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Re-Live Jim Valvano's Inspiring, Classic ESPY Speech
The ESPY Awards honor the best in the world of sports year after year, but its most defining moment may have occurred during the inaugural ceremony.
Back on March 3, 1993, Jim Valvano gave a speech that lives on to this very day when he accepted the Arthur Ashe Courage Award. Battling cancer that had ravaged his body and would ultimately kill him nearly eight weeks later, the former North Carolina State basketball coach delivered a stirring, emotional and sometimes humorous speech that remains one of the most well-known speeches in sports history. It contains the now-famous line in which he implores, "Don't give up. Don't ever give up."
Valvano created the V Foundation to help raise money for cancer research.
Categories: AC, Country, Hot AC, News, Rhythmic, Rock, Sports


This recipe for a Monte Cristo sandwich will have you craving them morning, noon, and night. It's an easy twist on the basic ham and cheese combination, and oh so very satisfying. Plus, it's the perfect place for leftover ham.
When you have leftover ham, you make sandwiches. At least we do. And not just any sandwich, a Monte Cristo. Yeah. That's what I'm talking about.
If you've never enjoyed a Monte Cristo, well, we've got to change that. What is a Monte Cristo you say? Basically it's just the best ham and cheese sandwich ever! And it's so cosmopolitan-ish sounding too.
A variation of the Croque-monsieur, the Monte Cristo is made with ham, cheese, a bit of mustard, and mayonnaise, then it's dipped in egg, and cooked just like french toast. Say whaaat?!? Yep, no joke. It's kind of crazy, isn't it? Crazy town is what it is. We're walking on the wild side with this sandwich, people.
The Monte Cristo isn't just for lunch or dinner either. Talk about a great breakfast sandwich. Sometimes the Monte Cristo is served with preserves and topped with a dusting of powdered sugar, so I think breakfast is totally appropriate, don't you? We also enjoy these sandwiches with a small bit of honey. This sandwich really does make the most perfect savory and sweet combination with a just a bit of sweet added.
Of course, this sandwich is on the decadent side, so it's not an all-the-time sort of thing. But if you are planning a brunch, or have leftover ham in need of a job, give this Monte Cristo a try. I think you'll be glad you did.
Ham and cheese never looked so good. Try this easy Monte Cristo Sandwich for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
Originally published January 9, 2014.
These sandwiches look really delicious!!!
What has run onto the plate in the forefront of the main picture?
It's a bit of honey. I think honey is such a great compliment to ham.
I thought that might be what it was. Love your blog and thanks for responding so quickly. Looks yummy!
Ummmm… Your recipe looks delicious! But you can't call it a Monte Cristo. A proper Monte Cristo is made with Turkey, Ham, Swiss, and then dipped in egg and cooked like the french toast you mentioned. So give yourself two thumbs up for your delectable creativity, and give your sandwich a new name.
Hello, Krista. From what I've learned, the original Monte Cristo was made with ham and swiss, then battered with egg and pan fried or even deep fried. Some variations I've seen include turkey, chicken and even bacon. So, I will not be changing the name.
Damn Krista. Get a day job.
There's just something about Monte Cristos that just melt in your mouth… DELISH!
I love a good Monte Christo. The only thing is….I've always had them with jelly.
Forget mayo and mustard. Use strawberry jam. Yum!
Only one of my favorite sandwiches ever! Gorgeous pics!
One of my favorite sandwiches ever…and now, thanks a lot, one I want RIGHT NOW!
Amy these are sheer perfection. I have some honey baked ham in my freezer from the holidays so I'm totally making these. I seriously just want to reach in the screen and snag one or three.
We used a honey baked ham and it was perfect! And, shhhh, don't tell, but we've made them 3 different days in the past week.
This looks insanely delicious! I need to try one already!
We have swiss cheese in the fridge. Can we use that instead?
Swiss cheese would be perfect! I hope you enjoy it.
So glad to see someone who cooks a Monte Cristo the *right* way…not the deep fried abomination!
When I use to work in a restaurant we made ours with turkey, ham and Swiss cheese dipped in a french toast batter and grilled. No mustard,just mayo.
I agree with the last comment! The best sandwich ever! But not good for people with high blood pressure, sodium count is so high! I would love just a bite of one tho. Gotta have turkey, ham and Swiss cheese dipped in egg batter and grilled, usually they deep fry and sprinkle with powdered sugar! DELISH!!!
I'll take that whole stack! And another one to go! 😉 Beautiful sammich!
Thanks for bringing this yummy dish to the front of my memory. I remember having this dish at a very posh eatery and they did serve it with powdered sugar and wait for it……………….grape jelly. No matter the dish was wonderful.
I'm totally trying it with grape jelly next time.
raspberry jelly is the bomb,,, ive had one in a tortilla dipped and fried… yummy every way……..
Oh my word … that sounds crazy good, Lynn!
I always make Monte Cristo sandwiches with our leftover Christmas ham. I need to remember it more often throughout the year.
I have never had a monte cristo sandwich before until this evening. These were easy, fast and AMAZING!
On a blogger note, what do you use to have the option of the recipe printable?
Do you have to use mayo? I'm fine with the mustard but no one in my house likes mayo.
You don't have to use mayo. Make it to your preference.
What other kind oof cheese would work? I generally only have Monterey Jack, Mozerella or medium cheddar in the house.
I think whatever your favorite is would work. 😉 Really, whatever you like best with ham. Personally, I'd go with Monterey Jack. YUM!
Are you kidding!? I have done left over ham and was wishing I had a few more recipes for the leftovers. Can't wait to give this a try! Pinning….
These are delicious with a little powdered sugar and a side of raspberry jam!
Just finished having these for dinner! Made a few changes: Used Dijon mustard (or as my husband called it "fanc mustard" Lol!), and used sliced American cheese and mozzarella. I didn't have left over ham, which would have been amazing, so I just used what was on sale at Walmart and had them slice it thick like spiral cut ham! They turned out great! Like a grilled cheese sandwich with ham! The mustard gives it an extra kick, especially the Dijon! Mmmm. Also – I was thinking about the idea of preserves or confectioners sugar on the side. Something sweet! So I had some home canned peaches with it. Hit the spot perfectly! If you're not putting anything on it, I'd suggest a sweet side dish to go with it! Thanks for the recipe!
Peaches sound like a wonderful partner for this sandwich, Kimberly!
I have some ham left from Christmas, also have some cranberries in the freezer, I think these will go very well together, can't wait to try this recipe. Thanks.
what is the best substitute for gruyere cheese? swiss or monterey jack? I can never find shredded gruyere cheese here anywhere.
Hmmmm … maybe swiss? I didn't find shredded gruyere either. Just shredded it myself.
I cut my block of gruyere very thinly with a cheese slicer and it still melted. Jarlsburg is good, too, but you also have to cut or shred it yourself.
Can whole wheat bread be used? I never use white bread anymore. Thanks!
Of course! Use your favorite bread.
It looks delicious. I´ll do it, very soon.
Hello! Congratulations on your website!
I will be having 6 people over for a brunch. If I made these ahead could I keep them in a warm oven till ready to serve? Or would they get soggy!?
Hmmm … that's a good question. Maybe if you kept them on baking rack set on a baking sheet that may keep them from getting soggy. But you may need to do a test run. 😉 Let me know how it goes!
That is a great idea!! I will try the baking rack and let you know how it works. Thanks!!!!
Hi Amy. I cook for about 40-50 elderly and disabled people each day. I wanted to make these for that group, but couldn't remember the recipe. Other sites had this in one form or another, but your site made it so simple! Thanks! Now I know what I'm doing again, lol.
Raspberry jam on the side for dipping is the craziest best combination!!! Love a good Monte cristo!
Oh my goodness! Raspberry jam is happening next time, for sure.
I have made these for many years. I usually use a whole wheat sandwich bread, turkey, sliced Swiss and ham. If I am making them for a crowd, I make up all the layered sandwiches on the counter and cover them with plastic wrap until i dip them in batter and fry.. I add a little salt and sugar to the egg batter. I make a sweet sauce with frozen strawberries or raspberries that I thaw, simmer with some sugar until hot and add a little corn starch slurry to thicken it up before serving. I love the sweet & salty combination!
So, I know that they go wonderfully with blackberry preserves and [of all things] marmalade!
The sweet & the savory are a great combination.
Those both sound delicious, Reva.
Try making it with Boars Head Butterkäse cheese instead.
Wow! This sandwich really looks yummy! And made with Gruyere cheese. The finest. Thank you for this luscious recipe.
I had just made this last night and it was GREAT!!! I will definitely be making this sandwich many more times, Thank You for the recipe.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed it, Gary!
When applying the mustard and mayo do you mix them together as one mixture or. Do you put mayo on one slice of bread and mustard on the other slice of bread.
I apply them separately, Kenny. But I don't think it matters how you do it.
Can this be made on a panini press?
Yes, a well oiled or non-stick should work well.
I want to do these for brinner (breakfast for dinner)- what would you pair with them? I was thinking maybe fresh fruit (obviously), but what about veggies? My first instinct is a green salad, but I didn't know if there was something more commonly paired with them.
I don't know of any side that is commonly paired with them. I think a fresh green salad is a great idea!
This was my very first Monte Cristo and I loved it! I used provolone and I did not regret a things about it.
Is that cole slaw in the middle of one of those sandwiches? That's what I do with mine. It gives it just a little tartness and enough messiness that you have enjoyed your sandwich to nth degree!
No coleslaw, but I will have to try that.
My lordy! That was one delicious sandwich! I made with leftover ham and velveeta cheese, then drizzled honey all over it. Served with French onion soup and some potato chips. My 12-year old son loved it, too! Thank you!!!
I have been searching for Monte Cristo Sandwich recipes on Pinterest. All fails except a slider I am going to try. This recipe I will try Sunday. But with the following changes. Swiss Lorraine, Honey ham and Turkey. I will be mixing the mayo with the mustard as I will be using some BlackBerry preserves on the other inside half of this sandwich. It will get sprinkled with just a touch of powdered sugar and a teaspoon of the blackberry preserves on the side.
I used to work in a restaurant, back in the early 90's that served these sandwiches with melba sauce. I think they may have been made a little differently, I can't remember.
These are so delicious, and warming on a cold night. I substituted a sweet bourbon mustard made in Maine and my homemade savory cranberry sauce for the condiments. It's the simple things that bring the biggest pleasures.
Perhaps this will sound dumb, as I am not very good in the kitchen department. After dipping the bread in the egg, do you dip both sides? and do you cook one side before putting the sandwich together?
No questions are dumb questions, Norma. We all have questions from time to time. The sandwiches are assembled before dipping, then carefully dipped (both sides) before placing in pan to cook.
Dianeyland has the best monte cristo sandwiches in the world! Just saying. Theirs are battered then fried.
Here's a funny story. Funny, but true. When I was first living on my own back in the early 90s, I had a little leftover egg wash so I made a ham and cheese sandwich and got the brilliant idea to dip it in the egg wash and fry it up like French toast. I called my mother (who was a great cook) and said to her, "Mom, I just invented the best sandwich in the world; I'm going to be a millionaire"! She asked what it was and I told her, "I put ham and cheese on white bread, dipped in egg wash, and fried it up like French toast. It's best sandwich I've ever tasted"! She said, "you dummy, that's a Monte Cristo, it's been around forever". Well there went my Millions.
Try using waffles and top with syrup.
Here and there, I have eaten the Monte Cristo when I find it on the menu and it never disappoints! The first place I had it though, dusted it with powdered sugar and served it with heated maple syrup to dip each mouth watering bite. So I have always asked for some maple syrup to go with mine, but the raspberry jam sounds really great too! I'll have to check that out next time.
I too have always had it with the maple syrup. Surprised not to see it mentioned in the previousd comments.
Eating this right now…FABULOUS! Made mine with swiss. Still so good. Next time, maple syrup on the side sounds like a nice bonus to this already delish meal.
Absolutely love your creative idea with Monte Cristo sandwich! Can I post it on my blog? Thanks for sharing, Amy!
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I'm going to try this with some thick sliced pepper bacon and cheddar with a savory caramelized onion sauce.


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How to Spoil a Good Citizen; and Other Stories.
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The Rollo Philosophy. Part IV. The Sky.
(Abrahams, Peter) Van Vechten, Carl.
Portrait photograph of Peter Abrahams.
Autograph letter, signed "J. Adams".


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Democratic change is awesome – unless, of course, you're corrupt
PM Singh (right) congratulates Narendra Modi after Modi's election victoryRegime changes are always delicate moments in countries facing corruption problems. When the sea of power recedes the low tide often exposes relationships and decisions that many had hoped would never surface. What will the new regime do with the revealed detritus of prior "understandings?" Will there be "professional courtesy" or will the long knives come out?
The crushing electoral defeat of India's long-ruling Congress Party announced Friday probably has many politicians – and business persons – contemplating what comes next. Anyone with a business in India, or expansion plans in India, should be wondering the same thing.
There will be a big change in personalities and styles from the somnolent Manmohan Singh and imperial Gandhi dynasty to the energetic and lively Narendra Modi and the ideological BJP. But the most important aspect of the vote may well be a crystal clear mandate from the electorate. The Modi victory has produced the first parliamentary majority in thirty years, and dispenses with the need for the wobbly coalitions that have produce wildly uneven results. After a decade that felt like a country of more than a billion was walking in the twilight without a flashlight, a clear path for India is at minimum a step in the right direction. It could be even more.
The BJP's sound drubbing of Congress is the natural headline, but the irrelevance of the once promising Aam Admi Party ("AAP") is a significant and sad side show in this election. The AAP rode a gathering discontent to a stunning victory in elections to control local government in New Delhi, the AAP's government fizzled in fewer than fifty days of bumbling. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, once the darling of those seeking to change India's culture of corruption, lost his bid to join parliament and his party looked headed for total defeat. Watching the AAP implode was as painful as it was predictable.
One of the AAP's major missteps during their abortive stay in power was to disregard actual governance and instead investigate major corruption allegations against major political personalities and business persons. However, well intentioned, it felt like a witch hunt, and it certainly didn't improve garbage pickup or any other mundane aspects of running a mega city.
We can expect Modi to concentrate more on economic growth than re-opening old wounds. But anyone whose business in India depends on an important person related to the old power structure (some major U.S. hotel chains come to mind) should look over their files. Just in case.
Russell Stamets is a Contributing Editor of the FCPA Blog. He was the first non-Indian general counsel of a publicly traded Indian company and was general counsel for a satellite broadcasting joint venture of a large Indian business house. Russ can be contacted here.
Post Tags: Aam Admi Party, Arvid Kerjriwal, BJP, Congress Party, general elections, India, Indira Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Narendra Modi

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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This woman's account of the physical trauma of childhood sexual abuse is heartbreaking and eye-opening
Priyanka Paul took to Twitter to share how she has lost sensation in her breasts as a result of being sexually abused
PHOTO: Instagram/Priyanka Paul
By Cutacut Editorial Team February 22, 2019
KARACHI: While the psychological trauma of sexual abuse is often discussed and acknowledged, its physical implications are largely ignored.
Priyanka Paul, a 20-year-old illustrator and poet from India, took to Twitter earlier this week to speak on the issue. The artist-activist narrated her experience as a sexual assault survivor, and explained how the trauma robbed her of her ability to experience sexual pleasure.
"For as long as I can remember, or at least for most of my adult life or a couple of years before I turned 18 as well, I remember never having sensation in my breasts," the artist said.
Paul used to believe that what she experiences, or the lack thereof, is a common occurrence.
"…For a long amount of time I thought that was normal. Maybe some women have sensation there and maybe some don't, and maybe that's true," she said, adding that she always felt numb in her breasts and always wondered why that was so.
Read: 'I was eight when my cousin sexually abused me'
In her attempt to rationalise her experience, she convinced herself that it was a biological problem. But it did not help her feel any differently.
"[I] always felt lacking. We as a culture put so much of a woman's worth into her breasts," she said.
"Touch my hand, touch my boob, same feeling," Paul said. But the realisation that it was indeed not biology, rather physiology, came when she had a conversation with her aunt about her body piercings.
"My aunt was telling her therapist about me, about how I got a piercing in one of my nipples," she said. "Her therapist said that this was a common trend among sexual assault trauma patients."
Watch: Unsilenced
As per Paul's aunt's therapist, people who have experienced sexual assault trauma are "desperate to see if they could feel anything at all", so they get piercings in erogenous body parts, the artist added.
It is the body's physiological response to sexual assault trauma, especially if it happens in childhood. "There are rape victims who have no sensation in their vagina because of what they went through. Your body shuts down," the 20-year-old artist-activist said.
Paul shared her experience where she was repeatedly sexually assault by a teenage boy in her class, between the ages of 13 and 15.
"He would grope me in public, in the classroom, and ask his friends to do it as well," Paul recounted, adding that she was heavily slut-shamed from her classmates. The lack of response from her teachers and the school administration added to the trauma, the repercussions of which were only felt by her.
Read: #WhyIDidntReport a heart wrenching response to one of the most popular critiques of #MeToo
"[All of that made me] feel like I lack as a woman… Because we've been taught to put our worth into things like our breasts. To pride ourselves over this."
"Every time I look at my breasts, it takes me back to what that boy did to me, what he took away from me," the survivor adds.
The young artist implored people to take sexual assault trauma seriously.
"I think people have convinced themselves that it has mental health implications… [On the contrary], sexual assault and the trauma after it can have physical implications [as well]," she said.
What also hurt, Paul added, was the lack of awareness about the issue because of which she spent her teenage thinking something is wrong with her.
Read: #ChoonaManaHay: Govt releases series of videos on how to prevent child sexual abuse
"Don't dismiss the conversation happening right now, no matter how sporadic, [because] 14-year-old Priyanka would have wanted someone to help her," the artist said.
Read the full Twitter thread here.
'I was eight when my cousin sexually abused me'
Opinion: Overweight women can be healthy too
Personal essay: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and related traumas we struggle to talk about
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to activists against the use of sexual violence in armed conflict


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Adverse Drug Events, Opioids and Pain Management
Care Coordination Communities
Care Transitions
Improving Immunization Rates
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Pain Management in Sickle Cell Patients
Quality Improvement Initiatives and Other Technical Assistance Projects
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Targeted Nursing Home Quality Improvement
Become a Patient Advisor
atom Alliance Blogs
Core Competencies for Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care
Despite the increasing national focus on integrated care, there is no single, widely recognized set of competencies on this service approach for either the behavioral health or primary care workforce.
To address this gap, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) charged the Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS) to identify and disseminate core competencies on integrated practice relevant to behavioral health and primary care providers. The development of these competencies was performed by the Annapolis Coalition on the Behavioral Health Workforce under the auspices of CIHS.
The core competencies developed through this project are intended to serve as a resource for provider organizations as they shape job descriptions, orientation programs, supervision and performance reviews for workers delivering integrated care. Similarly, the competencies are to be a resource for educators as they shape curricula and training programs on integrated care.
The charge was to develop a "core" or "common" set of competencies broadly relevant to working in diverse settings with diverse populations. The competency sets are not intended to be setting or population specific. Their principal relevance is to the integration of behavioral health with primary care as opposed to the integration of behavioral health with specialty medical care.
Download Core Competencies for Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care.
Contracted by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), atom Alliance is working with providers to improve behavioral health screenings and follow-up treatment for older adults. Learn how we can help you.
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'Not a gulag': Russia's government in talks to create new convict labor super-camps to cut need for migrants, minister reveals
https://timkirbyshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/60abc06d20302772af184ba3-xrifgb.jpeg 460 258 https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/?s=96&d=mm&r=g May 24, 2021 May 24, 2021
Russian officials are now in talks with big business in an effort to secure investment for a network of large-scale prison labor complexes that could reduce the country's reliance on migrant workers, it was confirmed on Monday.
"We are negotiating with companies, concluding agreements and actively working in this direction," Minister of Justice Konstantin Chuychenko told reporters. "And in the near future, we have plans to increase the number of correctional centers and places within them."
Chuychenko said they "are very interested in large investment projects, where a thousand people or more could serve sentences by carrying out correctional labor."
"The idea of replacing migrant labor [with inmate labor], I think, is correct," he added, "because correctional centers can be set up at large construction sites and large industrial facilities."
Throwing in the trowel: As construction demand booms, Russia short 1.2mn builders after migrants left during Covid pandemic
The latest round of discussions about the idea, which has proven controversial domestically, was started by the national penal system director, Aleksandr Kalashnikov, last week. Citing a shortage of migrant labor from Central Asia, he said around 188,000 prison inmates across the country should have the right to work through their jail terms.
The minister pointed out that the existing capacity for prison workers to take on these jobs is inadequate, with most work colonies boasting only around 100 jobs. However, he said, the country has already created 8,000 jobs for prisoners, which would enable them to earn extra cash while also learning skills and demonstrating they can be reintegrated into society.
"We are ready to organize this. It will not be a gulag – it will be absolutely new, decent conditions," he insisted, adding that participants would receive a "decent salary" for their efforts.
In March, the Russian government warned that there was a shortfall in migrant workers in a number of key economic sectors, such as construction. "There is a personnel problem," Minister of Construction, Housing and Utilities Irek Fayzullin told reporters. "A large number of builders who came from the near-abroad [former Soviet states] were forced to leave due to the coronavirus."
Echoes of the Gulag? Migrant advocate slams suggestion by Russian prison chief that convicts be used to replace foreign workers
However, the head of the country's Federation of Migrants criticized the idea that prisoners could be used to fill the gap. Vadim Kozhenov asked journalists, under the proposals, "who will educate [the prisoners]?… Migrants are sufficiently qualified. [But] the FSIN would have to somehow organize all the prisoners and try to understand who is a bricklayer, who is a plasterer, and who is a carpenter."
The idea of prison labor has been floated in Russia many times and is widely used abroad, including in the US, where a vast majority of the country's more than 2 million inmates work in some capacity. Last year, a row broke out over New York's decision to use those serving time to produce tens of thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer to counter the Covid-19 pandemic, despite the inmates' reported vulnerability to the virus in crowded conditions.
Despite other nations relying on the pool of potential workers, for some, it still sounds too much like a return to the brutal Soviet gulag camp system. Well over 1 million people are thought to have died in the penal colonies due to disease, harsh conditions and executions, and much of the rural infrastructure in the Far East and Siberia can be traced back to forced labor.
Flights coming to or from Lithuania to be banned from using Belarusian airspace as Vilnius reacts to 'hijacking' of Ryanair plane
Trump impeachment witness suing Mike Pompeo and US for $1.8 million in legal fees


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Today's Mani Monday is another one of MissJenFabulous' easy nail art for beginners designs. I'm still in love with Models Own Ice Neons and just haven't worn them as much as I'd like to have done... so watch out for a few more neon manis coming in the next few weeks! They also look so great just on their own and bring so much promise of summer with them that sometimes I just want to wear them plain (I keep staring at them when I do).
I used two coats of Models Own Snow White under the Models Own Pink Punch to make the colour really pop. Once they were all completely dry, I followed MissJenFabulous' instructions on her YouTube video - I used a striping brush (I got mine from Amazon) to paint the purple (Models Own Pukka Purple) triangle, then outlined the triangle with a black Models Own Nail Art striping brush. I topped it all off (once it was dry!) with Butter London PD Quick.
If you haven't tried nail art before, definitely have a go at this one, or the one I posted this week - they really are easy to do and this one is particularly good practice for getting to grips with a striping brush.
What do you think? Will you have a go? Have you done any nail art with Models Own Ice Neons? I'd love to see if you have - drop me a link in the comments below.
these are really cute :) especially in the neon!
Thanks! I'm all over neon at the moment!!
These colors go really well together. Lovely mani.
Thanks! Potentially a bit clashy, but quite fun!
Thanks! I was a bit worried the purple didn't stand out enough...!
Thanks so much! The neons are so awesome - I think Models Own may only be properly available in the UK, but worth tweeting them (@modelsown) to find out!


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FIRST MATCH NERVES?
What happened in every one of Cristiano Ronaldo's first-team debuts?
How did Cristiano Ronaldo get on in his first games for Sporting, Man United, Real Madrid and Portugal?
By James Robinson
Updated: 10th July 2018, 4:55 pm
Making your debut can't be easy.
It's like your first day at work, except you've got thousands of people watching you and you're heckled every time you do something wrong.
Cristiano Ronaldo has plenty of experience when it comes to debuts.
The poor lad looks terrified
He began his career at Sporting then had to take his first steps for Man United, Real Madrid and Portugal, each bringing different challenges.
So how did he get on in his first game for each club?
We can't stop looking at his jumper
Sporting (14 August 2002)
What better stage to take you first steps for your boyhood club than the Champions League? Well, Champions League qualification rounds.
He was included on the bench as Sporting took on an Inter side featuring Christian Vieri in the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
Both sides were without their respective European Golden Boot winners, with Mario Jardel absent for Sporting and Ronaldo absent for Inter.
Mario was missing
CR7 came off the bench in the 58th minute, playing on the opposite flank to fellow maverick winger Ricardo Quaresma.
Neither side were able to find the breakthrough and Ronaldo wasn't included in the Sporting squad for the second leg.
A Ronaldo-less Sporting went down 2-0 in the San Siro, giving the teenager his first taste of Champions League defeat.
The vertical versus horizontal stripes derby
Man United (16th August 2003)
Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford too late to take part in their pre-season games, although he'd been on the opposite side in their penultimate game, much to dismay of United's defence.
He was introduced off the bench to a standing ovation in the 61st minute during United's first game of the season, against Bolton, with the score at a precarious 1-0.
Cue a festival of football. Lollipops, rainbows and rabonas were out in force as Ronaldo announced himself to the Premier League with a tour de force of (pretty pointless) skills.
He was instrumental in all three second-half goals as Bolton's tired defence was stretched by Ronaldo's pace and trickery.
He won a penalty, earning an enthusiastic but probably slightly confusing slap from Roy Keane.
By the end of the game the Old Trafford faithful realised they had a special talent on their hands.
Use a tissue next time Ronnie
Portugal (20 August 2003)
Ronaldo's United career was only four days old when he made his international bow for Portugal against Kazakhstan.
What should have been a routine win- Portugal had Luis Figo, Rui Costa and Deco in their midfield- turned into something of a slog.
Ronaldo was introduced at half-time, with Portugal sneaking a 1-0 win through a scrappy goal from Simao.
From Bolton to Kazakhstan, who said football isn't glamorous?
Real Madrid (20 July 2009)
There's one word for Ronaldo's Madrid debut. Anticlimax.
It came against the mighty Shamrock Rovers in front of 11,000 people at the Tallaght Stadium.
It was 45 minutes of Sunday League standard football.
It's not right seeing CR7 in the no.9 shirt
He was withdrawn at half-time, with Manuel Pellegrini keen to keep everyone fit and fresh ahead of a long pre-season.
Madrid eventually won the game 1-0 through a goal from Karim Benzema.
But it's fair to say it isn't a game that'll live long in the memory, unless you're Pat Flynn, Sean O'Connor or any of the other Shamrock players who featured on that night.


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High Fidelity, November 1983
From The Elvis Costello Wiki
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Punch The Clock
Elvis Costello and the Attractions
Mitch Cohen
It's an expansive, ingratiating Elvis Costello that emerges on Punch the Clock. The album, Costello's ninth in the U.S., has a swaggering tunefulness that has been brought to the surface by producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, whose recent Top 10 hits (Madness's "Our House," Dexys Midnight Runners' "Come on Eileen") show a talent for getting to a melodic hook, using horns for jabbing emphasis. Costello even does last year's excellent Imperial Bedroom one better in the accessibility department by printing the lyrics neatly on the inner sleeve rather than in run-on chunks. But if he's more forthcoming than usual, he's no less combative, still seething about emotional injustice and political insensitivity.
Punch the Clock contains two recent Costello political songs that are chilling and gray: "Shipbuilding," which he introduced on his '82 tour and has since been recorded by Robert Wyatt, is an extraordinary piece (written with Langer) that skewers England for its jingoism and economic rationales during the Falkland Islands conflict; and "Pills and Soap," released under a pseudonym (the Imposter) during the last British elections, warns against the continuation of the Thatcher government.
While these two tracks are the most riveting, the new LP is composed of more than grim commentary. There is writing, even in the acerbic songs about men and women at cross-purposes, that demonstrates what Costello has learned from Motown songwriters — who built countless hits on extended metaphors and the imaginative use of everyday phrases — and from the sophisticated rhymers of the pre-WW2 New York lyricists (Lorenz Hart, Ira Gershwin). The drawing of a family reunion with scandalous undercurrents on "The World and His Wife," the rapid-fire verbiage about modern matrimony on "The Greatest Thing," and the deceptive simplicity of "The Element Within Her" are all brittle and intelligent; and "Everyday I Write the Book," on which Costello describes in literary terms the vigilant monitoring of a lover, is as irresistible a pop song as he has written.
Costello is, as ever, quotable ("Even in a perfect world where everyone was equal / I'd still own the film rights and be working on the sequel"), but Punch the Clock — a brassier expansion of the soul influenced Get Happy!! — isn't all wordplay. It's filled with inspired instrumental touches: the TKO horns opening the proceedings with a fanfare on "Let Them All Talk"; Steve Nieve's invaluable keyboard contributions throughout; Chet Baker's funereal trumpet solo on "Shipbuilding"; the cavernous drums on "The Greatest Thing"; the gothic-funk atmosphere on "Pills and Soap." On Punch the Clock, Elvis Costello and the Attractions are making rock that has an arresting outer layer and a tough moral center. "I'm a man with a mission in two or three editions," Costello sings. You'd be wise to snap up this chapter in what has been unfolding, over the past six years, as a significant story in contemporary music.
Mitch Cohen reviews Punch The Clock.
Page scan.
Cover and contents page.
Wikipedia: High Fidelity (magazine)
americanradiohistory.com
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Turner Prize Nominees a Surprise, As Always
But no disappointments.
Coline Milliard, May 7, 2014
Duncan Campbell Portrait
Courtesy Tate
Those who were expecting a Who's Who of the British art world are in for a surprise. This year's Turner Prize nominees Duncan Campbell, Ciara Phillips, James Richards, and Tris Vonna-Michell are more artists' artists promoted by cutting-edge organizations than crowd-pullers with big gallery–machines behind them. And that's for the best.
It's very much in keeping with the mood in the British art world, which has tended to favor understated, DIY approaches recently (perhaps in reaction to the Young British Artists overload of the 1990s and noughties). Last year's winner was the underdog. French-born Laure Prouvost, best known for her endearing bric-a-brac videos and installations, beat the stars Tino Sehgal and David Shrigley.
Virtually all of the artists selected this year could be described as underdogs, but this doesn't mean that those in the running for the £25,000 cash prize don't come with a solid pedigree.
Like every year, artists are chosen on the strength of one or several solo shows held during the preceding year. The Glasgow-based Campbell has been selected for It for Others, a filmic response to Alain Resnais and Chris Marker's cult film Statues Also Die from 1953, which was shown in the Scottish pavilion at the last Venice Biennale.
Ciara Phillips, Workshop (2010-ongoing)
Photo: Daniel Brooke, Courtesy the artist and Kendall Koppe, Glasgow
Another Glaswegian, Ciara Phillips, was noted for her solo exhibition Workshop (2010-ongoing) at The Showroom in London. Politics and collaboration are fully part of the Irish Canadian's practice, which focuses on print processes of all kinds, from community workshops to fanzines.
It has taken decades for the Turner Prize to include performance artists. Spartacus Chetwynd (now known as Marvin Gaye Chetwynd) was the first in 2012, paving the way for raconteur extraordinaire Vonna-Michell, nominated for his exhibition Postscript II (Berlin), shown at Jan Mot in Brussels.
Like Campbell, this year's youngest nominee Richards secured his place while in Venice, in his case as part of Massimiliano Gioni's Encyclopedic Palace at the Arsenale. Richards went from winner of the Film London Jarman Award to Turner Prize nominee in the space of two years–a spectacular, and very promising rise.
James Richards, Still from Rosebud (2013)
Courtesy the Artist, Cabinet, London and Rodeo, Istanbul
The shortlisted artists will show new works side by side in an exhibition opening at Tate Britain on September 30. The decision of the jury, which this year include Artists Space's Stefan Kalmár, Spike Island's Helen Legg, Glasgow International's Sarah McCrory, and Wiels' Dirk Snauwaert, will be announced during a ceremony at Tate Britain on December 1, 2014.
The Turner Prize attracts attention to contemporary art in Britain like no other event. Every single newspaper suddenly has an art critic in house, and streams of visitors come to the show, seen as a barometer of artistic development. It should be a place where those not belonging to the nomadic art crowd discover something new. Surprised, some will be, but with such a strong selection, very few will be disappointed.
Tris Vonna-Michell, OU: Finding Chopin (2012), Performance at Roskilde Museum of Contemporary Art, Roskilde January 13, 2012
Courtesy the Artist, Cabinet, London and Jan Mott, Brussels
Coline Milliard
Fred Tomaselli on New York's Magical Humanity
By , May 7, 2014
The Crisis in Art and What It Means To Write About It


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You are here: Home / In the Media / "History of Israel" Wins Honors at Moscow Book Fair
"History of Israel" Wins Honors at Moscow Book Fair
The Non/Fiction Book Fair, Russia's most prestigious annual book fair, which includes exhibitions and book sales by more than 250 Russian and international publishing houses and which draws tens of thousands of visitors to the five day event, has announced its "Top List" of the most important publications in 2011.
For the first time in the book fair's history a publication focusing on the State of Israel, the recently published three-volume History of Israel by Howard Sachar, was chosen as one of the best books of the year. In making the announcement, chosen by a selection committee of Russia's top writers, the Book Fair emphasized the importance of Israeli history in Russian society, especially with the large Russian population in Israel and the relatively unknown historical background of the birth of the Jewish State.
The books, published as part of the Aminov Jewish History Series that is slated to publish many more titles on Jewish and Israel history in the coming years, is supported by a local Russian philanthropist and the AVI CHAI Foundation. The books are already available in large bookstores in the former Soviet Union and beyond.
The prestigious book fair will be taking place at the large, three-floor Convention Center of the Central House of Artists in Moscow from November 30th to December 5th, 2011. Knizhniki Publishers, which published The History of Israel, will have a bookstand at the fair, with presentations and an aggressive promotion campaign for this as well as other books focusing on Jewish and Israeli themes.
In addition, and for the second year in a row, the Book Fair committee also chose a book from the projects Illustrated Children's Book Series on Jewish Themes – Joseph Had a Little Overcoat by Simms Taback – as part of its Top List in the Children's book category. Last year, the Book Fair also chose The Family Carnovsky by Israel Joshua Singer as the best book in the fiction category for 2010.
Filed Under: In the Media Tagged With: AVI CHAI Foundation


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Richard Newell
Fund managers "unlikely" to scrap bonuses in Asia
Following the bold move by UK investment veteran Neil Woodford to scrap fund manager bonuses at his firm, industry experts explain why they don't see the idea catching on in Asia.
Neil Woodford: sparking a bonus debate
Asia-based fund managers are seen as unlikely to mimic Neil Woodford, a respected UK-based investment veteran, who has scrapped bonuses for portfolio managers at his firm because he thinks they are ineffectual at boosting performance.
He was a former star fund manager at Invesco Perpetual, who set up his own firm, Woodford Investment Management, in 2014 that now has £14 billion ($18.5 billion) under management.
His decision to shun the bonus system that prevails across the global funds industry is a bold one that could backfire if Woodford IM fails to attract the top talent that has become used to such payouts, say industry observers. The firm's 35 staff will get a rise in basic pay and benefits as compensation.
Industry experts in Asia said they understood the logic behind Woodford's move, which hit the headlines this week, but they were sceptical about such a shift taking place in the region.
Stewart Aldcroft, senior fund industry adviser at Citi in Hong Kong, said it was a bold decision but one that was unlikely to be widely replicated. "Bonuses reward good performance and business and are not paid for poor or average results," he added. "This move raises aggregate costs, which would need to be recovered."
Only smaller family- or self-owned businesses in Asia are likely to do something similar, suggested Aldcroft, although many investment firms are now paying much smaller bonuses than in previous years.
Star manager expectations
Even those in agreement with Woodford's reasoning were doubtful that bonus-scrapping for portfolio managers would catch on.
Peter Douglas, founder and principal of Singapore-based hedge fund consulting firm GFIA, said: "I was never under the impression that bonuses boosted performance – who was?"
Fund house bonuses reflect the profitability of that portfolio manager's products and their "star" value, he noted. The fund firms need to retain star managers, hence the multi-million-dollar bonuses paid to top performers such as Woodford.
"Performance compensation is largely in the form of career progression and wealth generation in the form of stock options/equity," said Douglas (pictured left). "So [not paying bonuses] seems very sensible. But in many firms, it would be really hard to swing internally, I suspect."
Blair Pickerell, former regional chairman of Japan's Nikko Asset Management, agreed there were structural reasons why this approach was unlikely to work in Asia.
"In many Asian markets, the desire to attract top fund managers and analysts and other investment staff remains high," he said. "For example, if a firm in China were to say they paid no bonuses despite excellent investment performance, it seems likely that the headhunting community would be all over their staff within a very short period of time."
Woodford's move could even backfire, at least in the short term, said Douglas. "Will he lose staff? I guess yes, depending on who gets what. But the net effect may well be that the superstars will go, as will the also-rans. [The move will] reward firms with strong process that don't need top-percentile managers, but do need highly capable people to follow the process."
"War for talent"
Pickerell (pictured below) said the "war for talent" was still very much alive for top fund managers. The industry heavily favours firms, especially those gathering assets from institutions, that can produce strong long-term performance, he noted. "It is only logical that those teams, fund managers and analysts who have produced good results expect to be paid a good performance-related bonus."
Admittedly, said Pickerell, bonuses at many firms will be under pressure in the next year or two, given declining profitability for many asset management firms, the shift of assets from active to passive strategies and a relatively weak economic outlook.
Overall, he added, most fund houses would prefer to have a cost structure that kept fixed costs relatively low and paid most compensation only once its managers had performed well. "This seems more logical than raising fixed costs and eliminating variable compensation," he argued.
Of Woodford's decision, one Asia-based investment firm chief told AsianInvestor he felt it was OK for fund managers to be on entirely fixed remuneration, as long as they got a share of the profits, as Neil Woodford does. There is nothing wrong with the concept of bonuses, he added: "As ever, it's the principles behind them that matter."
In a statement announcing Woodford IM's move, Craig Newman, chief executive and co-founder of Woodford IM, had said: "Many studies conclude that bonuses don't work as a motivator, as expectation is already built in. Behavioural studies also suggest that bonuses can lead to short-term decision making and wrong behaviours.
"While bonuses are an established feature of the financial sector, Neil and I wanted to take the opportunity to do something different that supports the firm's culture and ethos of challenging the status quo."
neil woodford bonus bonuses
Oliver Jones
Asia still lagging on private equity bonuses
Globally private equity firms are handing out higher performance bonuses, but Asian general partners are said to still pay significantly less in bonuses than their international peers.
Put an end to Ucits bonus cap talk, says ICI Global
Managers of Ucits funds remain unsure whether they will be hit with a bonus cap, and it's high time for this bad idea to be killed off, says Dan Waters of trade body ICI Global.
Bonus balancing act
It''s bonus time and the usual round of corporate and individual jousting is just beginning. We look at the winners and losers.
Min Ho
EU bonus cap proposal sparks concerns in Asia
Asian asset managers worry they may be affected by European Union plans to introduce a bonus cap for senior executives at firms running Ucits funds.


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AfraRaymond.net
A Thinking Man's Weblog
Tag: government-to-government arrangements
VIDEO: Interview on The Morning Brew on new Chinese housing contract
Afra Raymond sits with Hema Ramkissoon on the Morning Brew to discuss the newly revealed public-private agreement to finance and build 5,000 apartment units in Port of Spain and San Fernando with China Gezhouba Group International Engineering Co Ltd (CGGC). Opinions on whether this is a good deal or not. Video courtesy CNC3 Television.
Programme Length: 00:10:40
Programme Date: Wednesday, 22 May 2019
By AfraRaymondin Property Matters May 29, 2019 May 28, 2019 64 Words3 Comments
VIDEO: Morning Brew interview on La Brea Dry Dock project – 10 Sep 2018
Afra Raymond is interviewed by Hema Ramkissoon on CNC3's 'Morning Brew' on Monday 10th September 2018 to discuss the recently-announced La Brea Dry Dock project with China Harbour Engineering Company. Perspectives on T&T-China relations and government-to-government contracts are given. Also touches on Curepe Interchange project.
Programme Date: 10 September 2018
By AfraRaymondin Politics and Public Affairs September 12, 2018 September 12, 2018 59 Words1 Comment
G2G Policy
The current Government to Government (G2G) arrangements are a direct threat to our country's fundamental interests.
The key element of the G2G arrangement is that a larger, more advanced, country will assist a smaller, less-advanced country by building or operating complex facilities which are beyond the reach of the smaller state.
One of the features the G2G arrangements have in common with the other large-scale projects is the high degree of secrecy with which the proposals are developed. That secrecy raises doubts as to whether proper Needs Assessments are undertaken and as to the degree to which the views of citizens and stakeholders are sought, far less considered. The fundamental issue as to the necessity for these projects is thus routinely sidelined, which is inimical to the public interest.
The main criticisms of the G2G arrangements are –
Sidelining of the elementary Tendering Process – the procurement process is effectively outsourced, since the more powerful country has the right to select the contractor;
Limited, if any, role for Local Participation in terms of labour, professionals, suppliers, or contractors;
Weak or nonexistent contract controls, due to the disparity in power between the parties;
Serious drain on Foreign Exchange;
Lack of the promised Transfer of Technology.
These arrangements have been heavily criticised in our country for almost 35 years, starting with Winston Riley's October 1979 paper which identified many of the emerging problems. As a result of that rising tide of criticism, an official enquiry was established by then PM, George Chambers. In March 1982, the Ballah Report was published and the G2G programme was brought to a halt as a result of its dire findings.
Despite the learning, successive political administrations seem unable to resist the appeal of these G2G arrangements, so we have today's situation as shown in the table.
Physical Development Projects via G2G – April 2014
Readers who access this article online can view the background info via the hyperlinks
COUNTRY PROJECT/S DATE AMOUNT COMMENTS
CHINA NAPA – North & South 2008
TT$818M as'final cost'
TT$207M for 'remedial works'
NAPA (POS) completed in 2009, NAPA (San Fernando) completed in 2012– stated final cost of both projects was $130M USD ($818M TTD). A further $207M was borrowed from EXIM Bank of China in 2011 for 'remedial works' on NAPA (POS). Design & Build contractor was Shanghai Construction Group.
AUSTRIA San Fernando Teaching Hospital 2011 TT$739M Opened in January 2014
CANADA Penal Hospital 2012 Undisclosed Involvement with Canada's nominated designer SNC-Lavalin was discontinued after serious concerns over that firm's international banning for corrupt business practices.
Couva Children's Hospital,
three national sports facilities in Couva,
three multi-sports facilities in other parts of the country.
2012 TT$1.8 Billion Loan Agreement signed in March 2013 with EXIM Bank of China, with Shanghai Construction Group selected as the contractor for all the projects.These projects include the swimming & cycling complex at Balmain and the sporting complex at Tacarigua Savannah in Orange Grove.
CHINA Lake Asphalt 2013 Undisclosed MoU, with a Confidentiality Agreement, signed on 30 May 2013 between Lake Asphalt T&T Ltd and a Chinese contractor. One of the official objectives of the February 2014 State visit to China, according to the Office of the PM, was "…Removal of asphalt from the Pitch Lake in greater capacities…".
CHINA La Brea Port and seven industrial parks. 2014 US$750M (TT$4.83 Billion) Agreement signed in February 2014 to have these facilities built by China Harbour and China Construction.
The total cost of these projects is just under $8.4 Billion TTD.
That is the background, against which we must consider these further elements –
Regional Strategy – As a leading nation within CARICOM, it is important for Trinidad & Tobago to give serious consideration to the role of the various bilateral G2G arrangements China is pursuing in our region and the implications of those arrangements on our aspirations for healthy regionalism. I have been reading the February 2013 Research Note by UWI's Dr. Annita Montoute – 'Caribbean-China Economic Relations: what are the Implications?' The scope of Dr. Montoute's research and her findings are sobering – at pg 115 "…CARICOM Trade with China is on the increase; however it is overwhelmingly in China's favour…". The regional issue is a serious one to which we must address our energies.
Trinidad & Tobago's Strategy – Now consider these statements by then Finance Minister, Winston Dookeran, at the September 2011 ceremony to sign the $207M TTD loan for NAPA (POS) 'remedial works' –
"…Dookeran said it was now imperative that TT deepens its ties with China…'In the first instance China has now emerged as a very significant player, especially in light of the recent tremors and uncertainties in the world economy,' he said. 'China…is now an economy that we will have to rely upon. It is in that context that it is very appropriate and timely for Trinidad and Tobago to start to intensify its relationship with China.'.."
Winston Dookeran is now Trinidad & Tobago's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Uff Report – The 42nd and 43rd recommendations of the 2010 Uff Report deal directly with this issue –
The Government's policy on the use of foreign contractors and consultants for public construction projects should be transparent and open to review.
Local contractors and consultants who compete with foreign companies should be provided with the same or equivalent benefits as enjoyed by those foreign companies and should be protected from unfair competition through matters such as soft loans…
Uff was calling for the establishment of a national policy on this series of issues and the JCC has been requesting a consultation between government and stakeholders, so that a proper strategy can be developed in open collaboration. That would include labour, professionals, the State, the contracting sector and all the associated elements such as suppliers of building materials, financiers, skills training and so on. The JCC wrote to the PM on this in April 2012, but to date there has been no response to our calls for those consultations in the national interest.
NAPA, again – The Minister of Culture, Dr. Lincoln Douglas, told the Senate on 8 April 2014 of the serious issues arising at NAPA (POS), with an estimated further $100M being required for more repairs. It is not certain if the issues of disrepair are all due to inadequate maintenance, but it is unacceptable for such issues to have emerged for a structure less than 5 years old.
Shanghai Construction Group – Despite the bad record at NAPA, the selected contractor for the $1.8 Billion Couva Children's Hospital and the other sporting facilities is the said Shanghai Construction Group.
Proposed Public Procurement Law – most alarmingly, Clause 7 of the proposed Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Property Bill 2014 specifically excludes Government to Government Arrangements and projects funded by International Financial Institutions from oversight. That proposed exclusion is entirely unacceptable as it further jeopardises our national interest.
The PM has made a call for a National Conversation and this is one topic which needs addressing. Our country cannot continue exporting our jobs, capital and skilled people in favour of unexamined and undisclosed foreign policies.
By AfraRaymondin Corruption, Politics and Public Affairs, Property Matters, Public Procurement Reform April 30, 2014 January 17, 2020 1,168 Words7 Comments
Government to Government arrangements (G2G) are made between two states, so that the less developed one can benefit from the technology and methods of the more advanced one. Given the scale of projects now being undertaken via these arrangements; the current high-level State mission to China, with its key objective of deepening the strategic ties; the long-promised and impending Public Procurement & Disposal of Public Property law and our recent G2G experience, this a critical issue to delve into.
These G2G arrangements have been controversial since their introduction to Trinidad & Tobago in the 1970s, during the 'petro-dollar boom'. The Central Tenders Board Act was amended in 1979 to exclude both State Enterprises and G2G arrangements from what was seen as the heavy hand of bureaucracy. In that period, the most memorable projects done via G2G were the Mount Hope Medical Complex, the Twin Towers and the Hall of Justice. There were other projects, often shrouded in allegations of corruption and improper practice. After strong protests, the then PM George Chambers appointed the late Lennox Ballah to enquire into the entire series of G2G arrangements. The Ballah Report was published in March 1982 and it should be required reading for those who are committed to national development. Chambers accounted for the petro-dollar by reporting to a shocked nation that two out of every three dollars had been stolen or wasted. Most of the G2G arrangements were stopped after that publication.
Yet these damaging arrangements have now re-emerged and what is more, there does not appear to have been any fundamental improvement in our terms within the new agreements. Once again, despite the clarity of the Ballah Report and its publication, we do not appear to have the capacity to learn from our history. That is a fatal blind-spot in our society.
It is clear to me that G2G arrangements, as presently configured, are severely detrimental to our national interest. Supporters of G2G would say that those arrangements allow a more rapid pace of development at costs which can appear to be competitive.
The main criticisms of the existing arrangements are –
Limited, if any, role for Local Participation in terms of labour, professionals or contractors;
Shanghai Construction head, Michael Qing Zhang, centre, with former PM Patrick Manning, right, and Calder Hart of UDeCOTT touring NAPA under construction.
The previous administration entered a high-profile G2G arrangement with China to build the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) in POS and San Fernando via a $100M USD loan. The fundamental injury this G2G did to the national interest was that it ceded effective control of the project to China, who exercised their rights by awarding these two huge Design & Build contracts to Shanghai Construction Group (SCG). The POS NAPA was a highly-controversial project, executed via UDECOTT, with Peter Minshall reportedly stating that the buildings looked like 'copulating slugs'. Many allegations were made against local designers, contractors and workers as the pressure mounted on the Manning administration.
We know that the design errors are legion at NAPA POS, arising mostly from the lack of consultation with user groups and the public. The costs of sidelining a proper consultation process are high, so this is a vital case-study of the heavy impact of those detrimental arrangements.
Strong protests were raised in the Parliament by the then opposition against the NAPA deal. Those people are now in government, the previous administration having suffered a heavy electoral defeat in what seemed to me to be a public rebuff at these kinds of arrangements.
But the real lesson for us here is the extent to which our national interest has been wounded in that the ability to renegotiate appears to have been compromised. Just consider that the incoming PP administration was obliged to 'fall-into-step' when expensive remedial works were required in 2011, which was the second year since NAPA (POS) was opened. In September 2011, the State took a further $210M loan from the Export-Import Bank of China to carry out remedial works at NAPA POS, those works to be done by the original contractor, Shanghai Construction Group. The normal procedure is for remedial works to be for the contractor's account, but these G2G arrangements are not normal. Having been sidelined by the original project, our local designers, engineers, bankers, contractors and skilled trades-people were once again displaced by foreign interests.
What is worse, the original projected cost for NAPA (both POS & San Fernando) was said to be $100M USD and it was later disclosed that NAPA POS cost $500M TTD, before the remedial works of $210M. You see?
One would think that with the high cost of remedial works at NAPA POS having been revealed in September 2011, the present administration would have been cautious in embracing these G2G arrangements. But no, it did not
Prime Minister Kamla Persad- Bissessar turning sod for Couva Hospital
On Friday 2nd March 2012, the PM turned the sod for the Couva Children's Hospital, to be built under a new series of G2G arrangements with China. The PM's address contained a clear message as to the restoration of these arrangements to acceptability –
"…This is the first in a series of projects involving Government to Government collaboration which will yield tangible results that will benefit Trinidad and Tobago in a number of ways…"
That was the first direct, high-level statement by the Peoples Partnership administration on this critical development issue. The contractor selected by China was the said Shanghai Construction Group. But there was more.
In March 2013, Newsday reported that "…Government and the EXIM Bank of China yesterday signed a $1.8 billion loan agreement for the construction of the children's hospital and three national sports facilities in Couva, and three multi-sports facilities in other parts of the country…". Furthermore, according to that report "…The contractor for the projects is the Shanghai Construction Group of Companies, which Zhu said 'is one of the best construction companies in China. We believe that under Shanghai, the two projects will be completed on time with the quantity and quality of work required of them guaranteed,' he said…". Clearly, SCG seems to be a highly-favoured firm of contractors.
There are serious issues of the Public Interest being negotiated and compromised in these large-scale and highly-secretive G2G arrangements. The JCC has repeatedly called for a complete re-examination of these arrangements so that the critical issues of national development can be properly advanced. The 42nd and 43rd recommendations of the Uff Report speak directly to these burning issues.
The new Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Property law must include for proper scrutiny of these large-scale G2G arrangements. The government of the day has the right to enter into arrangements with its diplomatic partners, there is no doubt as to that. These G2G arrangements must be conducted in accordance with proper norms of transparency, accountability and consultation, so that value for money can be achieved. Our country has a poor record in this area. We must do better.
By AfraRaymondin Public Procurement Reform February 27, 2014 February 27, 2014 1,239 Words4 Comments
VIDEO: Time to Face the Facts about Caribbean Corruption – 26 May 2013
This is the interview on Caribbean Corruption for 'Time to Face the Facts' which was broadcast out of Barbados-based Caribbean Media Corporation on Sunday 26th May 2013.
The audience was regional via cable and global via their Facebook page. The interviewer is Jerry George and the format was a live call-in. Video courtesy Jerry George
By AfraRaymondin CL Financial Bailout, Corruption, Politics and Public Affairs, Property Matters, Public Procurement Reform, Uncategorized June 3, 2013 June 4, 2013 66 Words7 Comments
VIDEO: Early Morning Interview – 10 April 2012
On Tuesday 10 April 2012, JCC President Afra Raymond appeared on CNC3 with Hema Ramkissoon and UWI-based Political Scientist Dr. Hamid Ghany to discuss 'Governance and Government'.
Programme Air Date: 10 April 2012
Programme Length: 0:33:02
Continue reading "VIDEO: Early Morning Interview – 10 April 2012" →
By AfraRaymondin Public Procurement Reform May 14, 2012 31 Words2 Comments
VIDEO: POS Rotary Luncheon Speech – 24 April 2012
On Tuesday 24 April 2012, JCC President Afra Raymond addressed the POS Rotary Club at their luncheon on 'The Imperative of Public Procurement – The Government to Government Arrangements' – the Power Point presentation is shown here.
Continue reading "VIDEO: POS Rotary Luncheon Speech – 24 April 2012" →
By AfraRaymondin Public Procurement Reform May 14, 2012 41 WordsLeave a comment


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Tax-News Cyprus Shipping Review 2012/13
By Tax-News.com Editorial
The Cypriot shipping industry has experienced strong growth since the creation of the shipping registry in 1963 and several ingredients have combined to make Cyprus one of the most important locations for a variety of maritime-related activities, including a benign tax regime, modern financial and legal infrastructure, low operating costs and geographical location at the junction of three continents.
As one of only two 'open' registries in the European Union (EU), it is estimated that the Cypriot fleet accounts for a quarter of all the ships registered in the EU; and the Cyprus shipping registry is the tenth-largest in the world. As a result, the sector makes a substantial contribution to the Cypriot economy, with recent figures indicating that shipping accounts for about 5% of gross domestic product.
Cyprus's shipping industry got off to a slow start however, and it wasn't until the 1980s that the rate of vessel registration accelerated rapidly; by 2000/2001, the Cypriot-registered fleet had reached a gross tonnage of almost 30 million from little more than 2 million gross tonnes in 1981. As of December 31, 2011, there were 1,840 ocean-going vessels exceeding 22 million gross tons on the jurisdiction's registry.
Cyprus is the biggest third party ship management centre in the EU, with about 60 ship management companies operating in the territory, and a substantial number of major ship management companies have chosen Cyprus in which to locate their headquarters. Other maritime-related activities which take place in Cyprus include bunkering, chartering, crewing, ship surveying, ship-broking, salvaging and marine insurance.
In recent years, the safety standards of the fleet have improved markedly, as evidenced by the removal of Cyprus from the Black List of the Paris and the Tokyo Memoranda of Understanding on Port State Control (Paris MOU and Tokyo MOU) and its promotion to the White List.
In April 2012, the Cypriot House of Representatives ratified the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 into the Cyprus national legislation. The Convention provides comprehensive rights and protection at work for the world's more than 1.2 million seafarers. The new labour standard consolidates and updates more than 68 international labour standards related to the Maritime sector adopted over the last 80 years. Cyprus became the 26th member state of the International Labour Organisation to ratify the Convention.
The Cyprus maritime sector is largely centred on Limassol, which has the island's largest port, and this city houses a substantial maritime support network of freight operators, specialized legal firms, international logistics companies, ship financing brokerages, insurance agencies etc.
The Cyprus Shipping Chamber is the trade association of the shipping industry in Cyprus. Established in 1989 as the Cyprus Shipping Council, the Chamber's membership now includes all the major ship-owning, ship management and shipping-related companies based in the jurisdiction. According to the Chamber, members own and manage more than 2,000 vessels from Cyprus, exceeding 42 million gross tons, thus making it one of the largest national shipping associations in the world.
Since its formation, the Chamber has become an influential body in local maritime affairs and today no policy decisions concerning shipping matters are taken by the government without consulting the Council.
The Chamber also promotes the interests of Cyprus's shipping industry overseas through its membership and active participation in the International Chamber of Shipping, the International Shipping Federation, the Baltic and International Maritime Council, the European Community Shipowners' Associations, and the International Association of Independent Tanker Owners. In May 2012, Immediate Past President of the Cyprus Shipping Chamber Captain Dirk Fry, was re-elected for another year as one of the four Vice-Presidents of the International Chamber of Shipping, demonstrating Cyprus's influence in the International Shipping community.
The policies of successive governments have helped to foster the shipping industry in Cyprus, especially in the area of taxation. At 10%, Cyprus has the lowest rate of corporate income tax in the EU, and recently a special tax regime was introduced for shipping companies (see below).
Cyprus also exempts international transport services from value-added tax when these services are rendered outside the EU while the income of crew and officers on board Cypriot-registered vessels is exempt from income tax.
Furthermore, there is no estate duty on inheritances of shares in a Cyprus shipping company, and no stamp duty is due on ship mortgage deeds.
Shipping companies can also take advantage of Cyprus's network of double tax treaties, which includes almost 50 countries (unusually for a 'low-tax' country) and Cyprus has entered into Bilateral Agreements of Cooperation in Merchant Shipping with 23 countries.
Other attractive features of Cypriot tax legislation include: tax exemption on dividends (although certain dividends are liable for the 'Special Defence Contribution') and on profits of foreign permanent establishments; and no withholding taxes on repatriated dividends, interest and most royalties. For further information on Cyprus Taxation please take a look at Cyprus Tax Facts 2011 prepared by Eurofast Taxand..
There are additionally no exchange controls by virtue of the country's membership of the EU, which it joined in 2004, and 100% foreign ownership is allowed in most sectors of the economy, although there are certain restrictions under Cypriot shipping law.
A new tonnage tax system was approved by the European Commission on March 24, 2010 under European Union state aid rules for maritime transport. The simplified tonnage tax system extends the favourable benefits available to owners of Cyprus flag vessels and ship managers to owners of foreign flag vessels and charterers. It also extends the tax benefits that previously only covered profits from the operation of vessels in shipping activities to cover profits on the sale of vessels, as well as interest earned on funds used other than for investment purposes and dividends paid directly or indirectly from shipping-related profits.
The new tonnage tax system was implemented by the Merchant Shipping (Fees and Taxing Provisions) Law, which was enacted in May 2010 and applies from the 2010 fiscal year. The tonnage tax system is available to any owner, charterer or ship manager who owns, charters or manages a qualifying ship in a qualifying activity (any seagoing vessel certified under applicable international or national rules and regulations and registered in the ship register of any member of the International Maritime Organization or the International Labour Organization that is recognized by Cyprus). The tonnage tax is calculated on the net tonnage of the ship according to a broad range of bands and rates prescribed in legislation. The rates applicable to ship managers are 25% of those applied for ship owners and charterers. This regime excludes certain types of ships, such as fishing vessels, ships used primarily for sports or recreation, river vessels, non-self propelled floating cranes, and tug boats.
Owners of Cyprus flag ships automatically fall under the new tonnage tax regime and ship owners of EU/EEA flag ships or third country flag ships may opt to be taxed under the tonnage tax system. Ship owners of third countries must satisfy certain requirements in order to qualify for the tonnage tax.
These include the requirement that a share of their fleet be comprised of EU flag ships, provided that this share is not reduced over a three year period.
However, any ship owner opting in to the tonnage tax regime must remain in the system for 10 years. Early withdrawal will incur penalties, calculated as the difference between the amount paid during the period the ship owner was under the tonnage tax system and what would have otherwise have been due. The Commission authorized the scheme until December 31, 2019.
The Cyprus Merchant Shipping Laws are based on the English Merchant Shipping Acts 1894-1954 and registration is administered by the Department of Merchant Shipping of the Ministry of Communications and Works. A ship may be registered in Cyprus if it is majority-owned by a Cypriot person or company; a non-Cypriot company qualifies if it is majority-owned by Cypriots.
In accordance with the Advocates Laws of Cyprus, only lawyers registered as practising advocates in Cyprus are entitled to draft the necessary documents for the incorporation of Cypriot companies as well as to carry out all registry transactions. Therefore, a company interested in registering a vessel under the Cyprus flag would first have to engage the services of a local lawyer.
Ships of any type or size may be registered in the Register of Cyprus Ships or the Special Book of Parallel Registration, provided the applicable age-related requirements and the applicable type-related requirements are complied with.
Under the latest rules, cargo vessels of more than 500 tons and not exceeding 15 years of age may be freely registered in Cyprus. Vessels over 15 years of age but not exceeding 20 may be registered subject to a satisfactory entry inspection.
Vessels over 20 years of age but not exceeding 25 must also undergo an entry inspection and, where it is required by legislation that the vessel should comply with the International Safety Management Code, be operated by a ship management company having its principal place of business in the EU or European Economic Area (EEA).
Vessels over the age of 25 are not accepted for registration in the Cyprus register.
Similarly, passenger vessels (defined as those carrying more than 12 passengers on international voyages) not exceeding 30 years in age may be registered in Cyprus provided they pass an entry inspection, but passenger vessels older than 40 years are not eligible for registration in Cyprus.
Yachts and other pleasure craft may also be registered in Cyprus provided that they are used exclusively for recreation and are not engaged in any commercial operations, irrespective of size. Vessels in this category which do not exceed 25 years of age may be registered without any additional conditions. Vessels exceeding 25 years of age must pass an entry inspection.
Ships may be provisionally registered while they are in a non-Cyprus port; this must be converted into permanent registration during an actual visit to Cyprus within 9 months.
Registration fees in Cyprus are low, and compare favourably with those in other registries. Fees vary depending on the vessel's gross tonnage, but vessels other than passenger ships will pay a maximum fee of EUR5,125.80 and a minimum of EUR213.58.
In summary, while the global shipping industry has undoubtedly been affected by wider economic trends over the past three to four years, and with the economic outlook far from certain, cost pressure is likely to be a major factor for shipping companies in the years ahead. Therefore, Cyprus, with its attractive tax regime, competitive registration fees, well-regarded shipping legislation, reputation for safety, and maritime expertise, is likely to remain one of the most important shipping industry locations for some time to come.
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