text:
Kill Bill: The Right's Commitment to Murdering Health Care Reform
I had intended to write a series of blog entries on health care reform this summer focusing not only on already well-documented problems within the system and challenging illogical, boogeyman arguments against a public option, but also on issues that haven't received enough—or any—mainstream media attention, like the underinsured and the role doctors play in the rising costs of health care. Though perhaps inevitable, but no less unfortunate, the spate of attacks on reform that erupted during Congress's August recess required those in favor of it to go on the defensive instead, spending time combating misinformation and distortions about public opinion when they should have been touting the progress Congress has made in making reform a real possibility for the first time in decades.
I found myself unwilling, if not unable, to comment on the distractions, partly because it was so downright depressing to me—a reminder of the brief period just after Sarah Palin was announced as the vice presidential candidate for the Republican ticket last fall and before she revealed herself to be a perpetual political punchline. At a Labor Day barbeque, a friend and staunch Barack Obama supporter glibly called me "un-American and un-democratic" for suggesting that hecklers shouting down a congressperson until his or her public forum grinded to a halt is not democracy but the ugly face of corporate-sponsored astroturfing. It's a tactic used to stifle progress and send a message. That message, of course, is "Kill the bill!," a slogan brought to you by the same masterminds who crafted last year's "Drill, baby, drill!" and which was chanted ad nauseam at town halls across the nation during the final week of summer.
The Republican talking point has been to insist that those who showed up at town halls across the country last month were ordinary citizens who are unhappy with the changes they see taking place since Obama took office in January, who don't want him interfering in their presumably cozy relationships with their health insurance providers. They just want to express their concerns, Republican officials will tell you. You know, like Heather Blish, former vice-chairman of the Kewaunee County GOP, who showed up at her former boss's opponent's town hall claiming to be "just a mom with no political affiliation" to protest health care reform.
Many of these people, however, are undoubtedly real, law-abiding citizens, but the groups mobilizing this so-called "grassroots" scare campaign are anything but grassroots. And it wasn't just right-wing commentators or the fringe activists who listen to them who disseminated and continue to disseminate misinformation. "Death panel"—a term so repugnant and dripping with mischaracterization used to describe a part of the proposed reform bill that would reimburse Americans who choose to seek medical advice regarding end-of-life care—was hatched in the sickened brain of right-wing think tank fellow and Cantel Medical Corp. board member Betsy McCaughey and was propagated via Facebook by Palin like a 15-year-old mean girl spreading rumors about the popular new kid in class.
So it came as no surprise when, during Obama's address to a joint session of Congress last night, Republicans behaved exactly like the angry mobs of town hall protesters they encouraged, pandered to, and used like political pawns throughout the recess. By the time I post this, Rep. Joe Wilson will likely have already started making the cable-TV rounds, ratcheting up his public profile in the wake of his outburst of "You lie!" when Obama attempted to debunk the rumor that his health care plan would insure illegal immigrants. It was a moment so profoundly revealing, in terms of both Wilson's willful ignorance and his party's cynicism, that it left no doubt about what the Republican strategy (to kill the bill) and the purpose of that strategy (to score political points against the president) has been. Wilson wasn't the only elected official heckling the president—just the loudest and most red-faced. Whether it's Sen. Jim DeMint expressing his desire to "break" Obama by stopping health care reform, or Sen. Chuck Grassley engaging in negotiations with Democrats under the guise of a bipartisan solution and then perpetuating myths about "killing Grandma" at town hall meetings and vowing not to vote for the very bill he's been tasked with helping to form, the Republican Party's objective has been to stifle any forward momentum.
I often hear the argument by those on the right that calling out this kind of behavior is frivolous because there is bad behavior on both sides of the aisle. And while that might be true, there is simply no parity on the left today. The left hated George W. Bush because he was perceived to be a corrupt warmonger; the right is painting toothbrush 'staches on portraits of Obama because he wants to reform health care. Symbolically dissing the commander in chief by denying him an applause line or twittering away while he speaks in the chamber is nothing new, but there was a palpable outward contempt for Obama last night that's unprecedented in modern political history. And one that, exemplified by right-wing parents yanking their children from school so as to shield them from the president's address to K-though-sixth-graders on Tuesday, reeks of something far more dangerous than old-fashioned partisanship.
The party's opposition to the president (reform in any shape) notwithstanding, Republicans were going to reject any idea that was presented to them simply because it's the nature of our two-party system. One should always ask for more than what they want or are willing to settle for when sitting down at the negotiating table, and the biggest problem with Obama's plan has always been that he conceded too much too soon, pitching the compromise (a public option) instead of a single-payer or Medicare-for-all system that would truly represent the kind of universal coverage that has become a pillar of the Democratic platform. A proposal to further dilute the immediate impact of reform by putting a "trigger" on the public option, meaning that that particular part of the bill would only go into effect if and when the insurance industry failed to meet certain coverage criteria laid out by Congress, was even rejected by Republican Governor and likely 2012 presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty because, he told CNN's John King, it "simply kicks the can down the road," which, like the conflicting GOP talking points that a public option would both provide inferior coverage and simultaneously be too good for private companies to compete against, is essentially an admission that he knows insurance companies—and Republicans—will never step up to the plate.
Obama ended his speech by evoking Ted Kennedy, reading part of a letter the late senator had written following his cancer diagnosis last year and which he asked to be delivered to the president upon his death. Kennedy's words—"What we face is above all a moral issue; at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country"—are the best and clearest articulation of both broad liberal ideology and the necessity of universal health care I've heard to date. Obama's assessment of those words took Kennedy's legacy of proud 20th-century liberalism into a new era: "[Our predecessors] understood that there are instances when the gains in security from government action are not worth the added constraints on our freedom. But they also understood that the danger of too much government is matched by the perils of too little; that without the leavening hand of wise policy, markets can crash, monopolies can stifle competition, and the vulnerable can be exploited. And they knew that when any government measure, no matter how carefully crafted or beneficial, is subject to scorn; when any efforts to help people in need are attacked as un-American; when facts and reason are thrown overboard and only timidity passes for wisdom, and we can no longer even engage in a civil conversation with each other over the things that truly matter—that at that point we don't merely lose our capacity to solve big challenges. We lose something essential about ourselves."
Kind of Blue: Juliette Binoche at BAM
Alexis Tioseco (1981—2009) and Nika Bohinc (1979—2009)
Adam McKay's Vice with Christian Bale and Amy Adams Gets Trailer and Poster
Review: The Final Year
Review: An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
The film follows a young Chinese woman who disguises herself as a warrior in order to spare her ailing father from war.
Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Today, during the Women's World Cup final between America and the Netherlands, Disney premiered the first trailer for its live-action remake of the 1998 animated move of the same name. The film follows a young Chinese woman (Yifei Liu) who, after the Emperor of China (Jet Li) issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial army, disguises herself as a warrior in order to spare the life of her ailing father (Tzi Ma). According to Disney's official description of the film: "Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father."
Mulan features a celebrated international cast that also includes Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan, Yoson An as Cheng Honghui, and Gong Li as Xianniang. The film is directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Elizabeth Martin, and Lauren Hynek based on the narrative poem "The Ballad of Mulan."
See the action-packed teaser trailer below:
Disney will release Mulan in March 2020.
The self-described transfeminine rapper stars in the video from the queen of pop's upcoming album Madame X.
While presenting Madonna with GLAAD's Advocate for Change award last month, Mykki Blanco hinted that a collaboration with the queen of pop might be imminent. Sure enough, the self-described transfeminine rapper stars in the video for "Dark Ballet," the final track to be released in the lead-up to Madonna's new album, Madame X.
Directed by Dutch Ghanaian visual artist Emmanuel Adjei, "Dark Ballet" echoes the themes of Madonna's infamous "Like a Prayer" video, awash with Catholic iconography and a storyline revolving around a persecuted black person. But that's where the similarities end. The singer only briefly appears in the clip, behind a black veil, and the burning crosses of her 1989 video are traded for a ceremonial burning at the stake.
The video is frenetic and non-linear, opening with Blanco held captive in a stonewalled room, wrapped in a dirty white robe. Wrists bound with rope, he's led by clergymen to be executed for an undisclosed crime. He's then seen dancing, first in a cathedral—pleading with the men, who forsake him—and then in the church's sanctuary, dressed in a gold corset reminiscent of the iconic one designed by Jean Paul Gaultier for Madonna's Blond Ambition Tour. Madonna is, in effect, all over the video, but her casting of a queer person of color as the oppressed, rather than herself, spotlights the disproportionate impact of the patriarchy on minorities.
Produced by Madonna and longtime collaborator Mirwais, the song itself is an ambitious electro suite featuring a heavily Auto-Tuned denouncement of gender, lies, and fame, before the track breaks into Tchaikovsky's "Dance of the Reed Pipes" from The Nutcracker accompanied by a robot Joan of Arc proclaiming her faith. (There's a brief, blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot from Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 film The Passion of Joan of Arc near the beginning of the video.) The song is a reminder of the wacky magic Madonna and Mirwais are capable of cooking up together.
Madame X will be released on June 14 via Interscope Records.
It has been a wild ride to the screen for the film, which Gray announced way back in 2016 at the Cannes Film Festival.
Photo: 20th Century Fox
It has been a wild ride to the screen for Ad Astra, which director James Gray announced way back in 2016 at the Cannes Film Festival. Originally it was set to come out in the doldrums of January, then on May 24, but as a trailer had yet to be announced in the leadup to that date, it was inevitable that the release would get bumped again. And it was probably for the best, as a film with the obvious ambition as this one wouldn't get the attention it deserved from its studio—or is it studios?—had it opened in the midst of the confusing Disney-Fox Hollywood merger continuing to play out at that time.
Anyway, today we've been gifted with the official trailer for Ad Astra, and the official announcement that it will be coming out on September 20, which suggests that a world premiere at a fall festival is in order. The film tells the story of an astronaut, Roy McBride (Brad Pitt), who "travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet."
Shot by Oscar-nominated cinematographer Hoyte Van Hoytema (Dunkirk) and scored by post-minimalist composer Max Richter, Ad Astra has been likened by Gray to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, and described as "the most realistic depiction of space travel that's been put in a movie and to basically say, 'Space is awfully hostile to us.'" In addition to Pitt, who's also a producer on the film, Ad Astra stars Tommy Lee Jones, Ruth Negga, Liv Tyler, Donald Sutherland, Jamie Kennedy, John Finn, Kimberly Elise, Bobby Nish, and LisaGay Hamilton.
Watch the official trailer below:
20th Century Fox will release Ad Astra on September 20.
Linda Hamilton at least makes a killer impression as Sarah visits fiery justice upon Gabriel Luna's terminator.
Today, Paramount dropped the trailer for the sixth entry in the Terminator series, Terminator: Dark Fate, which promises to deliver…more of the same? With this film, Deadpool director Tim Miller aims to give the series a reboot: by pretending that none of the films that came after Terminator 2: Judgement Day ever existed (sorry, Rise of the Machines fans), maybe even Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. "Welcome to the day after judgment day," reads the poster, promising the badass return of Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor. And on that front, the film looks to deliver, as Hamilton certainly makes a killer impression as Sarah visits fiery justice upon Gabriel Luna's terminator.
But based on everything else that's on display throughout the trailer, we're worried that there's not anything new that a film in this series stands to bring to the table besides running and gunning, with the occasional wink thrown in for good measure. Cast in point: Mackenzie Davis stars as Grace, an "enhanced human" who looks to fill the hanger-on role to Connor that Edward Furlong's John Connor did to Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800, now apparently living in woodsy retirement, and at the ready to give sage advice. In short, we're not impressed, and that also holds true of that cover of Björk's "Hunter" by some zombie man singer.
Paramount Pictures will release Terminator Dark Fate on November 1.
The Nightingale Trailer: Aisling Franciosi and Sam Claflin Star in Jennifer Kent's Follow-Up to The Babadook
Today, IFC has released the first trailer for the film, which is set during the colonization of Australia in 1825.
Photo: Matt Nettheim
Jennifer Kent's The Nightingale, the Aussie filmmaker's much-anticipated follow-up to The Babadook, premiered way back in September at the Venice Film Festival, and to mostly positive notices. Today, ahead of its U.S. theatrical release in August, IFC has released the first trailer for the film, which is set during the colonization of Australia in 1825 and follows a young Irish convict settler, Clare (played by Aisling Franciosi), who, after finishing her seven-year sentence, struggles to be free of her abusive master, Lieutenant Hawkins (Sam Claflin). According to the studio's official description of the film:
Clare's husband Aidan (Michael Sheasby) retaliates and she becomes the victim of a harrowing crime at the hands of the lieutenant and his cronies. When British authorities fail to deliver justice, Clare decides to pursue Hawkins, who leaves his post suddenly to secure a captaincy up north. Unable to find compatriots for her journey, she is forced to enlist the help of a young Aboriginal tracker Billy (Baykali Ganambarr) who grudgingly takes her through the rugged wilderness to track down Hawkins. The terrain and the prevailing hostilities are frightening, as fighting between the original inhabitants of the land and its colonizers plays out in what is now known as "The Black War." Clare and Billy are hostile towards each other from the outset, both suffering their own traumas and mutual distrust, but as their journey leads them deeper into the wilderness, they must learn to find empathy for one another, while weighing the true cost of revenge.
IFC Films will release The Nightingale in NY and LA on August 2.
Downton Abbey Trailer Sees the Crawley Clan Prepping for a Royal Arrival
Kippers for breakfast, Aunt Helga? Is it St. Swithin's Day already? No, it ain't, dear. 'Tis Downtown Abbey Day.
Photo: Focus Features
Kippers for breakfast, Aunt Helga? Is it St. Swithin's Day already? No, it ain't, dear. 'Tis Downton Abbey Day—that is, the release of the official trailer for the Downton Abbey movie. It's been some three years since we've gotten to sip tea with the Crawley clan and hang out downstairs with the servants making sure that the biscuits are placed just right on the proper fine bone china tea set. And from the looks of the two-and-a-half-minute trailer, it would appear that nothing has changed at Downton Abbey since the series's finale.
In the tradition of Mad Men's episode-ending "next week on AMC's Mad Men" teasers, it's just a series of snappy snippets that suggest we're in for more of the same, from Maggie Smith's Dowager Countess of Grantham snarking up a storm to Robert James-Collier's Thomas Barrow getting his gay on. And we are here for it. The cherry on top? The king and queen are coming to Downton! And as everything must be in tip-top shape for their arrival, the Crawleys must enlist the help of the one and only Charles Carson (Jim Carter), who is treated here with the reverence of a god, or a superhero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Downton Abbey is directed by Michael Engler and written by Oscar- and Emmy-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes. And in addition to the aforementioned actors, the film stars Hugh Bonneville, Laura Carmichael, Brendan Coyle, Michelle Dockery, Kevin Doyle, Joanne Froggatt, Matthew Goode, Harry Hadden-Paton, David Haig, Geraldine James, Simon Jones, Allen Leech, Phyllis Logan, Elizabeth McGovern, Sophie McShera, Tuppence Middleton, Stephen Campbell Moore, Lesley Nicol, Kate Phillips, Imelda Staunton, and Penelope Wilton.
Focus Features will release Downton Abbey on September 20.
Watch the Teaser Trailer for Andy Muschietti's It Chapter Two, Starring Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader
The teaser seems hell-bent on satisfying those who found the first film to be an over-directed succession of freakouts.
Photo: Warner Bros.
Today, Warner Bros. revealed the teaser trailer for It Chapter Two, Andy Muschietti's highly anticipated follow-up to his worldwide box-office smash It. The teaser is certainly promising, if only because it seems hell-bent on satisfying above all else those who might have found the first film to be an over-directed succession of freakouts. Indeed, while the trendy retroism of that film is certainly evident across this teaser's three minutes, there's something rather impressive about how it forces us to spend so much time stewing in the atmosphere of dread that slowly overcomes the adult Beverly (Jessica Chastain) inside an old woman's house as she comes to realize that she and other grown-up members of the Losers Club may not have fully shaken off the horror that is Pennywise.
In addition to Chastain, It Chapter Two stars James McAvoy as Bill, Bill Hader as Richie, Isaiah Mustafa as Mike, Jay Ryan as Ben, James Ransone as Eddie, and Andy Bean as Stanley. Reprising their roles as the original members of the Losers Club are Jaeden Martell as Bill, Wyatt Oleff as Stanley, Jack Dylan Grazer as Eddie, Finn Wolfhard as Richie, Sophia Lillis as Beverly, Chosen Jacobs as Mike, and Jeremy Ray Taylor as Ben. And, of course, there's Bill Skarsgård, who reprises his role of Pennywise.
See the teaser trailer below:
Warner Bros. will release It Chapter Two on September 6.
Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now Final Cut Coming to Theaters in August
The film remains as legendary for its artistry as it is for the difficulty of its making.
Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now is as legendary for its artistry as it is for the difficulty of its making. Some have argued that Coppola became the victim of the film's legend with the 2001 release of Apocalypse Now Redux, a significant re-edit of the original film put together by the director and editor Walter Murch. The two most famous additions made to the original had its naysayers for being flow-breaking: the second meeting with the Playboy playmates, and the meeting with a family of holdout French colonists on a remote rubber plantation. I recommend you read the responses to this tweet from critic Glenn Kenny to get a sense of what we have in store from the new, never-before-seen restored version of the film, entitled Apocalypse Now: Final Cut, coming our way in August.
According to Lionsgate, the film, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday, has been remastered from the original negative in 4K Ultra HD.
The Beacon Theatre will be outfitted for this exclusive occasion with Meyer VLFC (Very Low Frequency Control), a ground-breaking loudspeaker system engineered to output audio frequencies below the limits of human hearing, giving the audience a truly visceral experience. In addition, the film has been enhanced with Dolby Vision, delivering spectacular colors and highlights that are up to 40 times brighter and blacks that are 10 times darker, and Dolby Atmos, producing moving audio that flows all around you with breathtaking realism.
Audiences will be able to experience a special NAGRA myCinema theatrical release of Apocalypse Now Final Cut on the giant screen in select theaters nationwide on August 15. Then, on August 27, the film will be available to own on a 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, which will include a 4K disc, plus three Blu-ray discs and a digital copy.
Watch the trailer for the film below:
Sonic the Hedgehog, Starring Jim Carrey, Gets Weird, Teeth-Forward Trailer
Sonic the Hedgehog and Slant's nine-year relationship has seen its ups and downs.
Sonic the Hedgehog and Slant's nine-year relationship has seen its ups and downs. Outside of a rare rave we extended to Sonic Colors way back in 2010, most of our writers have been mixed about the Sega flagship mascot's output over the last decade, even as they acknowledge the wily speed demon's nostalgic appeal. Per our own Jaime N. Christley: "A free agent with no history, no employment, Sonic has no agenda, except one: run like hell." Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog, though, would appear to want to change that—not by slowing him down but by giving him more of a purpose than just saving a bunch of captive animals at the end of every level and acting all smug about it.
Today, the studio released the trailer for the Jeff Fowler-directed film, a live-action comedy adventure that sees Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) navigating, um, "the complexities of life on Earth" alongside his best human friend, Tom Wachowski (played by James Marsden). That unmistakable ring sound that litters the trailer will surely bring a smile to the faces of Sonic fans young and old, but Sonic the Hedgehog feels like it's going to be a hard sell, given its positioning of Sonic—so full of a sass, not to mention a mouthful of teeth—as a pubescent nuisance. Good luck picking your jaw up from the floor once Sonic takes on Jim Carrey's villainous Dr. Robotnik to the sounds of "Gangsta's Paradise."
For better and worse—okay, just worse—the film looks like it's straight from 1991, the year that the first Sonic the Hedgehog game was released. See the trailer below and cringe for yourself as the blue speed freak gets his Coolio on:
Paramount Pictures will release Sonic the Hedgehog on November 8.


We are looking for an Internal Sales Coordinator, to work for an excellent Lighting Manufacturing and Consultancy company based in the South East.
You will be part of a positive, creative, forward thinking company with a strong and supportive team environment, and which has been going through massive growth over the past few years and with solid plans for this to continue. The design ethos focuses on creating high quality, unique, and beautiful light fittings that can be used to create exciting spaces. Due to this success, the company has been recruiting on many levels and is now looking for a dynamic person who is looking to build their career!
You will be based in the office, assisting both the internal and external sales teams by dealing with customers and clients over the phone. This involves taking incoming calls and emails, following up on projects and completing quotations. As well as providing excellent customer service at all levels, you will be learning about the excellent range of decorative architectural lighting that the business provides, and be fully trained to answer any questions you may need to answer!
The role will involve working on exciting, dynamic projects for high end restaurants and hotels being won by the external sales team, and designed by the in house design team. Your role is vital in ensuring that the sales people can win these projects in the early stages, get samples sent out to the client, and that they are logged in the system accurately so that the business can move efficiently!
Applying candidates must have an enthusiasm and passion for learning, speaking with a variety of different people and being able to resolve issues and needs that may arise. This is a business full of young, hardworking people who always look to support their team, and create high quality, professional, and bespoke products - and want you to feel the same!
This is an exciting opportunity for somebody to develop their long term career within a passionate and successful company - do not hesitate in sending your CV to laura.horne-thomas@panacea-selection.co.uk right away!


PRSA announced the leaders who submitted applications for PRSA National leadership to the 2010 Nominating Committee for review and consideration at its July 30 – Aug. 1 meeting in Chicago.
PRSA members are encouraged to send candidate insights and comments via e-mail to the 2010 Nominating Committee at nomcomm@prsa.org or mail the letter to PRSA, Attn: Nominating Committee, 33 Maiden Lane, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10038. The deadline for submitting comment letters on behalf of candidates is Monday, July 12, 2010.
For more information, please visit the PRSA website.
You are currently browsing the PRSA Midwest District blog archives for June, 2010.


Harrah's Entertainment is respected and renowned for using analytics and data mining throughout its global operations. Armed with current information, and deeper insights into customer patterns and habits, the company develops new services and even finds new markets to innovate and 'future-proof' the business. Sure, it helps that the CEO — Dr. Gary Loveman — is a former professor from Harvard Business School, who often gives conference keynotes on the critical role of real-time data and personalization. Oh, and Harrah's runs dozens of casinos and entertainment facilities if you haven't already given back some of your last paycheck.
Since the late 1990s, Harrah's has relentlessly pursued a goal of "customer monogamy" driven largely thanks to a loyalty program that manages to balance the company's need for details about its facilities, customers and usage levels with the personal privacy and timely incentives to keep clients loyal. In good times that is vital but even more so when the economy softens. Loveman details some of Harrah's innovations powered by knowledge in this video from SmartBrief . One key takeaway is the need for companies to offer unique experiences to engage top customers with challenging and creative options that go far beyond just another 'thank you' when there is so much competition for spending.
One unusual step involves partnerships outside the company – a lesson in cooperation that can work in any industry. Finding complementary partners from local towns, such as services or conveniences in the client's hometown instead of assuming the client will come to you. "No man is an island" and plenty of companies are unaware of complementary products and services they need to deliver – details that might only emerge from carbon-based research, talking to suppliers, buyers, and especially prospects that DON'T choose your company's offerings.
Travel and entertainment are industries where knowledge and timing is critical. Real-time data makes a big difference to avoid an embarrassing discount 'next stay' offer when someone just returned from that same destination and paid more for their room or lost a bundle in the casino.
What are you analyzing to keep clients coming back?


text:
United States Awards $25,000 To Promote Entrepreneurship for Meheba Refugees
By U.S. Mission Zambia
LUSAKA – The U.S. government (through the Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration) has awarded a $25,000 grant to improve livelihood opportunities for refugees and host communities in the Meheba refugee camp. Located in Kalumbila District, North Western Province, the Meheba camp is the largest refugee settlement in Zambia, with approximately 23,700 refugees from Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Somalia – and more than 5,000 skilled workers in need of job opportunities.
This grant, awarded through the Julia Taft Refugee Fund to non-profit organization Caritas Czech Republic Zambia, will enable the organization to leverage its existing expertise and infrastructure to promote linkages with the private sector in developing entrepreneurial skills for refugees and in creating internship and job opportunities that strengthen livelihoods. The project will focus on developing skills in tailoring and other trades and equip beneficiaries with important new skills in marketing and managing a small business.
The Julia Taft Refugee Fund was named in honor of former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration Julia Taft, who worked tirelessly to improve the lives of refugees around the world. The fund supports one-time, low-cost interventions that address important gaps in protection and assistance for refugees and stateless persons.
Julia Taft Refugee Fund, Meheba refugee camp, Press Release

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
American Slavery
American Slavery - Essay Example
It was controversial because many of the white people enslaved black people because they believed that black people were lesser. They convinced the black that working as a slave was one of…
Author: candidolynch
Extract of sample "American Slavery"
Describe the basic aspects of American slavery. Slavery in America was a major challenge or an issue of contention in the 19th century. It was controversial because many of the white people enslaved black people because they believed that black people were lesser. They convinced the black that working as a slave was one of the best they could achieve in life. This contributed to various problems handling the issue. The basics aspect of American slavery was that many Americans were incredibly divided about the idea of slavery.
The North fought towards the abolition of slavery while the Southern economy was in high demand of cheap labor provided by the slaves. In fact, slavery was for economic factors since the English settler required slaves to provide labor in their huge farms. The colonialists continually lured the many laborers to provide labor and sometimes, were forced to compel them to work forcefully (Morgan, 149). For some reasons, many believed that the decreasing populace and the need for a labor force compelled the white people to believe that African slaves were the most effective in provision of labor force.
During the 1680s through to the 17th century, the population of the indentured servants declined and the need for more labor force was required for the huge tobacco plantations. To the farmers or tobacco planters, slavery was the ideal labor because it was cheap was of solving the shortage of labor. Planters had an abundance of land while suffered losses because they lacked laborers. Nonetheless, the status of the slave was predetermined by the material conditions of the slave life. During the early colonial period, both indentured servants and slaves got better treatments than the black slaves. The also belonged to the poorest ranks in the society, thus; they barely enjoyed greater freedoms.
As any of the aspects of the history regarding slavery, the dynamics of urban existence for the enslaved went from one region to another between historical periods. Many colonies such as the Northern colony and low country such as Carolinas began moving from cities to the countryside, thus; focusing more on agricultural production, in the lower valley of Mississippi. For example in the 1763, a quarter of the black populace of Louisiana resided on small tracks in distinct near the city of New Orleans. Nonetheless, the circumstances were to be altered in subsequent periods.
By the year 1800 do you think slavery was growing, or was it in the state of decay some of the Founders had hoped for?
In the late 1700 and 1800, the slavery was beginning its state of decay as some of its founders had hoped. This is justified by the fact that in 1860, roughly 140,000 slaves had abandoned some of the duties and had begun living in the towns and cities throughout the south. For instance in Charleston, South Carolina alone, there were roughly 40,000 was enslaved individuals constituting a third of the city's populace. In fact, a similar number was witnessed in other states such as Alabama, Virginia, Richmond, and Mobile. Many of the planters or slave masters had begun giving the urban enslaved less arduous physical labor. They were given simple jobs in warehouses, cotton presses, shipyards, and brickyards while others were assigned duties as masons, butchers, and tailors (Morgan, 153).
It is evident that in Southern cities, slavery was not a good idea amongst many. In fact, as the slaves worked in the building industries and later became skilled tradesmen. These urban slaves had begun sleeping in the same lodgings as their masters, usually in backroom or in an attic. Many of the wealthy proprietors preferred building a house for the senior slaves such as drivers, cooks, among other servants. The slaves were further subjected to a practice of hiring that made them to have a route to independence in their way of life. Slave owners began renting slaves to others and money raised helped both the slaves and their owners. Above all, solving slaver was a problem because of the predominant factors such as: incapability of many to accept that servitude was a problem, engagements between the North and South, and the frantic state of the slaves. Eventually, all these factors led to the abolition of slavery in America.
Morgan, Edmund S. American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia. New York, NY: Norton, 2003. Print. Read More
African Slavery
American Colonists
American Continent
American Farmers
American Federation
("American Slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words", n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1659881-american-slavery
(American Slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words)
https://studentshare.org/history/1659881-american-slavery.
"American Slavery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 Words", n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1659881-american-slavery.
CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF American Slavery
American Slavery, American Freedom
...?American Slavery, American Freedom Order No. 548442 What distinguished American slavery from previous forms of slavery in world history? What specific led to slavery in North America and what role did racial prejudice play in its creation? 'Give Me Liberty' by Eric Foner, Professor of History, Columbia University, gives us deep insight into specific incidents leading to slavery in America. His book dealing with 19th century America, focusing on slavery, war and reconstruction, has won him great acclaim as a leading contemporary Historian and is extensively used as a History text in the classroom. Professor Foner's central themes revolve around American freedom and he explains how the meaning of freedom changed with the evolvement... of...
Slavery During American Revolution
...Slavery and American Revolution Introduction It is an undeniable fact that the non-European citizens of America encountered long periods of suffering under their perceived superior masters. The first frustration of non-Europeans started immediately after the arrival of Columbus at the Baham Islands occupied by Arawaks. Upon docking in the waters of Baham Islands, the Arawaks provided warm welcomes to the newly arrived visitors whom they accommodated and offered security. Zinn (1) reports that the Arawaks were harmless community who did not how to bear weapons against their transgressors. The Arawaks also provided food, gifts and water to Christopher Columbus and his crew upon arrival in the territories...
Compare and Contrast American Slavery to British Slavery
...practices however; in US slavery was legalized and only abolished after the independence of the country. Common law prohibited the slavery however; Church of England was accused of slavery also because of slaves working in the plantations owned by the Church in West Indies. Bibliography Kolchin, Peter. American Slavery: 1619-1877. London: Penguin Books, 1995. Morgan, Kenneth. Slavery and the British Empire: From Africa to America . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. —. Slavery, Atlantic Trade and the British Economy, 1660-1800. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Oakes, James. Freedom National: The...
The Origins of American Slavery
...The Origins of American Slavery: Freedom and Bondage in the English Colonies by Betty Wood One of the most imperative focuses of scholars of history for several decades has been the relative importance of American slavery in connection with race and economics. Historians have often shown special interest in finding the roots of slavery and the investigative studies to conclude on the causes and impacts of American slavery have been especially fundamental to the general awareness of the establishment of American slavery. In one of the most distinguishing historical investigations into the...
3 Pages(750 words)Book Report/Review
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
American Slavery 1606-1775
...Slavery As is indicated by the importance of foreign aid in the outcome of the Revolutionary War, the United States and those who helped bring it about were strongly dependent upon the products produced by slaves. "They desperately need the assistance of other countries, especially France, and their single most valuable product with which to purchase assistance was tobacco, produced mainly by slave labor."1 This need and dependence seems to indicate that a large reason for slavery in the North American colonies was to produce tradable goods that would purchase the aid and support they required to make themselves free at the expense of someone else's freedom. However, this also...
What were the origins of African-American slavery
...had long started before the 16th century i.e. during the Triangular trade or transatlantic trade, which involved the Americans, Europeans and the Africans. In the transatlantic trade, slave traders delivered slaves captured in war from Africa to work in the South America in exchange for sugar and tobacco. After the first batch of slaves in 1641, the colony of Massachusetts made slavery legal and then Virginia followed suit in the year 1660. Slavery intensified in the 17th and 18th century being enforced further in 1787 when U.S constitution was drafted to prohibit congress from meddling with slave trade before 1808 (Berlin, 2003). After the American Revolution War...
Afro-American slavery
...Did the task system of South Carolina give slaves a better life than the gang system of Virginia and, if so, why? Slavery, as a social phenomenon, has been quite common in America, almost since the establishment of the American civilization in the region. The criteria on which the relationship between the slaves and their masters were based were differentiated across America. An indicative example of this difference is the following case: in South Carolina the above relationship was based on the task system, a system aiming to secure the balance between 'the master's willingness and ability to use power and the slave's desire to shape their own style of life' (Olwell 46). In another region, Virginia, the...
The Hypocrisy of American Slavery
...The Hypocrisy of American Slavery Insert Insert Question Would you argue more and denounce less, would you persuade more and rebuke less, your cause would be much more likely to succeed." (Douglass, 1852) "… for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival." (Douglass, 1852) The first sentence uses straight opposing words that are huge for the case under discussion. The Author put out his heart on the matter with regard to the part the nation is playing on the slavery question. I felt sad that the Author allows the slave mongers to succeed in his speech. The second question is a completely different approach to events concerning slavery....
1 Pages(250 words)Speech or Presentation
Abolition of African American Slavery
...Abolition of African American Slavery African American history mainly focuses on Black Americans as an ethnic group in America. The antislavery movement got a stronger force and support from the Northern America led by Frederick Douglass. Other white supporters that promoted the fight against slavery and discrimination included Harriet Stowe and William Garrison. Various ideologies were also stated in condemning slavery by terming it as a sin and an outdated way of living. The whites were expected to resolve the issue and accommodate the blacks as full members of the American society. Slavery was also...
Let us write or edit the essay on your topic "American Slavery" with a personal 20% discount.
Let us find you another Essay on topic American Slavery for FREE!


text:
Waiting for Godot : A Tragicomedy in Two Acts
Categories: | Contemporary Fiction | | Film Scripts & Screenplays | | Other Performing Arts | | Theatre Studies | | Plays, Playscripts |
Bestsellers Rate: 4750
Publisher: FABER & FABER
Subtitled 'A tragicomedy in two Acts', and famously described by the Irish critic Vivien Mercier as a play in which 'nothing happens, twice', En attendant Godot was first performed at the Theatre de Babylone in Paris in 1953. It was translated into English by Samuel Beckett, and Waiting for Godot opened at the Arts Theatre in London in 1955. 'Go and see Waiting for Godot. At the worst you will discover a curiosity, a four-leaved clover, a black tulip; at the best something that will securely lodge in a corner of your mind for as long as you live.' Harold Hobson, 7 August 1955 'I told him that if by Godot I had meant God I would have said God, and not Godot. This seemed to disappoint him greatly.' Samuel Beckett, 1955
Subtitled 'A tragicomedy in two Acts', and famously described by the Irish critic Vivien Mercier as a play in which 'nothing happens, twice', En attendant Godot was first performed at the Théâtre de Babylone in Paris in 1953. It was translated into English by Samuel Beckett, and Waiting for Godot opened at the Arts Theatre in London in 1955. 'Go and see Waiting for Godot. At the worst you will discover a curiosity, a four-leaved clover, a black tulip; at the best something that will securely lodge in a corner of your mind for as long as you live.' Harold Hobson, 7 August 1955'I told him that if by Godot I had meant God I would have said God, and not Godot. This seemed to disappoint him greatly.' Samuel Beckett, 1955
Samuel Beckett Biography
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. A resident of Paris for most of his adult life, he wrote in both French and English. During the Second World War, Beckett was a member of the French Resistance group Gloria SMH (Réseau Gloria).Beckett's literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic experiences of life, often coupled with black comedy and nonsense. It became increasingly minimalist as his career progressed, involving more aesthetic and linguistic experimentation. He is considered one of the last modernist writers, and one of the key figures in what Martin Esslin called the Theatre of the Absurd.Beckett was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his writing, which—in new forms for the novel and drama—in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation". He was the first person to be elected Saoi of Aosdána in 1984.
Samuel Barclay Beckett was born in the Foxrock suburb of Dublin on 13 April 1906, the son of William Frank Beckett (1871–1933), a quantity surveyor of Huguenot descent, and Maria Jones Roe, a nurse. His parents were both 35 when he was born, and had married in 1901. Beckett had one older brother named Frank Edward (1902–1954). At the age of five, he attended a local playschool in Dublin, where he started to learn music, and then moved to Earlsfort House School near Harcourt Street in Dublin. The Becketts were members of the Church of Ireland; raised as an Anglican, Beckett later became agnostic, a perspective which informed his writing. Beckett's family home, Cooldrinagh, was a large house and garden complete with tennis court built in 1903 by Beckett's father. The house and garden, its surrounding countryside where he often went walking with his father, the nearby Leopardstown Racecourse, the Foxrock railway station, and Harcourt Street station would all feature in his prose and plays. Around 1919 or 1920, he went to Portora Royal School in Enniskillen, which Oscar Wilde had also attended. He left in 1923 and entered Trinity College in Dublin, where he studied modern literature and Romance languages, and received his bachelor's degree in 1927. A natural athlete, he excelled at cricket as a left-handed batsman and a left-arm medium-pace bowler. Later, he played for Dublin University and played two first-class games against Northamptonshire. As a result, he became the only Nobel literature laureate to have played first-class cricket.
Early writings
Beckett studied French, Italian, and English at Trinity College Dublin from 1923 to 1927 (one of his tutors was the Berkeley scholar A. A. Luce, who introduced him to the work of Henri Bergson). He was elected a Scholar in Modern Languages in 1926. Beckett graduated with a BA and, after teaching briefly at Campbell College in Belfast, took up the post of lecteur d'anglais at the École Normale Su ... Read full biography
Authors: Samuel Beckett
Edition Statement: Main
Illustrations: facsimile
Book Weight: 105
Bestsellers in Contemporary Fiction
The Midnight Library
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo : A Novel
Hamnet : WINNER OF THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2020 - THE NO. 1 BESTSELLER
Maggie O'Farrell
Before the Coffee Gets Cold
Toshikazu Kawaguchi Geoffrey Trousselot
The House in the Cerulean Sea
TJ Klune
Shuggie Bain : Winner of the Booker Prize 2020
Girl, Woman, Other : WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE 2019
Circe : The International No. 1 Bestseller - Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019
1984 : The dystopian classic reimagined with cover art by Shepard Fairey


text:
Review Score Policy
Why Did Need for Speed Flop In America?
Need for Speed came out over the weekend and only grossed $17.8 million. Why did Americans choose not to watch the movie?
There are a lot of factors that come into play whether a movie is success or not. With the case for Need for Speed, the genre it falls in made it an uphill battle from the get-go.
Historically, video game movies are a big turn-off to the average movie goer. A normal discussion about video game movies in general usually end up in a negative way. Even gamers themselves shudder about the many useless movies that have been made about their beloved games over the years.
Need for Speed sounded like a good idea on paper since the Fast and Furious franchise is no longer about cars. It was supposed to revive an old genre of movies that existed back in the '60s and '70s. Judging by the response from fans and critics, it looks like the movie failed to capture a wide audience in America.
One of the factors I would like to put out is the fact the movie lacks any huge Hollywood stars. Americans usually love to watch recognizable names on the big screen, and this movie had no star that can be called a household name.
I've noted before in an earlier article that Need for Speed's main star Aaron Paul is not a household name. The man is ONLY famous for his role in Breaking Bad and that's about it. Unlike Bryan Cranston who was Argo and known to many as "Malcom's Dad" in Malcom in the Middle, Aaron Paul never had a second iconic role in his resume.
The Need for Speed cast as a whole is full of relatively unknowns. Apart from Micheal Keaton (who isn't advertised) nobody else in the film is known to a wide audience. I recognized some of the other cast member myself, but they;re not actors I would pay top dollar to see on the big screen. The reason the Fast and Furious movies do so well is because they have an ensemble cast full of lots of charismatic actors. Not to mention they added someone famous as The Rock in the later films too.
Another negative aspect about the Need for Speed movie is that it's too serious. You would think a movie about fast cars would be humorous and not take itself too seriously. Just because a movie is serious, doesn't immediately mean it's good. Nobody wants to see a movie about cars for the story. We just want to see some action.
I also think Americans are still fascinated by super-hero movies. Any other genre of movie has started to lose interest with the American movie audience. Even new films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and/or Sylvester Stallone have flopped at the box office recently. Only The Expendables films have been successful to them because it's an ensemble cast. You could say The Expendables is like a superhero-type movie anyway.
Judging by the lukewarm reception the movie has received and the minimal amount of money that has been received in North America, I doubt Need for Speed will have a sequel. It will be known as yet another video game movie that turned out bad.
Have you seen the movie yet and what were your thoughts on it?
Previous article Titanfall Campaign Can Be Finished Without Doing Anything
Next article Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z Review
Damian Antony Seeto
Game reviewer from New Zealand. Been writing since 2009 and have reviewed hundreds of different games over the years.
Movo VSM-7 Review
Movo UM700 Review
EPOS GSX 300 Review
Aukey Basix Pro PB-WL03 Review
BlitzWolf Tablet Stand (BW-TS2) Review
Hitman 3 – Cloud Version launches January 20
Nioh 2 – Complete Edition 'PC Features' trailer released
New Pokemon Snap For Switch Gets A Release Date
The Medium live-action trailer released
Ubisoft To Make An Open World Star Wars Game
Little Nightmares II gets console demo today
Hogwarts Legacy delayed until 2022
Jan 13th 12:51 PM
Hitman 3 Deluxe Edition unboxing trailer released
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV coming to Switch on April 9


text:
Rock 'n' Roll High School
User Ratings: 14,690
Rock 'n' Roll High School Ratings & Reviews Explanation
Rock 'n' Roll High School Photos
Vince Lombardi High School continues to lose its school principles. The students are more concerned with rock 'n' roll than their education until the new principle, Miss Evelyn Togar is hired. She promises to set Vince Lombardi High School straight, and get the students focus back on education. However, a Ramones concert is coming to town, and Riff Randall, the biggest Ramones fan at the high school, plans on getting tickets to the concert in order to give them a song that she wrote entitled "Rock N' Roll High School". A series of events including Miss Togar taking away Riff's tickets, a record burning and a taking over of the high school by Vince Lombardi High students and the Ramones, leads to a school evacuation by the police and an even more surprising ending!
Joe Dante, Richard Whitley, Joseph McBride, Russ Dvonch
Aug 4, 1979 wide
New World Pictures
P.J. Soles
as Riff Randell
Vincent Van Patten
as Tom Roberts
as Eaglebauer
Dey Young
as Kate Rambeau
as Fritz Hansel
as Evelyn Togar
as Police Chief Klein
Paul Bartel
as Mr. McGree
Alix Elias
as Coach Steroid
Don Steele
as Screamin' Steve Stevens
Daniel Davies
as Fritz Gretel
Lynn Farrell
as Angel Dust
as Himself
Chris Somma
as Shawn
Herb Braha
as Manager
as School Board President
as Cafeteria Lady
Marla Rosenfield
as Chemistry Teacher
Joe Van Sickle
as Cop
Barbara Ann Walters
Terry Soda
as Norma
Ann Chatterton
as (uncredited)
Debbie Evans
John Hateley
Kay Kimler
News & Interviews for Rock 'n' Roll High School
Hit Movie Songs from the 1970s
Five Favorite Films with Roger Corman
Video Exclusive: Jamie Bell talks Hallam Foe, accents and Equus with RT
Critic Reviews for Rock 'n' Roll High School
All Critics (26) | Top Critics (3) | Fresh (21) | Rotten (5)
It's more cleverly cut than shot -- which means that it moves quickly and energetically even as the concepts and characters disintegrate.
Apr 14, 2009 | Full Review…
For all its throwaway humour, this is basically just a pleasant reworking of the kids versus adults rock'n'roll movie format of the '50s.
The pity is that with a bit more care and flair, it could have been a really sweet little movie.
John Rockwell
Thanks to a superb soundtrack, a quip-packed screenplay (my favorite: "Do your parents know you're Ramones?"), and P.J. Soles' boundless energy, it's near-impossible to resist this film's goofy charms.
Nov 30, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
A bonafide love letter to the punk juggernauts that ruled music in the seventies and eighties.
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
casting the Ramones ranks as a real coup
Mar 4, 2011 | Rating: B- | Full Review…
John A. Nesbit
... a pure, cheerfully juvenile blast of blitzkrieg guitar rock, Looney Tunes sight gags, teenage hormones and rebellion against authority because it's there.
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com
Mar 21, 2010 | Full Review…
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
Nothing is taken seriously and nothing should be -- it's only rock 'n' roll.
Apr 14, 2009 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…
A spirited spoof on high school life.
Dec 30, 2006 | Rating: C+ | Full Review…
We may never again see a teen comedy in which a school can explode and the movie can still be considered essentially good-hearted.
It's not like Rock 'N' Roll High School was pioneering brilliant cinema, but it is a brilliant little piece of work within its own framework.
Feb 5, 2006 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…
Audience Reviews for Rock 'n' Roll High School
This film always struck me as an hour and a half promotion for the Ramones without any real meat. It is listed as a comedy without being particularly funny.
John B Super Reviewer
This is one great film that is nonstop fun from start to finish. I was surprised by how much I loved the film. This is one great musical that is funny and well acted. P.J Soles is as usual wonderful, and I find it's a fine departure from her horror career. The film has the famous Punk rock band The Ramones provide the soundtrack and an appearance as well. This is one of the best Cult films that you can see. The film is well written, fun from start to finish and has some great performances. If you're looking for the perfect rock musical, then this is the film to watch. Also Rock 'n' Roll High School delivers the laughs and is a good natured film and is one of the best Teen comedy films of the 1970's. The film's lead actress definitely makes this film what it is. If you're looking for a fun film to watch, then this is the perfect choice. There's never anything boring the film, and it is entertaining from start to finish and it is one of the most enjoyable musicals that I've seen. Director Allan Arkush did a fine job here and with a great at hand, he able to pull off something special and the result is seen on-screen. Simply a well done film that delivers everything you want from a good old fashioned Cult hit. Rock 'n' Roll High School is definitely one of the finest cult films that Roger Corman has produced.
Alex r Super Reviewer
**** out of **** "Rock 'n' Roll High School" is a movie that exists in its own world. Yes, it is a high school movie; but not just a high school movie, and certainly one that's unlike any other you've ever seen. It studies late 1970's youth at arm's length, closes in on certain individuals for deeper insight, and contains plenty of positive message-making in regards to this age group; but it also has exploding rats, creepy make-out sessions with blow-up sex dolls, scenes of freshmen being literally cooked from the shoulders down in a kitchen pot of boiling water, and an ending that involves a high school exploding into flames and ashes. The film, under the keen direction of Allan Arkush, is basically what happens when you take the high school comedy formula and mix it with the absurdity of an exploitation film and the distorted editing of a midnight movie. When you have Roger Corman as the producer, you come to expect such qualities. But still, Arkush has made a film that is somewhat of a sucker punch; you may expect zaniness from a Corman-produced production, but you most likely wouldn't expect...whatever this is. It's nearly indescribable as it is. But that's the appeal of it. There's something going on here that no other high school movie has successfully copied or even came close to understanding. It's all about attitude, style, and the music. At Vince Lombardi High, the principals keep coming and going due to nervous breakdowns, and the students keep partying to the sounds of rock 'n' roll. Perhaps the biggest music buff in the entire school is Riff Randall (P.J. Soles of "Halloween" fame), a girl who absolutely adores The Ramones and can be seen blasting their recordings quite often. But her days of fame such as this are threatened by the arrival of the new principal, a Mrs. Togar (Mary Woronov); who hates rock 'n' roll with a burning passion. She has theorized that it makes students dumber. She argues her case by showing the effects that it has on science class mice. If the volume is too high, they tend to blow up. Just like that, into a puff of smoke. She shows this to the music and gym teachers of the school, and they are unconvinced. But she's not. If anyone is to be caught listening to rock 'n' roll on school grounds, their permanent records will be at stake. The film is messy, all-over-the-place, but not for a single moment dull. There are many sub-plots, and each separate one is amusing in its own way. There's one where Riff's best friend Kate (Dey Young) tries finding young love with a jock named Tom Roberts (Vince Van Patten); although coincidentally they are both searching for the same thing and come to the same man for advice, a quirky fellow named Eaglebauer (Clint Howard). Another big part of the plot concerns Riff's determination to be first in line at the next local concert for The Ramones and personally give one of the band members - preferably her favorite of the three, Joey Ramone - original song lyrics that she has written and wants them to consider working into one of their songs. She camps out in front of the theater for days, and a hilarious scene reveals that she is not the only obsessed fan in town. I remember the first time my dad got me into The Ramones. He had recently bought their "Best Of" compilation album - which is a good one indeed - and I was pretty much hooked from there. "Rock 'n' Roll High School" is damn delightful because it not only features some of the Ramones' best music but also the members playing fictional versions of themselves. I've always found their greatest hits to be profoundly entertaining to listen to, and the film does me one better by providing a visual companion to the music, and a worthy one too. It doesn't play like a music video, but it's a very musical film in the sense that some of the best scenes have music by The Ramones playing over the action on-screen. For many, it will evoke sweet memories; although I'm unsure of how those not familiar with the band going in will feel once they're out. Probably indifferent to the whole thing, really. But then again, the film could serve as a nice introduction to The Ramones and their epic, diverse body of work. I'll hope for the best. Either way, it's definitely worth seeing just to see it; because anything that can be dubbed a "Corman Cult Classic" is probably worth its weight in engagingly outrageous hijinks. This is a film of wicked, consistent humor and flamboyant style. It's definitely one of those "mood movies" - meaning that you really have to be in the moment (if you know what I mean) to truly get the best movie watching effect - but if you're in the particular "mood" that is required; you're almost guaranteed to have a good time. I personally laughed my ass off throughout the picture, and it's hard not to when it keeps bombarding you with such inspired and ridiculous imagery and situations. You want an example? How about a giant, human-sized white lab rat (in reference to the exploding one in that earlier scene) showing up at the Ramones concert that essentials starts off the third act? Or how about the high school music teacher (who we presumed hated rock music) arriving in his regular attire, ready to have a groovy time? I could list off so many things, but I do know that I found myself laughing a lot. You get so entrapped by the film's surreal nature that the only thing you can do is laugh almost maniacally. As a midnight movie, it gives you all you want; sleaze (the spandex gym scene, oh God), sex (albeit awkward and brief pseudo-sex), and surrealism. Arkush seems to direct it with real passion and style. It's not great looking, but it's great sounding and great feeling. I'll bet you it takes an acquired taste to appreciate it in full, but screw it; I'll bite, but only because I truly loved it.
Ryan M Super Reviewer
Since I HATE musicals I expected to hate this movie but it wasn't bad at all.The movie was cheezy but I guess thats what makes it good & the music was great.It actually makes me want to go & check out a Ramones CD since I've never actually listened to their music before except whats played on TV & movies.
Brody M Super Reviewer
Rock 'n' Roll High School Quotes
Riff Randell: Tom Roberts is so boring, his brother is an only child
Riff Randell: Tom Roberts is so boring, his brother is an only child.
Evelyn Togar: Do your parents 'know' your The Ramones?
Riff Randell: I'm a teenage lobotomy
Riff Randell: I'm a teenage lobotomy.


text:
Q: Arduino - Nibble to Integer function erratic results I have the below code, that gives erratic results.
int nibbleToInt(String val) {
  int result;

  if(val.substring(3,4) == "1") { result += 1; }
  if(val.substring(2,3) == "1") { result += 2; }
  if(val.substring(1,2) == "1") { result += 4; }
  if(val.substring(0,1) == "1") { result += 8; }

  return result;
}

I call the function with nibbleToInt("0010"); and it returns 8663
EDIT:
Here is the working program due to the below response:
int nibbleToInt(String val) {
  int result = 0;

  if(val.substring(3,4) == "1") { result += 1; }
  if(val.substring(2,3) == "1") { result += 2; }
  if(val.substring(1,2) == "1") { result += 4; }
  if(val.substring(0,1) == "1") { result += 8; }

  return result;
}

A: If you initialize result you might see different results.  :)  Otherwise (I believe) it will take the existing value in memory each time.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


8:30 AM EST Wednesday, May 3, 2006: Visited a couple of my money managers yesterday -- "hedgies" as my friend Ed calls them. Both are young -- in their thirties. Both are hungry, which means their returns are big, most of the time, and volatile, all the time. But if you want BIG returns, you have to have some money with young managers. You also need to understand that these guys don't understand many of the market's nuances. For example,as your reputation grows and your fund gets larger, taking large positions in small issues gets increasingly dangerous. You can't get out quickly. Your getting out will hurt the stock and you'll suffer. One of my hedgies had a large short position in a small cap stock. When he wanted out, he had to chase the stock up to cover. And the stock rose and rose. He got seriously hurt.
The lesson here is obvious. Choosing a manager is far more than eyeing his stellar track record. It's also understanding his style, his propensity to gamble and his understanding of stockmarket nuances. I'm beginning to favor smart managers who have stumbled. Gives them precious, expensive experience -- hopefully on someone else's watch.
My friend lost $2 million on Rochelle Communications: I lost about $10,000. Most startups don't make it. Most entrepreneurs don't know how to "entrepreneur." The failures are pigheaded and don't listen. The failures lack marketing and sales skills. They honestly believe that customers will flock to their door because they have a better product. My fiend made the fatal mistake of becoming chairman and continuing to dribble his own money into Rochelle over the years. Good money after bad. Stupid!
The worst position you can have is a minority position in a private company. You lack all rights -- even the right to receive financial reports. Entrepreneurs hate dealing with venture capitalists, because VCs negotiate serious rights for themselves -- like the right to fire the founder and get the company some professional management.
First, a bunch of readers said missing splits was common in online accounts. Eventually, things got righted. I gather the key is both patience (there's often a delay of several days) and screaming. I don't know of cases where the extra shares failed to be credited. But I bet, given the absolutely abysmal state of Wall Street computer systems, there have been cases -- and the poor investor simply got screwed. The obvious answer is to set your online account up to send you alerts every time one of your stocks falls more than 15% overnight. Surprise. Surprise. I can't do blanket alerts with Citigroup. I have to do them stock by stock. Which is a gigantic pain.
Second, Citigroup so far hasn't righted my loss. And no one seems to care about my plight. There is talk about the extra shares will land in my account on May 7 when the news shares are "paid,", though why the delay escapes me.
1. Video is moving to the Internet.
2. Video is popular with web sites.
3. Video is popular with viewers.
4. Advertisers love targeted commercials, which the Internet can provide better (and cheaper) than TV networks.
5. ROO has neat technology that allows it to show decent quality videos. For an example, click here.
RGRP is an interesting speculation, if only because of the attention it is getting from Wall Street types. Yesterday's meeting had over 80 people. A year at a similar luncheon it got but a handful.
A solution to the gas crisis?
I hope this photo is real. It's just too wonderful.
The seven year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, "Good morning Alex.""Good morning Pastor," he replied, still focused on the plaque.
"Pastor, what is this?" he asked the pastor.
Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear, asked, "Which service, the 9:45 or the 11:15?"
An elderly couple, Ray and Bessie, are "seniors" in Texas. Ray always wanted a pair of authentic cowboy boots. Seeing some on sale one day, he buys them, wears them home, walking proudly.
He walks into the house and says to his wife: "Notice anything different about me?"
Bessie looks him over: "Nope."
Frustrated Ray storms off into the bathroom, undresses, and walks back into the room completely naked except for the boots.
Again, he asks, a little louder this time, "Notice anything DIFFERENT NOW?"
Bessie looks up and says: "Ray, what's different?! It's hanging down today, it was hanging down yesterday, and it'll be hanging down again tomorrow."
Furious, Ray yells: "AND DO YOU KNOW WHY IT IS HANGING DOWN, BESSIE? IT'S HANGING DOWN BECAUSE IT'S LOOKING AT MY NEW BOOTS!!!!!!!!!"
To which Bessie replies: "Shoulda bought a hat, Ray. Shoulda bought a hat."


text:
The Government Science of Preventing Whistleblowers From Speaking Out
Lucas Dare, Staff Writer
John F. Kennedy was outspoken against the secret government growing behind the curtains of American democracy. In his address to American publishers and the media in 1961, two years prior to his public assassination, he remarked about the nature of secrecy and the dangers of allowing our government to operate without our consent and beyond our knowledge, warning the press to consider the importance of their role in protecting American liberty from the emergence of the Deep State. In essence, JFK was the first major American whistleblower.
"The very word "secrecy" is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths and to secret proceedings." ~John F. Kennedy
Today, as the world hangs on every Wikileaks release, and those coming from Edward Snowden, it is clear that the role of whistleblower in our society is critical to the survival of freedom, and also clear the public demands the truth.
The Science of Destroying Whistleblowers
There is a definitive science to preventing and destroying whistleblowers which includes a continuum of intimidation tactics that are very effective at keeping government employees from going public with information that could be harmful to the state.
Author of From the Company of Shadows, and a decorated former CIA officer and anti-terrorism specialist turned whistleblower, Kevin Shipp, recently spoke in a public awareness event in Northern California on the issues moral people face when confronted with evidence of state corruption. He begins by asking why there are not more whistleblowers in a world where government secrecy and covert activity has become the norm.
"I come from the belly of the best. I was a interviewer, interrogator, I was a counter intelligence agent. I was a polygraph examiner. I was an internal investigator, and on and on and on. So I know this system and I know it well, and then I experienced it personally. Why don't people come out in these secret programs that they know are illegal and unconstitutional? Why don't they come out and blow the whistle and tell people what's going on?" ~Kevin Shipp
Speaking from his personal experience, both as a witness from inside the CIA and as a person who is directly taking the risks associated with exposing government corruption, he reveals his insight into this issue, offering a solid explanation of why more people don't come forward with the truth about our government's unconstitutional and immoral activities.
According to Shipp, there is a complete game plan in play that covers all the bases of intimidation, harrasment and coercion, and as outlined below, here are the main things that prevent more people from becoming speaking out.
1.) Binding Secrecy Agreements
Ninety-nine percent of all would-be whistleblowers are convinced to look the other way by use of binding secrecy agreements as terms for employment or promotion.
Essentially, in order to work for the government in any capacity that would involve one in any of the many unconstitutional programs it operates today, employees must sign binding secrecy agreements where they cannot talk without going to prison for doing so. This type of agreement was originally designed as a way to legitimately protect sources, methods and technology, however the intention has changed dramatically and it is now used broadly as a form of intimidation used to conceal criminal activity.
These agreements are forfeitures of constitutional rights such as the right to a jury trial, the right to sue the government, and all rights to due process.
2.) The Intelligence Community and the State Secrets Privilege
"There is a massive, mammoth, complex secret mechanism in the U.S. Government, it's called the intelligence community. It is so powerful that not even the Congress or the Senate can control it. Matter of fact, it controls them. It does whatever it wants. They have these Senate investigations, and they'll come and they say, 'sorry Senator, we can't tell you what we're doing because you don't have the agency clearance.' And that's where it's shut down." ~Kevin Shipp
By using the state secrets privilege, which was created by the executive branch of the U.S. Government, the intelligence community can prevent and stop any investigation into sensitive issues, it can prevent disclosure of pertinent information in an investigation, and it can stop any lawsuits it wishes to shut down.
"The state secrets privilege (SSP) is a common law privilege that allows the head of an executive department to REFUSE to produce evidence in a court case on the grounds that the evidence is secret information that would harm national security or foreign relation interests if disclosed." [Source]
3.) Direct Personal Intimidation and Harassment
If someone persists on going public with state secrets, or even indicates an intention to do so, there is are a number of tactics that can be applied to embarrass, intimidate, and directly penalize them. This may come in the form of demotion, of giving someone embarrassing or compromising assignments, or by directly intervening in their personal lives in illegal ways such as financially destroying one's family by blocking retirement funds or by raising interest rates on credit union loans so their vehicles and homes become unaffordable.
4.) Psychological Re-Education
This tool is used to officially discredit a potential whistleblower before they actually go public so that if they succeed at drawing attention to an agency their character is already defamed and documented as being unstable.
"What they'll do is they'll say, 'we can see that you're very stressed out by all of this, and we want to help you, so, we're going to refer you to the office of medical services so you can undergo some psychological counseling to help you sleep at night and make you better and get rid of your anxiety, so, we're going to set up an appointment for you to meet with a psychologist.'
Now, where do you suppose that goes? The interview's over, the document is falsified, 'employee is paranoid, obsessive-compulsive, and disgruntled.' That goes in the file, so if it ever does get to the Congress or Senate or court, they pull it out and say, 'well look, he or she went under an evaluation and they're basically unstable, end of story, shut the case down.'" ~Kevin Shipp
5.) Internal Investigation by the Offices of Inspectors General
Inspector generals are presented as an objective and honest safeguard in the bureaucratic process, however this is not always true.
When a significant case is presented with overwhelming evidence is presented against the state, the inspector general for any agency can step in with their own conclusions citing there is no problem nor wrong-doing, and that their internal investigation had not revealed anything. This effectively prevents any outside body from being able to fully examine whistleblower allegations.
"They will destroy you. They'll destroy your career, your finances, destroy your family. They'll take you all the way down as far as they can." ~Kevin Shipp
All in all this creates a culture of fear within all government agencies, effectively silencing dissent before it happens.
We've seen what happened to Bradley Manning who was prosecuted under the espionage act for releasing military documents to Wikileaks. Julian Assange and Edward Snowden have been living for years in exile under the protection of foreign governments for their roles in exposing how the state is violating our constitutional rights. Even at the civil level people who expose state corruption are persecuted beyond common sense as is evidenced in the case of Ramsey Orta, the only person going to jail in relation to the murder of Eric Garner by the NYPD, after he filmed Garner's murder in 2014.
In light of all of this, it is no wonder that more people do not speak out on government programs that violate our natural and civil rights, for it takes tremendous courage and incurs significant risk to do so.
Read more articles by Lucas Dare.
Lucas Dare is a staff writer for Waking Times, where evolution and revolution unite, and for Offgrid Outpost.
This article (The Government Science of Preventing Whistleblowers From Speaking Out) was originally created and published by Waking Times and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Lucas Dare and WakingTimes.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution and author bio.
Asgardia – Open Recruitment for the Breakaway Civilization Begins
Resistance is Fertile: The Art of Having No Masters


Kilaurwen Winery, LLC, is an intergenerational family enterprise. Since 1994, we have grown wine grapes for many of Virginia's finest wineries and still do. In recognition of the family orientation, we named the vineyard, and now winery, after our three daughters--Kimberlee, Laura, and Wendy-- though we really like the Gaelic lilt to the name (part of the family heritage, too). Perhaps it is an overreaction to the "empty nest" syndrome, but we shifted some of the time, love, and attention from our girls to the vineyard. We hope you like and enjoy the results and come by to visit.
Deep garnet in color with a vibrant bouquet of plum & cherry. Well-balanced tannins with dark fruit giving way to a lingering, spicy finish.
This off-dry wine has an intensely rich color with aromas of raspberry & violet, which give way to layered flavors of honey, dark cherry, & raisin. Serve at room temp or chilled. Good Sangria base, too.
A beautiful pale straw color with floral aromas and layers of apricot, honey, white peach, and citrus. Bright acidity with a long, clean, crisp finish.


text:
Q: Unix shell command for uptime monitoring apologies, I'm not a Unix guy, Windows and Powershell is more my area. I need to check the uptime on Linux servers using a shell command that can be invoked from SCOM.
I have been able to get the uptime in seconds back into SCOM using...
cat /proc/uptime | gawk -f ' ' '{print $1}'

However, SCOM does not pick this up as numerical, I think it's treating the returned output as a string.
I'd like a shell command that returns a 0 or 1 if the number of seconds is less than one day (86400).
I've been experimenting with [test -gt] but can't seem to get it working?
thanks

A: Does this work for you?
cat /proc/uptime | gawk '{print ($1>86400)?1:0;}'


I've always loved lip balms- even before my tryst with lip glosses and creams, so I checked out Maybelline's Baby Lips.
Available in Care and Color ranges (in seven cleverly-named flavours), my friend Lincy tried the Mango Pie (Care- Rs 125) and I tried the Cherry Kiss (Colour- Rs 150). Here's our experience with the lip balms.
Are the lip balms as moisturizing as they should be? Yep, they're soothing and my lips feel moisturized immediately after application. I particularly like the smooth, thick texture of the product. And as the product packaging claims, the balm actually does keep my lips moisturized for hours. I only need to apply it once in the morning and it's good enough for rest of the day.
The colour of the Cherry Kiss is a light tinge of pink and almost looks like a lip gloss, but without the heavy-duty shimmer. Unfortunately the flavour is not too potent, with just a slight hint of mango and cherry that lasts barely a few seconds.


text:
Q: How do I print the last 5 fields in awk? I have 10 fields and I want to start from field 5 to field 10 and ignore the first 5 fields. How can I use NF in awk to do that?
f1 f2 f3 f4 f5 f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

I want to show only:
f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

A: You need to loop through the fields:
bash-4.3$ awk '{for(i=6;i<=NF;i++) printf $i" "; print ""}' input_file.txt
f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

Or you can make fields equal to Null string:
bash-4.3$ awk '{for(i=1;i<=5;i++) $i="";print}' input_file.txt
     f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
     c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

Or use substring of the whole line , to print all characters from where field 6 begins (credit to https://stackoverflow.com/a/12900372/3701431):
bash-4.3$ awk '{print substr($0,index($0,$6))}' input_file.txt
f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

or simply use cut command:
bash-4.3$ cut -d " " -f6-10  input_file.txt
f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

Python can do that too:
bash-4.3$ python -c 'import sys;fields=[" ".join(line.strip().split()[5:]) for line in sys.stdin];print "\n".join(fields)' < input_file.txt
f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

or alternatively:
$ python -c "import sys;print '\n'.join(map(lambda x:' '.join(x.split()[5:]),sys.stdin.readlines()))" < input_file.txt
f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

Or with Ruby:
bash-4.3$ ruby -ne 'print $_.split()[5..10].join(" ");print "\n"' < input_file.txt
f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

Bash + xargs can do it too, although a bit more convoluted:
bash-4.3$ cat input_file.txt | xargs -L 1 bash -c 'arr=($@);for i in $(seq 5 10);do printf "%s " ${arr[$i]} ; done; echo' sh
f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

A: Just process the fields of interest.  That will be the last field -4, the last field -3, until the actual last field.
Reading from a file with this content (file.txt):
f1 f2 f3 f4 f5 f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

Run awk on the file as described below.  The line with the $ sign is the command.  The last two lines are the output.
$ awk '{print $(NF-4)" "$(NF-3)" "$(NF-2)" "$(NF-1)" "$NF}' file.txt
f6 f7 f8 f9 f10
c6 c7 c8 c9 c10

Note:  As pointed out by Cyrus in the comment, I removed the bash script and left just the print statement to make it simpler and faster.


Amanda and Jeremy Parton, with their daughters four-year-old Kimsey and 10-year-old Ellie, are a Baptist Children's Homes of North Carolina's (BCH) foster care family.
Amanda and Jeremy Parton, with their daughters four-year-old Kimsey and 10-year-old Ellie, have opened their home to become a Baptist Children's Homes of North Carolina (BCH) foster family. BCH is on track to have 30 foster care homes across North Carolina by the end of 2017 – with hopes for continued expansion in the years ahead.
Currently, they have one foster child living with them.
BCH is building a statewide network of foster care families. The immediate goal is to have 30 BCH foster care homes by the end of 2017.
Amanda Parton says meeting the challenges they face as foster parents is easier with the support of BCH's foster care case managers.
The Partons say they were raised in Baptist churches where they learned about BCH. They were thrilled when they learned BCH was recruiting foster care families.
McCleary says serving children and families through foster family care homes is a way BCH can even better meet the needs of children. He says some children thrive in a setting like Broyhill Home. Other children are served best by living with a foster care family like the Partons. BCH offers both options.
"A smaller foster care home environment with parents, and maybe siblings, can be the perfect setting. Our focus is always what's best for the child," McCleary says.
The Partons both work outside of their home. Jeremy directs Haywood Pathways Center – a nonprofit that serves the homeless, and Amanda is a department chair at South College in Asheville. Their lives are hectic, but both agree that being foster parents helps create balance and reminds them what is important day to day.
"I see homeless people everyday who did not have the support of a Christian home when they were children," Jeremy Parton says.
Children entering foster care range in age from infancy to age 21. The situations they come from can be very diverse. What they all share is a need for a place to call home, a place to belong and people who will love and nurture them.
Applicants must meet the minimum age requirement of 21 years old. There is no upper age limit.
Applicants must have stable income and a home in a North Carolina community within 100 miles of one of the following BCH locations: Kennedy Home in Kinston, Mills Home in Thomasville, or Broyhill Home in Clyde.
Applicants must complete an application, have a mutual home assessment and a criminal background check.
Applicants and family members must meet minimum physical and mental health requirements.
Applicants must complete 30 hours of pre-service training through BCH.
To find out more about becoming a foster family, contact BCH's Bob McCleary at (828) 593-9648 or email him at bmccleary@bchfamily.org. Visit bchfostercare.org for more information.


The growth of electric vehicles, the rise of new technologies and dramatically increasing urban development mean that demand for electricity is facing unprecedented strain. So how will the global energy mix adapt to new pressures over the coming decades?
Global electricity consumption is set to double by 2050, with renewables predicted to take up the majority of the load – accounting for more than 50% of electricity generation by 2035.
Solar photovoltaic (or PV) energy generation often attracts the majority of media attention in the discussion of renewable energy, particularly as most consumers are becoming more and more familiar with the use of solar panels in a domestic context. Yet wind power is playing an increasingly important role. At the end of 2018, global installed wind capacity stood at 591 GW – up 9.6% compared to the end of 2017.
More than 50 GW of new wind capacity has been installed each year since 2014, according to research from the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), with developing regions – such as Latin America, South-East Asia and Africa – acknowledging the value of wind power by delivering 10% of new onshore installations in 2018. For the next four years, until 2023, new installations are set to reach a minimum threshold of 55 GW per year.
According to McKinsey, "many countries will reach a tipping point in the coming five years, where new-build … wind capacity is cost-competitive with the fuel cost of existing conventional plants". These developments are already starting to bear fruit in Africa and the Middle East, where there is now 5.7 GW of installed wind capacity and expectations that that figure will more than double by 2023. Almost 17% of that 5.7 GW (962 MW) was installed onshore in 2018, with Egypt (380 MW), Kenya (310 MW) and Morocco (120 MW) leading the way.
Saudi Arabia's first onshore wind farm is a key part of the country's National Renewable Energy Program, which Abdul Latif Jameel Energy actively supports.
The US$ 500 million Dumat Al Jandal project was awarded by the Renewable Energy Project Development Office (REPDO) at an LCOE of US$ 2.13 per kWh. It is expected to create almost 1,000 jobs and power 70,000 homes.
Similar movements are happening around the world – especially Latin America. In Chile, Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) is developing its first hybrid solar-wind project, combining photovoltaic and wind technologies at a site that will power almost 224,000 homes and cut greenhouse gas emissions by more than 221,000 tons of carbon dioxide. It is also active in Colombia, Peru and Uruguay, and has been assessing opportunities in Argentina.
FRV's South American projects reflect the fact that Latin American wind installations grew by 18.7% in 2018, with Brazil adding 2 GW of capacity amid prices falling to just US$ 22 per MWh. Mexico also installed almost 1 GW in 2018 and expects to have more than a third of its power coming from renewable sources by 2024.
Installed onshore wind capacity also jumped in the Asia-Pacific region, growing by 4.2% in 2018. Described by GWEC as "the leading growth market for the global wind industry", Asia-Pacific is expected to see total onshore installations reach 400 GW by 2023.
In January 2019, Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading Japan took its first tentative steps into Japan's energy market with the launch of two micro wind turbines at Cape Erimo – Japan's 'Wind Town' – in south-east Hokkaido. Working in partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading Japan plans to add further turbines in the coming years. By partnering with Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, it is hoped that progress will quickly be made to develop and scale the project.
"We will build 50 or more units of similar small-scale wind turbines, and from 2019 some much larger capacity units," said Shigeki Enami, President and CEO of Abdul Latif Jameel General Trading Japan.
Through the ongoing and determined efforts of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, and it's subsidiary Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, we are proud to be at the forefront of the clean energy revolution – both wind and solar photovoltaic – around the world.


SAFETY BLOG: BODY PROTECTORS - Are you upto date?
Five reasons why you should consider updating your body protector.
1. It's less likely to meet the latest safety standards & competition requirements.
From 1st January 2018, nearly every organisation will require BETA 2009 (Level 3) certified body protectors.
2. Beyond this age, the high performance materials will degrade and the impact performance cannot be guaranteed.
3. It won't use the late developments that Racesafe have incorporated to make body protectors much more comfortable, lighter & breathable.
4. It's less likely to fit correctly & allow a full range of movement.
5. It may have permanent damage from heavy falls.


Only 41 overs of play were possible on the second day at Pallekele, before rain intervened once again to bring a premature end to play. A charged up Sri Lanka made two quick breakthroughs after lunch to even things up after Brendan Nash and Shivnarine Chanderpaul capitalised on a flat Sri Lankan bowling effort and a comical missed run out opportunity in the morning session. Sri Lanka's resurgence in the nine overs after the break had West Indies at 245 for 5 by the time the heavens opened up.
A maiden century beckoned yet again for Darren Bravo as he began the second morning with the same nonchalant aplomb he had displayed for much of the previous day. Dilhara Fernando overpitched in the second over and Darren eased it casually past cover for four, seeming to have lost none of the form or fluency from his overnight 63. But he was out soon after crossing 50 for the third time in four innings this series. Fernando bent one in, off a full length, to rap Darren on the pads and despite the hasty review, Bravo was dismissed for 68.
While Shivnarine Chanderpaul was circumspect in the early exchanges, Brendan Nash didn't take long to come to grips with the pitch, leaning back to slap Fernando behind point to get off the mark before racking up 1000 Test runs with a clip to the leg side after two more boundaries. The runs kept coming at a decent pace for Nash, as he picked the gaps and dispatched loose deliveries, while Kumar Sangakkara strove for wickets with attacking fields. Nash brought up his eighth Test half-century before lunch and was unbeaten on 62 when the weather intervened.
Chanderpaul eventually found his feet against the spinners, rotating the strike efficiently towards the end of the session and leaving the boundary-hitting to his more fluent partner. He was given lbw by the on-field umpire when he missed a reverse-sweep off Herath on 38, but the review showed the ball to be brushing the glove before it hit the fore-arm guard, and the decision was overturned in his favour. Chanderpaul progressed to his first half-century of the series with a bottom-edged sweep off Herath, but was caught spectacularly at slip soon after. He attempted a late dab off Ajantha Mendis, but Mahela Jayawardene was onto it in a flash. Jayawardene dove to his left and plucked the ball one-handed, centimetres from the turf, ending the stand on 99.
Dwayne Bravo fell in the following over to Herath, who made an immediate impact after being kept out of the attack for 58 overs. He had beaten Dwayne's edge two balls prior, but sucked him in completely with a flighted delivery that dipped and turned. Bravo barely had time to register that he had over-balanced before Prasanna Jayawardene had the bails off.
Suranga Lakmal was consistent in his morning spell, but was rarely threatening. He never strayed far from the channel outside off stump, yet was unable to extract enough movement to worry the batsmen. Angelo Mathews, too, was negotiated without fuss by Nash and Chanderpaul, and Fernando was wayward despite Darren's wicket. The double-strike after lunch had the game finely balanced and the teams will be hoping for better weather over the remainder of the match if there is to be any hope of a result.