, "AMLO propondrá reforma constitucional si la justicia frena la reforma eléctrica," March 17, 2021.
[17] See Article 14.6 of the USMCA which provides that "the mere fact that a Party takes or fails to take an action that may be inconsistent with an investor's expectations does not constitute a breach of [the right to fair and equitable treatment] even if there is loss or damage to the covered investment as a result." By comparison, Article 2(3) of the Mexico-Germany bilateral investment treaty provides that "[e]ach Contracting State shall in any case accord investments of the other Contracting State fair and equitable treatment" and that "[n]either Contracting State shall in any way impair by arbitrary or discriminatory measures the operation, management, maintenance, use, enjoyment or disposal of such investments."
[18] See e.g. Article 9(3) of the Mexico-France bilateral investment treaty; Article 14.D.5 of the USMCA; Article 2(3) of the Schedule to the Mexico-Netherlands bilateral investment treaty.
[19] See e.g. Article 12 of the Mexico-China bilateral investment treaty; Article 10 of the Mexico-UAE bilateral investment treaty; Annex 1, Section 2 of the Mexico-Italy bilateral investment treaty.
Christopher M. Ryan
Gabriel Salinas
Robert O'Leary
Jesse Sherrett
Regionale Erfahrung | {
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The parade route is changed so it can go down the street where the child lives, allowing himher to view the parade. I cant remember when i began to notice pictures of disabled veterans in regency childrens books. The child develops some illness that requires quarantine at home. Discover the best children s american civil war era history books in best sellers.
He went back into the little room, and by the time he returned to the table with his own bowl of food to eat with us, we had already finished. She finds shelter in an old doll house, where she meets a group of tin soldiers, and this is the story of their friendship. Find the top 100 most popular items in amazon books best sellers. Compelling and humane, this book reveals the lives of the 300,000 child soldiers around the world, challenging stereotypes of them as predators or a lost generation. Discover the best children s military books in best sellers. Thousands of children are serving as soldiers in armed conflicts around the world. Discover book depositorys huge selection of childrens books online. Children of all ages are encouraged to talk about their feelings that are associated with a military deployment. Discover the best childrens american civil war era history books in best sellers.
Band of soldiers by sardindu bandhyopadhyay the first of my theme reads this month my reading theme is here, and this king in question in this one is the maratha warriorking shivaji, who ruled in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Please do not include books written for retail after a toy became popular like barbie. I enjoyed it so much that i read it as i walked to school, between. Books for military children with a deployed parent list 1 of 2. Kidnapped or lured by the promise of food, protection, revenge, or a better life, children serve not only as combatants but as porters, spies, human land mine detectors, and sexual. Other childrens books bear out the truth of the duke of wellingtons sorrowful observation that the only thing as sad as a battle lost is a battle won. Chikwanines book looks at the drcs history and its brutal legacy of colonialism, and includes resources to find out more about child soldiers all of which chikwanine said were necessary to show that such atrocities do not happen in vacuum. Shop for children s books by age, series, author, subject and format. Get cozy and expand your home library with a large online selection of books at.
An index to records of the indiana soldiers and sailors children s home in the indiana state archives book annual report of the indiana soldiers and sailors children s home for the fiscal year ending. The story is about two boy soldiers who meet each other in the battlefield during the american civil war. With the help of a beautiful rocking horse called chester. Best children s books about wwii world war ii was a pivotal time in british history. The golden age of childrens book illustration and american soldiers in the great war vanessa meikle schulman the lion and the unicorn, volume 41. And there are several great books out there for military children to read, or have read to them, involving moving, deployments and their parents. The five chinese brothers won the lewis carroll shelf award in 1959. A 2020 bank street best childrens book of the year a 2020 childrens book council notable social studies book for young people over a quarter million underage british boys fought on the allied front lines of the great war, but not all of them fought on the battlefieldsome fought beneath it, as revealed in this middlegrade historical adventure about a deadly underground mission. Braving the changes when someone you love is wounded in service is an interactive book that helps children and families of wounded service members deal with the feelings, changes and challenges they face because of their loved ones injury.
Jun 30, 2014 what are the best first world war books for children. While the books imprint identifies it as having been designed in england, it also specifies that is was printed in berlin, so its certainly quite possible that the depictions of the toy soldiers recall designs of lead figures in germany, where they were also very popular childrens toys at the time, as well as those in england. Wife of wounded warrior writes childrens book to help daughters understand their dads injuries. This fun childrens book features a girl who has a great time in her grandmothers playroom after discovering some vintage toys. A former child soldier shares his story in new graphic. A childrens book about the value of family flores, sarah m. Best sellers in childrens american civil war era history books. In 2005 the government ratified the opac treaty and by 2008 the military use of children had reduced in the country, but both state armed forces and the spla continued to recruit and use them. Murphys a savage road to thunder account of the causes and first months of wwi offers a poignant and sometimes graphic introduction to the war to end all wars. If youre like me and find solace in books and are looking for resources to share with your children to explain military life, this list of picture books will comfort and. Childrens books with snakes and soldiers my wife swears she had a book as a child that featured soldiers in a jungle maybe vietnam, where snakes would drop down out of trees or lay across the trail like logs to ambush the soldiers.
These boys and girls, some as young as 8 years old, serve in government forces. The childrens book council cbc is the nonprofit trade association of childrens book publishers in north america, dedicated to supporting the industry and promoting childrens books and reading. May 01, 2018 wife of wounded warrior writes children s book to help daughters understand their dad s injuries. These pageturning reads will give your children a real insight into what life was like for both children and adults, on the battle field and on the home front. Best sellers in childrens american civil war era history. This may not be the childrens coloring book youre looking for. Sounds silly considering theyre soldiers and expected to be armed but it felt a little too much. Hero dad by melinda hardin, alice bliss by laura harrington, military friends abc by tony hunter, grandpas 1 to 10 and back. Tom palmer, who is launching his new book over the line, about the footballers battalion, at the festival.
The childrens book guild award luncheon honoring reef, previously scheduled for may 30, 2020, has been postponed until spring 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The old toy room twinkl originals childrens book reading. Im not super conservative when it comes to most things kid related but once i sat down and looked thru this book i found too many images of weapons. Indiana soldiers and sailors childrens home worldcat. Mar 25, 2020 this fun childrens book features a girl who has a great time in her grandmothers playroom after discovering some vintage toys. Discover book depository s huge selection of children s books online. I like this book because it is a wellresearched simple story about one young mans experience of ww1. Timed to coincide with armistice day, this solemn graphic narrative recalls christmas 1914, when british and german soldiers called a fleeting truce.
Memoirs of a boy soldier 2007 is a memoir written by ishmael beah, an author from sierra leone. Beah ran away from his village at the age of 12 after it was attacked by rebels. The childrens issues picture book why is mom so mad. Discover the best childrens military books in best sellers.
The book isnt military specific, but explores a day in the life of a daddy bear and his bear cub. The author of soldier dog and a horse called hero picks her favourite novels and diaries from the two world. Looking for a book about a child looking forward to a town parade. Sam anguss top 10 war books childrens books the guardian. Stone soup is a european folk story in which hungry strangers convince the people of a town to each share a small amount of their food in order to make a meal that everyone enjoys, and exists as a moral regarding the value of sharing. Best childrens books involving war books fiction and nonfiction that are about war andor take place during a time of war.
Celebrates the special bond dads have with their children. Pink and say is a children s book written and illustrated by patricia polacco. Discover life in ancient rome with sticker and flap books, and stories and activity books. The global quest to eradicate the use of child soldiers hardcover. Find bestsellers, new releases, award winners and our recommended books for kids at.
What are the best first world war books for children. After a decade fighting wars on two fronts, tens of thousands of service members are coming home having trouble adjusting to civilian life. The golden age of children s book illustration and american soldiers in the great war vanessa meikle schulman the lion and the unicorn, volume 41, number 2, april 2017, pp. Miss suzy s pleasant life in her house at the top of a oak tree is disrupted by six mean red squirrels who chase her away. Claire huchet bishop 1899 march 1993 was a children s novelist and librarian, winner of the newbery honor for pancakesparis and all alone, and the josette frank award for twenty and ten. The 2020 nonfiction award committee of the childrens book guild of washington, dc, is pleased to announce catherine reef as the nonfiction award winner for 2020. Childrens literature sentient toys this is a list for childrens books in which dolls, stuffed animals, or other toys come to life.
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Top > Foreign Policy > Diplomatic Bluebook > Diplomatic Bluebook 2020 > Chapter 3 Japan's Foreign Policy to Promote National and Global Interests > Section 3 Economic Diplomacy > 2 Rule-Making to Bolster Free and Open Global Economic Systems
Diplomatic Bluebook 2020
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Japan's Foreign Policy to Promote National and Global Interests
2 Rule-Making to Bolster Free and Open Global Economic Systems
(1) Promotion of Economic Partnerships
Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)1 and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)2 help capture the vitality of the growing markets overseas and strengthen the basis of the Japanese economy, through measures such as the reduction or elimination of tariffs on goods as well as barriers on trade in services, and through rule-making for trade and investment. To date, the Government of Japan has signed 18 EPAs and FTAs with 21 countries and regions, all of which have entered into force. The EPA/FTA ratio in Japan's trade (the ratio of trade value with countries which have FTAs already signed or entered into force with Japan, to that of total trade value) was 51.6% at the end of December 2019, which reached 86.2% when including the trade value of countries and regions with EPAs and FTAs in negotiations. Following on the enactment of TPP113 on December 30, 2018, the Japan-EU EPA entered into force on February 1, 2019. The First Protocol to Amend the Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Partnership among Japan and Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (AJCEP) was signed by Japan on February 27, the nine ASEAN nations on March 2, and Viet Nam on April 24, as a result of many years of tireless negotiations.
As a flag bearer of free trade, Japan will work toward the steady implementation and expansion of the TPP11 Agreement as well as the steady implementation of the Japan-EU EPA, while promoting global trade liberalization through negotiations of other EPAs.
1 Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) are agreements that aim to create rules concerning trade liberalization, investment, the movement of people, intellectual property protection, and competition policy, and seek to strengthen wide-ranging economic relationships by providing for, among other things, factors for cooperation in various fields.
2 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are agreements that aim to reduce or eliminate tariffs on goods or trade in service barriers among specified countries or regions.
3 TPP11: Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
A TPP11 Agreement, Japan-EU EPA, RCEP, Japan-China-ROK Free Trade Agreement, and FTAAP
(A) TPP11 Agreement
The TPP11 Agreement is an effort to establish new economic integration rules for the 21st century in a wide range of areas such as tariffs, services, investments, intellectual property, and state-owned enterprises in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. It will provide Japanese companies an opportunity to be more active in markets overseas and will be a major driving force for economic growth in Japan. Furthermore, the strengthening of the interdependent relations in economic terms with countries that share fundamental values through the TPP11 Agreement has great strategic significance for the security of Japan and the stability of the Asia-Pacific region, leading to peace and prosperity in the region and the world at large.
The 12 countries of Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S., and Viet Nam signed the TPP12 Agreement in February 2016, but the U.S. announced its withdrawal from the TPP12 Agreement in January 2017. As such, Japan proactively led the discussions in order to bring about the early realization of the TPP as soon as possible among the 11 countries. As a result, at the TPP Ministerial Meeting held in Da Nang, Viet Nam in November 2017, the Ministers agreed to move forward with the TPP11 Agreement among 11 countries, by incorporating the articles of the original TPP12 Agreement drawn up by the 12 countries into the new TPP11 Agreement, while exceptionally suspending the application of certain articles (agreement in principle). Later, in March 2018, the TPP11 Agreement was signed in Santiago, Chile. Mexico, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia completed necessary domestic procedures and the Agreement entered into force on December 30. Viet Nam became the seventh Party to conclude the Agreement in January 2019.
TPP11 Agreement signing (March 8, 2018, Santiago, Chile; Photo: TPP Headquarters at the Cabinet Secretariat Office)
Amidst the spread of protectionist sentiments around the world, this sends a strong message to the world that Japan is committed to promoting free trade, and is a major step toward extending the free, fair, and modern trade of the 21st century, and investment rules in the Asia-Pacific region.
In addition, Japan became the TPP Chair in January and hosted the First Commission of the TPP at the ministerial-level (with Minister Motegi, then in charge of Economic Revitalization, serving as Chair). Decisions were made about four subjects at the meeting; matters concerning administration, accession process of the TPP11 Agreement, rules for resolving disputes involving Parties to TPP11, and about a code of conduct for investor-State dispute settlement. At the second meeting of the TPP Commission, held in October in Auckland (New Zealand), two decisions were made that concerned rules for TPP Commission procedures (rules of procedure concerning execution of Commission activities, including the process for conducting meetings and planning agendas) and for establishing a Roster of Panel Chairs (subcommittee) for dispute resolution. Japan will continue to take the lead on discussions toward the implementation and expansion of the TPP11 Agreement.
(B) Japan-EU EPA
The Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) entered into force on February 1. Along with realizing a high-level elimination or reduction of tariffs, it also serves as a model for the 21st century's modern economic order based on free and fair rules. Almost six years since negotiations for the agreement started in April 2013, a giant economic zone was created comprising 600 million people and 30% of the world's GDP.
While Japan and the EU are geographically distant from one another, they have forged collaborative relationships in numerous fields as important global partners sharing the same basic values. With the enactment of this agreement, Japan-EU relations take a new step forward, supported by a legal foundation for strengthening collaboration. It is expected that trade, investment, and people-to-people exchange between Japan and the EU will become more active than ever leading to closer relations among the citizens of Japan and the EU. One of the concreate examples is the fairs related to the Japan-EU EPA organized by numerous retailers and restaurants followed by the agreement's enactment, which has showed the real advantages of the agreement to SMEs and consumers (see the Column on page 269).
At the First Japan-EU Joint Committee meeting held in April, participants mutually confirmed the levels of agreement implementation and discussed possible further ways for Japan-EU future collaboration, expressed by the slogan "Beyond EPA, beyond trade." Japan and the EU are working to strengthen their multilayered collaboration to address various issues through 12 specialized committees and working groups as well as existing policy dialogues among authorities and public-private initiatives.
First Joint Committee of the Japan-EU EPA (April 10, Tokyo)
Suneya Masahiko
Secretary-General, Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council Secretariat
QR code integrated with the "Universal Wagyu Mark"
Under the government's target of expanding Japan's value of exports for agricultural, forestry, and fisheries products as well as food products to 1 trillion yen in 2019, the Japan Livestock Products Export Promotion Council Secretariat (J-LEC) is engaged in relevant activities through five export committees for beef, pork, chicken, egg, and milk and dairy products. Among these products, the target export value of 14 billion yen for milk and dairy products was achieved in 2018, and the target export value of 25 billion yen for beef was achieved in November 2019. Wagyu beef, a variety of beef that is produced in Japan, has now become synonymous with high-quality beef and has a growing reputation around the world as luxury food.
The framework that supports trust in Japanese beef comprises elements such as a pedigree registration system with a more than 100-year history for Wagyu beef, a traceability system based on the law, and a proprietary meat rating system. This framework is the decisive factor that differentiates Japanese Wagyu beef from "WAGYU" beef produced in other countries.
The J-LEC has established the "Universal Wagyu Mark" as an indication of Wagyu beef produced in Japan, and has conducted Wagyu seminars in various countries. At these seminars, crowds throng in once the sampling session begins. Cutting techniques that brings out the unique appeal of Japan-produced Wagyu beef, including the artistic beauty of its marbling and its unique fragrance and soft texture, as well as a menu that reflects the food culture of Japan, are also indispensable. The J-LEC also provides support by inviting overseas stakeholders in the industry and dispatching experts for activities such as domestic training programs in cutting techniques, on-site visits, and exchange of opinions with those involved in the industry.
The tireless business development efforts by the beef production industry in Japan as well as initiatives by the J-LEC, including the Beef Export Committee, have resulted in the steady expansion of Japanese beef exports, while the majority of exports is bound for Asia in terms of export volumes by country and region. The TPP11 Agreement, the Japan-EU EPA, and the Japan-U.S. Trade Agreement entered into force in 2018, 2019, and 2020 respectively. The value of exports to the EU for the ten-month period after the Japan-EU EPA entered into force (February to November 2019) showed a 28% year-on-year growth. Furthermore, the value of exports to countries that joined the TPP11 Agreement after it entered into force also shows an increasing trend for each country, with the value of exports to Canada growing by 8% year-on-year for instance. The effects of the agreements, such as the immediate abolition of tariffs on beef as a result of the Japan-EU EPA and the reduction in tariffs as a result of the TPP11 Agreement and the Japan-U.S. Trade Agreement, are expected to further expand exports not only to Asia but also to Europe and the U.S.
In the Asian market, certification marks that are similar to the "Universal Wagyu Mark" have emerged on the back of the popularity of Japanese Wagyu beef. In addition, in luxury beef markets in different parts of the world such as Europe, the U.S., and the Middle East, brand awareness of Japanese Wagyu beef─which entered the market later─is still relatively lower than that of "WAGYU" beef produced overseas. Moreover, with the strong consciousness of terroir (referring to environmental factors that characterize the habitat of food production) in Europe, there are also strong calls for the provision of accurate and detailed information.
In response, the QR code that describes the individual identification numbers of cattle was integrated with the "Universal Wagyu Mark" in June 2019, and a system that provides quality information on the spot, such as individual identification, registration, and rating, as well as unique information on individual suppliers, was launched as a model project. This system is scheduled to enter full-scale operation from FY2020.
The Japan-EU EPA includes provisions on the mutual protection of a geographical indication (GI), which is a system that protects the name of specialty products unique to the respective production-area, by registering them as intellectual property. Such provisions strengthen the protection of the Japanese Wagyu beef brand in the EU, and are expected to enhance its differentiation from other products.
Moves to resume beef exports to China are currently attracting the greatest attention among various export strategies for respective countries. There are growing expectations of the market potential not only on the Japanese side, but also on the Chinese side. With the signing of the Japan-China Agreement on Cooperation in Animal Health and Quarantine in November 2018 and other developments, the acceleration of negotiations with a view to resume Japanese beef exports, including Wagyu beef, is anticipated.
In order to further protect the brand of Japanese Wagyu beef and expand its market, in addition to the initiatives that have been implemented to date, we are facing the urgent task of establishing a supply system that can meet global demand. This can be achieved by promoting compliance with Standards of Rearing Hygiene Management and HACCP* certification for farms, as well as by increasing the number of Wagyu beef cattle and expanding HACCP-compliant meat processing facilities for export. Furthermore, in order to realize stable production and export of Japanese Wagyu beef, it is also important to prevent the invasion of virulent, infectious diseases from overseas, such as foot-and-mouth disease, through a complete and secure animal quarantine system. To that end, the J-LEC will cooperate closely with the government's proactive economic diplomacy to work on each and every possible measure.
*A method for hygiene control to ensure the safety of products and management procedures that are particularly important for eliminating or mitigating hazards in all processes, from the procurement of raw materials to the shipment of products, based upon an understanding by the food (or other products) business operator of hazards such as contamination by food poisoning bacterium or foreign substances.
(C) Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
The RCEP is a pillar of East Asian economic integration, aimed at realizing the establishment of an integrated economic zone that covers approximately half of the world's population, and about 30% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) and total trade amount. Since the launch of negotiations in May 2013, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states and their FTA partner states (six countries, namely Japan, China, the ROK, Australia, New Zealand and India) have been working together to advance negotiations toward a comprehensive and high-level agreement in areas that include trade in goods, trade in services, investment, competition, rules of origin, intellectual property, and electronic commerce, and customs procedures and trade facilitation. As of December 2019, 19 ministerial meetings and 28 rounds of have been held. At the 3rd RCEP Summit Meeting held in November in conjunction with the ASEAN-related Summit Meetings, leaders of 16 RCEP Participating Countries (RPCs) released the Joint Leaders' Statement on the RCEP. The statement noted that the 15 RPCs have concluded text-based negotiations for all 20 chapters4 and essentially all their market access issues, and tasked legal scrubbing by them to commence for signing the RCEP Agreement in 2020. RPCs also agreed to work together to resolve outstanding unresolved issues concerning India. Japan will continue to play a leading role, following the Joint Leaders' Statement.
4 1) Initial Provisions and General Definitions; 2) Trade in Goods; 3) Rules of Origin, including Annex on Product Specific Rules; 4) Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation; 5) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures; 6) Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures; 7) Trade Remedies; 8) Trade in Services, including Annexes on Financial Services, Telecommunication Services, and Professional Services; 9) Movement of Natural Persons; 10) Investment; 11) Intellectual Property; 12) Electronic Commerce; 13) Competition; 14) Small and Medium Enterprises; 15) Economic and Technical Cooperation; 16) Government Procurement; 17) General Provisions and Exceptions; 18) Institutional Provisions; 19) Dispute Settlement; and 20) Final Provisions.
(D) Japan-China-ROK FTA
The Japan-China-ROK FTA is a negotiation with Japan's major trading partners: China and the ROK. The negotiations were launched in March 2013, and 16 rounds of negotiations were held by December 2019. The three countries have been engaged in discussions over a wide range of areas including trade in goods, investment, trade in services, competition, intellectual property, and electronic commerce, with the shared objective of pursuing a comprehensive, high quality, and mutually beneficial FTA.
(E) Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) Concept
Discussions are being held at the meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on next-generation trade and investment issues to be addressed, and capacity building programs mainly for developing economies (countries and regions) are being implemented. The Lima Declaration on the FTAAP adopted at the 2016 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting confirmed mainly the following three points: (1) the FTAAP should be high quality and comprehensive, and incorporate and address next-generation trade and investment issues, and it should be built on the TPP11 Agreement, the RCEP, and other agreements as the pathway; (2) APEC would begin on implementing the work programs supporting capacity building aimed at promoting the realization of FTAAP; and (3) progress made toward realizing the FTAAP would be reported to the Leaders in 2018 and 2020.
Following workshops in 2017 and 2018, Japan held a workshop on "competition chapters" in the FTAs and EPAs in 2019, with the goal of capacity building of developing economies in APEC. Through the sharing of successful cases, particularly from the perspective of regulations, with regard to "desirable and optional elements" in competition chapters, Japan has provided capacity building support for FTAs and EPAs policy makers and negotiators.
From the viewpoint of achieving a comprehensive and high-quality FTAAP, it is significant that the TPP11 Agreement entered into force at the end of December 2018 and that negotiations are progressing toward the early signing of the RCEP Agreement.
B Bilateral and Other Agreements
(A) EPAs Currently Being Negotiated
a Turkey
As an important country that serves as a hub among Europe, the Middle East, the Central Asia and Caucasus region, and Africa, Turkey has considerable economic potential and is attracting attention as a production base for exports to surrounding regions. The country has signed FTAs with over 20 countries and regions, and the need for developing conditions of competition for Japanese companies through the conclusion of the current EPA has been recognized. Furthermore, business communities in both countries have high expectations for the early conclusion of an EPA between the two countries. The leaders of Japan and Turkey agreed to launch EPA negotiations at the summit meeting in January 2014, and 17 rounds of negotiations had been held as of the end of December, 2019.
b Colombia
In December 2012, Japan began the EPA negotiations with Colombia, a country with rich natural resources and high economic growth. Colombia has concluded FTAs with several countries (the U.S., Canada, the EU, the ROK, etc.), and there is a growing need to regulate the competitive environment for Japan as well. The strengthening of bilateral relations through the conclusion of an EPA is expected to lead to improved cooperation in the international arena and promote cooperation among Japan and the Pacific Alliance (Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile). 13 rounds of negotiations have been held to date.
(B) Suspended EPA and FTA Negotiations
a ROK
Japan and the ROK are the third largest trading partners with each other. Based on the recognition that EPA negotiations with the ROK will provide both countries with a stable economic framework and bring about benefits for the future, both countries launched negotiations in 2003 but they have been suspended since 2004.
b Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
For Japan, the GCC member states (the six countries of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) constitute one of the most important regions as an oil and natural gas supplier and an important market for exporting infrastructure, among others. The Japan-GCC FTA negotiations were launched in 2006 to reinforce economic ties with GCC member states, but they have been suspended since 2009 on the grounds of the GCC side.
In 2012, Japan launched EPA negotiations with Canada, with which Japan shares fundamental values and has a complementary economic relationship. Seven rounds of negotiation meetings had been held by November 2014, in order to achieve an EPA that can contribute to a stable supply of energy, minerals and food to Japan. However, since the TPP11 Agreement entered into force with six countries including Japan and Canada on December 30, 2018, the EPA negotiations between the two countries have not been held.
(C) Existing EPAs
The existing EPAs contain provisions concerning the joint committee, which is a body that discusses the implementation of the agreements, and a process to review the agreements after a certain period of time since their entry into force. In addition, a variety of consultations are being held in order to smoothly implement these existing EPAs.
C Movement of Natural Persons
In accordance with the EPAs, Japan has been accepting candidates for nurses and certified care workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. In 2019, 335 Indonesians (38 nurses and 297 care workers), 330 Filipinos (42 nurses and 288 care workers), and 217 Vietnamese (41 nurses and 176 care workers) were accepted into Japan. 2018 also saw 69 nurses (15 Indonesians, 31 Filipinos, and 23 Vietnamese) and 266 care workers (78 Indonesians, 95 Filipinos, and 93 Vietnamese) pass the national examination. A total of more than 400 nurses and 950 certified care workers have passed the exam as of the end of FY2018.
D Investment Treaties, Tax Conventions and Agreements on Social Security
(A) Investment Treaties
Investment treaties constitute an important legal basis to promote investments, by stipulating the protection of investors and their investment property, enhancement of transparency in regulations, expansion of investment opportunities, procedures for investment dispute settlement, and other matters. In order to promote the improvement of the investment environment overseas and to attract foreign investment to the Japanese market, Japan has actively engaged in concluding investment treaties.
In May 2019, the Japan-Armenia Investment Treaty entered into force. As of the end of December 2019, there are currently 44 investment-related treaties that have entered into force (30 investment treaties and 14 EPAs), and five (three investment treaties and two EPAs) that have been signed but not yet entered into force, bringing the total to 49, covering 76 economies. Including investment-related treaties that are currently under negotiation, 94 economies and around 93% of Japan's direct investments overseas will be covered (as of the end of December 2019).5
5 Regional balance of Direct Investment (Assets), Ministry of Finance (All regions)
(B) Tax Conventions
Tax conventions are intended to eliminate international double taxation in cross-border economic activities (e.g. to reduce or exempt withholding taxes imposed on investment income such as dividends), or to prevent tax evasion or avoidance, and provide an important legal basis for promoting sound investment and economic exchange between the two countries. Japan is actively working in line with the Government's policy that "the Government will expand tax treaty networks, both in terms of quality and quantity, that are necessary for supporting the sound overseas business expansion of Japanese companies, through the conclusion of new treaties with countries/regions where investment relations with Japan are expected to develop, as well as amending existing treaties." ("Growth Strategy 2019" (Cabinet decision, June 21, 2019)).
Entering into force in 2019 were a new (completely revised) tax treaty with Belgium in January, a revised protocol to the tax treaty with the U.S. in August, a tax convention with Croatia in September, and a tax treaty with Ecuador in December. Additionally, the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (Convention to Implement Measures to Prevent BEPS) entered into force for Japan. Meanwhile, Japan signed tax treaties with Argentina in June, Uruguay in September, Peru in November, Jamaica in December, and Uzbekistan (new, completely revised treaty) in December. Negotiations for tax treaties reached an agreement in principle with Morocco in September and Serbia in November. As of the end of 2019, Japan has signed 76 tax conventions that apply to 135 economies.
(C) Agreements on Social Security
Agreements on social security aim to resolve the issues of social security insurance premium double payment and annuity insurance non-refunds. They are expected to facilitate interpersonal exchange and strengthen further bilateral relations, including economic exchange, by reducing the burden on Japanese companies and citizens working overseas. The total number of countries that have concluded or signed such agreements with Japan now stands at 23, as of the end of 2019. In 2019, Japan signed agreements with Sweden and Finland and enacted agreements with Slovakia and China.
(2) Initiatives with International Organizations (WTO, OECD, etc.)
A World Trade Organization (WTO)
(A) Issues Confronting the WTO
The remarkable economic grow that Japan achieved with scarce natural resources after World War II is owed to the free trade system. The WTO has facilitated free trade through various efforts such as rule-making for trade liberalization, dispute settlement between WTO Members, and conducting monitoring to ensure the implementation of the WTO Agreements. But the WTO is now facing considerable challenges.
Hampered by dysfunctional rule-making mechanisms due to the stall of the Doha Round,6 the WTO has been unable to adequately address structural changes in the international economy, including the rise of emerging nations and the digitalization of the economy.
As explained below, criticism became heightened over the Appellate Body being blamed for overstepping its expected role by making overreaching judgments. In December 2019, following a disagreement among WTO Members to elect successors for outgoing members, the Appellate Body ceased to function.
Moreover, to monitor that the WTO agreements are observed, the WTO's system requires countries to notify about their trade-related measures. In reality, however, notifications concerning mainly policy to protect domestic industries, including subsidies, are often not being made, and WTO obligations are sometimes not complied with as needed.
6 "Rounds" are trade liberalization negotiations in which all WTO Members participate. There were eight rounds of negotiations held during the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) years, from the first negotiations held in Geneva in 1947 to the last round held in Uruguay in 1994, and with each round held in response to the global economic demands of the time. The Uruguay Round saw decisions made to implement rules for new fields at the time, including trade in services and intellectual property, and strengthen mechanisms that included establishing the international organization that is the WTO. Later, the Doha Round became the first round to be held under the WTO system.
(B) Increasing Momentum and the Push for WTO Reform
In light of the above-mentioned circumstances, the need for WTO reform is becoming broadly acknowledged at numerous multinational fora while momentum builds toward implementing such reform.
In particular, G20 meetings chaired by Japan have significantly pushed the discussion forward concerning WTO reform (see the Special Feature on page 280). At the G20 Ibaraki-Tsukuba Ministerial Meeting on Trade and Digital Economy in June, despite a difference of opinions among participants, a ministerial statement that encapsulated an agreement on necessary WTO reform leading to the summit was released as G20. In the same vein, the G20 Osaka Summit affirmed a commitment to the basic principles of free trade ─ free, fair, non-discriminatory, and open markets, as well as fair competition ─ even amid growing tensions over trade issues. After it agreed to promote WTO reforms, such as the development of a dispute settlement system and rule-making including on electronic commerce, the G20 Osaka Summit gave political support to WTO reform by "reaffirming our support for the necessary reform of the World Trade Organization." Furthermore, at the G7 Biarritz Summit held after the G20 Osaka Summit, leaders expressed their desire to "change the WTO." In response to this international momentum, moves for WTO reform are accelerating in the following three areas: (1) reform of the dispute settlement system, (2) rule-making appropriate for the current global economy, and (3) strengthening monitoring functions for agreement compliance.
(C) Reform of the Dispute Settlement System
In the aftermath of the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March 2011, the ROK imposed a series of import restrictions on foods and other products from Japan. Despite Japan's explanation on the safety of Japanese food products based on scientific evidence, the ROK made no indication of relaxing or removing its restrictions. In response, Japan initiated the WTO dispute settlement procedures on the grounds that the said measures were trade-restrictive in violation of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement).
While Japan held consultations with the ROK in accordance with the procedures, no mutually agreed solution was reached. Japan then turned to a WTO panel for a first instance adjudication in September 2015. In February 2018, after considering the opinions of five experts, including the committee members of international organizations, the panel ruled that the measures by the ROK were unnecessarily restrictive, arbitrary and unjustifiably discriminatory, which constituted violations of the WTO Agreement, and published a report recommending the ROK take corrective action. Dissatisfied with the panel's ruling, the ROK appealed to the Appellate Body for a second instance adjudication in April 2018.
In April 2019, the Appellate Body reversed the panel's ruling on the grounds that the panel's legal analysis was insufficient. It then offered no ruling on the WTO-consistency or inconsistency of the ROK's restrictive measures.
The Appellate Body report was not only extremely regrettable and putting a damper on recovery efforts for disaster-stricken areas in Japan, but failed to deliver a judgement whether the ROK's disputed measures were WTO consistent or not. For its failure to fulfill its function of settling disputes, the report significantly undermined the confidence in the WTO dispute settlement system itself. With this concern in mind, Japan has been proactively participating in discussions on the dispute settlement system reform.
The panel's factual findings on this case that Cesium concentrations in Japanese food products fall below the levels that the ROK itself set in accordance with international standards have been accepted without contestation. Japan is now explaining the panel's findings to countries and regions with import restrictions still in place, while taking every opportunity to encourage the relaxation or removal of such restrictions (see the Column on page 287).
(D) Rulemaking Appropriate for the Current Global Economy
The situation above makes it clear that accommodating the digitalization of and structural changes in the international economy will require more than just the existing rules of the WTO Agreements. At the 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11), in December 2017, Japan issued a joint statement concerning e-commerce with 71 WTO Members, including the U.S., the EU, and many developing country Members, and in January 2019 issued a joint statement together with WTO Members that affirmed their intention to begin negotiations.
With respect to negotiations participated in by all WTO Members, as a means to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), progress is being made with negotiations on fishery subsidy aimed at regulating subsidies that adversely impact fishing resources. Japan is also actively participating in these negotiations.
The WTO allows Members to self-declare as to whether or not they are a developing country, and even economically-advanced countries may be exempted from the WTO Agreements obligations by declaring themselves to be a "developing country" (Special and Differential Treatment (S&DT)).7 Japan and other developed countries see it as a problem that exemptions are granted to the "developing countries" that make up two thirds of the WTO's membership. The situation is gradually changing in 2019, as exemplified by the fact that Brazil, Singapore, and the ROK are renouncing the S&DT in current and future negotiations.
7 S&DT: Special and Differential Treatment
(E) Strengthening of Monitoring Functions
The WTO's system is based upon transparency and predictability with regard to Members' trade policies, and requires that Members notify their trade-related measures. In reality, however, notifications mainly concerning policy to protect domestic industries, including subsidies, are often not being made, and sometimes WTO obligations are not complied with as needed.
Japan is actively leading discussions in this regard, which includes coordinating with the U.S. and the EU, among other parties, to submit a notification reform proposal aimed at strengthening the monitoring function of the WTO Agreements. By thoroughly explaining the purport and goal of the proposal together with the U.S. and the EU, Japan aims to gather support from WTO Members and achieve reform as early as possible.
(F) International Economic Dispute Cases
The WTO dispute settlement system is for resolving disputes among WTO Members under the covered agreements according to the dispute settlement procedures. It serves as a pillar that imparts stability and predictability to the WTO system. In addition to "Korea ─ Import Bans, and Testing and Certification Requirements for Radionuclides" (DS495),8 Japan has most recently been directly involved in the following cases (as of December 2019):
-Korea – Anti-Dumping Duties on Pneumatic Valves from Japan (DS504): A panel was established in June 2016. In April 2018, the panel found the ROK's measures to be in violation of the WTO Agreements. In September 2019, the Appellate Body issued a report reaching the same conclusion, which led to the DSB recommendation vis-a-vis the ROK to take corrective action.
-India – Certain Measures on Imports of Iron and Steel Products (DS518): A panel was established in April 2017. Appellate Body procedures have been suspended due to the cessation of Appellate Body function since December 2019.
-Korea – Sunset Review of Anti-Dumping Duties on Stainless Steel Bars (DS553): A panel was established in October 2018. Panel procedures are currently ongoing.
-Korea – Measures Affecting Trade in Commercial Vessels (DS571): Japan requested bilateral consultations with the ROK in November 2018. The consultations were held in December, 2018.
-India – Tariff Treatment on Certain Goods (DS584): In May 2019, Japan requested bilateral consultations concerning whether the tariff increase measures by India for information and communications technology products were consistent with the WTO Agreements.
-Japan – Measures Related to the Exportation of Products and Technology to Korea (DS590): In July 2019, Japan announced on the application of its export control measures on three semiconductor materials (Fluorinated polyimides, Resist, and Hydrogen fluoride) to the ROK and implemented individual export licensing requirements for such materials. In September, claiming that Japan's measures violated the WTO Agreements, the ROK requested bilateral consultations and the two countries conducted two rounds of such consultations. In November, the ROK announced that it would suspend the WTO dispute settlement procedures while the Export Control Policy Dialogues were pursued on a normal course of action between the relevant authorities. In December, the Seventh Japan-Korea Export Control Policy Dialogue was held for the first time in three and a half years.
8 "DS xxx (numbers)" is the serial number since the launch of the WTO's dispute settlement system in 1995 assigned to each and every dispute at the time a request for consultations is received by the WTO Secretariat.
B Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
(A) Features
The OECD is the "world's largest think tank," covering a wide range of economic and social fields such as macro economy, trade and investment, agriculture, industry, the environment, and science and technology. It makes policy recommendations and forms international norms, including through discussions at relevant committees. Japan acceded to the OECD in 1964 as the first country to do so outside of the U.S. and Europe. Since then, Japan has been actively engaged in OECD initiatives through discussions at relevant committees as well as through contributions in terms of financial and human resources.
(B) Visit by OECD Secretary-General Gurria to Japan
During his visit to Japan in April 2019, Secretary-General Gurria held meetings with Prime Minister Abe, Foreign Minister Kono, and other high-level officials. They reaffirmed the importance of maintaining and strengthening the multilateral trading system as well as the importance of establishing fair competition conditions. They also reaffirmed the importance of strengthening outreach in anticipation of Southeast Asian countries' future membership in the OECD, while affirming cooperation toward the G20 Osaka Summit, which is chaired by Japan. The talks also saw the announcement of the OECD Economic Survey of Japan, which praised Japan for its Abenomics strategy and set forth policy proposals for improving productivity, among other matters.
(C) 2019 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting
Chaired by Slovakia and co-chaired by Canada and the ROK, the OECD Ministerial Council Meeting was held in May under the theme of "harnessing digital transition for sustainable development." At the meeting, Japan expressed its views and points concerning such issues as the digital economy, including data flow; quality infrastructure investment; innovation-based efforts toward achievement of the SDGs; free and open trade; securing a level playing field; and the importance of WTO reform. It also emphasized the importance of Southeast Asian nations' future accession to the OECD. Japan's statements contributed to discussions in the OECD, many of which were incorporated into the outcome documents, and drove discussions toward the relevant G20 Ministerial Meetings and the G20 Osaka Summit that followed.
(D) Initiatives in Various Sectors
For the issue of steel excess capacity, following the G20 Hangzhou Summit, China in 2016, the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC) was established with the participation of China, which accounts for approximately half of the global production volume of crude steel. As the standing G20 Presidency and the Chair of the GFSEC since December 2018, Japan has demonstrated strong leadership toward and played an active role in solving the above-mentioned problems, including at the third GFSEC ministerial meeting in Tokyo in October 2019.
Meanwhile, the OECD is strengthening its cooperation with the G20 in the areas that include reviewing international taxation principles in response to economic digitalization, as well as the formulation of principles concerning quality infrastructure investment and corporate governance.
(E) Strengthening Relations with Asia
In light of the growing importance of Southeast Asia as a center for global economic growth, the OECD places importance on strengthening relations within the region. The 2019 Forum of the Southeast Asia Regional Programme was held in Paris in March. Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Yamada Kenji attended and delivered a speech on such matters as Japan's ongoing commitment toward the OECD Southeast Asia Regional Programme, which was established under the leadership of Japan in 2014, as well as Southeast Asia's connectivity and the role of the OECD. Going forward, it is important to effectively utilize the Southeast Asia Regional Programme in order to continue to support economic integration and domestic reform in the region with a view to the future accession to the OECD by ASEAN countries.
(F) Contributions in Terms of Financial and Human Resources
Japan was the second largest financial contributor to the OECD after the U.S. in 2019, covering 9.4% of the OECD's mandatory contributions (Part I Budget). Moreover, Japanese nationals have successively served as the Deputy Secretary General (currently Deputy Secretary General Kono Masamichi), the second-highest position at the OECD Secretariat. Japan was the largest contributor to the OECD Development Centre in 2019, and a Japanese national (Ms. Ueda Naoko) serves as a Deputy Director of the Centre. Thus, Japan supports the OECD through contributions in terms of financial and human resources.
(3) Initiatives in International Meetings (G7 and G20 Summits, APEC, etc.)
A G20 and G7
Japan actively participates in G20 and G7 Summits, which are attended by the world's major nations, and makes efforts to maintain and strengthen the international order.
(A) G20 Osaka Summit
At the G20 Osaka Summit held in June, discussions were held on subjects that include the G20's efforts to promote free trade, drive global economic growth through innovation, address disparity, and contribute to solving environmental issues and other global problems. With Japan as the Presidency, Prime Minister Abe actively led discussions, issued the G20 Osaka Leaders' Declaration, which covered a wide range of initiatives, and demonstrated the G20's strong commitment to the world.
G20 Osaka Summit
(June 29, Osaka; Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
(1) Leaders agreed on principles in support of the international free trade system amid global trade-related tensions, including free, fair, non-discriminatory, and open markets, as well as a level playing field. Leaders also reaffirmed their support for WTO reform, including reform of the dispute settlement system and establishing rules relevant to the times.
(2) Japan shared its Data Free Flow with Trust (DFFT) concept inspired by economic digitalization, and used the Summit as an opportunity to give political momentum to international rulemaking concerning digital economy particularly data flow and electronic commerce by launching the Osaka Track (see the Special Feature on page 280). Japan also formulated the G20 AI Principles based on a human-centered approach to AI. Japan also issued an individual statement about the exploitation of the Internet and social media by terrorists, and emphasized the importance of initiatives taken in cooperation with the digital industry.
(3) Leaders agreed to promote women's empowerment through women's participation in labor market, girls' and women's education and training, and improved women's access to business leaders and entrepreneurship. They also announced a policy for addressing disparities fueled by gender inequality.
(4) With an eye to achieving global inclusivity and sustainability, leaders approved the "G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment," which include elements of international standards concerning things such as openness, transparency, economic efficiency, and debt sustainability. With respect to global health, leaders focused on (1) Universal Health Coverage (UHC) achievement, (2) population aging, and (3) health emergencies. They also agreed to strengthen measures aimed at the debt issue in developing countries, disaster prevention, education, and achieving the SDGs by utilizing science, technology, and innovation (STI).
(5) Regarding urgent issues concerning the global environment, leaders agreed on the importance of achieving a "virtuous cycle of environment and growth" through innovation. Additionally, concerning the problem of marine plastic litter that grows more serious every year, Japan shared details on the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision, which aims to reduce additional pollution by marine plastic litter to zero by 2050.
Prime Minister Abe speaking at the "Leaders' Special Event on Digital Economy" on the sidelines of the G20 Osaka Summit (June 28, Osaka; Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
During the period of the G20 Osaka Summit, the words "Osaka Track" were featured in the headlines of many newspapers. You may recall seeing this photograph of Prime Minister Abe, U.S. President Trump, and Chinese President Xi Jinping sitting at a desk. This was the moment, in Osaka, when Prime Minister Abe declared the launch of the "Osaka Track," which is the road toward promoting international rule-making on the digital economy.
We face the urgent task of establishing rules for data flow and electronic commerce, which are the engines of growth for the digital era. Based on this perspective, Prime Minister Abe advocated the launch of the "Osaka Track" at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos in January, with the aim of advancing discussions on global data governance. Five months later, Prime Minister Abe took the opportunity of the G20 Osaka Summit in June to host the Leaders' Special Event on Digital Economy, during which he declared the launch of the "Osaka Track" as a process for promoting international rule-making on the digital economy, and in particular, data flow and electronic commerce.
The leaders of the 24 countries and regions participated in the launch of this initiative and affirmed the importance of maximizing the benefits that digitalization and emerging technologies bring, of promoting innovation and harnessing the full potential of the digital economy, and of promoting international policy discussions on the digital economy to that end.
With the boost provided by the "Osaka Track," more than 80 like-minded countries are now advancing negotiations on electronic commerce in the WTO, with a view to establishing rules on the digital economy. The WTO, established in 1995, has fulfilled a major role in the world economy as an international organization responsible for establishing and enforcing rules related to goods and services trade. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the existing rules set out in WTO agreements are inadequate for responding to the various challenges raised by Internet trading and the digital economy. Negotiations on electronic commerce in the WTO bring stability and predictability to trade in the ever-changing digital society. At the same time, it ushers in a new phase for the WTO, which has not succeeded in new rule-makings in recent years, and also represents one of the pillars of WTO reforms. Negotiations are now ongoing in Geneva, where the WTO is headquartered, with the aim of achieving substantial progress at the 12th WTO Ministerial Conference, and Japan is taking the lead in these negotiations as the co-convener. The progress achieved here is also expected to serve as an important guidepost along the path of the "Osaka Track."
On the other hand, the "Osaka Track" is not limited to negotiations in the WTO. Diverse stakeholders, including international organizations that possess specialized knowledge in various fields and private-sector corporations that play an active role on the frontlines of the digital economy, collaborate to advance a wide range of discussions on the digital economy. While each country has its own national strategy on the digital economy and legal systems on data flow, the "Osaka Track" has an important purpose of establishing rules that overcome such differences in the standpoints of each country in order to realize "Data Free Flow with Trust" (DFFT).
Japan will continue to exert its leadership toward the realization of a world where all people can enjoy the fruits of digitalization fairly and equally.
(B) G20 Aichi-Nagoya Foreign Ministers' Meeting
At the G20 Aichi-Nagoya Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which was held in November and closing the year of Japanese G20 Presidency, discussions were held on the themes of (1) promotion of free trade and global governance, (2) SDGs, and (3) Africa's development. Representatives from local high schools also gave a presentation themed on educational disparity.
Chaired by Foreign Minister Motegi, this meeting affirmed leaders' achievements made at the G20 Osaka Summit and TICAD7 and served as a springboard for discussing concrete measures toward future action. During the closing session, Foreign Minister Motegi handed over the presidency mallet, a symbol of the G20 Presidency, to Saudi Arabia, which will become the G20's next Presidency.
G20 Aichi-Nagoya Foreign Ministers' Meeting
(November 23, Nagoya)
(C) G7 Biarritz Summit (France)
At the G7 Biarritz Summit held in August, G7 leaders held candid discussions on the theme of "Fight Inequalities" with regard to major topics for the G7, namely the global economy, global trade, diplomacy, and security. On the topics of Africa, the environment, and digitalization, views were exchanged from a diversity of viewpoints, with participation by invited outreach countries, international organizations, and civil society. With the goal of the G7 nations banding together on its foundation of shared values to play a leading role in the international community, Prime Minister Abe led candid discussions among G7 leaders on the back of achievements at the G20 Osaka Summit.
G7 Biarritz Summit (August 25, Biarritz, France; Photo: Cabinet Public Relations Office)
(1) With respect to discussions on diplomacy and security, Prime Minister Abe led discussions on North Korea as one of the foremost priorities for the G7. G7 leaders agreed on the importance of achieving the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of all of weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles of all ranges, and confirmed the international community's commitment to fully implementing the relevant UN Security Council resolutions while continuing to support the process between the U.S. and North Korea. Moreover, support was expressed to Prime Minister Abe's call for understanding and cooperation toward an immediate resolution of the abductions issue Discussions were also held on Iran, Syria, and other aspects of the Middle East situation, as well as recent conditions in China, including the situation in Hong Kong.
(2) With respect to global economy and trade, Prime Minister Abe called for leaders to instruct their ministers to provide support for rule-making at the WTO under the Osaka Track established at the G20 Osaka Summit, and to ensure that substantial progress will be made before the WTO's 12th Ministerial Conference is held.
(3) Regarding Africa, leaders agreed on matters including the importance of improving transparency in public procurement with a regard for the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment. They also expressed their expectations for TICAD7, which was held immediately after the Summit. On the environment, leaders welcomed the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision concerning measures to combat marine plastic litter, while also affirming the Metz Charter on Biodiversity at the summit level.
B Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
APEC is a framework of economic cooperation in which 21 economies (countries and regions)9 in the Asia-Pacific region participate. The Asia-Pacific region is the "world's growth center," accounting for about 40% of the world's population, about 50% of trade volume, and about 60% of GDP. APEC, in order to liberalize and facilitate trade and investment in the region, conducts activities such as promoting regional economic integration, and enhancing economic and technical cooperation. The Asia-Pacific region, which thrives by liberalizing trade and investment and strengthening connectivity in accordance with international rules, is the core of the "Free and Open Indo-Pacific" that Japan has been promoting. Japan's contributions to APEC's development are of great significance to Japan's own economic growth and development and to the overseas expansion of Japanese companies.
At APEC Chile 2019, discussions were held under the overall theme of "Connecting People, Building the Future" at various meetings throughout the year in line with four priority areas: (1) Digital Society, (2) Integration 4.0,10 (3) Women, SMEs and Inclusive Growth, and (4) Sustainable Growth. Japan, which chaired the G20 in 2019, shared in APEC the G20's outcomes related to the digital economy, marine plastic litter, and women's empowerment, and achieved synergy through cooperation with Chile, the APEC Chair. At forums such as the APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting held in May, as a standard-bearer of free trade, Japan expressed its commitment to continuing efforts aimed at achieving growth and development throughout the Asia-Pacific region, which is the core of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific. The APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting discussed such subjects as driving APEC support for the WTO, promoting regional economic integration, and advancing comprehensive and sustainable growth in the digital age, and gained a positive outcome, the Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting Joint Statement, which was adopted for the first time in four years. The 2019 APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting was canceled due to domestic instability in Chile as stated in an announcement on October 30 by Chile's President Piñera. Meanwhile, despite being scheduled to be held immediately prior to the Leaders' Meeting, the Concluding Senior Officials' Meeting was held on December 7 at the APEC Secretariat in Singapore. In the meeting, three roadmaps related to women and inclusive growth, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and marine debris were endorsed as the main outcome documents. Chile also released the APEC Chile 2019 Host Economy Leader's (read: President of Chile's) Statement.
Malaysia will host APEC in 2020.
9 Countries and regions are referred to as "economies" in APEC terminology.
10 Discussions were held concerning initiatives that include using technologies arising from Industry 4.0 to promote global value chains (GVCs), with a focus on strengthening connectivity and achieving regional economic integration.
(4) Intellectual Property Protection
Strengthening intellectual property protections is extremely important to promoting technological innovation and, ultimately, economic development. Japan has actively participated in multilateral consultations such as APEC, the WTO (TRIPS),11 and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and is working to develop an environment for ensuring that Japanese intellectual property is appropriately protected and utilized overseas. During bilateral talks, as well, Japan calls on other countries to proactively strengthen intellectual property protections. With respect to China, at the first Japan-China Innovation and Cooperation Dialogue and Japan-China Economic Partnership Consultation, held in April 2019, Japan called on China to prohibit forced technology transfers, protect trade secrets, and stamp out counterfeit and pirated goods. For EPAs as well, Japan strives to establish regulations on intellectual property rights to ensure the adequate and effective protection of intellectual property. The Japan-EU EPA, which entered into force on February 1, 2019, and the TPP11, which entered into force on December 30, 2018, both incorporated contents on further promotion of the protection and use of intellectual property. Moreover, for the purpose of rapidly and efficiently providing assistance for Japanese companies that have suffered from counterfeit and pirated goods, MOFA appoints Intellectual Property Officers at almost all of Japan's diplomatic missions overseas so that they can advise Japanese companies and make inquiries with or requests to their counterpart governments. Japan is also engaged in efforts to improve the capacity of government employees in developing countries to counter the spread of counterfeit and pirated goods, and to strengthen the protection of intellectual property, such as by dispatching experts through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
11 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
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Xometry IPO: Looking To Be The Airbnb Of On-Demand Manufacturing
Leave a Comment / AI / By Tom Taulli
It was a busy week for IPOs, as 18 companies issued shares. And one of the standout offerings was from Xometry, which operates an online marketplace for on-demand manufacturing.
The IPO was priced at $44, which was above the $38-to-$42 price range, and the shares soared nearly 100% on the first day of trading (the current market value is close to $3 billion). T. Rowe Price and Capital World Investors purchased $70 million of the shares in the offering.
The CEO and cofounder of Xometry is Randy Altschuler, who is a serial entrepreneur. He launched two other startups that were sold to pubic companies.
As for Xometry, he teamed up with Laurence Zuriff (he is the current Chief Strategy Officer). Prior to this, he was the managing partner at Granite Capital International Group.
Both Altschuler and Zuriff were intrigued by the custom manufacturing industry. But they did not immediately create a company. Instead, they spent months researching the market by talking to many small manufacturers. "We saw certain themes emerge," said Altschuler.
For example, smaller manufacturers were usually dependent on larger customers that were local, which posed considerable risk. They also spent much time responding to requests for custom parts that did not turn into business.
The buyers of custom manufacturing parts also had challenges. It was difficult to find the best vendors and to come up with the right pricing.
To solve these problems, Altschuler and Zuriff saw the need for building a two-sided marketplace. But it took some time to get to critical mass. While sellers were interested, there was skepticism from the buyers.
Then there was the issue of the pricing for the marketplace. Custom jobs do not have SKUs. Rather, each one is unique.
This meant Xometry needed to build an automation system. One approach was to use brute-force and go through the possibilities. "The problem is that it would take too long to build such a system," said Altschuler. "It would also be difficult and time-consuming to maintain it."
The next approach then? It was to leverage AI (Artificial Intelligence). Xometry created a proprietary engine—backed with patents—to provide instant quoting based on factors like volume, material, location and the manufacturing process.
"What really got us excited about Xometry was that they were using incredible technology," said Daniel Docter, who is a Managing Director at Dell Technologies Capital and an investor in the company. "Over time their AI algorithms got better, their modeling became more accurate, and their breadth of capabilities grew."
The result is that the company has been able to efficiently process transactions for more than 6 million parts since inception. Currently there are over 43,000 buyers and 5,000 sellers on the platform (the customers include roughly 30% of the Fortune 500).
In terms of growth, it has been accelerating. From 2018 to 2020, the compound annual growth rate was 92%, with revenues hitting $141.4 million.
However, without the AI, none of this would have been possible. The technology has been strategic to Xometry .
"The AI learns and predicts how to make a part, how much it should cost, how long it should take, how much material would be needed, how would it likely yield, and so on," said Doctor. "Xometry literally transforms an old, manual, grossly human limited process, to an automated, much more accurate and predictable, and hugely more efficient AI-driven process. Manufacturers win; customers win; and frankly the world wins as we collectively can do so much more with so much less waste."
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Notice of Annual General Meeting of Medivir AB (publ)
HUDDINGE, Sweden, April 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The shareholders of Medivir AB are hereby summoned to the annual general meeting on Tuesday 5 May 2020 at 2 p.m. at Tändstickspalatset, Västra Trädgårdsgatan 15, Stockholm.
Shareholders who wish to participate in the meeting must (a) be recorded in the share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on Tuesday 28 April 2020, and (b), notify the company of their intention to participate in the meeting not later than on Tuesday 28 April 2020 in writing to Medivir AB, c/o Euroclear Sweden, P.O. Box 191, SE-101 23 Stockholm, Sweden. Such notification can also be made by telephone +46 (0)8-402 92 37 or via the company's website at www.medivir.se. The notification shall set forth the name, address, telephone number (daytime), personal/corporate identity number, the number of shares held and, when applicable, information about representatives and assistants.
As per the day of this notice there are 24,287,818 series B shares corresponding to an equal number of votes in the company. The company holds 11,413 treasury series B shares.
Shareholders represented by proxy shall issue a written and dated power of attorney for the proxy or, should the right to vote for the shares be divided among different representatives, the representatives, together with information on the number of shares each representative is entitled to vote for. If the power of attorney is issued on behalf of a legal entity, a certified copy of a registration certificate for the legal entity (or corresponding document), evidencing the authority to issue the power of attorney, shall be appended. The original of the power of attorney and, when applicable, the registration certificate should be sent to the company at the address indicated above, well before the meeting. A proxy form is available at the company's website, www.medivir.se, and is sent to shareholders who so request.
Shareholders whose shares are registered in the name of a nominee through a bank or a securities institution must re-register their shares in their own names to be entitled to participate in the meeting. Such registration, which may be temporary, must be duly effected in the share register maintained by Euroclear Sweden AB on Tuesday 28 April 2020, and the shareholders must therefore advise their nominees well in advance of this date.
The shareholders are reminded of their right to request information in accordance with Chapter 7, Section 32 of the Swedish Companies Act (Sw. aktiebolagslagen).
Information relating to the Corona virus
As a result of the Corona virus, Medivir has, to the extent possible, taken certain precautionary measures to limit the physical presence at the meeting. Therefore, Medivir encourages shareholders to carefully consider the possibility of participating in the meeting by way of proxy. Euroclear Sweden AB has informed that Euroclear Sweden, at no cost, offers a possibility for shareholders, who wishes to be represented by proxy, to appoint a proxy designated by Euroclear Sweden, to vote for the shares in accordance with the shareholder's instructions. Further information is available at www.euroclearproxy.se. Any questions to be raised by shareholders at the meeting can be sent to the company by e-mail to [email protected] in advance of the meeting.
The board of Medivir has decided on the following measures to reduce the risks:
Registration will take place starting at 1.45 p.m.
No food or refreshments will be served.
No external guests will be invited.
The reports will be shortened in order to limit the length of the meeting.
Kindly review the information and recommendations issued by the Swedish Public Health Authority. Medivir is closely following developments and authorities' recommendations and will, if needed, update the information on the annual general meeting on the company's website, www.medivir.se.
Proposed agenda
Opening of the meeting.
Election of chairman of the meeting (see below).
Preparation and approval of the voting list.
Approval of the agenda.
Election of two persons to approve the minutes of the meeting.
Determination of whether the meeting has been duly convened.
Reports from the managing director and the chairman of the board.
Presentation of the annual report and the auditor's report as well as the consolidated annual accounts and the auditor's report for the group.
Resolution on approval of the profit and loss account and balance sheet as well as the consolidated profit and loss account and consolidated balance sheet.
Resolution on approval of allocations of the company's profits or losses according to the adopted balance sheet (see below).
Resolution on discharge from liability of the members of the board of directors and the managing director.
Determination of the number of directors, deputy directors, auditors and deputy auditors (see below).
Determination of fees to be paid to the directors and the auditor (see below).
Election of the directors, chairman of the board and auditor (see below).
The nomination committee's proposal concerning nomination committee (see below).
The board's proposal on guidelines for remuneration to the executive management (see below).
The board's proposal regarding amendments to the articles of association (see below).
The board's proposal regarding authorization for the board to resolve on new share issues (see below).
The board's proposal for resolution on the issue of warrants of series 2020:1 (see below).
Allocation of the company's balance (item 10)
The board of directors proposes that the company's results shall be carried forward.
Board of directors etc (items 2 and 12-14)
The nomination committee, comprising Jan Särlvik (Nordea Fonder, chairman), Karl Tobieson (Linc AB),
Bo Öberg (founder and shareholder) and the chairman of the board of directors, Helena Levander, proposes the following:
Chairman of the board of directors, Helena Levander, to be appointed chairman of the meeting (item 2).
The board of directors shall consist of six members with no deputies. The company shall have one auditor without deputy auditors (item 12).
The remuneration to the board of directors shall be paid in a total amount of not more than SEK 1,850,000 annually allocated as follows. The chairman shall receive SEK 650,000 and other board members not employed by the company shall receive SEK 240,000 each. No remuneration for work performed in relation to committees shall be paid (item 13).
Remuneration to the auditor shall be paid in accordance with approved invoices within the auditor's quotation (item 13).
Re-election of members of the board Uli Hacksell, Lennart Hansson, Bengt Julander, Helena Levander, An van Es Johansson and Bengt Westermark (item 14).
Re-election of Helena Levander as chairman of the board (item 14).
Re-election of the auditing company Öhrlings PricewaterhouseCoopers AB. The proposition is in accordance with the audit committee's recommendation (item 14).
Further information on the proposed members of the board is available at www.medivir.se.
Nomination committee (item 15)
The nomination committee proposes that the meeting shall resolve to appoint a nomination committee for the annual general meeting 2021 mainly in accordance with the same procedure as the preceding year.
The chairman of the board shall contact the three largest shareholders in respect of voting power by the end of the third quarter. These three shareholders are offered to appoint one representative each for the nomination committee. In addition, the chairman of the board shall be a member of the nomination committee. If a shareholder chooses not to exercise the right to appoint a representative, the right shall pass on to the shareholder that, after these three shareholders, has the largest shareholding. The nomination committee is to elect a chairman among its members to lead the work of the committee.
If any of the shareholders who has appointed a member of the nomination committee sells a not insignificant part of its shareholding during the nomination committees' term or for any other reason ceases to be a larger shareholder with right to appoint a member of the nomination committee, the member appointed by such shareholder should resign from the nomination committee. This member shall then be replaced by a member appointed by the shareholder who, based on voting power following the sale, instead is one of the three largest shareholders in the company. If such shareholder does not utilize its right to appoint a member of the nomination committee, the above described procedure shall be applied.
In the event a member no longer represents the shareholder who appointed him or her, or otherwise resigns from the nomination committee prior to the completion of the nomination committee's work, the shareholder shall be given the opportunity to appoint a new member of the nomination committee.
The nomination committee shall pursue the tasks that, according to the Swedish Corporate Governance Code, are the responsibility of the nomination committee.
Guidelines for remuneration to the executive management (item 16)
The board proposes that the meeting resolves on the following remuneration guidelines for the executive management in Medivir. The guidelines are forward-looking, i.e. they are applicable to remuneration agreed, and amendments to remuneration already agreed, after adoption of the guidelines by the annual general meeting 2020. These guidelines do not apply to any remuneration decided or approved by the general meeting. These guidelines essentially correspond to the guidelines that were adopted by the annual general meeting 2019 but are described in further detail due to new legal requirements.
The guidelines' promotion of Medivir's business strategy, long-term interests and sustainability
Medivir creates shareholder value through the development of innovative pharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer of high unmet medical need, either on its own or in partnership. For more information regarding Medivir's business strategy, please see www.medivir.se.
A prerequisite for the successful implementation of the business strategy and safeguarding of Medivir's long-term interests, including its sustainability, is that Medivir is able to recruit and retain qualified personnel who are working to achieve the maximum amount of shareholder- and customer value. To this end, it is necessary that Medivir offers competitive remuneration. These guidelines enable Medivir to offer the executive management a competitive total remuneration.
Types of remuneration, etc.
The remuneration to the executive management shall be on market terms and may consist of the following components: fixed cash salary, variable cash remuneration, pension benefits and other benefits. Additionally, the general meeting may - irrespective of these guidelines - resolve on, among other things, share-related or share price-related remuneration. The total remuneration to the executive shall comprise a balanced mix of the above-mentioned components and conditions upon notice. The board of directors shall annually evaluate whether share-related or share price-related long-term incentive programs shall be proposed to the general meeting.
The fixed cash salary shall be individual and relate to the relevant person's responsibilities and experience.
The variable cash remuneration may amount to not more than 50 per cent of the total fixed annual cash salary.
For the executive management, pension benefits shall be premium defined unless the individual concerned is subject to defined benefit pension under mandatory collective agreement provisions. Variable cash remuneration shall qualify for pension benefits. The pension premiums for premium defined pension shall amount to not more than 25 per cent of the fixed annual cash salary. Notwithstanding the above, the board of directors is entitled to offer other solutions than the above-mentioned ones, that are equivalent for the company in terms of costs.
Other benefits may include, for example, company car and health services. Such benefits shall be of limited value in relation to other compensation and shall correspond to customary market terms in each geographic market. Other benefits may amount to not more than 15 per cent of the fixed annual cash salary.
A notice period may not exceed six months. Fixed cash salary shall be disbursed during the period of notice. From a starting point, no severance pay, or the equivalent, shall be disbursed.
Criteria for awarding variable cash remuneration, etc.
Variable cash remuneration shall be linked to predetermined and measurable criteria, which can be financial or non-financial, designed to contribute to the company's long-term value creation. The criteria shall relate to the development of the company's projects and the partnerships the company enters into for acceleration of the clinical development and future commercialization, as well as the remuneration (such as upfront fees when the agreement is entered into, milestone payments, remuneration paid during the term of the agreement for a set number of full-time equivalent research positions (FTEs), or royalties) resulting from this development. Furthermore, the criteria shall be designed so as to contribute to Medivir's business strategy and long-term interests, including its sustainability.
The satisfaction of criteria for awarding variable cash remuneration shall be measured over a period of one year. To which extent the criteria for awarding variable cash remuneration has been satisfied shall be determined when the measurement period has ended. The board of directors is responsible for the evaluation concerning the variable remuneration to the executive management. For financial objectives, the evaluation shall be based on the latest financial information made public by the company.
Salary and employment conditions for employees
In the preparation of the board of directors' proposal for these remuneration guidelines, salary and employment conditions for employees of the company have been taken into account by including information on the employees' total income, the components of the remuneration and increase and growth rate over time, in the board of directors' basis of decision when evaluating whether the guidelines and the limitations set out herein are reasonable.
The decision-making process to determine, review and implement the guidelines
The board of directors has not established a remuneration committee. Instead, the board of directors fulfill the tasks incumbent upon such a committee. The committee's tasks include preparing the board of directors' decision to propose guidelines for executive management remuneration. The board of directors shall prepare a proposal for new guidelines at least every fourth year and submit it to the general meeting. The guidelines shall be in force until new guidelines are adopted by the general meeting. A remuneration committee shall also monitor and evaluate programs for variable remuneration for the executive management, the application of the guidelines for executive remuneration as well as the current remuneration structures and compensation levels in the group. The managing director and other members of the executive management do not participate in the board of directors' processing of and resolutions regarding remuneration-related matters in so far as they are affected by such matters.
Derogation from the guidelines
The board of directors may temporarily resolve to derogate from the guidelines, in whole or in part, if in a specific case there is special cause for the derogation and a derogation is necessary to serve Medivir's long-term interests, including its sustainability, or to ensure Medivir's financial viability.
Further information on the executive remuneration is available in Medivir's annual report.
Amendments of the articles of association (item 17)
The board of directors proposes that the annual general meeting, as a result of statutory amendments, resolves to amend the articles of association as follows.
Current wording
Proposed wording
The company's shares shall be registered in a securities register in accordance with the Swedish Financial Instruments (Accounts) Act (SFS 1998:1479).
The company's shares shall be registered in a securities register in accordance with the Swedish Central Securities Depositories and Financial Instruments (Accounts) Act (SFS 1998:1479).
A shareholder that wishes to participate in a general meeting must be recorded in a printout or other transcript of the share ledger as of five weekdays before the meeting, and notify the company of his or her intention to attend the meeting no later than at 4 p.m. on the date stated in the notice of the meeting. Such a date may not be a Sunday, other public holiday, Saturday, Midsummer Eve, Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve and may not occur earlier than the fifth weekday prior to the meeting.A shareholder or a proxy may be accompanied by not more than two advisors at a general meeting only where he or she has given the company notice of the number of advisors in the manner stated in the section above.
Share issue authorization (item 18)
The board proposes that the annual general meeting resolves to authorize to the board, up and until the next annual general meeting, on one or several occasions and with or without pre-emptive rights for shareholders, to resolve on the issue of new shares of series B, comprising a total of not more than 20 per cent of the total number of outstanding shares in the company after the utilization of the authorization. It shall also be possible to make such an issue resolution stipulating in-kind payment, the right to offset debt or other conditions referred to in Chapter 13 Section 5 first paragraph item 6 in the Swedish Companies Act.
The purpose of the authorization is to provide flexibility to the board in its work to ensure that the company can appropriately raise capital for the financing of the business. Issuances of new shares under the authorization shall be made on market terms.
The board's proposal for resolution on the issue of warrants of series 2020:1 (item 19)
The board proposes that the meeting resolves to issue warrants and to approve of transfer of the warrants in accordance with the following.
Issue of warrants
The board proposes that the general meeting resolves to carry out a directed issue of not more than 600,000 warrants, entailing an increase in the share capital of not more than approximately SEK 4,656,511.64 at full subscription. The resolution shall otherwise be governed by the following terms and conditions.
The right to subscribe for the warrants shall, with deviation from the shareholders' pre-emptive rights, be vested in the company's wholly owned subsidiary Medivir Personal AB, 556598-2823 (the "Subsidiary"), with the right and obligation for the Subsidiary to transfer the warrants to employees pursuant to the below. Over-subscription is not possible.
The reasons for the deviation from the shareholders' pre-emptive rights are to stimulate shareholding in the company by virtue of an incentive program through which employees can take part of and contribute to a positive value increase of the company's share during the period of the proposed program, and that the company shall be able to retain and recruit competent and dedicated staff.
The warrants shall be issued at no consideration. Subscription must be completed no later than three weeks after the resolution on issue of warrants. The board shall be entitled to extend the subscription period.
Each warrant entitles a right to subscribe for one share of series B in the company. The warrants may be exercised to subscribe for new series B shares during the period from and including 1 December 2023 up to and including 15 December 2023. The new shares which may be issued due to subscription are not subject to any restrictive provisions.
The subscription price (strike price) shall correspond to 200 per cent of the volume weighted average price of the series B share according the official share list of Nasdaq Stockholm during the period from and including 6 May 2020 up to and including 19 May 2020.
Shares which are newly issued following subscription by virtue of the warrants shall carry an entitlement to participate in dividends for the first time on the next record date for dividends which occurs after subscription for shares by virtue of the utilization of the warrants is effected.
The company may, by means of a board resolution and with the consent from the board of directors in the Subsidiary, cancel the Subsidiary's warrants that are not transferred in accordance with the below or that have been re-purchased from participants. Cancellation shall be registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.
The board of directors, or a person appointed by the board of directors, is authorized to make such minor adjustments to the resolution which may prove necessary in order to register the resolution with the Swedish Companies Registration Office.
Approval of transfer of warrants
The board proposes that the general meeting approves of the Subsidiary's transfer of warrants on the following conditions.
The right to subscribe for share warrants from the Subsidiary shall vest in the following categories of employees:
Maximum number of warrants per person
Maximum number of warrants per category
A. Managing director (not more than 1 person)
B. Other members of the executive management (not more than 4 persons)
C. Other employees (not more than 5 persons)
The right to purchase warrants from the Subsidiary shall only vest in employees who, at the end of the application period, have not terminated their employment, have not had their employment terminated or otherwise have given notice, or been notified, of employment termination.
Warrants may also be offered to future employees. For such acquisitions, the conditions shall be the same or equivalent to what is stated in this resolution. This means, inter alia, that acquisitions shall be made to the market value at the time of the acquisition.
Transfer of warrants to participants is conditional upon it being legally possible to purchase the warrants, and that such transfers can be done using reasonable administrative and financial resources according to the assessment of the board.
Application and allotment
Application for acquisition of warrants shall be made during the period from and including 15 May 2020 up until and including 22 May 2020. The board of the company shall however be entitled to extend the application period for acquisitions and to set a corresponding application period for new employees whose acquisitions are made after the expiration of the initial application period.
Should warrants of a certain category remain with the Subsidiary after all applications within the category have been satisfied, the remaining warrants shall be available for allotment to participants in that same or another category whereby the board shall determine the distribution based on participant category, employment category and the number of warrants applied for. However, such distribution must not result in the maximum amount of warrants per person in a certain category being exceeded by more than 50 per cent.
The board of the company shall determine the final allotment.
Price and payment etc.
The warrants shall be transferred on market terms at a price (premium) established on the basis of a market value of the warrants calculated by an independent valuation institute using the Black & Scholes valuation model. A new market value shall be established in an equivalent way for acquisitions made by new employees after the expiration of the initial application period. The value has preliminary been calculated to be SEK 1.30 per warrant based on a share price of SEK 13.14.
Payment for the allocated warrants shall be made in cash no later than five days following the application for acquisition. The board shall establish a corresponding date of payment for acquisitions made by new employees.
Medivir will partly subsidize the participant's acquisition of warrants. The subsidy shall be paid in connection with the allocation of warrants to the participants. The total subsidy, prior to any payroll tax and including social security contributions on the subsidy, shall correspond to half of the participants' investment. The total cost for the subsidy, based on the above preliminary value of the warrants, is estimated at SEK 1,191,949 including social security contributions, for the entire term of the warrant programme of three years. Accrued payroll taxes due to the bonus shall be paid by each participant.
In order to be eligible for the subsidy, the participant must, at the time of the payment of the bonus, not have terminated its employment, not have been dismissed from its employment, or in any other way, given notice or been notified of employment termination. The participant must also remain employed in the company for three years, the subsidy will otherwise be prorated, and must not have transferred its warrants.
Further information on the warrant program
Upon full exercise of all warrants, 600,000 new shares can be issued, which corresponds to a dilution of approximately 2.41 per cent of the total number of shares and votes in the company, however, subject to any potential adjustment which may occur under the terms and conditions for the warrants. Accordingly, the program offers the employees the possibility to increase their shareholding in the company to the corresponding figure.
Impact of financial ratio and costs for the company etc.
The company's earnings per share are not affected by the issue of the warrants as the present value of the warrants' strike price exceeds the current market value of the share at the date of issue. Since the warrants are transferred to the participants at market value it is not expected that the company will incur any personnel costs. The warrant program may incur certain limited costs in terms of external consulting fees and costs relating to the administration of the warrant program.
Preparation of the matter
The principles of the warrant program have been prepared by the board of the company and are based on the warrant programs adopted by the annual general meetings 2017 and 2018. The board has thereafter decided to submit this proposal to the annual general meeting. Except for the officials who prepared the matter pursuant to instructions from the board, no employee that may be included in the program has taken part in the drafting thereof.
Other share related incentive programs etc.
Except from the current proposal to issue warrants and the warrant programs resolved upon at the annual general meetings 2017 and 2018, the company has no outstanding share related incentive programs. It is the board's intention that the program shall recur annually, albeit in varying sizes.
Authorization for the board of directors
The board proposes that the meeting authorizes the board to execute the resolution in accordance with the above and to ensure that the Subsidiary's board of directors carries out the transfer of the warrants in accordance with the above.
Decision rules
In order for a resolution in accordance with this item to be valid, the resolution must be supported by shareholders representing at least nine-tenths of the votes cast and the shares represented at the general meeting.
The annual report and other supporting documentation for resolutions will be available at the company's offices, Medivir AB, Lunastigen 7, SE-141 22 Huddinge, Sweden, and on www.medivir.se, no later than three weeks prior to the meeting and will be sent to shareholders who so request and provide their postal address. This notice is a translation of a Swedish notice and in case of any deviations between the both language versions, the Swedish version shall prevail.
For information about the processing of your personal data, see the integrity policy that is available at Euroclear's website www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Privacy-notice-bolagsstammor-engelska.pdf. Medivir's AB (publ) corporate registration number is 556238-4361 and its registered office is in Huddinge, Sweden.
Huddinge, April 2020
Medivir AB (publ)
https://news.cision.com/medivir/r/notice-of-annual-general-meeting-of-medivir-ab--publ-,c3082081
https://mb.cision.com/Main/652/3082081/1225022.pdf
Notice of Annual General Meeting (PDF)
Uli Hacksell
CEO, Medivir AB
phone: +46(0)8-5468-3100
View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/notice-of-annual-general-meeting-of-medivir-ab-publ-301035675.html
SOURCE Medivir
- 18 Jan 2021
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