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Appareils multifonctions / Imprimantes laser / Systèmes d'archivage / Logiciels et périphériques / Services infonuagiques / Services d'impression gérés
Services de TI
Solutions pour l'industrie
Le milieu de travail de demain
Communiquez avec moi
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Systèmes d'impression couleur numérique / Systèmes d'impression monochrome numérique
Tête à jet d'encre
Tête à jet d'encre (English)
Imagerie médicale (English)
Instruments de mesure (English)
Planétarium (English)
À propos de KONICA MINOLTA
Développement durable (English)
Relations avec les investisseurs (English)
Recherche et développement (English)
Solutions d'affaires Konica Minolta (Canada) Ltée
Integrated Report 2019
from the CFO
Special Topic 1
Workplace Hub
Bio-Healthcare
Discussion on
Integrated Report 2019 Home
Discussion on Corporate Governance
Working to enhance the effectiveness of Konica Minolta's corporate governance
Executive Compensation System
Results and Challenges of the Medium Term Business Plan
Masatoshi Matsuzaki
Profile After serving as a Director at Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc., as President of Konica Minolta Technology Center, Inc., and in various other roles, became a Director, and then the President and CEO of Konica Minolta, Inc. Assumed the position of Chairman of the Board in April 2014.
Kimikazu Noumi
Profile After serving as Senior Managing Executive Trustee at The Norinchukin Bank, as Representative Director and President at Norinchukin Zenkyoren Asset Management Co., Ltd., as Representative Director, Chairman and CEO at Aozora Bank, Ltd., and as Representative Director, President and CEO at Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, among other positions, became an Outside Director at Konica Minolta, Inc. in June 2016.
Mr. Noumi, as Outside Director how do you assess Konica Minolta's governance?
Noumi
I have attended the board meetings of a number of companies. After attending Konica Minolta's, I felt like the Board of Directors has a very high level of effectiveness, based on the thorough discussions and the serious stance of executive management taking part in the meetings. I have also been impressed with Mr. Matsuzaki's efforts as a Chairman to deepen discussions, including calling on Directors to share views based on their own experience and specialization, and asking Executive Officers to provide additional explanations.
Konica Minolta's board meetings are not just a venue for reaching a conclusion, they represent a place for finalizing decisions based on prudent and detailed discussions among attendees including Outside Directors. Meetings tend to last a long time, so we look for people willing to fully commit their time when selecting candidates for Outside Director.
Every year, I evaluate the effectiveness of the Board of Directors. In the case of Konica Minolta, the content of the questionnaire is very serious, and I need to take extra time answering each question. As I review each question for example, "Over the past year, did you provide advice to and carry out supervision of Executive Officers properly?," I'm keenly aware that Konica Minolta is serious about the effectiveness of its corporate governance and that it demands Outside Directors fulfill a critical role in management supervision.
Our annual evaluations of board effectiveness require the precious time of our Directors. Yet, the thorough answers have helped us to identify issues and implement the plan-do-check-action (PDCA) cycle smoothly.
As a company with three committees, Konica Minolta has established a Nominating Committee, Audit Committee and Compensation Committee. These three committees carry out their own in-depth and intense discussions just like the Board of Directors. On occasion, they also spend the money to engage outside institutions to investigate matters when necessary. Generally, I feel Konica Minolta has extremely strong expectations, or a high level commitment, for Outside Directors to fulfill their role.
Why is it that there is just one principle of Japan's Corporate Governance Code that Konica Minolta does not comply with?
Following revisions to Japan's Corporate Governance Code in June 2018, we held an informal gatherings of Directors in August where we discussed our response. Among these talks, a majority of Directors, including myself, felt we did not need to overreach to comply with Principle 2.6 "Roles of Corporate Pension Funds as Asset Owners." But, Executive Officers indicated their strong desire to take this as an opportunity to raise the bar of departments in charge of corporate pension management, so we decided to comply.
Complying in form alone does not carry any meaning. It is worth making the full effort as long as the result will enhance our operational capabilities and strengthen governance.
Konica Minolta explained about the revision dealing with diversity in Principle 4.11 "Preconditions for Board and Kansayaku Board Effectiveness." It has stated that the board should be well balanced in terms of diversity and appropriate size, which I agree with 100%. This particular revision adds the terms gender and international experience to diversity.
Gender and international experience are important conditions for diversity. As for the appropriate size of the board, however, it is extremely difficult to find candidates with the balance of gender and international experience at the same time as securing people with the qualities we require.
Konica Minolta's basic stance is to elect Directors purely based on their qualities, such as experience and specialization; rather than their attributes, such as gender, nationality or country of origin. I decided that I should stand up and clearly explain the reasons for this, instead of bending this basic stance to comply with the principle in form alone.
In June 2019, Sakie T. Fukushima became Konica Minolta's first female Outside Director. Why was she selected over other candidates?
The selection of a new Outside Director candidate first involves discussions by the Nominating Committee about the qualities we are looking for. The term of office of an Outside Director is four years, so we select the right person with the right specialization or experience, given the company's management needs over this time frame. The key point this time around was global talent management. We are in the process of transforming our business portfolio, including digitalization. To achieve this transformation, we need to find talent with advanced expertise and excellent skills not only in Japan, but internationally, who can play an active role.
Ms. Fukushima has many years of professional experience in the global human resources consulting field. This made her the ideal candidate for supervising and advising our efforts to promote globally-minded talent management.
Furthermore, looking ahead, we must pursue work-style reforms and reduce working hours through productivity improvements, and we also need to provide an attractive workplace for our employees by building a work system in tune with the times. I also expect Ms. Fukushima to provide advice regarding these new work-styles. In this manner, as a result of selecting the right person with the right qualities we needed, Ms. Fukushima was chosen as Outside Director. This does not mean that in the future the right person will also be a woman or a foreign national. Consequently, Konica Minolta will continue to explain our stance regarding Principle 4.11.
Nominating Committee documents about the history of board constitution reveal the skills and experience, along with the management challenges, sought after by the company whenever someone was selected as a candidate. This clarifies that selections are not made simply to fulfill a number requirement, but rather to find the right person to serve as a supervisor for Konica Minolta's governance who will contribute to enhancing corporate value.
What qualities need to be added during the selection of Outside Directors in order to further increase the effectiveness of governance?
Konica Minolta is promoting a digital shift and making strategic investments in bio-healthcare as part of its current transformation. Mr. Noumi is providing advice in terms of investment decisions and post-merger integration (PMI), and in the future, once we fully move into the business expansion stage, we will need the support of someone with management experience in the bio-healthcare field.
However, there still are not that many people with management experience in cutting edge fields such as bio-healthcare.
Therefore, we need to expand our target from Japanese to foreign nationals to find the right person for the role. Toward this end, I plan to begin building a pipeline.
By focusing on qualities in the selection process similar to the case of Ms. Fukushima, there is a possibility the Board of Directors will gain members with international experience as a result.
That's right. Also, even when shifting our business portfolio toward digital and bio-healthcare fields, the base is the same—we are still a manufacturing company. Directors serving concurrently as Executive Officer have shared the view during assessments of board effectiveness that we need to add a Director who can thoroughly supervise manufacturing, and I agree with them.
There is growing interest in the executive compensation system as an element related to the effectiveness of governance. What are the features of Konica Minolta's compensation system?
Konica Minolta's current executive compensation system took shape in fiscal 2017 after a series of reforms centered on two points; namely, "increase motivation to improve business performance continuously over the medium to long term" and "keep the level that can secure and retain talent capable of guiding the company's development." The key point is the addition of the "stock bonus linking with medium-term performance" within executive compensation linked to the achievement rate of performance targets set out in the Medium Term Business Plan. In addition, we lowered the percentage of base salary compared to before and increased the amount of performance-based cash bonus for the fiscal year and medium term. At the same time, we eliminated the short-term performance component of compensation for non-executive Directors in favor of base salary and medium-term stock bonus linked to increasing shareholder value over the medium term. Outside Directors only receive base salary.
Thanks to lengthy discussions by the Compensation Committee, I feel like this is now a very positive system that incorporates medium-term incentives.
In addition, the component of annual performance-based cash bonus for Executive Officers involving individual evaluations reflects the progress of each Executive Officer's key measures. The fact that these key measures involve initiatives with non-financial indicators such as environment, social, governance (ESG) speaks to the uniqueness of Konica Minolta's executive compensation system.
What are the basic thoughts behind performance-linked compensation and incentives for Directors?
The Outside Directors of Konica Minolta are of course Independent Directors. We are responsible for supervising business execution; rather than carrying it out. This is why the Compensation Committee unanimously agreed that it would not be appropriate to base Outside Director compensation on business performance evaluations.
Similar to Outside Directors, non-executive Internal Directors do not receive performance-based cash bonus. From a medium-term perspective, however, we introduced stock bonus not linked to performance. While non-executive in nature, Internal Directors are full-time positions. This is why we decided against base salary alone and adopted stock bonus with the condition of having to retain the stock bonus until one year after retirement, knowing that this will increase interest further in our share price, similar to conventional compensation-type stock options.
The Compensation Committee discussed the pros and cons of stock bonus for Outside Directors. Outside Directors, including myself, share their views at board meetings from a shareholder perspective, so we decided that owning the company's shares was not a requirement. I'm aware that many investors have a negative view toward offering performance-based stock bonus to Outside Directors, in particular. Some also believe that Directors should own the company's stock since they are part of the same boat, while others believe that Directors should be independent supervisors without ties to the company's stock. After examining these varying views, we ultimately decided not to adopt stock bonus for Outside Directors. Konica Minolta has an executive's stock ownership plan, which means Outside Directors can own the company's stock through this plan if they so desire.
What are some of the areas concerning the executive compensation system that you will be reviewing in the future?
The topic of international experience in terms of board constitution came up earlier. If the number of foreign nationals on our board increases in the future, determining how to seek consistency between local compensation levels and Konica Minolta's executive compensation level will be a major issue. To secure exceptional talent and cope with headhunting, companies need to offer compensation in excess of that locally. In this case, the compensation of these people could greatly exceed that of Konica Minolta's.
When modifying the executive compensation system in 2017, the Compensation Committee spent a great deal of time investigating and discussing compensation level. Compared to other countries, the gap between executive pay and employee pay in Japan isn't that pronounced. Among executives as well, the gap between pay of top management and second in command isn't as large as other countries.
As Mr. Matsuzaki says, we determined the compensation level holistically based on a detailed investigation of industry practices while considering social norms as well. In terms of the pay of top management and second in command, personally I feel top management's compensation should be higher because they have much larger responsibilities and play a much bigger role.
Konica Minolta's Corporate Organization Basic Regulations state that the Chairman is not an Executive Officer. The president serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) with the sole right to represent the company. Therefore, I feel the compensation level of our president needs to be appropriate now and in the future.
With globalization, I feel that the practices of Japanese companies in terms of their executive compensation system are gradually moving closer to their peers in Europe and North America. Considering social and cultural differences, however, it would not be right to simply Westernize Japan's corporate governance or executive compensation system. The Compensation Committee needs to build a convincing executive compensation system for stakeholders while taking into account these developments.
Konica Minolta is heading into the final year of its Medium Term Business Plan called SHINKA 2019. How do you assess the progress thus far?
Each of our core businesses is performing well, and we are making steady strides toward strengthening profitability, which was an issue. However, we have fallen behind schedule in our new businesses, especially the growth of our bio-healthcare business in the United States, so getting back on track will be a major issue for the future. The plan was to steadily increase results from growth businesses and new businesses during the course of the Medium Term Business Plan and we released business targets expecting these businesses to contribute to the bottom line in the final year of the plan. But, growth has fallen behind, opening up a gap between these figures.
When the Board of Directors approved the Medium Term Business Plan, we discussed the probability of the performance targets for each business and whether there was sufficient grounds for these targets. However, compared to core businesses where we already have a great deal of experience, there are many elements of uncertainty in new businesses. This means that even if there is some substantiation, there tends to be major gaps. It's really difficult to commit in a similar fashion as core businesses to exact figures on when and how much profit new businesses can generate.
How to address this issue became a major topic during the board effectiveness evaluation the other day. Based on board members' views, we decided to increase the frequency of monitoring growth businesses and new businesses, compared to core businesses, as part of our board operation plan for fiscal 2019.
Mr. Noumi, what perspectives do you use to supervise and advise regarding strategic investments in these new businesses?
In my case, I am actively advising our Executive Officer team in the areas of investment decisions from the standpoints of macroeconomics and markets and management such as PMI, based on my experience at financial institutions and funds; rather than get deeply involved in the operational aspects of these businesses. In the bio-healthcare business, our acquisitions of Ambry Genetics and Invicro in fiscal 2017 were some of the largest M&A deals Konica Minolta has ever undertaken, with a combined value of around 100 billion yen. The Board of Directors discussed in detail about whether to undertake these investments or not.
Genetic diagnosis is a very new business domain with a great deal of uncertainty. For this reason, there were many opinions citing questions about the business or concerns about the gravity of investment risks.
Because of the size of the investment and the newness of the segment. It felt like we could lose the entire 100 billion yen if these investments failed. However, both companies have a positive cash flow and other companies were looking to acquire them, so we can just sell them if we are unable to successfully generate synergies. I explained this to the board and provided the advice that the company is not necessarily risking the entire 100 billion yen amount. Ultimately, however, the strong commitment of top management is critical for any investment decision, so I was impressed with how the president strongly lobbied Directors to approve the deals.
Mr. Noumi has been very helpful because his perspective and acumen in corporate investment simply cannot be obtained through experience in corporate management alone.
As Mr. Matsuzaki says, we are behind schedule in our new businesses in the United States. However, as evidenced by the in-depth discussions by the Board of Directors, our strategy to expand into the bio-healthcare field is sound and the core value of these acquisitions can be fully justified by the investment amount. This is why we will patiently and carefully monitor the cash flow timeline.
What perspectives are being used in discussions on the company's next Medium Term Business Plan?
Through the two Medium Term Business Plans TRANSFORM 2016 and SHINKA 2019, Konica Minolta has worked on boldly restructuring and transforming its business portfolio to cope with changes in society and technological innovations. The next Medium Term Business Plan that begins in fiscal 2020 needs to present specific outcomes achieved from our initiatives to date, such as revenue, profits and track record of the genre-top strategy. For example, in terms of new businesses, we should establish a profit model with the full-fledged rollout of Workplace Hub. Although it may take some time to fully expand the bio-healthcare business in Japan, we should present outcomes to stakeholders in an easy-to-understand manner, such as sharing with society the unique value of our own visualization technologies combined with the cutting edge technology and know-how gained from M&A.
I agree. The name and detailed measures of the plan changed, but since I was on the Executive Officer team, Konica Minolta has focused efforts on implementing business strategy and strengthening governance aimed at the consistent goals of sustainable growth and improving medium- to long-term corporate value. We may need to more actively show stakeholders the extent to which Konica Minolta was able to grow based on these initiatives.
Moreover, I feel that in the future sustainability in management will become even more important. In order for a company to endure, it must not only increase revenue and profits, but also boost its return-on-invested-capital. It is also essential to always develop and groom the next generation of executive management with an eye on five and ten years down the line.
As part of the next Medium Term Business Plan, Executive Officer team is now formulating a long-term 10-year vision for the company in 2030. While monitoring the situation, the Board of Directors will discuss any shortcomings the company may have in realizing this 10-year vision and provide advice regarding strategies and measures to implement during the three-year period of the next Medium Term Business Plan.
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Konica Minolta's Strengths 1 Customer base
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For the last few days, something has been constantly bothering me, I suspect I now suffer from a severe case of Japanese-aria, the first symptom being a very pronounced Trend Addiction!! And I am not being paranoid, case in point is I really really wanted a flower headband & life seemed so dull without one, not because I like it, but because I wanted to be part of the underground sub culture of the so – fashionable girls who love to flaunt their flower inspired accessories. The streets of Japan appeared swarmed by these flower wielding sisters, and I kept feeling like a sore thumb sticking out of the crowd – a complete 'non conformista'.
But there is still a little bit of hope left, since I am not always playing the role of a follower. Sometimes, I am a leader, the influencer and this quality manifest especially when I enter a fairly empty shop, on many a occasions I have noticed several others walking in soon, probably following me, trying to figure out my fashion secrets!! So here's a big shout out to all the empty shops in Japan – you know who to contact now if you want to increase footfalls.
I think a lot of stuff is done here just to conform, to be a part of a community, for example Japanese play golf because hey everyone seems to be enjoying playing golf & if you want to go on a holiday then Hawaii is the answer because everyone goes there!! Sometimes I see a long line of people waiting to get in a restaurant during lunch time whereas the restaurant next door is empty!!!
But come to think of it – it does simplify your life up – no need to think, no need to worry or fuss over your plans on what to wear, eat, party or holiday – leave that to somebody else – just follow the trend & hop on to the Trend Addiction wagon.
Now back to me, I wore this outfit to have afternoon tea at a cute little place in Kitahama in Osaka called "Kitahama Retro". They have a cute retro decor with mint details and fancy teacups . It is fairly busy so reservation is required. I opted for afternoon tea set complete with cakes, tea and sandwiches. And why did I choose afternoon tea?? Well because everyone is doing it and it's trendy, why else???
so gorg and so haute in pink!!! xO!


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James J McNulty
Name James McNulty
James J McNulty|Funeral Service Video Tribute|Willoughby Hills, Ohio
James J. McNulty was C.E.O. of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange from 2000 to 2004. He administered the Exchange's transition through demutualization to a publicly traded firm. His initial contract was not renewed by the Board, which had voted out the then Chairman who supported McNulty. Prior to assuming the positions of President and C.E.O. of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, McNulty had 30 years experience in global financial markets. McNulty received a B.A. in liberal arts from the University of Illinois, Chicago and an M.A. in Anglo-Irish studies from University College, Dublin. In 2007, McNulty was inducted into the Future Industry Associations Future's Hall of Fame. McNulty joined the Board of Directors of NYSE Group, Inc. in 2005. Since 2008, he has been the Chairman of the Board of Directors of NYSE Liffe.
James J. McNulty Wikipedia
Similar TopicsDeath of a Gunfighter
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


"If you have kids, you probably know this already, but lots of stuff needs batteries. Remote control toys, Wii remotes, laser pointers (well, that is for me), flash lights, even Nerf guns. For me, I have found the best place to pick up batteries is at one of these "dollar" stores. Sure the batteries are cheaper, but are they any good? Who knows. Let's find out."
Like any person that likes electronics, I tend to go through a lot of batteries. From remote controls, to cordless mice and keyboards to cameras. While many of these toys use rechargeable batteries, some even custom ones, I find myself using a steady supply of AA and AAA batteries. Yes, I know there are rechargeable batteries in those sizes like Eneloops and even regular NiMH, but they involve a high upfront cost, something that is not always feasible. For those of us who still find use for disposable batteries, Wired has a good review. An update has been added noting that the store-branded batteries tested were of the "heavy duty" type and not alkalines that the premium brands sell. If you buy disposable batteries, be aware of this. Heavy Duty and Super Heavy Duty batteries are not the same as Alkalines, and will always offer less power. While they may suit for very light use, like remote controls, if the device is something that needs more power, like a flashlight, or a smoke detector, you will want something with some degree of staying power.


Our ratchet straps are the perfect tool to secure heavy cargo or equipment.
The 3 ton double "J" hook ratchet is makes transportation easier, and reduces the risk of the transit damage.
Once we have received your order, we will individually shrink wrap the product and dispatch it for delivery the next working day.
If you are a customer based outside the UK, please contact us to discuss delivery.
To speak to a member of the Webex customer service team, you can call 01772 431 908 or email info@webexsupply.co.uk.


This tour is a perfect introduction to Nepal while staying at the best hotels available in the country. You have time to explore Kathmandu, Pokhara, Namo Buddha, Dhulikel and Bandipur and take the Everest flight.
Everest mountain flight always takes off early in the morning to maximise your chances of getting clear views of the mountains before cloud build up later in the day. This normally means a pick up from your hotel around 5.30am and once through the busy domestic terminal you should be airborne by 6.30am.
Later in the morning you are driven by private vehicle to Bandipur. This small town is located on a ridge above the Kathmandu to Pokhara road and has superb views of the Himalayan peaks to the north (Annapurna, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu and Ganesh Himal).
Bandipur has been considerately developed for tourists whereby some of the old houses have been carefully converted to hotels and there are thankfully few concrete buildings like elsewhere in Nepal. Compared to the hustle and bustle of Kathmandu Bandipur is very peaceful place as vehicles are not allowed into the main square. Overnight at Hotel (Meals: B).
After breakfast you will continue your drive to Pokhara Overnight hotel (Meals: B).
It is worth waking early to see the mountain views that at their best in the morning. After breakfast you have the option to take a boat trip across Phewa Lake and walk up to World Peace Stupa overlooking Pokhara with superb views of Annapurna mountain range. Overnight at hotel (Meals: B).
After breakfast, you will be driven to Lumbini airport for the flight back to Kathmandu. On arrival there is a short drive to Namo Buddha on the rim of the Kathmandu valley where there is a superb mountain panorama from the wonderful Namo Buddha.
Today you have the option to walk to Dhulikhel or to drive by car. If you decide to walk the trail takes you through traditional villages with mountain views. Overnight at Hotel(Meals: B,D).
Half board at Dwarikas Dhulikhel and bed & breakfast only at all other hotels.
Lunch at Dwarikas Dhulikhel plus lunch and evening meals in Kathmandu, Bandipur, Pokhara, Namo Buddha and Dhulikel.


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1030 W. Chicago Ave.
1030 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60642
mixed use building in River west
Number of Units: 3
Size: 25,000 square feet
Acquisition Date: 1996
Baum received the 1999 Chicago Association of Realtors Good Neighbor Award for Best Commercial New Construction: 1030 W. Chicago Avenue & 745 N. Milwaukee Avenue
When First Bank, successor to National Security Bank, relocated from 1030 W. Chicago Avenue in 1996, neighbors were concerned the commercial district would become desolate.
We redeveloped the vacant building from a single user bank to a mixed-use, multi-tenant retail and office building. By aggressively marketing the property, we were able to lease 100% of it within 24 months. The original tenants included Marriott, Kinko's, and Nationwide Insurance. These tenants not only provided a newfound vibrancy to the neighborhood, but much-needed jobs as well. Baum even moved its own corporate headquarters to occupy 9,000 square feet of the building.
1030 W. Chicago is a three-story hexagonal building at the corner of a heavily trafficked River West intersection. The six-way intersection is a hub for various public transportation outlets, which include the Chicago Blue Line "L" stop, multiple bus lines, and Divvy bikes. We continued to develop the retail community around 1030 W. Chicago, constructing two single tenant buildings at 745 N. Milwaukee Avenue, formerly a vacant lot. The buildings are currently leased to notable tenants U.S. Bank and CVS. We have completed six additional projects within one block of this busy intersection to further enhance the neighborhood and serve as a hub for additional growth.
Upon completion in September of 1997, Chicago Alderman Walter Burnett along with the River West Neighborhood Association and local residents and retailers joined together to praise Baum for the new commercial district calling it a key component to River West's growth and economic prosperity.


Coloring Page, Spiderman 3 Printable Coloring Pages was posted May 28, 2017 at 5:40 pm by hoofard.us . More over Spiderman 3 Printable Coloring Pages has viewed by 4349 visitor.
Coloring Page, Printable Spiderman 3 Coloring Pages was posted March 2, 2017 at 4:42 pm by hoofard.us . More over Printable Spiderman 3 Coloring Pages has viewed by 4466 visitor.


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Ethics Hero: Black Swan Books Owner Nick Cooke
The "A Nation of Assholes" scenario is in full sway when an entire side of the ideological divide attacks the owner of a public accommodation for insisting that his customers are not harassed and abused. That is a fair description of the fall-out from the recent episode at Richmond's Black Swan Books, where the owner behaved like the owner of the Red Hen restaurant should have behaved: like an American, like a supporter of diversity of view, like a believer in our political system, like a foe of bias and discrimination.
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Nick Cooke, owner of Black Swan Books on West Main Street in the Fan District, said Bannon was in the bookstore Saturday afternoon and that a woman confronted him, calling him a "piece of trash." Cooke said he called 911 and that the woman left as he made the call.
"Steve Bannon was simply standing, looking at books, minding his own business. I asked her to leave, and she wouldn't. And I said, 'I'm going to call the police if you don't,' and I went to call the police and she left," Cooke said. "And that's the end of the story."
The Richmond Police Department confirmed a call was made around 3:15 p.m. Saturday for a report of someone yelling at a political figure in the bookstore and that the call was canceled before any officers responded.
"We are a bookshop. Bookshops are all about ideas and tolerating different opinions and not about verbally assaulting somebody, which is what was happening," Cooke said.
But it was not the end of the story, because so many Democrats and progressives have taken a dangerous turn to totalitarianism and the tactics of Lenin and the Nazi Party, seeking to harass and abuse those with whom they disagree. The antifa is no longer on the far fringes of the Left: it is creeping toward the center, or perhaps the better metaphor is that the Left is creeping toward it, and I do mean creep. These are awful people, as I've said before. Not because of their beliefs, but because of their conduct. Unable to produce the political dominance that they thought had been assured with the election of Barack Obama, frustrated progressives are increasingly abandoning the values and processes of a constitutional democracy to resort to political and social warfare. The attempt to exclude conservatives and Republicans from the basic rights of citizenship, such as being able to walk down a street, shop, or have dinner without being accosted and hectored, represents an escalation, and is signature significance for an ideological movement that has forsworn ethics for the pursuit of power.
( And yes, I personally think Steve Bannon is also an awful person. As is President Trump. As are Maxine Waters, Chuck Schumer, Mitch McConnell, Joy Reid, Michael Cohen, Charles M. Blow, Barry Bonds, Stephen Colbert, Howard Stern, Joe Arpaio, Omarosa, Anthony Scaramucci, Harry Reid, Scott Pruitt, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton. There are many millions of arguably awful people, all well short of being criminals, in this country, and every one of them has the right to live his or her life unmolested when they are not being overtly awful. Any political party that takes the position that this statement is not true should be disqualified from holding power.)
Speaking of awful people, Philippe Reines, a top aide in Hillary Clinton's Presidential campaign, tweeted out the contact information for the bookstore on Sunday afternoon, in effect doxxing her and siccing the social media mob and the Maxine Waters Brigade on the book store and its owner. Typical of the illogic employed by the self-righteous harassers was this tweet:
Woman: Steve Bannon, you're a piece of trash!
Bookstore Owner: We are a bookstore! We tolerate different ideas!
Also Bookstore Owner: *calls police on woman to have her removed because she expressed her different ideas*
No, you lying moron, the owner called the police because the woman was harassing his customers. Presumably Nick would have called the police on Bannon if the former Trump aide had been harassing her.
Black Swan Books is the anti-Old Town Sport&Health Club, which I wrote about as an Ethics Dunce here.
In that 2017 fiasco, a Georgetown professor named Fair, ironically enough, harassed white nationalist Richard Spencer while he was quietly working out, no Heil! gestures or anything, and the club revoked his membership.
(Remember: awful people. Do NOT let them get power.)
I wrote—and I'm sorry for such a long self-quote, but I think I wrote it well the first time:
I'm so weary of reading about restaurants that give discounts to diners who pray, and bar owners who declare that no Democrats are welcome and Maine propane dealers who tell their customers that they can freeze to death if they voted for Donald Trump. I'm tired of pointing out what should be obvious to everyone in a pluralistic society, but suddenly isn't, particularly, it seems, to proto-totalitarians like the Georgetown professor, who is doubtless hard at work indoctrinating her young charges into believing that those with non-conforming views should have their rights taken away for the greater good. I detest Spencer's views, but I consider Fair and her kind the far greater threat to the nation, in part because there are so many of them.
Why? She is a greater threat because her version of society doesn't work, and soon devolves into armed camps. As I wrote in a post called, "Americans: End This Slippery Slope Now, Before It's Too Late," about a Washington, D.C. restaurant that publicly apologized for letting an alt-right group to eat there,
I know, I know: Neo-Nazis are really bad. Yet I don't want my freedom to participate in life and society to be limited by someone else's judgments about my beliefs or politics. Listen to the rhetoric from angry Clinton supporters since the election. If you want to enforce immigration laws, you hate Latinos. If you think the unborn deserve rights, you are a misogynist. If you voted for Trump, you are a blight on humanity. Thanks to the rhetoric of Black Lives Matters and the tacit approval of some well-placed politicians, police officers have been refused service in various establishments… The argument that this group or that group is special and doesn't deserve the same courtesy and service as other groups is simply a rationalization born of bias, like… the position that the Vice President Elect, alone among all the millions of audience members who are allowed to attend theatrical performances as part of the community, ought to be subjected to personal harassment based on his political beliefs.
If we, as a culture, approve of this abusive treatment of the alt-right, then we are approving similar treatment when the group being discriminated against is the Democratic Party, the ACLU, a mosque, the Shriners, the Boy Scouts, NARAL, or a newspaper editorial board. Rights mean nothing if the most unpopular, most controversial, most offensive individuals and organizations cannot exercise them….This is a slippery slope that leads right to the end of the principles and liberties that make the United States an ethical nation, and perhaps a nation at all.
Well, since I wrote that, self-righteous, proto-totalitarian progressives and "the resistance" have been greasing that slippery slope.
The Richmond bookstore owner's effort isn't enough by itself, but at least he demonstrated how to throw sand on it.
Presenting: The Reverse Hanlon's Razor, "Nalnah's Razor" [UPDATED]
March 13, 2018 March 13, 2018 / Jack Marshall	/ 42 Comments
Sometimes you have to presume malice.
In item #1 of the March 11 Warm-Up, I wrote about Steve Bannon's intentionally-misread statement to French nationalists, saying in part,
"…What Bannon was obviously saying —and I do mean obviously—is "Don't let their reflex race-baiting and demonizing tactics discourage you or deter you. Calling sensible immigration laws "xenophobic" is a desperate lie. Calling it racist is a lie. Calling it nativist is a lie. Recognize that their tactics mean you are winning the argument. Be proud, not intimidated."
My friend, frequent critic and former Ethics Alarms blogger of the year Windypundit responded,
"It's not a lie, it's an opinion. An opinion that Bannon and his supporters and you are free to reject. But still an opinion."
This gave me pause.
If it is an opinion, it is a really stupid opinion. If one wants to argue that immigration laws are xenophobic, racist or nativist, then fine: make the case. The case can't be made, of course. Borderless nations are not nations. From the collapse of the Roman Empire, to the white European take-over of North America, to the cultural upheavals and violence facing Europe now, history's lessons are not ambiguous. A nation that does not protect its sovereignty and manage its population and demographics is doomed. Not knowing this is ignorant. Not comprehending it is stupid. Publicly denying it for political gain is dishonest.
Hanlon's Razor is typically quoted as, "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity." Should the razor be applied to the Left's increasingly shrill and repetitive catcalls that those wanting to enforce the laws against illegal immigration are doing so because they are xenophobic, racist, and nativist?
No, it shouldn't, because those promoting the use of those terms are not stupid nor ignorant. They are cynical, and they are using the fallacy of the appeal to emotion while wielding the cognitive dissonance scale unethically. Set up the proponents of the rule of law as universal negatives like racists, xenophobes and nativists—bigots, in other words, and whatever they oppose rises on the scale, and whatever they embrace falls. The labeling, however, is false, and intentionally so. Immigration law, the rule of law, borders and sovereignty have nothing to do with racism, xenophobia, or nativism. They are all independent, well-established aspects of responsible governance. Absent more, accusing advocates of these basic tools of being motivated by bigotry is indefensible, and inexplicable absent stupidity, ignorance, or malice. Continue reading →
Sunday Morning Ethics Warm-Up, 3/11/2018: Baseball, Bannon, and Chaos
1 Great. Now I have to defend Steve Bannon. What greeted me this morning, as I surfed the Sunday news shows, Diogenes-like, searching for an honest journalist, but the sight of Steve Bannon in France, addressing the far-right National Front party yesterday and saying, speaking of the party's effort to stem unrestrained immigration, particularly from Muslim countries, "Let them call you racist. Let them call you xenophobes. Let them call you nativists. Wear it as a badge of honor." On every channel, this was interpreted as if Bannon was endorsing racism, xenophobia and nativism. Naturally this was then reflected on Trump as part of the "Trump is a racist" Big Lie that Democrats and the news media push virtually every day.
Bannon has certainly made testaments at other times that raise a rebuttable presumption that he is a racist, but this wasn't one of them, and the fact that so many journalists would intentionally represent the statement to the public as if it was tells us either that they can't be trusted to analyze news events, or that they can be trusted to spin them to advance an anti-Trump narrative even when it defies language and reality. From NBC in a typical fake history description: "Bannon's appearance in France was part of a European tour as he seeks an international platform for his closed-borders, anti-foreigner message that helped Donald Trump win the U.S. presidency." Trump did not advocate "closed borders," nor was his platform "anti-foriegner." That was the dishonest characterization of "America should enforce its immigration laws" by Democrats and the allied news media.
The words Bannon referenced have been part of the ongoing efforts to silence and demonize legitimate positions that oppose progressive cant, such as condemning rather than welcoming illegal immigration. What Bannon was obviously saying —and I do mean obviously—is "Don't let their reflex race-baiting and demonizing tactics discourage you or deter you. Calling sensible immigration laws "xenophobic" is a desperate lie. Calling it racist is a lie. Calling it nativist is a lie. Recognize that their tactics mean you are winning the argument. Be proud, not intimidated."
The fact that many of those he was addressing may be racists, xenophobes and nativists doesn't change the meaning of what Bannon said. The news media's job is to report, not read minds.
I could imagine making the same kind of statement to a colleague who has been savaged as a racist on Facebook for opposing affirmative action, or attacked as a sexist for questioning #MeToo tactics, or called a "Trump apologist" (or a Bannon apologist) for demanding fair and honest treatment from the media for politicians regardless of who they are. "Be proud that they are stooping to name-calling. It means they can't rebut you on the merits."
Oh: Bannon also said, "History is on our side." This really upset the "journalists," because everyone knows that history is on their side. Continue reading →
Morning Ethics Warm-Up, 1/11/2018: "Clean-Up On Ethics Aisle 10!" Edition
January 11, 2018 January 11, 2018 / Jack Marshall	/ 28 Comments
1 "And the survey says…! The results of the polls in yesterday's 1/10 warm-up (so far) are..
Chris Christie is the leader in the "most hubris" poll, with 38.53% of the vote, but its pretty close. I'm pretty sure "All of them" would be leading if I had included it.
(I voted for Steve Bannon.)
50% voted that journalist interviewers should be trained to recognize and flag invalid rationalizations.
A solid second was the choice, "They couldn't do it objectively," at 43%
By a 2-1 ratio over either of the other choices, over 50% believe that Plan E, the 25th Amendment removal plot, should be thoroughly discredited but the news media won't let it go.
2. I also worry about Bobby Darin…Yesterday's lament about declining cultural literacy and how movie artists that we should remember for our society's enlightenment, perspective and inspiration are increasingly falling into a dark memory hole is relevant to a current development on Broadway: "The Bobby Darin Story" will kick off the new "Lyrics" season from January. 20 to 22, with rising star Jonathan Groff as Darin. Bobby Darin, one of my favorite performers and an unusually versatile and eclectic one, died before he was 40 and just barely hangs on in the culture now, thanks to his classic recording of "Mack the Knife." (Also this month, the jukebox musical about Darin, "Dream Lover," opened in Sydney.) Everything about Darin has been unlucky, his bad fortune culminating in the weird 2004 biopic that starred Kevin Spacey as Bobby. The movie was a bomb, and Spacey's ugly fall guarantees that the film will be seen by future generations about as often as Annette in"Muscle Beach Party." As the Cary Grant post noted, sometimes all it takes is a vivid reference to rescue a lost life of note.
Darin's own lost life is itself an ethics thought experiment. He knew at a young age that he was not going to live long, because he had an irreparably damaged heart. His response was to be furiously creative and to live life at a mad and reckless pace. The new show's director says, "He lived a gritty, driven life. He hurt people along the way and people hurt him." Continue reading →
Morning Ethics Warm-Up, 1/10/2018: All Poll Edition [Updated and Corrected]
Good Morning, everybody.
1 The ancient Greeks in my family were pleased. Yesterday could be used in public schools to teach the concept of hubris. I doubt that public schools teach concepts like hubris, unfortunately. (I doubt that most public school teachers could explain hubris.) For in a single day..
We saw Steve Bannon dismissed from his kingdom, right-wing propaganda organ Breitbart.
We learned that Joe Arpaaio, who is only not facing prison time because of a generous pardon frm President Trump, and who lost his latest election for sheriff, and who is 85-years-old, announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Arizona.
NJ Governor Chris Christie gave his farewell address, celebrating himself. Earlier this week he said that he would be President today if not for Donald Trump.
2. "What's done is done." Yesterday, a Democratic mouthpiece who sounded like Kristin Chenoweth on speed (looked like her too) was confronted with videotapes of the last two Democratic Presidents swearing that they were committed to strengthening the borders and enforcing immigration laws. "We are a nation of immigrants," intoned Bill Clinton. "We are also a nation of laws."
"What's done is done," blathered 'Kristin.'
This is the unethical rationalization known on the Ethics Alarms list as #51 . The Underwood Maneuver, or "That's in the past": Continue reading →
Morning Ethics Warm-Up, 1/4/2018: A Frivolous Lawsuit, An Unscripted Actress, A Lesson In Assuming, And Fake News
January 4, 2018 January 4, 2018 / Jack Marshall	/ 20 Comments
1 On feminist integrity. The reader poll on the post about the interesting silence of US women's rights organizations and their component feminists as their Iranian sisters protest oppression in Iran has already had more participation that the last four Ethics Alarms polls combined. Why is that? In more news related to that post, some determined spinners here claimed that the feminists have been burning up the blogs and websites with supportive essays and blog posts, so the radio silence is a myth. No, THAT was a myth: there is nothing on those sites, or if there is, it didn't surface when I checked Ms., Jezebel, NOW and four prominent blogs. (Update: Reader Humble Talent has checked two more. Also nothing.)
Please don't make up stuff or assume facts you haven't checked when you don't want to accept reality, friends. It's not fair, and it's not ethical debating practice. Because I trust and respect the commenter in question, I just assumed she was right, because I assumed she had checked. No, it appears she had assumed, and was not right. And you know what Felix Unger proved happens when you assume..
2. This is why they give actors scripts. I enjoy actress Meryl Streep as an artist, but for me she is fast entering Alec Baldwin territory, a performer whose personal character deficits are becoming so overpowering that even her undeniable talent can't make watching the performer on screen endurable. Streep is in a deep hole she keeps digging. Being a Harvey Weinstein acolyte and beneficiary for years (and a Roman Polanski apologist), she is denying culpability as an enabler of his serial sexual predation because, she says, she didn't know. Almost nobody finds her denial credible. Yesterday the Times published a joint interview with Streep and her "The Post" co-star, Tom Hanks. Told by the interviewer that in light of the doubts about what she knew, the public wants to hear more from her, she responded,
"I don't want to hear about the silence of me. I want to hear about the silence of Melania Trump. I want to hear from her. She has so much that's valuable to say. And so does Ivanka. I want her to speak now."
Streep locks up the 2018 Whataboutism of the Year title with that one, along with adding a ridiculous sentence into my personal collection of statements that deserve note because they had never been said before in the history of the English language. I started my collection decades ago at a family Thanksgiving dinner, when my sister said, "You know, the fish looks so good, I think I'll wear my bra on my head." And a collection was born.
"I don't want to hear about the silence of me" has an elegant simplicity about it. In addition to being a strange sentiment, Streep also misses the whole concept of an interview—surprising, since she has done so many of them. See, Meryl, these questions are about what the public wants to hear about, not what you want to hear about. Was that really unclear to you until now? This was not an open invitation to announce all the things you'd like to hear about that have absolutely nothing to do with Harvey Weinstein. This is "Look! Squirrel!" carried to a demented extreme. Streep revealed herself as seriously Trump Deranged, as she thinks that the way out of every personal crisis is to declare, "But what about TRUMP????"
Looks like I won't be watching "The River Wild" again. Pity. (I won't watch "The Dear Hunter" again either, but then you never could have made me watch that thing a second time, not under torture or extortion.)
3. Now THIS is a frivolous law suit. From CNN:
Ethics Observations On The Steve Bannon-President Trump Blow-Up
Excerpts from his new book revealed that journalist Michael Wolff extracted some highly inflammatory quotes from ex-White House aide Steve Bannon, who criticized his former boss, members of his family, and White House colleagues. In an unusually well-written, if unrestrained, response, the President used a rhetorical blowtorch on his former ally, writing,
"Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my Presidency. When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind. Steve pretends to be at war with the media, which he calls the opposition party, yet he spent his time at the White House leaking false information to the media to make himself seem far more important than he was. It is the only thing he does well. Steve was rarely in a one-on-one meeting with me and only pretends to have had influence to fool a few people with no access and no clue, whom he helped write phony books."
Once again, we have the unforgivable spectacle of a once highly placed member of an administration team betraying trust to vent, to get publicity, to settle scores, or to cash in. It's not whistle-blowing, and its not in the public interest. It hurts the current President and future Presidents, by making a breach of loyalty and confidentiality that was once unimaginable routine. David Stockman, Reagan's bitter budget director, started this trend with a tell-all book after his star fell to earth, and now every Presidential appointee is a potential Judas. If any of these creeps were ethical, professionals or patriots, they would wait until the administration they had worked for were out of power and in the rear-view mirror, and ideally, way, way in the rear view mirror, like a decade or more. Better yet, they would take the secrets they were entrusted with to the grave.
But what's the fun in that? More to the point, where's the money in it? Ten years from now, Steve Bannon will be the answer to a trivia question. Continue reading →
The Lesson Of Berkeley's "Free Speech Week" Fiasco: Jerks Make Terrible Champions And Martyrs
September 23, 2017 September 23, 2017 / Jack Marshall	/ 12 Comments
Conservative agitator/ campus troll Milo Yiannopoulos's Free Speech Week in Berkeley, California was advertised as a major event, bringing some of the most Left-reviled conservative speakers and rabble-rousers together for four straight days of speeches and events on a campus that has repeatedly disgraced itself by being hostile to speech its primarily progressive denizens consider "hate speech."
The University of California was taking elaborate measures to avoid the violence that protesters there and at other campuses have brought to appearances by many of the featured speakers. It was rumored that as much as $600,000 would be spent on security. The prospect of the rhetoric of such professional provocateurs as Yiannopoulosas, Steve Bannon and Ann Coulter, to name the best known, echoing around the school where it was least welcome promised an instant cultural touch-point, like a right-wing Woodstock, while challenging leftists and ideological censors to reveal their ugly, totalitarian sides.
But by the end of the week, many were predicting that the event was a mirage. Speakers whose names had been promoted on preliminary schedules either pulled out, denied they had been contacted or said they were never planning to go. The campus publication sponsoring Yiannopoulos's circus, The Berkeley Patriot, never reserved indoor school venues. Yiannopoulos kept up the pretense, announcing on Instagram a planned march through campus tomorrow in protest of Berkeley's hostility to free speech. "It's time to reclaim free speech at UC Berkeley and send shockwaves through the American education system to every other college under liberal tyranny," Yiannopoulos wrote.
Today, the day before the "Week" was to begin, UC Berkeley announced that 'Free Speech Week' was officially cancelled, saying,
"Representatives of the Berkeley Patriot student organization have informed UC Berkeley's administration that all of the events scheduled for the coming week have been canceled. It is extremely unfortunate that this announcement was made at the last minute, even as the university was in the process of spending significant sums of money and preparing for substantial disruption of campus life in order to provide the needed security for these events."
Now there is mass confusion, with strong indications that the event was a sham from the start. Lucian Wintrich, one of the planned speakers, e-mailed Cal spokesman Dan Mogulof this morning, to say that the event had been a set-up from the start. "It was known that they didn't intend to actually go through with it last week, and completely decided on Wednesday," Wintrich wrote.
"Wait, whoah, hold on a second," replied Mogulof. "What, exactly, are you saying? What were you told by MILO Inc? Was it a set-up from the get-go?"
Wintrich replied, "Yes."
An account of the chaos and miscommunications surrounding the event published by The Atlantic yesterday certainly made this development seem probable. Milo, as late as this afternoon, insisted that the intention was always to hold a real week of speeches. He has as much credibility as someone who makes his living creating controversies and infuriating his ideological foes deserves to have: none.
What's going on here? Continue reading →
That Settles It: Time To Clean House At UC Berkeley
An unacceptable percentage of the University of California at Berkeley are more committed to ideological indoctrination and political conformity that they are to American values and education. They need to be cleared out, as do their compatriots in other universities. They pose an existential threat to our democracy, and cannot be entrusted with the education of young minds, which should involve opening, not closing them.
The letter posted by 200 Berkeley faculty members calls for a boycott of all classes and a shutdown of the campus because on "Free speech day," three conservative speakers will dare to express their blasphemy in a progressive stronghold. The Horror.
In addition to being a per se violation of the principles of a liberal arts education, the duty to give students exposure to as many ideas and views as possible, academic freedom and freedom of expression, the letter is intellectually dishonest. There is no organization known as "alt-right"; it is a description used to marginalize and discredit all conservatives by lumping them in with extremists, racists, white supremacists and neo-fascists. It's a popular and effective tactic these days on the Left, similar to the Southern Poverty Law Center's unethical tactic of designating churches that oppose same-sex marriage "hate groups" alongside the KKK. Ann Coulter, one of the conservative speakers who apparently maims with her words, is just a conservative, albeit an especially obnoxious and cynical one. Yet this execrable letter cites as proof that she and her fellow speakers are dangerous a cherry-picked list of isolated and unrelated incidents, none of which are connected to a single group. The exact same technique could be used, and has been used, to argue that all Muslims are dangerous. Moreover, the faculty is implying that those who would listen to Ann Coulter, Steve Bannon, and the professional conservative troll Milo Yiannppoulis, including students, are too dangerous to co-exist with "good students." Why? It's not because one crazy ran his car into a crowd in Charlottesville. It's because the faculty members believe extreme conservative ideas are too "dangerous" to allow to be expressed.
I wouldn't move from my dining room to my living room to hear any of those speakers. Calling them dangerous, however, is an excuse to silence them and intimidate others. Continue reading →
Good Morning, Ethics Alarms Readers!!!!
1. I am so aggravated, offended and frankly frightened over how the Charlottesville politically-correct spin has been injected into the public's brain by the familiar unholy alliance of the free speech-hostile left, the Soviet-emulating historical air-brushers, cowardly scholars and, of course, our impulsive and inarticulate President, that it is difficult for me to focus on anything else. As Billy Bigalow sings in "Carousel," though, "I'll try, by God, I'll try…"
2. Wolf Blitzer actually asked, on the air, whether the Barcelona terror attack was inspired by James Field's homicide-by-auto in Charlottesville. I swear, this isn't a Charlottesville commentary but a "How incredibly stupid does a journalist have to be before the public and his employers send him off to work at a bait shop?" commentary. Is this some sinister effort to blame Robert E. Lee for terrorism in Barcelona? There have been eight jihadi car-ramming terror attacks this year alone! Why in the world would a Spanish terrorist look to James Field's for inspiration? Why would Wolf Blitzer even ask such a blitheringly idiotic question? How can we respect of trust major news media when it can behave like this?
As Ann Althouse wrote last week about a Washington Post story:
This is the kind of newspaper article I'm looking for, detailing what happened in Charlottesville, and I wish I felt more confidence that The Washington Post would tell it straight. Maybe this is straight, but how can I know? What trust has been shot to hell in the last few years of journalism! I'm still reading this, because it's the closest I've come to the kind of careful report I want.
For me, once a major network anchor displays the utter stupidity (or contempt for the intelligence of its viewers) that Wolf's speculation constitutes, I have enough information to never trust that news source….not that I didn't already have sufficient justification for that conclusion.
3. I have come to the conclusion that all polls are inherently misleading, and those who cite poll results to justify or condemn policy decisions or initiatives are themselves untrustworthy. First of all, the polls reflect apples, oranges, mangos and walnuts but treat them as if they are the same. When a majority of the public, for example, disapproves of Congress according to a poll, what does that mean? It means that some who disapprove do so because Congress is too conservative, while others regard it as not conservative enough. Since the two components of that disapproval diametrically oppose each other's standards, the poll provides no genuine guidance or illumination. Such polls are also misleading because there is no way of knowing how many of those polled are informed regarding the issues and legislative matters beyond reading headlines or watching Stephen Colbert. I don't care what ignorant people think about things they haven't bothered to think about, and neither should the news media or elected officials. All polls should include the category, "I really haven't studied this issue enough to have anything but a gut-level opinion." "Don't know/No opinion" is not the same thing. Continue reading →


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text:
Mavericks F Christian Wood (thumb) out at least 1 week
Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Dallas Mavericks forward Christian Wood is expected to be sidelined at least one week while nursing a fracture of his left thumb, the team announced Thursday.
Wood sustained the injury during the second quarter of Dallas' 130-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. The setback was the third in a row and fifth in six games for the Mavericks.
Wood, 27, is averaging 18.4 points, 8.4 rebounds and a team-leading 1.3 blocks in 42 games this season.
He has posted averages of 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.9 blocks in 264 career games (139 starts) with seven different NBA teams.


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text:
Kels & Tess From Squirm
myths about sex and doing it "right"
where do people who have sex, or want to have sex, go to learn about real life sex and dating?
Sex ed taught me about pregnancy and STDs. Relevant, but radically incomplete. Sitting in class, watching a slideshow of oozing bumps and rashes, my seventh grade self was not being prepared to face the world of sexual negotiation, boundary-setting, or pleasure advocacy.
And it wasn't just sex ed. Movies, news, comments from adults about midriff-baring shirts and "girls who give the milk away for free," the information I got about sex was piecemeal and retrograde. As a result, I internalized a lot of false narratives and damaging myths related to Doing Sex Right.
By having conversations about sex—by talking about what we need and desire—we actively dismantle the silence that feeds sexual stigma and shame.
Once I did start having sex, I believed that to Do Sex Right, I should be with someone who loved me and who was committed to me. I should be very loud right away, and I should be able to orgasm from penetration alone every time. The guy's erection was the most important thing in the room—the absolute worst thing would be to lose it. Keep the dick happy! I told myself. Act like you're having a lot of fun! Often, I was having fun, but I wasn't feeling much pleasure in my body. I was up in my head, bookkeeping and worrying. He did this to me so I should probably do that next, and what if I am not wet enough—will he believe that I'm turned on? How long has he been going down on me? Am I taking too long to cum? I was so concerned with whether I was Doing It Right and Keeping Him Happy that I only experienced a fraction of the pleasure I could have been enjoying. There is a lot of sex from my twenties that I can't remember because I was disconnected from the actual physical sensations in my body.
It was easy to feel like I was performing sex for someone rather than sharing an experience with someone. Sometimes I just felt small. Small is no way to feel during sex, unless it's some kinky game with Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson. In which case, sign me up.
I knew there was more to sex than this, so I started talking to more people, reading books, exploring, watching porn. Sex is everywhere. Yet we are so rarely encouraged to engage with sexuality in an open, curious, nonjudgemental way. Call me sex-obsessed, but I implore you to name a more fascinating subject! Nothing else includes such a wide spectrum of pleasure and pain.
Sex isn't just about humping. It's about feeling alive through intimacy. And offering ourselves permission to feel complicated and changing desires that don't fit neatly in a box.
We all feel fear of shame and rejection, and that fear can often lead us to bury our words deep inside, opting for silence and passivity over vulnerable self-expression. By having conversations about sex—by talking about what we need and desire—we actively dismantle the silence that feeds sexual stigma and shame.
Squirm is here to help you face the awkwardness of sex with humor, compassion, and tangible tools. Thanks for being curious enough to make it this far. See you in squirmland.
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Home » Daily Briefing » Daily briefing - 29 March 2019
Daily briefing - 29 March 2019
By Ronan Lynch - 29th March 2019 9:42am
Brexit was once meant to happen today, 29 March 2019, but as we've written consistently, the English parliament is tearing itself apart, and giving the impression that lunatics have taken over the asylum. There may indeed be some kind of vote today, but almost everyone in the UK has given up hope of making any sense of what's actually happening now. Here's an English journalist quoting a Government minister's response to a question about why Theresa May is pushing for a vote that she knows she will lose again: "F*ck knows. I'm past caring. It's like the living dead in here."
Tim Sloan is retiring as chief executive of Wells Fargo (according to Wells Fargo). "In a press release, the bank today (March 28) announced that Sloan, who took the top job in Oct. 2016, would be retiring," reports QZ. "Allen Parker, the bank's general counsel, is to step in as its interim CEO and president until a permanent replacement can be found." That doesn't look like a well-planned succession. Other outlets suggest he is "suddenly stepping down". At Lafferty News, it looks pretty much that Sloan was pushed out, and not just because of the legacy of scams and scandals. "About damn time," tweeted Elizabeth Warren, who has been on to Wells Fargo since the days it still pretended to be a big wholesome bank. Wells has been lagging its competitors for the last couple of years. Sloan's departure caps a week of movement on the personnel front: Swedbank chief executive Birgitte Bonneson was dramatically fired as the Baltic money laundering scandal widens. Will Mr Sloan exit with a big bag of cash? "By the way, getting fired shouldn't be the end of the story for Tim Sloan," Warren continued. "He shouldn't get a golden parachute. He should be investigated by the SEC and the DOJ for his role in all the Wells Fargo scams. And if he's guilty of any crimes, he should be put in jail like anyone else." We await the reaction of Warren Buffett.
Huawei, the world's biggest telco manufacturer, announced a 25 percent rise in its calender-year profits, served up with two fingers to the US. "The US government has a loser's attitude," said rotating chairman Guo Ping. "They want to smear Huawei because they can't compete with us." Indeed. We've two or three fascinating stories about China for you to dig into, starting with the commercial cycles of modern China. There's always a newcomer. PayPal was born just twenty years ago. Alibaba is 20 years old next week. Stripe isn't even ten. From outside China, Alibaba looks unassailable. But inside China, there are up-and-coming competitors who would happily eat Alibaba's lunch. Among those is Meituan, the challenger delivery service which currently makes 20 million deliveries a day. Meituan's chief executive Wang is a blunt speaker, ready to criticise Jack Ma, who has assumed demigod status inside China and out. As Bloomberg reports: "I still think he has an integrity problem," says Wang, adding that Ma did lasting damage to the global reputation of China's business leaders by spinning off digital-payments subsidiary Alipay without the approval of Alibaba's board. The incident happened in 2011, which may make it ancient history to most people--but not to Wang. "They tried to lie about that. They even tried to say the Chinese government forced them to do that. That was wrong," he says. "I think the impact of that incident is still underestimated." Follow that Bloomberg story with another excellent long read on China's relationship with milk, and how long-term food security is part of the reason for the Belt and Road initiative.
In the markets of Lagos, Chinese traders now work and live with the locals. Locally, there's some indignation as western governments, particularly the incumbent US regime, warns Africa against Chinese investment. The FT this week has a long read (paywalled) about Chinese expansion in Africa, which points out that despite the alarmist calls for monitoring Chinese state involvement in Africa, ninety percent of Chinese investment into Africa is from private businesses. "Yet large companies such as Huawei, and big state-affiliated companies, such as China Bridge and Road, are not the only Chinese actors reshaping the continent. What officials in Washington may not fully understand is that thousands of hardscrabble entrepreneurs like Mr Wu, involved in everything from retail and factories to farming, are having just as big an impact."
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Inspector Gadget (Matthew Broderick) is hysterical, not to say hysterically funny. The hero of Disney's live-action version of the '80s cartoon series literally can't contain himself. Ostensibly designed as a gentle Robocop, he is made of gadgets that are mostly frivolous accessories, many of which produce some sort of liquid or goo and threaten to erupt without warning. And if this weren't embarrassing enough, he wears his heart on his hat.
a technology-driven world. Aiding him in these efforts is the Gadgetmobile, with a voice that might as well have been supplied by Jar Jar Binks, but more jive-talking hep cat than Steppin Fetchit.
a sound effect, the film itself is slightly hysterical. It ignores narrative— or any other sort of— logic; much of its humor is derived from references to pop culture and numerous brand names. Kids today appreciate a good joke about merchandising tie-ins as much as they do scatological humor. Inspector Gadget suggests that the two might be closer than we'd thought.


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Home » Resources » Emergency Appeals » Restoring Dignity
Restoring Dignity
RESPONSES TO THE CRITICAL NEEDS OF VULNERABLE PALESTINE REFUGEES IN LEBANON 2012 – 2016
In light of the findings presented in the AUB/UNRWA survey, UNRWA Lebanon has redesigned its programmes to better identify and address the needs of the poorest among the Palestine refugee population. With the linkages highlighted between poverty, education, chronic illness, employment and shelter conditions, the Agency has been able to redefine its criteria for beneficiary selection to make sure that the most vulnerable refugees are assisted. These targeted interventions will help to make the greatest impact to alleviate poverty among Palestinians in Lebanon while simultaneously contributing to greater peace and stability within the country.
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European Union Shows Support for the Futures of Young Palestine Refugees in Lebanon
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The King Salman's Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSrelief) and UNRWA signed a US$ 1.5...
Japan Announces A New Contribution to UNRWA in Lebanon
The Japanese Embassy and UNRWA held a ceremony in Beirut to announce a US$ 6.08 million...
A Journey Into the Lives of Palestinian Refugees from Syria in Lebanon
The European Union Madad project published the work of 10 Palestine refugee students aged 15-17...
Youth Strategic Framework for Palestine Refugees in Lebanon
In 2017, UNRWA with support from UNICEF planned to strengthen its support to young Palestine...
2017 Lebanon Emergency Appeal Mid-Year Achievements
Despite various constraints and operational challenges, most often resulting from violent...